Love or Duty--A saga set in 1920s Liverpool (20 page)

Bryn looked at his watch and then shook his head. ‘I'm extremely sorry but I don't have the time to stay any longer. Perhaps some other time.'

Before anyone could speak Bryn had turned, opened the front door and was gone.

Penny and her parents had only just sat down to dinner when there was an urgent knocking on the front door. They heard Mary scurrying along the hallway to answer it followed by a babble of voices.

‘That's Kelly's voice,' Penny exclaimed, relief and excitement mingling in her voice. She pushed back her chair and hurried out into the hall.

Penny drew in her breath sharply as she saw Bryn and Kelly standing there; for a moment she wondered if she was imagining it. The next minute Kelly was in her arms, sobbing and clinging to her desperately.

‘What the devil's going on now?' Captain Forshaw demanded angrily as he followed Penny out into the hallway.

‘You're back again!' He stared aggressively at Bryn. ‘And you've brought that damned child with you.'

‘Kelly was on her way here and I met her out in Penkett Road,' Bryn explained, looking at Penny as he spoke.

‘This is wonderful, I am so glad you found her,' Penny breathed as she smoothed the soaking wet strands of dark hair back from Kelly's eyes and planted a kiss on her brow.

‘She's not staying here,' Captain Forshaw interrupted. ‘You found her Dr Cash so you can take her back to Liverpool with you and return her to St Saviour's Remand Home, which is where she belongs,' he said, addressing Bryn forcibly.

‘No, no! I don't want to go back there I want to stay with Penny,' Kelly screamed in a terrified voice and threw her arms around Penny. She began to sob noisily. ‘Don't make me go back there. I want to be with you, Penny,' she pleaded looking up into Penny's face.

Penny looked helplessly from her father to Bryn and back again.

‘Surely Kelly can stay here until the morning so that she can have a good night's sleep and then we can all talk things over tomorrow and decide what to do for the best,' Bryn suggested.

‘I've already decided what is best,' Marcus Forshaw stated abruptly, ‘and that's to get that damned child out of here right away.'

‘If you turn her out then I shall go with her,' Penny told him defiantly.

‘Are we going through all that nonsense again? Think of your mother and how it will affect her. It's your duty to stay here and care for her; she needs you.'

‘Mother is quite fit again and she doesn't need me to be here, so I'm leaving unless you are prepared to allow Kelly to stay here with me,' Penny said quietly.

‘Very well,' she added when her father remained silent. ‘I'll go and tell Mother what is happening and collect my things. Kelly you wait with Dr Cash, I will only be a few minutes.'

Upstairs Penny reached down a suitcase and tried to think what she needed to take with her. Her mind was in turmoil as she packed things into it haphazardly including a bundle of Kelly's clothes that she had bought for her earlier in the summer and still had. It was almost like a rerun of all that had happened before and she hoped that her leaving wouldn't have an adverse effect on her mother.

Kelly had fallen into an exhausted sleep by the time they reached Liverpool. Bryn carried her from the boat up the floating roadway and along to the taxi rank at the Pier Head.

‘Blenheim Road,' he told the driver as they settled into the cab.

Ma Reilly looked taken aback when ten minutes later they knocked on her door.

‘I'm so relieved that you've found her,' she commented, her wrinkled face softening into a smile as she looked down at the sleeping child in Bryn's arms. ‘She looks absolutely exhausted. Had she got very far?'

‘She'd made her way to Wallasey to try and find Penny,' Bryn Cash explained.

Ma Reilly suddenly seemed to notice the suitcase that Penny was carrying and a look of consternation registered on her face.

‘Oh gracious me, you're wanting to stay here with me again are you! I wasn't expecting you … leastways not until September,' she said looking directly at Penny. ‘I haven't an empty room until then.'

‘Oh heavens!' Penny looked from Ma Reilly to Bryn in dismay. ‘What ever are we going to do until then?'

‘I'm sorry, luv. There's nothing I can do, I'm all booked up until September,' Ma Reilly repeated worriedly.

‘Don't worry, Mrs Reilly. It's no problem,' Bryn said quickly. ‘We only called to let you know that we had found Kelly and that she was safe and sound. Come on, Penny, we must get this little sleeping beauty tucked up in bed.'

‘What on earth am I going to do now, Penny asked worriedly as they walked away. ‘Do you know of a cheap hotel?'

‘What's wrong with my spare bedroom,' Bryn asked. ‘You are more than welcome to stay there,' he reminded her.

‘I don't know,' Penny said hesitantly. Then she looked at Kelly's tear-stained face and made her decision. ‘Very well, as long as you are quite sure you don't mind us doing that.'

‘I don't mind at all. There's only one bed in there so Kelly will have to sleep with you tonight. Tomorrow we can buy a bed for her.'

Bryn's living accommodation was a large flat above a newsagent's in Scotland Road. It was spotlessly clean but rather sparsely furnished. In the spare bedroom that he was offering them Penny found there was a four-foot bed, a chest of drawers and a wardrobe that was built into the alcove on one side of the small iron grate.

‘I think it might be best if Kelly went straight to bed,' Bryn said as he carried the sleeping child straight through to this room and put her down on the bed.

‘I wonder when she last had something to eat or drink?' Penny mused as she put her suitcase down and slipped off her coat.

‘She can have something to eat if she wakes up later on. For the moment though, I think she is so exhausted that we should let her go on sleeping,' Bryn insisted.

‘We'd better try and remove her wet dress; it's bound to be damp and we don't want her catching a chill.'

As they started to undress her and remove the drab blue uniform dress, that was now torn and grubby, Kelly stirred and stared up at them in a bewildered daze.

‘We're only taking your dress off because it's rather wet,' Penny explained.

Kelly immediately held up her arms so that Penny could slip it off.

‘I'm cold,' she snuffled, shivering and wrapping her arms around her thin little body.

‘One more minute and then you'll be snug and warm,' Bryn promised.

He fetched a small light blanket and wrapped Kelly in it before taking her through to his living room and settling her down in an armchair

Kelly looked round frowning at the unfamiliar surroundings. ‘Where are we?' she asked in a puzzled voice. Then, before either of them could answer she asked, ‘Can I have a drink of water?'

‘Of course you can,' Bryn told her. ‘Or, better still, how about a mug of hot cocoa and a buttered crust to eat with it?'

Half an hour later Kelly had stopped shivering and was yawning and rubbing her eyes in an effort to stay awake.

‘Ready for bed?' Bryn asked as he picked her up in his arms and carried her through to the bed in the spare room.

Penny followed and helped to tuck her in. For a moment they stood there looking down at her, each immersed in their own thoughts. Then Bryn touched Penny on the shoulder and together they left the room, quietly closing the door behind them.

‘I bet you're ready for something to eat and drink yourself?' he murmured as they went along the passageway into his small galley kitchen.

‘I think I ought to pop round to Cannon Court first and let Ellen Murphy know that Kelly is safe and sound. While I'm there I can collect some clean clothes for Kelly. I'll put this horrid blue dress into the bin. I'm quite sure she will never want to wear it ever again,' she chuckled.

‘Hold on, she may have to do so,' Bryn frowned. ‘We have to let the police know that we've found Kelly and they will probably insist that she goes back into care.'

Penny looked shocked. ‘You mean she will have to return to St Saviour's Remand Home?'

Bryn nodded, his face grim.

‘We certainly can't let that happen,' Penny protested.

‘I don't see how we can prevent it,' he told her quietly.

‘Well, for a start, we don't tell the police that we have found her or that she is here.'

‘We can't do that, Penny. At this very moment there are probably dozens of them scouring Liverpool looking for her.'

‘Let's think about it,' Penny pleaded. ‘Let's talk it over while we are eating.'

‘Very well,' Bryn sighed. ‘Do you want to cook or shall I get something ready?'

‘I'll leave it to you to prepare the meal while I nip round to Cannon Court.'

Kelly was awake when Penny returned; awake and crying.

‘Whatever is the matter,' Penny asked sitting down on the side of the bed and putting her arms around the little girl's shaking shoulders.

‘I woke up and you weren't here and I thought you'd gone away again,' Kelly snuffled.

‘Of course I haven't,' Penny assured her, holding Kelly's trembling body closer. ‘I went round to your home to let your mother know that we had found you and that you were safe.'

‘What did me mam say? Did she want me back there with her?' Kelly asked wiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

‘We'll talk about all that tomorrow,' Penny prevaricated.

‘You ain't going to send me back to St Saviour's are you?' Kelly asked suspiciously.

‘Come on, let's go and eat; it smells good doesn't it,' Penny exclaimed as the savoury smell of bacon and cheese wafted into the bedroom.

‘You'd better put on one of the cotton dresses I bought you because you can't sit at the table wrapped up in a blanket,' Penny went on as she opened the suitcase and brought one out.

Bryn had prepared a dish of macaroni cheese and topped it with rashers of crisply grilled bacon. He had uncorked a bottle of wine for himself and Penny, and for Kelly there was some lemonade.

All three of them ate hungrily and mostly in silence. When they did talk, Penny and Bryn avoided mentioning anything about what was to happen to Kelly.

While Bryn cleared away after their meal, Penny persuaded Kelly to go back to bed. As she tucked her in and kissed her goodnight Penny was more determined than ever that she would do everything in her power to stop Kelly being taken back to St Saviour's.

She stayed in the bedroom for several minutes smoothing the creases out of the clothes as she unpacked them from her case and laying them out ready for next morning.

Bryn was still in the kitchen. He had prepared a tray with a jug of coffee, cups, sugar, milk and biscuits.

‘We need to talk. Come and make yourself comfortable in the sitting room and I will bring this in,' he told her as he rolled down his shirtsleeves and picked up the tray.

Penny chose the red armchair near the fireplace and after carefully placing the tray down on a low table Bryn settled himself on the settee. Leaning forward he poured out the coffee, added milk to both cups and placed one within reach of Penny. Then he held out the sugar bowl so that she could help herself.

Penny sipped her coffee and looked at Bryn speculatively. She admired his innate honesty and down-to-earth manner so much but this was one occasion when she felt it would be easier if he was not so conscientious. She knew he was right and that it was their duty to let the authorities know that they had found Kelly and, in due course, they would return her to St Saviour's if ordered to do so.

The thought of how unhappy Kelly had been there and her fear of the nuns and dread of going back again made Penny anxious to find some way to contravene that course of action.

Perhaps if she and Kelly moved away to some other part of the country, or even over to Ireland, she could avoid the arm of the law.

She needed money to do that, of course, and she had only a few pounds. Would Bryn lend her the money to carry out her plan, she wondered?

Putting down her coffee cup she cleared her throat and put the proposition to him.

Bryn stared at her in silence, his dark eyes unfathomable. He drained his coffee and put his cup back on the tray.

‘It would only be a loan. I would pay you back as soon as I was able to find work and was on my feet again,' Penny promised.

‘How would that be possible when you would have the police of both countries hot on your heels? It would not only be Kelly they were looking for but you as well. You would probably be accused of kidnapping or abducting her, and also find yourself on the wrong side of the law.'

‘Then I'll take her to France or Spain or even to America. I don't mind where it is as long as Kelly doesn't have to go back to that awful place. I went there to see her and it was so grim that I haven't been able to put it out of my mind. The older girls bullied her and those nuns, in their sombre garb and their faces framed by stiff white wimples, were so cold and unsmiling that they even frightened me.'

Bryn ran his hands through his thick dark hair. ‘No, Penny, I can't go along with your idea because it's far too risky.'

‘I'd pay you back, I promise,' Penny insisted.

‘It's not the money! I don't give a damn about that. If I thought your plan would work I'd let you have every penny I could raise.'

‘Then trust me. We must do something and I am sure it is the only way we can ensure that Kelly is safe.'

‘It's you and your future I'm concerned about; you mean far too much to me, Penny, for me to let you do this and put yourself on the wrong side of the law.'

Penny stared at him in disbelief, wondering if she had heard aright.

He stood up and crossed to the armchair and looked down at her. Then pulling her to her feet he held her so close that she could feel the heat of his body through her own clothes.