A Woman Undefeated (47 page)

Johnny stood at the top of the driveway. The plaque on the gate post said “Selwyn Lodge.” For a moment he felt like turning back. Then he saw a small child peering out of an upstairs window. It couldn’t be where Maggie lived, she didn’t have any kids. He straightened his cravat nervously, ran his long tapered fingers through his curly brown hair, then cleared his throat. Time to get it over with. If it wasn’t the Maggie, he used to know, he had the rest of the evening to down a few pints.

“Answer the door please, Mary, if you would, then take yourself off home,” cried Betty. “We’ll see to our visitor. We can pour him a sherry or make him a cup of tea.”

Mary did as she was told and opened the front door to the handsome stranger. His appearance told of an expensive tailor. This was no labourer standing there.

“Good evening. I have an appointment with the lady of the household. Would you be so kind as to tell her that a Mr Johnny Dockerty, has come to call?”

“Certainly, right away, Sir. Would you like to step in and I will take your coat? Ah, here she is, Miss Rosemary. This gentleman says he has an appointment, Madam. Do you want him to be shown into the drawing room?”

“I can do that, Mary.”

Betty walked forward, extending her hand in welcome.

“Good evening Mr. Dockerty, I am very pleased to meet you. My name is Miss Rosemary and you are Johnny, I believe?”

Johnny stood formally and shook her hand. Inside he was in turmoil. Would you look at this hallway! You could put a whole cottage in it, for a start. No, Maggie couldn’t possibly live here. Madeline had sent him on a wild goose chase.

“Er, I was told, Madam, that you have a young girl residing with you. Her name is Maggie. We knew each other way back, she being a friend of me mother’s.”

“Yes, I know, she’s expecting you. Mary, I said you could go!”

Betty had noticed her servant standing close by, openmouthed.

Johnny was ushered into the drawing room, where Maggie stood waiting to greet him. He looked as if he didn’t believe it was her! The vision she was hoping he saw was arrayed in purple, looking confident and proud.

“I can’t believe the change in you,” he exclaimed. “When I think of the last time I saw you.......”

He walked up to her and bent low, as he took her outstretched hand to shake it formally.

Betty coughed behind him and asked if she could get him something to drink? He seemed as if he was in a daze, perhaps a little alcohol would do the trick.

“Oh, yes please, anything will do.” He couldn’t take his eyes off Maggie as he said it and stumbled as he went to sit in a chair.

From her point of view, Johnny was just as he was when she had seen him at Madeline’s wedding, though he didn’t seem as confident and his hand had been trembling when he had held hers.

Betty took herself from the room after she had served Johnny his brandy and left them together to talk. He looked around the room, as he sipped his drink politely, noticing the quality furniture, the curtains, the Oriental rug and the opulence of the beautiful room.

“How’s yer mother, Johnny?,” she ventured. “I think of her often. Well, when I think back to me days in Killala anyway. Is she well, still livin’ in the cottage there?”

“Yes, she’s still livin’ in the cottage, manages to cook fer herself and tend her little garden. She’s as well as can be expected, Maggie, considerin’ her age. I try ter get over to see her when I can, but it’s difficult now my home port is Liverpool. There are new people at the Filbey’s now and the wife looks in on Mother, checks that she’s all right.”

“And what of Killala? Does anyone still live down there?”

“That I can’t say, Maggie. My visits take me through Ballina, so I’ve never taken a trip down to the River Moy.”

“It’s probably gone to rack and ruin,” she said speculatively. “I
don’t think Aunt Tess’ was plannin’ to stay there very long.”

Just then, there was a little scuffling outside the door, then it swung open. Mikey was standing in his night clothes, looking at them with his thumb in his mouth. He was closely followed by a very apologetic Sarah, who scooped him up into her arms and began to tell him off.

“He heard voices in the hallway, Madam, as I was settling him in his bed. I turned away to see to Hannah and he shot off down the stairs. I’m sorry, he’s just learnt to come down on his bottom and it’s his favourite game. I’ll take him back straight away. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”

Maggie got up from her chair, laughing and calling her son a little imp. Johnny would have seen the closeness, the love they had between them that typified a mother and son relationship. And Sarah had mentioned another child, Hannah. No doubt Johnny was thinking that her husband had been busy before he’d gone off and died in the way that Madeline had described. Maggie caught a glimpse of Johnny’s face, as he watched her with Mikey. He seemed to be dismayed by the distraction that the child had brought along.

Johnny felt trapped, Maggie found out later. He was wondering what he was doing there, sitting cosily with people he didn’t really know. He was glad he had left her that day, when she had pleaded with him to take her back home again, as she had probably been expecting Jack’s child as well.

There was nothing for it, but to finish the brandy and get on his way. He’d go back to the port next morning, as suddenly he’d begun to miss his crew. Maggie may well have turned out to be a bit of a looker, but he wondered if maybe it had been a set up, one of those womanly wiles. Madeline was always on at him to find a wife, give up the sea and settle down. But while his mother was still alive, he had no intention of doing so.

Betty came in then, presumably thinking they’d had time to break the ice between them, and began to tell him of her seagoing father. Before Johnny knew it, he was being offered little biscuits,
slices of ham and thin cut bits of bread. There was more brandy to follow, and so he decided it hadn’t been such a bad evening after all, as he wove his way back to the Brown Horse later. Of course, inevitably Madeline had been waiting up when he got back there, all agog and excited that Maggie was the person he used to know.

“Yer want ter get in there, brother”, Ted advised, very seriously. “The auld one is worth a fortune and there’s no one around ter leave it to, except that young widow you’ve just bin visiting.”

“So, Maggie, that turned out to be a very pleasant evening, don’t you agree?”, said Betty, after Johnny had gone and they had enjoyed another glass of sherry each. “A charming man, polite and well mannered. Just the type of man you would expect to have the respect and loyalty from his men. And he was so interested, wasn’t he, in my father’s trips to the Orient? Now, get the dreamy look off your face, my girl. There’s no sense in wanting something that will never be.”

“Betty,” she protested. “I was just going over the evening, mulling it over in me mind. It was different having male company for a change, but I’d admit he’s very handsome all the same.”

“If you feel we lack male company, I’ll invite Ezra over more often. He’s quite good-looking for a man of nearly fifty. You can feast your eyes on him!”

The following weeks were just a blur, and hard for Maggie to remember in fine detail. Except that the Singer sewing machine that had been on order, arrived. Annie and Maggie took it in turns to use it and completed yards and yards of seams. Madeline’s designs were soon turned into reality. Not as outrageous as her milkmaid outfit, but plenty of layers, flounces and frills. Betty had told her not to be too creative, as they still wanted to attract the local custom as well. So a range of white frilled blouses were made that could be worn with a colourful sash and a choice of a plain cotton or wool skirt.

The preparation of the new premises came on in leaps and
bounds, as each day the workmen, dressed in short jackets, grey worsted trousers, aprons and billy-cock hats appeared.

On the day of the “grand opening” there were enough readymades to satisfy the most discerning customer, though it had to be said the advertising in the Chester broadsheet had been a disappointment. Only one new carriage-owning customer was attracted by advert. The rest of the customers were existing clientele, wanting to look over this new fashion house they now had in their village. Ever optimistic, they began to take orders for Ladies’ Day. It was what Betty called their “bread and butter” custom and would keep them all busy for those next few weeks.

One Sunday, Ezra came to visit and was invited to stay for afternoon tea. He and Maggie sat comfortably in the conservatory, overlooking the garden that was full of swaying daffodils. Betty was in the kitchen making a cup of tea for the visitor and the children were in the nursery having a sleep.

“It’s been over twelve months now since your husband passed away, Maggie,” Ezra remarked, playing with the leaf of an exotic plant that was inches from his side. “It gets easier, doesn’t it? But I still miss having someone in my life. Have you thought of ever marrying again?”

Her heart missed a beat and she wondered if he was gathering the courage to propose to her. She thought he must be thirty years older then her at least!

“Er, I’ve not thought on it, Ezra, because I’m happy as I am. I have me work and me children. I’m quite contented without a husband. Why do yer ask?”

“I would like to get married again, I think. I have my shop and the church, I like singing in the choir, but sometimes I get lonely and I do miss my wife’s home cooking. Yes, I would like someone again in my life. I have got a young lady in mind, who I think would be suitable, but I have to admit I’m a lot older than her.”

Oh no, she thought. He’s definitely working up to asking me to be his bride!

“Do I know the young lady?” Maggie held her breath, waiting for his reply.

“Yes, it’s Sarah. Sarah Osborne, the nursemaid who works for you. I’ve seen her worshipping at our church and I’ve heard her singing too. She’s good with children and she’s kind and pretty. I think she would make an excellent wife for me.”

Maggie exhaled slowly when she heard his words. Thank heavens, Sarah Osborne, phew!

“I wouldn’t like to lose me nursemaid, Ezra. She’s very valuable to me and yer don’t even know her properly, do yer? She might not be ready to marry and settle down yet.”

“I’ve had a little conversation with her, when she’s been attending church alongside Betty. Do you think she’ll want a bit of courting? I suppose she will. I’ll ask her out next time I see her. I’ll ask if she would like to take a walk with me. We could go for a stroll along the promenade, then I’ll take it from there. And if I get as far as proposing and she agrees to marry me, I promise I won’t steal her away. At least not until she starts our family anyway!”

The days were getting longer, so one evening Maggie decided she would take the children down to Seagull Cottage to visit their grandma. Since Mr Arlington’s outburst she had kept away from the boarding house, only seeing Alice and Michael if she decided to go to church.

That day had been a fraught one, as the money outlaid in the creation of the new fashion house, seemed an unnecessary expense to her. Their customer base had hardly increased and she had said so at the weekly meeting with Betty and Mr Arlington.

“It’s because yer had to have an empire, Mr Arlington, that we moved across the way. But Miss Rosemary’s was at its best when it was a simple business. Just a dressmaker and her clientele. Now no one hardly sees her and they have to make do buying from the rail.”

“Maggie, let’s be fair about it,” Betty intervened. “Sheldon
Loan and Property Company could not have grown without the aid of Mr Arlington and he had to have room for a reception downstairs and space for ledgers. We took a chance, I know, moving in to a double fronted shop, but give it time. Village people are renowned for being parochial and they’re very loathe to change.”

“It’s a question of choice, Mrs Haines. Do we expand the Sheldon company or the scope of the dressmaker’s? Which one makes us the most money in the end?”

“Well, naturally it’s the bounty vouchers that are bringing the money in, but I feel yer could have managed, without all the fashion house expense.”

“Give it a few more months, Maggie,” Betty said. “As you know, Rome wasn’t built in a day. I’ll try to come in more often, but I thought Madeline was doing very well?”

“She is with the younger customers, the ones that are wanting the wider skirts and the crinolines, but the older women want to see you, not buy one of the readymade skirts that have to be taken in or shortened. They want what they call “bespoke” and they don’t want the ministrations of an upstart Irish girl like me.”

“Oh, I’m sure you are mistaken, Maggie. Isn’t she, Mr Arlington? Except for your diction, which has improved dramatically since you arrived here, your needlework is just as good as mine.”

Maggie heard Mr Arlington snorting at this, which he turned into a sneeze when she looked inquiringly at him. They suffered each other for the sake of the business, though she still thought him pompous and she knew he considered her an upstart, taking Miss Rosemary for a ride.

Maggie turned all that over in her mind, as she walked with Mikey toddling at her side and Hannah asleep in the pram’. She had seen the latest bank statements and he had not. Mr Freeman and his men had not come cheaply, paid by the hour and not by the job. It meant a lot of idling could be done by his labourers and they were often seen coming back from the ‘pub. Meanwhile, the Sheldon company had gone from strength to strength, with a
balance of four hundred and ninety three pounds, and that was after all the wages and bills had been met. The conclusion she had come to was that taking over the dressmaker’s had not been a good move. She should have quelled her emotions and let “Anne Rosemary” stand alone. But, it had been done, a lesson learnt and Betty had been good to her, letting her and the children stay at Selwyn Lodge, and not even paying rent.