Beyond a Misty Shore (6 page)

‘Oh, we are, luv. It’ll be great if we can manage to scrape
together enough stuff for sandwiches and things, though these two might be able to get a few tins off the Yanks, they certainly aren’t short of anything. A couple of bottles of whisky wouldn’t go amiss either. A party will be just the thing to cheer everyone up; day-to-day life is still a bit grey and depressing with all the shortages.’

‘If we can get some material we could have new dresses for it,’ Maria added, beginning to catch some of her aunt’s enthusiasm.

‘Can I have a party frock, too, Mam?’ Bella asked, now scrubbed clean, her hair tied back and wearing a clean pinafore over her dress.

Sophie laughed. ‘As long as you don’t go playing on any more bombsites, you can. We should have enough coupons for material, we haven’t used many. Aunty Lizzie, do you know if anyone in the street has a sewing machine?’

Lizzie frowned. ‘I’ll ask, luv, but I don’t think so.’

‘It will take ages to do them by hand, Sophie,’ Maria reminded her.

‘Hasn’t Mrs Richards, Nora’s mam, got an old treadle thing in their back yard?’ Katie asked of her mother.

Lizzie frowned. ‘If she has it’ll be rusted to hell by now and anyway, how do you know?’

‘I remember Nora saying she was fed up falling over it in the blackout,’ Katie replied sullenly, knowing her mother’s opinion of the Richards family and Nora in particular. She’d only mentioned it because she was hoping Sophie would make a frock for her too.

‘It would save an awful lot of time,’ Maria stated.

‘Maybe Frank could do something with it, if you ask him, Sophie,’ Jim suggested, seeing the looks of disappointment on the faces of both Bella and Katie and his nieces’ expressions of concern.

Lizzie glared at him. ‘I don’t want these girls having anything to do with that Nora, Jim, and you know why.’

Katie frowned, wishing now she’d never mentioned the sewing machine.

‘What’s the matter with her, this Nora?’ Maria asked curiously.

‘She’s no better than she ought to be and her a married woman!’ Lizzie snapped. ‘Now, can we finish our meal in peace without any more mention of that lot across the road?’

Seeing that nothing more was to be forthcoming about Nora Richards or Ryan or whatever her name was, Maria turned to her sister. ‘I don’t mind helping to cut out and do the tacking and you’ll help too, Katie, won’t you?’

Katie nodded, still unsure if she was to be included in the dressmaking venture. ‘And I can have a look and see if they’ve got any nice materials when I go into work tomorrow, I know one of the girls in that department.’

Sophie smiled at her. ‘Would you, Katie? That’s very generous of you. Look for something suitable for us all, including yourself.’

Delighted, Katie beamed at Sophie and Maria. ‘And I’ll go and ask if there are any vacancies too, for Maria.’

‘And once I’ve got Bella settled at school I’ll look for work myself,’ Sophie added.

As Lizzie got to her feet to begin to clear away the dishes, all three girls rose too.

‘You sit down, Aunty Lizzie. You cooked the meal, we’ll wash up and then if you really don’t mind, I’ll go and ask Mrs Ryan next door if she would ask Frank about that sewing machine, because without it I’ll never get five dresses done in time,’ Sophie said firmly.

Lizzie looked astonished. ‘
Five
dresses!’

Sophie nodded. ‘Well, we can’t leave you out, now can we, Aunty Lizzie?’

It was Lizzie’s turn to look stunned. ‘I haven’t had a brand-new frock in years.’

Jim grinned. ‘You’ll be a sight for sore eyes, Lizzie, and won’t that give the neighbours something to talk about?’ He cast a grateful look at Sophie, thinking she was a generous, thoughtful girl not to leave either his wife or daughter out. If she wanted to ask Frank Ryan about that old sewing machine he wasn’t going to raise any objections.

M
ARTHA WAS SURPRISED BUT
pleased to see Sophie when she opened the door. ‘Come on in, Sophie. I was just telling Pat what nice girls you and your sister are. Mind you, luv, you don’t want to let that little girl of yours go running around with Billy and our Robbie and that lot. They’ll turn her into a right little tomboy.’

‘I won’t, Mrs Ryan. I’ve told her she won’t have a new dress for this street party if she goes off climbing on bombsites again and it’s that I’ve come to see you about. I’ve a favour to ask you.’

Martha ushered her into their kitchen, which Sophie noticed immediately was quite a lot neater, tidier and well cared for than Aunty Lizzie’s. Pat Ryan got to his feet and
shook her hand warmly. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sophie. Do sit down.’

‘Now, what can I help you with?’ Martha pressed, eager to be of help.

‘I’ve rather rashly promised to make everyone a new dress for this street party as it’s obviously going to be something of an occasion. I make most of our clothes, it’s something I’m quite good at even though I say it myself, and it does save money.’

Martha looked very impressed, ‘Lizzie never said you were a seamstress.’

Sophie smiled a little ruefully. ‘I’m not. I would have liked to have served my time at it but I didn’t have the chance. I had a teacher at school who taught me the basics and I sort of picked it up from there with the help of paper patterns.’

‘You really must have a talent for it then.’ Martha had never met anyone who had been blessed with a natural gift with the needle and Sophie Teare went up still further in her estimation.

‘Katie is going to look for materials when she goes into work tomorrow and both she and Maria will help me cut out, pin and tack—’

‘Katie Quine – pin and tack! Wonders will never cease! I didn’t think she could even sew a button on,’ Martha interrupted.

‘Under my supervision, of course. It’s not really hard. But if I have to do all the sewing by hand I doubt I’ll get them finished in time.’

‘
Five
frocks? Is Lizzie having one too?’

Sophie nodded. ‘I couldn’t leave her out, she’s been kind enough to take us in and make us welcome.’

‘That’s very generous of you, Sophie,’ Martha replied. ‘So, how can I help?’

‘I wanted to ask you if you could mention to your Frank about the old treadle sewing machine that’s in the yard at . . . er . . . Nora’s house. Katie said she’s sure they have one although Aunty Lizzie said it would be rusted up, but if Frank could do something with it, it would be a huge help to me.’

Martha’s expression changed. Her brows twitched together and her lips became set in a tight, thin line of disapproval. ‘I’m sorry, Sophie, but I don’t have anything to do with that Nora or her family. If you want to go over there and ask our Frank that’s up to you, but I’d strongly advise against it.’

Sophie was taken aback. ‘Why? What on earth is wrong with them?’

Martha glanced at her husband, who shrugged and gave a slight nod of his head. ‘I don’t imagine Lizzie has said anything about them?’

Sophie shook her head. ‘Not really.’

Martha sighed heavily. ‘Well, I suppose you’d better know and sooner rather than later; you are too nice a girl to be kept in the dark about
that lot
. Hardly anyone in this street has anything to do with them – decent folk that is. Bertie Richards is a work-shy, good-for-nothing, idle drunk and always has been! And Nellie isn’t much better; if she were she would
have sorted their Nora out long ago. All the rest of them have left home. The Lord alone knows where they are now, but we did hear that one of the lads was in prison. As for that Nora!’ Martha bit her lip, smarting with humiliation, but if she didn’t tell Sophie then Lizzie would. ‘Well, luv, it broke my heart when our Frank got mixed up with her. I pleaded with him, Pat tried to reason with him, but he was besotted with her and wouldn’t listen. I could hardly hold my head up, for the shame. But then, after a while, he seemed to be going off her, and we thought he’d finally seen sense and saw her for what she really is.’ Martha paused and shook her head. ‘Then, doesn’t he go and marry her! They
had
to get married, of course, I still can’t get over the shame of it, and then he went off into the Navy with her flaunting her wedding ring and insisting on being called
Mrs Ryan
. Oh, when I think of him living over there in that . . . that
pigsty
! He wasn’t used to having to live like that; he was brought up to be decent, honest and hard working. I don’t know how he sticks it but he’s made his bed and he’ll just have to put up with it and
her
!’

Understanding had begun to dawn on Sophie. Obviously Nora had got pregnant and Frank had done the decent thing and married her, even though Martha had said his feelings for her had changed. ‘I’m so sorry, Mrs Ryan. I didn’t know. These things do happen.’

‘Well, they shouldn’t and that’s why we don’t have anything to do with them,’ Martha replied sharply.

‘But surely you see your grandchild?’

Martha uttered a bitter laugh. ‘What grandchild? There never was one, it was all just a pack of lies that little slut told him and like a fool he believed her!’

Sophie looked shocked, feeling very sorry for both Martha and Frank and wondering how Nora could have done such a thing. Maybe she’d really loved him and had seen no other way of keeping him? It must be awful to be trapped in what was obviously a joyless marriage. ‘That was a terrible thing for her to do to him, I’m sorry.’

Martha nodded slowly. ‘So now you know.’

Sophie stood up, unsure what to do about the sewing machine. ‘I’ll just have to think of something else, I won’t go over now. I don’t think Aunty Lizzie would approve.’ She smiled wryly. ‘To use one of her favorite sayings, “we’ll manage”. I’m sorry for having brought the matter up.’

‘You weren’t to know, luv, but I think you’ve made the right decision.’

When she got back only Lizzie and Jim were in the kitchen and her aunt informed her that Bella had been so tired that she’d had little trouble getting her to bed. Billy had been sent to bed in disgrace for some misdemeanour and Katie and John had taken Maria down the road to introduce her to a few of their mutual friends.

‘I don’t know where Maria gets her energy from, I’m exhausted, it’s been a very long day,’ Sophie said, sinking down in an armchair.

‘So, how did you get on?’ Lizzie asked, bluntly.

‘I’ll have to do them by hand, after what Martha Ryan told
me I hadn’t the heart to go and ask about that damned sewing machine.’

Lizzie shook her head sadly. ‘We’ve been friends for years and my heart goes out to that poor woman. She brought their Frank and Joan up honest and decent and she’s trying with their Robbie. Joan married well, she lives in New Brighton, and if that Nora hadn’t got her claws into Frank I’ve no doubt he’d have married a nice, respectable girl. Shocking family, the Richardses are, a disgrace to the street and the talk of the neighbourhood. And as for that Nora – words fail me!’

‘It was a terrible thing to do to tell him such a blatant lie, especially when he was going off to war,’ Sophie agreed.

Jim lowered the newspaper he’d been reading. ‘I agree but he must have been playing with fire or she couldn’t have trapped him like that.’

‘And that wasn’t the end of it, as well you know, Jim.’ Lizzie lowered her voice as she turned back to Sophie. ‘The carry-on out of her while he was away too! Utterly disgraceful! I’d have killed our Katie with my own two hands if she’d behaved like that. Nellie should have put a stop to it but she didn’t, too busy sitting with her cronies in the pub. Their Nora had fellers in and out of the place by the minutes and we all know they weren’t there just for a cup of tea!’

Sophie was really taken aback. Nora had been sleeping with other men? But that meant she couldn’t have loved Frank, as Sophie had first thought, not to do something like that while he was away risking his life. ‘How awful, how utterly humiliating for him. I . . . I didn’t know that.’

‘Well, Martha would hardly tell you, would she? She was mortified and absolutely furious. Oh, she had many a blazing row with both Nellie and Nora over it – much good that did.’

‘I don’t know why Frank put up with it, he knew what was going on. He had plenty of grounds for divorce,’ Jim said soberly. Divorce was something people seldom resorted to but in the light of Nora’s conduct quite a few of the men in the street felt the lad would be more than justified.

‘You know he’d never do that, Jim. Everything would come out in court and it would be in all the papers. It’s bad enough that the entire street knows what kind of a girl she is, but can you imagine what it would be like for the whole damned
city
to know?’

Sophie sighed; Frank Ryan’s life seemed to be such a terrible mess. ‘I’ll do the sewing by hand, maybe the girls will help.’

Lizzie looked thoughtful. ‘If they take you on at Marsden’s maybe they’d let you do a bit on one of their machines, in your break, like.’

Sophie brightened up. ‘I could ask; they can only refuse. That’s if they take me on.’

‘And why wouldn’t they? A fine girl like you and a dab hand at sewing?’ Lizzie said firmly.

It was going to be a big day for Bella, starting a new school and hopefully making new friends. When Mam had woken her up she’d told her to get a good wash and get dressed and
then she could have her breakfast, but everybody else seemed to be trying to do the same things and there was a lot of shouting and confusion, which she wasn’t used to at all.