Nobody’s Darling

by Nobody’s Darling (retail) (epub)

  ‘Oh, Ruby. It’s lovely!’ she gasped, her long thin fingers lovingly caressing the silky strands. ‘How did you make it shine so?’

  Ruby grunted, rolled her eyes to heaven and back again. ‘Hard work, how do you think?’ she demanded with a chuckle. Her reward was an upturned face waiting for a kiss. Afterwards the two girls cuddled and laughed, and Maureen asked with a delicious little giggle. ‘Do you think I might catch myself a boyfriend?’

  ‘Two I shouldn’t wonder,’

  ‘And will they be handsome, do you think?’

  ‘So handsome it’s a crime.’

  ‘It’s no good you asking to share, because you’ll have to find your own.’

  Ruby feigned astonishment. ‘Why, I wouldn’t dream of sharing.’

  ‘Good.’ Maureen waved her hand in the air, a haughty expression on her narrow face. ‘It’s time we were off. Hurry, girl. Fetch my carriage.’

  Trying not to laugh, Ruby bent forward at the waist and bowed and scraped and was delightfully servile. ‘At once, madam,’ she said in a shaking voice, and the two of them collapsed in a helpless fit of laughter. Suddenly Maureen began coughing and gasping, and Ruby had quickly to run and fetch a glass of water from the jug on the bedside cabinet.

  Startled into silence, she watched while Maureen took dainty little sips, catching her breath in between and smiling at her reassuringly. It was only a moment before Maureen had composed herself, but they were both subdued by the attack. Ruby sensed that her friend had been frightened more than she would say. She also knew from experience that Maureen wouldn’t thank her if she made a fuss, so instead she attempted to bring the smile back to that poor little face. ‘Shame on you, Maureen Ackroyd,’ she said. ‘You did that on purpose, didn’t you?’ Her voice was firm and accusing, but there was a little twinkle in her eye. ‘After I promised not to steal your fellow and all!’

  Maureen took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her smile was loving as she raised her eyes. Taking Ruby’s hand into her own, she murmured, ‘I’m so lucky to have a friend like you, Ruby. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.’

  Too choked to answer, she just squeezed those long thin fingers and returned the smile. It was a moment before she said softly, ‘We’d better get a move on. Your mam and Johnny will be growing impatient.’ Her heart leaped at his name. But, as always, she pushed her emotions into the deepest recesses of her heart. When she compared that magnificent young fellow to the cowardly Luke, she was made to ask herself why she didn’t up and marry Johnny at the first opportunity.

  Yet even as she asked herself that persistent question, Ruby knew what it was that kept her and Johnny apart. She only had to look at Maureen to know that her dreams of one day becoming rich and powerful must stay ever strong. If the Ackroyd family had money, Maureen might have had better medical care. Oh, the doctor who visited was a good man, and he cared deeply about his patients. But there was a limit to what he could do. Ruby had not forgotten about the centre in Switzerland where wealthier T.B. sufferers had found respite from that terrible illness.

  And then there was her own mam, a woman with a stout heart, who carried her family through every trauma and hardship. A kind and good woman who deserved better.

  Sometimes at night Ruby would lie in her bed and ruminate on her life, haunted by a horror of the future. It was fear that strengthened what had been in her for as long as she could remember: the daydreams, the wishing and the wanting – and the questions. They were always there, and so was the answer. Money and influence. These things alone could open doors that would otherwise stay closed against her forever.

  Maureen’s excited voice interrupted her then. ‘Oh, Ruby. Won’t they be surprised to see me all dressed up, with my hair shining and everything?’

  She nodded, putting her two hands one on either side of Maureen’s shoulders. When she felt the sharp bones there, shock rippled through her. ‘Let’s get you dressed,’ she suggested brightly. ‘Then we’ll give them a real treat.’

  Going across the room she collected the dress and quickly returned to where Maureen was making a determined effort to stand up. Ruby was frantic when she saw how the girl’s pathetically thin limbs seemed to crumble beneath her. ‘No, no, sweetheart,’ she coaxed, her calm voice belying the panic inside her. ‘Just wait a minute. There’s no use wearing yourself out before we even start.’ She rolled the dress over her arm then, with her other supporting Maureen, she slid the hem of the dress over her head, gradually feeding the whole garment down until it sat snug to the waist. ‘Now then, let’s have you on your feet,’ she suggested. ‘But mind you lean on me,’ she warned.

  It was a slow and painful procedure, and Maureen was so delicate that Ruby feared she would break in two. Now an accomplished needlewoman, Ruby had spent many a long hour altering Cicely’s dress and the fit was good, the clever folds disguising her reed-thin figure, while the colour fetched a glow to her face. The pretty garment had a white lace collar, a narrow waistband of the same material, and a flounce of white lace at the hem. It was perfectly lovely. The floral band that held her hair from her face drew attention from the pallor of her features. Altogether she looked delightful and Ruby was deeply proud.

  Exhausted by her own efforts, Maureen gladly leaned her slight weight against Ruby. Soon the dress was fastened about her thin form, and Ruby eased her back into the chair while she did up the top buttons at the neck. ‘There!’ She pressed Maureen deeper into the chair and stood away to survey the finished creation. ‘You look so different,’ she said, her elfin face wreathed in a smile and the tears bright in her dark blue eyes. What a tonic it was to see her friend like this, pretty as a picture and so excited about the coming picnic in Corporation Park. ‘Oh, Maureen, just look at yourself,’ she urged. ‘Look in the mirror and see how lovely you are.’

  Maureen turned her head and surveyed her own image. Her eyes popped open in astonishment. She didn’t speak. She just stared and stared, and then dropped her head on to her chest, her eyes closed and her hands folded together on her lap. At first Ruby feared she was crying, but a glance in the mirror told her different.

  ‘Well, that’s a fine thank you!’ she chided good-humouredly. She sensed it was all too much for Maureen, and she was saddened. ‘You don’t like my handiwork, is that it?’ she asked, laying her hand on the girl’s shoulder. When there came no answer, only a shuddering beneath her touch, Ruby promised in a brighter voice, ‘It’s going to be a wonderful day, Maureen. A day to remember.’

  Moved by Ruby’s enthusiasm, she looked up then. ‘It’s such a pity there won’t be many more, isn’t it?’ she murmured. There was no self-pity, only painful resignation.

  Ruby was horrified. ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said, gently shaking the shoulders. ‘And I won’t listen to you when you talk like that.’

  ‘You do know what I mean,’ Maureen insisted. ‘Everyone knows I won’t make old bones.’

  ‘Who knows?’

  ‘Everyone.’

  ‘They’ve said that to you, have they?’

  ‘No. But I know what they’re thinking.’

  ‘Oh, I see. So now you’re a mind-reader, are you?’ Ruby had to shake off this mood that had settled on her. It wasn’t often the girl let anyone see beneath that veneer of bravado. Suddenly though this special occasion had touched her deep enough to expose her inner thoughts. ‘Has the doctor said anything about you not making old bones?’ she demanded.

  ‘No.’

  Your mother? Johnny? Perhaps your dad?’ She was relentless.

  No. Maureen shook her head. Her eyes were brighter and she was beginning to have doubts.

  ‘In fact, didn’t the doctor say he was extremely pleased with your progress?’

  ‘Hmh.’ It was true. He had.

  There you are then, Miss Know-all. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, and sit still while I fetch Johnny.’

  ‘You’re a bully.’

  Happen I am,’ Ruby admitted, thankful that
she had coaxed Maureen into a lighter frame of mind. ‘But I’ll not have you say such things… won’t make old bones indeed! Only the good Lord can say who goes and who stays, and don’t you ever forget that. What! I’ve never had a day’s real illness, but I could walk out the door right now and get knocked down by the milkman’s horse.’

  Maureen laughed out loud. ‘Not at the speed our milkman’s old horse goes,’ she spluttered.

  Ruby laughed too. ‘Away with you,’ she said gaily. ‘I’m off to fetch Johnny, so while I’m gone you could pinch your cheeks a few times to bring up the roses, eh?’ Halfway across the room she glanced back to see Maureen doing just that. ‘Shan’t be long,’ she promised, leaving the room and the door wide open.

  Downstairs in the back parlour, Johnny was pacing the floor. He was more excited than his sister at the prospect of spending the day with Ruby. ‘For goodness’ sake, will you sit down?’ his mother groaned. ‘You’re making me nervous.’

  ‘Sorry, Mam,’ he answered, flinging himself into the nearest chair. ‘What in God’s name are they doing up there?’ he wanted to know.

  ‘Woman’s business,’ came the coy reply. But it wasn’t his mother who spoke. It was Ruby. Bouncing into the room and lighting it with her presence, she smiled proudly from one to the other. ‘Wait ’til you see the result,’ she told them. Then to Johnny, who had sprung from his chair at her appearance, she said warmly, ‘You won’t recognise your sister.’

  ‘She’s ready then?’

  Ruby nodded. For the briefest moment she had been stunned by Johnny’s good looks. When she arrived that morning, he was nowhere to be seen. ‘Gone to find his father,’ Mrs Ackroyd explained. ‘But he’ll be back in time to take you and Maureen to the park.’

  Now here he was, looking amazingly handsome in his dark brown cords and light blue shirt. This was open at the neck and little clusters of dark hair peeped through. In a minute he was across the room and standing over her, his black eyes shining down on her. ‘You’ve been like a tonic to our Maureen,’ he murmured. ‘And I don’t know how to thank you.’ He instinctively put his hand on her shoulder, sending little thrills down her back.

  ‘She’s my friend,’ Ruby replied simply.

  ‘He’s right though.’ They both looked up at Mrs Ackroyd’s quiet voice. ‘You’ve been a godsend to her. Bless you for that.’ Seeming to suppress her emotions, she took a deep breath then told Ruby, ‘We shall have to make sure she’s wrapped up warm. I know it’s a glorious day but she’s got no fat on her. I don’t want her catching a chill.’

  Johnny answered, ‘Don’t worry, Mam. We’ll take great care of her, you know that.’

  ‘Aye, lad.’ Her smile was tempered by the knowledge that Maureen couldn’t get to the park on her own two feet. ‘I know you will.’ She turned her head and gazed at the figure of her husband, prostrate on the settee, his mouth wide open, emitting deep rumbling snores that told her he would be unconscious for most of the day. ‘It’s a shame your father can’t see the lass on her way, and her all done up to look pretty.’

  ‘Not to worry, Mam,’ Johnny said. ‘Happen he’ll see her when we get back.’ He looked at his father and his feelings were a blend of disgust and compassion. ‘I wish you’d let me take him to his bed, Mam,’ he told her. He still had his hand on Ruby’s shoulder and she made no move, even though she sensed the undercurrent of emotion in this little parlour. She had seen Johnny’s father stretched out on the settee, but tried to keep her gaze averted. The whole street knew of Mrs Ackroyd’s burden where he was concerned, and that was on top of her heartache for Maureen. They knew also that if it wasn’t for the love and strength of her son, she would likely have given up long ago.

  ‘You’re right, son,’ she conceded. ‘It’s just that – well, I thought if he was down here with me, I could bring him round and we could talk.’ She looked at her husband again, then shook her head and sighed. ‘He reeks of booze, but at least he’s come to no real harm.’ She glanced at Ruby. ‘Never wed a drinker,’ she warned, and behind the light-hearted comment was a well of sadness. She laughed then, saying in a round warm voice, ‘He’s not a bad man really, and I can’t help but love him.’

  ‘We all love him, Mam,’ Johnny answered. He didn’t mind Ruby being here. In his heart he knew she understood. ‘I’ll take him to his bed then, eh?’ he asked his mother.

  ‘Aye. Take him up, and I’ll keep an eye on him best I can,’ she agreed.

  Johnny crossed the room and lifted his father into his arms with such ease the man might have been a child. Without another word he carried him upstairs with Ruby following, her thoughts taken up entirely with what she had seen and heard. Mrs Ackroyd’s warning echoed inside her head. ‘Never wed a drinker’, she had said. She might as well have added, ‘Never wed into poverty’, because to Ruby’s mind that was just as much of a life sentence.

  At the top of the stairs, Johnny stopped. ‘Ruby, would you please open the door for me?’ He stepped back on the confined landing while she pushed open the door. ‘Thanks,’ he muttered turning sideways to squeeze his awkward burden in through the narrow opening. ‘Give me a minute,’ he winked at her, ‘then you can show me this vision of loveliness you’ve been creating.’

  Just to have Ruby in this house was enough to turn his heart over. But to be standing so close and not able to do anything about it, was sheer purgatory.

  ‘I’ll wait here for you,’ she assured him. If she needed a test of Johnny’s worth, she had witnessed it here today. But her ambitions were not weakened. His goodness and strength only made it that much harder for her to say no to him.

  Soon enough they were in Maureen’s room, and Johnny was lost for words as he looked on the beauty that was his sister. In that green dress, with her long hair brushed to a deep shine and her eyes glowing, she seemed like a stranger to him.

  ‘Well? What do you think?’ Maureen was impatient to hear.

  He went to her then and laughingly swept her into his arms, ‘If I tell you what I think, it’ll only make you swell-headed,’ he teased.

  ‘No, it won’t,’ she complained, breathless with laughter when he swung her round against his chest. ‘Do you think I look lovely? Do you?’ She beat at him with her small fists until he stopped.

  For a long moment he stared down at her, thinking how like a feather she was in his arms. ‘You’ll have all the fellas sighing after you,’ he said gently. ‘You do look lovely, our Maureen.’

  ‘She’s a devil to keep still though,’ Ruby chipped in. The picture before her eyes stirred her heart. These two had a very special love between them. And for no reason she could fathom, Ruby suddenly felt lonely. ‘Your mam says you’re to put your shawl on,’ she told Maureen. ‘She doesn’t want you catching a chill.’ To Johnny she gave the instruction, ‘Sit her down in the chair. She still hasn’t got her shoes on.’ By the time she had collected the shoes, Maureen was seated. All the time she was strapping them to Maureen’s feet, Ruby felt Johnny’s eyes on her.

  Snapping shut the last button on the ankle-strap, she clambered to her feet, deliberately keeping her eyes from Johnny’s. ‘If you can take Maureen downstairs and settle her into the bath-chair, I’ll run along home and make sure Dolly’s ready,’ she suggested. And even when he appeared beside her to gather Maureen into his arms, Ruby still dared not look at him.

  Having carried his father up the stairs, Johnny now carried his sister down. This time Ruby insisted on going ahead. With every step she knew he was watching her, loving her with all his heart. A peculiar silence settled over them. They were each lost in their own thoughts; Johnny thinking of Ruby, Ruby thinking of Johnny, and Maureen deeply regretting Ruby’s impossible dreams that kept these two apart. She believed Ruby to be wrong. Yet she had given her word, and she would not betray Ruby’s confidence. Besides, if she was to tell Johnny why Ruby couldn’t be persuaded to be his sweetheart, it would only hurt him. He would be made to feel inadequate and, with Ruby so adamant, there would be nothi
ng worthwhile to be gained by it. So many times she and Ruby had talked about it, and each time Maureen was more convinced than ever that Ruby was making a rod for her own back. Yet nothing she could say would make her see that. ‘I will make something of myself you’ll see!’ was her answer. And Maureen despaired.

  Ruby left the delighted Mrs Ackroyd fussing over her daughter while Johnny went to the cellar and brought up the big old bath-chair which Thomas had found in the back of the Arnolds’ stables. ‘Take it home with you, lad,’ he’d told Johnny with foresight. ‘When the time comes for your sister to see the world this ’ere chair will do a good turn. It belonged to Mr Arnold’s mother, but since she’s been gone to her maker these many years, she ain’t got no use for it now.’

  When consulted, Oliver Arnold made the same observation. Later that same evening, Johnny was refused a place on the tram because of the cumbersome vehicle, so undeterred, pushed it all the way home into Blackburn. Maureen was thrilled when she saw it, and her mam was convinced that because of that old bath-chair her daughter had suddenly gained a new lease of life.

  The minute Ruby opened the front door, the noise flew up the passage to greet her. The twins were the loudest as they yelled at Lenny to, ‘Stop messing with our Snap cards!’ Then came the sound of Lenny’s unkind voice, ‘And if I don’t, who’s gonna make me, eh?’ Now the baby was crying, and Lizzie’s voice sailed above it all: ‘So help me I’ll swing for the lot of you if you don’t behave yourselves!’