скачать книгу бесплатно
‘Depends?’ Just when he was beginning to trust her she made him wary as always.
‘Why did you never go after him?’
For a long, awkward moment he remained silent; the past swirling through his mind, taking him back to a place he did not want to be. ‘I did go after him.’
‘What!’ She stepped forward, her eyes wide with astonishment. ‘I never knew that!’
He smiled, a sad, telling smile that showed the scars inside. ‘That’s because I never told anyone.’
‘Not even Sylvia?’ There was no end to her cruelty.
‘Especially not Sylvia.’
Excitement trembled in Georgina’s voice. ‘What happened?’
‘Nothing. I went there with the intention of tearing him limb from limb …’
The telling brought it all back with a vengeance, and he walked across the room, his fists rubbing one into the other as though they were itching to hit something, or someone. ‘The police got there before me. When I turned the corner he was being arrested. After that, it was out of my hands.’ His features stiffened. ‘More’s the pity! A ten-year gaol sentence is so little for what he did.’
Needing to end the conversation, he swung round on her. ‘What are you doing here anyway?’
‘I was worried about Sylvia.’ Venturing closer, she lied, ‘I couldn’t sleep. I got to thinking how that bastard Stratton beat her so bad she almost died. As it was, he damaged her brain so much she’ll never be whole again.’ Her voice dropped to a baby whine. ‘Is it her punishment, do you think … for having relations with him … cheating on you, when you’ve always been such a wonderful husband?’
‘That’s enough, Georgina. I think it’s time you went.’
‘Oh, Luke, I’m sorry. I know how painful it is for you to think about what happened.’ Making the sign of the cross on herself she whispered solemnly, ‘I promise I’ll never speak of it again.’
‘I’d appreciate that.’
Georgina was a strange person, he thought. And he could never fathom her. Sometimes she couldn’t do enough for himself and Sylvia, and other times she seemed to take satisfaction in torturing him.
Walking to the door he expected her to follow. Instead she went on talking. ‘It was just as well I got here when I did,’ she assured him. ‘By the time I arrived, Sylvia was already being difficult. Ask Edna, if you don’t believe me. Between us, we managed to calm her and get her to bed. Edna insisted on going in to check on her, but I wouldn’t let her. I sent her home instead.’
A thought occurred to her. ‘What was she doing here just now? I told her not to come back. I told her I was going to have a word with you – that it must have been her who upset Sylvia in the first place, otherwise why was she in such a state when I got here? And just now, how did she get into the house? You can’t get into the house without a key.’
Luke enlightened her. ‘Edna has a key. And before you say anything, she will continue to have a key. For Sylvia’s sake I need to know that Edna can let herself in at any time.’
Georgina saw her opportunity. ‘Think about it, Luke! I have some experience of looking after sick people – I nursed my mother when she was ill – and the doctor said I would have made an excellent nurse.’
‘And you would,’ Luke agreed. ‘I’ve seen how gentle and good you can be with Sylvia.’
‘There you are!’ she cried jubilantly. ‘So, why don’t I sell my house and come to live here? Then you’d have no need of Edna.’
He swiftly dismissed her idea. ‘Thank you all the same, but I really don’t think that’s necessary. Besides, Edna might be a little slower than she once was, but she’s more than capable and, as well you know, Sylvia trusts her implicitly.’
‘She trusts me too. I mean, on Tuesdays when Edna has her day off and you’re away working on your “secret” project …’ she waited for an explanation, and when there was none, she continued, ‘… well, she always enjoys my company. We get on well together. We always have.’
‘Yes. I know that.’
He had seen how the two of them laughed and chatted together, about their childhood and other things that women were interested in, such as the latest fashion designs and favourite film stars.
They really did seem to enjoy each other’s company, and on the one occasion when Sylvia had a bad turn, Georgina quickly got the doctor out and everything was under control.
She was a sensible, intelligent woman. That was the reason he was content enough to leave them together while he enjoyed his own company on that one special day.
All the same, his small, sneaking distrust of Georgina remained. Now, though, he thought it best to remind her of something. ‘Just now, when Sylvia saw what she’d done to my face, she was upset. But did you notice, it wasn’t you she turned to? It was Edna. No, Georgina, it’s kind of you to offer, but it’s best we leave things the way they are.’ His instincts told him it would be a very bad idea to have Georgina in the house at all times.
Opening the door, he offered, ‘I’ll have a word with Edna … see if she wouldn’t mind me running you home.’
But Georgina would not hear of it. ‘No. I’ll get a cab. I’d prefer that.’
‘All right,’ Luke conceded, ‘if that’s what you want.’
Going to the hallstand, he took down two coats: a long dark, woollen coat with belt and deep pockets, and a black astrakhan three-quarter one with black bone buttons and fur collar.
First helping her on with the astrakhan, he then shrugged on his own coat. ‘I’ll walk you to the bottom of the street. We’ll flag down a cab there.’
It was a matter of only five minutes or less, before a cab pulled over. ‘Mind you go straight indoors once you get home.’
‘It’s all right,’ she answered with the sweetest of smiles, ‘I know how to look after myself.’
Helping her into her seat, he kissed her dutifully on the cheek. ‘Good night, Georgina.’
Before settling back into her seat, she clung to him a moment longer than he was comfortable with. ‘Good night, Georgina!’ Taking her by the shoulders he gently but firmly pushed her away and closed the door. ‘Eighteen, Park Street.’ He thrust a handful of coins into the driver’s hand. ‘There’s a bit extra there,’ he pointed out. ‘Mind you wait until she’s safely inside.’
A smile from her, a wave and she was gone.
Somewhat dejected, Luke made his way back to the house. ‘I’ll never understand it,’ he muttered. ‘How could two sisters be so different?’
But then he reminded himself of how Sylvia had been having an affair with Arnold Stratton, before they found her beaten and battered in the alley.
It had been the worst shock of all, and even now Luke found it hard to believe that she had deceived him with another man. He had adored Sylvia since the first day they met; with every fibre in his body. Without question or reservation. Time and again, she had told him how she never wanted or needed anyone else, and he believed her.
In the early years theirs had been the ideal romance, the meeting, the courtship, the sharing and growing together. Then the cracks had begun to show, with Sylvia’s waywardness and selfishness. She was bored; she didn’t want Luke to go to the factory; she wanted to travel … She started spending every evening out – with friends, but they were not friends he knew – and she was drinking a lot. Luke tolerated all this because he still had his dreams of their growing old together, with maybe a son who would one day take over the business from him. Then Sylvia met Arnold Stratton …
Luke still loved her now in spite of her cheating, but not in the way he had loved her before. Not with his heart and soul. Not blindly. But he had made his vows and he held her close to his heart. She was his wife, his responsibility and he would take care of her until the end of her days … or the end of his! Whichever came first.
His thoughts returned briefly to Amy as he had seen her that evening – young, care-free, laughing in the street. She was his dream, but Sylvia was his reality.
The portly cab driver was a chatty sort. ‘I’ll soon have you home, miss,’ he assured Georgina proudly, ‘safe and sound, just like the good man wanted.’
Deep in thoughts of a devious kind, Georgina didn’t hear him.
‘Decent fella … seems concerned to keep you from harm,’ the cabbie went on. ‘Your intended, is he?’
Coming out of her reverie with her mind made up, Georgina didn’t catch his last remark. ‘What’s that you say?’
Half-turning his head, the cabbie apologised. ‘Sorry if I offended you. I were only asking if the fella was your intended?’
Georgina smiled. ‘Not officially,’ she answered coyly, ‘I mean, he doesn’t know it yet, but I intend for us to be man and wife one day.’
The cabbie laughed out loud. ‘You women!’ he chuckled. ‘Once you get your claws into us men, we’ve got no chance at all.’
He was only minutes from Park Street when she instructed, ‘Turn down the next street left.’
Confused, he advised her, ‘But that’s Johnson Street. I were told you wanted Park Street.’
‘Well, now I want Johnson Street!’ she snapped. ‘Keep moving until I tell you when to stop.’
Swinging the vehicle into Johnson Street, the cabbie was guided by the streetlamps. ‘What number?’ He peered at the door: ‘This is fifteen … seventeen …’ As instructed, he moved slowly on.
‘Here!’ Perched on the edge of her seat and ready to open the door, she screeched at him, ‘STOP HERE!’
Made to halt in a dark, shadowy spot between two streetlamps, he wondered what she was up to. ‘Do you want me to wait?’ he asked as she climbed from the cab.
‘Well, of course I want you to wait,’ she replied impatiently. ‘The trams have stopped running and I certainly don’t intend walking home in the dark.’
He nodded. ‘How long will you be?’
‘I don’t know,’ she snapped. ‘Anyway, what does it matter to you?’
‘Well, if it’s only a few minutes it’ll make no difference. But if it’s gonna be some time, then I might have to charge you a bit more.’
Georgina rounded on him. ‘You’ll do no such thing!’ she told him. ‘I saw the handful of coins he gave you, and it was more than enough. You’re getting no more – not even if I’m in there till morning!’
‘I see.’ He had taken a real dislike to her. ‘And are you likely to be in there “till morning”?’
‘Well, now …’ giving a sly little wink, she leaned towards him, ‘… we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?’ With that she sauntered off, glancing up at the house numbers as she went.
Curious, he watched as she knocked on a door. Smartly groomed and dressed in expensive clothes, she was quite an eye-opener, he thought. But it didn’t always follow that what looked good on the outside was good on the inside.
A naturally wary man, he decided that when she came back out, he would take her home quick as he could, and never a word of conversation between them.
Cabbies should keep their traps shut and just do their job, he decided, or who knew what trouble they might find themselves in.
After a few moments the door opened. Casting a glance up and down the street, she hurried inside.
The cab driver also glanced up and down the street. ‘It’s a far cry from Park Street,’ he muttered thoughtfully.
A long meandering street on a deep slope towards the town, Johnson Street was typical of the roads in those parts. It was the kind of ordinary, serviceable place where folks like himself lived out their days – hard-working, God-fearing folks who worked long, back-breaking hours in the cotton-mills or the nearby factories.
One thing was certain: it was nothing like the beautifully kept, wide open streets, with their big posh houses, that ran up alongside the park. Those were reserved for wealthy folk – employers, bank managers, that kind of contented, fortunate soul.
He settled himself into the seat, closed his eyes and yawned. ‘One thing’s for sure, she’s up to no good.’ He thought about the man who had paid for her cab. ‘Some women don’t know when they’re well off!’ he muttered. ‘That fella seemed a decent sort, but if he’s not careful, he’ll find himself hooked up to a bad lot, an’ no mistake!’
Georgina followed the man into the sitting room.
‘I didn’t expect you tonight, Helen. What you doing ’ere at this late hour anyway?’ A rough-looking fellow, but well-endowed, clad only in underpants he made a fetching sight to her eager eyes.
‘Aren’t you pleased to see me?’ A flush of disappointment coloured her face, but she pouted seductively and slowly slipped her coat off, her eyes full of suggestion.
He gave a wily grin. ‘Depends, don’t it?’ Looking her up and down he licked his lips. ‘It’s been a while since we got together.’
‘I was on my way home and thought I’d come and pay a visit,’ she purred.
His blue eyes coveting her, he smiled. ‘If I knew where you lived, I might be able to repay the favour now and then.’
Shaking her head, she took a step forward. ‘I’ll never tell you where I live.’
‘Hmm! Sometimes I wonder if your name really is Helen.’ He gave her a wry little smile. ‘Is it?’
She laughed. ‘That’s for me to know and you to find out.’
‘You’re a secretive bugger and no mistake.’ Now, as he moved towards her, the light from the flickering gas-mantle played shadows on his unshaven face. ‘And why is that, I wonder?’
Stroking her hands through his tousled brown hair, she murmured, ‘Because I don’t trust you. I don’t trust anyone, but I especially don’t trust men.’
Through hostile, narrowed eyes he studied her. ‘All the same, it would make things easier if I knew a bit more about you. After all, you know my name, and you know where I live.’
Staring him out, she answered emphatically, ‘Only because I had to bring you home when you were drunk out of your mind. You couldn’t stop talking.’
They had met in the town one afternoon when Georgina’s high heel had become caught between paving stones and he’d freed her. Each had liked the look of the other. He admired her bold manner and her expensive perfume, and she had always secretly lusted after rough-looking men. Good manners, she found, so often took the excitement out of sex. Sylvia must have found the same, Georgina thought. Why else had she had an affair with Arnold Stratton?
Neither had anything better to do so they’d found a hotel bar; then, when they’d drunk a fair amount, gone on to a pub he knew. There he’d become ridiculously drunk and she’d had to take him home in a taxi. She’d stayed the night and their affair had started when his hangover abated.
‘And besides, you don’t need to know my real name and address,’ she now added.
‘Oh, but you’re wrong. As a rule I know all about my women after the first meeting.’
‘I’m not one of “your women”.’
‘So, what are you doing here?’ Leering into her face, he laughed. ‘Can’t resist me, is that it?’
She batted her eyelashes. ‘I get lonely sometimes,’ she answered. ‘Is that so hard to understand?’
He took a long, slow breath. ‘It is, yeah. You’re an attractive woman … not short of a bob or two, by the looks of it, and here you are, slumming through the back streets to see an old lag like me.’
Smiling, she observed his muscular figure, with the first signs of a rounded stomach, and that unkempt face with its peculiar, rough appeal and, stepping forward, she stroked his bare arm. ‘You’re not an “old lag”,’ she murmured.
‘Oh, but I am.’ He was deliberately taunting her. ‘When a man’s been in prison, what else would you call him, but an old lag? I’m a bad man, Helen.’ His eyes were hard like two bright marbles. ‘Some of us are locked up because we deserve to be.’
She touched him tenderly, her fingers curling round the hairs on his broad chest. ‘If you’d rather I left …’ her voice was like silk in his ear, ‘I’ll go now … if that’s what you really want?’
‘O’ course it’s not what I want.’ His features softened. ‘You don’t know how glad I am that you took me home that night,’ he said gratefully. ‘I were in a bad state – drunker than I’ve ever been in my life.’
She gave a soft, knowing laugh. ‘You were in need of help.’
With a wicked look in his eye, he asked meaningfully, ‘And are you in need of help?’
