The Sunday Girls (21 page)

‘Do you ever go back to visit your mother?’ I asked. I thought she could maybe visit Granny and Lily. I felt so sad for her. I had seen the flicker of unhappiness when she mentioned her childless state. On the other hand, I could well imagine Rita saying, ‘Lucky you!’

‘Hardly ever,’ she said. ‘My mother is dead as well and we never seem to have the time. Anyway, I love it here at the Ferry. The air is so fresh and tangy and not like the jute smell in Dundee.’

Then Miss Hood put her head around the door and snapped at us, ‘Mrs Barrie is expecting visitors tonight. She wants the lounge fire lit at four o’clock and you will be required to work an extra hour tonight to serve refreshments when they arrive.’ She glared at me before stomping off, looking as if she had lost a half crown and found a tanner.

Jean looked at me over the rim of her cup but she was as nonplussed as I was. It was the first time I had heard of these visitors but, whoever they were, their visit was certainly arranged quickly. One thing I had learned while working in the house was the fact that the social calendar was usually well mapped out in advance. Because of this, I was full of curiosity – as was the cook. As she was leaving, she whispered furtively, ‘You can tell me who the visitors are tomorrow. Maybe it’s film stars!’ She stopped and gave this notion another thought. ‘No, it’ll not be film stars because they would stay for a meal and this lot are just having refreshments. Oh, well, you can tell me all about it tomorrow, young Ann.’

She was no sooner out the back door than I was sent to the lounge to plump up the fat feather cushions and draw the curtains. I had lit the fire as instructed and once again I let the beauty of the room wash over me. It looked so different at night with the glowing red flames in the ornate fireplace. A selection of lamps dotted around the room also added to the cosy glow, shedding light on the silver photo frames and reflecting off the shiny polished furniture.

Then there were the books, all now lovingly dusted, and, although I still admired them daily, I hadn’t borrowed another one since that awful night when Miss Hood had accused me of stealing one.

The doorbell clanged loudly and I went into the hall but Miss Hood scurried ahead of me to open the door, bestowing on me a look of utter distaste, almost as if a beetle had crossed her path. When the door was opened, I almost fell over in surprise as Maddie burst in along with a flurry of raindrops and a gust of cold wind. She was followed by her parents and I heard them tell the housekeeper that Hattie was looking after Joy for the evening.

The change in Miss Hood’s manner was astonishing to say the least. She didn’t exactly curtsy but she fawned, for the want of a better word, over them. Maddie gave me a quick wink before being ushered into the lounge by Miss Hood.

I was still standing slightly dumbstruck when Miss Hood reappeared and snarled quietly in my ear, ‘Go and bring the tea tray, you stupid girl.’ She then swept regally away towards the door, just behind Mrs Barrie who was leaning heavily on her stick.

Before entering the lounge she snarled again, ‘I’ve been asked to join the company tonight.’ A gleam of smugness was visible in her pale eyes.

Being well aware that Mrs Pringle had found this position for me, I hoped desperately that I hadn’t done anything wrong in the job. Something must have happened for them all to appear so suddenly. My mind was churning with worry as I manoeuvred the heavy tray on to the table beside one of the sofas.

‘Ah, here is Ann, my lovely new housemaid,’ beamed Mrs Barrie while the housekeeper tried to keep her social smile intact.

I could see she was finding this difficult and, in other circumstances, it would have been comical but I knew she would exact her punishment at some future date.

I was also aware that Maddie was gazing wide-eyed at me but I daren’t look at her in case I burst into laughter.

Mrs Barrie leaned towards Miss Hood, ‘That is all we’ll need tonight, Ann. Perhaps Lottie can remove the tray later, once we’ve finished our tea?’ She looked at the housekeeper with a smile and Lottie nodded, like an old dowager dishing out favours. ‘Well, that’s fine,’ said Mrs Barrie. ‘Just finish off now, Ann, and we’ll see you tomorrow.’

I murmured my goodnights and escaped up the back staircase to the sanctuary of my room. From the window, I saw the Pringles’ Baby Austin car. Its gleaming paintwork, highlighted by the street lamps, was peppered by raindrops.

A sudden light footstep on the stair made me whirl around in alarm but it was Maddie. She carried a large bag in her hand.

‘Hullo,’ she said brightly, ‘are you surprised to see me?’

‘Maddie, what’s the matter? Am I losing my job?’ Fear had added an edge to my voice although I tried hard to control it. I was remembering Miss Hood’s queer silences. Maybe she had succeeded in putting forward all her complaints about me – real or imaginary.

Maddie’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘For heaven’s sake, Ann, of course you’re not losing your job. What makes you think that?’ She was puzzled.

‘It’s Miss Hood, Maddie. She hates me and is so nasty to me.’ I then told her everything, holding nothing back.

I also got her to promise to keep quiet. ‘I need this job Maddie and after all she is the only nasty person here. Mrs Barrie and the cook are lovely people.’

She looked angry, her blue eyes darkening with disgust. ‘I always thought she was a creepy-crawly sort of a person and I’ve never really liked her.’ She laughed. ‘Maybe we should call her Miss Creepy-Crawly.’

Getting into the spirit of the conversation and now so thankful that my fears were unfounded, I put on a pseudo posh voice. ‘Can you creep down here Miss Crawly or maybe you would rather crawl into the kitchen Miss Creep?’

We both sat on the bed and laughed so much that my sides ached. I looked at Maddie. ‘Well, what did bring you here so suddenly tonight?’

‘We often come to visit,’ she explained. ‘Eva is my godmother and one of my mother’s oldest friends. I never got much of a chance to see you on your day off so I persuaded my parents to come tonight. That’s why the housekeeper is having tea with them – so we can have our private chat.’

I was suddenly amused. ‘What a fuss Miss Hood made over this visit, Maddie. In fact, the cook thought you might turn out to be film stars and the housekeeper was almost dancing with delight.’

‘Well, our secret is out,’ said Maddie with an exaggerated sigh. ‘My mother was also on the stage and in films. Although she’s much younger than Eva, they often starred in the same production. Also, like Eva, my mother was quite famous in her younger days before she gave it up to marry my father. Miss Hood worked in the wardrobe department of the theatre and she also travelled to America with Eva for a short spell.’

I sat enthralled on my bed, visualising this wonderful glamorous world so far removed from my own.

Maddie went on, ‘Although nothing has been said to me, I heard a whisper one day that Miss Hood carries a dark secret.’ She stopped to let this statement drop like a brick between us. I gasped and Maddie lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Yes, it was some kind of scandal or a mysterious secret that happened in America – or maybe it was in London. At least that was what I gathered from the snippet I overheard years ago.’

‘A secret scandal,’ I said, not believing a word of it. I could never imagine the colourless housekeeper with a scandalous past – not in a million years.

Maddie placed her chin on her hands and gazed unblinkingly at me. ‘Well, that’s the story. Anyway, that’s not what I came to see you about,’ she said, changing the subject. ‘I want to hear all your news.’

I told her all about the sad saga of Dad and Marlene. ‘That was what all the fuss was about when you came to the Overgate on Sunday night, Maddie.’

‘You know something, Ann?’ she said. ‘We’re almost the same age but you have so much on your shoulders – so much to cope with. I led such a sheltered life until Danny appeared and showed me a different world. That’s why I’m going to be a nurse when I leave school.’ She looked at me. ‘You can be one as well. We’ll do our training together.’ She sat cross-legged on my eiderdown and looked at me with a serious face. ‘Well, what about it?’

‘Oh, no, Maddie, I could never be a nurse. No, my ideal job would be with books. A job in the library would be a dream for me.’

She smiled, her blue eyes crinkling at the corners. ‘All right, then, I’ll be caring Nurse Pringle and you’ll be the wonderful Brainy Bookworm Neill. There now, that’s settled.’ She delved into her bag and produced a pile of dressmaker’s paper patterns. ‘Look at these lovely clothes Ann. Mother has bought a new treadle sewing machine and I’m allowed to use it. I have a dentist’s appointment next Monday so I’ll be off school. Let’s meet up afterwards and look at material. We can soon make a fashionable wardrobe to wear.’

The patterns were certainly fashionable and there were clothes for every conceivable occasion.

‘How do you fancy starting off with a pair of camiknickers?’ she said, holding aloft the packet. ‘I think we’ll start off with these. After all, how can Danny resist me when he sees these?’

I found myself blushing. ‘Maddie, that’s terrible.’

‘No, it’s not. I know he likes me but he also likes you.’ Her face dropped. ‘Can cousins get married?’ She sounded doubtful.

I gave her a playful push. ‘Even if they can, Danny and I are not planning a big step like that. Anyway we’re too close and we can read each other’s minds. No, he’s my best friend and he’ll always be that – even when we’re old and grey-haired.’

This pleased her. ‘Right, then, Danny’s mine and the first plan is the camiknickers. Agreed?’

I shook my head at her. She was incorrigible. Suddenly a low whistle came from under the window. It was Mr Pringle standing with his overcoat collar up and his soft hat catching a mini torrent of rainwater as it gushed from the guttering. He shook himself like a dog emerging from a river.

‘We’re leaving now, Maddie. I’ll nip in and tell Eva about her broken rone pipe.’

Maddie jumped up. ‘I’ll meet you at two o’clock at D. M. Brown’s door on Monday.’

On that command, she ran quickly from the room and I watched as they made their way to the car. At the gate, they turned and threw a cheery wave in my direction and I was grateful for all their help and concern. I prayed that Mr Pringle would perhaps find a job for Dad but, after all, he was a solicitor, not a miracle worker.

I lay in bed, trying hard not to think about Dad and all his problems but he kept popping into my mind. Still, Lily was over her bad dose of the cold and it wasn’t the dreaded whooping cough as Granny had suspected.

Needless to say, Miss Hood hounded me every day until Friday when she appeared in the kitchen, all dolled up in a matching ensemble of skirt, jumper and long-line cardigan. It was very smart except it was in the most unflattering shade of beige. Set against her grey hair and pale complexion, it made her look absolutely washed out – as anaemic as a stick of seaside rock with all the colour sucked out, as Granny would say. She slapped a list on the table and snapped, ‘That’s your list of chores.’

Jean lifted her head from the stove and squinted at it. ‘You’re not leaving much time for eating and sleeping and breathing, are you?’

She ignored her and swept out through the door. I gazed at the list and my heart sank even although I was expecting it. She seemed to find more work with each passing day. Still there was one consolation – she wouldn’t be here and peering over my shoulder all the time. Later, as Jean was busy in the kitchen with her baking, Mrs Barrie and I sat in the morning room, following the exciting adventures of Lord Peter Wimsey.

When I reached denouement, she shook herself as if cold and said, ‘I didn’t think that he would turn out to be the murderer, Ann, did you? I love exciting mystery stories. They add a bit of sparkle to my dull life,’ she laughed.

I agreed with her as I had also thought the culprit was someone else. She stood up and I helped her up the wide staircase. She always had a short nap before tea.

‘I’m glad we have this time together, Ann,’ she said, as we entered her bedroom. ‘I’d better pay you now instead of on Sunday – just in case Lottie gets wind of our little arrangement. She handed over a crisp ten-shilling note and a half crown.

I protested about the extra money but she smiled. ‘No, I want your little sister to have something – a children need so much when they are growing up.’

‘Oh, she’s getting so big now, Mrs Barrie. Granny says I’ve to make sure and thank you for all your kindness. Lily isn’t walking yet and Aunt Hattie keeps on at Grandad for letting her stay in her pram. Hattie says she’ll never walk at this rate but Granny thinks she’s just ashamed of the pram because it’s scratched and scruffy.’ I was quite happy to chatter on about Lily because I knew Mrs Barrie was always interested in her well-being. It wasn’t just a polite act but a genuine interest.

She moved over to the large, ornately carved wardrobe which almost covered an entire wall. ‘Now, Ann, I don’t want to insult you by thinking you only have one coat – your trench coat. I would like to give you an old coat of mine which I never wear now. We’re about the same height and shape so it should fit you.’

My heart sank. I knew I couldn’t turn down this unexpected gift and she would expect me to wear something old and frumpish – a coat suitable for an old lady. Because of this preconceived notion, I almost swooned with delight when she produced the most wonderful coat I had ever set eyes on. It was a deep russet shade, similar to a ripe autumn apple, made in soft wool with pale apricot fur collar and cuffs. I tried it on in front of the long wardrobe mirror and it looked fabulous. I turned, my eyes shining. ‘Mrs Barrie, it’s lovely but I can’t take it. This coat must have cost a lot of money …’

She didn’t let me finish and held up her hand. ‘Shush, now. I want you to have it as it’s just cluttering up my wardrobe.’ She bent down and brought out a shoebox. ‘These are a matching pair of shoes and a handbag.’ She extricated a pair of russet coloured shoes with a small heel and a bag which was no bigger than an average sized purse. They matched the coat exactly.