The Bad Penny (44 page)

Patty was so angry that she actually pursued him some way down the corridor. ‘If I die an old maid, it’ll be from choice,’ she shouted. ‘And the way you’ve behaved this evening has certainly taught me a thing or two. You turn up again in my life like a bad penny and expect me to fall into your arms, when all you really want is a bleedin’ slave. Why, marriage to you would be hell on earth. I hope to God I never set eyes on you again, Toby Rudd.’

‘You won’t,’ Toby had shouted back. ‘Because I’m off back to the Flanagans just as soon as I’ve worked out a month’s notice. I never meant to stay in one place and I never mean to come back to New Brighton again.’

Patty had taken a deep breath to scream that she had known all along he was lying to her when a hand fell on her arm. Staff Nurse O’Hara was pink-cheeked and round-eyed, though obviously smothering giggles. ‘Patty, do hush,’ she had said urgently. ‘Sister sent me out of the ward to find out who was screamin’ like a fishwife; you go along to the lavvies now and I’ll say it were one of the cleaners. If you come back to the ward in ten minutes and ask who were making all the row, it’ll probably save everyone trouble.’

Patty had been glad to comply but the silence from Sadie and the other women made her suspect that, even if Sister was in ignorance, the other patients could have made a pretty good guess at who had been shrieking down the corridor. In fact, Sadie, gazing dreamily at the ceiling above her head, remarked in a soft voice: ‘Well, well, well! Fallen out wi’ lover boy, then?’

‘Yes,’ Patty said through clenched teeth. ‘And I shan’t be falling in again, either. I never used to trust men, never wanted to have anything to do with them, and now I think I was right. The things he said! Sadie, you wouldn’t believe …’

‘I take it he axed you to wed and you turned him down; that always makes ’em mad and then they say things they don’t really mean,’ Sadie said comfortably. ‘Never mind, chuck, he’ll come round.’

Patty was opening her mouth to scream ‘I don’t
want
him to come round’ when the doors at the end of the ward swung open and the visitors arrived. Sighing resignedly, knowing she was still pink-cheeked and tear-stained, Patty slipped quickly on to her bed and tried to smile welcomingly as the new arrivals surged up the ward. She saw Darky at the back of the crowd and her heart missed a beat. However was she going to bear a whole hour in the company of a member of the opposite sex? She felt she could not be natural, yet she had no wish to tell Darky what had just transpired. She wished ardently that he had been accompanied by his mother, or by one of her other friends, but it was not to be. Darky, beaming at her, came across and settled himself in the visitor’s chair. ‘You’re looking remarkably fit and well,’ he said amiably. ‘There’s a lovely flush on your cheeks, and you’re eyes are as bright as stars. Don’t tell me, you’re coming home tomorrow!’

Settling down after all the visitors had left, Patty concluded that she really need not have worried. Visiting hour had passed swiftly and delightfully. She and Darky had discussed the means by which she would return to Ashfield Place, how she would manage with only one useful hand, and what Darky and his mother could do to ease matters.

‘I’ve took tomorrow off,’ Darky had said, ‘because they told me yesterday that they thought you’d be going home. But to tell you the truth, I’ve talked to my boss about leaving, setting up in business for myself, and he’s been very understanding. I promised I’d stay on for three or four months to train someone else, so when I explained you was coming out of hospital and needed a bit of a hand on your first day home, Mr Clitheroe said that would be fine.’

‘Goodness, going into business for yourself,’ Patty marvelled. ‘I suppose you’ll have a little shop? Your mother has mentioned you were thinking about it but I hadn’t realised you were so serious.’

Darky shrugged. ‘It’s still only an idea,’ he reminded her. ‘It may yet come to nothing, but I’m definitely considering it and one of me pals from work, Tom Fraser, is thinking about joining me. We’re both electricians so we might go into partnership. But anyway, that’s for the future. Right now, I’m more concerned about settling you back into Ashfield Place.’

Amongst other good news that Darky had brought was the fact that the Mullins felt they could manage without Maggie at last. ‘Maggie says she’ll stay with you full time when she leaves school at the end of the summer, but of course she’s keen to get a proper job, say in a factory,’ he had explained. ‘Then Mam asked her whether she’d consider pupil teaching because that would lead to her being a teacher herself one day and it would be awfully convenient for you, once Merry’s in school. So now that Maggie isn’t nursing the measles, she’s going to enquire about pupil teaching. What do you think of
that
?’

Patty had been delighted at the idea. It would make an enormous difference to have Maggie working only whilst Merrell was at school, so there would always be someone at home during the holidays to keep an eye on the little girl. Of course, Patty had known that Mrs Knight would step into the breach, as she always had, but Darky’s mam was not getting any younger and there would undoubtedly come a day when she would find the care of a lively young girl rather too much.

Patty was also delighted by Darky’s attitude towards her, which was just as brisk and businesslike as it could be. He laughed with her, told her funny stories about Merry and her antics, teased her about hospital dinners and how happy she would be to leave them behind; but there was never anything in his attitude to embarrass her or remind her of her recent experience with Toby. In fact, it was only as he was leaving that he gave her a penetrating glance and asked: ‘You all right now, queen? I’ve done most of the talking, I’m afraid. There’s nothing you need to tell me?’

If there was a trace of anxiety in his voice, Patty decided to ignore it. She gave him her widest smile, saying airily: ‘I’m fine, Darky, and I’ll see you at ten o’clock tomorrow morning and not a moment later. Oh, I can’t wait to get back home – and what a hug I’ll give Merry!’

Perhaps because she was exhausted by the quarrel with Toby, Patty slept deeply and soundly until she was woken next morning. In the bustle which preceded breakfast she found she had very little time for quiet thought, but one thing she did know, she told herself firmly. She would not even think about marrying anyone until the awful scene with Toby was forgotten. Eating her breakfast porridge, she scolded herself for even letting the thought cross her mind that Darky might suggest marriage. Why should he, after all? He had behaved like her good friend for months and months now and, the previous evening, had not indicated by a word or a look that he expected to be anything other than a good friend in the future. And that is how I want it, she told herself firmly, refusing to acknowledge the little flicker of disappointment which accompanied the thought. They had teased her on the ward about her two admirers; in the space of half an hour she had sunk from having two admirers to having none, it seemed.

‘Miss Peel! If you’ve finished your breakfast, Sister said you’d best get dressed, so I’ve come to help you.

Patty thanked the young nurse and went over to her bed, and the nurse drew the curtains around it. As she began to struggle into her clothing, Patty became aware of mounting excitement; she was going home!

Promptly at ten o’clock, Darky came into the hospital, though he was not allowed on to the ward since the doctor’s rounds were in progress. Patty saw him peering hopefully through the glass doors, however, and said a hasty goodbye to the friends she had made before setting off, joyfully, in the direction of freedom. As soon as she emerged through the double doors, Darky took her suitcase and ushered her along the corridor, saying: ‘Well, thank heaven for that! One of the nurses said you wouldn’t be able to escape whilst a medical round was in progress, but she was obviously wrong. I’ve got a taxi waiting, so you’ll be home before you know it.’

Patty gulped and realised, suddenly, that she was nervous. The cold air of the outside world was not as welcome as she had expected. She clutched Darky with her good hand, saying in a desperate undertone: ‘Don’t go so fast, Darky. My legs are still shaky and I don’t want to risk falling again.’

‘I’m not surprised,’ Darky said, steering her towards a seat. ‘Stay there while I put your suitcase in the car, then I’ll come back and give you a hand.’

The waiting taxi driver, however, left his cab and came towards them, taking the suitcase from Darky’s grasp, and presently Patty found herself sitting comfortably on the back seat with Darky beside her. He tapped on the glass and said something to the driver, then leaned back and looked smilingly across at Patty. ‘Well? How does it feel to be back in the big, wide world? I guess it must be pretty strange after six days in hospital. Are you looking forward to learning how to housekeep with one arm in plaster? Mam is all set to come in whenever you want her, and of course Maggie is thrilled to be back in what she considers to be her own home. You were really lucky with Maggie; you couldn’t have found a better girl to help you in the house and to look after Merry.’

‘Has Merry moved back into number twenty-four yet, or is she still with your mam?’

‘She slept at number twenty-four last night, since Maggie had moved back in, and I understand she had breakfast there,’ Darky assured her. ‘But of course Maggie’s in school now so Mam’s taken over again. She and Merry have gone shopping to buy something special for your dinner, so you can be sure of a good meal when you do get home.’

‘Oh, I thought they’d all be lined up waiting for me,’ Patty said, only half jokingly. ‘Still, I suppose they might be back from shopping now.’

Darky, however, shook his head. ‘No. I’ve told them you won’t be home until noon at the earliest,’ he informed her calmly. ‘I’ve hired this taxi to drive us out into the country so we can have a bit of a talk. The truth is, Patty, I never seem to see you alone. I know Toby Rudd usually came to the ward out of visiting hours, and I thought it wasn’t fair on the staff to try to follow suit.’ He smiled across at her, his dark eyes gentle. ‘I know he came to see you last night, before the visitors arrived, because one of the nurses told me. But never mind that. Just tell me, queen, are you thinking of marrying Rudd?’

Patty stared at him, her eyes rounding. ‘You kidnapped me!’ she said indignantly. ‘Darky Knight, take me right home this minute!’

‘I’ll take you home just as soon as we’ve had our talk,’ Darky said quietly. ‘I’ve tried to play fair by you, Patty, and by Rudd, though I don’t honestly think he deserves it, but now the time has come for plain speaking. I left you pretty much to your own devices, going off to Scotland the way I did, but I thought Merry was more important right then than anything else. I hope you agree with that?’

‘Yes, of course I do,’ Patty mumbled, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. ‘But what do you mean, you played fair by me? I don’t understand.’

Darky heaved a sigh. ‘First of all, I went off to Scotland for three weeks, hoping that, whilst I was gone, you and Toby might get to know one another well enough to be able to decide whether you were truly in love. Then when I got back and found you in hospital, I went straight across to New Brighton and told Toby where to find you – but I take it you knew that?’

‘No; how could I?’ Patty said. ‘You never told me you’d done that and of course Toby never said a word. Come to that, I never even asked him, so perhaps in my heart I did know.’

‘Perhaps you did,’ Darky agreed, ‘because, whatever my faults, I’m not mean-natured, and it would have been a mean thing to cut you off from one of your oldest friends. I know he came to the hospital regularly, I know he gave you a very pretty gold brooch …’

Patty laughed. ‘Oh, very pretty,’ she agreed. ‘He bought them by the gross and handed them out to any girl who, as he put it, was willing. He told me that last night after I’d turned down his proposal of marriage.’

‘He’s already asked you?’ Darky said, the colour draining from his cheeks. ‘My God, he’s a quicker worker than I thought; I’d made up my mind he’d wait until your arm was out of plaster, or at least until … until you were more yourself.’ He suddenly seemed to realise what she had said and reached across the cab, turning her so that she faced him. ‘Oh, Patty darling, can you look me in the eye and tell me you truly aren’t going to marry Toby Rudd? I knew you were mortal fond of him, or had been when you were both kids, but I never thought you were right for each other. Only … only I was afraid you’d been blinded by all that charm and … and he’s a handsome feller an’ I was so horrible to you when we first met …’

Patty gave a shaky laugh. ‘He was worse than either of us knew,’ she observed. ‘It’s true, I was taken in for a while, but I was beginning to ask myself just what his game was even before I came off my bicycle and broke my arm. In fact, I reckon I’ve had a lucky escape, one way and another. I truly don’t think I’m the marrying kind. I love my work and I love my little family and that will just have to be enough. Believe it or not, I don’t need a man in my life.’

Darky gave a muffled groan and then Patty found herself in his arms. She gave a squeak of fright but his mouth found hers and suddenly it no longer seemed to matter that they were sitting in the back of a black cab and driving through crowded streets. All that mattered was Darky’s mouth, and his arms around her. Patty, who had just announced that she did not need a man in her life, felt her bones melt and cuddled against him, kissing him as hard as he was kissing her and only pulling herself away when the pressure on her broken arm became unbearable.

Darky sank back in his seat and whistled expressively. ‘For a girl who doesn’t need a man in her life, you kiss awfully well,’ he said breathlessly. ‘Oh, Patty, have you any idea how much I love you? I believe I’ve loved you since the first moment I met you, though heaven knows I fought hard enough against it. I felt that loving any other woman was letting Alison down, but loving a midwife seemed – oh, it seemed like spitting in her face. I hated myself for loving you so I was just as nasty as could be and kept snubbing you and trying to believe the worst about you. Then I was mad with jealousy over Merrell’s father because I was sure you must have loved him deeply, or you would never have had a baby by him. But the love was there all right and when I saw you with Rudd and thought I’d lost you, I wanted to top myself. Only – only you’ve turned him down, and now I’ve got to ask you if you’ll take me instead? You don’t have to answer right away,’ he added hastily. ‘I don’t mind how long you take, so long as you say yes.’