by Joan Jonker
Stunned by the whole proceedings, Victoria moved forward and held out her hand. ‘I’m delighted to meet you, Mrs Perkins.’ She glanced sideways. ‘I wasn’t aware you and my husband knew each other.’
‘I work for Mr Roscoe and met your husband through him.’
‘Ada is housekeeper to John,’ Charles explained. ‘She helps feed his friends when they have a card night and I met her when I made the foursome up one night.’
Polly’s brows drew together. Her mam wasn’t a housekeeper, she was a cleaner! She helped when Mr John had friends in, but she wasn’t his housekeeper! Polly was about to say so when a look from her mother silenced her.
‘Victoria, will you ring for tea while I take Polly through to meet the children?’ Charles put his hand on the girl’s elbow. ‘I’m sure Ada would welcome a cup of tea.’
‘Charles, the children are in the middle of a lesson!’
‘Mr Westly won’t object to a five-minute interruption. Come along, Polly.’
‘Are yer comin’, Mam?’
‘No, sunshine, you go with Mr Denholme an’ I’ll wait here for yer. There’s nothing for yer to be frightened of.’
The look of desperation on the girl’s face as she was led from the room, and the look of love on her mother’s, wasn’t lost on Victoria. Charles had been right when he said she was in for a surprise. It had been one surprise after another since she’d opened the front door. The girl she’d referred to as a ‘waif’ and ‘barrow girl’, was far from fitting either description. Her clothes were shabby, yes, but with her pretty face and friendly smile you didn’t really notice what she was wearing. And although she showed no deference to Charles as her future employer, her easy manner with him had never been over-familiar.
‘Sit down, Mrs Perkins, please.’ Victoria pushed a button at the side of the elaborate fireplace and when the maid appeared, she said, ‘Tea for four, please, Lucy.’
Ada was on pins, thinking of Polly. ‘ I hope my daughter’s all right. She’s not usually nervous but she was shakin’ like a leaf coming down the street.’
‘Won’t you miss your daughter, Mrs Perkins? That is, of course, if she does come to work here.’
‘I’ll be heartbroken and that’s the truth. But I wouldn’t tell Polly that for the world, ’cos if I did she definitely wouldn’t come. And I don’t want to stand in her way. She’s a good girl, Mrs Denholme, one of the best.’ Ada gave a nervous, tearful smile. ‘But bein’ a mother yerself, yer know every mother thinks her children are the best.’
‘I believe your husband is in hospital?’
Ada sighed. ‘Yes, he’s been in over a year now, and the doctor reckons it could be another year before he comes home, maybe even two.’
‘Oh dear.’ Despite herself Victoria was warming to the woman. She sat back and crossed her shapely legs. ‘It must be a very trying time for you. I do hope your husband proves the doctor wrong and is quickly back home.’
‘This is my son, Justin, my daughter, Rebecca, and their tutor Mr Westly.’ Charles could feel Polly shaking and gave her arm a comforting squeeze. ‘And this is the young lady I told you about, Miss Polly Perkins.’
Justin dutifully left his chair to shake hands, followed by Mr Westly. But it took a stern look from Charles to bring Rebecca to her feet. Her face was sullen and she barely touched Polly’s hand before returning quickly to her desk and bowing her head over a book.
Polly kept the smile on her face even though she was more nervous than she’d ever been. The snub from Rebecca had cut deep but Polly wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of letting it show. She didn’t think she’d like being in the same house as a girl who looked down her nose at her, which was a pity really because the boy, Justin, seemed pleasant enough and the tutor’s smile had been friendly.
‘What subject are you on today, Mr Westly?’ Charles asked. ‘Perhaps Polly would be interested.’
‘History.’ Tom Westly pointed to the open book in front of him. ‘We were discussing the Battle of Hastings. Have you heard of that, Polly?’
‘Oh yeah, it was in 1066.’ A surge of relief flooded Polly’s body. She’d have felt such a fool if she hadn’t known what he was talking about. ‘We did that in school last year.’
Charles and the tutor looked at each other, surprise on their faces. ‘Are you good at history then, Polly?’ Tom Westly asked. ‘Or was it just luck that I asked that particular question?’
‘I was top of the class in history in the exams before Christmas.’ Polly knew she was bragging and also knew the reason why. It was to get her own back on snobby, smarty-pants Rebecca. ‘And I was top in geography and arithmetic.’
‘Jolly good!’ Charles patted her shoulder. ‘Perhaps you could write an essay for Mr Westly, so he can see how good you are at English.’ He chuckled. ‘Write a story about Sarah Jane, and the other ladies.’
‘Yes, I like writing stories.’ Polly looked up at him and grinned. ‘I’ll ask me mam to buy me a notebook.’
The thick Liverpool accent had Rebecca raising her head, a sneer curling her top lip. Slowly, and pronouncing every word carefully, she said, ‘I will ask MY MOTHER to buy me a suitable writing book.’
Oh, she’s not getting away with that, Polly thought. So with the smile glued firmly on her face, and her accent deliberately thickened, she raised her brows at the girl. ‘Ooh, er, is yer writin’ a story as well?’
Charles’s loud guffaw filled the room, Justin chuckled and Tom Westly, behind the hand that was hiding his smile, was praying fervently that Miss Polly Perkins would become one of his pupils. Because he had a feeling that with her in the class, lessons would never be the same. But she’d made an enemy in Rebecca. And Tom knew to his cost exactly how wicked Mr Charles’s daughter could be when things didn’t go her way. She would lie her way out of trouble without flickering an eyelid and didn’t care who got hurt in the process. Right now she was glaring at Polly, angry that she’d been made a fool of. And if looks were anything to go by, Polly would be in for a rough ride.
Ada linked her arm through her daughter’s as they walked down Percy Street. ‘Well, that’s all signed, sealed and delivered. Mr Denholme seems made up that yer’ve agreed to go.’
‘I did tell him though, Mam, that if I didn’t like it after a month, I’d leave. He said he understood but was sure I’d settle down once I got used to the run of the house.’ Polly glanced sideways. ‘There’s only one fly in the ointment and it’s that Rebecca. She’s not half stuck-up, speaks frightfully far back an’ looks down her nose at yer. I can see her givin’ me a dog’s life … that’s if I let her get away with it.’
‘How old are the children?’
‘She’s the same age as me, thirteen, an’ her brother’s fifteen. Posh names they’ve got, haven’t they? Imagine a boy in our street with the name of Justin, he’d be a standin’ joke! But then this Justin probably doesn’t even know streets like ours exist. Still, he seems all right.’
‘I wouldn’t worry about the girl, sunshine,’ Ada said, trying to sound bright and happy even though she was hurting inside. ‘She can’t do yer no harm. If she tries anythin’, just tell Mr Denholme, or his wife – she seems a genuine person. And the house is beautiful, like a palace.’
‘Oh Mam, yer should see the room that’s goin’ to be me bedroom. It’s got a cover on the bed to match the curtains, an’ guess what? There’s a wash-basin in there so I can wash meself in private.’ Polly forgot her misgivings about Rebecca as she went into raptures over all the beautiful things she’d seen. The large gilt-framed paintings and mirrors, ornaments and statues, lovely curtains that came right down to the floor and carpets your feet sank in. ‘Ay, Mam, I didn’t like those statues of the men and women with no clothes on, I thought they were rude. I wouldn’t like them in our house, would you?’
‘Our house is a bit small for things like that, sunshine, even if we had the money to buy them.’
‘Yeah, it’s not half a big house. Our whole place woul
d fit in the kitchen. They’ve got a cook called Mrs Nightingale, the maid Lucy, an’ a woman comes in every morning to do the heavy work, like cleanin’ the fireplaces and lighting the fires. It’s a dead cushy life they’ve all got, that’s for sure, especially when yer think of how hard you ’ave to work.’
‘Don’t worry about me, love, I’m quite happy where I am. I just hope you don’t get too used to it ’cos I don’t want to lose yer.’
‘No fear of that, Mam! If yer ever hear me talkin’ as though I’ve got a plum in me mouth, give me a clip around the ear. It’s all right for them ’cos they’re used to it, but it’s not for me.’ Polly nudged her mother’s arm. ‘Rebecca thinks I’m as common as muck but I don’t care. I’m not goin’ to change to suit her, she can like it or lump it.’
‘How did she get on?’ Fanny asked before Ada had time to mount the top step. ‘Did she get took on?’
Ada nodded. ‘She starts next Monday.’
‘There’s no need to look so down in the dumps, girl,’ Fanny said as she closed the door. ‘She’s not in prison – she can do a runner if she doesn’t like it. Anyway, his lordship’s waitin’ for yer, he said yer’ve to go up right away.’
‘I’m sorry I’m late, Fanny, but I’ll work twice as quick to make up for lost time.’
‘No need, girl. I got here half an hour early an’ got stuck in. You see to the top floor an’ leave the rest to me.’
‘Thanks, Fanny, yer’ll never see what I buy yer for yer birthday.’
‘Never mind me bleedin’ birthday, I’ve had enough of them to last me a lifetime! Just remember me in yer will.’
Ada turned on the fourth stair, her hand on the bannister. ‘I know, I’ll leave yer me grandfather clock. It’s a priceless family heirloom, been in the family for generations.’
‘Now yer talkin’ my kind of language, girl! Somethin’ I’ve always wanted is a grandfather clock, it would look a treat in me kitchen. Mind you, I’d have to throw everythin’ else out to get the bleedin’ thing in, but if yer want to be posh yer’ve got to put up with little inconveniences like not bein’ able to sit down.’
Ada reached the bottom of the second staircase and stopped for a second to take a deep breath. I’m not going to break down, she vowed. Not until I’m in my own bed where no one can see me. But when she walked through the office door and John came towards her, his hands outstretched, it only took the look of concern on his face to set her off.
‘Oh, John.’ She screwed up her face in an effort to control her emotions but to no avail. The tears began to flow and she covered her face with her hands, all the while telling herself she was acting like a child instead of a thirty-five-year-old woman.
John closed the door before coming to stand in front of her. When the tears turned to sobs, he took her in his arms. ‘Ada, my darling, what nonsense this is. We can’t have you upset like this. Let me ring Charles and tell him the whole thing’s off.’
‘No, I don’t want you to do that,’ Ada sobbed. ‘If Polly ever leaves of her own accord, I’ll be very happy. But I’m not goin’ to ruin her chance of gettin’ a decent education.’ Ada’s mind was wrestling with an added problem. She had no right to be standing in the arms of a man who wasn’t her husband. She should break away now and make sure it didn’t happen again. But she didn’t break away. She needed the sympathy, the understanding and the comfort of his arms. And there was no harm in being hugged, they weren’t hurting anyone. John’s life was as loveless as her own. They both needed warmth and affection and all they were doing was answering that need.
John held her until her sobs subsided, making soothing noises and kissing her hair. Then when she had calmed down, he stood back and cupped her red, swollen face. ‘Take your coat off, darling, and I’ll ask Fanny to make a pot of tea.’
‘No, yer mustn’t do that. I’ve given Fanny enough work to do without expecting her to wait on me.’
‘Then I shall wait on you.’ John leaned towards her and although she could see what his intention was, Ada didn’t turn away. His lips, for the first time, covered hers, and the kiss lasted several seconds. Then he moved back and gazed into her eyes. ‘Oh, my darling Ada, if only things were different. I could give you so much, take all the cares from your shoulders.’
‘I have a husband, John, and I love him very much. Perhaps I’m being selfish taking the comfort you give, the comfort I’m desperate for, when I can give yer nothin’ in return.’
‘But you do like me, Ada?’
‘Oh, I do like you, John. In fact, I’m very fond of you.’ Ada gave a weak smile. ‘Yer a lovely man, an’ it would be hard not to fall for yer.’
‘You don’t object to my embrace or kisses? They don’t repel you?’
‘No, John, I don’t object. I thought yer knew me well enough to know that if I didn’t want yer to kiss me, I wouldn’t let yer. I need affection, I’ve been starved of it for too long. But I don’t have to tell you how it feels to be all alone, with no one to hold yer hand and no shoulder to cry on. You’ve had ten long years of it yourself.’
John pulled her to him. ‘I keep telling myself that it is ungallant of me to try and woo a woman whose husband is ill in hospital, but, God forgive me, I can’t help myself. I will never do anything to hurt you, all I ask is for your affection.’
‘You already have that, John, and my respect. When I met you I was so low I couldn’t go any lower. You’ve made me feel like a woman again, and I’ll always love yer for that.’
‘Then will you let me make life a little easier for you? I have had this in mind for several months but was afraid I’d frighten you off. I spend all my time here now, and I really need someone to get my shopping in, cook for me, see to the laundry and keep the flat clean.’
‘But I do most of that now, John! You don’t need to take anyone else on just to do the shoppin’ and cooking.’
‘I wasn’t thinking of taking anyone on for up here; I want nobody but you in my rooms. I will take another cleaner on to help Fanny on the other two floors, and you can give up your morning job and work full-time for me. I worry about you leaving the house these dark mornings at some ungodly hour, then going home from here in the evenings in the dark. It isn’t safe, there’s some unsavoury characters about.’
‘I can’t give me mornin’ job up, I need the money! An’ before yer say anything, John, I’m not takin’ charity from you. That would definitely put a different complexion on our relationship.’
‘I would have to be very stupid to offer you charity, Ada, my love, knowing how proud you are. What I am offering you is a job that will enable you to work days. Except, of course, on the evenings my friends are coming. I would need you then.’ He saw the doubt and questions on her face and went on quickly, ‘I am not creating a job just for you, although I have to admit I would enjoy having you around all day. And there would be plenty for you to do. I would even ask you to answer the phone and take messages if I were absent.’
‘I wouldn’t be able to get here until after nine because I take Joey to school.’ Ada was thinking about the money. She couldn’t afford to have a drop in her income; it took her all her time to manage as it was. ‘I don’t know what to say, I can’t make up me mind.’
‘Then let me make it up for you. From Monday you will become my secretary-cum-housekeeper. Hours to suit yourself, as long as the work is up to standard, of course, and the wage two pound a week.’
Ada gasped. ‘It’s not worth two pound a week! Yer could get someone for a lot less than that.’
‘I’d get my money’s worth out of you, Ada. Cleaning, washing, ironing, shopping, cooking and answering the phone … I’ll have you worn to a shadow in a matter of weeks.’
‘It sounds marvellous,’ Ada said, ‘but there’s two little niggles in me mind an’ I won’t be happy until they’re sorted out. First, the job isn’t a made-up one, just because yer feel sorry for me, is it?’
‘That’s one little niggle you can lay to rest … I do not feel
sorry for you, Ada. I have many feelings for you, but sorrow isn’t one of them. Now, out with the second.’
‘What will people think? I don’t know any of the staff downstairs ’cos I’ve never seen them, but what about Fanny – and Aggie? I can’t see them believin’ yer need a housekeeper-cum-secretary. Yer’d have a secretary that had never answered a phone in her life.’
John smiled shyly. ‘They both know about it. Agnes has known for weeks, there’s not much I keep from her. And she said, and I quote her very words, “It’s the best bleedin’ idea yer’ve ever had”. And I had a word with Fanny tonight when she came on. She knows someone who is looking for a cleaning job and the woman is coming tomorrow for an interview. You see, my darling Ada, I was determined that you weren’t going to carry on with your present workload. And I do need someone here to look after me. I’m sick of eating out.’
Ada smiled. ‘I’m a good cook, John, I’ll see yer well-fed.’
Relieved, he took her hand. ‘Ada, if it was poison you served up, as long as you had cooked it, I’d eat it.’
Rebecca crossed the landing to her brother’s room and walked in without knocking. She closed the door and stood with her back to it. ‘You’re a coward, Justin. You went back on your promise because you are afraid of displeasing Father.’
‘I didn’t hear you knock, Rebecca. Isn’t it polite to knock before entering someone’s bedroom?’ Both children had inherited Charles’s dark colouring and features, but Justin was already as tall as his father and broader of shoulder. ‘What is it you want?’
‘We both agreed we didn’t want this … this common girl in our house and we intended to make it plain to her by our manner. But you reneged on our agreement and were practically fawning over her.’
‘Steady on, Rebecca, I think your imagination has taken over. It was you who said we didn’t want Polly here. What was it you called her – a guttersnipe? Anyway, I didn’t agree to anything, I just let you talk on as you usually do. I find it easier to say nothing when you have a bee in your bonnet.’