The Buffer Girls (35 page)

Walter was wheeled in front of the table where the cakes stood. Now, he had Harry on his knee and together they watched as the two couples, laughing and joking together, stood
side by side to
make the first cuts. The guests clapped and cheered and then Polly carried the cakes away for Mrs Froggatt, still wearing her best hat, to cut into slices.

It had been a wonderful day for both families. Trip and Emily were to spend the first night of their married life at Riversdale House. As Josh and Amy left to go home, Trip
said, ‘We must go back to Sheffield tomorrow
afternoon, but how about a walk up to Monsal Head in the morning? Just for old times’ sake, eh?’

His suggestion was greeted with a chorus of ‘What a lovely idea!’

As Trip and Emily stood on the driveway to wave them goodbye, Trip called, ‘And be sure to bring Harry. It’s high time he saw more of our lovely countryside.’

The following morning, Mrs Froggatt packed a picnic basket and
Kirkland drove the two girls, Harry and the hamper to Monsal Head in Constance’s car whilst Trip and Josh
walked up. They sat on the top of the hill to eat, looking out over the dale and pointing out the passing trains to the little boy.

‘We must do this again when the weather’s warmer,’ Josh said. ‘We can take Harry down to the weir and let him run on the grass.’ He glanced at Trip and
Emily.
‘You’ll come back to Ashford as often as you can, won’t you?’

‘Of course, we will,’ Trip said, getting up. ‘But now we really must be going. Kirkland should be coming back for us in a few minutes. I told him two o’clock.’

Back at Riversdale House, Trip kissed his mother goodbye and said, ‘We must look for work tomorrow morning.’

For a brief moment she clung to him, then, with
a brave smile and a brief nod, she stood back and patted his shoulder. ‘Good luck to both of you. Come, Emily, my dear, give me a kiss.
I’m thrilled to have a daughter-in-law. You will write to me – both of you – won’t you?’

‘Of course,’ they chorused. ‘And we’ll come and see you as often as we can,’ Trip added. ‘I’ve been lucky enough to be able to get my motorcycle back
and even a sidecar
with it. The local farmer I sold it to when I came back to Ashford bought it for his son, who took it out and promptly fell off and broke his arm. The lad doesn’t want to
see it again. So, I’ve bought it back from him for the same money he paid me. “Just take it out of my sight,” he said. So, we’ll be able to get here to see you easily. And
now, Mrs Trippet Junior, let’s see how you fit
into my new sidecar.’

Laughing, he picked her up in his arms and settled her in the seat.

‘Here, my dear, you’ll need this,’ Constance said and moved forward to place a broad-brimmed hat on Emily’s head, tying it firmly in place with a silk scarf. ‘Now,
off you go.’

Constance stood at the end of the driveway, watching until they disappeared round the corner at the end of the street.
Near The Candle House, all Emily’s family had come out to wave and,
as the motorbike roared up the slope of Greaves Lane, it seemed as if everyone in the street had come out to cheer them on their way.

After a day settling in together back in the court, Emily decided that they must look for work straightaway.

‘We’ve the rent to find on the first of next month,’ Emily said. Trip took
her in his arms and nestled his face against her neck. ‘Is that all the honeymoon we get
then?’

She chuckled and pressed her face into his shoulder. ‘’Fraid so, but it’s all going to be honeymoon from now on.’

They stood together, just holding each other for a long moment before reluctantly drawing apart.

‘Then we’d better start today, Mrs Trippet.’

‘I’ll go and see the girls.
See if they’ve had a change of heart.’

Trip pulled a face. ‘I wouldn’t get your hopes up.’

When they stepped out into the yard, there was a strange atmosphere. At the corner house, Mrs Nicholson was standing on her doorstep. She glared briefly at the pair and then turned her back on
them, stepped back into her house and slammed the door. Across the yard, Mrs Jacklin hurried Rosa’s two
children away, almost pushing them along in front of her and averting her glance from
Emily and Trip. Once, she would have called out a friendly greeting, but not today. From the workshop across the yard came the sound of Bess Dugdale tapping as she made another file. Then the noise
stopped and the door opened.

‘Oh, so you’re back, are you? Well, don’t expect a welcome in this court. You’d
have done better to find somewhere else to live.’

‘Mrs Dugdale, please . . .’ Emily crossed the cobbles towards her. ‘You know I tried to warn Lizzie from the start, but she wouldn’t listen.’

‘Then Josh shouldn’t have led her on. Going for walks in the park every Sunday for all to see just as if they were a courting couple. Escorting her to the ball. He’s not
treated her fair, Emily,
and that’s a fact. And if you’ve come back to live here, then you’ll get no help from any of us. Not this time.’

Trip touched her arm. ‘Come on, Emily. Leave it.’

Sadly, Emily turned away. She was sorry to lose the goodwill of their neighbours and wondered just how long she and Trip would be able to live in such a cold and unwelcoming atmosphere. But they
set off together, hopeful that
by the end of the day both of them would have secured some kind of employment.

They separated with a kiss and went in opposite directions; Trip to seek work in the bigger factories, Emily to visit the small workshop she had helped to set up. It was worth a try, though she
wasn’t hopeful.

As she walked through the door, she was greeted by the noise of two buffing wheels, whilst two lay
idle. Only Ida and a girl she didn’t recognize were working and there was no sign of the
errand girl, Jane. She glanced around and saw Lizzie and Nell talking together in the far corner. Above the noise of the machinery, she couldn’t hear what was being said – and she had
never quite mastered the art of lip-reading – but by the look on both their faces, and the fact that Nell was standing with
her hands on her hips, Emily knew they were arguing. Ida had
spotted her standing uncertainly by the door and she went across to Nell and Lizzie to speak to them. Then all three girls looked in her direction.

Emily lifted her chin defiantly. She had a right to be here; hadn’t she helped to start all this?

Lizzie said something she couldn’t hear, but it was Nell who walked towards her.

‘Come outside a minute, Emily. We can’t talk properly in here.’

They stepped outside and turned to face each other. ‘I’m sorry, Emily,’ Nell said at once, ‘but Lizzie is adamant you can’t come back here, even though . . .’
She paused and bit her lip.

‘Even though . . . what, Nell?’ Emily prompted.

Nell sighed. ‘Since you left, the business has been going downhill. Even in that
short time. We’ve lost two of our customers – our biggest – and haven’t been able
to replace them. Even Mr Hawke has removed his trade. Lizzie hasn’t got your business head, nor has she the right attitude with the customers. Oh, she flirts with the men, flutters her long
eyelashes at them, but that’s not what businessmen want, is it?’

Emily shook her head. ‘But she won’t let me come back?’

Nell shook her head. ‘Won’t hear of it. That young lass we set on just before you left, Jane, she’s gone and we can’t afford to pay an errand lass now. And she was
shaping up to be a really good worker – she was almost ready to start training on a wheel – and although we’ve taken on another lass, Flo, her work’s rubbish at the moment,
to be honest. Lizzie won’t condescend to work at the
machines any more and me and Ida can’t do it all. We’ll lose more customers, if this goes on, just because we can’t cope
with the work we are still getting.’

‘I’m sorry, Nell,’ Emily said, and she meant it. ‘But if Lizzie won’t let me come back, there’s nothing I can do.’

Nell eyed her for a moment before stepping closer and lowering her voice. ‘If you decide to set up somewhere else
– and I reckon you could – let me know, won’t
you?’

Emily stared at her. She’d thought that Nell and Lizzie were bosom pals. As if reading her mind, Nell smiled wryly. ‘Oh, I can guess what you’re thinking. I’m being
disloyal to Lizzie, but to be honest, I don’t agree with the way she’s treating you. I know what she’s like with men and I believe you when you say that you told her from
the
start that Josh was engaged to someone else. But if Lizzie gets a bee in her bonnet, she keeps it buzzing. She won’t give in. I know I’m her friend, but when it comes to my livelihood,
then I’m afraid that’s where friendship ends. I – I don’t tell many people this, Emily,’ she glanced around to make sure no one was listening and then lowered her
voice, ‘but I’ve got a kiddie to support.
I can’t afford to be out of work.’

Emily knew Nell wasn’t married, but she hadn’t known she had a child. Nell went on to explain. ‘I was a fool, taken in by a charmer who turned out to be a real bad ’un.
Me mam was a brick. She looks after Lucy all day while I’m at work. That’s why I never come out in the evening. It’s not fair to expect Mam to do more than she does already. I do
let Lucy’s
dad see her now and again, but there’s no way I want a bloke like him in our lives permanently. He’s a wrong ’un and he was a mate of Mick Dugdale’s at one
time, though I think there’s been a bit of a falling out. Anyway, that should say it all. My dad was killed in the war, so you see I have to work to support the three of us.’

‘Nell – I’m sorry and I wish I could help you, but I’m desperate
to find work myself at the moment.’

Nell nodded. ‘Keep in touch, though, won’t you? Are you still living in that court off Garden Street?’

Emily nodded. ‘At the moment, but no one is speaking to us.’

‘Huh! Lizzie again, I expect.’ She paused and then added, ‘Us? I thought your family had all gone back to Ashford?’

Emily smiled. ‘They have, but Trip and I are married and we’ve come
back together to find work.’

Nell smiled and squeezed her arm. ‘Well, that is a bit of good news. I’m right pleased for the pair of you. You and Trip will do well together. You’ve got each other.’
There was a wistful tone in her voice and Emily was moved to give her a swift hug.

‘Good luck, Emily.’ And with that, Nell hurried back inside.

Emily tramped the streets for the rest of the day, but there was no work to be had and when they met again at home that evening, Trip had the same story.

‘There’s nothing – at least, nothing that anyone will give me. I really think my father has a hand in all this. Some of the foremen and managers I spoke to looked distinctly
uncomfortable and avoided meeting my eyes. I reckon
he must have put the word around amongst his cronies and they aren’t willing to cross him. So, I went to see Mr Bayes just to see if he
knew anything.’

Emily gasped. ‘Weren’t you worried you might run into your father?’

Trip shook his head. ‘No, I know where he parks the car when he’s at the works and it wasn’t there, so I thought I was pretty safe.’

‘And what did Mr Bayes have to
say?’

Trip set down his knife and fork as he finished the meal that Emily had prepared. ‘Not much. He seemed a bit agitated. Kept saying that he was so sorry about what had happened between
Father and me and asking if my mother was all right.’

‘Does he know your mother?’

Trip frowned. ‘I suppose he must have met her a few times over the years. Not that she comes to the factory often,
but I think she used to attend the annual ball in the early days.’
Trip sighed. ‘I suppose he thought that perhaps all the trouble had upset her, but I was able to put his mind at rest and tell him that she was on our side and how she’d helped
us.’

‘I expect your father’s said nothing to him about – about us.’

‘No – he didn’t even know we’d got married, but then I must be persona non
grata with my father.’

Emily laughed. ‘What’s that mean when it’s at home?’

Trip grinned sheepishly. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound—’

Emily touched his hand. ‘I know you didn’t. But tell me what it means.’

‘It’s Latin and means “an unwelcome person”.’

Emily was not in the least offended by his use of words she didn’t understand; his education had been far superior to her own,
but she was willing to learn. Now, she almost wished she
hadn’t asked. How sad, she thought, for him to feel like that.

Swiftly, she changed the subject, trying to erase the pensive look on his face. ‘You know I went to see Lizzie and the others, well, there was nothing doing there. Not that I thought there
would be, but Nell came outside to talk to me. The business is falling apart. Lizzie
isn’t running it very well and they’ve lost several customers. Nathan Hawke is one of
them.’

Trip looked up. ‘Did you go to see him?’

Emily bit her lip and shook her head. ‘I didn’t like to. He was so good to us and helped us so much when we first set up.’

‘Then I think you should. It’s worth a try, Emily. He must have had good reason to take his work away from them.’

‘I don’t
know how he’ll greet me,’ Emily said worriedly. ‘He might blame me for the breakdown of the buffing business.’

By the end of the week, when there was still no job offer for either of them, Trip persuaded Emily to see Nathan Hawke. ‘He can only send you off with a flea in your ear.
I’ll come with you, if you like. I really think he’s our last hope.’

Emily’s concerns were unfounded. Nathan
Hawke greeted her, literally, with open arms. ‘My dear girl, how glad I am to see you. And you’ve got young Thomas Trippet with you
too,’ he said, smiling and holding out his hand towards Trip.

‘We’re married now, Mr Hawke.’

The little man beamed. ‘That’s even better news. So, you’ve come back to your little business, I take it.’

Emily shook her head. ‘I’m afraid Lizzie and I had
a falling out over a personal matter and I was asked to leave. So it’s no longer Dugdale and Ryan – just
Dugdale.’

‘Mm,’ Nathan said thoughtfully. ‘I thought something must have happened because it was Lizzie who came to collect and deliver the work.’ He sighed. ‘And I’m
sorry to tell you that I’ve had to remove my patronage from there. The work was no longer up to standard and when I
asked why Nell wasn’t still doing all my work as we’d
originally agreed – because I knew she wasn’t – Lizzie was so off-hand and said that no customer could demand a particular buffer. I was getting complaints from
my
customers and I can’t have that. I’m a one-man band and I can’t afford to lose their good will. So, I had to take the bull by the horns and stand up to Mick Dugdale. I’ve
been
expecting repercussions, but nothing’s happened yet. So, are you looking to work for someone else or are you going to set up again on your own?’