i 024767349a4cae9a (8 page)

doctor to strip his clothes off him, then rub

,ea.gggreater-than with a rough towel before putting him uny? bedclothes.

jii.. in a low voice, John said, "I'll have to go ""Jf. the surgery; rie'll need some medicine," Dave ,:- said quietly,

"Before you go, would you stay disfi'i for another fiv minutes? There's something

'allyes. Yes, Dave. Go on."

Dave Wallace walked slowly from the room and closed the door behind him. Then, moving cally to the table where his wife was still standing, and with. out saying a word, he drove his fist between her eyes;

then as she fell back screaming, he gripped the front of her blouse, pulling her towards him until their breaths fanned each other. Then he growled, "You filthy, dirty, common slut!

You're not fit to live. For two pins I'd send you along with him. You'd served him well afore the tree hit him. Well, better than the gun I was going to use on you both, for it saved me own neck. Now, you dirty whore, get up them stairs an" get your fancy dibs together, and out. No waitin', no talkin it over this time. No promises. Out! Out It was his voice that was screaming now. He thrust her towards the stairs and, her back hitting the bannister post she almost slid to the floor. Then, her hand over her brow, she said, "You... you can't do this. I've nowhere to go."

"What! You've nowhere to go? What about your backslash clients? Their wives would welcome you, especially Gladys Knowles. She would tear the hair from your head if she knew that you had started to serve him again. Now get up there before I kick you up." foot went out as if he was about to carry out his threat, and she stumbled up the stairs.

And he followed her.

Half the landing was taken up with a large cupboard, the doors of which he pulled open, and fro it he dragged a twohandled canvas bag and threw i at her feet, saying, here you are! Get your fancy dibs into that, and what it doesn't hold you can hang around your neck. But do it and do it now. And if I look slippy rn throw the 79 window an'

0 after themddie damn lot hisby "S for a moment defiant, she said, "Big fellow all less-than bottom lip

1: befor time," he yelled a less-than a sudden." disllSo- before time. If there's aner.

'ationo, by

J in tis world, it's been Qody been a This tie he did lift his foot every. Now get %

saying, 'I"'1 g OUT, kicked at TT." only givin" disW she now grabbed up blou

as she went to get s, skirts and i'

lower shlf she said, The ba ie oddments "iJffI: me bits and pieces from do already fuUs es, your its and pieces. Yostairs." and your powders. Oh, you'l cheapcrack

3*1 need 'em in your trade." get those all i!. stairs, and from the back of thAnd he leapt

.ea"...5t a bass bag and rushed into kitchen door 3f., on the chest of drawers he the bedroom.

andwitha curved arm, he swepshed to one boxes into the bag. Then he pulle a number of and tipped P

its contents into l open the top j aUs this John had not turned e bag. he was chafing the boy's limbs om the bed, . of the woman's voice yellin However, he iback on you, Dave Wallace, get e bar pr what's niore. I haven't any n you'll see. *2"...K: he pay you this morning?

Geioney His

3So God I'll do foThat yo" ere out!

Get out! ,door being banged closed. as the sound i- Wallace did not return imme less-than S2iLike for he lt as if he had just eiately to the commerged from

alon hefine Cookson backslash

lsicabatti backslash maiJs . instead, he slumped against

and fo dg@ig to his chest; and so he i; the rht T ts. But the minutes were lonr ri Onn backslash

sho towar -- the bedroom door. then acroal boy he *ln And he P his halld on I'll yo lggful Come on; sit on the bed. Tht bar wannay h er' S or you. Ad

hot tiut be back shortly. Just keep lumi D, shlf in the bed and give him a bar alloii backslash

put tumrif roke Qo WOT-DO of but J!

to hi 0 be led to the bed. And there he were It ound his son and brought his face up bar ve enThat an Ilour later when Jotm r111 to His

**ity

that 'shoi s sti11 at the side of Ae f an ln is an lt was evident;

ljggful n * His

it was because of the fresh fall of snow 1fc had been so sparsely attended. Very few not. retued to the house, but what was were to the family was the presence of four very gentlemen who werent known to them drank the muUed wine and seemed to enoy that was provided. tt it was four o'clock in the afternoon.

The

@n fire. heaped with logs, was burning . The gas chandelier filled the room with light,

[*reggg'1. no such illumination was registered on the I the small assembled company. There was Be*% her skin taking on the patina of alabaster her heavy black garb, her eyes wide-stretched t tightly closed. Then there was Helen, tall and more elegant than ever in her mournmg

Next to her sat her military looking husband lastly there was Rosie. She was not sitting up in her chair as were the others, but leaning t side. her head resting on her hand, her elbow I. arm of the chair. And she did not raise her head when the solicitor, Mr Coulson of Coulson, Pratt and Sanders, who was sitting behind the sofa table, said, "There is little to read as there are no bequests, but just a simple letter. Your father left no will." He was looking straight at Beatrice now.

"There had been a will of sorts, but that was before your mother died. After he mortgaged the house..."

"What?"' Beatrice was sitting on the edge of her chair now. "What did you say?"'

"I said, Miss Steel, after your father mortgaged the house, and I may add, although there is no will to read, there's a great deal to be told."

"Mortgaged the house? This house isn't motgaged."

The solicitor's sigh was audible to all of them and patiently now, his eyes still on Beatrice, he said, his house, Miss Steel, is mortgaged to an amount of ten thousand pounds. That is a great deal of money. But the security for it did not rest with the house alone. Numerous articles in it had to act as security, including a number of the pictures which are listed here." He tapped a document on his desk.

'ive pictures il1 all, I think, which he imagined were of great valu But only two were authentic, one a Boucher. Unfotunately, the Rembrandt was a copy."

His words were checked by Beatrice, who ano screamed at him, "What are you talking about?"'

"Be quiet! for a moment, Beatrice," put in Helen Beatrice tamed on her now and yelled,

"It's a11 right for you, sin there po-faced! You're out ofit nicely out of it; I'm left with all the rcsponsibil" and here I'm being told..."

'Do you wish me to continue Miss Steel? Or shal1

be matter to one of my partners, and you can greater-than That- office?"'

,., . bowed her head for a moment, her knuck, white where her hands were gripping and pressing a dent into her black skirt. Ipi silence in the room before Mr Coulson li address: "I will now read this private letMore: know its contents; I only know that the

genleman" comhe seemed to stress the last left it in our care to be opened after his E le 0 too out a single page, f at it for a few seconds before he raised and looked from one to the other of the small

beeabbB

S n a ow volce ne

*i *ful- my estate to my eldest

*i.. Beatrice Steel, and express that she find some means of

l'h it.

Signed, Simon Arthur Steel

"com assembled were all looking towards Beatrice (i Rosie had straightened herself up. Belips were no longer set in a line, her mouth ycc"...if and shutting like hat of a gasping fish. i Leonard Morton Spears who broke the si, His voice too was quiet, and he looked at the disW

disand said, "What is the income?"'

*is little, sir, very hide. In fact, it's negligible

f not! It's not!" Beatrice was shouting again.

gf Catherine Cookson backslash

here a bonds, securities; Pther received *

I terest every quarter."

"Your father Miss Steel, had for the last six onrtj be received a oan torn a company that charges exori I bitant interest rates. The bank had not allowed hmeabar I second mortgage, and he was reduced to bonog I 'But Mama's bonds, and investments, and..." bar bar Her voice now trailed away to a whisper, and thel solicitor, with pity in his eyes and his voic, said "Your mama I'm sorry to say, Miss Steel, had to sell I a number dg er interests and bonds to meet-"

h bar paused here, swallowed, then glanced at the othes I bar before adding, "your father's debts."

S

It was in a whimper that Bearice asked, "B..

disb what debts? He only went to Newcastle to his cub bar twice r three times a week, an very rarely to Lon1

I don." i "You don't need to travel far Miss, to spend bar

thousands of pounds when youre addicted to gain bar bung." I

"Father addicted to...?"' Now Beatrice turned ap pealingly to Helen; then her eyes lifted to the man at bar her sister's side. But neither of them could find any- bar thing to ay to comfort her.

Beatrice was looking at the solicitor again and s said, "Heh could not have lost all that money on gambling; he... he must have Won sometimes. He must."

"Yes. Yes, he won at times, a little. But from what I gather, that was only an incentive to lay on or money, sometimes hundreds."

Then the company was startled by Rosie's words stabbing like a wasp's sting: "And then there were hi laSa there were his women. You know 'fithat do you?"'

" rose from her chair and went to Rosie an arm around her shoulders, she said ip Rosie, please!"

Miv she got, No, Helen! Let it an come S5fc) is too polite. And ll tell you somes Beatrice. The morning he died he had just one dg Is y e of them. to pay them, hadn't he? And you had to

two pounds out of the housekeeping were on tneletter leet now

like.. you're insane, girl, insane!"

espoded to this remark for a moment. sitting down again almost with a sSo No, Miss Steel; regrettably she is right. too polite to put it as boldly as she has. IsL'n- and land is in the state it is today because be late faher's weaknesses." His voice becoming

JW said nov There is one small item of busidiscussed, but it is important. So will you c seated." He now drew toward himself a disii"'1 of sheets of paper which had been lying side, and tapping them, he said, here are dgtstanding bills, not only from the local shop i lmt 01

certain... we'll call them gentlemen ig- here today. Two are directors of the loan t--

greater-than the ohers are from a gambling syndicate.

demands are substantial. But there is a 1 Te As there is no money in the estate, I don't i' ether, legaly, these men can call upon you bar your father's debts. Ill have to look into this.

l

The interest on their money alone will take some find bar +. To that, I'm afraid, has to be added the interet bar on the mortgage. If I may advise you, and if there is[ any possible way you can manage it, I would see to bar the local debts immediately; and also thin about r62ar ducing your staff Consider too what you itend to do bar with the property, because, as I see it from here, it left-brace will be impossible for you to continue living here;

under the conditions I have stated." I As he picked up a leather case and began to return bar the papers to it, Leonard Morton Spears said, 'Leave bar the bills for the local debts, I shall see to those."

Oh, that is kind of you, sir. And...and you know bar there is still hope. There is still something you can bar do." He was now looking across the table at Beatrice j who was staring at the floor. You still have about j fifty acres of land here, some of it unused, I should j imagine; well, I mean, it's just rough oodland. I bar think you should sleep on he idea of selling a step of i You can get a good price for building lan less-than 1 to backslash day; that is, for good-class houses. I'm sure the bak would support you in this." " Beatrice's head came up. Sell the lad? Fathr be

would never..." bar

"Shut up!" Again they were looking at Rosie, UD- J believing now, as she went on,

"Don't bring P what bar Father would do and what he wouldn't do. To vj mind and everybody else's, he's done ore than enough, and he's hoodwinked us for years- And from what I understand he led Mother a terrible life."

Helen now took Rosie by the shoulder and forceO

her towards the doors. "Come along, dear! All rigt all right! Be quiet now, be quiet!"

j mouth was again agape. Rosie. How v dare she! It didn't matter what ather she had no right to speak to her in public it had no right! She had no right!

f: voice had yelled at her from inside Shut SSS' stopped, then sat down heavily.

be"...icrBut backslash backslash went to her, put a hand on her and said Try not to take it too badly, BeI'M things happen. They'll work out though, i. they'll work out. We'll do what we can."

n have raised her head and thanked him, .iff couldn't. He and Helen: he doted on ISSS-YOU.

Life was unfair. Oh, how unfair it got up and left the room without even a nod te solicitor. And now Leonard turned to Mr you. saying, "It's a dreadful business.

He really

be utter swlne 've known it for some time. But bar less-than talk about such things, not to womenfolk, disliSo his daughters. Are things indeed so black?"'

SL from my point f view, sir, they could not Just' What should happen is that the house and i be sold, and what is left after the bank ii paid, would, I imagine, enable Miss Steel to , little place of her own. But I can see that it

* be quite impossible. Oh yes, yes."

isj. nodded at the man, saying, 'My wife's

" said that Beatrice had an obsession with this which is why she always expects to be adas Beatrice Penrose-Steel. Even as a child, it a' to be a place for everything and everything in beM-. She used to be what they call the little be but now she's an infuriated woman. And the

hardest part for her, I'm sure, will be to accept fc bar father's revealed character, because, in a way, frm bar the little I have seen of both of them. they were vey bar alie under the skin, except of course, orally;

"Yes, of course, except morally. Well now, sir, I bar will make my way