Two Strangers (3 page)

‘When you need something to eat, Vicki, come and see Frank. He will see you are all right.’

Frank nodded and smiled at Vicki. ‘Bill has told me of your plight, so it doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got, I’ll see you have something.’

‘Thank … thank you.’ She didn’t know what to say, feeling quite overwhelmed by such kindness. However, she knew she wouldn’t come in here begging for food, no matter what Frank said. No, there would have to be enough money in her pocket first. She knew her stubborn pride was daft, considering the situation she was in, but that was how she was.

‘You mustn’t starve.’ Bill looked at her sternly as if he could read her mind. ‘You’re a growing girl and need regular food.’

She nodded, quite lost for words that these two strangers should feel any concern for her.

Vicki and Bill then left the cafe, and she looked up at him. ‘Good luck, wherever you’re going, Bill.’

‘The same to you, Vicki. It’s been a pleasure meeting you. Take care of yourself.’

She watched him stride away and had the feeling she could have liked and trusted him if they’d had time to get to know each other. Perhaps it was just as well, though; it would be silly to start depending on anyone. She had always been alone, and it was best if it stayed that way.

Right! If she was not going to starve, she had to earn some money. That had been a good start to the day – better than she could have hoped, thanks to Bill. But that wasn’t going to happen again; it was up to her now. She turned and headed towards the market where she knew some of the traders.

The street was busy. Many traders had already set their stalls ready for the day, but a few were still unloading. Vicki made her way along, looking for any opportunity.

‘Doris!’ she called, when she saw the woman struggling on her own. ‘Do you want help with those boxes?’

‘I could use some, Vicki,’ she answered, straightening up and holding her back. ‘Ted ain’t too good today, so I’m on my own.’

Vicki hurried over. ‘You look worn out, Doris. Sit down and I’ll soon have this done for you.’

‘Thanks.’ Doris sat on an old rickety chair, sighing with relief. ‘I’m glad you came along. Stay with me for the rest of the day and I’ll feed you, and give you a bob for your trouble.’

‘I ain’t got nothing else to do today.’ Vicki couldn’t believe her luck. Food and a shilling at the end of the day would be wonderful. If she did well, then Doris might even want her tomorrow, too.

With a smile on her face, Vicki began hoisting the heavy boxes of goods, unpacking them and arranging everything in neat sections. Ted and Doris sold just about everything, except food. There were curtain materials, tools, household items and many more odds and ends.

Vicki soon had the job done and stood back to survey her handiwork. ‘Is this how you want it, Doris?’

‘Lovely and neat, lass.’ She nodded her approval. ‘All we want now are the customers. I couldn’t miss a day’s trading, but I didn’t know how I was going to manage on my own. Now, before we start getting busy, go to the cafe and get us both a mug of tea. I’m gasping for a nice strong cuppa. Oh, and make it a bun each, as well.’

Vicki wasn’t hungry yet, but she wasn’t going to say no to any food. It could be wrapped up and saved for later, she thought, taking the money from Doris and then running across the road to the little cafe all the traders used.

By the time she was back, the market was starting to throng with shoppers, and the sounds of traders shouting their wares began to fill the street. Determined that she was going to earn her keep this day, Vicki stood in front of the stall, doing her utmost to entice customers.

Doris was smiling as she served the people Vicki had persuaded to stop.

Trade was steady, and the day went well. After they had packed everything away, Doris gave Vicki the promised shilling. ‘Will you need help tomorrow?’ she asked, hopefully.

‘I expect Ted will be all right by then, but come along, just in case.’

‘Thanks. I’ll do that.’ Happy that she had been able to get work for the whole day, Vicki ran across to the cafe. Now that she had more money in her pocket she felt able to spend the tuppence Bill had refused to take. She bought a pie for her supper, and the owner kindly filled an old bottle with water for her. The pie and the bun she had saved would fill her stomach nicely for the night.

Arriving back at the warehouse, she was relieved to see the small window hadn’t been touched. She checked that she wasn’t being watched, then squeezed through the window and rushed over to inspect her barricade, letting out a sigh of relief to see it was still in place. She should be safe again tonight and, hopefully, she would be able to get some sleep because after such a busy day she was tired. Before settling down, though, she would read some of the book Bill had left with her. She had promised him she would, and as he had been so kind to her, it would be wrong not to try to do what he had suggested. If she spoke better, she might be able to get a proper job.

Vicki glanced around at the squalid surroundings and pulled a face. She must try very hard to get out of this awful place. Pulling the book out of her pocket, she propped herself up against the wall under the window to get the best light, and began reading.

An hour later she gave up. Not only was it now too dark to see clearly, but she hadn’t been able to make any sense of what she’d read. Clutching the book to her, she bowed her head and muttered, ‘Oh, Bill, whatever made you think this would help me? I’m just a kid from the slums, with poor schooling. I know I was way ahead of the other kids, but the teachers didn’t even try to give me harder lessons. They only worried about the slower ones, so I never got any further, and they threw me out at twelve.’

The book was put away safely, and Vicki sat munching her food, deep in thought. It was going to be hard, but she would keep trying. If she gave up, then the life in front of her would be bleak, and probably short. There were many damaged men back from the war roaming around, and she would never be safe living like this. She had to get out of here as quickly as possible.

The early morning sun was streaming through the window when Vicki woke up. Not wanting to miss the chance of another day’s work, she washed quickly and ran to the market.

It was a terrible disappointment to see Ted there. Not that she wanted him to be sick, but she had hoped he would take another day to rest.

‘Hello, Vicki.’ Ted smiled. ‘Thanks for helping Doris yesterday.’

‘That’s all right. I’m glad you’re feeling better. Do you need help today?’

‘No, we can manage, lass.’

Vicki smiled, waved to Doris, and began to walk through the market to see if there was work at any of the other stalls.

Three

It was sheer luck her hiding place hadn’t been discovered for so long, but that was where her good fortune ended. The bitter March wind was ripping through Vicki’s thin coat and she was so cold she could hardly move. To add to her misery, it was beginning to snow again. She looked up at the small window and wondered where she was going to get the strength to pull herself through. She knew she must, though, because if she collapsed out here it would be the end.

It was with sheer desperation that she managed to struggle through, and, with the last reserves of her strength gone, she fell on to the concrete floor. That was where she stayed for a while, gasping with relief. After that first hopeful day, things had become more and more difficult. In the struggle to earn enough money for food, ten months had slipped by. Her fifteenth birthday had come and gone unnoticed, and now her situation was frightening. She was so weak and scruffy that no one would give her a job. To her shame, she had started begging at the railway station. Several times she had stopped outside the cafe Bill had taken her to, but just hadn’t been able to make herself go in and ask for something to eat. The man had said she could, but she couldn’t go in there looking like this, and she wasn’t sure if he’d only said that because Bill was there. If she went in begging for food and got thrown out, then that would be the end of her. No, she just couldn’t do it.

Forcing herself to stand up, Vicki went over to the small fireplace and knelt down in front of it. She had resisted lighting a fire because she hadn’t wanted to draw attention to her hiding place, but if she was going to see the spring, then she had to take the chance.

There was plenty of paper and wood in the room and it didn’t take her long to have a fire ready to light. She had been lucky today when a passenger running to catch the train dropped a match box. Vicki had pounced on it. There were only six matches still in the box, but if she was careful they might last her a while. With shaking hands, she struck a match and held it to the paper. Luckily, everything in the room was dry, and the wood soon caught. She watched anxiously, hoping there wouldn’t be too much smoke pouring out of the chimney. She carefully fed small pieces of wood on to the fire and there was soon a good blaze going. She began to thaw out. The relief was overwhelming and, in her fragile state, she began to cry in great gulping sobs. When her dad had thrown her out and she had found this warehouse, she had been confident that it would only be a temporary place to stay, but she was still here. Where had her hopes and dreams of making a good life for herself gone?

More composed after a while, she wiped her face dry and munched the bun she had managed to buy today. As she gazed at the comforting flames, her mind began to clear. There had to be a way out of this desperate mess, but everywhere she went they turned her away, saying they only wanted boys …

Boys … boys …
The word kept running through her head as she finished the last crumbs of her meagre meal. Then she nodded to herself. If that was the only way to get a job, then she would have to pass herself off as a boy. It shouldn’t be too hard. If she cut her hair and changed her clothes, it should be possible. Getting hold of trousers, jacket and a shirt wasn’t going to be easy, though, but she would find a way. The railway station would be her best bet. Even though she hated begging like that, it had to be done. If she was lucky, she would get enough money for what she needed. There was a stall at the market selling cast-off clothes, and they were cheap.

The tears had drained her, but now that she was warm, had a small amount of food inside her and a purpose for tomorrow, she felt better. She banked up the fire for the night and settled down to sleep.

The next day the bitter wind had dropped, and there was only a light covering of snow on the ground. When the sun came out, Vicki lifted her face to the brightness. It was too early in the year for there to be any warmth in it, but it was welcome, just the same. She was terribly weak and had to walk slowly, but she did feel a bit stronger after a night resting by the fire, which was a relief because she had to get some money, even if it took all day.

The station was already busy when she settled by the door. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself to beg from everyone who came on to the platform, pleading desperately. There was a small tea room close by, and she could smell the food cooking. It was agony, and the tears she was shedding were genuine. She had to succeed today, or it would be the end for her. Soon she wouldn’t even be able to stand.

A smartly dressed man stopped and studied her, shaking his head. ‘How long is it since you’ve had a decent meal?’

‘I … I had a bun yesterday, sir,’ she said.

‘I said a
meal
!’ His tone was sharp.

‘Not for a long time, sir.’

‘No, it doesn’t look like it. Come with me.’

He ushered her inside the cafe, made her sit at a table and then went to the counter. Vicki swiped the tears from her face. She cried too easily these days, but she didn’t seem to have enough strength to stop the flow. It disgusted her because she had never indulged in self-pity. But she had never been in such a dreadful state before. She quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand and watched the man walking back to the table. He had a slight limp and was leaning on a silver-topped cane for support.

‘What is your name?’ he asked as he sat down, leaning the cane against the table.

‘Vicki, sir.’ She noticed the cane had a dog’s head on it.

He sighed again. ‘And where is your family, Vicki?’

‘They live in Poplar, sir.’

‘And why aren’t you with them?’

‘My dad threw me out when I wouldn’t go and work for a nasty man. Girls weren’t safe around him, and I wouldn’t do that.’ She didn’t even consider lying.

‘So you ended up begging.’

Vicki nodded, the tears trickling down her face again.

He handed her a pristine handkerchief, sighing deeply once more. ‘Can’t you find work in a decent household, or even a shop? You speak well and sound educated.’

That remark surprised her. She hadn’t realized that the hours she had spent on the lessons in Bill’s book had actually improved her speech. She wiped her face and managed a rare smile. ‘Thank you, sir. I’ve been trying to get work, but I’m such a mess now they won’t even give me a chance.’

‘How long have you been fending for yourself?’

‘Nearly a year. I don’t like begging, but I’m desperate now, sir.’ She held out the handkerchief to him, but he refused to take it back.

‘Ah, here is your food. I want to see you eat every scrap.’

When Vicki saw two slices of toast piled high with scrambled egg, she nearly burst into tears again. She managed to fight the feeling off. This man had kindly brought her in here so she mustn’t embarrass him.

He never said a word as she worked her way through the food and two cups of steaming tea.

‘Would you like another helping?’ he asked when she had finished.

‘Oh, no, sir. I’m full right up. That was very generous of you, and I’m grateful.’

He gestured to the man at the counter who immediately came and put a large brown paper bag on the table and then went back to work.

‘There’s enough food in there to see you through the day, and this is to buy yourself some decent clothes.’

Vicki stared at the money on the table, mesmerized. Ten shillings! ‘No, no, sir. The food I’ll take because I’m starving, but that’s all.’ Her eyes showed suspicion when she looked at him. This wasn’t right.