Lovers and Liars (19 page)

‘Not all of it, no.’ John was honest with her. ‘I saved every penny I could from my wages in the Merchant Navy, but some of that has gone. I’ll have to start out small – rent a yard or barn somewhere. I’ll begin by doing repairs, and take it from there.’

‘And do you think there’ll be an opening for that kind of thing?’ she wanted to know. ‘I mean, won’t there already be more than enough repair shops tending the wagons on the road?’

‘Well, that’s something I mean to find out, but according to Archie, there’s a shortage of
good
repair shops. Setting up my own shop will be the first step.’

‘What then?’

‘Well, I’ll get talking to the customers. One by one, I hope to persuade them to let me do more than just repair. I hope to show them how I can design and build top-quality wagons and such.’

Harriet liked the sound of it all. ‘And push the big boys out, is that it?’

‘Something like that, yes.’

‘You’ve got your work cut out.’

‘I know that.’

‘And it doesn’t frighten you off?’

John shook his head, a look of defiance in his eyes. ‘It only makes it all the more exciting.’

Finishing her drink, Harriet prepared to leave. ‘I’d best go and see what that friend of yours is about,’ she said. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if he hasn’t just stood in that room the whole time, shivering and shaking. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s never once dipped his dirty toe in the water.’

While John bent his head to his drawing, she ambled to the door. ‘I think you’ve got a good plan there,’ she casually remarked.

‘Why thank you, Harriet.’ It was good to have her believe in him.

Her next throwaway remark took him aback. ‘If you’ve need of capital to help get you started, I’ve got some savings tucked away. Mind you, it’ll only be a loan. I’ll want it back with interest!’ She took out her little tin of snuff and tapped the lid.

By the time John looked up, she was gone. ‘Good God!’ Her words echoed in his mind. ‘She offered me a loan.’ He could scarcely believe it. ‘Miss Harriet Witherington offered me a loan, and she hardly knows me from Adam!’

He had left himself a sizeable sum of money, after providing for Lizzie, but it wasn’t enough to take him where he wanted to go. His idea had been to approach the bank and ask for a loan, though he didn’t think much to his chances. But Harriet had offered him a loan just like that. It was incredible.

My God! he thought. If she really is serious, and she’s talking real money, I might just take her up on it. He laughed out loud. It was possible, of course, that Harriet’s idea of a loan wouldn’t even buy him a set of tools. He got back to his drawing. All the same, it was kind of her to offer.

His estimation of the landlady had gone up when she offered Archie a few nights under her roof, but with this latest offer, his regard for her was tenfold. In fact, he was beginning to realise that her bark was far worse than her bite. Moreover, he had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to Harriet Witherington, spinster, than she was letting on.

Chapter 8

A
COUPLE OF
hours later, as the two of them clambered off the tram, Archie chortled, ‘Did you see her face when I came out of the bathroom, all spruced up and dressed to the nines?’ Stroking the lapels of his borrowed jacket, he looked like a man with a purpose. ‘Shocked to the roots, that’s what she was.’

John took stock of his old pal, and he still couldn’t believe the transformation. With shining, shaven face, freshly washed hair and clean, pressed clothes, Archie looked like a new man. ‘I’m not surprised she was shocked,’ he commented. ‘I’m still wondering if this is the same Archie I spent time with on the high seas.’ There was even a spring to Archie’s step that hadn’t been there before. He appeared years younger, and not all that bad-looking.

Suddenly Archie was tugging at his sleeve. ‘Hey! Did you see that?’ he cried excitedly. ‘That young woman just gave me the eye.’ Waving in the direction of the departing tram, he beamed from ear to ear.

John glanced at the woman, who had seen Archie waving and had turned away, embarrassed. ‘Behave yourself!’ he said laughingly. ‘She was looking in the shop-window.’

Archie wasn’t convinced. ‘She were looking at me,’ he argued. ‘Do you think I can’t tell when a woman fancies me?’

John left it at that, because now they had reached the canal bridge, and right there in front of them on the other side, was the sawmill and buildings Archie had described – Armitage’s.

‘The place is falling down!’ Archie was shocked. ‘Look at that! The buggers have let it go to rack and ruin.’

John took a good look, and the more he saw the more pleased he was. There were four large wooden buildings, all in a row and all in a state of disrepair.

And yet, from what John could tell, the business was ongoing. In the first building, a number of men could be seen moving back and forth, some carrying tools, others pushing wagon-wheels over to a half-built wagon. Two fit, strong men were offloading timber from a barge, and overseeing it all were another two men. One was about Archie’s age, the other somewhat younger, but each was well into his middle age.

‘It’s them!’ The little fella’s mouth fell open. ‘Well, bugger me. I would have thought they’d have packed it in years ago, and yet here they still are, working in their father’s yard and letting it fall apart all at the same time.’

John took careful stock of the two men. He had seen how smartly dressed they were, and how little attention they paid to the workmen. Instead of which, they appeared to be arguing with each other. ‘They don’t get on that well, do they?’ he remarked.

Archie knew of them from old, for hadn’t he come in and out of those same buildings while working for Thwaites’s Brewery? ‘They hate each other’s guts,’ he revealed. ‘Always have.’

‘And why’s that?’ John thought it more interesting by the minute.

‘Jealousy,’ Archie answered succinctly. ‘It’s all to do with rivalry and money. I don’t know if the years have changed him for the better, but the younger of the two used to enjoy a gamble – threw money about like it was of no use to man nor mouse. As I recall, he was a lazy bugger into the bargain. One day he’d turn up at work, and then you wouldn’t see him for weeks on end. The older brother nearly got to fighting with him once or twice. It got so bad the father threatened to cut the pair of them out of his will, or so I heard.’

John thought it got better and better. ‘Why didn’t you tell me all this before?’

‘Because you never asked.’

John glanced to where the older man was wagging a finger at his brother. ‘Looks to me like there’s still bad blood between them.’

‘You’re right,’ Archie agreed. ‘It looks that way to me an’ all.’

‘Might make it easier for me to buy them out, eh?’ John was already smiling at the prospect.

Archie looked at him with curiosity. ‘Even with the buildings falling apart, and happen the business too for all we know, I reckon the buying of it is beyond you. What! It’d take all the money you’ve put by and a great deal more besides.’

‘I expect it would.’ John had no doubts on that score. ‘But if I could raise the extra money, I reckon I might be in there with a chance. What d’you think?’

‘I think you could be right. But it won’t be handed to you on a plate – you can be sure o’ that.’

John gave a wink. ‘Slowly, slowly,’ he said. ‘There’s always a way.’

Archie had a warning. ‘Their father was a gentleman, but these two are a pair of cunning devils.’

‘I reckon I’m a match for them,’ John answered.

Archie didn’t argue with that. ‘So, what’s your plan?’

John’s plan was simple. ‘Even though it’s on its last legs, this yard is perfect for what I have in mind. I know I’ll not get better. Besides, from what I can see with my own eyes, them buildings won’t be standing much longer, not without something being done, and that takes money, which they may not have.’ His mind was working fast. ‘I’m wondering if that younger brother isn’t still wasting money by the fistful.’

The same thought had crossed Archie’s mind. ‘You know what they say: once a gambler, always a gambler.’

‘Ah, but we can’t know that for sure, can we?’ John was cautious. ‘I need to see how the land lies before I make my move.’

‘And how d’you mean to do that?’

John had it all figured out. ‘We’ll go across and introduce ourselves. We’re just two men looking for work, that’s all they need to know for now. They won’t recognise you from before, will they?’

Archie shook his head. ‘No, not a chance. They never gave the likes o’ me a second glance. As for now, they might set
you
on, son, but they’ll not want an old lag like me.’

‘You’re not an old lag,’ John argued. ‘Now that you’re all washed and smartened up, you look ten years younger.’

‘Mebbe, but it doesn’t alter the fact that my fingers are crooked and half-useless. You know yourself I can’t hold anything of any weight before I have to put it down.’

‘Aye, but they don’t know that, do they?’

‘Oh, but they will. First time I attempt to pick up a piece of heavy wood, they’ll know I’m next to useless.’

‘You’ve got other talents.’

‘Oh, an’ what might they be then?’

‘You can cook, can’t you?’

‘That’s true, right enough. But they’re not about to want no cook, are they? And besides, it’s even got so’s I find it difficult to hold a full pan.’

‘All right. But you can use a broom, can’t you?’

‘I hope so,’ Archie retorted. ‘I should imagine anybody can use a broom.’

‘So that’s what you’ll tell them,’ John suggested. ‘You’re capable of using a mop, and keeping the place safe underfoot, aren’t you?’

Archie cheered up. ‘Oh, I should think so.’

‘So there you are then, Archie. You’re not as useless as you think.’

‘Hmh! Useless enough, all the same.’

With Archie still moaning, they crossed the bridge and approached the yard. ‘Let me do most of the talking,’ John said.

‘Suits me,’ Archie readily agreed, but with one reservation. ‘Don’t talk me into doing anything too demanding,’ he instructed. ‘I can do mopping and cleaning, and mebbe washing down a bench or two. But that’s it.’

Deciding to speak with the older brother, John led the way. Unfortunately as they drew near, there was a sharper exchange of words between the two men, resulting in the older one angrily striding away; leaving John with no choice but to address the other.

‘We’re looking for work,’ he told him. ‘I’m a carpenter, and my mate here is first class with a broom and mop.’

‘You’re wasting your time here.’ The other man’s answer was swift and clear. ‘We’ve no need of you, so bugger off, before you get the sharp end of my boot.’

At that moment his brother returned. ‘What’s the problem here?’

‘No problem.’ The younger man bristled. ‘These two were just about to leave.’ He glared at John and Archie. ‘You’ve been told. On your way … NOW! Before I have you thrown in the canal.’

Controlling the urge to smack him one, John retaliated. ‘You can try! But more likely than not, it’ll be you who ends up in the canal.’

‘All right! That’s enough.’ Sensing a serious confrontation, the older brother stepped in. ‘I’m sorry, but he’s right. We would offer you work if we could, but we’re fully manned. Sorry … can’t help.’

John and Archie had no choice but to leave. ‘Is there any point in coming back in a week or so?’ John was bitterly disappointed.

The older man shook his head. ‘I’m afraid not.’

As they walked away, Archie glanced back. ‘Seems to me there’s real hatred there.’

John agreed. ‘It’s a terrible thing when family turns against family.’ His thoughts went to Emily and her uncle, and though he was devastated at losing her, he was glad for her sake that the situation there appeared to have been resolved.

‘Look at that!’ Archie drew John’s attention to where a barge was being offloaded. ‘I’m buggered if it ain’t a young lass in charge!’

John was surprised. ‘It appears so.’ He observed the young woman in question and saw how the men appeared to be taking instruction from her. Not yet twenty by his reckoning, with her long fair hair tied back and the hem of her dark skirt swishing around her ankles, she wore the same kind of boots that the men wore.

At that moment she turned and smiled at him. Embarrassed to be seen watching her, he returned a nod, and quickened his steps towards the bridge.

‘Well, I never. She’s coming after us.’ Brushing his hand over his hair, Archie preened himself. ‘I expect she’s heard about my reputation,’ he said with a naughty wink.

Her voice carried on the air. ‘Wait a minute!’ She caught up with them on the bridge. ‘Are you looking for work?’ Brown-eyed and with a quick, easy smile, the young woman was not so much pretty as homely.

‘That’s right. But it seems they’ve no need of us.’ Like Archie, John felt easy in her company. ‘Why? Are you offering us work?’

‘It’s not full-time or anything like that,’ she replied. ‘Only, one of my barges is beached, and I’m losing work because of it.’

‘So, how can we help?’ John was surprised to learn that she was not only the owner of that barge down there, but had another somewhere else. A woman of her tender years, owning a business like this and working alongside the men – that was something he had never come across before.

She explained, ‘It’s my father’s business, but he’s laid up. There was an accident … a crate fell on him and injured his back. Since then I’ve carried on the best I can.’

‘You look like you’re doing a good job an’ all,’ Archie answered.

‘Thanks.’ Then, addressing herself to John, she said, ‘One of the men down there heard you say you were a carpenter. Is that right?’

John nodded. ‘It’s right enough, yes.’

‘So – will you help me out?’

‘Depends on the job.’

She described what was needed. ‘When the crate fell, it smashed a huge hole right through the deck of our second barge. We managed to get her ashore, but she needs major work.’

John was curious. ‘And are you telling me you can’t find a carpenter to take it on?’