Living a Lie (41 page)

“He’s not bad, you know. Not really.”

“What happened, Georgie?” Kitty was not interested in hearing about how wonderful Mac was.

Georgie shrugged her shoulders.

“It all started to go wrong, that’s what happened,” she answered bitterly.

“Mac got drunk one night and smashed up the car. I found out later it wasn’t even insured. When I tackled him about it, he flew into a rage, told me to mind my own bloody business, and if I didn’t like the way things were I could get out.”

She laughed.

“But we kissed and made up. We fought like cat and dog, but we always kissed and made up. That was half the fun of having a row in the first place.” Her smile slipped into a deep frown.

“I’m sure you can guess the rest, kid. He got into really heavy gambling, said he was going to put things right. It just got worse. We began to lose everything … the furniture went a piece at a time. I begged him to stop but he wouldn’t. Men started coming to the house, playing cards till all hours of the morning. They got drunk and there were terrible fights.

The police warned him time and again, but he wouldn’t listen. They put him away for a time. “

Her hands trembled as she went on, “I thought… when he came out, if he knew about the baby… things would be different. But he couldn’t handle it. The moneylender was on his back every minute and he was going crazy.” She paused to steady herself.

“Mac did a runner. The bank snatched the house back, and the moneylenders decided to give me a rough time.” She gave a kind of snigger, her eyes wide and frightened as she told Kitty, “Ten thousand quid! That’s what they said he owed, and they didn’t care whether they got it from me or him.

As he was nowhere to be found, they gave me two months to clear the debt. ” This time she laughed out loud. TEN THOUSAND QUID! I ask you?

Where in God’s name was I supposed to lay my hands on that kind of money? “

Kitty was appalled.

“These men. Where can I find them?”

Georgie took one look at her face and her mouth fell open in horror.

“Oh no!” She put up her hands as though to push away the very idea.

“If you’re thinking of talking to them mad buggers, you’d better forget it. I’m not letting you anywhere near them. What! They’d cut your throat soon as look at you.”

No amount of persuasion on Kitty’s part would make her change her mind.

“I’ll deal with them,” she promised, though how she didn’t know.

Kitty wisely made no more mention of it. There would be time enough to find out who had been harassing Georgie. For now, the most important thing was to get her better.

“When you’re able, I want you to stay with me at a hotel,” she told her.

“If you won’t come south with me, and you’ve been thrown out of your bed sitter we’ll have to find you a place to live.”

“I’m a bloody nuisance, ain’t I?”

“Tell me something new.” Kitty’s smile was mischievous. Secretly she was delighted that Georgie was beginning to sound more like her old self.

“You little cow!” Georgie chuckled.

“You’re not meant to agree with me.” She could see Kitty was still waiting for an answer.

“All right then. I’ll come and stay with you at a hotel, but only for a few days.

To be honest, it will be good having you to talk to, though I can’t promise not to bounce all my problems off you. “

“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.” She had no intention of leaving Liverpool until Georgie was well and truly settled in a new place, and wanted to be certain that the moneylenders were off her back for good.

How on earth she was going to achieve that she still couldn’t see. But she would do it somehow, God willing. One way or another she would find them and be rid of them once and for all.

In fact it was the moneylenders who found her.

Satisfied that Georgie was sleeping. Kitty sought out the nurse.

“When she wakes, could you please tell her I’ll be back first thing in the morning.” The nurse promised she would and Kitty left. She was looking forward to a good night’s sleep herself. Since the day she’d arrived in Liverpool and Georgie was rushed to hospital, she had not slept more than a few hours at a time, and now it was beginning to tell on her. She felt bone weary and emotionally drained.

“Thank God I arrived in time,” she muttered as she came out of the hospital and into a dimly lit street.

“Georgie’s safe and that’s all that matters.” If Georgie had killed herself, part of Kitty would have gone with her.

As she rounded the corner, she heard a sound behind her. Turning, she peered along the street. In the distance she could see the brightly lit hospital building. Beyond that was darkness, and an eerie silence.

She walked on, but her every sense was alert. Convinced she was being followed, she paused to look round once more.

It was then that he grabbed her, one arm round her throat, the other across her mouth preventing her from crying out. With a quick, rough movement he spun her round and slammed her against the wall. Moving his arm from her throat, he wrapped his thick fingers round her neck and pinned her fast.

“That one in the hospital… what’s she to you?” he grunted, his big pock-marked face grinning at her.

“Your sister, is she?” Each time he spoke he jabbed at her throat, making it impossible for her to speak.

She was terrified, but burning with rage that he should have caught her unawares like that, treating her as though she was dirt beneath his feet. She felt the urge to wipe that grin off his face, but he was big and powerful and she was at his mercy.

“She owes my boss a lot of money,” he whispered, leaning forward until his face was almost touching hers.

“I’m going to uncover your mouth, then I want you to tell me when he can expect his money back.” Before relaxing his hold, he warned in a sinister tone, “Scream out and I won’t think twice about breaking your pretty little neck.”

Kitty knew he meant every word. She also realised why Georgie had been desperate enough to try and end her life. This scum, and possibly others like him, had driven her to it.

Taking a moment to recover from the shock, and rubbing her throat with the palm of her hand, she never took her eyes off his grinning face.

All fear left her. Blind anger coursed through her as she thought of Georgie.

“You bastards! She nearly killed herself because of you.”

“Now that would have been a real pity, because she and her bloke had that money in good faith and we want it back. So far we haven’t found the bloke, but then why should we when we still have her? You see, the boss ain’t particular who pays it back, so long as it gets done.”

“How do you expect to get your money from her, when she’s flat broke?

Mac didn’t just run out on you, he ran out on Georgie as well. You must know she’s been thrown out of her bed sitter for not paying the rent? And if she can’t pay her rent, what makes you think she can pay you ten thousand pounds, for God’s sake? Haven’t you got the sense to see you can’t get blood out of a stone? “

He seemed pleased.

“You know all about it then? But you’re a bit behind the times, lady. You see, it was ten thousand pounds. With interest it’s now more like twelve, and every day the boss is made to wait, it goes up. As for getting blood out of a stone, if she can’t pay in money, she’ll pay in kind.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The threat was evident.

His eyes narrowed.

“You seem like an intelligent woman. Work it out for yourself.”

“I want to speak with your boss.” Maybe he could be made to see sense.

“Sorry.” He let her go then. 7 speak for him, and this is what he says. twelve thousand pounds, in cash, by Friday night. “

“Or?”

“Lending money is perfectly legal. We always get our borrowers to sign on the dotted line, so don’t waste time going to the police.”

“But it was Mac’s debt. You can’t hold anyone else responsible for it.” Kitty was clutching at straws.

“I can see she didn’t tell you everything!” He stepped back “Twelve thousand in cash. Eight o’clock Friday night, your hotel foyer.”

Kitty was astounded.

“You mean you know where I’m staying?”

“I know everything. It’s what I get paid for.” With that he strode away, disappearing into the night like a phantom.

It took a moment for Kitty to compose herself. What did he mean . “I can see she didn’t tell you everything’? First thing in the morning she would gently tackle Georgie, but she would keep this sordid little incident to herself. There was nothing to be gained from telling Georgie about it.

Back at the hotel, she carefully dropped a remark as

she collected her keys from the clerk.

“The taxi driver’s just been telling me how he was threatened by a moneylender,” she said casually.

“I told him he should have gone to the police.”

“Wouldn’t have done any good, I’m afraid,” came the quiet reply.

“Ruthless moneylenders are a plague on any city, but they always manage to stay on the right side of the law.”

The clerk confirmed what Kitty had already been told. Disillusioned, she went to her room and sat on the bed for a long time, deep in thought, frantically wondering how she could get Georgie out of this awful mess.

“You bugger, Mac!” she sighed.

“If you were here now I’d cheerfully wring your neck.”

She had no way of laying her hands on the kind of money that was involved. There was only one person she could think of, and that was Jack.

“I’ll ask Jack to lend me the money,” she decided, picking up the phone.

“He can take it back out of my salary.” She actually chuckled, “I might still be working for him when I’m old and grey, but it’ll be worth it, just to give Georgie peace of mind.” Herself too, because she couldn’t go from here without knowing her friend was free of debt. Mac had left her many times before and she had coped. She would cope with that, but moneylenders were a different kind of trouble.

While she waited for Jack to answer the phone, she began talking to herself.

“Friday, eh? I don’t trust him. I’ve got to make certain he can’t threaten Georgie ever again… got to be sure …” A voice at the other end of the phone interrupted her. Relief swept through her at the sound of Jack’s voice.

“Hello, Jack?”

“Kitty! I’ve been worried out of my mind. You didn’t even tell me where you’d be staying, or how I might contact you. I’ve been worried sick! What made you hurry away like that? I would have taken you to see your friend, you know that. Where are you? What have you been doing? When are you coming home?” He would have gone on and on, but Kitty intervened.

“I’m sorry. Jack, but listen. I need your help.” She went on to explain everything. Keeping nothing back, she told him the whole truth, about the money Mac had borrowed, the gambling and the debts.

She explained how the moneylender was within his rights to demand the debt cleared with interest, and that she suspected Georgie had signed the papers: “Or how could they have come after her for the money?”

“Good God! What kind of people have they been mixing with? Has she talked to the police? Stay out of it, Kitty. I don’t want you involved in this sort of thing.”

“Credit me with some intelligence, Jack.”

“What exactly is it you want from me?”

“Twelve thousand pounds. I’ll pay you back every penny, you know that, even if it takes years.”

The silence at the other end was devastating. It seemed to last for hours, when in fact it was only a minute before his agreement made her sag with relief.

“Of course you can have the money,” he said.

“You know I can’t deny you anything.”

When she needed him he was always there. It was a comforting thought.

“You’ll never know how grateful I am, Jack.”

“Grateful enough to marry me?”

At first she thought it was a teasing remark, so she answered in kind, “One day, maybe.”

“No. Not ” one day”. Kitty. Now. One month from Saturday.” Something about the tone of his voice and the way he seemed to wait for an answer put her on guard.

“Are you saying you’ll lend me the money, but only if I marry you?” It was incredible.

“That’s what I’m saying. Kitty. Except, of course, I won’t be lending you the money. I couldn’t ask my wife to pay back a loan, now could

I?

“

He was being arrogant and she hated him for it.

“I’m sorry,” she apologised, “I had no right to involve you.”

“The money’s here if you want it. Kitty. So am I. Remember, I love you.”

Stunned by what she considered to be blackmail, she put the phone down.

“I don’t know who’s worse, you or the moneylender,” she muttered. Now she didn’t know how to help Georgie. Who else could she turn to? What about Harry?

“Harry would know what to do,” she murmured, and his name on her lips brought the warm excited feeling it always did.

She couldn’t get Harry out of her mind. His business was doing well, and she knew if he had the money he would not hesitate to lend it to her.

“How can I ask him though,” she wondered aloud.

“It isn’t easy building up a business, and that wife of his would probably give him hell if she thought he’d helped me.” But it wasn’t just that. The thought of seeing Harry again, talking to him, having his dark eyes looking into hers, was more than she could bear.

“Don’t rake over old coals,” she told herself firmly.

“Harry isn’t yours any more. He never will be.” Of all the tragedy in her life, of all the loss and the loneliness, of all the fear and the pain, losing him was the one thing she could not come to terms with, and the hardest thing of all was that it had been her own fault.

Not knowing which way to turn, she let her heart dwell on Harry. How she loved him still! How she longed for him to hold her. How she envied his wife . lying in his strong arms at night, seeing his face over the breakfast table, exchanging the usual chit-chat a married couple might share; the laughter and secrets; holding hands; intimate little looks that no one else could perceive; the awful loneliness when they were separated, and the joy when they were together again.