house of women (30 page)

Standing in front of her daughter, she said, "Now tell me, what did you say to her to upset her so, besides telling her you were going to get married? That shouldn't have put her into the state she's in."

Emma blew her nose, wiped her eyes and, looking up at her mother, she said, "I told her what she could do with her money."

"Huh!" Peggy laughed now and, looking at Char lie, she said, "And that would upset her, because she's been holding her' she nodded towards her daughter 'as the carrot to keep me in place. Oh, I'll go and make her tea." And Charlie rose to follow her, but stayed long enough to pat Emma on the head and say, "Don't worry, love. You do what you want; she'll be with you."

It was almost an hour later when Peggy confronted her daughter in the hall, saying, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Ricky and tell him."

"Tell him what?"

"That we are going to be married, and as soon as possible."

"Now look here, Emma!"

"You look here, Mother. You can give your consent or you can withhold it, but it makes no difference. I'm over sixteen and if I don't marry Ricky I'll go and live with him. How about that? It's quite the thing today; in fact, it's more fashionable than getting married."

"Don't be brash, Emma; it doesn't suit you."

"Yes, it does suit me. Mother, but it doesn't suit you to think that I'm a young woman, not a young girl. And I'll tell you something else.

Mother, while I'm on. I hate this house. I'll be glad when I leave it.

There's been no happiness in this house since I can remember; not real happiness. There's always been somebody at somebody else's throat.

Well now, Mother, if you will move away from the door; if you don't, I'll only have to go out the back. Don't look

like that and say you could slap my face for me. "

Peggy forced herself to take two steps away from the door and away from this girl, this beautiful girl who had become a stranger; not

overnight, but within a matter of minutes. Slowly she turned away and as slowly Emma opened the door and went out, saying, "Charlie said you'd be with me, but he was mistaken, wasn't he?"

She was halfway down the drive when she stopped and put her hand tightly over her mouth: what had come over her? She wasn't sorry for the things she had said to her great-great-grandmother, nor to her grandmother, but why had she spoken like that to her mother? Because she loved her. She had the desire to turn around and run back and put her arms around her and say, "I'm sorry," but were she to do so she knew she would be persuaded to let things remain as they were, and that she couldn't do.

Their rendezvous in the park was a seat situated about ten yards from the ladies' convenience, and if Ricky wasn't there at the appointed time she would often wait just inside rather than sit on the bench and be eyed by passersby.

Tonight he wasn't there, nor could she see anyone on the path beyond the convenience that led to the lake and the land beyond the bench and path was screened by a rhododendron hedge.

She was still in an agitated state, mostly because of her manner towards her mother. She wasn't worried as to what Richard's reaction would be to her proposal of an early marriage; she knew his love for her was of an intensity that set fire to her own. This had shown itself at their parting after the one and only time he had taken her to his flat, when he had laughingly said to her, "Miss, you're a danger to humanity. And that is the first and last time you'll be invited in there until after the deed is done. You understand me?" And she had answered simply, "Yes, doctor, I understand you."

She sat on the bench, her head turned to look towards the main gate. A number of people were entering but only one woman passed her; the rest took a short cut over the lawn that would take them to the bottom gate.

She looked at her watch and made an impatient movement with her head.

It had gone fast again; it showed almost a quarter past five and in the distance the chimes of the clock in the market place were just now striking the hour.

When she heard the rustle behind her she didn't turn around; children often made their way up behind the hedge, then would spring out on each other, yelling. But when one hand came on her shoulder and the voice said, "It's all right. Stay still. Now stay still," she froze.

She literally froze. She

couldn't have sprung up if she had tried; it was as if she had become glued to the seat. When the other hand came on her shoulder and turned into a grip, the ice in her body seemed to affect her voice for it came out as a croak, saying, "Da ... Dad ... Oh, Dad, please, please go away, and leave me alone."

"I'm ... I'm not going away, baby. I've waited too long. Now listen to me. You're coming with me, do you hear?"

"I'm not! I'm not!" Her voice was a yell now, and when she aimed to spring up, he pulled her back with a thud on to the bench; then he was around it and facing her. His hands gripping her arms now but his voice soft, he said, "I ... I can't go on without you. I've ... I've lost everything, I must have something. But all I want is you. Don't you understand? All I want is you. All I ever wanted was you."

"Leave me alone."

"Look; listen to me. You can come quietly or I can make you." He now left hold of one arm and thrust his hand into his coat pocket and brought out what looked like a narrow tube; then glancing first one way then the other, he said, "This won't hurt you and you'll come quietly.

Now, it's up to you."

As her foot kicked at his shins and her hand, claw-like, went out to his face, she let out a high scream, and it was so loud that she didn't feel the prick in her arm, and she knew she was still struggling with him, but then, of a sudden, she had the desire to sit down, but his arm was about her. She opened her mouth again and let out a weak cry. Her resistance had all gone.

What time it was when she realised she was being tugged between her father and Richard, she didn't know: it seemed but a second; or was it a week? She knew now that she was leaning against the wall of the toilets, looking down on her father and Richard rolling on the

ground.

And there were people gathered about. She was next aware of dimly seeing her father lying face down on the path, his hands bent up behind him and Richard with one knee on his back. Richard's face was bleeding and she knew he was shouting up at the people.

"Go to the phone box!" Richard spat the blood out of his mouth, then again cried up at the face hanging above his, "Go to the phone box outside the gate and phone the police. Do it quickly!" He turned and glanced to where Emma was leaning against the wall. He stared at her for a moment, wondering why she wasn't saying something, why she wasn't moving.

"What happened?" Another face above him was asking the question, and he was about to answer when Jones turned his head to the side and, gasping, spluttered, "Don't ... don't bring the police, I'll ... I'll go."

"Yes, you'll go, but it will be to jail this time."

When Jones made an effort to turn on his side Richard growled at him,

"Make another move and I'll break your arm. I mean it!"

"She's ... she's my daughter." Jones was now appealing to the faces peering down at him, and a woman almost demanded of Richard, "Is she?

Is she his daughter? "

"Mind your own business."

Another voice said, "He's my doctor. That's Doctor Langton, Doctor Rice's partner."

The man who had gone to the phone came running back, saying, "Just after I phoned a panda car passed. I waved them down; they're

coming."

When the two policemen stood above him, saying, "What's this, sir?"

Richard answered, "I'm Doctor Langton. That young lady is my fiancee."

He pointed to the stiff figure still standing against the wall.

"This man' he jerked the two hands that he was gripping 'is her father.

He is separated from his wife but he has tried to abduct his

daughter.

I don't know what he's done to her. She seems under the influence of a drug, I think. "

When Jones was on his feet he stood rubbing his arms and spluttering,

"Yes, she's my daughter. I've a right to speak to her." Then it was as he hunched his coat up on to his shoulders that the glass syringe fell from his pocket to the pavement.

Amid silence now, one of the policemen stooped and picked it up, then turned and looked at Emma and, addressing the doctor, he said, "Yes, you're right: it would appear she has been given something, sir."

The effect of this sudden confirmation of his fears was Richard's urge to lash out at the face that, like his own, was streaked with blood; but, turning swiftly, he went to Emma, and, putting an arm about her, he drew her forward, saying to the police now, "I'd better get her to hospital. I don't know what he's given her, but if you don't mind, I'll take that." He held out his hand for the syringe, but the policeman said, "I'm sorry, sir, but I must hold this. And I must ask her and you, sir, a few questions."

"She's not in a fit state, officer. I must take her to hospital."

"Well, I must have her address, and yours, sir, and I'll see you later."

"Go to Bramble Lane first; I'll probably be there."

The officer nodded; then as the two of them urged Jones away with,

"Come on, you!" he turned and shouted at Richard, "You'll get her over my dead body."

Having belted Emma in the car and taken his seat behind the wheel, he turned and said to her, "You're all right. You'll be all right. Do you hear? It will pass."

She stared at him blankly, then slumped in her seat, which activated him into starting the car and driving as fast as possible to the hospital with the words "You'll get her over my dead body' ringing in his head.

He would like to think of the man as being mad, but he knew he

wasn't;

except that is, with an unnatural desire for his daughter.

They were all in the drawing-room again: Lizzie, Henry, May, Frank, Charlie and Peggy, and they were listening to Richard: "She'll sleep till tomorrow. She'll likely have a very bad headache but she

shouldn't have any after-effects. Having said that, though, as long as he's at large she'll be filled with fear and she will need

protection.

As it is, I cannot give her that until we are married. " He looked around at the faces staring at him, and it was Peggy who now said, "

Well, from what you tell me she hadn't time, or didn't get the chance, to tell you what she meant to do; but she made it plain to me and to my mother that she wasn't going to wait for a year; that she wanted to be married as soon as possible; in fact she seemed determined to be married as soon as possible. "

"She did?" It was painful for him to show his surprise by smiling, for it stretched his face, and he'd had stitches in one cheek and others under his lower lip; but smile he did, and he continued to smile as he said, "Well, if you are in agreement, that would please me too."

"We don't seem to have much to say in the matter," Peggy said with a slight quiver in her voice; then she added, "Let's hope it will be some protection for her."

"What do you think he'll get?"

Richard looked at Charlie and shook his head, "I've no idea. He might have escaped with a caution as being an over-protective father if it hadn't been for the syringe. Even with that, who knows? I can only hope he'll be jailed."

Peggy reared at this.

"I'll ... I'll go into the witness box and tell them what he was aiming to do to her," she said.

"Yes, I will, I will. That'll put him away ..."

"I wouldn't do that." Richard attempted to purse his lips.

"That would mean her having to appear to back up your words and you don't want to subject her to that, do you?"

When Peggy shook her head. Lizzie, too, voiced the same feeling: "No, we don't want that," she said, then added But there's another thing: he could be brought up for his thieving. He's done my grandmother out of a great deal of money, thousands of pounds. "

"Now, now," Henry said; 'forget about that part. I've told you, once that's mentioned he'll come back

with all kinds of things: VAT. and tax and God knows what. So it's best to let sleeping dogs lie. "

"I hate to think of him getting off with it and all that money."

Peggy lifted her head for a moment. Had her eyes been closed she would have imagined it was her great-gran speaking. Money, money, money.

That's all they seemed to think about. Her mother was very like her great-gran. What about herself? Well, money had never meant much to her:

she had wanted only enough to live on comfortably, quietly, somewhere with Charlie. And once Emma was married that's what she would do, she would get away from this house and everything connected with it . But what about Great- gran?

Yes, what about Great-gran? She was tied here till Great-gran went and that could be years ahead. Where would it end? And now this business tonight, him using a hypodermic needle on Emma. He'd stop at

nothing.

Yes, let her get married, and as quickly as possible.

She rose to her feet when she heard her mother saying, "Don't be silly.

May! Inform his people. You'd have them here in a swarm. We haven't seen them for years; neither has he. When they hear about this

business, let it be from the newspaper report."

Why did her mother irritate her? She turned to Richard, saying now,

"I think you will be glad to get to bed."

"I shall, but later on; I'm going back to the hospital first."

"I'll ... I'll come with you."

"No. No; you can do nothing. As I said, she's asleep and she'll sleep until tomorrow. But I would advise you to take your own advice and get to bed. I'll be off now." And he looked around the company before saying simply, "Good night," then turning away.

Peggy followed him out of the room and to the front door, and there she asked him bluntly, "Would you move away once you're married?" And he answered as bluntly, "No. I'm in a partnership here and I'm working to pay it off. I can't just up and go where I please unless I want to lose everything I've worked for so far."