Blood Brothers (15 page)

Frank laughed out loud. ‘Oh! So he m…barrassed ye, did ‘e? Like I’m…m…barrassing my poor ol’ dad!’

Grandfather Joshua wisely changed the subject. ‘Tom, do you need a hand with him?’

Tom graciously brushed his offer aside. ‘No, but thanks all the same. You enjoy what’s left of the evening. I’ll make sure Frank and Alice get home safely.’

Alice kissed her grandparents. ‘Is your room booked and everything?’ she asked worriedly.

Tricia assured her it was. ‘Grandad thought it would be more sensible to stay here than suffer the three hour drive home to Blackburn, and I agree.’

‘So, what time are you leaving tomorrow?’

‘Not before midday,’ Grandad interrupted. ‘That way, we get a lie-in. I know you’re newly wed, but I hope we might be able to see you before we leave.’

Grandma Tricia reminded him, ‘We only visited the cottage once before, and now we’re not really sure how to get there.’ Having worked with Ronald to secure the cottage they felt proud.

Tom put their minds at rest. ‘It’s a devil of a road…just a little lane really. The thing is, they all look the same at the best of times, and the signs are non-existent. Look, I’ll come and fetch you,’ he promised. ‘You can follow me there. Midday is it?’

‘Thank you, Tom, yes…midday. We’ll be waiting for you.’

While Tricia said her goodbyes to Alice, Joshua went in search of his son, Ronald, all the while an overwhelming sense of disappointment tormenting him.

‘Father!’ On hearing Ronald calling, Joshua spun round. ‘Ah, Ronald! Just the man I need.’

‘Why? What’s wrong, where’s Mother?’

‘Your mother’s saying goodbye to Alice and Tom’s helping take Frank back to the car…he’s drunk.’

Moving nearer, Ronald confided in a quiet voice, ‘Between you and me, Father, I’m still not sure we’ve done the right thing in letting Alice marry a man like that.’

Joshua was concerned. ‘Really? And why is that?’

‘Well for one thing, just look at the state of him…drunk as a Lord, without a thought for his new wife.’

‘If that’s all you’ve got against him, it’s as well you weren’t there to see
me
on my wedding night.’

Ronald admitted, ‘It isn’t just that,’ he said. ‘It’s the rumours I’ve been hearing this past few days…about Frank Arnold having beaten some fellow to a pulp. He’s also been seen brawling in the village. Apparently he can’t be reasoned with.’

‘Did you know this before you agreed to the marriage?’

Ronald felt the need to defend himself. ‘I had heard that he was quick-tempered when he thought he was in the right, but I didn’t pay much heed. I mean…any man can be awkward if he believes he’s in the right…you and me included.’

The older man agreed. He recalled a heated board meeting not so long ago, when he found himself in a bitter confrontation with a newly appointed colleague. The young upstart had the gall to ridicule a well-devised plan, which Joshua and a colleague had painstakingly put together. At one stage, Joshua thought he could happily have smacked the other man to the floor.

‘What other rumours have you heard, and is there any truth in them?’ Joshua asked.

Ronald relayed what he knew, ‘There’s nothing else, but the trouble is, how do you track down a rumour? How can you get to the source of it? I’ve asked discreet questions, and come up with nothing substantial. I thought about tackling Frank with what I’d heard, but I have no proof.’

Joshua gave it some thought. ‘You were probably right not to say anything,’ he told his son. ‘Sometimes rumours are spread by envious people, or someone who has a grudge, or even just for the sheer pleasure of causing pain.’

Ronald had another reason why he did not vigorously pursue the rumours. ‘Alice has never been happier,’ he said, ‘I don’t think she would take it kindly if I was to wrongly accuse her husband of fighting and brawling in the streets.

‘I know Alice thinks the world of him, but to tell the truth I’ve never really been in favour of her marrying Frank Arnold. But Alice is old and wise enough to make her own choices. She chose Frank Arnold. We either accept that, or we lose her, and I’m afraid that’s the way of it.’

The older man considered for a moment, before telling his son, ‘They do say there’s no smoke without fire, so it might
be wise to just keep an eye on things. Make sure Alice is well taken care of, and that she’s content. Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt to keep your ear to the ground with regards to her husband.’

He added, ‘I think it might be best if you did not say anything about this to your mother.’

Joshua then touched on another matter. ‘Oh, and I need a word…’

Ronald groaned. ‘Oh, look Father, if it’s that warehouse down by the river, I’m already dealing with it. I’ve got two quotes already, and I’m expecting to have the final one…’

‘No, no!’ Joshua put up his hand. ‘It has nothing to do with that. You had a query about that land. You asked my advice and I gave it, so now it’s up to you.’

Visibly relieved, Ronald wanted to know, ‘If it wasn’t that, what’s so urgent we need to discuss it right now?’

‘Your mother…and your wife, that’s what!’

‘Oh, not that again!’

‘Look, son, I really am sorry about this ridiculous rift between Maureen, and your mother. I thought maybe between the two of us, we could knock some sense into their heads, what do you think?’

Ronald tutted. ‘Damned ridiculous if you ask me!’

‘Nobody’s asking you…
either
of you!’ Tricia had come up behind them and heard enough to know what they were discussing. ‘If it’s about me and Maureen, I think you should leave that to us!’

Ronald pleaded with her. ‘Look, Mother…I know Maureen can be uncompromising,’ he admitted, ‘…but I wish the two of you would put your differences aside, if only for Alice’s sake.’

Having spent the past ten minutes or so searching for her father, Alice hurried across the room towards them. ‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you,’ she told Ronald. ‘I’ve already said goodnight to Mother, and I have to go now.’

She apologised. ‘Frank’s had a bit too much to drink and now he’s snoring his head off in the back of Tom’s car. Tom’s already taken Nancy home, and now he’s taking me and Frank, and I mustn’t keep him waiting.’

She had overheard their conversation and it saddened her. ‘Don’t worry about Mother and Grandma,’ she gently chided her father. ‘You know they’ll make up soon enough anyway.’ Alice looked at her grandmother. ‘One minute you hate each other, and the next you’re off shopping for new hats.’

Tricia laughed. ‘You’re right,’ she told Alice. ‘We should be ashamed. Look, all of you, I’m willing to try and put our differences aside. But only if Maureen is prepared to meet me halfway.’

‘I’ll try and make her see sense!’ Ronald promised before bidding them goodnight. ‘See you tomorrow.’

As he went away, he muttered under his breath, ‘Women! Huh! They cause more trouble than an army of men put together!’

Alice gave them each a goodnight kiss. ‘I’d best go.’ Raising the hem of her gown she took off at a run. ‘Tom will be wondering where I’ve gone.’ Almost out of earshot, she called out, ‘See you all tomorrow.’

‘Goodnight!’ they shouted in unison, with Ronald promising, ‘I’ll make sure someone gets a vehicle to you, so it’s there in the morning if you need it!’ He then wished his parents goodnight, and headed back to the bar.

Left alone, Joshua and Tricia returned to the question of Alice’s mother. ‘You know very well I’ve tried several times to make the peace with Maureen, but she won’t hear of it. Like I said, I’m willing to bury the hatchet, but I refuse to go capin-hand to such a hard-hearted creature. I ask you! What would
she
know about being thrown out of her home because her husband’s lost his job and they can’t pay the rent.’

Tricia stopped when she saw the frustrated look on his face,
‘Oh, I’m sorry, Josh. I know I get passionate about my commitments, but it irritates me that Maureen can be so hard-hearted.’

She let him into her confidence. ‘I know she’s our daughter-in-law, and I know I shouldn’t say this, but to be honest Joshua, I can’t stand the woman!’

Joshua was not surprised. ‘You will try and make the peace though, won’t you?’

‘Yes, but like I said, she has to meet me halfway.’

‘Well, in that case let’s hope our son has inherited the same powers of persuasion as his father.’

That made her smile. ‘Come on husband,’ she linked her arm with his, ‘I’m ready for my bed. We’re not teenagers any more, just two old codgers, not used to staying up this late.’

Off they went, arm in arm; happy as the day they first met, some fifty-odd years ago. Still friends. Still watching out for each other.

A
FTER THE TWO
of them had struggled getting Frank up the narrow stairway and into bed, Alice offered Tom a hot drink before he made his way home.

Tom thanked her but declined. ‘As you know, I had to take Nancy home after she got one of her headaches. She’s bound to be wondering where I am.’ He gave her a hug. ‘You’re a fine young woman,’ he told her softly. ‘I’m proud to see you and Frank get wed, and it’s a real pleasure to have you in the family.’

Deeply moved, Alice planted a fleeting kiss on his ruddy red cheek. ‘Love you, Tom,’ she said; and from the look on his face, it seemed he already knew that.

Alice followed him to the front door, where he stood a moment gazing about at the cottage, all newly renovated and furnished with the finest that money could buy. There was a sturdy floral chesterfield under the pretty bay window, a small red sofa with matching cushions by the fireside, and a walnut sideboard with curves and niches, and here and there, a couple of smaller pieces of furniture in the same beautiful wood. ‘By!’ Taking off his flat cap, Tom scratched his head in wonderment. ‘This place puts our present to shame!’

He seemed genuinely upset. ‘Your family give you all this, and from me and Nancy you get a bedspread!’

‘Don’t say it like that!’ Alice chided, ‘Your present was one of my very favourites. All those beautiful patches of bright-coloured material, and that exquisite silk border. It’s a lovely present, Tom.’

Alice could only imagine how long it had taken her mother-in-law to match up each piece. ‘It must have taken Nancy weeks and months to sew it all together,’ she said. ‘It really is the most beautiful thing, and the fact that it was all sewn and finished with love, only makes it all that more special.’

Tom agreed. ‘I must say, my Nancy is a real perfectionist. Lord only knows how many late nights she sat up patiently stitching away, and more often than not undoing a great chunk of it, when it didn’t satisfy her eagle-eye.’

‘And it shows,’ Alice replied. ‘It will always be precious to me and to Frank. Even when we’re old and grey, it will still be keeping us warm in our bed.’

Tom laughed at that. ‘Old and grey, eh?’ He gave a great sigh. ‘You’d never know it, but me and Nancy were young as you once upon a time.’

Suddenly, all the long years weighed heavy on him. ‘Well, I’d best be off.’ He turned to leave, ‘Mind you, I’m not altogether happy leaving you like this; what with Frank out like a light.’

He made a face. ‘I know it’s his wedding night and all that, but it’s
your
wedding night too! He should have had more sense than to drink himself three sheets to the wind.’

Alice assured him she would be fine. ‘Thank you for everything, Tom,’ she said.

Tom nodded. ‘Night then, my dear.’

‘Night, Tom. Oh, and can you please tell Nancy I’ll be round in the morning, to see how she is.’

Tom promised he would tell Nancy, though as he got into the car and drove off, he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. ‘So you’ll be over in the morning, will yer?’

He had really enjoyed the day; the wedding, and the gathering afterwards. It did his old heart good to know that his son had taken a wonderful girl for his wife. ‘Alice will do my Frank proud.’ He had no doubts whatsoever about that.

He chattered to himself as he drove along the darkened lanes, ‘She’s a fine girl with a lovely nature, and she’s loyal into the bargain.’ He could not be more pleased. ‘In time she’ll provide me and Nancy with grandchildren…hopefully mebbe even a boy or two, so as to keep the Arnold line going strong.’

The idea brought him huge contentment; there was only one thing missing to make their lives complete. He wished Joe would find himself a nice girl to wed. He’d love to see him settle with children running round his feet instead of keeping wandering off like a lost soul.

Content that Tom was at last on his way, Alice drew the downstairs curtains and climbed the stairs, cautiously, so as not to wake Frank. She was thrilled with the cottage, though her mind was drawn to Joe.

In the bedroom, she found Frank exactly where she and Tom had left him; half-dressed and sprawled across the bed, with the eiderdown loosely thrown over him. ‘Sleeping like a baby,’ she whispered, drawing the eiderdown up to his chin.

For a long moment, she gazed down on him, at the rugged face and the thin-lipped open mouth, now emitting gentle, rhythmic snores. ‘I wonder if we’ll be happy together?’ she murmured. ‘I hope so, Frank, I really hope so. I’ll do all I can to make this marriage work, and I will never again deceive you.’

Even though she hated herself for the time she had spent with Joe, she still had not been able to rid herself of the powerful and shocking emotions that carried her into his arms that night. Though shameful and forbidden, it was an amazing and wonderful happening, and because of it, she knew her life would never be the same again.

Determined to put the memory behind her, she told Frank in a whisper, ‘I
will
be a good wife, you’ll see, and I will never again do anything to damage our future together.’

After sealing her promise with a kiss, she stood up straight, unfastened the wedding dress and let it slide to the carpet. She then tiptoed to the chest of drawers. On opening it, she reached into the big drawer at the bottom, and pulled out her nightgown and slippers.

She then slipped on her nightgown and slid her feet into the soft, fluffy slippers; a present from her friend Mandy.

On her way to the bathroom, she gently closed the door behind her, before having a thorough wash at the sink.

Taking extra care to wipe the layer of lipstick and rouge from her face, she was astonished to see that the hitherto white hankie was smothered bright-red. ‘Hmm! Looks like Mandy went a bit mad with the make-up box! Somehow I didn’t notice before.’

Dropping the hankie into the bin, she thought about her dear friend, Mandy. ‘I wonder what
she’d say,
if she knew about me and Joe and what we did?’

Not for the first time, shame engulfed her. Hurrying to finish, she returned to the bedroom where she climbed into bed beside her new husband.

Leaning on one elbow, she reached out with the tip of her finger, tenderly tracing his lips, and brushing back a lock of hair from his forehead. ‘I did a wicked thing, Frank,’ she whispered. ‘You didn’t deserve that, and I’m sorry.’

The feel of her slim, warm body against his must have filtered through Frank’s senses, because he began to fidget and mumble, and when he unexpectedly threw his arm over her, Alice instinctively cringed, feeling somehow threatened.

After a few minutes he settled again, and she gently lifted his arm from about her. Turning her back on him, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. But sleep did not come easy.

Restless and worried, she turned this way and that, her mind alive with Joe, and the wrong she had done to Frank. Even then, in her heart of hearts, she knew without a shadow of doubt that it was Joe she wanted. But Joe would soon be gone and Frank was now her husband. That was the brutal truth.

‘I’ll keep my promise though,’ she whispered to Frank, ‘I’ll do my best to be the wife you want.’

That’s what she told Frank, and it’s what she kept telling herself, but in her deepest heart, she could see only Joe.

Joe, the wanderer; the brother of her husband.

Joe, her first lover.

Joe. The man who had stolen her heart and soul, when she wasn’t looking.

Was it the same for Joe? she wondered.

Right now, at this very moment while he was strong in her mind, was he thinking of her? Or had he put all memory of her out of his mind and his life forever. The idea of such a thing was too painful to imagine.

‘Hey, wifey!’ Frank’s thick, slurred voice cut into her thoughts. ‘What’s wrong with you?’ Grabbing her by the shoulder, he flipped her round to face him.

‘Look at you, eh?’ His smile became a leer. ‘Alice Jacobs, now Alice Arnold. My brand new wife.’

The moonlight seeped in through the window, masking the leer on his face. Right now, he had only one thing on his mind.

He did not see her regrets. He saw only the shadow of her face and the full, virgin mouth, waiting to be kissed. And he saw the woman…
his
woman. Like the young fillies on the farm, Alice was now ready to be broken in, and he could hardly wait.

Leaning up on one elbow, he looked at her through blood-shot eyes. ‘I think I had a bit too much to drink…’ he laughed. ‘One minute I was falling to the floor, and the next minute
I’m lying in my own bed with this lovely young virgin lying beside me.’

When she made no reply, he gave her a shake. ‘Hey! What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? You woke me up, did you know that? You woke me up with your muttering and chattering, and shifting about.’

He licked his lips. ‘Couldn’t wait, is that it?’ he asked meaningfully, ‘want me that bad, do you?’ His laugh sent shivers down her spine. ‘Waited too long already, have you?’

Clambering on to his knees, he clumsily straddled her. Reaching down with both hands, he grasped the neck of her nightgown and ripped it from seam to seam, laying bare her small breasts, and her pink, youthful skin.

‘My, my!’ He stroked her breasts with the flat of his hand, groaning as his need of her surged through him. ‘Mine at last, eh? You kept me away for too long, but not anymore, because now you’re mine.’

Stroking her face, he whispered lovingly in her ear, ‘My shy little Alice. Mine, for the taking.’

Teasing the tip of his wet tongue over her nipples, he told her, ‘I just need to gaze at you, lying there so young and fresh.’

Alice thought the look he gave her was tainted with evil. ‘I know you’ve never been with a man in that way,’ he murmured. ‘I’m no angel though. I’ve had women by the plenty, and I know a thing or two.’

The smile abruptly disappeared. ‘I want you so bad. It’s such a shame though, because right now you’re still intact and innocent, but once you’re broken, it can never be the same again.’

Sliding his arms beneath her slim body, he arched her towards him. ‘I can’t wait anymore,’ he whispered huskily. ‘Can’t wait…’

Alice began to panic. For a long time, she had waited for this moment; to be made his wife in every sense of the word.
Now though, she was nervous. Afraid that he would read her mind, and see Joe there.

‘Not yet…please, Frank…’ When she instinctively tried to get up, he pushed her down, pinning her to the bed with manic strength. ‘Don’t worry,’ he whispered harshly in her ear, ‘I’ll be gentle. I won’t hurt you.’

He laughed in her face, a soft, disturbing laugh. ‘You should be grateful,’ he boasted. ‘It’s just as well that I’m the first bloke to have you! Anybody else might go at you like a mad thing, and tear you apart. But not me…’ He smiled, ‘I’ll break you in easy. So you be a good girl. Lie back, and it’ll be over before you know it.’

Without love or emotion in her heart, she lay there, waiting for her husband to claim his marital rights, and hoping that even now, she might be able to give him back some of the love and loyalty she had promised him.

And so he took her, not in the gentle manner he had described, and not with any thought for her.

Instead, he was wantonly cruel, and with every vicious thrust, her fear of him heightened to repugnance. Closing her eyes, she prayed her ordeal would soon be over.

When at last he finally rolled away, grunting and exhausted, she hid her face in the pillow, silently crying.

Lying beside her, naked and uncovered, Frank was sweating hard. ‘Phew! That was good.’ Rolling on to his belly, he wrapped his two hands around her face and kissed her hard on the mouth. ‘I know I said I’d be gentle,’ he whined like a spoilt child, ‘but I got carried away. There’s no need for you to worry though,’ he insisted in a firm voice, ‘the worst is over now.’

Alice wondered who this stranger was; this uncaring, selfish creature she had never seen before.

Realising she had made the biggest mistake of her life, she wished with all her heart that she had gone with Joe, wherever in the world he chose to be.

But it was too late. She was tied in marriage to this man, and like it or not she must live with it. There was no place for fantasies in her life. Not now. Not ever.

Inching closer, he was in her face, his eyes boring down on her, and the stale odour of booze filled her nostrils. ‘I’m told a woman’s first time is painful, but you did enjoy it, didn’t you, wifey?’

It was more a demand than a question. ‘I
said
you did enjoy it, didn’t you?’ Reaching over her head, he switched the bedside light on to see her all the better. ‘Well?’

Nodding her answer, Alice drew the remnants of her nightgown together, visibly shocked when he grabbed her by the wrist, telling her softly, ‘I asked you a question.’

‘Yes, Frank!’ She visibly cringed from his touch. ‘…I did.’

‘What kind of an answer is that?’ His features hardened. ‘Say it, Alice…you did enjoy it!’

‘Yes, I did enjoy it like you said.’

‘Good girl!’ He rolled on to his back, quiet now, as though turning it all over in his mind.

Pleased with his manly performance, he hoisted his arms behind his head. ‘What are you doing?’

His avaricious gaze followed her every move, as she collected her dressing gown from the back of the chair. ‘I need to visit the bathroom,’ she muttered. ‘I won’t be long.’

Drawing the robe tight about her, she fastened the belt and went quickly away.

‘Take your time,’ he said, ‘we’ve got all night, and all day as well…if I choose to.’ He spied the celebratory bottle of champagne her parents had placed on the dressing table. ‘Bring me the bottle. When you come back, we’ll drink a glass or two to celebrate our union.’

‘Can’t we leave it until the morning,’ she asked. ‘I mean…haven’t you had enough already?’

His face hardened. ‘What, you think I’m drunk?’

‘Well, no, but…’

‘Just get the bottle…please my love?’

While Alice went to get the bottle of champagne, he noticed the torn nightgown on the carpet, ‘Sorry about the nightie.’ Taking the bottle from her grasp, he promised, ‘I’ll get you a new nightie…all pink and pretty, with buttons down the front…easier to get at you, eh?’ He gave a knowing wink.