by Anna King
Amy grinned happily. ‘Oh, that’ll be lovely, Becky. It’s been ages since we had something to eat out. But what about Auntie Maude?’
Rebecca snorted. ‘She’ll be all right. I took her up a tray twenty minutes ago, I’m sure she’ll be able to last for a few hours. Besides, like I’ve been telling you for years, I’m sure Maude’s not as helpless as she makes out. From today I’m not paying Mrs Gates sixpence to come in and sit with Maude; I can think of much better things to do with the money. For instance, it can go towards paying for our lunch.’
At the concerned expression on Amy’s face, Rebecca shook her head. It was no good. Unless Ada Gates was looking after Maude, Amy wouldn’t be able to relax. Reluctantly Rebecca said in a resigned voice, ‘All right, we’ll stop at Mrs Gates’ on the way out and ask her to come in.’
Immediately Amy brightened. ‘Thanks, Becky. I know you think I’m a silly fool, but I can’t help worrying about Maude. She really is ill, you know, she’s not putting it on. No one would pretend to be so ill and spend all their life in bed if they could help it, would they?’
Rebecca sighed heavily. Amy would never change. She would always see the good in people, and what was wrong in that?
Not bothering to call up the stairs to tell Richard they were going out, Rebecca donned her winter coat ready to leave but Amy, as usual, wouldn’t leave until she’d seen Richard and reassured Maude they wouldn’t be too long. While she was waiting for Amy, Rebecca went to ask Ada if she would stay with Maude, and was dismayed when Billy answered the door.
His large, fleshy face broke into a huge grin when he saw Rebecca standing on the doorstep. ‘Becky! What a lovely surprise, come in, come in.’ Standing back, he gestured for her to enter.
Pasting a smile to her stiff face, Rebecca replied quickly, ‘I’m sorry, Billy, I can’t stop. I just wanted to ask your mum if she’d sit with Maude while me and Amy go shopping.’
Billy’s face fell in disappointment. ‘You’re out of luck, Becky. Mum’s got a cleaning job at one of the big houses in Carlton Avenue. She won’t be back until four.’ A sudden idea came to him. ‘Hang on, I’ll come in if you’re stuck. I usually work on Saturdays, but it’s my day off.’
Groaning inwardly, Rebecca’s heart sank. She could see the reasoning behind Billy’s kind gesture. Once he was in the house, he would spin out his stay for as long as possible. Still, she had no choice but to take him up on his offer.
‘Thanks, Billy, I’d appreciate that. We won’t be long.’
Leaving the delighted Billy, Rebecca was thankful to see Amy waiting for her.
*
Two hours later, their bags full to bursting, the two girls stopped at the pie and mash shop for lunch. On the way home Rebecca was startled when Amy suddenly headed in the direction they would normally have taken before the attack.
‘Hang on, Amy, where’re you going?’
A sheepish look crossed Amy’s face.
‘I thought we might stop off and see Bessie before going home. She did say to pop in if ever we were passing.’
Stunned amazement gripped Rebecca before she croaked wildly, ‘Are you mad? We don’t even know the woman. We only met her once, and if I remember rightly, we didn’t part on the best of terms; at least I didn’t.’
The colour deepened in Amy’s face. ‘Actually, I’ve seen quite a lot of Bessie recently. Charlie often takes me to Jimmy’s house to visit.’ Seeing the anger and hurt etched on Rebecca’s face, Amy hurried on, ‘Oh, please, Becky, don’t look at me like that. She’s really nice when you get to know her. And it was your fault you got off on the wrong foot…’ Amy’s voice trailed off lamely, frightened she had gone too far.
Her face grim, Rebecca muttered tersely, ‘If you want to visit that house then you go ahead, I’ll meet you at home.’
Close to tears, Amy pleaded, ‘Please, Becky, come with me. I promise if Bessie says anything remotely nasty to you then I’ll come straight home with you… Please, Becky, won’t you just try, for my sake.’
Rebecca’s emotions were running riot. The thought of seeing Jimmy again was overwhelming, but what if he made it plain he didn’t want to see her? The humiliation would be unbearable. But what if…? Realising that all she had to lose was her pride, Rebecca swallowed loudly.
‘All right. But I warn you, Amy. If that woman so much as looks at me sideways, I’m off.’
Amy’s face lit up with relief. ‘Oh, she won’t, Becky, honest. Only last week she asked me to bring you with me next time I visited.’
Still doubtful, Rebecca allowed Amy to persuade her, telling herself she was only doing it for Amy’s sake. Still she couldn’t stop her heart from hammering with excitement at the thought of the chance of seeing Jimmy again. That is, if he was at home. Gathering all her inner strength, Rebecca took a deep breath and followed her excited sister.
*
Bessie was in the hallway trying to master the new carpet cleaner Jimmy had bought for her, but was quickly discovering the blasted thing was throwing out more dirt than it was sucking up. In disgust she put the new contraption away and was about to revert to her old and trusted method of brushing the carpet by hand when there was a loud knocking at the front door. Glad of the diversion, Bessie hurried to answer the summons. Throwing the door open the smile froze on her lips when she saw who her visitor was.
‘Hello, Bessie, long time no see.’
Although Bessie had been expecting her, nevertheless her heart leapt in shock. At the same time she was relieved the waiting was over. She had been hoping that Heather might have aged, losing the good looks she’d had when Bessie had last seen her, but she looked exactly the same as she had eight years ago. If anything Heather appeared even more beautiful. The flame-coloured hair was still evident beneath a wide, velvet hat, her vivid colouring enhanced by the royal blue outfit she was wearing.
Her face set, Bessie barred the doorway, saying in a clipped voice, ‘We’ve been expecting yer. But yer ain’t welcome, so why don’t yer sling yer hook.’
Heather smiled lazily. ‘Now then, Bessie, what kind of welcome is that to give family? And I am family, you know, as much as you’d like to think otherwise.’
‘Now look ’ere, Heather Mills. Yer might ’ave fooled Jimmy wiv that old cobblers, but I never believed yer cock an’ bull story. Now sling yer hook, yer—’ Bessie staggered back as Heather pushed past her.
‘Shut your mouth, you vicious old hag. If anyone’s going to tell me to go, it’ll be Jimmy. Where is he?’
Recovering her balance, Bessie glared at the hateful figure. ‘He ain’t ’ere. And even if he was, he wouldn’t want ter see you, yer old trollop.’
Loud footsteps sounded above their heads, and with a smile of satisfaction Heather laughed triumphantly.
‘Nice try, Bessie. Now if you’ll get out of my way, I’ll go and have a word with my husband.’
The footsteps became louder, then a well-known voice shouted down the stairs, ‘What the hell’s going on down there? I’m trying to do some work.’
Bravely Bessie tried once again to bar Heather’s path but she was no match for the younger woman’s strength.
Heather was halfway up the stairs when Jimmy appeared, his features contorted in anger at being disturbed. He froze in his tracks as he saw Heather coming towards him. For what seemed an age the two people stood staring at each other, then Heather laughed.
‘Hello, Jimmy. Like I just said to Bessie, long time no see.’
Jimmy’s lips tightened. ‘Not long enough, Heather. But now you’re here you’d better come up. We have some issues that need to be cleared up.’
With an air of one familiar to the house, Heather climbed the stairs.
In the spacious living room Heather’s keen eyes took in every detail. Judging by the expensive furniture and decor, Jimmy was worth a lot more than she had first imagined. Her bearing oozing confidence, she was about to sit down in one of the high-backed leather chairs when Jimmy’s voice stopped her.
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br /> ‘Don’t get comfortable. What I have to say won’t take long.’
Heather’s eyebrows rose mockingly.
‘My, my. I see you’ve come up in the world, and not only in monetary terms. When I knew you, you spoke like a gutter brat. Now you could almost pass for a gentleman. I’m impressed.’
Standing by the fireplace, Jimmy leant his arm on the ornate mantelpiece, his eyes raking over the woman. She was still as striking as ever, and he was relieved beyond measure to discover that she no longer had any power over him.
‘Let’s cut the chit-chat, Heather. You haven’t come to engage in idle gossip, and I’m a busy man. So let’s get down to details. How much do you want? Or should I say, how much are you hoping to get out of me?’
Still confident she had the upper hand, Heather smiled. ‘Why, Jimmy, what sort of welcome is that to give your wife? As for money, well…’ Her eyes flickering around the room, she drawled, ‘Judging by what I’ve seen I think a weekly allowance would be in order. On the other hand I’d be quite prepared to come back and take up my wifely duties.’ Her voice dropping to a more intimate tone, Heather added softly, ‘I know I did you a terrible wrong, Jimmy. But I was young and impressionable, we both were. Neither of us were ready for marriage. I realise a lot of water has passed under the bridge and I don’t expect you to welcome me back with open arms, not after what I did. But can’t we start again? We had something special once, surely…’
The contrite expression vanished as Jimmy’s face creased into a wide grin. Then Heather jerked back as he began to laugh, slowly at first, then rising to a loud crescendo of unmitigated mirth.
The first signs of alarm began to grip Heather’s body. She hadn’t expected things to go smoothly, and had been prepared for a fight. What she hadn’t been prepared for was the complete lack of regard Jimmy was displaying.
His laughter finally abating, Jimmy wiped his eyes and called out. ‘Come in, Bessie. You might as well hear what I have to say. It’ll save me having to repeat myself later.’
From behind the closed door, Bessie appeared, her lined face showing no sign of shame at being caught eavesdropping. Casting a malevolent glare at the still-standing Heather, she made her way to Jimmy’s side.
‘What is it, lad? Yer ain’t gonna take ’er back, are yer?’ Her voice filled with fearful uncertainty, Bessie looked beseechingly up at the beloved figure.
For an answer Jimmy opened the walnut bureau and drew out a long white envelope.
‘This arrived this morning. I was going to tell you at supper, Bessie, but it seems as if I’ll have to tell you now.’ Under the watchful, apprehensive gaze of both women, Jimmy slowly drew out a sheet of headed paper. ‘This, ladies, is a letter from Somerset House, and guess what? It seems there is no record of any marriage taking place between a James Jackson and a Miss Heather Mills. So, what have you to say to that, Mrs Jackson?’
Beside him, Bessie slumped against his side in relief. But her moment of weakness was short lived. Spinning round to face the stricken Heather, Bessie shrilled, ‘I knew it, I bleeding well knew it. Yer conniving little baggage. Thought yer could come back ’ere and sponge off my Jimmy, did yer? Well, I ’ope yer’ve got another fancy man lined up, ’cos you’re getting sod all here. Now piss off!’
Heather didn’t move. Of all things she had been anticipating, she hadn’t bargained on this. But she still had an ace up her sleeve, and now was the time to play it. Determined not to let either of them have the satisfaction of seeing her brought low, Heather inclined her head in gracious defeat.
‘It seems I’ve been found out. But you can’t blame a girl for trying. I’ve never begged in my life and I’m not going to start now. But before I go, there’s something I have for you, Jimmy, sort of an early Christmas present. If you’ll wait a few minutes I’ll go and fetch it. I won’t be long.’
When she had gone, Jimmy and Bessie exchanged bemused glances. Bessie was the first to break the silence. ‘What’s she up ter now? It’ll be no good, yer mark me words, lad.’ Gazing up at him, Bessie murmured fretfully, ‘Yer ain’t gonna weaken, are yer, lad. ’Cos if yer do, she’ll never leave yer in peace.’
Laughing grimly, Jimmy patted Bessie’s arm. ‘Don’t you worry, old girl. That young, gullible boy who fell for Heather is long gone. And I’ll tell you something else while I’m at it. Now the uncertainty about being married has been lifted, I’m going to call on Rebecca. I haven’t been back to see her since the night Heather made her reappearance. I didn’t think it would be fair on the girl. But now I know I’m a free man, I can start making plans for the future.’
Bessie’s eyes widened. ‘Gawd help us. Yer ain’t saying what I think yer saying, are yer, Jimmy?’
Jimmy smiled at Bessie affectionately. ‘Hold your horses, old girl. For all I know Rebecca might have forgotten all about me by now. Still, I’m going to go round to visit her later on today and see how the land lies; and I’ll take it from there.’ The geniality dropped from his voice and in a more sombre tone he added, ‘To tell the truth, Bessie, I tried my damnedest to stay away from Rebecca, but somehow she got under my skin, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since. But don’t go buying a wedding outfit yet. If she does agree to see me, I’ll be taking things slowly. After all that business with Heather I’m not about to rush into marriage, not until I’m absolutely sure.’ He uttered a nervous snort of derision. ‘Listen to me. I’m talking as if Rebecca’s going to fall into my arms the minute she sees me. For all I know she might have found someone else since I last saw her. I wouldn’t be surprised. She’s a lovely-looking girl, and a decent one to boot.’
Now it was Bessie’s turn to snort. ‘Don’t give me that, lad. She won’t ’ave forgotten yer. Bleeding hell! It’s only been a few weeks. Nah! She’ll still be interested. ’Cos, I’ll tell yer this, Jimmy. That young piece fancied yer from the moment yer brought ’er into this ’ouse. Not that she would admit it. But I know women, so yer can rest easy. I know I wasn’t that keen on ’er at first, but after seeing that old tart again, your Rebecca seems like the Blessed Virgin in comparison.’
Squeezing the frail shoulders, Jimmy grinned. ‘Thanks, Bessie.’ Jimmy looked at the open door and tutted impatiently. ‘She’s taking her time. Maybe her talk about a Christmas present was just an excuse to make a dignified exit. Look, I’m not hanging around here all day waiting for her. Let’s go down and see if there’s any sign of her. With a bit of luck she’s gone for good. I hope so. Then we can get on with our lives without the worry of her turning up on the doorstep when we least expect it.’
His arm still draped protectively around Bessie’s shoulders, they descended the stairs to find Heather framed in the open doorway, her expression showing no sign of any disappointment at being bested.
‘Bleeding hell! We was hoping you’d cleared off.’
Jimmy squeezed Bessie’s shoulders, the gesture warning her to keep quiet. ‘Well, Heather. If there’s anything more, then be quick about it. Like I said before, I’m a busy man, I haven’t got all day to waste playing games.’
‘Oh, I’m not playing any games, Jimmy. I said I had a present for you. It just took me a bit longer to fetch it than I first thought.’ Turning towards the blind side of the door, Heather said, ‘Come here, son. I want you to meet your father.’
A young boy appeared by Heather’s side, his small face filled with apprehension and fear.
Struck dumb, Bessie and Jimmy stared at the small figure, unable to utter a word at the unexpected turn of events.
Pushing the boy into the hallway, Heather crowed triumphantly, ‘Seeing as you’re not going to support me and I can’t afford to look after a child, I’m handing him over to his father. His name is James. I was going to call him Jimmy, but I thought that was a bit common. Merry Christmas, Jimmy, and to you, Bessie, you old witch. I would say goodbye, but obviously I’ll be popping back now and then to see my son. After all, I am his mother and I’ll want to make sure he’s being w
ell cared for.’
Before either Jimmy or Bessie could move Heather had gone, shutting the door behind her. The small boy looked at the two strangers in bewilderment then began banging on the closed door, his face running with terrified tears.
‘Mummy! Mummy! Come back. Mummy! Mummy! Don’t leave me.’
‘Jesus!’ Jimmy breathed in stupefied horror. Then he was running towards the terrified boy. Scooping the struggling frame up into his arms Jimmy yanked opened the door, shouting, ‘Heather! Heather, come back here… Heather!’
A carriage rolled by. Heather looked out of the window and gave a mocking smile. ‘I’ll see you soon, Jimmy. Get acquainted with your son in the meantime. I’ll be back in time for Christmas. Bye.’ Then she was gone, leaving Jimmy holding the squirming, screaming boy.
*
‘Look, I’m not sure about this, Amy. Why don’t you go in while I wait outside? If Bessie really doesn’t mind seeing me, then you can come out and tell me… Goodness, what’s that racket?’
The girls stopped on the corner. Then Rebecca’s eyes widened in shock as she saw the woman she’d last encountered in the restaurant coming away from Jimmy’s house and getting into a hansom cab. Moments later, Jimmy came running out holding a screaming young boy in his arms, his strong voice clearly heard above the child’s cries.
Dimly Rebecca heard the loud exchange between Jimmy and the woman. Stunned beyond belief, she stood rooted to the pavement, her tortured mind whirling. So Jimmy was married. And not only married, he also had a son. Beside her, Amy too was struck dumb. All her hopes and scheming of getting Jimmy and Rebecca back together wiped out in a few, heart-wrenching seconds.
*
Jimmy was still staring after the carriage, his face a picture of bewilderment. It was as he turned to enter the house that something made him glance up the road. And there were Rebecca and Amy. But his tormented eyes registered only Rebecca.