For Better For Worse (28 page)

Sarah shook her head. ‘I’ve thought about it but I can’t make up my mind what to do.’ She explained about Spirella and its drawbacks. ‘I’d like to do something with people, like running a tea rooms or something. Does that piece go there?’

There was a round of applause on the radio when Jack Train asked, ‘Is it medicinal?’

‘Bicarbonate of soda.’

The radio audience applauded. ‘She’s very clever that Anona Winn,’ said Kaye.

‘I’m just going to the toilet,’ Lottie suddenly announced. ‘I’m busting.’

‘You’ve done amazing things with her,’ Kaye remarked as soon as Lottie had gone. ‘She’s hardly the same person anymore.’

‘She still doesn’t say much,’ said Sarah, ‘you know, express an opinion on anything, but she’s getting there.’

They worked quietly, picking up pieces and putting them down, sometimes finding a place to fit. ‘Henry will be out soon,’ said Kaye as the programme came to an end. She switched the radio off.

‘But he doesn’t know where we are, does he?’ said Sarah cautiously.

Kaye shook her head and raised her glass of wine. ‘Thank God for that.’ And they laughed. ‘I sometimes wonder why I put up with him for so long. He was always so pedantic about everything.’

‘In my house I had to fold the laundry a certain way, I could serve nothing from a tin for the main course, and he would only allow three more knobs of coal on the fire after nine thirty,’ Sarah grinned. ‘Oh look, that red bit belongs there.’

‘Heavens above,’ Kaye laughed. ‘Did you have all that too?’

‘I was so in love with him, I didn’t mind,’ Sarah said. ‘Now that I’ve tasted my independence, I couldn’t go back to that.’

Lottie came back into the room and Sarah decided to go and check on the children. They were all asleep, and when she came back, Lottie presented her with her work. ‘I knew the top button was the most important,’ she said.

‘Very good,’ said Sarah. ‘Well done.’

Glowing with pride, Lottie excused herself and went to bed.

‘What did she do?’ said Kaye as soon as she was sure her aunt was on her way upstairs and out of earshot. ‘You didn’t say anything but I could tell she’d done something funny.’

‘She moved every single button up one and then put the new button at the bottom of the cardigan,’ said Sarah, suppressing a sympathetic smile.

*

The dance floor was crowded. Annie hadn’t sat down all evening and she was worn out. She had just bought a lime cordial and kicked off her shoes. Her old school friend, Madge, threw herself into the chair beside her and put her feet on the chair next to them.

‘My feet are killing me,’ she laughed.

‘Mine too,’ said Annie. For the first time in weeks she was truly enjoying herself. She hadn’t given Edward or Henry or Copper Beeches a moment’s thought since she’d arrived.

‘I thought you were abroad,’ said Madge. ‘Mummy said your mother told her you were in the South of France.’

‘I wish,’ sighed Annie.

‘So where were you?’ said Madge, coming closer.

Annie hesitated for a moment and then scuffed her chair towards her friend. ‘If I tell you, will you swear to keep it a secret?’

Madge’s eyes lit up. ‘Of course.’

‘You won’t tell a living soul?’

Madge leaned forward eagerly. ‘I swear.’

‘I got married and had a baby,’ said Annie.

Madge’s chin dropped. ‘You’re married?’

‘Well, not exactly,’ said Annie.

A young man came to the table, but both girls shook their heads dismissively. ‘What do you mean, not exactly?’ Madge said as he left.

Annie explained about Henry.

‘You don’t mean you were the other wife in that awful bigamy case?’ Madge gasped.

‘Shh,’ said Annie. ‘Keep your voice down.’

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ said Madge, ‘but this is unbelievable.’

‘Promise me you won’t tell,’ said Annie, suddenly anxious.

‘My lips are sealed,’ said Madge, edging forward again. ‘So tell me, what was it like … being a married woman?’

*

Kaye fitted another piece into the jigsaw and yawned. ‘Annie should be home soon. I gave her money for a taxi.’

‘When he comes out, where do you think Henry will go?’ said Sarah.

‘I don’t know and I don’t care,’ said Kaye. She glanced up at the clock.

‘I don’t want him back in my life and yet I can’t stop thinking about him,’ said Sarah. ‘There was so much I didn’t like. My pet hate was when he used my flannel in the bathroom.’

‘Oh, that didn’t bother me too much,’ said Kaye, emptying her glass of wine. ‘I just thought about the last part of my body I’d washed before he’d used it on his face.’

For a second Sarah seemed puzzled, but then she roared with laughter. They hadn’t noticed that Annie had walked into the room. ‘How could you?’ she demanded.

‘Oh, hello,’ said Kaye. ‘Did you have a lovely time?’

‘That was horrible, what you just said about Henry,’ Annie cried. ‘You hated him, didn’t you?’

‘No, we didn’t hate him,’ said Sarah, her face slightly pink. ‘We wouldn’t have stayed as long as we did if we’d hated him. Given time, Annie, you’ll begin to see what he’s really like.’

‘Well I think he’s wonderful,’ she said. ‘You just don’t understand him. When I was with him, we had a lovely home and he was always loving and caring. Everyone makes mistakes. Anyway, now I know why he left the both of you to live with me. You’re thoughtless and cruel and you may as well know that as soon as he comes out, we’re going to get married. Properly married.’

Sarah began packing the loose pieces of the jigsaw back into the box. She said nothing.

‘Annie, I didn’t want to tell you this,’ said Kaye, ‘but I have asked Henry for a divorce.’

‘Good,’ said Annie. She turned to leave. ‘And about time too.’

‘The trouble is,’ Kaye called after her. ‘He doesn’t want one.’

Annie stopped in her tracks and turned back, her eyes blazing with indignation. ‘What do you mean he doesn’t want one? Of course he wants one.’

‘When my solicitor came the other day, he brought a letter from Henry,’ Kaye went on patiently. ‘Henry has refused to sign the divorce papers and he says he wants to give our marriage another try.’

Annie stared at her, her face wreathed in disbelief. ‘I don’t believe you,’ she cried. ‘You’re just saying that to upset me. Henry loves me and we’re going to be properly married.’

‘Oh Annie,’ Kaye sighed. ‘Don’t you see? All Henry wants is for us all to dance to his tune. I don’t want to stay married to him – you’re welcome to him – but he loves playing these cat-and-mouse games. Henry is no good and the sooner you realise that, the better.’

Annie covered her ears with her hands. ‘Stop it, stop it! It’s not true. You’re lying. Anyway, I don’t care if we never get married. I’ll live in sin with him forever if I have to!’ and with that, she flounced out of the room.

Kaye flopped back into her chair.

‘Is all that true?’ Sarah gasped.

‘I’ll show you his letter if you like,’ said Kaye. ‘It’s full of his usual holier than thou drivel. You and I know that Henry uses people, especially women. The trouble is, they just can’t see it. It took me years to work out why he did what he did. Somehow or other, he gets gullible people to do things they would never have normally done … and I should know, I was one of them for far too long.’

They sat for a minute or two, the only sound in the room that of the dying fire.

‘Kaye, I need to confess something to you,’ said Sarah. The wine had gone to her head, but she was thinking clearly. ‘I pawned your cigarette case.’

‘My cigarette case?’

‘A lovely silver filigree one. Henry had it in the back of the kitchen drawer,’ said Sarah. ‘I was desperate for money. The girls were hungry so I pawned it.’

‘Oh, I remember that,’ Kaye shrugged. ‘If it helped, then I’m glad.’

They both stood up ready to go to bed then Kaye added, ‘Funny though. He told me it had been pinched.’

Sarah frowned. ‘I’m sure it was yours. It was engraved
Kaye
from Henry
.’

‘Then it would have been,’ said Kaye. ‘Henry told me one of the nurses took it when I was in hospital. In fact, he was adamant.’

‘What happened to her?’

‘She got the sack.’

‘Sarah, forgive me for asking,’ Kaye began, ‘but they are looking for someone to make the teas at the new Labour Hall.’ She had come out of her office and accosted Sarah as she walked downstairs with the dirty sheets. ‘I was wondering if Lottie could do it, but I don’t think she’d be brave enough to go on her own … not at first anyway. Could you help her? They say they’ll pay.’

Sarah thought it would do Lottie good to get out of the house and if she got a small wage, so much the better. ‘When do they want her?’

‘They have a whist drive every Tuesday afternoon, two till four and the amateur dramatic society meet on a Friday night for rehearsal. That’s seven until ten, but she doesn’t have to stay that long. Once the teas are done she can go home.’

‘I’d like to help,’ said Sarah, ‘but it’s a bad time for me. What about my children?’

‘They’d be in bed by seven, wouldn’t they?’ said Kaye, flicking ash from her skirt. ‘I don’t mind looking after them once a week.’

‘Tuesday afternoon won’t be so easy,’ said Sarah, ‘I have to collect Jenny from school at three.’

‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ said Kaye, ‘but if you could do the evening with her for a few weeks, she might manage the Tuesday afternoon on her own.’

‘Will the job still be open after a few weeks?’ Sarah asked. She knew only too well that there were plenty of women desperate to earn a few shillings who would snap up a nice little job like that.

Kaye tapped the side of her nose. ‘I’ve called in a favour,’ she smiled, ‘and I gave the am-dram a free play.’

‘In that case,’ said Sarah, ‘I think Lottie would love it.’

*

The first evening they set off for the Labour Hall, it was dark and cold, but the snow which looked as if it might fall, held off. Sarah and Lottie walked along arm in arm, the closeness of their bodies keeping some of the cold out, even though the wind bit their cheeks. The job was simple enough. The actors in rehearsal had a break at around eight fifteen. Lottie had to have the tea ready and serve it from a hatch which opened out from the kitchen. When everyone had finished, she had to wash up the cups and saucers and put them away. Once the kitchen was tidy, she was free to go, and for all that she would be paid a very generous five bob.

The two of them set out the cups and saucers and put the urn on to boil. They knew they weren’t supposed to open the hatch until break time, but listening to the play taking shape in the hall was too much of a temptation to miss. They pushed the hatch slightly and watched the actors through the crack.

The Coach Party
was a comedy, and a very funny one at that. A group of holidaymakers had been forced to spend the night in a haunted hotel after their coach had broken down. There was a lot of slamming of doors and people in various states of undress, although there was nothing indecent. Sarah was fascinated by the timing. They had to be so careful to be in the right place to deliver a line or exit before someone else came on stage. If a line came too quickly, the joke was lost, but if the timing was right, it was hilarious.

When 8.15 p.m. came, Lottie opened the hatch and served the piping hot teas. Sarah stayed in the background as much as possible. After all, it was to be Lottie’s job. The actors were a bit over the top in their praise of Lottie, and Sarah had a shrewd idea that they had either waited a long time for someone to fill the post or that Kaye had had a word with them. Whatever the reason, Lottie loved it.

‘About time, Bear,’ a flamboyant actor named Sebastian called out. ‘You must have smelled the tea.’

Sarah’s heart skipped a beat as Bear Truman came into the room. He was not as big as she remembered, but he still had a commanding presence. ‘Sorry folks,’ he said. ‘I had to deal with something that couldn’t wait.’

‘What could be more important than our new play?’ said Sebastian.

‘What indeed,’ said Bear, shaking his hand vigorously. He handed him a sort of mousetrap contraption and a box. ‘Here are your props.’

Sebastian fiddled with the mousetrap until it made a loud snapping noise. It looked as if his hand must have been caught in it, but instead of crying out in pain, he laughed and said, ‘That’s terrific, Bear. Thank you.’

‘Careful with the other one,’ Bear cautioned as he handed him the box.

Sebastian put his hand inside and when he drew it out, it was covered in fake blood. ‘Perfect,’ he cried, slapping Bear on the back.

When Bear came to the hatch, he was surprised to see Lottie. ‘Hello, what are you doing here?’

‘Lottie is our tea lady,’ said Sebastian, ‘so you’d better be nice to her.’ He hurried away and Bear took the cup and saucer Lottie offered him.

‘Ah,’ said Bear. ‘That hits the spot. You’re looking very nice tonight, Lottie. What have you done to your hair?’

‘Sarah did it for me,’ said Lottie. She stepped back so that he could see Sarah at the sink.

‘Is there no end to Sarah’s talents,’ he teased. Sarah kept her back to him. She felt ridiculously self-conscious and she could feel her face heating up. She’d forgotten, or maybe she’d never noticed before, how good-looking and attractive he was. ‘Nothing to say, Sarah?’

In another part of the room, Sebastian clapped his hands. ‘Right everybody, back to work.’

Wiping her hands on the tea towel, Sarah turned with a smile. ‘Are you in this play?’

‘No, I just help out with the scenery,’ he said.

Sebastian pushed in front of him. ‘Excuse me folks, sorry, it’s time to crack on,’ he said shutting the hatch. Then Sarah heard his muffled voice calling, ‘Right, stage places everybody, chop, chop.’

All at once, Bear had hopped into the kitchen and was beside her, putting more teacups into the water. He grabbed a tea towel to help with the drying up and made small talk. Although Sarah replied as normally as possible, he still had her knocking the milk over and dropping teaspoons.

When they were all done by quarter past nine, Bear offered to walk them home. Sarah said, ‘Oh we’ll be fine, thanks,’ but at the same time Lottie said, ‘Thank you, that would be very nice.’