Nobody’s Darling

by Nobody’s Darling (retail) (epub)

  No sooner had Ruby pushed open the parlour door than Dolly rushed to grab hold of her hand. ‘Oh, Ruby, I thought you weren’t coming for me,’ she cried, looking up adoringly at her big sister.

  ‘I promised, didn’t I?’ Ruby reminded her. All was quiet now as everyone’s eyes turned to look at her.

  ‘Well, at least it’ll be one less to aggravate me when you take Dolly,’ Lizzie sighed. She had the bawling infant in her arms and was rocking it from side to side. ‘It’s been bedlam in here. Any minute now I’m throwing this lot out onto the street,’ she threatened. When the child screamed louder, she walked it into the scullery, all the while cooing at it and patting its back to fetch up the wind.

  Ruby was angry. Striding across the room to the table where the boys were seated, she confronted Lenny. ‘Instead of being a nuisance, why don’t you give our mam a hand?’ she demanded. ‘You’re the oldest after me.’

  Slicing his arm across the table, Lenny sent the playing cards flying, causing the twins to scramble down after them. ‘Oh, dearie me, our Ruby,’ he sneered. ‘Now see what you made me do.’ He grinned at her, cocking his head to one side and retorting in a cunning voice, ‘So you think I should help our mam, eh? And how should I do that? Go out and shake the mats? Wash the dirty dishes? Take the awful twins out to play?’ The smile fell from his face. ‘That’s all women’s work.’ He was enjoying taunting her. ‘Or d’you think I should feed the babby?’ He laughed, a harsh cruel sound that shocked her to the core. ‘I’d have a job, wouldn’t I, eh? ’Specially as I ain’t got no withered wet titties like its mammy.’

  He sniggered, glancing from one astonished face to the other, searching for a crumb of appreciation. But he yelped like a dog when all he got was a swipe across the face.

  ‘Don’t be so smutty,’ Ruby warned him in a furious voice. ‘You’d think twice about talking like that if our dad wasn’t abed.’

  Lenny glared at her, his short stubby fingers caressing his cheek. Ruby had hit him so hard that her fingers had left an imprint. ‘Don’t you ever hit me again,’ he growled, ‘Or you’ll be sorry.’

  For a long disturbing moment they glared at each other. Ruby sensed that he was itching to hit her back, and all she wanted was an opportunity to fetch him another across that big vindictive mouth. ‘Why don’t you go for me?’ she taunted. ‘And it’ll be you who’s sorry.’ She had never been so incensed.

  When Lizzie returned from the kitchen with a quieter babby she was mortified to see her two eldest squaring up to each other. ‘What’s going on ’ere?’ she demanded, quickly putting the child into its makeshift cot and coming to stand, arms folded, between her son and Ruby. ‘Come on. Out with it!’ she snapped.

  She continued to stare, even when the twins cried out in unison, telling her how Lenny had said something bad and Ruby had slapped his face. ‘I didn’t ask you,’ she returned sharply. One stony glare silenced them.

  Afterwards she faced her son, her pretty brown eyes hard as glass. She knew he was the main culprit. He must have been more wicked than usual because she could not recall Ruby ever lifting her hand to anyone before. ‘What have you got to say for yourself?’ she demanded. He remained silent, so she turned to Ruby. ‘What did he say?’ she wanted to know. ‘What’s this all about?’ ‘Leave it, Mam. I don’t think he meant it.’ Ruby bitterly regretted having slapped him.

  Lenny jumped up from his seat, shouting, ‘I did mean it! And I meant what I said about her too.’ He poked a stiff finger at Ruby. ‘If she ever hits me again, she’ll be sorry, that’s all.’

  Lizzie turned on him. ‘GET TO YOUR BED!’ she said through her teeth. When he made no move, she pinched his ear-lobe between her finger and thumb, and physically propelled him across the room. At the open door, she thrust him out into the passageway. ‘And don’t come down ’til I tell yer.’ She waited there, listening to his footsteps deliberately thumping up each step. He could be heard cursing and moaning until at last there came an almighty bang when he shut the bedroom door. ‘The little sod!’

  Lizzie swung round to face the others, an expression of concern on her face. ‘That’ll wake your dad, and Lord knows he needs his sleep after working the extra shift.’

  Together with her mam and the twins, and little Dolly clinging to her arm, Ruby listened. Sure enough, the muffled sounds coming from overhead told her that Lizzie was right, ‘Oh, Mam. What gets into our Lenny?’ she asked.

  Lizzie shrugged her shoulders. ‘I’m beggared if I know, lass. But I’ll tell yer this… if he don’t soon mend his ways, I’m asking your dad to come down real hard on him.’

  Ralph had something to say about that. ‘Dad won’t do nowt,’ he said sullenly. ‘’Cause Lenny’s his favourite.’

  Lizzie came and fondly tousled his hair. ‘Stuff and nonsense!’ she declared. ‘There ain’t no favourites in this house, my lad.’ It seemed to appease him. But deep down Lizzie knew he was right. Lenny was his Dad’s favourite. He’d been allowed to get away with murder since the day he was born. And this was the end result, she thought sadly.

  Lizzie looked at Ruby, and she was made to remember how she herself had committed the very same sin where her eldest child was concerned; happen because of her own guilty secret, and the fact that the lass had been deceived about her true father. All the same, Ruby and Lenny were two very different people, and Lizzie silently thanked the Lord for that darling lass. ‘Don’t let him spoil yer picnic,’ she pleaded. ‘Go off and enjoy yerselves, luv.’ She motioned towards the scullery. ‘You’ve made a lovely basket. The sun’s shining, and your friend’ll be wondering where you’ve got to. Off with you. And mind how you go, eh?’

  For the first time Frank piped up, his eyes big and round as he looked at Ruby. ‘Lenny’s been at your basket, Ruby. He offered us some, but we said no, didn’t we Ralph?’ he appealed to his brother, who was pretending not to have heard.

  ‘What!’ Lizzie hurried towards the scullery door. ‘If he’s ruined your basket, I’ll flay his arse ’til he can’t sit down!’ she cried.

  ‘I’ll see.’ Ruby brushed past her mam, and going swiftly to the corner where she had left the basket, lifted one corner of the lid and peered in. She’d bought the strong wicker basket from the market especially for today. The pretty blue frilled cover was two pence extra.

  ‘Has he ruined it? Has he?’ Lizzie was hovering, making an effort to see into the basket. ‘You bought them things with your own hard-earned spending money, and he’d better not have interfered with it.’

  Ruby put on her brightest smile and swung the basket on to her arm. ‘It’s all right, Mam. Nobody’s touched it,’ she lied.

  Lizzie shook her head, but her whole face was bathed in relief. ‘I’m glad,’ she admitted. ‘I don’t hold with smacking the childer, you know that, lass.’ Then she recalled how Lenny had been insolent with her just now, and knew the others were listening from the parlour. Her face hardened a little and she raised her voice so they could hear. ‘That don’t mean to say the buggers won’t get a tanning if they deserve it, though.’ She winked at Ruby who had to hide her smiles because she was in full view of young Ralph who too often viewed the rebellious Lenny as his idol.

  ‘Are you going to be all right, Mam?’ Ruby felt guilty at leaving her to cope with the family, especially when baby Lottie was playing up.

  ‘Give over,’ Lizzie chided. ‘Yer not telling me I can’t manage four childer are yer?’ She hugged her daughter, saying with a wink, ‘Go on with yer. What meks yer think I can’t do without yer, eh?’

  She appreciated Ruby’s concern, and if it was any other time she might have asked the lass to stay behind and give her a hand. But Lizzie knew how much Ruby had looked forward to this picnic with Maureen. ‘Thanks for taking Dolly,’ she said, directing a smile at the younger girl. ‘That’s one less mischief-maker. And anyway, your dad will be down now. He’ll keep the buggers in their place, that he will.’

  She would have talked a little while longer but Lot
tie began crying again, her lusty uplifted voice piercing the air. Throwing her arms above her head in frustration, Lizzie turned tail to run back down the passage, crying out as she went, ‘Enjoy yerselves. And don’t be too late back now.’

  They made a fetching sight as they went along the Preston New Road and up towards Corporation Park. Johnny was pushing the heavy bath-chair, with Ruby strolling along on one side and Dolly running to keep up on the other. Maureen was like a child, filled with wonder at everything she saw; each time a carriage went by she would clap her hands with excitement and, stretching her neck to see, would follow the graceful ensemble until it was out of sight.

  As they turned in through the great entrance of Corporation Park, a genteel couple strolled by. Maureen gasped at the exquisite finery the young lady was wearing; a cream-coloured dress with huge frilly flounces, and a glamorous pink bonnet decorated with extravagant silk roses. She was carrying the daintiest parasol, and strutting alongside at her white booted feet was a tiny little dog with a pretty pink bow round its collar. ‘Oh, look, Ruby!’ she gasped. Realising she was the centre of attention, the young lady smiled sweetly and her handsome companion doffed his hat with a sweep of his well-tailored arm.

  ‘She’s not as pretty as you,’ Ruby whispered in Maureen’s ear, and the well-meant compliment brought a smile to her face.

  As usual on a Sunday morning the Park was busy, with couples and families and well-behaved children all enjoying this beautiful place. The Park was one of the finest in Lancashire with fountains and cliffs, flowerbeds and shrubberies, narrow walkways and wide meandering avenues, all overhung with spreading boughs heavy with blossom. There was even a lake, populated by ducks and frequented by each and every one who sought refuge in this delightful oasis.

  It was incredible but true that here the air smelled sweet and fresh, when only twenty minutes’ walk away the atmosphere was choked and sooty, the smoke from the mills leaving its grime and odour on every house, street and thoroughfare in Blackburn.

  The happy little party carried on, up to the lake and the lawns beyond. Nearby the great conservatories housed all manner of exotic and heavenly plants. ‘Can we go in there? Can we?’ Dolly was beside herself. This was the third time Ruby had brought her here, and each time was a new adventure.

  ‘In a little while, maybe,’ she answered. She was more concerned that Maureen was all right. It was a steep climb to this spot, and though she had been pushed in her bath-chair all the way, the sun was beating down and there was no breeze to relieve the heat.

  ‘Aw, Ruby. Can’t I go now?’ Tugging at Ruby’s skirt, Dolly was insistent.

  Securing the brakes on the chair, and seeing how Ruby was attending to his sister, Johnny swung the girl into his arms, ‘No. You can’t go now,’ he laughed. ‘We’ll all go together like Ruby says, in a little while. But first we’re hungry and thirsty, so we’ll have our lunch first. What d’you say to that?’ He tickled her ribs and she squealed with delight. When he put her on her feet, she fled to Ruby and hid behind her skirt. She didn’t see the affectionate look that passed between Ruby and Johnny. She only knew there was something very special about today, and she loved Johnny almost as much as she loved her sister. She didn’t know Maureen very well, but she liked her all the same. She thought Maureen was pretty, and she said so. Thrilled, Maureen returned the compliment.

  It was the hottest August Ruby could remember. Maureen threatened to take off her shawl, but Johnny dissuaded her. ‘You know what Mam said… you’re to keep the shawl on so you don’t catch a chill.’ When she complained that she was too warm, he pushed her and the bath-chair out of the sun, beneath an aged willow whose branches dipped to the ground. From here she could see everything. A short distance away the lake shimmered and sparkled in the bright sunshine, and the whole panorama lay before her.

  ‘How’s that?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s wonderful,’ she whispered in awe. Satisfied, he returned to help Ruby who was setting out the picnic nearby.

  Frank was right. Lenny had raided the contents of Ruby’s precious basket. There was an apple missing, together with a small pork pie, and he’d taken a huge bite out of one of the cheese butties; Ruby surreptitiously hid this one in the basket so it couldn’t be seen. Fortunately, Maureen’s mother had packed a parcel containing some tit-bits and four slices of home-made fruit cake. Johnny laid them out on the tablecloth beside Ruby’s generous offering. In addition to Mrs Ackroyd’s contribution there was an abundance of cheese butties, four dark ripe plums, an orange each, four fat round muffins, and a tiny earthenware jar of raspberry preserve. There was also a stone bottle of sarsaparilla, and a fleshy chicken wing for Johnny.

  ‘A spread fit for a king,’ he told her. ‘You must have saved weeks to pay for it.’ His smile became a dark brooding gaze. ‘You’re not only beautiful but a real home-maker,’ he murmured, and she blushed to the roots of her hair.

  Still blushing, she kept her gaze averted while taking both crockery and cutlery out of the basket. ‘Mam helped me with the cheese butties,’ she admitted.

  ‘I’m hungry,’ wailed Dolly, who had eagerly helped to unpack the basket and now couldn’t contain her appetite any longer.

  ‘You’ll have to wait,’ Ruby scolded when the girl tried to take a muffin.

  Seeing the disappointed look on her face, Johnny moaned, ‘And I’m hungry.’ But when Ruby glanced up to see his mischievous expression, she knew he meant something else entirely, and she had to laugh.

  The lunch was a real treat. Johnny collected his sister out of her chair and, much to her delight, took off her shawl and asked Dolly to spread it on the ground for her to sit on. Both Ruby and Johnny kept a close watch on Maureen; the first sign that she was cold and she would be wrapped in her shawl whether she liked it or not.

  As it happened, Maureen did not grow cold. The heat of the August sun shone down and kindly warmed them all. Ruby was thrilled to see that Maureen actually had the faintest tinge of roses in her cheeks. Everyone enjoyed their lunch, and after they had each partaken of a cup of sarsaparilla, it was time to clear away. ‘I want the lavatory,’ Dolly was moaning again. Johnny laughed out loud and suggested they should walk up towards the conservatories. Ruby knew it was his polite way of telling Dolly that there were lavatories there.

  Afterwards, they strolled along the pretty walkways, up hill and down, until they came to some flat land. ‘Let’s stay here awhile,’ Ruby said. Like the others she was reluctant to go home yet. ‘It’s so lovely here.’ Her sparkling eyes scanned the horizon as she spoke. To the left of them were the high raised gardens spilling over with blooms, and over to the right was an expanse of green lush lawn, stretching as far as the eye could see. Shading her face with her hand, she looked in every direction. It was breathtaking.

  When both Johnny and Maureen gladly agreed to rest here for a time, Dolly complained, ‘I wanted to push Maureen for a while.’ Looking at Johnny, she sternly reminded him, ‘You said I could.’

  Maureen interrupted, telling the girl affectionately, ‘Johnny and Ruby can stay here if they like.’ She had a feeling they might want to spend a few minutes together. ‘If you go very slowly and don’t tip me out, I might let you take me along that little path.’ She pointed to where the footpath curved in towards the flowerbeds. ‘We can sit on that bench awhile and watch the swans through the railings.’ They had come the whole way round the lake and were now on the other side.

  Dolly was ecstatic, but Ruby wasn’t so sure. ‘You’re only little, Dolly,’ she warned. ‘When Johnny said you could push Maureen, he didn’t mean on your own.’

  Maureen argued, ‘It’s only a short way, and we’ll be in sight all the time.’ She appealed to her brother, ‘It’s all right, isn’t it Johnny?’

  Like Ruby, he was reluctant. ‘I don’t know, Sis…’

  Maureen was insistent. ‘The chair can’t tip over, not on flat ground, and you did promise Dolly she could push me.’

  ‘You’re a pair
of bullies,’ he said warmly. He looked at Dolly, who was patiently waiting with her fingers wrapped round the handle of the chair. She was a sturdy child, big for her age, and very sensible. ‘All right then,’ he conceded. ‘But only a short way.’ He motioned to the chestnut tree. ‘As far as there and then back again. All right?’ He watched them go, satisfying himself that they would be safe. ‘What chance do I stand against two women,’ he laughed then, coming to sit on the grass beside Ruby.

  ‘They’ll be fine,’ she assured him, adding with a little smile, ‘I think Maureen wanted us to have a few minutes together.’ ‘Sensible woman.’ There was a pause then he asked, ‘Will you tell me something, Ruby?’ Suddenly his voice had a serious ring to it.’

  ‘What is it?’ She shielded her eyes from the sun as she turned to look at him, his expression equally serious.

  He seemed embarrassed. ‘I haven’t said anything before because I know it’s none of my business.’ Even now the memory shocked and infuriated him.

  ‘Oh?’ Ruby was intrigued. She was also a little afraid.

  His gaze was dark and penetrating as he told her in a low firm voice, ‘I saw you… that night at the Bankses’ dance. I saw you there.’ He watched her eyes turn down towards the grass, and knew she was ashamed. ‘Why did you do it, Ruby? What in God’s name made you do it?’

  ‘Were you spying on me?’ She raised her eyes then and boldly looked him in the face.

  He shook his head. ‘No, I would never do such a thing,’ he explained. ‘Thomas was ill so I was obliged to drive the carriage that night. It was chilly out there, and I was impatient to be gone. All I did was glance in the window to see if the party was winding up, that’s all.’ He laughed scornfully. ‘I never dreamed that you were there, dressed like a lady and mingling as though you belonged.’ He shook his head. He still hadn’t got over the shock. ‘Laughing and dancing with that scum Luke Arnold. I couldn’t believe my own eyes!’