Dreams Can Come True (38 page)

“Oh, Eddie,” Hannah gasped, as they stood looking through the tall iron gates at the stable block and outbuildings at the top of the gravel drive.

“You’re never thinking of buying that; there’s no way that we could afford it. And I hope you’re not thinking of going in there neither. I look terrible in my old cotton dress and my hair all of a straggle.”

“I just wanted yer to see it, that’s all, Hannah. If yer like what yer see we’ll come back another day. Well, what do yer think then, just on a first sighting?”

“I think it looks wonderful, but like I said before, there’s no way we could afford it, Eddie. This would only be a pipe dream for both of us, so I don’t know why you brought me here.”

“Leave that worry to me, will yer, Hannah? I’ve got a plan which I’ll explain later. Now, when I was here before, I saw a tea shack outside one of the cottages near the heathland. We’ll break our journey, shall we, and have a cup of tea?”

Maggie too, was standing outside a dwelling that day, weighing up the advantages of living there. The cottage that had belonged to her old friend, Mrs. Dockerty, was in need of some tender repairing. Slates had come off on part of the roof and the front door wanted renewing.

“I don’t know why you want to bury yerself down here, Maggie,” Bridget said, who had volunteered to ride with her in the donkey and trap. “You’re welcome to stay at our place fer as long as yer like. I just can’t see the sense in this at all.”

“I know I’m welcome, Bridget, but you and Frank are running a business. I don’t think it’s fair to be taking up a bedroom, especially with all the visitors around at this time of the year.”

“But even so, you’ll not be able to move in straight away. You’ll need a man to do it up and that could take more than a few days, couldn’t it?”

“I know what you’re saying, Bridget and if I was going to live here, I’d need a bit more room. Maybe something built on the side and the back. I’d need a proper kitchen and another bedroom.”

“There you are then,” Bridget sounded relieved. “Wait until you’ve had the baby, then you can come back and have another look. I’m sure no one will have bought it off the owner by then.”

“You’re probably right, though I wonder if I should purchase it anyway fer the future. Let’s go in, shall we, and see what needs doing? That window needs replacing there and that rotting sill.”

The memories came flooding back as she stood with Bridget in the small bare living room. The kindnesses of Mrs. Dockerty to a thin, poverty-stricken girl; the hours she’d spent here learning, when she should have been up at the farm and the crush she’d had on Johnny, her elderly friend’s son.

She could see it all in her mind’s eye as the years flew back with a flashing clarity. She had stood on this same spot twenty-odd years ago, wondering what she should do. Just like she was doing now, wondering and worrying, not sure of her future and the nature of things to come.

It was chilly in the empty room and as Maggie shivered, her baby moved within her, reminding her that any decision had to be based on her or him.

“Come, Bridget, we’ll go back now, shall we? It’s cold in here, isn’t it? Let’s get back into the sunshine and warm ourselves up a bit.”

Eddie and Hannah sat with their baby on a bench outside the tea shack, soaking up the afternoon sun which had grown cooler as the day wore on.

The woman there had been friendly, filling up little Johnny’s bottle with water from the well and allowing Hannah to change his cloths in the shed that held the lavatory.

“You’re not from round here, are yer?” the middle-aged woman observed, as she served them tea in earthenware cups on a tray. “We get a lot of visitors at this time of the year. It’s because of the view from the Common and we’re not so far from the shore.”

“It’s very peaceful here,” remarked Hannah, feeling relaxed now inside the pretty cottage garden. “We’ve been looking at a house at the far end of that lane over there. A beautiful place with a lovely view of the Irish Sea.”

“That’ll be the Kennet’s house you’ve been looking at. They want to move further up to the village now he’s retired. The children have flown the nest and I suppose they think the place is too big fer them.”

“What about schools around here? And churches? And are there good shops in the village?”

Eddie decided to ask the questions that Hannah would want to know.

“There’s a small school, down near the church of St. Bartholomew. My youngest, Harry, goes to that, it’s just a short walk down the hill. There’s a chapel in the grounds of a farmhouse on Mill Hill Road, or yer could travel down to Greasby where I think there’s a Catholic church. As fer the village, there’s one shop that sells oil, candles, tea, sugar. Anything that yer can’t get from the farms. Do yer want another cuppa, there’s plenty left in the pot? Or maybe a homemade scone with cream and jam? It’ll take yer on ‘til your supper time.”

Two weeks later, Michael was granted weekend leave. He had written to his grandmama, inviting himself to stay at Seagull Cottage. Now that he was feeling better he decided he needed a spy within the vicinity. Someone who could keep their ear to the ground and let him know of anything that could get him back into Selwyn Lodge; his mother returning maybe, or his bitch of a sister running off with the milkman. He wouldn’t put it past her; look what happened with Jeremy. Shame that piece of information had lain dormant in his mind. Her ignoramus husband didn’t know what he’d taken on!

It had been decided by those above Michael that he was to take on a role in recruitment. An office job, probably as boring as it had been with Sheldon, but it would keep him away from danger if the regiment was sent to the front line.

Besides a spy, Michael felt he needed a sentry. Someone who could report the to-ings and fro-ings, someone who could tell him what was going on. That honour would pass to Staff Nurse Tibbs; he was certain that Katie had a crush on him. He had written a carefully worded letter, hinting that his feelings were far more than just friendship and the pleasure would be his if she agreed to meet with him.

Eddie stood at Hannah’s side while she sat at the writing bureau reading the letter to him. “You know Hannah,” he said worriedly. “This could bring Maggie rushing over, and in her condition I don’t think yer being very fair.”

Hannah looked at him, askance. She had spent a long time composing the letter, and here he was finding fault with it.

“What else do you want me do then? Say nothing, let Michael come in and walk all over us? We are the ones who have to hold the winning cards, or we’ll be the losers at the end of the day. While he doesn’t have his mother’s address, we are sat in the driving seat and this way we can do the negotiating. Anyway, Maggie will be as big as I am by now. Can you see me rushing about or wanting to travel across the sea?”

“No, that’s true, me little apple dumpling. Yer know, I love yer even more than ever when yer carrying my babies. There’s something about yer… I don’t know… I want to eat every bit of yer.”

Hannah laughed and caught his hand to her face, nuzzling it gently.

“That’s all I need to hear! You only love me properly when I’m carrying your babies. Does that mean I’ll be in a constant state of expectancy, Eddie?”

Eddie laughed with her, thankful that his joking had made their spirits light. Hannah was right on this occasion; Michael must be dealt with, but in a devious way. Their future depended heavily on the decisions that they were making now. There had already been one set back when he had gone cap in hand to Richard Clegg. You’d have thought it was the man’s own money when Eddie had asked for a loan of £530. Not Sheldon’s money or Maggie’s, and he’d even asked for collateral!

“Do yer know who’s paying your wages at the moment?” Eddie had said, fixing his strongest glare on the young office manager, though his feet were quaking in his boots. “It’s me. I’m Mrs. Haines’s second in command whilst she’s away on her holiday. I’m the one who makes all the decisions around here.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dockerty, but for such a large amount we always ask for collateral. It was what I was told when Mr. Arlington trained me. And I was under the impression that I was in charge of the Loans Department and you were responsible for the building company.”

“That is as may be, but I’m the one who holds the purse strings, so just remember that.”

They had held each other’s gaze across the table in the Sheldon office until Richard was the one who gave way. He was dealing with the boss’s son in law after all, so he had to make an exception, didn’t he?

“Perhaps you could get a letter of authorisation from Mrs. Haines?”

Richard had made one last attempt at covering his back.

“I’ll be in to sign for the money on Tuesday,” Eddie snapped and purposely strode away.

He hadn’t told any of this to Hannah. How could he tell his little pumpkin that if the business he planned fell by the wayside, they’d be homeless and mortgaged for twenty five years? Especially now she had set her heart on Redstone House. It would be like taking an ice cream away from little Johnny and that was something he could never do.

“Did you find someone to dig out a drain for the lavatory, Eddie?” Hannah asked, as she sealed the envelope in readiness to send to Ireland the very next day.

“I wasn’t happy that we didn’t have an inside water closet at Redstone House, as you know, but it’s such a perfect spot for your business that I didn’t mind making the odd sacrifice like no boiler. But as they have a room with a hip bath in, the lavatory can go in there, can’t it? And this maid we’ll be having looks strong enough to be carrying the water up the stairs.”

“Yes, that’s sorted, Hannah. The drain will be laid and will run to the brook near the crossroads. Someone will come and install a lavatory as soon as we take possession, along with the cupboards in the kitchen that you wanted making and that wall yer wanted knocking down so that we could have a conservatory. And I hear that the Kennet’s cook would like to stay with us too. She’s been with them fer eighteen years, yer know.”

“I do know; Mrs. Kennet told me when we were looking the place over. The cook lives nearby in one of those farm cottages and Sadie, the maid, lives down Arrowe Brook Lane. And the beauty of it all is that I won’t have to trudge up to the village, like I have to here at Neston. The farmer’s wife delivers all the things we need. Oh, Eddie, I’m getting all excited now! I never ever thought we’d get a place of our own.”

Katie had felt in a whirl of excitement all morning. At last! Michael had written the week before to see if she could manage to meet him on Sunday. He’d been given weekend leave and she was to be outside the Custom House on the promenade at 3 o’ clock because he was taking her to meet his grandmama. His grandmama! She couldn’t believe it. Their first date and he was already going to show her off to a member of his family. Well, she thought it was a date. Young men didn’t usually ask to meet a girl unless they had those sorts of intentions. And luckily it was her day off too, so she hadn’t needed to change her shift.

She ran her hands down her best navy skirt, hoping that it didn’t look too fussy. It was an ankle-length layered skirt, made of a thin taffeta, and with it she wore a cream, high-necked, pin-tucked blouse. Being the middle of September, there was a possibility that the afternoon could be cool by the river, so she had teamed her outfit up with a navy woollen jacket, hoping that it didn’t look too obvious that the navy was a different shade. Her button boots were black, so she carried a matching-coloured reticule and her hair was pinned up neatly under a cream, saucer-shaped hat.

The church clock struck the quarter hour as Katie hurried up the high street, passed the fountain at the Cross and down Parkgate Road to the Custom House. She had stayed the night at Annie’s, having the use of the sofa again, as all the beds were full and there was no room to swing a cat. The problem of what to do with Ernie still hadn’t been resolved to Katie’s satisfaction. He hadn’t been seen by the family, though Sam was down at the farmhouse collecting milk every day. She wondered if Ernie had gone back to his old ways, preferring to be a fowler or fishing in the sea? Her brother was a loner; only really happy when he was out in his punt with a gun.

She suddenly felt nervous when she saw Michael waiting where he had suggested. She had expected to see him in uniform, but he wore the clothes of a gentleman; a dark frock coat over narrow grey trousers and a shiny black top hat. He was carrying a cane and, as he saw Katie come around the corner, he tipped it towards her in greeting. A simple gesture, but that action made her bashful and ready for immediate flight. After all, Michael was an officer and she was just a lowly girl. He lifted his hat in deference to her as she walked towards him with a quaking heart.

Oh, why had she agreed to see him? They had nothing in common at all.

“Staff Nurse Tibbs, or may I call you Katie?” He smiled engagingly at her and proffered an outstretched hand. “I must thank you for your kindness in agreeing to meet me today. And may I take the liberty of saying how fetching you look in your outfit? Very different, if I may say so, from the drab uniform you nurses have to wear.”