Dreams Can Come True (24 page)

Maggie walked with Hannah along the road to church one Sunday morning. They hadn’t been there since Hannah’s wedding, as neither had felt the urge to. Maggie, because she felt so angry still at Jack’s departure that she couldn’t take the Host; Hannah, because she had never been a keen churchgoer anyway. Today, though, the sun was shining and with spirits feeling distinctly uplifted, they had agreed to go together, leaving Eddie to lie in bed.

It had been a big mistake, thought Maggie after. Not only did they see Alice in the congregation, but Madeline, Eddie’s mother, was there too. They should have just turned heel and returned later for the second Mass, but surely there would be no confrontation in the House of God?

Alice was the first to stir up trouble. She had made a beeline for Maggie, as everyone spilled out into the churchyard.

“I see you couldn’t hold onto him fer very long, Maggie. How many years has it bin?”

“Just ignore her, Mother,” Hannah hissed. “You know what she’s like, she’s only looking for a fight!”

They began to continue together along the path that lead to Burton Road, both staring ahead of them, ignoring people as they walked.

“But you’ve held onto mine though, Maggie Haines,” shouted Madeline, who had heard what Alice had been saying and had run after them.

“Doesn’t allow our Eddie to come a-calling now. Thinks our place isn’t good enough now he’s living at Selwyn Lodge.”

That was too much for Maggie. She turned with the light of battle sparking in her eyes.

“Madeline. I’ve offered yer the hand of friendship. I said yer would be welcome in me home at any time, but no, yer full of bitterness wanting to cling on to the past and try to even old scores. Nobody is keeping your son away from the tavern, but perhaps he prefers it where it’s peaceful, instead of living in a menagerie with all those kids and you!”

More insults might have been hurled and physical damage done, if it had not been for the priest, who upon hearing the ruction, hurriedly intervened.

“Ladies, I could hear you from inside the vestry!”

Father O’Brien came hurrying down the path towards them, his cassock flapping around his heels.

“I’m ashamed of you all, that I am.”

He gestured towards the small group of gaping onlookers, who had gathered to speculate on the outcome of the affray.

“Go to yer homes now, I’m sure you’ve all got Sunday dinners to get on with.”

Turning to the three guilty-looking ladies and Hannah, who was holding onto her stepmother protectively, he glared at them and said, “Mrs. Dockerty, Mrs. Haines and you, Mrs. Arlington, whatever your differences are, you have just bin in the House of God and He won’t be pleased at all at you shouting like a group of fishwives. Neither am I happy about it and I will visit each one of yer in turn to see what is at the bottom of these shenanigans.”

“Well, she started it,” began Hannah, feeling that she should protect Maggie from her Grandmama, who she knew had a vicious tongue.

“Never mind who started it, Hannah. We are all God’s children and we should treat one another with respect. Now go in peace and don’t forget I’ll be visiting you all in the next few days.” Eddie thought it was funny when Hannah and Maggie told him that they had felt like naughty school girls.

“I don’t know. All this fighting is over me, isn’t it? It’s this way I’ve got with women, yer see.”

Even Maggie joined in when Hannah started hitting him with a cushion, until he cried for mercy, saying two onto one wasn’t fair!

It was Maggie’s fortieth birthday. She didn’t feel like getting out of bed to face it, though they had planned to hold a celebration at the Victoria Hotel. Not really a celebration, she thought. It was only the three of them. Just dinner in a different place without one of the people she loved the most. It was Mikey’s birthday today as well. How would he be celebrating his twenty-third year in that distant foreign land? Would someone be making a fuss of him, with presents, congratulations and a special dinner, too? His letters, now he had decided to write them, told of voracious heat, diseases, water shortage, millions of mosquitoes and flies. Surly servants, basic quarters, minor skirmishes now and again. It was nothing at all as he had expected and he hoped he’d be back home this time next year. She felt sad for a moment, thinking that in some way she had failed him. Had he joined the British Army because she hadn’t given him enough responsibility? Had she driven him to it by taking her step-daughter’s side?

She got out of bed reluctantly and stared at herself critically in the cheval mirror. She didn’t look too bad, she thought, considering her age. Her hair only had a little grey in it; a few more lines on her face than there were last year; she wasn’t fat but slender and curvy and she knew she was still attractive, because of the attention she received from certain men. Richard Clegg seemed to be very taken with her, as was Dr. Farrington, and her new solicitor in Chester couldn’t do enough for her!

Her thoughts wandered to Richard Clegg, the young man who was being groomed by Mr. Arlington to take over from him when he retired. It was the admiration in Richard’s eyes when Maggie was introduced to him that she remembered. How could she not feel flattered, when Jack didn’t even want her as his wife? Still, she chided herself, she shouldn’t even be thinking about young men such as Richard at her age. She was going to be a grandma just after Christmas; all her love and affection would be given to him or her.

Katie sat in the grounds of the cottage hospital, taking a breather after a busy morning on her ward. She had come on duty at 7 a.m and would be there until 9 p.m that evening. It was a long day, but she was used to it now that she had been nursing for a couple of years. She was taking her lunch break, preferring on sunnier days to eat her food on the bench in the hospital garden. That was when Matron wasn’t about anyway. But Matron had gone to Chester, something to do with the Medical Board, and Sister Makin was in charge. Though the Sister was a stickler in keeping certain disciplines, she turned a blind eye to a lot of things.

The rays of the sun came through the trees in the shady garden, as Katie pondered over the letter that had come to Thistledown Cottage by post. It had informed Mr. Tibbs of the interest payable on the loan to be taken out on Barleymow Terrace, Town Lane. Katie had felt a great flash of anger when she had read that Ernie was to be the owner of the property, especially when it was her wages that would be bolstering up the repayments. She earned the veritable sum of thirty pounds per year, when Ernie was only earning twenty four. Being a woman was so unfair, she ruminated. Why was it that women were treated so badly? Not every woman had a husband and a family. What became of single women who wanted a place of their own?

She thought of all the women who worked in the hospital; Matron, Sister, Rebecca Flynn, the probationer, Celia Rankin, the almoner. All women without property; all reliant on their professions to give them a home. Though there were the exceptions she knew. There was Maggie Haines, who seemed to have her fingers in every pie in Neston and that woman Matron was always banging on about, Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female to become a doctor. And there was their own dear Queen. All strong women who hadn’t relied on a man to achieve their status.

Katie moodily chewed on a piece of cheese and thought about her situation. Should she confront the Sheldon Property Company and demand that her name was put on the deeds? Or should she let her brother become the sole owner and just pay him rent for one of his rooms? What if he found himself a wife in the future? It was possible. Ernie was a good-looking man when he bothered to make an effort, but strangely enough there had never been a hint of a woman in his life. But that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be, when he got the keys of the new house in a month or so. Katie brushed the crumbs from the skirt of her uniform, feeling trepidation at the uncertainty of the years to come.

It was nearly Christmas and the berries on the holly bushes hung in large red clusters, glowing brightly against the white of the snow that had been falling for the last few days.

Eddie sat companionably with his mother in law in front of a roaring log fire in the drawing room of Selwyn Lodge. They had just eaten a satisfying dinner of roast pork and all the trimmings and Eddie, who was sitting with a large glass of port in his hand, was feeling that his world was complete. Well, not quite complete, he thought, as he listened for sounds from the marital bedroom. Hannah had been up there for a few hours resting. The baby had been due two days ago and the nurse, who Maggie had employed for the birthing, had insisted that Hannah took the weight off her feet. Eddie sat and counted his blessings. He lived in a comfortable, well-run house, he was now in charge of his own gang of workmen and before long he would be father to a little baby that he and Hannah had made together. Be it boy or girl he wasn’t really bothered, but a boy would be the ticket if Eddie managed one day to realise his secret dream. The Sheldon Property Company was becoming a big name in the building industry and he was hoping that soon he would be given a bigger role in it. He was grateful for what he had, no doubt about it; at his age it was a great honour to have such responsibility. But if Maggie was to be presented with a grandson, wouldn’t she want her grandson’s father to have more say in the running of the company? Foreman maybe, but the title Works Manager had a better ring to it. This new man, Richard, who had taken over from Mr. Arlington, was all right when it came to running the business for Maggie, but he hadn’t any manual experience like Eddie had and wasn’t very popular with the ordinary working man. Still, for now Eddie was content with the way things had worked out for him. If he hadn’t have married Hannah, he wouldn’t even have been made a ganger at the young age of twenty one.

Richard Clegg sat at his desk chewing on the end of his pencil as he waited for his employer to appear. She had said she would come in on New Year’s Day to go over a few details with him; check that each of the businesses were running well and to talk about new ideas for the future. He couldn’t see why she bothered making her regular appearances. The woman was loaded and didn’t need to oversee the work he did for her. The Bounty vouchers were popular with the locals still, the Loan Department was raking the money in and already there was a list of people waiting for their homes to be built. Besides, Mr. Arlington, although now an old man, still popped in to keep an eye on him, which annoyed Richard greatly. Why couldn’t they both leave him to get on with the job? Richard brushed back the hair that flopped over his eyes and busied himself with the loans ledger. They had taken sixty three pounds in the last week of 1870, not a bad little sum. He was glad that a branch of the Chester Bank had opened locally a few months ago. Maggie had entrusted him to ride to the city with the takings up until then, but he had always felt nervous. Especially walking through certain streets in Chester where the unemployed seemed to hang around. He was lucky really that Mr. Arlington chose him to be his successor. Mr. Peel could have taken over, but he liked the outdoor life, visiting shops to collect the vouchers, and really the man was getting too old. He was also training up a young man to follow in his footsteps. A chap called Penswick. Strangely enough he had been in a lower year than Richard. They had both attended the Caldy Grammar School.

Richard heard footsteps hurrying up the staircase, unannounced, as the dratted girl who called herself the receptionist hadn’t appeared this morning. That was one of the things he needed to talk to Maggie about. Should they advertise for another girl?

“Good morning, Richard. Happy New Year. Did you have a pleasant evening with your family? Or did yer celebrate with a secret lady love?”

Maggie breezed into the office with a happy smile on her face. Her grandson, Edward John Dockerty, had made his appearance into the world on the penultimate day of the old year and Maggie was tickled pink with him. He had been born with a shock of silky brown hair and navy blue eyes and had been a good weight of seven pounds, nine ounces. Hannah had been exhausted after a labour of thirty four hours, but she had come through it unscathed and was even talking about having another! Eddie was delighted, like a cat with two tails.

“Yes, thank you, Mrs. Haines, a very pleasant evening was spent with my family, though unfortunately I don’t have a secret lady love. And may I wish you a Happy New Year too? Let us hope it is as successful as the last one. You are looking very chipper today, Madam, if you don’t mind me saying so. Is this something to do with the expected happy event?”

“Yes, I have recently become a grandmama! Edward John Dockerty will be his name when he is christened. Mother and babe both doing well. I’m glad to see you’ve lit a fire in here, Richard. It’s freezing outside. I’m a bit worried the weather is going to delay the finishing date on some of the houses up on Daisy Bank; the ones on Town Lane are already behind.”

“Firstly, may I say congratulations on the safe delivery of your grandson. But I can’t see any of our clients wanting to move in in this weather, Mrs. Haines. I wouldn’t want to contend with all the business of moving when I could be sitting around a warming fire.”