For Better For Worse (27 page)

‘What has?’ he said dully.

‘Oh Henry,’ she protested. ‘You haven’t heard a word I’ve said. I said I don’t really mind living with Sarah and Kaye.’

He started. ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute … you’re living with Kaye?’

The baby stirred and began to protest. She lifted him onto her shoulder and rubbed his back gently. ‘Yes,’ she smiled. ‘And Sarah and Jenny and Lu-Lu as well.’

Henry blinked. ‘Well, I’m damned.’

‘Of course, we can’t stay there once you get out of prison,’ she said. ‘It wouldn’t be right, would it, all three of us under the same roof as you, but I’m saving every penny I can. When I’ve passed my piano examination I’ll be able to charge the proper price for lessons, but even now I can get a few shillings, and there’s no shortage of mothers wanting their little darlings to play the piano.’

Henry wanted to laugh out loud. For weeks, he’d been sizing up just about every inmate in the prison before he confided in someone who might be able to trace where Kaye was living. He’d written to the BBC, but just as he’d thought, his letter had been ignored, and now, here was the silly female telling him that they were all together in the same house!

Edward began to wail. ‘He needs his nappy changing,’ she said, ‘and I have to feed him.’

‘You’re not doing that here,’ said Henry, looking around anxiously.

‘Of course not, silly,’ she said. ‘I’ll have to go to the Ladies somewhere.’

Silly? He felt his anger rising. Silly. For two pins he would have bellowed at her for talking to him like that, but he had to stay controlled. He had to be the model prisoner if he was going to get out on time.

‘I may not be able to come again,’ she was saying. ‘It’s very expensive and we want a bit of money behind us for when you come out.’

‘I quite understand, my dear,’ he said, relieved. ‘Take care of yourself.’ He watched her as she walked to the door and lifted his hand in a wave as she left.

Back in his cell, Henry got out his prison-issue writing paper. He could write all three of them a letter now if he wanted to. He knew exactly where they all were. One of Annie’s letters fell on the floor. He opened it and looked at the address, Copper Beeches, Church Walk, Worthing. He put the letter back. No need to write to any of them just yet. He had other fish to fry … much wealthier fish.

‘Blimey,’ said Big Frankie, ‘only just seen her and you’re writing to the missus already. It must be love …’

Henry grinned. ‘Something like that,’ he said as he penned the words. It was time to reel his guilty secret in. ‘My dearest, I hardly know how to put this down on paper, but I need your help …’

Peter’s wedding was only a couple of weeks away. It had put pressure on Sarah to get the wedding dress done, but luckily Nancy had chosen a fairly plain design. The material was a white floral brocade and the dress itself was sleeveless, with a wide empire-line band fitted to the waist. The slightly pleated skirt was short and the only other shaping came from two darts at the bust. Nancy was going to wear a tulle headdress with a short veil and carry spring flowers. Now that she was able to use Kaye’s treadle sewing machine, Sarah had been confident that it wouldn’t take long to do, and she was right.

The dashing of her plans concerning Peter left Sarah with a bit of a dilemma. It was obvious that she couldn’t stay in the house forever, but what was she going to do? She’d toyed with the idea of becoming a Spirella corsetière, which was a respectable job she could do from her own home. She had looked into it and discovered that she would need three weeks’ training in Letchworth, near to London, and then she could set up her own franchise. Money was the problem. She would have to save hard if she was going to do it. There was no money to be made in dressmaking, so where on earth did her future lie? She may have lost Peter Millward’s books, but based on his recommendations, a couple of other businesses had retained her services. Sadly they only brought in pennies. She needed to think of something a little more lucrative.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Lottie was peeling the potatoes ready for dinner. She was good at routine and Sarah didn’t have to remind her anymore about when to do things.

‘You’re busy.’

‘You know me,’ said Lottie chirpily, ‘I don’t let the feet grow under my grass.’

Sarah turned her back so that she wouldn’t see her laugh. Lottie still didn’t talk very much and she sometimes got everything round the wrong way, but if she saw Sarah laughing at her it might destroy her confidence. It was obvious that she enjoyed living at Copper Beeches. As Sarah prepared the cabbage, they could hear Kaye coughing. Lottie looked up and they shared a look of concern. When the coughing reached choking proportions, Sarah left the kitchen and hurried to the study. Kaye was on her feet desperately trying to catch her breath. Her eyes were watering and she was very red in the face.

‘Ring for Doctor Bradley,’ Sarah called over her shoulder as she heard Lottie’s footfall right behind her. She closed the door, anxious that Lottie shouldn’t see her niece in such a state.

Kaye was panicking. She spluttered into her hand, retching and throwing herself about as she desperately tried to catch her breath. Sarah snatched a handkerchief from her own pocket and handed it to her.

‘Kaye, you need to move into another position,’ she said, helping Kaye to bend over towards her knees. ‘Try and control the cough and concentrate on your breathing. Breathe through your nose, that’s right, that right …’

After a few seconds, Kaye began to breathe normally, but she was clearly exhausted by the episode.

‘Lift your head now,’ Sarah said. Kaye wiped her nose with her handkerchief and as Lottie opened the door, Sarah looked up. ‘Can you get Kaye a glass of water, Lottie?’

‘I feel dizzy,’ said Kaye hoarsely, ‘and my head is banging like a drum.’

‘I’ll get you to bed in a minute,’ said Sarah, ‘but you need to calm down a little first. Lottie has rung for Doctor Bradley, but I think he will only tell you what you don’t want to hear.’

‘Cut down on the cigarettes,’ said Kaye dolefully.

‘’Fraid so,’ said Sarah. The two of them exchanged small smiles. Lottie reappeared with the water and Sarah steadied Kaye’s trembling hand as she took a gulp. ‘Take it slowly,’ she advised.

They didn’t have to wait long before the doctor put in an appearance. The National Health Service had begun in July of the previous year, bringing free health care to everyone in the country, but some patients had continued as before. Kaye was one of them and Doctor Bradley always found time for his private patients.

Having shooed Sarah and Lottie from the room, he gave Kaye a thorough examination. ‘Any other symptoms?’

‘I’ve got a terrible headache,’ Kaye admitted. ‘And I do feel a bit worn out these days.’

‘Any muscular pain?’

‘Whenever I work too hard, I get a pain in my right shoulder.’

‘When did you last have a holiday?’ said Doctor Bradley, a neat little man with a moustache designed to make him look older. He’d taken over from his father when he retired from the practice and was the second generation who had cared for Kaye and the family. He put his stethoscope back into his bag.

Kaye shrugged. ‘It’s been a while. I’ve been very busy.’

He smiled. ‘I know, I heard your latest play on the radio the other day. Very good, in fact I would go so far as to say brilliant.’

Kaye basked in a pink glow of pleasure. ‘Thank you.’

‘How many cigarettes do you smoke a day?’

He’d caught her off guard. ‘Um …’

‘That tells me it’s too many,’ he said, ‘and judging by the look of that overflowing ashtray, I should say far too many.’

‘They say they’re good for you,’ said Kaye feebly. ‘They calm your nerves.’

‘There’s a new school of thought now,’ said Doctor Bradley. ‘Smoking is not as beneficial as we first thought. In fact, cigarettes have been linked to getting other diseases.’

‘All right,’ she said grudgingly. ‘I’ll cut down.’

‘I should like to run a few tests,’ Doctor Bradley went on. ‘I’ll arrange for you to see a colleague of mine in Harley Street. The next time you’re in town, make an appointment and pop along to see him.’ Kaye nodded dully. ‘In the meantime,’ Doctor Bradley continued, ‘get someone to put a bowl of water near the fireplace. The air is very dry in this room and that won’t help with your breathing.’

As he left, Kaye gathered her things. She was in desperate need of some sleep. Sarah followed her up to her room and closed the curtains. Kaye undressed as far as her petticoat and slid under the eiderdown. It was chilly in the bedroom so she was grateful for the hot-water bottle Sarah had already put there. As she closed the door, Sarah glanced at her employer. Kaye really didn’t look well at all.

*

‘Until we can find a place of our own,’
Henry wrote,
‘I shall be staying with an old family friend.’

Annie was furious. She had already written to explain that she was sure Kaye wouldn’t mind him being in the house with her and the baby, although she hadn’t actually broached the subject with Kaye herself yet. She was confident that however she felt about Henry, Kaye would never turn Edward out of his only home. She’d explained to Henry that she wasn’t the least bit embarrassed about being with the other wives, but now he’d written this! Didn’t he want to be with his son? She banged her thigh in frustration. She had been looking forward to having Henry back. It was proving desperately difficult to find somewhere else to live and nothing was a patch on the room she and Edward shared at Copper Beeches. It was quite big and another person could easily fit in with them. It wasn’t as if Henry had much stuff, and besides, as soon as he got another job, they could find a place of their own.

She had hoped that she would have plenty of piano students by now but a chance remark by one of the mothers had put paid to that. Mrs Riley had asked Annie if she was related to Kaye. It seemed like a simple request from an adoring fan and without thinking Annie had laughed out loud, ‘Well, we share the same husband, but that’s all.’ Mrs Riley had been visibly appalled. Gathering her child’s things and grabbing Oliver by the arm, she’d made for the door. Annie tried to explain that it was nothing untoward, but her client was in no mood to listen. Oliver didn’t come back for his Tuesday lesson and before long Annie noticed that some of her other clients had dropped away as well.

‘Perhaps you should try and get some other job,’ Sarah suggested when Annie told her.

‘There isn’t a lot of point,’ said Annie. ‘Henry will be here soon.’

Sarah sighed audibly but said nothing.

With nothing much to do, Annie was bored. Oh, she had Edward of course, but Kaye had been laid up for a couple of days with exhaustion and Sarah was making a wedding dress in her spare time. The only other person in the house, apart from the children, was Lottie, and quite frankly Annie didn’t have much to do with her. She was a funny little woman and could be a bit embarrassing at times, not the sort you had as a friend. As soon as Kaye felt better she would be too busy for idle chit-chat. She would be back at her desk.

Annie hadn’t been back home since before Christmas, but she knew her parents were away. Her mother took her to Hubbard’s for afternoon tea now and then, but at the moment they were in York visiting Granny. Annie pouted. Everybody got to do things except for her. It wasn’t fair.

‘Why don’t you take yourself off to the pictures,’ Sarah suggested when Annie grumbled about being fed up. ‘I’ll look after Edward.’

Annie’s eyes lit up. ‘I’d sooner go to the dance at the Plaza ballroom,’ she said.

‘Then go and enjoy yourself,’ said Sarah.

Annie hesitated. ‘Do you mean it?’

‘Of course,’ smiled Sarah. ‘We’ll take care of Edward.’

Dizzy with excitement, Annie telephoned an old friend and agreed to meet her at the entrance, before spending the rest of the afternoon going through her clothes. This was the first time she’d actually met up with anyone from Worthing. She knew her father wouldn’t approve and up to now she had always hesitated in case he found out, but all at once she felt her old defiant self coming back. She had some beautiful dresses, and although it was a bit of a struggle, she still fitted into them. In the end, she chose a pale lemon dress with a navy zigzag pattern across the skirt. Its sweetheart neckline was flattering, especially when she put on the two-strand pearl necklace her mother had given her on her sixteenth birthday. She fed Edward and had put him down in his cot by six thirty. He played for a while with his teddy and the bell she had tied across the cot with a ribbon and then fell asleep. On her way out, Annie stopped by the sitting room to give everyone a twirl. Kaye was reading a story to Jenny and Lu-Lu and all three agreed that she looked lovely.

‘See you later,’ Annie cried as she hurried out. ‘I’ll be back in time to feed him.’

As she turned into the street, she glanced towards Mrs Goodall’s house and saw her watching from the sitting room window. Annie stopped and, looking right at her, she leaned forward and stuck out her tongue. With a shocked expression, Mrs Goodall dropped the net curtain.

*

‘That was nice of you to babysit,’ said Kaye as she and Sarah sat together in the sitting room. She had persuaded Sarah to join her once the girls were in bed, using her recent illness as leverage. Lottie was sitting under the standard lamp having a go at sewing a button onto a cardigan while they all listened to the radio. The programme was
Twenty Questions
in which the members of the team had to discover a mystery word using only twenty questions. ‘And the mystery word is bicarbonate of soda … bicarbonate of soda.’ In a hidden studio, Norman Hackforth had just given the radio audience the word the team were struggling to find. Stewart MacPherson, the chairman, told the team it was mineral.

‘She’s young,’ Sarah shrugged. ‘The girl needed a bit of fun.’

‘You’re a very caring person,’ Kaye remarked as they worked on a jigsaw puzzle together. ‘Have you given any more thought to a career?’

On the radio, Daphne Padel squeaked, ‘Can you drink it?’