by Anna King
‘’Ello, ladies, yer carriage awaits,’ the young lad Bessie had called Charlie grinned at them. Opening the door wide, he assisted Amy into the coach first then turned to Rebecca, who gratefully took his arm as he helped her up the two steps. Flopping wearily onto the plush seat beside Amy, Rebecca was about to speak when she became aware of the other occupant of the carriage. There, sitting not a foot away, was Jimmy Jackson, his rugged face impassive as he regarded his two passengers. Once again Rebecca felt the heat rise in her face at the close proximity of the man.
Wetting her lips nervously she started to say, ‘There’s no need for you to accompany us, Mr Jackson, we…’
Jimmy Jackson turned to face her, his eyes – eyes that had only a short while ago twinkled with kindness – still dark with anger.
‘Don’t give me any more grief. I’m seeing the pair of you safely home. After all, I don’t want either of you on my conscience if anything should happen to you, not with the burden of guilt I already have to bear doing the despicable work I do.’
Her colour rising further, Rebecca was about to retort when she decided against any further comment. The man sitting opposite wasn’t the kind of man you argued with. Averting her gaze, she put her arm around Amy’s shoulders and prayed for the journey to end so she could get away from this stranger who had stirred feelings in her she had never experienced before.
Chapter Four
‘There yer are. Gawd ’elp us, I was just about ter call the police, I was that worried… Oh my Gawd, what’s happened ter yer?’ Ada Gates stepped back in horror as she saw the bedraggled state of both young women. Then she was being moved gently to one side as a tall, broad-shouldered man, dressed in the style of the gentry, followed Rebecca and Amy into the house.
‘I’m afraid your friends have had a bit of a nasty fright, love. I’m sure they’ll tell you all about it after I’ve gone, but apart from a bad shock, they’re perfectly all right, so I’ll leave them in your capable hands.’
Dipping his hat to the women, he turned sharply on his heel and was about to leave when a loud, querulous voice floated down the stairs, demanding angrily, ‘Where the bleeding hell have you two been until now? Get up here this minute.’
Rebecca glanced up at the ceiling, tiredly, then turned to Mrs Gates, saying wearily, ‘Could you go up to Maude please, Mrs Gates, and tell her I’ll be up shortly.’
Shooting a pensive look at the trio standing in the hall, Mrs Gates nodded reluctantly. She was dying to know who the gentleman was and, more importantly, what had happened to the two young women, but she did as she was bid, though she took the stairs slowly hoping to catch some snippet of conversation that would enlighten her. But here she was disappointed, for the three people remained mute until she was out of earshot.
At the same time, the door to the scullery opened to admit an irate-looking Phil.
‘Thank God you’re home. I’ve only just got in myself and Maude has been driving me mad. Where’ve you been? I’ve got to go out and…’ Phil stopped abruptly as he saw the man standing by the front door. Immediately his demeanour altered, and the change turned Rebecca’s already quivering stomach to one of nausea.
His face magically broke into a wide beam of good-natured camaraderie as Phil stepped forward, his hand outstretched. ‘Mr Jackson. Oh, please, don’t stand there like a stranger. Come in, come in. Can I offer you a drink of some kind?’
Jimmy Jackson looked at the fawning man with distaste, wondering fleetingly how such a strong-willed young woman could have a brother, for Jimmy assumed it was the brother, such as this one. Ignoring the outstretched hand, Jimmy looked to the two women and, his voice softer now, said kindly, I hope you both recover quickly from your ordeal, ladies, and if I can be of any service in the future, please don’t hesitate to call on me.’
The change in the man’s voice startled Rebecca. All the way home he had hardly uttered a word, and then it had been directed at Amy, who had cheerfully given their names and told this virtual stranger most of their business, much to Rebecca’s annoyance at the time. Swallowing loudly, Rebecca moved towards the door.
‘Thank you, Mr Jackson, and… and I’d just like to say how sorry I am for my earlier behaviour. I have no excuse, it was very bad manners on my part,’ she smiled weakly, ‘as your housekeeper informed me in no uncertain terms.’
At the friendliness in Rebecca’s tone, Jimmy visibly relaxed, his rugged face creasing into the familiar smile Rebecca had first witnessed before his identity had become known to her – and her subsequent reaction to the news.
Phil watched the scene, his mind racing furiously. Jimmy Jackson was renowned as a lady killer, and the way he was looking at Rebecca left Phil in no doubt that Jimmy Jackson had taken a shine to his sister. His fertile mind raced on, gathering momentum with each passing second. What if they got together! Lord, what a result that would be. Him, Phil Bradford, having the famous Jimmy Jackson as a brother-in-law. Desperate now to keep the well-known figure in his home, Phil bustled forward, all bonhomie and charm.
‘Here, here, come in, please. Let me get you that drink I offered, it’s the least I can do after you’ve gone to the trouble of bringing my sisters home.’ Smiling widely, Phil pulled Rebecca and Amy to him, an arm around each of their shoulders, conveying an attitude of brotherly love and concern. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without my little sisters.’
Jimmy’s eyes hardened. He could read Phil Bradford like a book, which wasn’t difficult with a man such as the one standing in front of him. Oh, yes, he could imagine exactly what Bradford was thinking. He was obviously hoping to get his bookmaker off with his sister, and by doing so reap in family-connected favours. Well, if that was his intention then the man was going to be sorely disappointed. After a miserable childhood watching his parents rolling home drunk every night and beating seven bells out of each other, he had been put off marriage for life, until… Quickly shutting down on painful memories, Jimmy made to take his leave. Not that the golden-haired girl wasn’t attractive enough – she was, and in different circumstances he would probably have been more than interested. But Jimmy preferred his women docile with not too much between their ears, and Rebecca Bradford certainly didn’t come into that category.
The smile dropped from his face. His features set into hard lines, and his eyes steely he said curtly, ‘I think you’d be better off offering your sisters a drink, they need it more than I do at the moment, or haven’t you noticed the state they’re both in? I’d’ve thought that the welfare of a man’s younger sisters would take priority over everything else.’ The look of contempt on Jimmy Jackson’s face caused Phil’s head to snap back on his shoulders. Then, for the first time since they’d walked in the door, Phil took a closer look at his sisters, noting their dishevelled clothing and pale faces, especially Becky, who had a livid bruise on the side of her cheek.
Crying out in sudden genuine alarm, Phil asked frantically, ‘Bloody hell! What happened to you? Have you been attacked?’
Jimmy gave a low sardonic laugh. ‘Well done, Mr Bradford, though it wouldn’t have taken a genius to work that one out. Still, I suppose we all have our own set of priorities. But seeing as you ask, your sisters were set upon by three thugs. Luckily I happened to be in the right place at the right time and was able to frighten them off. I’m only sorry I couldn’t have appeared sooner and saved your sisters from a very nasty ordeal.’
A stab of guilt and panic coursed through Phil’s body as the full realisation of the danger his sisters had been in hit him hard. For though he was essentially a selfish and weak man, he genuinely loved his sisters and he felt a surge of rage towards the unknown men who had attacked Becky and Amy engulf him. But when he looked once more at the muscular man eyeing him with obvious distaste, his innate nature to protect himself rose to the surface. Eager to redeem himself in Jimmy Jackson’s eyes, Phil pulled Rebecca and Amy closer to his body, his face red, his eyes bulging with rage.
‘The filthy bastards. Just
wait until I get my hands on them… And I’ll find them, don’t you worry. And when I do, they’ll wish they’d never been born. Nobody hurts my family and gets away with it – nobody!’
Rebecca heard Phil’s words and sighed tiredly. He wouldn’t do anything, it was all talk and bluster. The thought of Phil scouring the streets looking for their assailants and meting out due punishment brought a giggle to her lips, the sound bordering on hysteria and desperate fatigue. Pulling away from Phil’s embrace, she muttered softly, ‘I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to have a lie down, and Amy too.’ Taking her sister’s hand, Rebecca gently led her towards the stairs, all the while talking gently to the silent girl.
Rebecca was halfway up the stairs when she stopped, turned towards the hallway and, looking directly into Jimmy’s eyes, said, ‘Thank you once more, Mr Jackson, from myself and Amy. I can’t even begin to think what would have happened if you hadn’t come along when you did.’ Then she continued up the stairs, hardly able to put one foot in front of the other. She was almost at the top when she halted again. This time she directed her gaze at her brother.
‘You’ll have to stay in and see to Maude, Phil. I just can’t cope with her right now. So wherever you were thinking of going, you’d better cancel it – see you later.’
Phil hurried to the bottom of the stairs, calling after the retreating figures, ‘Hang on, Becky, I can’t look after Maude. I’ve got an important meeting to go to… Becky… Becky…’ But there was no answer from his sister. Maude, however, had plenty to say.
‘Here! What the hell’s going on down there? Becky! Amy! One of you answer me, you little cows. I want me tea, and I need to go to the bathroom.’ The softer voice of Mrs Gates could faintly be heard trying to pacify the irate woman, but still Maude continued to shout, her voice filling the entire house.
Caught up in his own little world, Phil temporarily forgot about their distinguished visitor and added his voice to Maude’s.
‘Becky! Becky! Look, come back down a minute. I told you, I have to go out. You’re not leaving me with Maude all evening. I—’
‘Leave it! If you haven’t the decency to stay in, then I will.’
Startled, Phil spun around, his cheeks turning bright red at the contempt in Jimmy Jackson’s voice.
Desperate to explain himself, he spluttered wildly, ‘It’s not like it sounds, Mr Jackson. I won’t be long. I mean I wouldn’t leave my sisters in the state they’re in for long. What kind of man do you think I am?’
The look on Jimmy’s face was answer enough. ‘Go on, get out, you miserable piece of shit. How two lovely girls like your sisters could have a worthless, gutless bastard like you for a brother is a mystery to me… Go on, get out. The very sight of you sickens me.’
His head bowed, Phil scurried past the glowering figure. Hastily plucking his heavy coat from the back of the door, Phil hurried from the house. After the door had closed behind him, Jimmy thought long and hard, then sighed. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Footsteps on the stairs brought his head up eagerly, and he was surprised to find how disappointed he was when the elderly neighbour appeared.
Ada Gates shuffled nervously at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes darting back and forth from the smartly dressed man, up to the sound of Maude’s shrill voice as she continued to call out for her absent cousin. Walking forward slowly, Ada, her eyes flickering uncertainly, said quietly, ‘I’m sorry, sir, but I’ll ’ave ter get back home. Me son’ll be ’ome soon fer his dinner. I’m ever so sorry, sir. I don’t like ter leave the girls in this state, but I’ll pop back later an’ see how they are.’
Ada Gates was sixty-two years old, married for thirty-eight of them and widowed these past two years, and glad of the peace she was too. Yet when her tired old eyes looked into the handsome face towering above her and saw the twinkling brown eyes and roguish lips curved into a smile she felt her legs go weak at the knees – a feeling she hadn’t experienced for nearly forty years.
‘It’s all right, love. Don’t you worry about the two girls. I’ll stay and see to everything until their brother gets back. Now, you get yourself off home before your son comes in shouting for his dinner… Oh, and, here, thanks for stopping. I’m sure the girls will be very grateful to you.’
Ada looked down at the shiny sovereign resting in the palm of her hand and gulped loudly. She never got more than sixpence for looking after Maude when both girls were out of the house. Not that she was complaining. She didn’t like taking any money off Becky, but then again she couldn’t afford to be too charitable, not in her circumstances. And that old cow upstairs could be a right nasty piece of work sometimes. Still, it didn’t seem right somehow. Stuttering slightly, Ada muttered awkwardly, ‘Fanks, sir, but… but I can’t take all… all this. Not… not just fer sitting wiv Maude fer a few hours, but… but, well, fanks anyway, sir. I’ll see Becky later.’
Jimmy pushed the coin back into the woman’s hand, a warm glow filling his chest at the woman’s honesty, especially as it was painfully obvious that she, like so many others, genuinely needed the money just to survive. Mind you, this was the second sovereign he had given away today. If he carried on like this he’d end up broke himself.
Still smiling warmly, Jimmy said, ‘Take it, love. You can see I’m not short of a few bob, and you’ve done me a favour, so you take the money with a clear conscience.’
Still reluctant, but feeling somewhat easier in her mind, Ada wrapped her shawl around her shoulders as she prepared to leave the house.
‘Fanks again, sir. I can’t say it won’t come in handy, ’cos it will. But, sir…’ Ada stopped, her eyes blinking rapidly as Maude’s strident voice ranted above her. ‘What yer gonna do about her?’ Ada jerked her thumb upwards. ‘I don’t like ter speak ill of anyone, but she can be a right old…’
Jimmy put his hand up and laughed.
‘Don’t you worry about her, love. I’ll see to her. Now you get off home and I’ll see you later maybe.’
As Ada left the house, Jimmy called out to Charlie, telling him to come back in a few hours, then went back inside. Taking off his coat, Jimmy wandered around the front room for a few moments, wondering how the two girls could possibly sleep through such a racket. Taking a deep breath, and wishing he had some of the sedative mixture Dr Barker had prescribed for the two young women, Jimmy walked up the stairs towards the sound of the loud voice that was now verging on the edge of hysteria.
Chapter Five
The sound of laughter woke Rebecca from a deep sleep. Momentarily disoriented, she lay still for a few moments trying to gather her thoughts. Turning her head slightly, she peered in the darkness at the clock by her bed and saw that it was just after seven o’clock. Still half asleep, she threw the quilt off and realised she was fully clothed. It was then she remembered the events of the day and for a moment she panicked. Surely she hadn’t slept the clock round. If so, then who had been looking after Maude; more importantly, who was causing the laughter that had woken her? Glancing over at the single bed beside her, Rebecca saw that Amy was still fast asleep. Quickly now, she leapt from the bed, searched round the floor for her slippers and hurried from the room.
As she approached Maude’s room she could hear a man’s voice, then her cousin’s laughter, a sound that wasn’t heard very often. Puzzled, Rebecca opened the door then stopped dead in her tracks. For there, sitting by the middle-aged woman’s bed, sat Jimmy Jackson, his rugged face wreathed in smiles, as was Maude’s, and that sight alone rendered Rebecca speechless. In all the years she had been in this house, she couldn’t remember the woman cracking a smile, let alone indulging in a good laugh.
Sensing her presence, both heads turned in her direction. Then Rebecca had the second shock of the day, for her cousin, her fat face beaming with delight, said in a voice filled with affection, ‘Come in, love, come in. Oh, you poor little mite. What a thing to have happened, and in broad daylight too. What’s the world coming to when two young women can’t walk the street wi
thout fear of being attacked? I was just saying to Jimmy here that the scoundrels should be publicly flogged.’ At the sound of Maude using the man’s first name as if they were old friends, Rebecca’s eyebrows rose in wry amusement. And the way Maude was looking at her with such benevolent concern brought a short burst of stifled laughter to Rebecca’s lips. She must still be dreaming. It was the only rational explanation Rebecca could think of to explain the extraordinary scene she was witnessing.
Jimmy’s keen eyes watched Rebecca’s face. By the look of bewilderment etched on the pretty features, mirrored also in the wide blue eyes, it was obvious the young woman wasn’t used to being treated with such kindness by the bedridden woman. Then he turned his gaze back to the bed and saw the glimpse of hostility in the older woman’s eyes as she surveyed her cousin. Then, aware that Jimmy had turned his eyes on her, Maude quickly adopted the persona of the concerned relative once more. But that brief glimpse of the hard, grey eyes was enough for Jimmy to realise that things were not all they had at first seemed to be between Rebecca and her patient. A feeling of pity for the young woman standing in the doorway rose in Jimmy’s chest. No wonder she had been so short with him. With a brother who gambled all his wages, and the burden of looking after the woman in the bed day and night, he could well understand her animosity towards him when she had realised who he was.
Rising from the chair he walked over to Rebecca and, gently taking her arm, said softly, ‘I think a strong cup of tea is in order, Miss Bradford. If you’ll show me the way to the kitchen I’ll make us all some.’ Leading her from the room, Jimmy turned his head back towards the bed, adding cheerfully, ‘And while I’m at it, I’ll make you something to eat, Miss Fisher. Better still, how about if I pop round to the chippie? I’m feeling a bit peckish myself. What do you think?’