A Mother's Promise (24 page)

She looked up, seeing him through a mist of tears, and she managed a watery smile. Dear old George, he was always so down to earth, saying just what he thought, and he was usually right. ‘I suppose you mean like you, George?’

He grinned, pinching her cheek. ‘Of course. You know I love you, Hetty. I’m your most devoted admirer and loyal friend.’

Despite everything, this blatant lie drew a chuckle from her. ‘Me and a hundred others, tell the truth now.’

He let her go, clutching his hand to his heart and pulling a mock tragic face. ‘I’m deeply wounded, Miss Huggins. You know my heart belongs to you.’

‘You’d better not tell Poppy that.’

‘Ah, yes. Poppy got a bit fed up with me and she’s found herself a big, burly meat porter from Smithfield market. Can’t say I admire her taste, but I suppose a free sausage beats a couple of spuds and a cabbage any day.’

Hetty reached up and kissed his cheek. ‘George, you’re a scoundrel.’

‘Will you be all right now? I could mind your stall if you wanted to go home for a while and have a kip. You look like you could do with a rest.’

‘I didn’t sleep much last night,’ Hetty admitted, sighing. ‘But I’ll manage. Ta all the same, George. Besides which,’ she added, taking his soil-stained hand and turning it palm upwards, ‘I don’t think my customers would appreciate dirty fingerprints on their sandwiches.’

‘Well, the offer’s still there, Hetty. If it gets too much for you, I’m sure I could find one of me old flames to give you a hand.’

‘You’d best be careful of old flames,’ Hetty
retorted with a hint of her old spirit. ‘They can burn your fingers.’ She picked up the knife and began to scrape butter onto the thinly sliced bread.

‘He’s a bloody fool,’ George muttered as he strode back towards his barrow. ‘If it was me I’d sweep horse muck off the streets or pick oakum rather than leave the girl I loved in a foreign country.’

‘He’ll send for me,’ Hetty whispered to his retreating back. ‘Charles will send for me soon. He promised.’ She felt the reassuring weight of his gold signet ring nestling between her breasts on its length of satin ribbon. To wear such a valuable article on her finger was asking for trouble. There were muggers who would cut a person’s hand off in order to steal a piece of jewellery such as this. She closed her eyes, conjuring up his face: his laughing, smoky blue eyes and his tender lips. She could still taste his kiss and feel the gentle touch of his hands, which were as smooth-skinned as a lady’s.

She sighed as she placed a slice of ham on the buttered bread; Charles was a gentleman, unused to hard work, or work of any kind come to that. She knew he would try to make a go of his position in his father’s bank, but she had a nagging suspicion that if she wanted Charles badly enough, it would be up to her to raise the passage money for
America. Her beloved was a thinker; a dreamer of grand and impossible dreams. If she married Charles, and she had every intention of doing so, she would either have to win his father round or make enough money herself to set them up in style. Spreading mustard thinly on the ham, Hetty came to a decision. She would not sit back and wait for Charles to send for her. She was doing well with the one stall and she had been thinking about expanding the business. Now was the time to turn her plans into deeds, so that when she went to meet her prospective in-laws in Philadelphia she was not a mere costermonger from Spitalfields, but a successful businesswoman who could hold her head high in any society.

‘A ham sandwich, please, love. And a mug of split pea, with plenty of sugar.’ Brush Barber grinned down at her. ‘And a slice of that currant cake would go down well.’

‘Certainly,’ Hetty said, giving him her brightest smile. ‘Anything else?’

‘That’ll do for now, Hetty. You make the best sandwiches in London, so I reckon.’

‘I do, and I’m not going to stop at this one stall, Brush. D’you know anyone who could rent me a permanent one in the market?’

‘Well now, I do as it happens. Throw in a couple of hard-boiled eggs and a bunch of
cress and I’ll wheel him over to meet you at dinner time.’

‘Done,’ Hetty said, handing him his food. ‘I got a feeling this will be the start of the Hetty Huggins string of coffee stalls.’

‘Don’t forget the “and Co.”,’ George shouted above the din in the market place. ‘I got a stake in this too, Hetty.’

‘Yes, you have, I hadn’t forgotten, George. We’ll talk about it in the pub after we finish up here.’

In the dark, smoky atmosphere of the Ten Bells, George sat beside Hetty with his pint of ale untouched in front of him. Hetty sipped a glass of port and lemon, feeling more optimistic with every mouthful. ‘I’ve spoken to the market inspector, George, and he’s willing to let me rent the stall that belonged to the old fruit and veg bloke who dropped down dead last week. I’ve got enough saved to start up, but it would mean that I can’t afford to pay you back what I owe for a while yet.’

‘But I don’t want you to, Hetty. I’m the “and Co.”, and I want it to stay that way.’

Hetty laid her hand on his as it rested on the table. ‘Ta, George. You’re a toff.’

‘I dunno about that, but I can spot a good business proposition when I see one. You’ve got brains as well as beauty, and now you’re
fired up and wanting to follow that fellow of yours, I know you’ll make a go of anything you sets your heart on.’

‘Do you? Do you really, George?’

He lifted his tankard to his lips and swallowed a draught of ale. He did not look at her, and his fingers toyed with the pewter handle. ‘You really love this bloke, don’t you?’

‘What’s that got to do with it?’

He looked up, and for once his expression was serious. ‘Answer me, Hetty. I need to know.’

‘Yes, I do. I love everything about him. He’s far above me, but I know I can make him happy, just given the chance.’

George dropped his gaze. ‘I see. Well, I hope he don’t break your heart, that’s all. I care about you, Hetty. And if anyone plays you false or harms you in any way, he’ll have me to answer to.’

Taken aback, Hetty stared at him. She had never seen him in this sort of mood before. ‘Ta, George, but I know what I’m doing.’

He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could utter a word, Jane burst in through the pub door, still wearing her apron and her face streaked with flour as if she had come straight from the kitchen. Her eyes were enormous in her pale face and she uttered a shriek when she spotted them. ‘Thank God I’ve found you.’

Hetty leapt to her feet and ran to put her arm round her sister, who was trembling and close to hysterics. ‘What’s happened to put you in such a state?’

‘I ran all the way to the market,’ Jane paused, struggling for breath. ‘They said you’d packed up early, and then someone told me to try here. You got to come home quick, Hetty.’

‘Why? What’s up? What’s got you in this state?’

‘It’s him – he’s in the house – he crept up behind me and grabbed me round me waist. I fought and kicked but he was swearing and going on at me, muttering something about getting even with you. He put his filthy hand over me mouth and I bit it. He let me go cussing something horrible and then he snatched Talia from her cradle. Clench has got my baby. Come now, for pity’s sake.’

Hetty burst into the kitchen, coming to an abrupt halt when she saw Clench dandling Natalia on his knee. ‘Put her down.’ The words came out in a shriek, and not in the way she had intended. Fear had made her voice shrill and sent diplomacy flying out of the window. Jane was close behind her, leaning on George’s arm and oddly silent now after her hysterical outburst.

‘What’s all the fuss about?’ Clench demanded, bouncing Natalia up and down and making her chuckle. ‘I ain’t hurting her. See, she likes it.’ He bounced her higher and higher.

Hetty struggled to control rising panic and she forced herself to move slowly towards him, holding out her arms. ‘Please give her to me, Mr Clench.’

Natalia seemed to sense the tension in the room and her chuckles turned into a frightened whimper. She turned her head to gaze appealingly at Hetty, and tears welled up in her blue eyes. Clench rose to his feet, thrusting Natalia into Hetty’s arms. ‘Oh, take the brat.
I can’t be doing with all this female fuss and bother.’

‘What’s all this about, mate?’ George demanded, helping Jane to a chair. ‘What d’you think you’re doing by scaring the women out of their wits?’

Clench sidled past him, making for the door. ‘No need to get aggressive, cully. I came to see Miss Hetty on private business.’

‘I’ve got nothing to say to you, Mr Clench,’ Hetty said, cuddling Natalia, who had stopped crying and was all smiles again.

‘You heard the lady,’ George said, advancing on Clench with his hands fisted. ‘She don’t want nothing to do with you.’

Clench paused in the doorway. ‘She’ll want to hear what I got to say about her granny and the nippers.’

Cold fingers of fear gripped Hetty’s heart, and her breathing was suddenly ragged. ‘What have you done to them, you evil man?’

‘Sticks and stones, Miss Hetty!’

There was something both malevolent and triumphant in Clench’s smile, and, despite the heat in the kitchen, Hetty shivered. Setting Natalia down on Jane’s lap, she faced up to Clench. ‘If you’ve harmed my brothers or granny I’ll . . .’

‘You’ll what?’

She recoiled at the all too familiar, foetid
smell of his breath, but she did not back away. ‘Never you mind. Just say what you came to say and then leave.’

He stuck his fingers in his waistcoat pockets, eyeing her with contempt. ‘Put it this way. From first thing tomorrow morning, your granny will be looking for lodgings elsewhere.’

‘I don’t believe you. That house in Totty Street is hers for life.’

‘Now that is where you’re wrong, missy. After old man Huggins died, his widow was allowed to live there on a peppercorn rent, but, just recently, the governors of the bank discovered that Mrs Huggins has been running a business from the house, which ain’t allowed, according to the terms of the lease. In other words, the old girl forfeits her right to remain in said premises.’ Clench leered into Hetty’s face. ‘Someone must have split on her.’

‘You!’

‘It weren’t me, as it happens.’

George moved to Hetty’s side. ‘D’you want me to throw him out, Hetty?’

‘No, not yet, George. I want to know who did this wicked thing to a defenceless old woman, and why.’

‘I’m not the only one with a grudge against the Huggins family,’ Clench said with a malicious grin. ‘There was only one person who stuck by me when your granddad had me
dismissed from the bank, and that was my friend Jasper Shipworthy.’

‘Yes, we know all that,’ Hetty cried impatiently. ‘I don’t see what Mr Shipworthy has to do with this. Get to the point, if you have one.’

‘Number ten Totty Street was always kept for the head clerk at Tipton’s. Jasper should have had the house when he received his promotion, but your granny refused to leave, so Jasper took lodgings there while he bided his time. Then he just happened to find a copy of the tenancy agreement filed away in the bank vaults, and he knew he’d found a way to get rid of the old woman. He’ll be moving in as soon as she moves out.’

‘Well shame on you,’ Hetty cried. ‘Shame on you both for treating a poor widow woman in such a shabby way. How could you do such a thing?’

‘Very easily, my dear, and there’s still a matter of the interest you owe me on your loan. Don’t think I’ve forgotten. I’ll be back to collect it when you’ve got your second stall up and running.’

Hetty stared at him in disbelief. ‘How did you know about that?’

Clench tapped the side of his nose with his forefinger. ‘I got spies everywhere. I know what you’re doing, where you’re going and
who you’re seeing, like that American reporter fellow, who’s been sticking his beak into things what don’t concern him.’

Hetty couldn’t speak. She couldn’t find words to express her alarm, disgust and dismay at what she had just heard.

‘Get out of here, you villain,’ George roared, grabbing Cyrus by the collar. ‘I’m sorry, Hetty, but I’ve had enough of this snivelling little bastard.’

‘That’s right, George,’ Jane cried, clapping her hands. ‘Toss him out in the dirt where he belongs.’

Before Hetty had a chance to gather her scattered wits, George had frogmarched Clench down the passage and she heard the front door open and then slam shut. George returned with a triumphant smile on his face. ‘That’s got rid of him, for now at least. If I see him round here again I swear I’ll wring his scraggy neck.’

‘Forget him for now,’ Hetty said, snatching her bonnet off the hook behind the door. ‘I’ve got more important things to worry about at the moment. I’m going to Totty Street to bring Granny and the boys back here.’

‘But, Hetty,’ Jane protested. ‘Shouldn’t you ask Nora first? I mean, her letting rooms are all full.’

‘There’s the room that Charles had.’ Hetty’s breath hitched on a sob, but somehow she
managed to keep a tight rein on her emotions. Granny and the boys needed her help and she was not going to fail them. ‘I don’t mind sleeping in the attic. We’ll cope, and Nora will welcome the extra rent.’

‘How will we manage though, Hetty?’ Jane asked, setting a wriggling Natalia down on the floor, where she made a beeline for Hetty. ‘How will we find food and rent for all of us, let alone pay for the boys’ schooling?’

George hooked his arm around Hetty’s shoulders. ‘I can help if needs be, Hetty. Don’t forget I am the “and Co.”’

‘I won’t ever forget that, George. Ta all the same, but we’ll manage. The boys can go to the ragged school and Jane can manage my stall in the market.’

‘What?’ Jane shrieked. ‘Me run a coffee stall? I don’t know how. And, anyway, I got to do the cooking and look after baby.’

‘You’ll soon learn,’ Hetty said, smiling. ‘I did. And with two stalls we’ll double our income.’ She bent down to scoop Natalia up in her arms. ‘Granny will stay at home and look after Talia, won’t she, my little pet?’

As if in answer, Natalia made cooing noises and gave Hetty a rather wet kiss on the cheek.

Jane threw up her hands in despair. ‘You know that Granny doesn’t like babies. She won’t do it.’