Elm Tree Road (13 page)

‘Call me Joanna.’ She stared round. ‘It is pretty, isn’t it? My sister’s the one who sorted out the house. Flora’s good with that sort of thing. My husband had to put up with me, poor lamb, and unfortunately I’ve got no eye for decorating. It was a wonder he chose me and not Flora, but we got on so well, never stopped talking.’ She paused to sigh regretfully, then raced on again.

‘Pity Flora never married. Lucky for me, though. We rub along together very well, and we both enjoy hiking.’

She opened the top drawer so vigorously it nearly fell out. ‘You can put some of your things in here and hang the
rest in the wardrobe. No need to get your clothes creased before you start off. Come down soon and we’ll have a tea tray waiting for you.’

She picked up the suitcase and dumped it carelessly on the beautiful quilt, which made Nell gasp in dismay.

‘Good that your suitcase isn’t too heavy. You can’t take too much with you when you’re hiking.’

It only took Nell a few minutes to unpack. She went to glance out of the window. The weather was closing in and clouds were chasing one another across the sky. It’d be raining soon, but even so, the garden looked pretty, with soft pinks and mauves, and so many flowers she didn’t even try to work out their names.

She felt rather nervous of taking afternoon tea with the two ladies, but they were so friendly she found herself eating with a good appetite for the first time in ages. She didn’t make a fool of herself because she’d been observing the Garretts’ table manners for weeks and had learned to eat in the same way.

Once they’d finished, the tea tray was carried away by the maid and Joanna went across to take a piece of paper off the mantelpiece and wave it triumphantly. ‘We’ve been doing some calculations and this is a list of what you’ll need.’

Nell studied it in silence. A good tweed skirt and matching jacket, a knitted waistcoat, a mackintosh, two blouses, two Princess petticoats, three pairs of knickers with three sets of detachable stockinette linings for each, several pairs of good, black, wool stockings, stout boots, knitted slippers and a soft felt hat. Rags for her monthlies. The latter were going to be hard to deal with, even with
the hints the ladies had given her. Knapsack, money belt, writing materials and a book.

Joanna cleared her throat and asked gruffly, ‘Can you afford all that?’

‘Oh, yes. My husband had taken out life insurance, so I have over a thousand pounds. But I think I need to change to two savings bank accounts. I don’t want to take my main bank book travelling with me.’

‘Good thinking. You’re a sensible woman.’

Flora smiled at her from across the room. ‘I’ll take you shopping tomorrow for whatever you still need, especially a good pair of boots. Joanna doesn’t have the patience to shop all day.’

‘Can’t abide crowds,’ her sister said cheerfully, continuing to speak so loudly Nell was beginning to wonder if she was going deaf.

‘I love shopping,’ Flora said. ‘Not that we can buy you the pretty things you deserve, not if we’re to be practical. But you have a lovely face and figure, and you’d look charming if you took a bit more care. I know a better way of doing hair that would suit you and it’s very practical for hiking. I’ll show you tomorrow.’

Nell was surprised to be described as lovely. Cliff used to call her pretty once, when they were courting, though not once had he said it after they’d had to get married. She’d grown used to thinking of herself as past such vanities. But she was only twenty-three. That thought came as a shock. She wasn’t old yet, even though she felt it sometimes. She stole a glance at herself in the huge mirror over the fireplace. She looked very different from the naive girl who’d run away from Swindon, but … not in a bad way.

‘I’ll help you plan your route after we’ve eaten,’ Joanna said. ‘We’ve plenty of maps. You’ll need to buy a good one for yourself while you’re out.’

They went on to show her some photos of their hiking holidays. They looked so happy and healthy. She wanted to be like that. Not to forget Sarah – as if she ever could – but to make a decent life for herself and to move forward with confidence.

The evening meal was served at the late hour of seven o’clock, which surprised Nell. She watched how the ladies dealt with the cutlery and water glasses, but even a more elaborate meal wasn’t a problem, because she enjoyed eating daintily. A sudden memory of her father shovelling food into his mouth, burping and chewing noisily, made her shiver. What was he doing now? Had Mattie got away from him as well? Surely she must have done? Mattie was so clever, she’d not have been caught.

When Joanna had gone to find a map, Flora said quietly, ‘My sister’s enjoying helping you with this. It’s what she wished she’d done when her husband died. It’s over ten years now, but she still thinks of him, says she’ll never remarry. But you’re much younger than she was when she was widowed. I just wanted to assure you that time’s a great healer.’

Nell couldn’t pretend with these two. ‘I didn’t love my husband. It’s my little daughter I’m grieving for. She died in the same accident.’

‘Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.’

‘My husband wasn’t a kind man and it was his meanness that killed our daughter.’ She hadn’t meant to
go into any details and snapped her mouth shut before she made herself cry.

Flora leant forward to clasp her hand for a moment. ‘I’m sorry. I’m sure spending some time in the fresh air will do you good.’

The wind howled suddenly round the house and she grimaced. ‘As soon as the weather improves, of course. If it rains when you’re hiking, as it will, find the nearest town and stay in a good hotel. Buy yourself a book or two and have a nice rest.

‘You could write a diary, though it’d be better to buy a fountain pen for that. It’d give you something to do in the evenings. Dear Joanna always frets when we’re hiking and it rains, but who can control the weather?’

Shopping with Flora was another revelation. They went first to the bank, where Nell drew out twenty pounds. She hesitated to take so much, but she didn’t have to spend it all, did she?

She was thrilled by the huge department store, Kendal Milne. She’d never seen anywhere like it and could have spent a whole day just walking round, looking at displays of goods, some of which she hadn’t known existed. The ladies’ clothes were so elegant she kept stopping to sigh over something. Imagine living your life dressed in clothes like those.

The shop had a tunnel under Deansgate, so that you could walk to the annexe without getting wet or having to cross the street through the busy traffic. It was just another thing done for the customers’ comfort.

The prices shocked her at first, but she hoped she’d hidden that.

She clearly hadn’t, because after a while Flora looked at her thoughtfully. ‘It’s too expensive here for you, isn’t it?
We always shop here because our mother and grandmother did, but we can go and look at Lewis’s, if you like. I’m told their prices are cheaper, but their goods are still of excellent quality.’

‘Yes, please.’ No matter how much money she had, Nell didn’t think she could spend two guineas on one pair of boots. She just couldn’t.

She stopped dead in the street at the sight of Lewis’s Department Store, which was even more imposing. It had a tower on the street corner, and rows of big windows along the two street frontages that met beneath the tower. Surely the goods sold here would be as expensive as those in Kendal Milne’s?

But no, they weren’t, and though she spent a lot of money, she knew the brown tweed suit she’d bought would wear well. The skirt was less full than she’d been used to, but that seemed to be the fashion for ‘country garments’. It came barely to her ankle, with flat front and back panels, but side panels with gores so that you could stride out. The jacket came to just below her hips, and was double-breasted, with a belt and flat pockets on each side.

As for the boots, they felt instantly comfortable, something she hadn’t found with the second-hand shoes she’d had to put up with in the past few years.

‘Don’t skimp on boots,’ Flora whispered. ‘You’ll be doing a lot of walking. And you’ll need another pair of lighter shoes for the evenings, don’t forget.’

Nell hesitated over some practical golf shoes, then, as her companion pulled a face at them, she gave in to temptation and bought some black leather shoes, with a
petersham bow trim across the front, pointed toes and
one-inch
Cuban heels. They were so pretty she couldn’t resist them.

‘They must sell everything on the face of the earth in this store,’ she whispered to Flora.

‘They like to think so. I must say, I think my mother was wrong and the things they sell are of just as good quality as in Kendal Milne’s. I shall persuade Joanna to come here next time, for a change. Now, how about that tam-o’-shanter instead of a hat? No, better get a hat with a brim in case it rains. Felt’s more practical than straw for the weather.’

Nell felt overwhelmed and had stopped keeping track of how much she’d spent.

‘You need at least one pretty blouse for best,’ her mentor said, ‘and some much prettier underwear. Ribbon trimmings are very fashionable and Princess petticoats are practical as well as pretty.’

‘But there’s no one to see them! What does it matter if I buy the plainer ones?’ Nell protested.

Flora stopped dead in the aisle of the shop. ‘Are you “no one”? Don’t
you
count? And you’re twenty-three not
fifty-three
, so why choose dowdy clothes?’

Nell couldn’t think what to say to that, but judging by the little nod of satisfaction Flora gave, her expression said it for her. She bought the pretty underwear and a charming nightdress too.

‘What about a corset?’ Flora asked in a whisper.

‘I don’t wear them,’ Nell admitted. ‘I’m so thin I don’t need to control my figure. And anyway, I could never afford them … before.’

‘I envy you. My sister and I are too big-built to go without. Though you’re not flat-chested.’ She moved on from the corsetry counter.

Nell was relieved. To preserve the decencies and save money, she and her sisters had always made themselves bust bodices from strips of material gathered down the centre front, with ribbon straps and a two-button fastening at the back. The boned bust bodice she’d seen on display in a corner would probably be uncomfortable for walking. Richer women might be happy to sacrifice comfort for elegance, but she wasn’t.

When everything on the list had been covered, Flora said thoughtfully, ‘You really ought to buy some sort of a timepiece. How about a pendant watch to pin inside your jacket?’

The idea was good, but Nell didn’t want to spend a lot more money. ‘Could we buy one second hand, do you think?’

Flora looked at her in shock, then gave a wry smile. ‘You’re right. You have to be careful. I know some jewellers sell good quality second-hand goods.’

‘I’ll look for one tomorrow, then. We’ve too many parcels to do it today.’

Before they left the store, they added one more parcel, because Flora insisted on buying her a copy of Arnold Bennett’s
Clayhanger
as a present. ‘I know it’s a large book, but it’ll last you longer and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.’

Nell clutched the package, thrilled by this. She’d never owned a brand-new book before.

Flora insisted on taking themselves and their parcels
home by cab, another extravagance for which she insisted on paying. But what was one more thing after a day’s spending that made Nell feel breathless at the thought of how much money she’d gone through?

The following day Nell went with Joanna to the local branch of her savings bank and asked to withdraw a hundred and ten pounds.

The cashier frowned at her bank book, then looked at her and summoned the assistant manager to attend to them.

‘My dear young lady, that’s a rather large amount of money. Are you sure you need it all? You drew twenty pounds out yesterday, after all. Does your husband know what you’re doing?’

He’d spoken to her so patronisingly, she answered quite sharply, ‘That’s my own business, I think. And I’m a widow. But I’ve changed my mind about the money. I’ll withdraw everything but a thousand pounds.’

He looked at her in outrage at this increased amount, then turned to Joanna, as if asking her to help him. She stared back at him without a change of expression.

Nell leant forward. ‘And if you try to tell me what to do with my own money again, I shall move my whole account to another bank.’

‘Very well, Mrs Greenhill. As you wish. I was only offering you guidance out of the best intentions.’

Outside Nell let out her breath in a whoosh. ‘How dare he question what I wanted to do with my own money! And why?’

‘Because of the way you’re dressed, I’m afraid. I
suspect he thought you were my servant. You did right to stand your ground. Never let people like him boss you around. It’s your money and you have every right to do what you want with it. After my husband died, people tried to tell me what to do, but I wasn’t going to have that. And if you want to know,
I
think you’re being very sensible about how you’re making your arrangements.’

They walked to the nearest Post Office Savings Bank and Nell opened an account there, putting in the money she’d withdrawn. She felt easier in her mind not to be carrying several hundred pounds around with her and was careful to push her new bank book into the pocket in her handbag for safety. Even the couple of guineas she had left in her purse seemed a huge sum after the way she’d had to count every farthing for so many years.

Once that was done, they went to hunt for a jeweller’s shop which sold second-hand goods, but on the way there, they passed a clockmaker and saw some watches in the window.

Nell found a pendant watch there at only a pound, rather battered but good enough for her purpose. It had a keyless winding system, in which the watch itself was rotated against the back.

‘It’s a good one, that, for all it’s had a hard life,’ the clockmaker told them. ‘Don’t know how it got so battered, but it hasn’t affected the works. I checked that when it was brought in. I don’t sell anything that isn’t in good working order.’

When they got back, Nell and Joanna went over the route again. They’d decided she should start in Cheshire,
perhaps in Cheadle, and move first towards Wilmslow and Knutsford, then across country to Chester, from where she would have a choice of routes.

‘No use walking through miles of suburbs,’ Joanna said. ‘No sounds of nature or pretty views to gladden your heart there.’

Would they gladden her heart? Nell wondered. When she was alone with her thoughts, would trees and streams be enough to divert her from her sad memories? But already she was less lost in her grief, because she’d found something to do. It made her feel guilty sometimes, but people were right: life had to go on.

Being with the two ladies had helped her a lot as well, especially seeing the way Joanna had made a new life for herself after losing the husband she’d clearly loved at a young age.

Nell felt only relief to be away from Cliff, but oh, she still ached for Sarah, had never yet gone to bed without shedding a few tears for her daughter.

She wrote a letter to the Garretts, thanking them for their help and explaining that she’d decided to start hiking after all, and was leaving from Manchester. She enclosed her old bank book and asked them to look after it till she sent for it, because she didn’t want to risk carrying it with her. It wasn’t an easy letter to write, because she knew they’d be upset and worried about her.

She then had the even more difficult task of writing to Renie, trying to explain to her sister what she was doing and why, knowing Renie would be hurt. She ended with a promise to send postcards whenever she could, and on that
thought, she went back to add the same promise as a PS to her letter to the Garretts.

‘I shall leave tomorrow,’ she announced when she went down for dinner.

But the weather prevented that. She woke in the night to hear rain pattering lightly against the windowpanes. The grey skies and low cloud that greeted her in the morning promised more rain to come.

‘You’ll have to stay another day or two,’ said gruff Joanna. ‘Plenty of books to read. No use fretting.’

‘I’m being a nuisance.’

‘Bless you, no! If we can help you … at this time …’ She whisked out her handkerchief and blew her nose hard, then changed the subject.

She was very brave. That was the only time she’d become emotional, while Nell often had to fight against tears.

Nell was on edge for the whole time she waited for the weather to clear up. She wished now that she hadn’t posted the letter to the Garretts. What if they came searching for her, tried to insist on her returning?

Frank Greenhill arrived in Milnrow in the evening, after a long day’s travelling. How stupid it was to have to change trains whenever you moved from the territory of one railway company to another! On some stretches there were through carriages, which were unhooked and connected to another engine, which was better. But it still delayed you. There wasn’t even one of those on this trip.

By the time he’d made a second change of train at Birmingham New Street, he was in a foul mood. Who cared whether the London & North Western Railway owned this
stretch of track? All he wanted was to travel as quickly as possible to his destination, to stop that fool of a woman wasting his cousin’s money.

Of course, he had to change trains again at Manchester, didn’t he?

Luckily, he was in the same lodgings as last time. He’d go and see
her
first thing tomorrow morning and make it plain that if she wanted a peaceful life, she’d have to share her money with the family. It was only right. Cliff would have expected that.

And Frank had an idea about how he could get his hands on all the money.

Nell was woken at just before six by the sun shining through a gap in the curtains. She slipped out of bed and went to draw the curtains back, revealing sunny skies and a freshly washed world. The beauty of it all enticed her to stand by the window for several minutes. She seemed to crave the beauty of nature.

Excitement filled her. Time to be on her way.

She visited the bathroom, lingering for a moment to look at the wonderful fitments. She’d miss the luxury of having a water closet indoors and a bath where you just turned on the tap and hot water came out.

In her room she dressed in her new tweed skirt and jacket, and packed her rucksack, something she’d already practised doing. It was a bit heavy, but she needed everything she put in it, and she definitely wasn’t leaving out her precious new book.

By the time she went down to the kitchen for breakfast, she was ready to leave, and it was still only half past seven.

Mary greeted her with a smile and said she’d bring a cup of tea through to the breakfast parlour.

‘I need to have my breakfast early, if that’s all right, so perhaps I should eat it in here. I’m leaving today, you see, as soon as I’ve eaten and said goodbye to your ladies.’

‘They’re both awake and I’ve taken their tea up. If you’re in a hurry, you could knock on their bedroom doors to say goodbye, then have a quick breakfast in here. If you don’t mind doing that, miss.’

Nell beamed at the maid. ‘I’m happy to eat in here. I’ll go and see them now.’

She knocked first on Joanna’s door, then Flora’s, but they both insisted on coming down in their dressing gowns to say goodbye properly, which delayed things.

She ate her breakfast to the accompaniment of more advice, mostly things being repeated. She’d have liked to push her plate away and simply leave, but they’d been so kind to her, she couldn’t do that.

At last the meal was over and Mary presented her with some sandwiches wrapped in greaseproof paper plus a couple of apples and three wedges of heavy fruit cake, the latter being highly recommended by Joanna as one of the best foods for the road. She had to carry that in a little cloth bag Flora found for her, with long handles that fitted over her shoulder. She wondered if it was worth carrying this extra weight, because she had been planning to buy food en route. But once again, she didn’t want to upset kind people who were trying to help her.