The Nightingale Nurses (3 page)

‘That’s enough!’ Lettie scolded him. ‘You don’t have to tell the whole world our business!’

‘I’ve got news for you. The whole world already knows!’ Len Pike scraped at his chin and flicked the bristly soap towards the plug hole. ‘There’s only one reason a girl gets married this quick, and that’s because there’s a baby on the way. What I want to know is, why you have to make such a show of it?’ he said, picking up the teatowel to mop his face. ‘Why couldn’t you just go off and do it quiet in a register office, like any decent girl would?’

‘I don’t do anything quiet, Dad. You should know that!’

Ruby winked at Dora. Everyone said Ruby Pike had more front than Southend, and she was proving it today. Even in her demure wedding dress, she looked like one of the film stars she followed so avidly in
Picturegoer
. The bias-cut silver morocaine clung lovingly to her generous curves. She’d styled her hair like Jean Harlow, the platinum-blonde waves curling softly around her pretty face.

No wonder Nick hadn’t been able to resist her. There weren’t many red-blooded men in Bethnal Green who could.

‘Why shouldn’t my Ruby have a white wedding if she wants one?’ Lettie defended her. ‘This is her big day and I won’t have anyone spoiling it for her.’ She smiled fondly at her daughter. ‘Baby or not, she and Nick would have got wed sooner or later. You only have to look at him to see he’s besotted with her.’

The needle caught the end of Dora’s finger, making her yelp.

‘Careful!’ Ruby frowned down at her. ‘I don’t want you getting blood on my dress.’

‘Sorry.’ Dora sucked her finger. As she did, she glanced up and found herself meeting Lettie’s hard dark stare. Even her wedding finery and the unfamiliar slash of red lipstick she wore didn’t soften her thin, bitter face. There was a warning look in her eyes that made Dora uneasy.

The back door crashed downstairs, in the Rileys’ part of the house.

‘I expect that’ll be my Nick, on his way to church,’ Ruby said with a smile.

Dennis went to the window and looked out. ‘I can see June Riley, wearing a daft titfer covered in feathers.’

‘Let’s have a look.’ Lettie peered over her son’s shoulder down into the yard. ‘Look at the state of her. She can hardly walk in a straight line. Fancy being half cut this time of the morning, and for her own son’s wedding,’ she tutted.

‘Where’s Nick? Isn’t he with her?’ Dora heard the tremor in Ruby’s voice.

‘I expect he’s already gone,’ Lettie soothed.

‘I didn’t hear him leave.’ Ruby’s plump mouth pursed. ‘I’m going downstairs to look for him.’

She started for the door, but Lettie stopped her. ‘You can’t! It’s unlucky for him to see his bride before the wedding.’

Ruby hesitated, then turned to Dora. ‘You go,’ she said.

‘Me? But I haven’t finished sewing . . .’

‘That doesn’t matter. I want you to go downstairs and see if Nick’s gone.’

‘But—’

‘Please, Dora. Be a mate? I don’t want to get to church and find out he’s left me standing at the altar!’

Dora saw her friend’s nervous smile, stretched almost to breaking point. ‘All right,’ she agreed, standing up and brushing down her dress. ‘But I’m telling you now, you haven’t got anything to worry about.’

Downstairs, all was in darkness. Dora knocked on the Rileys’ kitchen door and held her breath, counting to ten.

One . . . two . . .
She stared at the peeling paintwork.

Five . . . six . . .
She took a step backwards, already retreating towards the stairs.

Nine . . . ten.
No reply. She had turned to hurry away when the door flew open and Nick stood there.

Seeing him almost stopped Dora’s heart in her chest.

No one could call Nick Riley handsome, with his flattened boxer’s nose and brooding expression. But there was something compelling about the intense blue eyes that scowled out from under a mane of dark gypsy curls.

She looked away quickly, dragging her gaze from his unbuttoned shirt. ‘Sorry,’ she muttered. ‘Ruby just sent me down. She wasn’t sure if you’d already gone . . .’

‘I was just leaving.’

‘Right. I’ll tell her . . .’ Dora started to turn away, but Nick called her back.

‘Wait. I need your help.’

She looked around, dry-mouthed with panic, looking for a way to escape. ‘I’m needed upstairs . . .’

‘Please.’ Nick’s voice was husky. ‘It’s Danny,’ he said.

The Rileys’ kitchen was a cold, unwelcoming place, stinking of damp and rancid fat. The walls were furred with black patches of mould. The houses in Griffin Street weren’t palaces, but most of the women Dora knew tried hard to keep them clean and tidy. Except for June Riley. She had always been more interested in her next drink or her latest man than in looking after her two sons.

Dora averted her eyes from the dirty dishes littering the table and went over to where Nick’s younger brother Danny sat huddled in a corner of the room, his knees pulled up to his chin, face buried against them. He was half dressed in shiny suit trousers and a grubby vest, his feet bare.

‘I was helping him to get dressed when he suddenly decided he wasn’t going to come,’ Nick said. ‘Now I can’t get him to budge. He won’t even tell me what’s wrong.’ His gaze was fixed on his brother. ‘He’s always trusted you, Dora,’ he said gruffly. ‘I thought you could talk to him.’

She glanced at Nick’s profile then at Danny, shivering in the corner. ‘I’ll try,’ she said.

‘Thanks.’ Nick went over and crouched down beside his brother. ‘Danny?’ He put a hand on his shoulder, but Danny flinched away. Dora saw the look of pain flash across Nick’s face. ‘Dan, Dora’s come to have a word with you. You like Dora, don’t you?’

Danny didn’t move. Nick straightened up and turned to Dora, his face beseeching.

‘Look after him,’ he whispered. ‘And if anyone’s hurt him, or said anything . . .’

‘Just go and finish getting ready,’ she said.

As the door closed behind him, Dora went over to where Danny was crouched and sat down beside him, carefully rearranging her pink dress around her so it didn’t pick up too much dust from the floor.

‘Now then, Danny ducks, what’s all this about you not wanting to go to your brother’s wedding?’ she coaxed softly. ‘We can’t have that, can we? You’re his best man. He’s relying on you.’

Danny lifted his head slowly to look at her with red-rimmed, watery eyes. He was as pale as his brother was dark, with thin, gangling limbs that made him seem all disjointed angles.

‘Th-they said I sh-shouldn’t go.’ He sniffed back his tears. ‘Th-they s-said I – I’d l-let everyone down.’

‘Who said that?’ But even as she said it, Dora already knew the answer.

‘F-Frank and D-Dennis.’ Danny wiped his nose with his wrist. He was nearly eighteen years old, but still had the innocent, vulnerable mind of a child. Easy prey for cruel thugs like the Pike boys. ‘They s-said Nick sh-shouldn’t h-have me as his b-best man because everyone will l-laugh at m-me.’

‘No one’s going to laugh at you, sweetheart.’ Dora smoothed his fair hair back off his face. Not while your brother’s there, at any rate, she thought. Nick would string Frank and Dennis up if he knew they’d been tormenting Danny. ‘You don’t want to take any notice of that pair. They’re just bullies, that’s all.’

‘I’m f-frightened of them,’ Danny mumbled. ‘And I’m f-frightened of R-Ruby too. She just laughs when they s-say things to me.’

‘Does she now?’

Danny nodded. ‘I h-heard her telling her m-mum she didn’t know why Nick had p-picked me to b-be his best man.’

Dora fought to keep her temper. It was no less than she’d expected from Dennis and Frank, but she was disappointed in her friend.

Danny couldn’t help being the way he was. He’d been left brain-damaged by a terrible accident when he was a child, although there were many in Griffin Street who suspected that it was his violent father Reg who’d caused the injury, shortly before he abandoned his family.

Most of the neighbours treated Danny with kindness and understanding, if only because they were afraid of his older brother. Dora hadn’t expected Ruby to be so cruel. After all, she and Danny were going to be family.

‘Well, I’ll tell you why, shall I? Nick picked you because you’re his brother and there’s no one else in the whole wide world he’d want to stand beside him at his wedding. And I’ll tell you something else, too. If you aren’t there he’s going to be very upset and disappointed. And you don’t want that, do you?’ Danny shook his head. ‘So why don’t I help you finish getting ready? We’ll find you a nice shirt and tie to wear, and comb your hair and make you look like a proper gent. How about that?’

Dora stood up and put out her hand to help him to his feet. Danny hung back, still reluctant.

‘Wh-what if I l-let him down?’

‘You won’t, love. And don’t forget, I’ll be there with you. I can help you if you get stuck with anything.’

He regarded her with wary eyes. ‘You pr-promise?’

‘’Course I do.’ Dora offered her hand again. ‘Now let’s get a move on, or we’ll all miss the wedding!’

She was helping him to put on his tie when Nick returned.

‘Everything all right?’ he asked, his eyes fixed on Danny.

‘I think so.’ Dora straightened the knot and turned Danny around to face his brother. ‘What do you reckon? Will we do?’

The warmth in Nick’s smile as he looked at his brother was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud.

‘Very nice,’ he said in a choked voice.

It was a moment before she realised he’d shifted his gaze to her, and another moment before she could react.

‘Well, I’d best be getting back. Ruby will think I’ve deserted her!’ She hurried for the door. Nick followed her.

‘Did he say what was wrong?’

Dora glanced past his shoulder at Danny, admiring himself in the kitchen mirror. ‘It was just nerves, that’s all.’

‘Are you sure that’s it?’ Nick’s eyes narrowed. ‘I meant what I said. If I thought anyone had been having a go at him—’

Dora thought about Ruby. ‘He’ll be all right,’ she said. ‘Weddings just bring out the worst in people, that’s all.’

‘Tell me something I don’t know.’ Nick looked grim.

Dora stepped into the hall, but his voice stopped her in her tracks. ‘You look lovely.’

She felt herself blushing to the roots of her red hair. ‘Pink isn’t really my colour,’ she batted away the compliment. ‘But Ruby likes it, so—’

‘What Ruby wants, Ruby gets,’ Nick said.

Dora smiled wistfully. ‘It seems that way, doesn’t it?’

She stared at the staircase in front of her, that led back up to the Pikes’ part of the house. She knew she should walk away, but her treacherous legs wouldn’t carry her.

‘I’m sorry,’ Nick said.

‘So am I.’

She managed the few steps to the foot of the stairs. ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ Nick blurted out.

Dora turned to face him. She wanted to shout at him, to tell him he was being selfish, but he looked so wretched she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Besides, she felt that if she let herself go even for a moment and allowed herself to show any emotion, she would be lost.

‘You should have thought about that before you got her pregnant, shouldn’t you?’

‘Don’t you think I know that? I made a mistake. If I could turn back the clock—’

‘You can’t,’ Dora cut him off coldly. ‘It’s too late now.’

‘It doesn’t have to be.’ He took a few steps towards her. ‘If you just say the word, I’ll walk away.’

She looked over her shoulder at him, knowing the look of desolation in his eyes mirrored her own expression. For a moment, it almost seemed possible that they could do it, that they could snatch their happiness and run with it. All she had to do was say the word . . .

But then she remembered Ruby’s face, radiant with optimism as she put on her wedding gown.

‘You have to do the right thing by Ruby,’ she said. ‘We both do.’

His broad shoulders slumped. ‘I know,’ he sighed.

‘You wouldn’t do it anyway,’ said Dora. ‘I know you, Nick Riley. You would never walk away from her, not while she’s carrying your child.’

His mouth twisted. ‘I wish I could.’

‘I don’t. Because then you wouldn’t be the man I fell in love with.’

The words were out before Dora could stop herself. Neither of them moved. She could feel the heat of his body close to hers and she knew she should step away but she couldn’t, because she knew it would be the last time he was ever this close to her.

It had taken her too long to realise she was in love with Nick Riley. Growing up next door to her, he had always seemed so remote, a tough, troubled young man struggling to look after his sick brother and drunken mother. It was only when she started as a student at the Nightingale, where he worked as a porter, that they had got to know each other.

But by then he was courting Ruby. And by the time Dora and he realised how they felt about each other, his girlfriend was pregnant.

‘I love you too,’ Nick said, his voice gruff with emotion. ‘I just wanted to say that one more time, before—’

‘Before we have to forget each other,’ she finished for him.

‘I’m not sure I can forget you.’

‘You must,’ she insisted. ‘For the sake of Ruby and your baby, from now on we have to be strangers.’

Ruby Pike, or Ruby Riley, as she was now called, downed her third port and lemon, determined to enjoy herself. All around her the Rose and Crown rang to the rafters with laughter, singing and merriment. Even her mum and dad weren’t at each other’s throats for once, as they stood arm in arm around the piano, singing ‘If You Were the Only Girl in the World’.

This was her big day, but none of it seemed real. She hadn’t ever believed it would come to this. Right up to the moment Nick slid the wedding band on her finger, she was sure something would happen to stop it. When the vicar asked if anyone knew of any reason why they shouldn’t lawfully be joined, her heartbeat had crashed in her ears as she waited for someone to speak up.

But no one had. And now they were married, bound together for the rest of their lives.

Ruby’s hand shook as she tipped back her head and sank the last of her drink. She wished Dora were there. Her friend had slipped away straight after the ceremony, saying she had to go back on duty. Ruby knew it was a lie, but she hadn’t argued.