by June Francis
‘Blackmail!’
‘Bribe, then,’ murmured Betty.
Emma was slightly shocked at this further sign that families didn’t always get on. ‘Perhaps I should come home with you and explain to your aunt that we’ve met and now we want to go on seeing each other occasionally.’
‘No! She’ll put a stop to it!’ Betty sighed. ‘At least Norm drew some of the attention away from you. Hopefully she’ll think you’re just a friend of mine,’ said Betty, more confidently than she felt because that Lancashire accent of Emma’s was quite distinctive. As she ate her cake and scattered some crumbs for the pigeons, she thought about what was best to do. ‘Perhaps we’d better not meet for a while but just write to each other,’ she suggested after several minutes. ‘You could send your letters to my friend Irene Miller’s address.’
Emma could see the sense in Betty’s idea. ‘I am going to be occupied during the coming weekends for some time if I’m to make a success of my little tea shop business,’ she murmured. ‘It’s a pity you couldn’t come and visit me, but hopefully we’ll be able to meet here in Liverpool again in the autumn.’
‘After the school summer holidays have finished,’ said Betty. ‘Because Aunt Elsie is bound to find plenty for me to do with her being out at work.’
With that agreed, Emma and Betty sat watching people coming and going, and waiting for the regiment to appear. It was a while before they heard the sound of a regimental band. Emma felt a thrill go through her and stood on tiptoe but there was no sign of the soldiers yet. But as the music grew louder and louder, she felt Betty hanging on to her sleeve and peering over the heads of people.
‘They’re coming, they’re coming!’ cried Betty.
Emma thought it was crazy the way her heart was beating so fast. It wasn’t as if she knew any of these soldiers and, no doubt, she would have a job guessing which one was Jared Gregory. She could now see the regimental colours and then the band. People were cheering and she found herself yelling herself hoarse as the ranks of soldiers began to march past. The music was stirring and she felt so excited to be part of the crowd of people gathered there.
Betty tugged on her sleeve. ‘Look, look! There’s our Jared,’ she yelled, pointing.
Her hand could have been indicating a dozen or more different soldiers, except there was one who glanced up at them, there on the monument, and winked at them.
‘I can’t believe it!’ cried Betty, jumping up and down with excitement. ‘Did you see him wink at us!’
‘I definitely saw one wink in our direction,’ said Emma, amused.
‘That was our Jared! Oh, I hope he doesn’t go and get himself killed,’ said Betty, her voice breaking.
‘Don’t think like that,’ said Emma, putting an arm around her.
Betty rested her head on Emma’s shoulder. ‘I’m tired. I suppose it’s all the excitement and I hardly slept last night, thinking about today.’
‘What do you want to do next?’ asked Emma. ‘If you’re tired, then perhaps you’d be better off going home.’
‘No, not yet,’ said Betty, lifting her head. ‘I said that I’d show you the Liver birds.’ She took Emma’s hand. ‘Come on, let’s get down from here. People will start dispersing soon and we’ll be able to get away. We can go down Water Street and I’ll show you the Pier Head.’
Half an hour later, Emma found herself gazing up at the birds on top of the Liver Building. ‘I can’t believe I’m actually seeing the Liver birds in the flesh,’ she said.
Betty giggled. ‘Hardly flesh but I know what you mean.’
‘What kind of birds are they supposed to be?’ asked Emma.
‘Our Jared reckons they’re cormorants and that’s a bit of seaweed they’ve got in their beaks,’ said Betty.
Our Jared again, thought Emma, trying to bring to mind the soldier who had winked at them. She reckoned he was a cheeky chappie and couldn’t help smiling. ‘You will bring a photograph of him next time we see each other,’ she said.
‘Sure, I will,’ said Betty. ‘We’d better go back now. I doubt we’ll be allowed on the Landing Stage in the circumstances.’
Emma nodded. ‘We can take our time walking back to Lime Street,’ she said.
By the time they reached the railway station, the crowds were dispersing. There they hugged each other and said their goodbyes. With a slight niggle of worry, Emma watched her half-sister walk away, hoping that Maggie would not get Betty into trouble with her aunt.
Betty decided not to go straight home but instead made her way to her friend Irene’s street, near the library. As it happened, Irene and some other girls had a skipping rope and were singing ‘Old Soldiers Never Die’ in the road.
‘Want to join in?’ called Irene as she caught sight of her friend.
‘I’ll turn the rope if you like while someone else has a skip,’ offered Betty, noticing her friend’s flushed cheeks, lively blue eyes and flyaway blonde hair, due to the exertion of the game. She thought that Irene was so pretty that she’d have all the boys after her in a few years’ time.
‘Sure,’ called Irene, nodding at the girl holding the far end of the rope.
The game continued for another quarter of an hour. Then Irene was declared ‘out’ and she and Betty left the others to continue without them.
‘Let’s have a sit-down,’ suggested Irene, pushing open their front door that was on the latch. She parked herself on the mat, leaving enough space for Betty to sit beside her. ‘What’s up?’ she asked.
‘I want you to come to Aunt Elsie’s house with me. If you’re there, then she’s less likely to have a go at me.’
‘A go at you! What for?’
Betty told her about her afternoon. Irene’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘Blinking heck, fancy you having an older half-sister and not telling me. That’s great!’
‘Of course it’s great! But I don’t want Aunt Elsie knowing I’ve been seeing Emma, or Maggie telling her about Norm Marshall. She might stop me from going out altogether, reading things into that chance meeting that weren’t there.’
Irene’s eyes narrowed. ‘You haven’t taken a fancy to Norm, have you? He and his twin, Pete, tried a bit of breaking and entering a short while ago, only Pete fell from the windowsill of an upstairs window. Norm had no choice but to go and fetch his big brother.’
Betty’s mouth fell open. ‘The idiots! Fancy doing such a daft thing when your brother’s a policeman.’
‘From what I heard our Jimmy saying, they did it because their brother is a policeman. Sheer devilment! The newspapers might say all this juvenile crime is down to boys having lost their fathers in the war, but we lost our father and our Jimmy didn’t get into trouble.’
‘Your Jimmy’s different. He has his head screwed on right, just like our Jared.’ Betty paused. ‘Anyway, let’s think of what we can do to bribe our Maggie into keeping her mouth shut. That’s if we get to our house before Aunt Elsie.’
‘What does your Maggie like?’
‘Clothes, music …’
‘You could shut her up by bribing her with the promise to take her along to the next musical evening at the Gianellis’,’ said Irene, shifting a little because the bristles on the coconut mat were itching her bare legs.
‘You think they’d invite her?’ asked Betty.
‘The Gianellis welcome anyone who loves music. Especially young people, because they believe it keeps us out of mischief.’
Betty smiled. ‘Shall we go, then?’
Irene nodded.
Betty was relieved to find only Maggie at home. She was stretched out on the sofa, reading the School Friend, and pretended for a few moments that she was unaware of their presence. Then she looked up with a start and said, ‘I hope you two aren’t ganging up on me.’
‘Don’t be daft,’ said Betty, raising her eyebrows. ‘We’ve something to say. If you keep your mouth shut about seeing me in town, Irene will ask Mrs Gianelli can you come with us to their next musical evening.’
&
nbsp; Instantly Maggie put down the comic. ‘You mean it?’
‘Yes,’ said Betty. ‘You like Italian tenors and Mr Gianelli sings as good as Mario Lanza. It’s a real treat listening to him.’
‘OK,’ said Maggie, her eyes alight. ‘I won’t say anything to Mum about you being with that woman at the Pier Head, although what the big secret is I’d still like to know.’
‘Never you mind. Just don’t say anything about my taking the photos either, will you?’ asked Betty.
‘No, but Mum might discover they’ve gone and, it’s my opinion, she’ll guess it was you that took them. Sooner or later she’ll find out what you’re up to without my saying a word,’ warned Maggie.
‘So what are you three plotting?’ asked a voice from the doorway, causing them to jump.
To Betty’s relief it was her elder cousin. ‘Hi, Dot,’ she greeted. ‘How did it go?’
‘Marvellous. I managed to spot our Jared, but I came over all tearful and so did Mum. She’s gone for a drink but I’ve got a date tonight.’
Dorothy plonked herself down on a chair. Betty thought that this cousin was really nice-looking and couldn’t be more different from her mother. Her hair was dyed strawberry blonde and she had green-blue eyes in an oval face with a cute nose and a Cupid’s-bow mouth. She had a lovely figure and the two-piece dusky-pink costume she wore accentuated her bust and slender waist. The skirt was flared and was mid-calf length. Her hair was styled similar to the British film actress, Diana Dors. She kicked off her tan kid sandals. ‘Put the kettle on, one of you, and make us a cuppa.’
Betty stood up and went into the kitchen. Irene followed her. ‘So d’you think Dorothy heard anything we were discussing?’ asked the latter.
‘I don’t know, but even if she did, I don’t think she’ll say anything. She and Aunt Elsie have been at odds ever since she married Uncle Teddy. He’s such a creep. I think if Dot had the money and was able to find a place of her own she’d leave home.’
‘That’s OK, then,’ said Irene, nodding. ‘You’ll just have to hope that you can trust Maggie, because I’ve no idea when the Gianellis will have their next musical evening. It mightn’t be until September. They generally go to Italy for a week during the holidays and then they take their lot camping in Wales, along with Mrs Gianelli’s sister and her children. Jimmy and I went with them last year.’ She paused. ‘So when d’you think you’ll be able to see your half-sister again?’
‘Emma said autumn and that seems ages away.’
Irene could only agree. ‘At least we’ve the summer holidays to look forward to,’ she murmured. ‘Perhaps if the Gianellis go camping again and ask me and Jimmy along, I might be able to wangle an invitation for you, as well.’
‘What do you do there?’ asked Betty curiously.
‘It’s by the sea, so we swim and sunbathe, and you can hire bikes and play rounders in the field where we camp. Rhyl’s only a couple of miles away and there’s a fair there.’
‘It sounds fun,’ said Betty wistfully.
‘It is, and it would be more fun for me if you were there, too.’
Betty sighed. ‘But it would cost money and I can’t see Aunt Elsie coughing up.’
‘No harm in asking,’ said Irene.
‘Well, don’t go saying anything to the Gianellis just yet,’ said Betty. ‘I’ll sound her out first.’
Irene nodded.
The following evening Betty broached the possibility of going camping during the summer holidays with her friend Irene. But as soon as she mentioned the Gianellis, Teddy said, ‘They sound like Eyeties.’
‘Mr Gianelli is half-Italian, yes,’ replied Betty, wishing he would keep out of her conversations.
Teddy glanced at Elsie. ‘You can’t let her go mixing with wops. They were on Hitler’s side during the war and they’re bloody papists as well.’
‘So what!’ said Dorothy, without looking up from Woman’s Weekly. ‘You never go to church. Anyway, I bet his other half is English.’
‘That’s right,’ said Betty, glancing at her cousin gratefully.
Teddy glared at Dorothy. ‘You’ve no right to interfere.’
She flashed him a honeyed smile. ‘But that’s what you did, Uncle Teddy. You didn’t give Mum a chance to answer Betty.’
‘She’ll agree with me,’ said Teddy. ‘Won’t you, Elsie?’
Elsie did not immediately reply.
‘Elsie!’ he snapped. ‘You heard what I said. Betty can’t go off on holiday. You can bet there’ll be lads there and you don’t know what she’ll get up to.’
Betty reddened. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s a family holiday.’
‘And do the Gianellis have a son?’ demanded Teddy.
‘Yes, two, but—’
‘Enough said,’ muttered Teddy. ‘You can’t go. Besides it would cost money and we can’t be throwing that away on a holiday, just for you.’
‘Camping! Surely it won’t cost that much, Mum,’ said Dorothy.
Her mother hesitated before saying, ‘Betty’ll need a new school mackintosh for next term and that’s going to cost. Besides, if I were to let her go, then she’d have to take our Maggie with her. Fair’s fair.’
‘You can’t afford it, Elsie, and that’s that,’ said Teddy. ‘These girls have no sense of the value of money.’
‘You can talk,’ said Dorothy, lifting her head and staring at him. ‘When are you going to get yourself a proper job instead of messing around just doing a few hours here and there and living off me and Mum?’
Teddy started to his feet with an ugly expression on his face and lunged towards her. ‘You have too much to say for yerself, girl. If you’d had my life you’d know you were born.’
‘I think I know I was born,’ said Dorothy, without flinching. ‘I work blinking hard for every penny I earn. You want to try piecework, that’s what I have to do if I want to go out and to keep myself in stockings, on top of what I give to Mum. It’s no doddle.’ She stood up and tossed her magazine on the chair. ‘Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to get ready to go out.’
She brushed past him and left the room.
‘She has a bloody cheek that girl,’ blustered Teddy. ‘Our Owen was far too soft with her. That’s why you’ve got to be firm with these two, Elsie,’ he added.
‘They’re not bad girls,’ said Elsie, getting out a cigarette with a trembling hand.
‘No, we’re not,’ said Betty, getting up from her seat. ‘I’m going upstairs to do some revision. Forget I asked about camping, Aunt Elsie. I’m sorry it caused an argument.’
‘That’s all right, Betty. I have a week off during the holidays. I’ll take you and our Maggie to Southport for a day out,’ said Elsie hastily.
‘That’ll be nice,’ murmured Betty, and left the room.
‘Can I go and do my homework too, Mum?’ asked Maggie, taking one look at Teddy’s face and wanting to escape.
‘Yes, you go, love,’ said Elsie.
After the girls had left, Elsie switched on the wireless and dance music flooded out. She guessed the conductor was Victor Sylvester as she picked up the magazine that Dorothy had left behind. Her fingers trembled as she opened it.
‘You should have told your Dorothy off for speaking to me like that,’ snapped Teddy, hitting the open magazine with the flat of his hand. ‘I’m going down the pub and I don’t know when I’ll be back.’ He slammed the door as he went out.
Elsie wished she could turn back the clock but it was too late for that. Perhaps God was punishing her.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘So you’re off to Liverpool at last,’ said Lila. ‘I can’t believe how quickly the summer’s gone and now we’re well into October.’
Emma tucked the chamois leather pouch on its string inside her brassiere. ‘I would have gone in September, but the weather was so good I thought I’d grab any chance of making money at the weekends that I could. Besides I’ve a couple of small-time clients whose accounts I’m doing w
eekly now and Betty was only settling back into school then.’ She frowned, remembering her half-sister’s last letter mentioning she would be doing her school certificate next year. How old was she? Emma had been of a mind that Betty would have been too young to be sitting those exams just yet. When had she been born? If she was sixteen in the next nine months, then her mother and their father must have married almost as soon as Emma’s mother had died.
She glanced out of the window. ‘It looks like rain. I’d best take my umbrella.’ As she placed it in her leatherette shopping bag, she added, ‘Why aren’t you at work this morning? Surely the mill hasn’t closed again?’
‘I’ve packed it in.’
‘What!’ Emma stared at her in amazement. ‘What did your parents say?’
Lila fiddled with her hair. ‘Mam’s furious and Dad just looked stunned. Then this morning he told me he’d thought that I’d never have the guts to give it up and look for another job.’
‘You are going to look for another job, then?’
Lila said, ‘Of course! I could do with a real change from everything, though.’ She hesitated. ‘I wouldn’t mind going to Liverpool with you today.’
‘You mean you’re thinking of looking for a job there?’ Emma’s voice rose to a squeak.
‘What’s wrong with that?’ asked Lila, flushing. ‘Although, I haven’t come to any proper decision yet. But I’d like a look at the place.’ She added, ‘Will you be seeing Dougie as well as your sister while you’re there?’
Emma remembered the last letter he had written, and although its tone had been friendly, he hadn’t said anything that caused her heart to flutter and there had been no mention of seeing her again. ‘I’ve sent him a note, telling him when I planned to go.’ She sighed.
Lila said, ‘So he didn’t get back to you?’
‘No, but then he does have a job that occupies a lot of his time. As well as that he has to think of his mother and brothers. Pete was still in hospital last time Dougie wrote to me.’ She remembered the last time she had seen Betty and they’d met his mother and Norm, and how Maggie had turned up as well. According to Betty, her cousin had kept quiet about having seen them because she had promised to take Maggie along to some musical evening at the house of a family called Gianelli. Emma felt uncomfortable about what had happened with Maggie, because surely she would have wanted to see her brother march by. Emma remembered the way he had winked at them and could still see his face in her mind’s eye.