A Mother's Wish (39 page)

He caught her by the arm. ‘Effie, for God’s sake don’t run away again.’

She raised her eyes to meet his anguished gaze and her heart missed a beat. This was the man she had thought she loved, and yet he looked different somehow. There were deep furrows on his forehead and lines from his nose to his mouth that she had not noticed before. ‘Let me go, Frank. I shouldn’t have come.’

‘But you are here now. Please don’t go until I’ve had a chance to put things right with you.’

‘How can you do that, Frank? You’re married and that’s an end to it.’

His fingers tightened around her arm and his eyes were hard as agates. ‘I told you at the start that my marriage was arranged long before I met you. It was a matter of honour.’

‘I understand. Now please let me go.’

‘You don’t understand at all. I’ve thought about you every minute of every day since you took off with that didicoi horse trader. Did he marry you? Or did he abandon you after he’d had his way with you?’

Effie wrenched her arm free. Her fingers itched to slap his face, but she controlled the urge with difficulty. ‘It wasn’t like that.’

‘I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m saying. I still love you, Effie.’

She shook her head. ‘You wouldn’t have let
me go if you had truly loved me, Frank. I did care for you, very much, but that was a long time ago.’

‘It seems like a lifetime, but I haven’t changed.’

‘It’s all over between us, and I hear that you’re going to be a father. You’ve got responsibilities now, and a wife who needs you.’ Effie started to walk away but Frank followed her.

‘I can’t let you go like this. You must give me a chance to explain properly.’

‘No, Frank. There’s nothing you can say that will make any difference. Go back to your wife and leave me alone.’ Squaring her shoulders, Effie hurried off without a backwards glance. Meeting Frank again had disturbed her and brought back memories of their brief romance, but the old feelings were like shadows now; shades of a past that was dead and gone. For good or ill, her future was with Toby. If she had had any doubts before, they had vanished forever. She quickened her pace as she walked past the beer tent. The smell of ale was so familiar that she barely noticed it, and judging by the pitch of the men’s voices they had imbibed freely. A man lurched out, staggering and swaying on his feet, almost knocking her down as he barged into her. She leapt out of his way, but he turned on her with a ferocious snarl. ‘It’s you, you little trull.
I might have known that you’d turn up sooner or later.’

‘Salter,’ Effie gasped. ‘Get out of my way.’

‘Hoity-toity as ever.’ He grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her until her teeth rattled. ‘I’ve been waiting for a chance to get me hands on you, lady.’

Terrified but with anger overriding fear, Effie pushed him away. ‘Don’t touch me, you brute. You’re the reason that Toby is in jail. You’re a liar, Salter, and a villain.’

‘And you’re a little whore, ready to drop your drawers for any man willing to pay the price.’

‘You are disgusting, and it’s you who should be in prison, not Toby.’

‘I didn’t kill the old man. He died of drink and drugs and he set fire to the barge so that I wouldn’t get what he’d promised me. He signed the vessel over to me and then he set it afire. I’ve lost my living because of that old fool.’

‘I heard that.’ Frank had appeared as if from nowhere and he stepped forward, placing himself bodily between Effie and Salter. ‘And my mate Jed heard it too.’ He jerked his head in the direction of the blacksmith, who stood behind him with his muscular arms folded across his broad chest. Frank glanced anxiously at Effie. ‘Are you all right, love? Did he hurt you?’

Effie realised that she was trembling from head to foot, but she was unharmed and she could not believe her luck. Salter had just admitted everything in front of witnesses. ‘I’m not hurt, Frank. But you heard what he said.’

‘I did indeed,’ he said angrily. ‘And I know Salter of old. He worked for us once as a labourer and caused no end of trouble. My old man had to sack him, but there were several unexplained fires after that. We never proved it but we all knew who had started them.’

‘That’s a slanderous lie,’ Salter growled. ‘I’ll get you for that, Frank Tinsley.’

‘I’ll see you in jail first,’ Frank retorted. ‘Now clear off, or d’you want Jed to help you on your way?’

The blacksmith rolled up his sleeves, exposing muscular arms covered in tattoos and fists like York hams. ‘Let me have him, Frank.’

Salter backed away, his eyes showing the whites like a rabid dog’s. ‘Touch me and I’ll have the law on you.’

‘Yes, fetch a constable if you dare,’ Frank taunted. ‘It seems you’ve condemned yourself out of your own mouth. I’ll stand witness against you any time, Salter.’

Uttering a stream of epithets, Salter shambled off.

Effie cast an anxious glance at Frank, and then at Jed. ‘You both heard what he said?’

‘I’d like to mash him to pulp.’ Jed flexed his fingers. ‘Shall I go after him and give him what for, Frank?’

‘No, save it for later. We’ll let him sweat for a bit.’

‘I’ll get back to my stand then,’ Jed said, tipping his cap to Effie. ‘If you ever need a job, I could do with an assistant when I pulls teeth. None of the girls here has the stomach for it since Ethel left me for Arnoldo.’

‘Thanks, I’ll think about it.’ Effie managed a smile although inwardly she was still quaking after her brush with Salter. She waited until Jed was out of earshot before tackling Frank. She laid a tentative hand on his sleeve. ‘You did hear everything, didn’t you, Frank?’

‘I did.’

She breathed a sigh of relief. A ton weight seemed to have been lifted from her shoulders. ‘Oh, Frank, you don’t know what that means to me. It may not have made much sense, but if you repeat what you heard in court it ought to be enough to clear Toby of all charges. I just need to find the money to hire a good brief and Toby will be a free man.’

Frank’s expression hardened. ‘So that’s it.’

‘I’m just asking you to help an innocent man.’

‘You’re in love with the didicoi.’

‘Yes, it’s true, and I’m not ashamed to admit it, Frank.’

He curled his lip. ‘You felt the same way about me not so long ago.’

‘I thought I was in love with you, but looking back I think it was just gratitude I felt.’

‘You can’t write off what we had so easily, Effie. Deep down I think you still have feelings for me. You’re just put out because I married Moll, but it was a business arrangement. Can’t you see that?’

Effie backed away from him. ‘Things have changed. Everything is different now. All I’m asking is for you to repeat what you just heard in court.’

‘I’ve got work to do. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.’

‘You will do it though, won’t you, Frank?’

‘I said we’ll talk about it tomorrow. Tell me where you live and I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

The glint in his eyes and the hard line of his lips spoke volumes and Effie felt a shiver run down her spine. This was not the Frank she had thought she knew and loved. The man who eyed her so coolly was a stranger, but he and Jed were her only hope. ‘I’ll come to you,’ she said warily. ‘Tomorrow just before midday
when things are quiet, I’ll meet you behind the show tent.’ She turned on her heel and walked away before he could pursue the matter further.

Effie had barely finished her chores when a loud banging on the doorknocker announced the arrival of Leah and Zilla. They breezed into the house followed by Margery, Myrtle, Gert, Laila and Annie, with Jessie squeezing past them so that she could be the first to reach Georgie. ‘Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie,’ she crooned. ‘Kissed the girls and made them cry.’ She gave him a smacking kiss and laughed when he rubbed his cheek, pulling a face. She picked him up and twirled him round.

‘Less of that,’ Annie warned. ‘Sit down and play with him nicely, there’s a good girl.’

Within minutes, the kitchen seemed to be bursting at the seams with chatter and laughter. There was a warm fug thick with smoke from Leah’s pipe and the cigarettes that Margery rolled and lit with a spill from the fire. Effie was kept busy making copious pots of tea and handing out slices of the seed cake she had baked the previous evening in an attempt to keep her hands occupied. She had been shaken after her encounter with Salter and disturbed by her meeting with Frank.
Baking a cake had taken her mind off the turmoil in her breast, and as she watched everyone munching happily on the product of her labours she felt that she was truly amongst friends.

When the initial excitement had died down, Effie invited her guests to take a look around the house. They explored the tiny back yard, peeping into the privy and congratulating Effie on having all the modern conveniences. They took turns to examine the copper in the washhouse, and having exhausted the exterior they trooped upstairs to view the two bedrooms. They returned to the kitchen exclaiming over the size of the accommodation compared to the living space in their caravans. They were suitably impressed by everything they saw, complimenting Effie on the way she had turned a wreck of a house into a comfortable home.

Fairly bursting with pride, Effie took them into the front parlour to demonstrate the different stages of brewing. Everyone, with the exception of the children, tasted a sample of Effie’s beer and the pitch of their voices seemed to rise an octave as their tongues were loosened by the strong ale.

Finally, when they were settled once again in the kitchen, Effie allowed herself to be cajoled into relating her exploits since she
left the fair. There were oohs and aahs as she told them about her search for Tom and how she found him working for the lock keeper at Old Ford lock. Her voice broke as she described Jacob’s untimely death and the fire that turned the narrowboat into a burnt-out hulk. She went on to tell them about her arrival at Marsh House and her meeting with its eccentric owner. She held her audience spellbound and reaching for their hankies as she regaled them with the story of his tragic love affair with the beautiful Mirella; of his subsequent heartbreak and his refusal to acknowledge his illegitimate son. She finished with a brief mention of last night’s encounter with Salter, and her hope that the conversation overheard by Frank and Jed would bring the man to justice and ensure Toby’s release from jail.

Leah finished off the pint of ale that she had chosen instead of tea, wiping the foam off her mouth with her sleeve. ‘By golly, I never heard such a tale.’

‘I remember Salter,’ Zilla said, shaking cake crumbs off her beard. ‘He was a bad lot if ever there was one.’

‘And his wife was no better than she should be,’ added Margery. ‘No man was safe when Sal Salter was around. She made eyes at my Johann, but he wasn’t having any of it. If he
had I’d have thrown the knives at him instead of the other way round.’

This made everyone laugh and broke the tension. The sound of the factory hooters filtering through the open window reminded everyone of the time, and the party broke up with hugs and kisses all round. Effie promised to visit the fair as often as she could before they packed up at the end of the week, and Georgie burst into tears when Jessie eventually tore herself away from him. She gave him an affectionate hug. ‘Come and play with us, nipper. We’ll have a lark while your ma sits and natters with the old ’uns.’ For which piece of cheek she received a cuff round the ear from her mother.

‘Manners, Jessie,’ Annie said sternly.

‘It were the monkey on me shoulder made me do it, Ma,’ Jessie said with a pert grin. She angled her head, sending a pleading look to Effie. ‘Let me take Georgie for an hour or two, missis. I’ve really missed him.’

Effie hesitated, wary of allowing her son out of her sight, but swayed by the fact that it would help not to have him with her when she went to meet Frank.

‘I’ll keep an eye on him,’ Gert said. ‘Jessie’s a good girl, she won’t let no harm come to the little chap.’

‘Do you want to go with Jessie?’ Effie asked
anxiously, but the smile on Georgie’s face was answer enough as he reached up to hold Jessie’s hand. ‘Bye-bye, Mama,’ he chortled.

She blew him a kiss, watching misty-eyed as he danced off hand in hand with his friend.

Laila shot her an understanding glance. ‘He’ll be all right with Annie’s nippers. You don’t have to worry about the boy.’ She hesitated, waiting until the others were out of earshot. ‘But you must take care, Effie. I can see danger looming. Things won’t go smoothly for you and your man. You must be careful of someone you once thought meant a lot to you. He means you harm and you can’t trust him.’

‘Who is this person?’ Effie asked nervously, although she could hazard a shrewd guess as to Laila’s answer.

‘His face is in shadow,’ Laila said, closing her eyes. ‘But his intentions are evil. Beware of the man with the charming smile. I can’t say more than that.’ She sashayed down the street with the silver coins on the hem of her skirt tinkling a merry tune, and the bangles on her wrists jingling like sleigh bells.

Effie closed the door, leaning against it with her heart beating nineteen to the dozen. She was already late for her appointment with Frank, but Laila’s warning had made her even more nervous than she had been before.

A sudden crashing on the doorknocker made
her jump. She opened the door and was dazzled by the hot June sun blazing from a cloudless sky. She could just make out the outline of a tall man whose face was in shadow, and for a moment she did not recognise him.

‘
ARE YOU GOING
to keep me standing on the pavement, Effie?’

‘How did you know where I lived?’ Effie demanded, barring his entry. ‘I said I’d meet you behind the show tent.’

‘I wasn’t sure you’d come so I followed the women. They weren’t exactly secretive about their intention to visit you.’

‘Come in, Frank,’ she said reluctantly.

He strolled past her, looking around with a calculating eye. ‘Nice little place you’ve got here. It’s a step up from a caravan.’

Tight-lipped, Effie led the way down the narrow hall to the kitchen. The air was still heavy with the smell of tobacco smoke, cheap perfume, beer and hot tea. She went to the window and flung it open.