The Oyster Catchers (36 page)

‘Fon!’ Nina rose to her feet and held out her arms and Fon went to her, hugging her warmly. ‘Have you come to spend Christmas with me?’

Fon shook her head and saw something like relief in her mother’s face. ‘I can’t, there’s the baby, Jamie couldn’t manage Patrick on his own. In any case, it’s his first Christmas without Katherine, I think I should be there.’

Joe, Fon noticed, was sitting in a chair with wheels fixed to it and after a moment, he nodded to her and wheeled himself out of the room. He was obviously as uncomfortable with her as she was with him, Fon decided.

‘Is it wise being up there all alone with a man?’ Nina asked softly. Fon knew that she meant well and yet anger flared through her.

‘I don’t think you’re one to worry about gossip, are you, Mam?’ she said briskly. She saw Nina’s colour rise.

‘Look, Fon, I’m an old married woman, you are different, you have your life before you, you must keep your reputation or you’ll never get yourself a husband.’

‘I’m going to marry Jamie,’ Fon said flatly. ‘We’ve both agreed and it’s what Katherine wished on her death-bed.’

Nina looked discomfited. ‘But, love it’s what
you
want that counts,’ she said biting her lip, ‘you mustn’t sacrifice yourself to this man however loyal you feel to his wife’s wishes.’

‘It’s all right, Mam,’ Fon said, ‘I love Jamie, I want to marry him.’

‘I see,’ Nina spoke slowly and it was clear she didn’t see at all. Fon realized that Mam couldn’t understand that this was her destiny, Fon, Jamie and Patrick were meant to be together for always.

Nina sighed. ‘I suppose I should talk to you about –
well – about life. Love between a man and a woman isn’t always the romance it seems, there’s the marriage bed to think about.’

Fon shook her head. ‘Don’t, Mam, there’s no need, I’ve seen enough to know what life is about, I am living on a farm, mind.’ She didn’t add that, in any case, Mam and Joe had made a good job of teaching her all about babies and such.

‘I know, but you got to have patience with a man, they sometimes act a bit rough-like in bed, but they don’t mean it and when you get used to it, it’s, well, it’s
nice
.’

Fon could not envisage Jamie ever being rough, he was far too kind and considerate for that. But she kept her own counsel, she knew that her mother meant well, was trying to warn her so that she wouldn’t be hurt.

‘I’ll be all right, Mam.’ She handed over the presents. ‘I won’t see our Sal I don’t suppose so perhaps you’ll give her this, but I’ll call in on Gwyneth on the way back, she’ll be at the shop, I expect.

‘Aye, she will that,’ Nina said, ‘folks will be rushing to spend their money for Christmas I don’t doubt.’ She handed Sal’s present back to Fon. ‘Take it with you, I saw Sal and she’s going to come up to Honey’s Farm tomorrow. Give her the gift yourself.’

Fon concealed her surprise; Sal had become almost a stranger to her, she had kept out of the way of all the gossip and scandal and had lived her own life in her comfortable position in one of the big houses and was safely walking out with a nice, respectable man.

‘Have a good Christmas then, Mam,’ Fon said. ‘God bless, see you soon.’

It was cold out in the street after the warmth of the kitchen and Fon drew her coat round her, pushing her hands into the sleeves to keep them warm. She looked at the pewter sea, full of the promise of snow and shivered, wishing she was back at the farmhouse. It was, she realized, her home now, it was where she belonged.

Fon didn’t know what to make of Sal’s proposed visit; still they were sisters, Fon would make Sal welcome at the farm, of course, and yet did she really want anyone interrupting the life she was building with Jamie?

The windows of William Davies’s Boot and Shoe Store were ablaze with lights, sprigs of holly framed the stands that held the merchandise and from somewhere in a back street a barrel organ was playing a festive tune. Fon stood silent for a moment, staring within at the flurry of women in crinolines, toffs who had come to buy last-minute gifts for their family and friends.

She hesitated and then she saw Gwyneth, her face all aglow as she looked up at Will Davies. He was handing a customer a parcel and then he smiled down at Gwyneth as though together they had achieved something wonderful. Gwyneth, Fon saw at once, was deeply in love with William Davies and no good could come of it.

She moved tentatively into the store and managed to catch her sister’s eye. Quickly, she pressed the small gift into Gwyneth’s hand and kissed her cheek.

‘God bless and keep you over the festive season,’ she said in a hushed tone. Gwyneth hugged her impulsively and disappeared for a moment behind one of the counters. Fon stared around her, embarrassed to be standing among the rich ladies of Swansea who, it appeared, were clearing the shelves of all the goods in sight.

‘This is your present.’ Gwyneth pressed a box into Fon’s hands. ‘It’s all right, we’re having a sale and they didn’t cost me a fortune so you needn’t worry.’ She laughed happily. ‘But you mustn’t open the packet until Christmas morning, mind.’

Gwyneth’s attention was demanded by a customer and, with a quick kiss on Fon’s cheek, she was whisked away to sell yet another pair of shoes.

In the street once more, Fon clutched the box close and hurried towards the terminus of the Mumbles train.
It was getting colder, the night was drawing in and she would be glad to be back at the farmhouse. She looked across at the sea, dark now except for a path of yellow splashed intermittently from the lighthouse. How Fon longed to be home and, in that moment, she knew she could never leave the farm, whatever happened.

Christmas morning passed with scarcely a ripple in the routine of life on Honey’s Farm. Fon was disappointed with Jamie’s reaction to the festive season and although he obediently prayed with her, he refused to attend church or to celebrate in any way.

In was after a fine cooked dinner that Sal arrived and with her she had a handsome young man whose arms were full of gifts.

‘Fon, my lovely, you’re so thin and
pale
.’ Sal clasped her close. ‘Why aren’t you having some port or a little sherry, something to at least prove that you realize it’s Christmas?’

Fon glanced uneasily at Jamie who was rising to his feet, a dour look on his face.

‘This is Sal, my sister,’ she said, ‘and her young man has come to visit with her. Look, Jamie, Sal’s brought us all presents. Isn’t that kind of her?’

Jamie thrust his hands into his pockets without speaking and Fon glanced apologetically at her sister.

‘Jamie’s recently lost his wife,’ she explained and Sal instantly drew herself up to her full height. Sal was a big girl, raw-boned like Nina, but twice the size.

‘I know that,’ Sal said, ‘and I’m sorry, but I’m sorrier still to see him making a misery of my little sister.’

Jamie looked at her sharply. ‘Yes, you, I’m talking about, you,’ she said hands on hips. ‘Are you going through life for ever with your chin on your boots, then? Are Fon and that lovely little baby of yours going to live with misery for the rest of their lives? If so I’m taking our Fon out of here right now.’

‘Sal,’ Fon said softly, ‘please Sal, Jamie is grieving for his wife, he can’t help it if …’

‘Oh, but he can help it,’ Sal said firmly. ‘Let him show some backbone, is it? Other men lose their wives but they don’t wallow in misery. Feeling sorry for yourself is a sin and worse, it’s morbid.’ She glared at Jamie.

‘Is this what your wife would wish for you then? Did she want you to mourn her for ever more?’

‘No,’ Jamie said fiercely, ‘she wanted me to marry Fon. She wanted me,’ he gestured to Fon and the baby, ‘us, to be happy.’

‘Then for pity’s sake make a go of it before you lose everything,’ Sal said. ‘Now, let’s open this bottle I’ve brought, let’s have a bit of cheerfulness in here, is it?’

When Sal had gone, Fon felt as though a breath of fresh air had blown through the farmhouse.

She sank into a chair bewildered by the look of dawning awareness on Jamie’s face. After a moment, he reached over and took her hand.

‘Your sister is right, you know,’ he said softly, ‘this isn’t what Kath would have wished for me and you. Let’s try and be happy, Fon.’ His fingers curled and gripped hers and Fon felt happiness flare through her.

Gratitude for Sal’s interference warmed her and as Fon’s eyes met Jamie’s she knew that however small it was, this was a beginning, a real beginning for both of them.

Eline was tired, she had worked hard on the picture of Kilver House and at last, she had finished it. After numerous sketches in crayon, Eline had painted the picture in subdued colours and the paint was drying nicely on the canvas.

She was quite pleased with her efforts, she had caught the mellow glow of the building and had even hinted at the frost in the grass edging the gravel pathways around the old house. She sighed and closed her eyes, it was time she went home.

Home, the small house in Oystermouth Village was in reality no longer
her
home. It belonged to Nina and Joe and Nina’s ebullient family. They all inhabited the place as though Eline was a mere lodger. And so she was, if she was truthful.

Eline drew on her coat and wound a scarf around her neck to keep out the winter chill. Christmas Day had been a prime example of the way she had become an outsider in her own home, she thought moodily; she had taken a back seat while Nina and her daughters had entertained Joe with songs, monologues and silly, foolish, happy jokes. If anything was guaranteed to make her feel like an intruder, it was the way Joe’s eyes rested in gratitude on Nina Parks.

The train was cold as it travelled back following the shore towards Oystermouth. All along the roadway were lights, strung out like a necklace on the curve of the bay. Behind closed curtains, people were together, families, close and loving, and Eline felt so alone, so empty as she huddled in her seat.

She alighted at Oystermouth at last with a handful of other passengers who quickly dispersed leaving her by herself in the silent street. Eline walked slowly past Will’s shop and stared longingly into the dark, glassy-eyed windows as though seeking comfort from the place where Will spent much of his time. He wasn’t there, of course, he was out celebrating, probably with his rich friends from Swansea. It was only she, Eline Harries, who was alone and friendless.

‘For heaven’s sake!’ she heard her own voice say. ‘Stop being so self-pitying.’ Suddenly the door to Will’s shop sprung open and Will himself stood there, as surprised as she was at their unexpected meeting.

‘Eline!’ He spoke her name softly and she looked up at him, her heart racing. As his tall figure emerged from the darkened shop, she saw Will’s eyes were alight with happiness. ‘Eline, I was just locking up the back door of the shop when I caught sight of you. I
had
to speak to you.’ He moved a step closer. ‘It’s been so long,’ he said. ‘How are you, Eline?’ She couldn’t see his eyes now as Will stood in the shadows and Eline wanted to move towards him into his arms.

‘I am very well,’ she replied politely. ‘I hope you had a good festive season?’ The words sounded stilted and foolish, the small talk of strangers.

‘Yes, thank you. You, too?’ he said and then he swore softly. ‘All this is so banal, so useless, when all I really want to do is take you in my arms.’

Eline’s heart lifted, but did he mean it? Last time she’d seen him he was close in conversation with Gwyneth Parks.

‘Are you managing all right, with work, I mean?’ Will asked breaking the uneasy silence that had fallen between them.

‘Very well,’ Eline said quickly, almost defensively, ‘I’ve just completed a commission to do a picture of Kilver House for a Mr Frogmore.’

‘Oh, yes, Mr Frogmore.’ There was something odd about Will’s tone.

‘You don’t like him?’ Eline asked wondering if Will’s dislike was engendered by jealousy. He had been in love with Sarah Miller once himself and now she was marrying young Geoffrey Frogmore.

‘I don’t like what he’s doing to the neighbourhood,’ Will said, ‘if what the rumours say are true. Eline, we can’t stand here talking trivialities in the cold, come with me to my rooms, let me give you a hot drink.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ Eline said bluntly, ‘we’d have the gossips waggling their tongues determined to be first with the news that Mrs Harries was alone with a young gentleman in his quarters. Don’t you ever learn Will?’

‘Damn the gossips!’ Will said taking her arm, ‘Eline …’

‘No, Will!’ she held up her hand, ‘nothing’s changed. We both know there can be nothing between us. I’m sorry.’ She hurried away and for a moment she wondered if he would come after her. If he did, she felt she would melt into his arms, she was so lonely, so very lonely.

Would it be wrong, she wondered, to steal just a little bit of happiness for herself, to spend just a little time talking to William? But he did not come and taking a deep breath, Eline almost ran the rest of the way along the road and breathless, let herself into the house, feeling the warmth wrapping itself around her.

She stood in the kitchen which was usually the hub of all activity and listened to the sounds of laughter coming from the parlour. Eline slumped against the door feeling even more acutely that she was a stranger in her own home.

After a moment, she took off her coat and hung it over the old rocking-chair and, forcing a bright expression on her face, made her way into the parlour.

The scene that greeted her was one of a happy united
family. Nina sat opposite Joe’s chair and grouped around him were Nina’s two daughters.

Sal was a big girl with a friendly smile but Gwyneth as usual was immediately hostile, her smile fading as she looked at Eline.

‘Eline!’ Joe said, and there was a look of pleasure on his face, ‘I’ve got a surprise for you, just watch this.’

Placing his hands on the arms of his chair, Joe struggled to rise, the veins stood out on the backs of his hands and his muscles bulged. Eline would have moved forward but a look from Nina stopped her.

Joe was breathing heavily, his face was red and the pulse throbbed in his throat. He struggled for several minutes but, at last, he was upright. His entire body trembled but there was such a look of delight in his eyes at his achievement Eline was moved to tears.