Book Woman
Page 33
She shook her head.
“It’s been underneath it for fifteen years.”
He sat back on his haunches.
“It’s all nicely packed in sealed boxes, but we can’t be too careful.”
He looked in the next chest and removed more blankets and then grunted.
“And shotgun ammunition.”
Robert suddenly interjected.
“This third gun that I thought was a dart-gun isn’t, I rather think it’s an air-rifle.”
Mr Clarke looked up.
“For bird-hunting, didn’t want to waste real ammunition.”
He tackled the third chest, but it only contained rolled up hammocks and forty pairs of thick woollen socks.
They left the room and walked back down the corridor, at the end Mr Clarke turned to Robert.
“Would you mind keeping visitors out of the corridor for the moment.”
Robert nodded.
“As soon as I’ve helped my fiancée down the stairs.”
Mrs Church stopped dead.
“You two are engaged?”
Mary waved her ring and Mrs Church grinned.
“Well I suppose I should have suspected that they way you two operated this morning.”
They started down the stairs and Mrs Church turned to Mr Clarke.
“You might like to pop into the library for a minute, this rather good idea has been floated that we needn’t equip a whole library from scratch, but merely…”
Robert looked at Mary and winked, she managed not to burst out laughing.
The rest of the day there was a succession of different people walking up to the top floor; police, bomb-squad, photographers, two museum curators and a seedy little man who said he was from the Home Office. Of all the visitors the last was the most trouble; after inspecting the rooms he came back down to Mary.
“I presume you realise that it is an offence to interfere with government property?”
Mary didn’t offer him a chair.
“Even when it’s not labelled and is within the building we have rented for the last fifteen years?”
He didn’t answer the question, but handed over a sheet of paper.
“Sign at the bottom.”
“What is it?”
“The Official Secrets Act.”
Mary grimaced.
“And I suppose if I sign I can’t say anything about the rooms, or the money, or the guns.”
“Exactly.”
Mary waved her arm around.
“So what do I tell my staff and my customers? That they’ve been dreaming and that nothing happened today?”
He stood stock still and a small drip began to form at the end of his nose.
“We only want you to sign it about the money.”
Mary glanced at the form.
“It doesn’t say that.”
“You have my word.”
Mary tapped the form.
“I’d rather your word was written down.”
While he was wiping his nose Robert appeared in the doorway and Mary waved him over.
“He wants us to sign this Act.”
The seedy man glanced at Robert.
“He’s already signed the full act, years ago.”
Robert shrugged.
“Did some work on a government building, hush hush and all that.”
The man shot him a nasty glance and Robert raised his arms as if in surrender. The man passed the form back to Mary, who passed it back to the man.
“No, I’m not signing that.”
He scowled.
“Then do you fancy charges of espionage, treason, terrorism and anything else I can think up? You’ve been hoarding guns, ammunition and chemical suits, how do you think a judge will look at that?”
Mary held her ground.
“How do you think he’ll take to a government department that lost them in the first place?”
He opened his mouth, but Mary continued speaking.
“Look, I’ll happily swear an affidavit that I won’t talk about the coins, but nothing else.”
He glared at her and drummed his fingers on the desk.
“Do I have your word?”
“You have my word that while the matter is not in the press, and I’m not talking speculation mind, then I’ll keep quiet.”
He nodded and turned to Robert.
“I take it you witnessed that?”
“Witnessed what?”
The man snorted and tried to lean over Mary.
“Just don’t go shouting your mouth off or you’ll be in all sorts of trouble.”
“Am I to take that as a threat?”
“Take it how you like.”
He looked around.
“Which one is Angela?”
Mary rolled he eyes.
“Not one of mine, try the council property department, she went back there about two hours ago; chatty little thing.”
He scurried away and Robert laughed.
“I thought they only existed in the movies.”
Mary scratched her head.
“He makes me feel itchy all over.”
She reached out and grabbed his hand.
“Glad you were with me today.”
He rolled her fingers in his.
“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
“Do you think Mrs Church will keep her word?”
He half-shrugged.
“Probably, she knows which side her bread is buttered and she’ll get the glory for the coins being returned and reducing the price of a library, so she’ll be content.”
Mary glanced at the clock and stood up.
“All secure upstairs?”
“Carpenter has put two huge pieces of chipboard across the doorways.”
“Then it’s time for home and to see what mother has been doing with Josie.”
They arrived at Mary’s house to find the sweet smell of cooking and a bouncy Josie.
“We’ve been making jam!”
Mary was horrified and turned to her mother.
“Mother, you haven’t been carrying around scalding saucepans of jam with Josie around?”
Helen chuckled.
“Seem to remember you didn’t mind when you were a child, and for your information we scooped the jam out of the saucepans using a ladle.”
Mary surveyed her burnt-jam spotted cooker and the two black innards of her best saucepans.
Josie grabbed her hand.
“We picked the berries this morning and then we washed them and then we let them cook while the horse-racing was on.”
Mary smiled at her enthusiasm.
“Where did you get the sugar from?”
Helen pointed to the kitchen notice board.
“Supermarket delivered it, be on your bill at the end of the month.”
Robert rolled up his sleeves.
“Leave this lot to me and then I think fish and chips are in order.”
Josie grinned.
“Can we eat it from the paper? Nan said that she always used to eat her fish and chips from the paper.”
Mary groaned and tried to salvage some sanity.
“But not with our fingers.”
Robert rubbed his hands.
“Not the same, need to feel the grease and vinegar on the fingertips!”
Mary sighed and gave it.
“Well all right, but only after you’ve helped your father clean up.”
Robert turned to her.
“Are these not-stick saucepans?”
“They were when I left home.”
Later, Mary scrunched up the last of the fish paper and squashed it into the rubbish bin, she turned to Josie.
“Now wash those hands before you put grease all over that book you’re thinking of picking up.”
Josie grinned and rushed to the toilet and Mary glanced at her mother, who seemed to have enjoyed the day.
“Thanks mum.”
She gave a wistful smile.
�
�You don’t know what a pleasure that was, reminded me of when I taught you to make jam; never thought I’d do it for a grand-child.”
Mary put the tea-towel back on its rail.
“Not a grand-child yet.”
Helen shrugged.
“What’s the difference.”
Mary went to reply, but was prevented from answering by a fierce ringing of the doorbell. She went down the hall and looked through the spyglass.
“Jenny and Cathy on the warpath I suspect.”
Helen made for the lounge.
“Well let them in, we knew they wouldn’t take it lightly.”
Mary looked around for Robert, but he’d disappeared as soon as the meal had finished. She opened the door and the twins burst in. Jenny snarled.
“I bet you put her up to this you little turd.”
Mary was about to reply when Robert’s voice boomed down the hall.
“I’d thank you not to call my fiancée a turd if you don’t mind.”
Mary glanced up the hall and he was standing holding a bunch of wild flowers and looking like a man enraged. Jenny glanced at him.
“So that’s the unfortunate man is it, well I pity him.”
She went to stride down the hall, but Robert barred her path.
“I see now why Mary called you the sinister siblings, did you learn to be this rude, or did it come naturally?”
Before Jenny could answer Cathy barged past her.
“Out of the way squirt, this has nothing to do with you, it’s family.”
Helen’s voice suddenly echoed from the lounge.
“Let them in, they’ll feel better when they’ve had their say.”
Robert stood to one side and they entered the lounge and towered over Helen. She pointed to the armchair.
“Sit down and be civil, that is if you know the meaning of the word.”
They hesitated and then went and sat on the armchair, one on each arm like a pair of book-ends. Cathy leant forward belligerently.
“You can’t do this to us, times are hard and the only way to pay you back is to take out a loan we can’t afford.”
Jenny nodded vigorously in agreement.
“The whole of the record industry is in a state of flux, records shops are closing up and down the country and money’s tight, you’ll just have to wait. And telling us by solicitor’s letter, that was underhand.”
They glared at Helen, who glared back as sounds of Space-Invaders drifted down the stairs. Eventually Jenny snorted.
“I suppose you want the money to give her a wedding present.”
Helen grimaced.
“Actually I want it to by a flatlet in a senior citizen’s complex.”
Cathy raised her arms.
“Oh so the truth is out now, as soon as she gets a toy-boy, you get the heave-ho, well don’t say we didn’t warn you.”
Helen grimaced again.
“To put the record straight, not that I have to, Mary and Robert have bent over backwards trying to persuade me to live with them. It’s my decision and mine alone.”
Cathy snorted.
“So I suppose they live here happily ever after.”
Mary said quietly.
“Actually Robert and I are going to live above the library, Daniel is moving in here.”
Jenny’s eyes fairly bulged and she gave a strangled shriek.
“Daniel!”
Helen banged the arm of the chair.
“We’re straying from the point, I’m calling in the loans, repayment is overdue anyway, and you’ve got a fortnight.”
Mary suddenly smiled and turned to Jenny.
“There is another solution, I could always buy the loans off mum.”
Jenny went brilliant red.
“And leave us beholden to you; never, not in a million years!”
Helen nodded.
“Well a fortnight then.”
Cathy huffed.
“Well I’m not paying, take me to court if you have the nerve, but I’m not paying.”
Helen leant forward.
“Read your solicitor’s letter. You don’t pay the loan off and we’ll get you blacklisted with the credit agencies as a defaulter.”
Jenny went from red to white.
“You wouldn’t.”
Helen scratched her nose.
“Try me.”
Cathy scowled.
“I’d rather go bankrupt, least I’d know that she wouldn’t get any money from me.”
Mary said brightly.
“Go bankrupt if you want, but that’s your companies money, these were personal loans.”
Helen nodded.
“Mary’s right, your father lent you the money and the loans are in your name, not that of your record shops. You’ve both got houses re-mortgage them if you must, but I’m calling the loans in.”
Cathy instantly changed her demeanour from angry woman to betrayed child.
“Why you doing this mum, what have we ever done to you?”
Helen looked her in the eye.
“Taken me on holiday and yelled at me for well over an hour two nights in a row, will that do for starters?”
She leant forward.
“Let me make it plain, there is a will, it’s with my solicitors and you two are not in it, least not for money or property. You had your share when your father re-mortgaged the house to get you started, you have no idea what a strain that put on our finances.”
Jenny’s face took on a murderous hue, she spat her reply.
“I suppose it all goes to little miss cripple; well it’s her fault that she fell into a greenhouse, we didn’t push her.”
Robert’s mouth fell open and he went to speak, but Mary gentle touched his arm and he stayed silent. Cathy stood up.
“Well now we know where we stand, Saint Mary first and everyone else after.”
Helen sighed.
“For what it’s worth you keep forgetting Daniel, he’s your brother you know.”
Jenny tossed her head.
“Well we wouldn’t know it, haven’t heard from him in ten years.”
Mary threw in her three penn'orth.
“Not surprised are you, not after you bullied him stupid.”
Cathy stood up.
“Well at least have the decency to remember your grandchildren.”
They stormed out and slammed the door, Helen leant back in her chair.
“Well that didn’t go too badly did it?”
Mary burst out laughing. Robert silently pointed to his watch and he and Mary stood up.
“Got to go mum, seeing the vicar, be back soon, you OK?”
She nodded and they collected a reluctant Josie from the Space invaders machine and left for the vicarage.
Ten minutes later they were outside the vicarage and Robert rang the bell, he glanced at Mary.
“Don’t look so worried, this is only a formality.”
She shivered.
“I hope so.”
The Vicar opened the door to them and ushered them in, Robert gave a worried smile.
“You said it’d be all right if we brought Josie, she’s got a book.”
The vicar gave Josie a benevolent smile.
“Oh I think we can do better than that,” he opened his lounge door and called out to his wife. “Guest’s here.”
He turned to Josie.
“Ever played Safari Hunt?”
She shook her head, slightly overwhelmed. Margaret, his wife, appeared, she congratulated Mary and Robert and then took Josie into the lounge, the vicar then led them to his study. He sat them side by side on a chesterfield settee that was noteworthy for its sheer uncomfortableness. He sat down on a rickety wooden study chair and smiled at them rather like a choirmaster greeting his choirboys.
“Robert told me that you’d like to get married in four Saturdays time.”
Mary swallowed, he made it sound like a seductive liaison.
“Yes, that’s right.”
He grabbed a f
orm from his desk.
“Lets do the formalities first, I’ll need this information for the banns and the marriage certificate.”
He looked at the form in front of him.
“Names? Full names please.”
“Mary Sybil Eleanora Webb.”
Robert grinned and Mary elbowed him in the ribs.
“Robert James Handly.”
“Ages?”
“Thirty-five,” replied Mary.
“Thirty-five,” echoed Robert.
The vicar scribbled the ages down and then went to his next question.
“Bachelor and spinster?”
Robert coughed.
“Actually I’m a divorcee.”
The vicar froze as if he’d been struck by a mysterious virus.
“Oh.”
Robert gave him a worried look.
“Is there a problem, with me being a divorcee and all that.”
The vicar began to look uncomfortable.
“Well it means that I have to ask a few personal questions.”
“Fire away.”
“Where is Mrs Handly?”
“In Egypt”
“When did your marriage break up?”
“Marcia walked out one sunny day six and a half years ago, since then nothing. I did go to Egypt to try and bring her back, but it was useless. And let me make it clear,” he glanced at Mary. “I did offer to take Josie and live with her in Egypt, but she refused.”
The vicar’s face became full of surprise and perplexity and he looked at Mary.
“So your daughter lives with Robert?”
Mary flashed him a smile.
“Josie is Robert’s daughter not mine.”
He blinked at her over his spectacles.
“But you look so alike and you obviously have a good relationship with her.”
She smiled again.
“Don’t be fooled by a little hair dye.”
Robert waved his hands.
“But they do have a good relationship and Josie doesn’t resent my relationship with Mary.”
The vicar looked at Robert over his spectacles.
“Were you having an affair when your wife left?”
“No.”
The vicar shuffled his bottom on the chair and it gave a mild groan.
“Did you know Mary at that time?”
Robert sighed and then smiled.
“No and before you ask I did not have eyes on Mary while I was married. Discovering Mary and forming our relationship has only happened this year.”
The vicar looked at Mary.
“Have you met Mrs Handly?”