Nobody’s Darling

by Nobody’s Darling (retail) (epub)

  Lizzie was more concerned than she wanted to admit. For some weeks now, Ted had been morose and secretive, and it was the first time in all the years she’d known him that he wouldn’t confide in her. Because of it, she was unduly irritable herself, snapping at the childer and blaming all and sundry for her husband’s strange moods.

  ‘Will you talk to him?’ Ruby pleaded. ‘Find out what’s wrong?’

  Lizzie was indignant at that. She swung round. ‘Leave that to me!’ she snapped, ‘I don’t need you to tell me what to do where your father is concerned.’ The minute the words were out of her mouth she could have bitten off her tongue. But she couldn’t bring herself to apologise. She hadn’t altogether forgiven Ruby for keeping secrets from her.

  She was shocked at her mam’s outburst. ‘What’s wrong with you?’ she wanted to know.

  ‘What d’yer mean?’

  Ruby glanced out of the window to where her dad was still striding up and down, before returning her attention to Lizzie. ‘Well, it seems to me that Dad isn’t the only one to have things on his mind.’

  ‘There’s nothing on my mind,’ Lizzie said.

  Ruby wouldn’t be put off. ‘Oh, yes there is. You’ve been like a bear with a sore head these past few weeks. Is it because I used that money to buy into the milliner’s?’ She hated being at odds with her mam.

  ‘It ain’t none o’ my business what yer choose to do with yer money. And besides, all that was talked through with yer father. If he says it’s all right, then it’s all right.’ But it would never be all right with her, whatever Ted said.

  ‘Well, something’s bothering you, Mam. Out with it. What have I done to upset you?’

  This was Lizzie’s opportunity to vent her true feelings. ‘If yer must know, I don’t take kindly to yer burying yerself indoors. Yer a bonny lass, and it ain’t healthy to stay in night after night. Not when there’s a fine young man down the street who’s more than willing to take up courting with yer.’

  ‘You mean Johnny?’ Ruby had seen him on only two occasions since that wonderful night. It was curious how they could speak politely and coolly, as though they were strangers meeting for the first time. Ruby was torn between guilt and remorse, and somewhere in between there was a great ache in her heart. But she made herself accept the odd truce that had settled between them. It was simpler that way.

  Lizzie went to the cradle and made sure that the child was slumbering. The other childer were outside playing. ‘Yes, I mean Johnny,’ she said sharply. ‘Unless there’s another fella that’s been making eyes at yer?’ She glanced at Ruby, waiting for some kind of response. When there was none, she grunted, ‘It ain’t right, I tell yer… working all hours and closeting yerself indoors like a hermit, sketching and cutting out patterns, and fetching home all manner of paperwork. I knew summat would go wrong when yer got that money. I told yer dad, and I were right.’ She shook her head so frantically that her whole body rippled from top to toe, ‘But he wouldn’t listen. Oh, no. The pair on yer can’t see no further than yer noses.’ To Ruby’s astonishment, Lizzie fell into the chair and began sobbing.

  ‘What’s gonna become of us, eh?’ she whispered hoarsely. ‘What in God’s name’s gonna become of us?’

  Ruby went to her then. ‘Nothing’s going to become of us,’ she comforted, bending low to cradle Lizzie’s bowed head, ‘You’re not to worry about Dad,’ she urged. ‘If there’s a problem, he’ll sort it out in his own way. He always does, you know that.’ As though to ease her mam’s mind, she added softly, ‘You’re not to worry about me neither.’ She hugged Lizzie hard. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to marry me off and get rid of me.’

  That made Lizzie smile. ‘Hmh!’ she snorted, wiping her eye on the cuff of her sleeve. ‘I expect you’ll wed when yer ready and not afore. What’s more, I don’t expect you’ll ever make a grandma of me, more’s the pity.’

  Without knowing it, she had touched on something that had haunted Ruby these past months. ‘Oh, I don’t know, Mam,’ she sighed. ‘Who knows? One of these days I might surprise you.’

  ‘Aye, and sparrers’ll wear clogs,’ Lizzie replied in a lighter voice. When she looked up sharply, she thought she saw a certain sadness in Ruby’s ocean blue eyes. ‘I’m sorry I yelled at yer, lass,’ she said. ‘But I’m not pleased at what’s going on. I’ve allus been made to speak my mind, and I have to say I’m not sorry yer were sent packing from the Bankses’ house, because you and that Cicely were becoming too fond of each other. But, oh, I do wish he hadn’t sent you that money, ’cause money of that kind brings its own trouble. I can feel it in me bones.’ Heaving a great big sigh she clambered out of the chair, saying wearily, ‘Fetch the childer in, lass, while I go and talk to yer dad. It’s getting dark, and I reckon I’m ready fer an early bed tonight.’ She yawned. ‘Age is creeping up on me,’ she said ruefully. And with that she went out of the parlour, through the scullery and into the yard, where she and Ted were soon engrossed in conversation.

  As she came out into the street, Ruby caught sight of Lenny striding towards her. Since acquiring work with the blacksmith, he had seemed to grow overnight; no longer the boy who looked for trouble at every corner and teased the childer for the delight of it, he was a young man with a responsible job, and even the odd girlfriend calling now and then. He was also quieter and proving to be a deep thinker like his dad. Ruby waylaid him as he approached. ‘Tell Mam I’m going to see Maureen and I’ll collect the childer in a while.’

  He merely nodded. These days he had little to say. Anything important he saved for his dad. After all, he was a man now and men must stick together. Ruby watched him go into the house. Somehow, she still couldn’t believe that the nasty side of him was altogether gone.

  Maureen was enjoying the last of the evening sunshine. Seated in the high-backed chair that Johnny had bought her from the Saturday market, she was warmly wrapped in the soft brown chequered shawl that Ruby had given her as a present. She had a blanket over her legs and a mug of steaming tea in her hands. ‘I saw you talking to Lenny,’ she said. ‘How’s he getting on at his work?’

  Ruby sat on the doorstep beside her friend with her knees tucked under her chin. ‘Oh, he’s all right, I suppose. At least it keeps him out of mischief.’ She went on to ask how Maureen herself had been. She said she was better every day, then quickly diverted the conversation from herself, asked Ruby all about the milliner’s, and whether she was rich yet, and what would she do when she was.

  ‘I’ll buy you a lovely new dress and coat to match, and a hat with big feathers that shiver in the wind,’ laughed Ruby.

  ‘I won’t let you,’ Maureen interrupted. ‘You’re always buying me presents.’ When Ruby pulled a face, she went on, ‘What else will you do? As if I don’t know.’ She knew all of Ruby’s dreams and never tired of hearing them. Her own life was dreary and predictable, while Ruby’s was growing more exciting by the day, and Maureen loved to hear her talk. A year ago, even a few months ago, Ruby’s dreams seemed impossible, like a fairy-tale. Now, though, Maureen could see them coming true, and she wanted to share in it all. ‘Go on, Ruby,’ she urged, leaning forward in her chair. ‘Tell me what you’ll do when you’re rich.’

  Before Ruby could answer, another voice intervened and it turned her heart over. ‘We all know what Ruby wants, Maureen.’ Johnny came out of the house and stood behind them. ‘She wants the whole world,’ he said softly.

  Ruby was caught off guard by the bitterness in his voice. ‘And what’s wrong with that?’ she wanted to know.

  His dark eyes roved her face. ‘Who am I to say?’ he murmured. ‘But, remember, we can’t always have what we want.’ He resisted the urge to sweep her up in his arms, thinking no one could want anything as much as he wanted Ruby. But he was wise enough to know that often a man has to be patient. Turning to his sister, he told her, ‘It’s getting chilly, Maureen, we’d best get you inside.’ Stepping down to the pavement, he clasped her by the shoulders and eas
ed her on to her feet.

  ‘Are you coming in, Ruby?’ Maureen asked as she was gently lifted into his arms. Johnny turned his head, waiting for her answer.

  ‘No. I promised Mam I’d collect the childer,’ she said, rising from the step. ‘But I’ll be round to see you tomorrow, then we’ll have a long talk. How about that?’

  Maureen’s answer was a big warm smile. ‘Sounds all right to me.’

  Shifting her gaze to Johnny, Ruby spoke in a quiet voice. ‘Goodnight.’

  ‘Goodnight, Ruby,’ he answered. He wanted to say so many things but knew this was not the time. Perhaps there would never be a time for him and Ruby. The thought was unbearable.

  * * *

  Later, when the house was asleep and darkness filtered into every corner of her room, Ruby lay in bed, listening to Dolly’s gentle slumbering and staring at the brown damp patches on the ceiling. The candlelight flickered and trembled across the room, making the patches creep along like awful monsters that would fall on her at any minute. She was bone tired but couldn’t sleep. There were so many troubled thoughts pushing at the walls of her mind. She wondered what it was that made her father so quiet and moody of late, and her mam so quickly out of temper. Was she so wrong in wanting more out of life? Was it a sin to think about riches and wonderful things? Ruby didn’t know.

  The more she thought on it, and the more she pondered her mother’s warnings, the more confused she became. Had she lost her way? Was her mam right after all? Certainly, where there had always been laughter and a simple life in this familiar little house, there was now a shadow over it. Was it because of her? Dear God, she hoped not.

  Not too far away Lizzie also lay awake, tossing this way then that. She was deeply worried because Ted would not discuss what was bothering him. She guessed that it was to do with his work at the foundry, but he would neither deny nor confirm it, and so she was left wondering. In all the years they’d been together, he had never kept anything from her until now. Then there was Ruby, who seemed hell bent on wasting her young life.

  ‘God above, what’s happening to us?’ she asked, heaving a deep sigh that swept through her and left her breathless.

  Sad of heart, Lizzie reminded herself that a family was a living thing that grew and branched out, and she could never hold it together as she could when they were all bairns. Suddenly, for no reason that she could fathom, she was gripped with a rush of horror. In that moment the room felt so cold that she found herself shivering. It was as though the icy breath of the dark reaper had blown in through the very walls.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Not long after he made Cicely his bride, Luke Arnold made another heartless and calculated decision. On a freezing November morning, he arrived at his father’s foundry. His mood was dark as he rushed into the manager’s office. ‘What the hell do you mean by this?’ He opened his palm to reveal a crumpled piece of paper. ‘I’m no messenger boy to be summoned by the likes of you!’ he exploded, sending the paper across the desk with an angry flick of the wrist. ‘Explain yourself, man.’

  At once the manager sprang to his feet and captured the fluttering paper between finger and thumb. ‘I’m sorry,’ he apologised, the other man’s hard stare forcing him momentarily to lower his gaze. ‘Only I thought you should know what’s been happening here.’ He glanced towards the door and lowered his voice. ‘It’s trouble, I reckon.’

  ‘Trouble?’ Luke Arnold half turned his head, wondering whether there was someone behind him. ‘What kind of trouble?’ His whole manner changed as he waited for an answer. Gone was the arrogance. He was suddenly edgy and afraid. Guilty men were always afraid.

  ‘You recall a fellow by the name of Ted Miller… the one you told me to get rid of?’

  Luke searched his mind for a moment. The name was familiar. He remembered. ‘The troublemaker, you mean?’ When the other man nodded, he went on, ‘Well, what of him? If I remember rightly, I gave orders that he should be paid off.’

  ‘Oh, he was paid off. I sent him on his way just like you told me.’ He made a small chuckling sound. ‘Funny, him being taken on at Banks’s foundry soon after. So you see he’s back in the family so to speak. But then, who would have thought that you’d end up wedding Banks’s daughter, eh?’

  Luke was not amused. ‘Stick to the point, damn you!’

  ‘You won’t like it.’ He took a deep breath and spat the words out as though they were bitter on his tongue. ‘He’s stirring up trouble again. If you don’t put a stop to him, we’ll all be for the high jump.’

  ‘Go on,’ Luke ordered impatiently. He was both surprised and disappointed to learn that Ted Miller was actually working for Cicely’s father. As yet he had little influence in that direction, although he was determined it would soon be rectified. He could never lose sight of the main reason he married the pathetic Cicely. At night, when he used that insipid creature to satisfy his lust, he imagined it was the beautiful Ruby, and hated his wife all the more.

  ‘These past weeks there have been rumblings,’ the manager explained. ‘Some of the men have been heard asking questions about the quality of raw materials brought in to make the steel. Oh, there’s nothing to worry about… not yet there isn’t.’ His warning was unmistakable.

  ‘What has Miller to do with it?’

  ‘I’m not rightly sure. But the foreman reckons he heard two names mentioned. One was an idiot I know the men wouldn’t pay too much mind to. The fellow’s a fool to himself, drinks like a fish and thinks out of his arse.’

  ‘And the other?’

  ‘Well, that’s just it. It seems that Ted Miller listened to the drunk’s ramblings, and now he won’t let it be. He’s asking questions. So far that’s all. But I’m worried. Soon ever I heard the name Miller, I thought it best to let you know. He’s a sharp one is Ted. If he keeps probing, it won’t take him long to put two and two together.’ He rolled his eyes and glanced at the door again. ‘He’ll do for us both,’ he whispered.

  Luke strolled away from the desk, the tip of his finger tapping against his teeth and making an irritating noise. He thought long and hard before slewing round. ‘Ted Miller? What family does he have?’ At the back of his mind was the realisation that this man might well be Ruby’s father.

  ‘Well, there’s a wife, of course, and twins. Then there’s a lad. Oh, and there’s two young ’uns. And of course, there’s Ruby… used to be your own wife’s personal maid, if my information serves me right.’ Misunderstanding the other man’s intention, he added, ‘He has a deal of responsibility as you can see. But you’re wrong if you think you can frighten him. Ted Miller isn’t the kind of man to be warned off. He may not work here, but that won’t stop him from being interested in what goes on. Besides, the men here know and respect him. They’ll listen to what he has to say.’

  Luke laughed, a low cynical sound that cautioned the other fellow to remember his place. ‘A man with principles, is he?’ he snorted. ‘They’re the worst kind.’ He felt a certain sadistic satisfaction at knowing that this ‘troublemaker’ was none other than Ruby’s father; with the same proud attitude and irritating concern for others, it was plain they were made out of the same mould.

  ‘What can we do?’ The manager’s several chins were visibly shivering. ‘I tell you, it’s only a matter of time before he discovers what we’ve been up to. I don’t mind admitting that I’m frightened out of my wits.’

  ‘What do we do?’ Luke came back to the desk and leaned his face close to the other man’s. ‘We get rid of him, that’s what we do.’

  The other man looked confused. ‘How do you suggest we do that?’ Knowing Ted Miller, any suspicious moves would only light the fuse and send the whole rotten business, and them, sky high.

  ‘We get rid of him. Only not like before.’ He paused to let his words sink in. ‘You see, this time, he won’t be able to spread his nasty little rumours, because he won’t be coming back.’ He watched with amusement while the manager’s eyes grew wider. ‘That’s right.�
� He saw how the other fellow was riveted with shock, and it amused him. ‘I hope you’re not squeamish,’ he warned softly. ‘It would displease me if I was to suddenly realise I couldn’t count on you.’

  The man swallowed so hard that his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. ‘Oh, you can count on me, have no fear about that,’ he said hoarsely. ‘I understand what you’re saying, and you can leave it to me.’

  He was about to explain that he knew someone who would do anything for a price, but Luke was already on his way out of the office. ‘See to it!’ he snarled over his shoulder. ‘But spare me the details. I know nothing whatsoever about it. Remember that.’

  The other man was left listening to Luke’s quick footsteps as they went down the stairs. When he thought on the task ahead, he fell backwards into his chair and the sweat ran fast down his temples. ‘Murder,’ he whispered. ‘The bugger wants me to commit murder.’ He couldn’t believe it, and yet he saw the need.

  All the same, the thought of actually killing Ted Miller made him sick to his stomach.

  * * *

  Some weeks later, Ted came away from the marketplace, a happy grin on his face and a feeling of joy in his heart. Today was Christmas Eve. He was excited at the coming festivities and proud of his bargaining talent, because, in between having a celebratory drink with his mates in the nearby pub, and dodging the shoppers to find his way back to the stall, he had finally haggled the price of the best tree down to two shillings and threepence. ‘By! Wait ’til I walk in the door with this beauty,’ he chuckled, wrapping his two arms round the magnificent tree, and finding his way out of the marketplace.

  The evening was drawing in fast as he made his way towards Fisher Street. Everyone seemed to be in a dreadful hurry to get home before dark, blindly rushing here and there and not looking where they were going. All day long the snow had fallen and now the chilly wind was hardening it to ice. The ground was dangerously slippery and Ted was forced to slow his pace as he picked his way along the pavements. Twice he had to swing the tree out of the way, when frantic folk insisted on careering into him. ‘Watch where you’re going then!’ he called out when one man swore aloud as the prickly branches brushed his face.