It Had To Be You (29 page)

‘At least the deeds to the house weren’t in it,’ said Jared, glad that he’d taken them from his mother yesterday and placed them in the metal box he’d had since he was a kid. It contained shells he’d picked up off Formby beach, his champion conker, a Victorian double-headed coin and the toy car that his dad had bought him for his eighth birthday.

‘I’ve just remembered that there was a copy
of my new will in there,’ said Elsie, paling. ‘He’ll discover that he doesn’t even get a mention in it, and Emma does.’

‘Emma!’ exclaimed Dorothy, staring at her. ‘Why Emma?’

Elsie did not immediately answer because she was puffing on her cigarette as if her life depended on it. ‘You get a mention, as well. You all do − even Betty.’ She hesitated. ‘But there’s a typed letter paper-clipped to my will, explaining why Emma’s included.’

‘I don’t understand,’ said Dorothy, her green-blue eyes bewildered.

‘I owe Emma a lot. I wouldn’t have a penny if it wasn’t for her,’ muttered Elsie.

Jared groaned and rested his head against the back of the sofa. ‘Uncle William’s money!’ he exclaimed.

His mother stared at him. ‘What do you know? Did the solicitor say something to you or have you been prying?’

‘Have I hell,’ said Jared, glaring at her. ‘I worked it out for myself. You and Dad didn’t have the kind of money to buy a house this size. Especially once he took ill. Aunt Lizzie must have helped you out, and where did she get the money? Uncle William must have left it to her and his daughters.’

‘One daughter,’ said Elsie.

There was a silence.

‘What do you mean?’ he demanded. ‘Come on, Ma, spill the beans.’

Elsie was visibly trembling as she lit another cigarette from the one she was smoking. ‘Y-you’re to keep this to yourself, both of you,’ she said in a whisper. ‘Although, if Teddy’s been through my stuff, he’ll know everything. Having said that, he’s a poor reader, so he’ll have difficulty understanding every word of the letter.’

‘He could get someone else to read it to him,’ said Jared, his eyes never leaving his mother’s face. ‘Come on, Ma, what does the letter say?’

Elsie took a deep shaky breath. ‘Betty isn’t William’s daughter. Her father was that actor our Lizzie was mad about, only, as I told you, he went and died. She told me she was pregnant and I hit the roof. She ran out the house, straight into the arms of William, who had come to tell us that Mary was dead. She told him that Johnny was dead, too. When I learnt that, I felt terrible, but I was so annoyed with her for being so stupid. I told her that she had to go away, have the baby and give it up for adoption. She refused because she wanted Johnny’s baby, so I persuaded her to make a proper friend of William and be a comfort to him.’

There was a heavy silence.

A couple of minutes passed before Jared asked, ‘Did Uncle William know Betty wasn’t his child?’

‘I’m sure he guessed,’ said Elsie. ‘Anyway, I
might as well tell you about the money. William didn’t trust banks and kept his money in a safe in the house. Of course, being a soldier in wartime he had to make a will. He wrote Lizzie a letter, saying that he’d left everything to her, because he didn’t want Emma’s grandparents to get their hands on his money. No one knew about it but our Lizzie. He trusted her to do what was right by Emma. She knew the combination of the safe and removed the money and deposited most of it in Martin’s Bank after his death. I certainly didn’t suspect he had so much money. It was a good job she did do that, because you know what happened to the house.’

‘So she tried to get in touch with Emma, but her grandmother ignored her letters,’ said Dorothy.

Elsie nodded. ‘So she gave Owen the money to buy this house on the condition that one day it would be sold and half given to Emma. Anyway, she and Betty came to live with us, as you know. Of course, Lizzie was entitled to some of William’s money herself because she was his wife, so after her death her share belonged to Betty.’ She paused to drag on her cigarette.

‘I would never have believed it of Aunt Lizzie,’ said Jared. ‘Why couldn’t she have gone up north to see Emma?’

‘At first it was because it was wartime,’ said Elsie.

‘But afterwards!’ said Jared, his face set.

‘I know, I know! She should have done it, and after she died I should have tried to find Emma, but I was on my own, grieving for her and your dad.’ Elsie fell silent.

‘So when Emma wrote to you out of the blue,’ said Jared roughly, ‘it must have given you a helluva shock.’

‘It did! Especially when I knew Emma wasn’t really Betty’s half-sister. Our Lizzie never told Betty about Johnny, so she believed that William Booth was her father.’

Jared put his head in his hands and said in a muffled voice, ‘I’m going to have to mortgage this house and give Emma her share of the money.’

‘Don’t be daft!’ said Elsie, alarmed. ‘Why do you think I made the house over to you? When I listened to you talking about Emma, and then saw you with her, I knew you’d fallen for her, and it was obvious to me that she’d fallen for you. I could see the pair of you getting married and living here, so in a way she’ll get what’s her due.’

‘If you really believed that, Ma, then why is Emma in your will?’ asked Jared.

Elsie sighed. ‘I couldn’t be
certain
you’d marry her. Besides, I haven’t been well lately and I don’t know when I might pop off.’

‘You’d be as fit as a fiddle if you gave the ciggies up,’ said Dorothy. ‘You are devious, Mum.’

‘Never mind that now,’ said Jared, frowning.
‘How much money are we talking about you leaving in your will, Ma?’

Elsie hesitated before saying, ‘A substantial amount. Me and our Lizzie invested some of the money William left and it brought us in a nice little income, without us having to touch the capital.’

Dorothy gasped. ‘When I think of the way you made me hand over most of my wages, I could walk out of here right now!’

‘When I pop off you’ll get it back with interest,’ snapped Elsie.

‘I could do with it now. Anyway, why the heck did you bother getting a part-time job when you and Aunt Lizzie were loaded?’ asked Dorothy.

‘I didn’t want people suspecting I had money,’ muttered Elsie. ‘Besides, if I’d come clean, I’d have had to explain where the money came from and that would mean Betty knowing the truth about her father. As it is …’ She paused, gulped and the colour drained from her face.

‘As it is − what?’ demanded Jared.

Elsie put a hand to her breast and took a shaky breath. ‘Teddy might know everything now. Pass me my handbag. I need my pills.’

‘What pills?’ asked Dorothy, getting up and fetching the handbag.

Elsie only said, ‘Get me them. I’ll need a drink of water.’

Dorothy fetched water and she and Jared
watched their mother open a container and remove a little blue pill and take it with the water. She leant back against the back of the sofa and was silent for several minutes. Then she looked at Dorothy. ‘You’ve got to talk to that policeman friend of yours and get him to find Teddy.’ Then she turned her gaze on her son. ‘And you’ve not to tell Emma the truth. The house is yours. She’ll get her due when I die.’

Jared stood at the other side of the ticket barrier, watching the passengers pour out of the train from Manchester. He still hadn’t made up his mind about what he was going to say to Emma about his mother’s revelations. Suddenly he spotted Emma and his heart lifted, in spite of all that bothered him. He saw her face light up when she saw him, and then her brow knit and she came running.

As soon as she was through the barrier, he moved towards her and stretched out a hand for her overnight bag. ‘Are you OK?’ he asked.

‘Never mind me,’ she said, holding on to her baggage. ‘What about you? What have you done to
yourself, luv?’ Her voice was as gentle and soothing as a caress.

In that moment he knew what he must do, even though it was going to be difficult and would upset her. ‘Let’s go to Lyons and have a cup of tea and a toasted crumpet and I’ll tell you all about it.’

Emma linked her arm through his undamaged one and they began to walk towards the side entrance of the station. ‘Don’t keep me in suspense,’ she said. ‘Start now.’

He told her about going in to the loft and bringing down what he had hoped were her father’s paintings. ‘What are they like?’ she asked excitedly.

‘I haven’t looked. I thought we could do that together,’ said Jared.

She looked pleased and squeezed his arm. ‘I hope they are his paintings.’

‘So do I, because if I hadn’t gone up there, then I would have caught Uncle Teddy in the act, burgling our house, and wouldn’t have fallen down the stairs and broken my arm. As it is, he got away.’

Emma frowned. ‘That’s awful. Does your arm hurt much?’

‘Not as much as it did,’ he said, smiling wryly.

She kissed the side of his face. ‘I wish it hadn’t happened.’

‘So do I. You do realise I won’t be able to finish the job at the cottage now?’

‘That can wait. You can still come and visit me, though.’

He paused and kissed her on the mouth, and for a moment their lips clung before parting. ‘You are understanding. I’m annoyed with myself that I left the back door open and that’s how he got into the house,’ he said crossly. ‘He stole Ma’s box with all her important papers inside.’

‘Oh Lor’!’ Emma’s eyes widened in dismay. ‘That’ll inconvenience her. Is there anything you can do to find him and get them back?’

He told her what his mother had suggested and she said, ‘So what are you going to do about notifying the police? Your mother might have trouble explaining matters to a policeman who doesn’t understand the family situation. He’s still her husband, after all, so he isn’t like an ordinary burglar, is he?’

Jared said grimly, ‘No, he isn’t. But there’s more I have to tell you and I’d rather wait until we’re sitting down to do that.’

She stared at him. ‘What is it? You look—’

‘I’ll explain later,’ he said.

Emma had to be satisfied with that, but she had started to worry.

They walked along Lime Street until they came to Lyons café and went inside. It was busy but they managed to find a table for two and sat down. Jared waited until a waitress had taken their order before
reaching out for Emma’s hand that lay on the table and clasping it.

‘I’m going to tell you something now that will shock and disappoint you, but I feel it would be wrong to keep it from you.’

She moistened her lips and cleared her throat. ‘You look so serious, you’re frightening me. It’s not that you’ve got an old girlfriend tucked away somewhere and don’t want to see me any more?’

His expression relaxed. ‘No, of course not! What kind of person do you think I am? I love you, Emma. I want to marry you. I know there are difficult choices ahead, but I’m sure we can sort them out.’

Her eyes glowed. ‘You really love me?’

‘I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.’

‘I love you, too, and of course I want to marry you and for us to be together for always.’

He let out a long breath. ‘Good! I just hope you’ll still feel like that when I tell you about the bombshell Ma dropped on Dorothy and me last night.’

She stared at him expectantly.

There was a long pause and then he said, ‘Your father left a lot of money, Emma, with my Aunt Lizzie. Some of it was meant for you, but she lent it to my father to buy the house where we live now. I’ve decided to mortgage the house and hand over half the money to you.’

Emma gazed at him for what felt an age and then said, ‘You don’t have to do that if we get married. The house can belong to both of us.’

‘That was Ma’s idea.’ He hesitated and held her hand tightly. ‘But there’s more; shall we wait until the tea comes before I tell you?’

She raised an eyebrow. ‘Why? Do you think I’m going to need plenty of sugar in it for further shock?’

He did not answer but glanced around for the waitress.

‘You’re getting me worried again, Jared,’ said Emma in a low voice.

‘Sorry.’ He gave her his full attention. ‘It’s to do with Betty and—’ He stopped short, thinking this was much more difficult than he thought it would be.

‘Go on!’ urged Emma.

‘She’s not your half-sister,’ he said in a low voice.

Shock seemed to pierce Emma’s soul. ‘W-what do you mean? Of course she’s my half-sister.’

‘Not according to Ma she isn’t. Aunt Lizzie was in love with an actor called Johnny. They must have been lovers at some time and then he went away and died of blood poisoning. She discovered that she was pregnant and told Ma. She thought Aunt Lizzie should go away, have the baby and get it adopted. Aunt Lizzie refused because she wanted Johnny’s baby. Around the same time, your father
came to tell Ma and Aunt Lizzie your mother had died. Your father and Aunt Lizzie comforted each other and the next thing is they were married.’

Emma’s face quivered. ‘H-he knew she was pregnant?’

‘Ma thinks that most likely he did know.’ Jared squeezed her hand. ‘I’m sorry. I can imagine how you must feel.’

‘How can you? You have two sisters and a mother. You can’t possibly understand what it meant to me to find someone of my own flesh and blood.’ Emma’s voice trembled and she withdrew her hand from his, snatched up her handbag and blundered away from the table.

‘Emma, come back!’ Jared was on his feet, not caring what people thought, and would have followed her, only the waitress carrying their order got in his way. He took some money from his pocket and threw it on the table and then went after Emma.

‘Hey, you’ve forgotten your overnight bag!’ called the waitress.

Jared hesitated. ‘Look after it for me,’ he shouted. ‘I’ll be back.’

Emma didn’t see the man who suddenly appeared in front of her and collided with him. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, pulling back.

‘You want to watch where you’re going, Emma,’ he said.

She started, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and stared at the man. He was short and middle-aged and there was an expression in his eyes that she did not like at all. ‘Who are you?’ she asked.

‘That would be telling,’ he sneered.

Suddenly, she had a feeling about him. ‘You’re Uncle Teddy!’ she exclaimed.

‘Clever girl!’ He seized her arm, but she wrenched it out of his grasp and turned back towards the café. She felt a shove in the small of her back and she hit the café door with such force that it knocked the breath out of her and she slid to the ground.

The door opened cautiously and Jared appeared. ‘Emma, what happened? Are you all right?’ he asked anxiously, attempting to hoist her to her feet with his one good arm. Fortunately she was able to struggle to her feet with his help. ‘The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you, but I believed that having secrets from you wasn’t a good way to start our married life.’

‘Your uncle was here,’ she croaked, hanging on to Jared’s arm. ‘He must have followed you.’

Jared swore and looked about him, but the pavements were thronged with people and there was no one who looked remotely like his uncle. ‘What did he say to you?’ he asked.

‘He knew who I was,’ she gasped. ‘I didn’t like the look of him at all.’

‘That doesn’t surprise me,’ said Jared, furious that this should happen to Emma after her being so upset by his news about Betty.

‘He warned me to watch where I was going,’ said Emma. ‘Then he grabbed my arm. I dragged myself free and turned to go back in the café; h-he pushed me so hard that I crashed into the door.’

‘Come on, let’s go back inside. With a bit of luck that waitress might have left our tea on the table,’ said Jared.

She had left the tea but there was no sign of Emma’s overnight bag. ‘You pour and I’ll go and check if the waitress has put your bag behind the counter,’ said Jared.

The woman had done so and Jared took it back over to the table. Placing it on the floor, he sat down at the table and gazed at Emma with concern. ‘So what do you want to do next? How are you feeling? Did you hurt anything when you banged into the door?’

‘It knocked the stuffing out of me, that’s all,’ she said in a shaky voice. ‘I want to go home.’

‘Home! You mean right now?’ he said, taken aback.

‘Aye.’ Emma’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I know what you’re thinking. But I can’t stay. What am I going to say to Betty when I see her? I can’t tell her what you’ve just told me. She’s convinced that she gets her artistic talent from my father and is determined to follow in
his footsteps. I need time to come to terms with what you’ve just told me. Don’t you understand?’

‘Of course I do!’ He ran a hand through his dark hair, raising it up in a crest. ‘If you want to go home, then I’ll come with you.’

She lowered her gaze. ‘I need to be alone. I have to think, and your being there will be a distraction.’

He flinched, and she felt as if a hand squeezed her heart as she watched him struggle to regain his composure.

‘What about my Uncle Teddy? What if he’s still hanging around somewhere and follows you?’ said Jared.

‘Why should he follow me?’ she asked.

‘If he has read, or someone has read to him, the papers that were in Ma’s box, then he’ll know you’re in her will and he’s completely out of it. He’ll also know the truth about Betty. If he’s been watching the house, then he might have seen us together. He’ll have put two and two together and worked out that I care about you. He’ll know the way to hurt me is through you.’

Emma thought about that and said, ‘If he follows me home, then he’d stand out like a sore thumb in the village because he’s a stranger. I’ll speak to our local bobby and have him keep an eye open for him.’ She placed her hand on his arm. ‘I know it’s not your fault, but please, let me be alone for a while.’

Jared said stiffly, ‘If that’s what you want.’

She hesitated. ‘I tell you what − walk with me to the station and wait until the train leaves, just in case you’re right and he has me in his sights.’

Jared said, ‘I planned to follow you there, anyway, to make sure he wasn’t doing so.’

‘Then let’s go now.’

He was about to suggest that she drank her tea first, but already Emma had picked up her overnight bag and was on her feet.

They did not speak as they made their way to the station to find that the Manchester train was due in a quarter of an hour. Jared purchased a platform ticket and kept looking around for any sign of his uncle. Then the train came in and he saw Emma into a carriage.

‘I’ll write,’ she said.

Jared nodded and touched her cheek but made no attempt to kiss her. He remained on the platform, keeping an eye open for anyone that looked even remotely like his uncle, until the train departed.

He wasted no time catching the bus, wanting to get home as soon as possible. He was expecting to find his mother at home. Hopefully Dorothy would be with her. In the meantime he could only hope that his mother had made sure that both front and back doors were firmly locked.

Dorothy banged the knocker, hoping that this time someone would come. She heard footsteps and the
door opened and Billy McElroy stood there.

‘Oh, it’s you,’ she said, sounding disappointed.

He smiled down at her and drawled, ‘We’re going to have to stop meeting like this, Dorothy Gregory. What can I do for you this time?’

‘It’s your father I wanted, Mr McElroy,’ she replied, a flush on her cheeks.

‘I’m sorry about that,’ said Billy. ‘He’s just retired and he’s gone away for a few days’ fishing.’

She could not conceal her dismay. ‘Have you any idea when he’ll be back?’

‘Tuesday.’ He added with a serious note in his voice, ‘Look, if you give me an idea what the problem is, perhaps I can help. Unless you want to go to the police station, so you can talk to someone else.’

‘No, I don’t want to go there. I-it’s difficult,’ she said.

‘In what way?’

‘I need a policeman, a figure of authority, who can put the wind up someone.’

Billy’s eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘I can do that. Just tell me who this someone is.’

‘This isn’t funny, you know,’ said Dorothy indignantly. ‘It’s a very serious matter.’

‘I didn’t say it was funny,’ said Billy, his smile fading. ‘Look, why don’t you come in and explain what your problem is?’

‘No thanks.’

‘I won’t bite.’

‘I didn’t say you would, but I need to get home and see if Mum’s OK,’ said Dorothy, turning away.

She was at the foot of the step when he said, ‘This wouldn’t be to do with your uncle, would it?’

She whirled round. ‘What d’you know? Have you been eavesdropping on the girls again?’

‘They have such piercing voices,’ drawled Billy. ‘Come in and have a cup of tea and I’ll tell you what I know.’

Dorothy hesitated. ‘I’ve a better idea. Why don’t you walk me home? Mum could be there all alone and worrying about me.’

‘I’ll just get my jacket,’ he said.

Elsie put the key in the lock and pushed the door open and went inside, shutting it firmly behind her. ‘Anyone home?’ she called.

There was no answer and she stood a moment, listening to the silence. Then she went into all the downstairs rooms and checked there was no one there, before dumping the shopping on the kitchen table and putting the kettle on. She went upstairs to check out the bedrooms and change her shoes. She noticed that the rectangular packages that Jared had brought down from the loft were still leaning against the wall of the upstairs landing. She carried one into her bedroom, took a pair of scissors out of a drawer and snipped the string.
Then she removed the newspaper wrapping to reveal a portrait of her sister cradling a baby, surely Betty. Tears filled her eyes and she covered it up again before opening the other one that was of a similar size. It was of a curly-haired toddler with a toothy grin and smiling eyes.
Emma
!
Elsie thought it was natural for Lizzie to have put that one away, but why the one of herself and Betty? It seemed a strange thing to do, but then there had often been times in the past when she hadn’t understood her sister at all.