‘Well, Nurse? Are you going to stand there all day like a bleedin’ stuffed dummy? If so, I s’pose I’d better clean myself up and go and find this here teapot—’ Darky was beginning but Patty, feeling the heat rush up in her cheeks, cut him short.
‘Sorry, sorry, I’m just going,’ she gabbled. ‘It – it just surprised me that you should even think of taking Merry and me into Reece’s. It’s – it’s awful posh, wi’ tablecloths and shiny silver cutlery. If you’re still hungry after the buns, we could get more chips.’
Darky laughed, looking down at her with a teasing and somehow provocative glance which set the blood unaccountably racing in Patty’s veins. Confused and not wishing to be caught staring, she turned away from him and headed up the beach, calling back over her shoulder in as light a voice as she could manage: ‘All right, all right, I can take a hint! I’ll be back with tea and buns in two ticks. Now no more sea bathing because the sun’s getting lower and I don’t want to be nursing a little girl with a cold in the head.’
There was a queue of people waiting to hire teapots but Patty was not sorry. It would give her a chance to assess the situation. Having thought the matter over, she was forced to admit that Darky was no more drunk than she was. It was clear that he was truly fond of Merrell and wanted to give the child a good time, but Patty had enough common sense to realise that he and his mother could have brought Merrell to New Brighton on numerous occasions had they wished to do so. Furthermore, earlier in the afternoon he had played with Merrell, building sand castles and splashing in the sea, without really taking the slightest notice of Patty herself. Looking back, she realised that his attitude had changed subtly during the course of the sunny afternoon. Perhaps, she thought hopefully, he had begun to realise that she was not such a bad sort of woman after all. She had never forgotten how he regarded all members of her profession but knew that this prejudice, at any rate, was definitely beginning to lose its grip upon him. After all, he took Ellen out fairly regularly and he knew as well as Patty did that Ellen and she shared the same occupation. But that did not, of course, mean that his prejudice against herself would automatically lessen. If he had really believed she had encouraged the drunken louts who had attacked her that night on St Anne Street, then she could not blame him for his attitude towards her. Yet today, that hostility seemed to have disappeared and friendliness had taken its place. She thought, as the queue shuffled forward, that it might have something to do with Ellen. If Darky had said unpleasant things about her, Patty, then she was very sure that Ellen would have leaped to her defence. Yes, that must be it; Ellen had told him she was a respectable girl who worked extremely hard and thought the world of her patients. That would change his mind if anything could.
Oddly enough, however, this thought gave Patty no pleasure. In fact she found herself cursing Ellen for interfering. It was not that she wanted Darky’s enmity, far from it; it made life difficult. But she did not want his friendship if it was a mere sop to keep Ellen happy. She wanted it, she realised, for herself. Everyone wants to be liked for themselves, and Patty was no exception. If Darky was simulating friendship with her in order to please Ellen – or, for that matter, to please Merrell – then she wanted none of it. At this point in her musing she reached the head of the queue, bought the buns and hired a tray and a heavy teapot and began to walk carefully back across the promenade and down to the beach. Blinking in the bright sunlight, for her thoughts had been far away, she told herself severely to stop lookin’ a perishin’ gift horse in the mouth. She and Darky might never be truly close – well, she could scarcely expect it considering he was going out with her best friend – but this afternoon must surely herald the start of a happier relationship between them? And if that was indeed so, then she was grateful. Ever since Mrs Knight had taken over the care of Merrell, Patty had had to time her visits to coincide with Darky’s absences and this was often awkward. Now, if she was sensible and watched her wretched tongue, things should improve.
Darky and Merrell were sitting expectantly around a large flat sand table and beamed as they saw Patty approaching. Darky got to his feet and took the tray from her, setting it carefully down on his creation. ‘See?’ he said proudly. ‘Me and Merry have got the table all laid and ready,
and
we’ve washed our hands so we shan’t get sand all over the buns. How about that, eh? My, those buns look good enough to eat!’
Patty laughed and handed round the large, sticky-topped buns, then began to pour the tea – already milked and sugared – into the two mugs. ‘I didn’t bring Merry’s little drinking beaker,’ she said regretfully, ‘but she manages pretty well with the big mug. She’ll have to wait till the tea’s cool, mind.’
Merrell did not seem at all anxious for yet another drink – she had finished the cherryade some while before – but when the liquid in the mug was cool enough Patty helped her to drink it and was surprised when the child drained the tea down to the last drop. Licking her lips, Merrell said: ‘That were nice, Mammy,’ and began taking large bites out of her bun whilst Patty poured a cup of tea for herself into the empty mug. Presently, with their impromptu picnic finished, the three of them began to tidy themselves up since Darky had suggested a walk along the prom to the pier.
‘If you’ll take the tray and teapot, I’ll give Miss Merry here a shoulder ride,’ Darky said when most of the sand had been removed from their persons. He looked down at Merrell’s flushed little face. ‘But if we reach the end of the pier before she falls asleep, I’m a Dutchman,’ he added. ‘Pity we can’t snug her down in a pram, but I suppose that great old thing would have been more of a nuisance than a help, what with the ferry crossing an’ all.’
It was the nearest he had come to a criticism so Patty only said equably: ‘To say nothing of heaving it aboard the tram,’ and was glad she had not been cutting when he gave her a friendly smile.
‘Never mind,’ he said, hoisting the child on to his shoulders. ‘Hang on to my head, queen, and I’ll hold on to your legs, and if you feel like fallin’, fall forward.’ The child chuckled delightedly and patted his dark hair, addressing him as ‘Horsy’ and commanding, in a rather blurred and sleepy voice, that he should go ‘clippety clop, clippety clop’.
Darky obviously realised the source of this remark and began to sing.
‘
Horsy, horsy, don’t you stop
,
Just let your feet go clippety clop
,
Your tail goes swish and your wheels go round
,
Giddy up we’re homeward bound
.’
Patty joined in the chorus and, noticing Merrell’s sideways tilt, warned Darky that his passenger was falling asleep in time for him to whisk her off his shoulders and into his arms. Patty would have taken the child from him, but when she tried to do so he shook his head. ‘We’ll go straight to Reece’s and I’ll put her gently down on a cushion or an upholstered chair, and she can have her sleep out while we enjoy a meal,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to do her out of her grub, but I honestly think she needs a sleep more. By the time she wakes, we’ll probably be back at Ashfield Place and you can put her straight to bed with a glass of warm milk, or whatever it is you women give your kids.’
Patty looked at him doubtfully. ‘Wouldn’t it be better to go straight home right now?’ she suggested. ‘After all, it has been a long day and carrying her all the way back to Ashfield Place is no joke. I know she’s only a little thing but it’s surprising how heavy she gets.’
Darky raised his eyebrows. ‘Are you trying to tell me she’ll gradually get heavier and heavier while she snoozes in Reece’s?’ he enquired. ‘You should know better, Nurse! She’d be just as heavy if we set off now as she will be in an hour or so.’
Patty giggled. ‘Well, yes, but that wasn’t what I meant. If we go home now, she’ll likely wake when we get aboard the ferry and walk a good deal of the way, but if we take her to Reece’s she’ll go sound asleep, and then I’m afraid it will mean carrying her all the way home.’
‘Well, I happen to be extremely hungry and since
I
shall be the one carrying Merry, I ought to be allowed to stoke up so’s I get back me full strength,’ Darky said plaintively, making Patty give another snort of laughter. ‘Now no more argument, Nurse – I bet you’re as hungry as I am.’
Patty realised that this was indeed true; the bun had been nice but not tremendously filling and the day had been a long and delightfully tiring one, so she smiled at Darky and followed him meekly enough back along the promenade, under the canopied walkway and into Reece’s luxurious and neat premises.
‘I’ll order for both of us to save time, and a children’s meal for Merrell, too,’ Darky said, when the waitress approached, and proceeded to ask for the most expensive thing on the menu. Patty looked at the pile of golden chips and the various meats of which the mixed grill consisted and protested that she would never be able to eat so much. Darky smiled mockingly at her. ‘After a day on the beach you’ll cope wi’ that, no trouble,’ he declared, tucking into his own food, and he was rapidly proved right as Patty cleared her plate almost as quickly as he did. Despite her fear that Darky’s money had been wasted on the children’s meal, Merrell had woken for long enough to eat most of her food before she snoozed off again.
Putting down her knife and fork, Patty leaned back in her chair with a satisfied sigh. ‘That was the best meal I’ve ever had,’ she announced. She glanced across at Darky, at his thin, intelligent face and the twinkle of amusement in his dark eyes. He looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him and this prompted her to ask the question which was uppermost in her mind. ‘Do tell me, Mr Knight,’ she said, ‘you’ve never seemed to like me very much and you certainly haven’t approved of me, but you’ve made today one of the happiest I’ve ever spent. Why?’
She was watching Darky’s face as she spoke and saw his cheekbones redden a little but he did not hesitate before replying. ‘It’s partly me mam,’ he said, rather gruffly. ‘She’s been on and on at me, saying what a nice girl you are, a marvellous mother to Merry here and a first-rate nurse. She said I were prejudiced against you because – because of what happened when my wife died. Then I took Ellen out a couple of times – she’s a nice girl an’ all, is Ellen – and I realised it were true what me mam said: “There’s good an’ bad in all professions, all walks of life.” One day, when we were chatting, I actually admitted that if you or Ellen had been on duty when Alison’s labour began, I’m sure it would have been a very different story. So, when I saw you in the ice cream queue, I thought – I thought mebbe it were time to try to make amends.’ He looked across at her, his expression reminding her very much of a puppy who has chewed up your best shoes and is not sure whether you have yet found the remains. ‘Because I knew all along that it were none of your fault you were attacked that night,’ he said in a rush. ‘I was in the Daulby Hall, you see, and I knew they picked on you because you were alone and very pretty and they were drunk, but I – I told myself that you had brought trouble on yourself by your behaviour, even though I knew it weren’t true.’
Patty picked up her spoon and began to trace invisible patterns on the white tablecloth. She admired Darky tremendously for having the courage to speak as he had but realised that she must do likewise, because fair was fair, after all. Accordingly, she took a deep breath and said, ‘Well, Mr Knight, you aren’t the only one who’s not always behaved quite honestly. I was so angry with you after the way you spoke to me when you returned my gaberdine that I wanted revenge, I suppose. So I never told anyone, not even Maggie, that it was you had rescued me from those horrible men. In fact, once or twice, Maggie has said things which make me wonder whether she thinks it was you who had gone a bit too far. Of course, I’ve never said anything to give her that impression, but then I’ve never corrected her or tried to tell her what really happened.’
To her considerable relief, Darky did not immediately look away from her or begin to frown. Instead, he grinned broadly and pretended to wipe imaginary perspiration from his forehead. ‘Phew!’ he said. ‘I should say we’re well matched, Nurse, because we’ve each been a trifle hard on the other, wouldn’t you say? But I hope that’s all behind us and in future we can treat each other as friends. After all, my mam says she thinks of Merry like the grandchild she’s never had, so you and I are almost honorary relations!’
At this point, the waitress approached them once more and Darky ordered lemon sponge pudding and custard for them both. Then he paid the bill and the little party set off in the direction of the ferry, with Merrell still slumbering soundly in his arms. They went aboard, Patty noticing with satisfaction that it was nowhere near as crowded as it had been on their outward voyage, and settled themselves in the saloon, since a little breeze had arisen with the coming of twilight and she did not want to risk Merrell’s catching a chill. A good many other people had also decided to come below and one of them, a brassy blonde, kept glancing curiously across at them, grinning at Darky and then nudging her companion, a tall tow-headed young man with a loose lip and a knowing eye, who grinned also and gave Darky a mocking salute, which Patty’s companion rather grudgingly acknowledged with a curt nod.
‘Who’s that?’ Patty murmured, as the ferry drew away from the quayside.
‘One of the fellers from Levers,’ Darky said. ‘He’s with one of the girls from the flakes department; a couple o’ trouble makers, I’ve always thought ’em.’