Road to Berry Edge, The (33 page)

‘It was monstrous,' Harry said, ‘and I have to tell you that I brought Rob back with me.'

‘He does own the works,' she said.

‘I own some of it,' Harry pointed out.

He didn't know what to say. He had never proposed marriage before and had no idea how to go about it, especially as she looked at him from clear green eyes. He was convinced that no matter what he said she would turn him down. His hands were sweaty and his shirt collar felt too tight. He wanted to go home.

‘I don't think Rob will be here long. He's very restless.'

‘I'm afraid my parents aren't at home, but I can give you some tea—'

‘Please don't. I always know when I'm back in Berry Edge because people start offering me tea all the time.'

‘We don't have anything stronger,' Faith said solemnly.

‘That's a pity. I could have done with a stiff Scotch.'

‘Why?'

Harry looked down, then back at her again. ‘Faith … I don't know how to do this because I've never done it before and I hope I'm not going to have to do it again. Faith, I love you and I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?'

She stared. Harry didn't blame her. It wasn't an elegant proposal, and he didn't pretend to himself that she cared about him.

‘This isn't meant to be funny, is it?' she said.

‘Not so far.'

‘Whatever are you doing?'

Her voice shook. Her face began to fill with what he thought was anger.

‘I can't help it,' he said. ‘I love you. I've loved you since the day we met when you were wearing that awful blue dress and you cried into the coats in that freezing hall in Rob's house. I thought … when I was younger I thought I had loved before but it wasn't anywhere near the same kind of thing, that was just … want.'

‘It could hardly be that,' Faith said, her voice shaking, her mouth barely managing a smile. ‘You forget, I've been in your kind of society. I know how beautiful and
accomplished the women are and I know now who you are. You could never marry me.'

‘I could never marry anybody else,' Harry said. ‘If you turn me down …'

‘What?'

‘I don't know. I can't bear to think about it.'

‘You're not the kind of man that I could marry.'

‘Why not?'

‘We have nothing in common. No one ever had less. You're …'

‘Yes?'

‘Self-indulgent, irreligious, you drink …'

‘I smoke cigars.'

‘Yes. You would be chasing other women within six months.'

‘Sooner, possibly. You see, I don't know. I thought it was all to do with falling in love, with beauty and desire but it isn't, it isn't for me anyway. When I saw you in that hall I just wanted to make sure that nobody ever hurt you again. I haven't always felt like that. Often I'm so irritated with you I have trouble keeping my temper. You're just more interesting than any other woman I've ever met. I'm bored when you're not there. I look for you everywhere. I know you don't love me but … I don't know how you see your future life …'

‘I see it as bleak.'

‘Well then, you could take a chance. What have you to lose?'

‘Very little,' Faith said, ‘but you might.'

‘I have nothing to lose that I wouldn't give up willingly for you.'

Faith didn't answer. Harry was half inclined to run from the house.

‘I loved John,' she said. ‘We had everything in common. He was kind and devout and I admired him because he was good. I know now that I didn't love Rob, he was just almost
John for a while for me. I couldn't possibly love him. I do like you but not in the same way. You make me laugh. John was always there, you see. Sometimes as much like a brother. You don't seem like that to me. If I married you, people would say I'd done it because you're rich and clever and run the steelworks, and they would wonder what on earth you had married me for. Have you told your parents?'

‘Yes.'

‘I imagine they were opposed to it.'

‘I want to be married and have children and live here at Berry Edge with you. It's the only thing in the whole world that I want—'

Harry stopped there. He heard the outside door, her parents' voices. Moments later, it seemed to him, when they had taken off their outdoor things, her mother opened the door of the sitting room.

‘I thought someone was here,' she said, disconcerting Harry by staring at him from the same colour eyes as Faith. ‘How are you, Mr Shaw? You will have some tea?'

Harry nodded and smiled. Mr Norman came in, looking curiously at him and making remarks about the weather. Harry had to suffer several minutes of weather and politics before a maid came in with the tea tray. To his surprise, there on the tray, in true nightmare fashion, were tiny custard tarts.

Faith looked at him and began to laugh. Mr Norman stared.

‘Are you feeling all right, Faith?' he said. ‘Excuse me, just for a moment. I have a book you may care for, Mr Shaw,' and left the room.

‘How dare you laugh when I'm in purgatory about this?' Harry accused her furiously.

‘Do you ever read the books he loans you? Have a custard tart and I'll pour you some tea.'

Harry was out of his seat in seconds, pulling her up with him.

‘Say “yes” to me, you little wretch, right now!'

‘Oh Harry, your face. When we're married I will never ever bring you tea.'

‘Do you mean it?'

‘You can have coffee or cocoa or even—'

‘Faith!'

‘I will marry you, but only because I want another wedding dress.'

‘You're not going to have one. I'm not going through all that. I'll get a special licence and we'll be married as soon as possible. Do you think your mother will mind?'

‘She'll be too relieved to care. I think she would have been almost as pleased if the butcher's boy had proposed.'

Harry kissed her. To his surprise she let him, even encouraged him, and then the door opened. When he let Faith go, Mrs Norman was staring at him, a smile just about to take over her lips.

‘I … er … I was going to talk to Mr Norman,' Harry said swiftly, releasing Faith. ‘I thought Faith would refuse me.'

‘You underestimate yourself, Mr Shaw.'

‘I must be the first Shaw that ever did,' Harry said, weak with thanks.

Mrs Norman beamed at him, then sat down and began to pour out the tea.

*

That evening when it was late, Harry went home and told Rob.

‘I want you to be my best man.'

‘I'm sorry, Harry, I don't think I'm going to be here that long.'

‘Not even for a few weeks?'

‘No.'

‘Where are you going?'

‘America.'

Harry sighed. ‘That's an awfully long way to go just to
avoid my wedding,' he said. He looked into the fire and then at Rob. ‘This isn't a sudden idea, is it?'

‘No.'

‘You weren't intending to come back here at all. You only came because you thought I was upset over Vince.'

‘You are.'

‘Why didn't you tell me? I could have come back here alone, I'm not a child, you know! I'm not your responsibility, Rob. I'm not your brother.'

‘To me you are.'

‘But you're going away.'

‘I'll be back. Can't leave you to the mercies of this place forever.'

‘You thought Faith would refuse me?'

‘I thought she might.'

‘Thank you very much.'

‘She's unpredictable.'

‘Why America, and how long have you been planning this?'

‘Quite a while. I was going to take Faith with me.'

‘But you didn't tell me?'

‘It wasn't worked out. I've been having meetings in London with two German businessmen. They want to set up a factory in America building motor cars.'

‘Motor cars?'

‘We build bicycles. Why not? Motor cars not just for the rich, for everybody.'

‘You want to get away, in fact.'

‘Yes.'

‘More so now than ever?'

‘You don't need me here and Vincent can handle everything in Nottingham. I want to do something myself.'

‘Faith would have hated that, she didn't even want to go to Nottingham. You didn't tell her.'

‘At the time it was only an idea, and if she had been set against it I probably wouldn't have gone any further
with it. As it is, there's nothing to stop me, no reason to stay.'

‘The wedding's going to be soon,' Harry said, ‘with no fuss. You could stay for that.'

‘How soon?'

‘As soon as I can arrange it. I'm frightened she'll change her mind.'

*

Faith was not about to change her mind. She had seen the look on her parents' faces, and it was delight. She was not about to let them down again. She did not imagine for a moment that Harry would make a good husband, it was only that he had not met women like her before and that she had not, like most single women, fallen over herself to be agreeable so that he should like her. She was unusual and that was all, but it was the only opportunity left to her so she took it. She could no longer face the idea of herself as an old maid in Berry Edge for the rest of her life.

She was also honest enough with herself to say that she wanted to be married, she wanted children and she liked his kisses and his arms around her. She had become reconciled to the fact that she would never love anyone again, that John Berkeley stood alone in that respect.

Harry had money and position and brains. He was also kind and funny and attentive, at least at the moment. Faith determined to make the best of it, but she was happier right from the first. Her mother and father were less pleased when they heard that Harry wanted to be married swiftly and with as little fuss as possible, but then her mother considered the other disastrous almost-weddings and changed her mind and said that it was a good idea.

Faith went often to the pretty house on the hill which would be her home and there she found true joy. Harry had said that she could buy whatever she wanted, and
since the house was extremely sparsely furnished and Harry was either too busy to go with her, or didn't mind what she bought and was generous with his money, Faith had a wonderful time furnishing the house just as she liked.

He seemed pleased with all she did. Often, when he came back from work, she was there and they would sit together by the fire. Harry would sip whisky and she would drink tea and they would talk. Faith had never considered this aspect of being married, and she liked it. Her mother did tell her that she ought not to spend time there alone with him, but she didn't insist. Faith began to come home late and reluctantly, because she had to leave him. Often Rob was there. Faith hadn't known what to say to him at first, but she learned not to mind. He didn't stay long.

Rob, even in his absence, was a useful chaperone because her mother didn't know that he wasn't there. On those evenings she would lie on the sofa in Harry's arms and be perfectly content. He didn't try to make love to her as she had thought he would. He was gentle with her. Faith had never expected to feel safe with him but she did now, so much so that she encouraged him to kiss her past what was considered proper between unmarried people. Her mouth stung and her body yielded, and even then it was Harry who drew away.

‘So much for the meek little Methodist,' he said.

‘I'm not meek.'

‘No, you're not. Go away and make some tea.'

‘I don't want any tea.'

‘Obviously. Go anyway.'

Faith did with great reluctance. He followed her into the kitchen shortly afterwards and she paused, new tea caddy in hand and said, ‘Did your parents write?'

‘No. I told you, they won't come to the wedding.'

*

‘I want to go to my son's wedding,' Ida said.

Vincent looked down the breakfast table at her.

‘Some wedding it will be,' he said.

‘I want to go.'

Vincent concentrated on reading his newspaper.

‘He's our only child, Vincent.'

‘He behaved extremely badly.'

‘Children always do.'

‘You don't like Faith, not as a wife for Rob, so how much less as a wife for Harry?'

‘He's chosen her. There's nothing we can do about that. We'll be the people who lose, Vincent, not them. They have love and each other and the future and probably children. Have you thought about that?'

‘I hope they do have children,' Vincent said, slamming down his paper. ‘I hope they have a dozen so that they come to understand what ungrateful, unnatural little beasts children are.'

‘I would like grandchildren,' Ida said. ‘He won't come back, you know that, don't you? I don't want to lose him, Vincent. Sarah is dead and Robert is lost to us, but if we go to Harry's wedding we could be friends again.'

‘Robert will be there and apparently that Michael McFadden, God knows why, and his wife.'

‘Nancy is a charming girl.'

‘Charming girls don't marry men like that.'

‘I did,' his wife said.

*

Nancy's baby was a boy. She had an easy labour.

‘What shall we call him?' she asked Michael as he sat on the bed holding and admiring his son.

‘I don't care, as long as it isn't Sean.'

‘Do you want to call him Michael?'

‘Now, Nancy, I'm not that bad. What would you like to call him, you went through it all?'

‘What about Robert?'

‘His lordship'll love that.'

‘It's not because of him.'

‘Isn't it? You fancy him something shocking, Nancy.'

‘I do not!'

‘Yes, you do,' Michael said with a grin and put the baby down carefully and kissed her.

He was glad then that Susannah and Claire were at home with Nancy when he was at work. The work at the Diamond was hard, and coming back to two small children and a new baby would have not been easy, though plenty of people did it, he knew. Susannah was good with the new baby, having had one herself not long since; Claire was a competent cook and between them all they managed everything. Although the house was rather crowded it was a pleasant atmosphere.