A Second Chance (38 page)

Richard looked startled. ‘No, nothing of the
sort! What makes you say that?’

‘It was… I heard it once, a long time ago. A
nurse told me. She said it was awful. She said it meant ripping the
woman with things like butchers use, and pulling the baby out in
bits. I’d hate that to happen to Beth.’

She saw Richard’s face cloud with anger, but
when he spoke his voice was controlled. ‘I can assure you, Amy,
that I have no intention of harming Beth or her child. Quite the
reverse, in fact.’

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—’ Amy began, but
Richard waved her apology aside.

‘I’m afraid midwives tend not to approve of
doctors who have the impertinence to attend births, and some of
them are not above embroidering the truth to support their case.
The nurse who said those things to you was one such. It’s natural
that you should be concerned, having been told such nonsense.’

‘She wasn’t a very nice nurse,’ Amy said
cautiously.

Richard smiled. ‘I can quite believe it.
Forceps, when used by a competent practitioner—and I believe myself
to be one—can be a life-saving tool. It’s true that it’s likely to
mean a degree of discomfort after the birth somewhat more severe
than the usual, and a longer time of healing for Beth. But it’s a
good deal better than the alternative in a case like this. If Beth
were to endure a long or specially difficult labour, I’d be
seriously concerned for her safety. I think it’s important that I
attend her. I do urge you to use what influence you can to persuade
her.’

‘But you think she’ll be all right if you’re
there to help?’ Amy asked.

Richard hesitated longer than she would have
liked. ‘I’ll do my best. Beth’s always been a healthy girl up till
now, and that’s in her favour. But hearts are a difficult matter,
especially when it comes to childbirth. Particularly if she has a
big baby.’ He did not say aloud what Amy was sure they were both
thinking: given David’s size, that seemed all too likely.

‘
Excuse me, Miss Sarah,
there’s a man here says he wants to see you.’

Sarah looked up from her desk to see Nellie
in the doorway. ‘Is it Mr Taylor?’ Over recent weeks, Taylor had
taken to calling every few days. Her consistent refusal to have him
admitted to the house had not yet had the desired effect.

‘No, Miss—he says his name’s Hobbs. He’s not
a smartly turned out sort of man at all. He come to the back door,
as he should. Mrs Jenson’s been trying to get some sense out of
him, but her and I can’t make head nor tail of what he’s on
about.’

‘I don’t believe I know anyone of that name.
But I’d better see him. Bring him through, please, Nellie.’

Nellie bobbed a curtsey. She disappeared,
and was soon back with a frightened-looking little man trailing
behind her.

‘Here’s Mr Hobbs, Miss Sarah,’ she
announced.

‘Mr Hobbs, do come in,’ said Sarah. ‘Please,
sit down.’ She indicated the chair in front of her desk.

For a moment, she thought the man might be
about to take to his heels. But she saw him gather his courage and
step into the room, then walk over and sit down. Nellie curtseyed
again and left.

‘It’s very good of you to see me, Miss,’ Mr
Hobbs said, his voice so low that Sarah could scarcely hear
him.

‘Not at all. What is it you wanted to see me
about, Mr Hobbs?’

It was some time before she could get
anything intelligible out of the man. He would mumble a few words,
then trail off and look at the floor. Sarah began to wonder if he
was a simpleton, and if she should call Nellie back and have him
escorted from the house. Then amongst his mumblings she caught the
name “Taylor”.

‘What was that?’ she said sharply. ‘Do you
have some connection with Mr Taylor? Did he perhaps send you?’

‘Oh, no, Miss. No, I expect Mr Taylor might
be a bit put out about me coming here. He told me to say nothing
about it, see—about you and him having dealings. But it’s the
money, Miss. To tell you God’s truth, I don’t know where else to
turn.’

Sarah could see that in his face. The man
looked desperate; in fact he looked on the verge of tears. ‘Then
you’d better tell me the whole story,’ she said, making her voice
as soothing as she could. She was not happy about that reference to
“dealings”, but she did not want the man to take fright. ‘Take your
time.’

She saw Mr Hobbs take a deep breath to calm
himself. ‘It was such a big order, you see,’ he began. ‘All the
fittings for a whole row of houses.’

‘Fittings?’ Sarah prompted.

‘All the brass—taps, and door knobs, and
lighting bits, and all. I’ve a foundry,’ he added belatedly. ‘Just
a small one, but we do good work, though I says it as
shouldn’t.’

‘There’s no reason you shouldn’t take pride
in work well done, Mr Hobbs. Pray, continue. So Mr Taylor gave you
a large order?’

‘Yes, he did, Miss. That was last year. I’d
never had such an order—I thought we’d be properly set up after
that. Mr Taylor told me there’d be a lot more work coming my way if
we gave satisfaction. I wouldn’t be making much money on it,
because I had to give him a good price. But it was an opportunity,
see?’

An opportunity for Taylor to take advantage
of an honest man, Sarah thought to herself. ‘Yes, I see how it was.
Go on, Mr Hobbs.’

‘So I put the whole factory onto it. I
turned down a few other orders, and I took on more men. I had to
pay for the materials, and that took a bit of doing to get the
money together. We all worked extra shifts for weeks—I had to work
on the Sabbath more than a time or two, me and my oldest boy both.
But we did it, Miss. We had the whole lot ready on time for Mr
Taylor. No corners cut, either. All top notch.’

Sarah saw the man’s quiet pride in his
workmanship, and respected him all the more for it. ‘Well done,’
she said.

Mr Hobbs slumped in his chair. ‘And that’s
when the trouble started. They took delivery, and I sent my account
at the end of the month. But I didn’t get no money, Miss. I gave
them a while, I didn’t go bothering them as soon as it was a bit
late. Then I started sending reminders, nice and polite, like.’

‘And they were ignored?’

‘Yes, Miss. Not so much as a word. After a
bit I started going to see Mr Taylor, just to see if I could get to
the bottom of things. He’d tell me it’d be the next week, then the
next. I’d go and see him again, and he’d tell me the same.’

‘It sounds as if this has been going on for
a good while, Mr Hobbs.’

‘Nearly eight months now. I saw him again
six weeks ago—it was the first time I’d got in to see him for
months, they’d been telling me he was away every time I went. I
told him I had to have that money. That’s when he told me…’ Mr
Hobbs looked nervously at Sarah. ‘He said he had dealings with you.
He said you and him was coming to an arrangement. So if I was
patient a bit longer, I’d get the whole lot that’s owed me, and
there’d be more work to come. He gave me five pounds there in his
office, and he said I could have a bit more in a week or two. But I
haven’t seen him since. Every time I go there they tell me he’s
out, or in an important meeting or suchlike. And they can none of
them do anything about the money without his say so.’

With an effort, Sarah kept her voice mild.
‘What’s the total sum involved?’

‘Two hundred and thirty pounds—less the five
pounds he gave me. I’m at my wit’s end over it. I’m behind with my
rent on the factory, and they’re saying they’ll get the law on me
for that. I’ll be turned out of the place. I’ll lose the whole lot.
I’ve a wife and children, and I don’t know what’s to become of us
all. I’m sorry, Miss, I don’t mean to cause you no bother. I just
thought with you and Mr Taylor having dealings, you could maybe see
your way clear to speak to him, and ask him to pay a bit more of
what’s owing?’

The naked plea in the man’s face was almost
too much for Sarah’s composure. Two hundred and thirty pounds. It
was a small enough sum for her; she had spent close to a third of
that amount on Amy’s gowns. But for this man it could mean
ruination. And Taylor had used her name to deceive the man into
trusting him.

‘I’m afraid you’ve been misinformed by Mr
Taylor. I have no business dealings with him whatsoever. But please
don’t distress yourself further over this, Mr Hobbs,’ she added
quickly, seeing the man’s rising panic. ‘I believe I may have a
solution to your present difficulties.’

She waited a few moments till she was sure
Mr Hobbs had calmed himself sufficiently to take in her words. ‘I
presume you have details of these transactions in writing?’ she
asked. ‘The original order, and copies of your invoices and other
correspondence?’

‘Yes, Miss. My younger boy helps me with the
accounts and all that. He’s very neat and particular,’ he added, a
trace of pride discernible through his anxiousness.

‘Excellent. Now, let me explain what I want
you to do. I’m going to give you a letter to take to my business
managers—they’re the people that look after paying out money for
me. I’ll write out their address for you. I want you to gather up
all your papers regarding Mr Taylor, and take them along with you
when you go and see them. All right?’ She waited for Mr Hobbs to
nod his understanding.

‘When you call and see them, they’ll want to
talk to you, then they’ll give you some papers to sign. One will be
an account of your dealings with Mr Taylor, noting particularly the
way he used my name to make you think he intended to pay you.’

‘I don’t want any trouble,’ Mr Hobbs said
uncertainly.

‘I can assure you there will be no trouble.
Not for you, at any rate. There’ll be another paper for you to
sign. It will state that you’ve signed over Mr Taylor’s debt, so
the money is now owed to me rather than to you. Once that’s signed,
my people will give you the full amount you’re owed. Plus a little
extra for the time you’ve been kept waiting. Does that sound
satisfactory?’

Mr Hobbs was staring at her, his mouth open.
‘It sounds bloomin’ wonderful, Miss. I don’t know how I can thank
you.’

‘There’s no need. But I strongly advise that
you have no further dealings with Mr Taylor.’

‘I don’t need to be told that! Begging your
pardon, Miss,’ he added hastily.

‘No, I’m sure you don’t.’ Sarah studied the
lines worry had etched into his face, and she wondered when he had
last eaten a meal in peace. ‘This letter will take me several
minutes to write, Mr Hobbs. Would you like to wait in the kitchen
in the meantime?’

‘Yes, Miss. As long as I wouldn’t be in
anyone’s way.’

‘Not in the least.’ She rang the bell, and
Nellie soon appeared. ‘Nellie, please take Mr Hobbs through to the
kitchen while I finish what I’m doing here. Ask Mrs Jenson to give
him some refreshments.’

Mr Hobbs rose from his chair. ‘Begging your
pardon, Miss, but… why? I can’t thank you enough, and Mrs Hobbs is
going to be beside herself. But why are you doing this for me?’

Sarah regarded him thoughtfully. ‘Because my
father brought me up to respect honest tradesmen, and to see that
they’re paid their due. It’s not within my power to do that for
every tradesman in Auckland, but your particular case has become my
responsibility. I’m only too pleased to be able to put right
something of the wrong that’s been done here.’

‘Bless you, Miss,’ Mr Hobbs said
fervently.

Sarah nodded her farewell, then began
writing the letter for Mr Hobbs to take away.

After finishing that, she wrote a short note
for the gardener’s boy to deliver. When that note reached its
recipient, she would have a less than pleasant task. She would have
to allow Mr Taylor to enter her house one last time.

*

Sarah watched Mr Taylor enter her study and
stride across the room. His self-satisfied smile was, if possible,
even broader than on his previous visit. Until she saw that smile
again, Sarah had thought its power to irritate must have been
exaggerated in her memory.

‘Sarah, my dear!’ he exclaimed. ‘You’ve been
an elusive creature lately. I almost began to think you were
avoiding me, until I got your note.’

The man was actually wagging his finger at
her. Sarah stared at the gesture in horrified fascination, briefly
lost for words. He dragged a chair in front of her desk and sat
down, stretching his long legs out in front of him.

‘Well, let’s not speak of that,’ he said, as
if bestowing a favour. ‘I’m here now, and we don’t want to waste
any of our time together.’ He put his hands behind his head and
leaned back, still gazing on her with a proprietorial air.

He was clearly waiting for her to speak.
Sarah let the silence hang between them until she thought it must
be obvious even to this man. Then she spoke, biting off each
word.

‘I did not invite you to be seated.’

He let out a snort of laughter. ‘Oh, come
now, my dear. There’s no need for you and I to stand on
ceremony.’

‘On the contrary, there is every need for
just that. I wish to have the appropriate forms observed.’

She held his gaze, and at last had the
satisfaction of seeing that loathsome smile fade. ‘I’m afraid I
must say you’re being rather a silly girl,’ he said, drawing
himself up to a standing position. ‘Now, are you satisfied? May I
sit in your presence?’

Sarah ignored the sarcastic edge to his
voice. ‘No, you may not. I would prefer to conduct this meeting
with you standing.’

It was a good deal more satisfying to
observe his obvious discomfort. His eyes were now at a higher level
than hers, but her desk was deep enough to give him no opportunity
of looming over her. It required only a slight tilting of her head
to keep him fixed with a hard stare.

‘Mr Taylor, it’s come to my attention that
you have been claiming a relationship with me, and using my name to
gain certain business advantages. I will not tolerate this.’