All That Glitters (29 page)

‘Jenny.’ The sound was lost, but she knew he had called out her name. William heaved her to her feet. Thrusting her forward, he propelled her to the side of the ring.

‘God knows why he wants you, but he does. And all I can say is you’d better care for him as much as he cares for you. If you don’t …’

‘But I do. I really do care for him,’ Jenny looked up through the ropes at Eddie’s bruised, battered and bloody face. And with the cheers Eddie had earned resounding in her ears, she believed every word of it.

Chapter Sixteen

It was a long time before the ringmaster succeeded in restoring hush to the hall. Before the applause died, Eddie climbed over the ropes, reached out and extended a gloved hand to Jenny. She clung to his arm, wanting to hold on to him long enough to show his father, Joey – and especially William – just how much he thought of her, but Joey pulled him away. There was barely time for her to register the wreckage on his face before Joey paraded him triumphantly out of the hall. The cut above Eddie’s eye had reopened, and blood had trickled through the plaster on to his cheek. His jaw was already beginning to swell, his chest was blotched with red marks, yet his eyes had never shone with more life and there’d been a smile on his mashed blue and bloody lips.

‘There’ll be some booze put away in the Ruperra on the strength of this tonight,’ William yelled after him.

‘He’s really hurt!’ Jenny exclaimed.

‘Boxing’s not pat-a-ball. And there’s no damage there that Joey hasn’t seen before and can’t fix.’

‘But his face …’

‘Boxers don’t stay pretty for long.’

‘Can’t we go with him?’

‘You prepared to try after what Joey said about women in his dressing room?’

‘Then what do I do now?’ she demanded petulantly.

‘Sit and watch the next two bouts. Eddie’s turn may be over but the exhibition isn’t finished.’

She returned to her seat and watched Eddie’s opponent’s trainer work on the figure slumped on the canvas. He’d removed Daniels’s gum shield, soaked a rag in water and was squeezing it over the unconscious man’s lips. After a few minutes he succeeded in raising him to his feet and helping him out of the ring.

The last two fights passed in a blur of movement and noise. Jenny sat and stared at the figures dancing around the canvas. She watched punches being thrown, heard crunch after sickening crunch as they homed in on their flesh and bone targets. But long before the final bell, she knew that Joey Rees and William had been right. A boxing tournament was no place for a woman. Closing her eyes, she clenched her teeth and waited for it all to be over.

‘That’s it then.’ Evan rose to his feet as the final bell rang to a rousing cheer.

‘Wonder what Eddie’s share of the purse will be?’

‘Whatever’s left after the referee takes his fee, his opponent gets his cut and the gloves are paid for,’ Evan answered William.

‘What do you think of your son now?’ Joey Rees demanded as he joined Evan and Charlie.

‘I think you’ve done a good job of training him.’

‘Eddie tells me you were never that keen on him going into the ring.’

‘That was more his mother’s sentiment than mine. As long as it’s what he wants to do, he comes out on top, and doesn’t get too badly hurt in the process, I’ve no quarrel with him boxing, but when he starts to go downhill …’

‘That won’t be for a long time yet. He’s got a great future ahead of him.’

‘And not all of it in boxing.’

‘Coming back to the Ruperra for a drink?’

Evan looked at William and Charlie who both nodded, making Jenny feel more of an encumbrance than ever.

Eddie emerged from the door that led to the back rooms. He was wearing a long black winter-weight overcoat and dark trilby, on Joey’s advice. It was easy to pick up a chill after a match, even in summer.

‘Nice clothes,’ Jenny complimented him. He reminded her of a darker, more satanic version of Haydn.

‘Shilling a week club in Rivelin’s. How much did you see of the bout?’

‘As much as William would let me.’

‘Coming back to the club for a drink, Eddie? There’s a promoter I want you to meet. Mr Wallace, important man. He’s shipping over champions from South Africa and New Zealand for a tour. Word is, he was impressed by the way you performed. If he’s prepared to put you up against his boys it could lead to professional status, the national championship and maybe even an American tour like Frank Moody in ‘23. After that, who knows? Heavyweight world championship?’

‘How long will he be in the Ruperra, Joey?’

‘That’s not the kind of question you ask a man like Mr Wallace.’

‘I’m asking because I’m going to walk Jenny home.’

‘There’s no need,’ Jenny protested, sensing Joey’s hostility sharpening.

‘I could do with some fresh air,’ Eddie insisted stubbornly.

‘This is a big man …’ Joey began testily.

‘I’ll walk Jenny home for you,’ William interrupted.

‘As if I’d let you.’

‘Please, I’d much rather go alone.’ Jenny picked up her handbag from the floor.

‘I won’t hear of it. I’ll see you back in the Ruperra, Joey.’

‘If you’re prepared to throwaway your career, who am I to stop you?’

Jenny braved a smile at Eddie in spite of the pressure raining down on her from all sides. ‘I promised Tina and Gina I’d look in on them this week. If I go to the café now, I can walk home with them afterwards.’

‘You can go tomorrow night.’

‘I told my father I’d work in the shop. Please, Eddie, tonight would be best.’

‘I’m still walking you to the café.’ He turned to Joey: ‘I’ll catch up with you in the Ruperra.’

‘Just be careful that you do, boy,’ Joey replied flatly, staring belligerently at Jenny.

‘They don’t like me.’

‘Only when you’re around the ring.’ Eddie folded his hand over hers as she took his arm.

‘Don’t try to soft-soap me. They don’t like me, and it’s because I went out with your brother before going out with you.’

‘That was last year.’ He stopped on the corner of Mill Street and pulled her into the jeweller’s doorway. ‘It is over between you, isn’t it?’

‘Of course it’s over.’ She tried and failed to look him in the eye. ‘But that doesn’t alter the fact that Haydn’s your brother.’

‘So, you went out with my brother? I was the first one who mattered, wasn’t I? You told me nothing ever went on between you two.’

‘Not like us,’ she broke in quickly, suppressing the sneaking wish that it had.

‘My share of the purse was ten pounds tonight,’ he revealed as they moved on.

‘That’s incredible. Ten pounds for just a few minutes in the ring.’ The size of the sum momentarily outweighed the magnitude of his injuries.

‘And it looks like Joey has got more of the same lined up. What say you we get engaged on the strength of it?’

Engaged! She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had told Haydn that she would marry Eddie. Now he was asking without any prompting from her.

‘It’s usual for a girl to answer when a man asks her to marry him.’

‘I know. It’s just that … it’s …’ Tears blinded her eyes for no reason, and she choked on her words. They were crossing the bridge opposite Rivelin’s. Beneath the road the river gushed, black and gleaming between dark, mysterious banks. On their right the lights at the back of the buildings in Mill Street ribboned the darkness.

‘It’s what, Jenny?’ He halted and faced her, blocking her path.

‘Unexpected,’ she mumbled, still unable to look at him.

‘After last night?’

‘I …’

‘Will you marry me?’ he asked, his voice slurring from the damage Killer Daniels’s battering had inflicted on his mouth. She finally looked at him. His eyes, dark, searching beneath his trilby, stared intently into hers. ‘Why are you crying?’

‘Because you’re hurt. Because … just because …’

Bending forward he kissed her. A soft, gentle embrace that belied the savagery that accompanied his lovemaking, but she still couldn’t help comparing it to the loving caresses Haydn had once given her. She closed her eyes and clung to him. The hem of his coat brushed against her knees, his muscled arms were hard beneath her hands. It took so little to imagine it was Haydn who was holding her.

‘You’ll marry me?’

‘Yes, Eddie, I’ll marry you.’

‘We’ll take rooms. There’s no point in waiting. I have a good job, with the prospect of more coming in from boxing purses. We’ll soon be able to afford a decent house. In fact we could almost rent one now.’

‘Eddie,’ she pushed him away from her. ‘Let me go to the café.’ When he opened his mouth to protest, she laid a finger over his lips. ‘I don’t want to talk, not now. There’s too much to think about and get used to. Call into the shop on the way home. I’ll leave the storeroom door open, and I’ll wait up, no matter how late you are.’

‘Promise?’

‘I promise.’

‘And you will marry me?’ he repeated like a child seeking reassurance.

‘Yes.’

They walked the short distance to the Tumble in silence. He kissed her once more before turning on his heels and striding back through the town. She hesitated, her hand on the café door. There was no way she could talk to the girls, not now. She had plans to make, thoughts to put in order. Waiting until Eddie was out of sight, she turned under the bridge and up the Graig hill.

‘Where’s Jane?’ Evan asked as he walked into the kitchen, William trailing at his heels, both of them slightly the worse for drink.

‘She ate her meal and went straight to bed.’ Haydn put extra cups on the table and poured out three teas. ‘I just made a fresh pot. Must have sensed you were coming. Where’s Eddie? I tried to get into the Palais, but they said the place was jammed to the rafters. Still, I did manage to talk to the doorman. He told me Eddie won his bout. Did very well, by all accounts.’

‘He did.’

‘He’s not hurt, is he?’

‘If he’s hurt it’s not from any punches that were thrown in the ring,’ William said sourly.

‘William!’ Evan admonished.

‘He did do well?’ Haydn persisted, sensing there was something he wasn’t being told.

‘He did, damned well. Got an offer to box a South African champion in Cardiff next month, and depending on the outcome of that, turn professional and tour South Africa and New Zealand. Joey and Mr Wallace, the promoter who made the offer, reckon he could be taking a crack at the championship within a year,’ Evan said proudly.

‘Good on our kid.’

‘I’m glad for him. I think he feels he’s got a lot to live up to with you around.’

‘What have I got to do with anything?’

‘Don’t look so innocent,’ William said as he heaped four sugars into his tea. ‘Successful older brother coming back from the London stage to star in the Town Hall is enough to make anyone feel second rate.’

‘London stage?’ Haydn scoffed derisively. ‘It was hardly the West End. You should see some of the Empires I’ve played on the outskirts of London. Dismal is not the word.’

‘Eddie doesn’t know that, and unlike me he hasn’t his dazzling good looks to fall back on for consolation.’ William’s attempt at humour fell flat.

‘The tournament win tonight is all his, Will,’ Evan finished his tea. ‘No one will ever be able to take that away from him.’

‘No, I don’t suppose they will.’

‘Phyllis gone up?’ Evan asked.

‘An hour ago. She only waited to give Jane and me our meal, although I’ve told her there’s no need. We can serve ourselves.’

‘You know what she’s like, always worrying about everyone eating properly. Don’t be too late, boys. And tell Eddie to keep the noise down when you come up, Will.’

‘Where is Eddie?’ Haydn asked as his father climbed the stairs.

‘With his lady love.’

‘Who is she?’

‘Who do you think? Your bloody cast-off.’

‘Jenny?’

‘He even insisted she come to the Palais tonight.’

‘Is it serious?’

‘Serious enough for him to turn down the meeting with the promoter in the Ruperra to take Jenny home. You should have seen the look on Joey Rees’s face.’

Haydn fumbled blindly for his cigarettes. ‘I was afraid of this.’

‘Because you want her back?’

Haydn’s hands shook as he pushed a cigarette between his lips. He started to talk and it all came out. Jenny waylaying him on the hill, throwing herself at him as soon as they were alone, the threats she’d made about Eddie when he’d rejected her advances. William sat sipping his tea, listening intently to every word.

‘Did you tell Eddie any of this?’ he asked when Haydn eventually fell silent.

‘I tried to last night, but he wouldn’t listen.’

‘So that was what all the shouting was about.’

‘It wasn’t about Jenny. I tried to talk to him about other things before building up to what she’d said, but he refused to take notice of anything I had to say, and by then I was afraid to bring up Jenny’s name in case he thought I wanted her back.’

‘Do you?’

‘Before she called me into the shop on Sunday night, I wouldn’t have been able to answer that. But after the way she behaved, most definitely not.’

‘But when you first came back to Ponty there was still something there?’

‘Probably,’ Haydn admitted reluctantly. ‘Enough to parade the girls from the show around town in an effort to convince her and myself that I no longer cared. She hurt me. It does me no credit to say this, but I wanted to get my own back on her for going out with Eddie after we quarrelled. But when she called me into the shop and tried to kiss me I realised that I didn’t have to pretend any more. That if there ever had been anything resembling love between us, it’s finished.’

‘But she thinks it’s still alive?’

‘She seems to be where I was before I came back, wanting revenge, but unfortunately it’s Eddie she’s taking it out on, not me.’

William poured out two more teas, emptying the pot. He took his cigarettes from his pocket, but Haydn tossed his packet to him.

‘Have one of mine.’

‘No. Earning twice as much as the rest of us doesn’t give you the right to take away our pride.’

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was.’

‘Look mate, we know you’re doing well. There’s no need to rub our noses in it. Things are better than they were when you left. The pits are reopening, Charlie’s set himself up fine and he’s seen to it that Eddie and I are all right too.’

‘I’ve said I’m sorry, what more do you want me to do?’

‘Take one of my bloody fags.’

‘But I’m still smoking.’

‘Then stick it behind your ear.’ Haydn did as he asked. Opening the oven door William pushed a taper into the coals. ‘Well, now we know what Jenny’s up to, the question is what do we do about it?’