‘Funny man, Mummy,’ she said and then, looking down on Terry’s smiling face, demanded, ‘Do it again.’
‘Bit of a bossy boots, ain’t you?’ Terry said, ‘and you’re starting a bit young.’
‘Yes, she’s only two and already a bit of a chatterbox,’ Emma said, smiling indulgently.
Terry lowered Tinker to the floor, and as he sat
down, Emma was amazed to see Tinker clambering onto his lap. His massive arms enfolded her, and her daughter happily settled down, leaning her head against his chest.
For a moment, Emma was dumbstruck, but then with a small shake of her head she took a seat opposite him. ‘I see my daughter has taken to you.’
‘Yeah, I’m good with kids. My sister’s got six and she calls me the Paid Piper of Hamlet.’
‘Sorry? The who?’
‘The Paid Piper of Hamlet. Haven’t you heard of him?’
‘Yes, but I call him the
Pied
Piper of Hamelin.’
‘You don’t say,’ Terry said, grinning widely. ‘There must be two of them.’
God, I’ll kill Doris, Emma thought, her face straining not to laugh. ‘Anyway, down to business. I’d like to convert this house into two flats, the upstairs one using the side entrance. The problem is there isn’t a staircase and I wonder if it’s possible to install one.’
‘I’ll have a look, but as long as there’s space, it shouldn’t be a problem.’
‘Have you done this sort of work before?’
‘Yes, I’ve been a builder all my life and you’ll find I’m an unconscious worker. Mind you, since damaging my back I don’t do any of the heavy stuff. I’ll get a Labrador to do that.’
It was too much for Emma and she once again
fled the room, spluttering excuses over her shoulder. Doris was in the kitchen, laying a tray. Almost falling onto a chair, Emma howled with laughter, finally able to gasp, ‘He…he said he’s an “unconscious” worker instead of “conscientious,” and he called a “labourer” a “Labrador”.’
‘Yeah, Terry’s fond of getting his words mixed up, but don’t worry, he’s used to people laughing at him. Most act like you and run. Mind you, seeing his size, it ain’t surprising. Don’t let it put you off, Emma. He really is a smashing bloke, and he’ll give you a fair price for the job.’
‘I’ll trust you on this one, and anyway, Tinker is sticking to him like glue. After the way she responded to Mr Derivale, for me that’s as good as a reference. Better in fact,’ she said, thinking of the sheet of paper Derivale had brandished, testifying to his character.
‘I’ve told you, it’s time you stopped dwelling on that bastard.’
‘I know, but Tinker didn’t like him from the start and it should have warned me.’
‘She’s only a baby, love.’
‘Yes, but even so she seems to have good instincts. Anyway, back to Terry Green. Does he know what sort of business we run?’
‘Yeah, he knows, and it doesn’t bother him. I told you, Terry’s a rough diamond–when he was younger he was mixed up with a few local villains.’
‘Villains! I’m not sure I like the sound of that.’
‘He’s been straight for a long time so you’ve nothing to worry about.’
‘He isn’t violent, is he?’
‘No, of course not. Now come on, stop worrying and let’s take this tea through.’
Emma followed Doris back to the drawing room to see that Tinker hadn’t moved from Terry’s lap. He was quite a nice-looking man, she decided, with dark hair, brown eyes and a kind smile.
‘He cuddly bear, Mummy,’ Tinker said, reaching out to stroke the thick, dark hairs on Terry’s arm.
Emma stiffened, expecting Terry to be offended, but instead he grinned at Tinker. ‘Yes, that’s me. A big cuddly bear. Now why don’t you go to your mummy and I’ll have a look around the house?’
‘No, I stay with you,’ Tinker said.
‘All right, little ’un, if you insist.’
‘Not ’un. I’m Tinker.’
He caught on straightaway. ‘Tinker Bell–well, ain’t that nice.’
‘Her name is Patricia, but she prefers to be called Tinker.’ As Emma reached for the pot she added, ‘Have a cup of tea before you look around.’
‘Thanks, Mrs Bell, I won’t say no.’
Emma poured the tea, sure now that she was going to employ this giant of a man. ‘Would you like a biscuit?’ she asked, holding out a plate.
‘Yes, please. Digressives are my favourite.’
Emma spluttered again, her eyes flying to Doris. Her friend laughed, saying, ‘No, Terry, not digressives. They’re digestives.’
‘Well, you know me, Doris, but I’m glad I’ve given you a laugh.’ He winked then, adding, ‘I’m getting good at it too.’
‘Terry Green! Don’t tell me you do it deliberately?’
‘Well, that’s for me to know and you to find out, Doris.’
Emma liked this man; one she felt sure was self-deprecating to make people laugh, and as he broke off a piece of biscuit to give to Tinker, she could see that her daughter was enamoured with him too.
Emma frowned. What was the matter with her? Terry Green was a man, and they were all the same. She had learned from running this brothel that no matter how old, whether married or single, the sexual act was all they cared about, so much that they were willing to pay for it. Her lips pursed. Well, that suited her fine. She was making them pay all right, and would continue to do so to ensure the lifestyle she wanted for her daughter.
She rose to her feet, her manner now brusque. ‘If you’ve finished your tea, Mr Green, perhaps we can get back to business. If you’ll come with me I’ll show you the alterations I have in mind, and I’d like an estimate as soon as possible.’
His forehead creased, but he too stood up, Tinker’s arms around his neck as she clung to him like a limpet. ‘Yes, Mrs Bell, that won’t be a problem.’
With that, Emma turned on her heels, both Terry Green and Doris following behind. She showed the man her rough sketches, and then he slowly walked around the house, the women in his wake.
They returned to the kitchen instead of the drawing room, Terry pulling out a chair and sitting down with Tinker on his lap again.
‘Well, Mrs Bell, now that I’ve had a look around I can offer a few suggestions. Firstly, if you can do without the scullery, I could block it off, using the space for a staircase.’
‘Oh yes, I can do without the scullery.’
‘Good. And as for a bathroom down here, the only place I can see that might work is the laundry room. It’ll be a bit small, but I reckon it’d take a bath and a hand basin.’
‘I’m sure we’d manage,’ Emma said, then frowned. ‘My only concern is the present staircase that leads upstairs from the front hall. The reason for having the house converted is to keep my daughter away from our business activities. With it still in place anyone could come down here into our private accommodation.’
‘I hope you ain’t thinking about taking it out.
If you do that it will greatly decrease the value of the property. It would be easier to put a door at the top and make sure it’s got a good, strong lock.’
Emma was quiet as she mulled it over, watching as Tinker pulled on Terry’s sleeve to get his attention. ‘All right, we’ll leave the existing staircase, and your suggestion of adding a door sounds fine. Is it possible to give me a rough idea of what it will all cost?’
Terry pulled a pencil out of his pocket, and tongue sticking out in concentration, he wrote a few figures, then scribbled a price. ‘This is only an estimate, but I don’t think it’ll be far out.’
As he handed it to her, Emma’s face brightened. It was below what she had expected. ‘This is fine. When could you start?’
‘You’re lucky. I’ve just finished a job so I’m available on Monday.’
‘In that case, Mr Green, the job’s yours.’
‘Thanks very much, Mrs Bell. Me and my Labrador will be here bright and early on Monday morning.’
Emma kept her face straight this time, but Doris giggled. Terry ruffled Tinker’s hair and put her on the floor, but as he made to leave, she wouldn’t let go of his trousers. He crouched down, smiling as he said, ‘Sorry, sweetheart, but I must go. I’ve got to see a man about a dog.’
‘Dog! Doggie for me?’
‘Oh blimey,’ he said, ‘now I’ve put my foot in it. Yes, all right, a doggie for you.’
‘I don’t want any pets, Mr Green,’ Emma protested.
‘Don’t worry,’ he whispered as he stood up, ‘it won’t be a real one.’
‘Doggie, doggie, doggie,’ Tinker cried excitedly as she jumped up and down.
‘Yes, well, I just hope my daughter won’t be too disappointed.’
‘I’d better make sure the dog’s a bit special then. ’Bye, Mrs Bell, ’bye, Doris. See you on Monday.’
Tinker became quiet as he left, her brow furrowed. ‘Bear come back, Mummy?’
‘Yes, darling, you’ll see him soon,’ Emma said, and though she was loath to admit it, she too was looking forward to Monday.
Emma wanted to talk to the girls before any punters arrived, so that evening as they turned up for work she called them into her drawing room. ‘I’m having building work done on the house so there will be some disruption whilst it’s carried out. Hopefully it won’t take long, and when completed there will be a separate entrance to the upstairs rooms.’
Linda was chewing gum as usual, her eyes hard in a heavily made-up face. ‘Where will this entrance be?’
‘At the side of the house.’
‘So we’ll be in a sort of self-contained flat?’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
Linda shrugged. ‘Fine.’
Emma’s eyes flicked to Rose, frowning as she noticed her swollen lip. Both Linda and Rose had been with them from the start, but Emma still knew little about them. She was unable to feel any connection to them, to any of the girls, keeping out of their way as much as possible, but Doris’s accusation was heavy on her mind. It was true. She did keep her distance, but she was unable to comprehend how they could entertain one man after another–how they could let complete strangers defile their bodies for money. God, she’d been a bitch, taking the profits with no interest in their welfare, content to leave all that side of things to Doris. Yet in truth Emma knew she was unable to change, unable to involve herself in the goings-on upstairs.
With a small tight smile she said, ‘Your lip looks sore, Rose. Are you sure you’re up to working this evening?’
‘Yeah, I’ll be all right. I can’t afford not to be.’
Emma knew she should pursue this conversation, but with all the girls waiting to start work, she knew that now wasn’t the time. She’d leave it for now, find out from Doris later why Rose was so short of money. With a start she realised that
one of the girls was speaking, the others nodding in agreement.
‘Sorry, Jessie, what did you say?’
‘I said that after what happened last night with Rose, it proves we need a minder, someone to turf out any punters that turn nasty.’
‘It’s a rare occurrence and I hardly think employing a man for protection is necessary.’
‘Huh, rare or not, if that punter had a weapon, a knife or something, Rose would have got more than a split lip. If you ain’t prepared to see that we have proper protection, we’ll find somewhere else to do business, won’t we, girls?’ Jessie said, her eyes sweeping the room.
Several nodded. Emma balked. If the girls left it would take time to replace them. There’d be no money coming in and she didn’t want that. It would mean paying a man a wage, something she didn’t want to do, but she had to admit that Jessie had a point. It could have been worse, and at the thought of a man running amok with a knife, she blanched.
‘All right, leave it with me and I’ll speak to Doris about finding a minder.’
‘Thanks, Mrs Bell,’ Jessie said. ‘I knew you’d see sense.’
There was a knock on the front door. Doris came in to say that a punter had arrived. One by one the girls filed out, whilst Emma remained
where she was. Jessie had only been with them for a few months, but it seemed she was the ringleader, the spokesperson, and Emma wondered why Doris hadn’t mentioned this before.
After locking up for the night, Doris walked into the drawing room, handing Emma the night’s takings.
Emma waited until she had counted the notes before voicing her thoughts. ‘You’ve told me that Rose is popular, so she must be earning well, yet she said she’s hard up. Why is she so short of money?’
‘’Cos she passes most of what she earns over to her old man. I’ve told her to hold some back, but she won’t listen.’
‘These girls never cease to amaze me,’ Emma said, shaking her head in disgust. ‘Rose must be mad to put up with it.’
‘Yeah, I know, but she’s besotted with the bloke.’
‘More fool her. Another thing I wanted to speak to you about is Jessie. She seems a troublemaker.’
‘Jessie’s all right. Like me, she had a bad beating once, one that left her hospitalised. It left her a nervous wreck and it’s one of the reasons she was glad to come here. Anyway, Em, if you ask me, she’s right. We do need a minder.’
‘Yes, I know, and Jessie made me realise that.
Let’s get this building work out of the way first, and then we’ll take one on.’
‘Fair enough. I’ll pass the word on to the girls.’ Emma handed Doris her usual share of the takings, both women then deciding to turn in. Emma crawled into bed, finding that, behind closed lids, Terry Green’s face appeared.
She turned over, fighting the image as she thumped her pillow. She didn’t want to think about him, about any man. She was fine on her own and intended to stay that way.
Though pleased with how the building work was progressing, Emma avoided Terry Green as much as possible over the next few days. Doris, on the other hand, was obviously smitten with the man and chatted to him at every opportunity. God, talk about making herself obvious. Tinker was as bad but, worried by the dangers of building work in progress, Emma kept her out of the way, much to her daughter’s obvious disgust. Tinker’s sulks would last until Terry and his labourer came into the kitchen for their tea breaks.
True to his word, Terry had turned up the first morning with a dog, but one on wheels. It was a brown terrier with glass eyes, and Tinker fell in love with it at first sight, now pushing it everywhere.
‘Here you are, Mrs B,’ Terry said as they came into the kitchen on Friday morning for their first break of the day.