She wrote a short, polite note informing her father of these facts. She politely pointed out that he’d chosen to curtail her allowance the day he’d thrown her out and, in spite of her efforts to heal the breach between them since, neither their relationship nor her financial situation was in any way improved. Bella wrote that she was no longer employed by Kendal Milne but earned her living, such as it was, through her work at the clinic which she could not, and would not, give up. ‘In the circumstances, I regret I can be of little use to you. Nevertheless I remain, as always, your loving daughter, Isabella.’
When Simeon read the letter, handed to him in his study by Tilly with some trepidation, he swore loudly and comprehensively, quite unlike his normally mild mannered self. He flung several interrogative questions at her which only brought a flood of tears and finally he ordered the quivering maid to leave. As she fled, he tore the letter into shreds and tossed it into the flickering flames of a paltry fire.
He was painfully aware that the entire household depended upon his income, modest though it now was, and looked to him for a solution to the family troubles. Yet he could not be held responsible for everyone. Whether Emily liked it or not, savings would have to be made.
He would begin in the kitchen.
Bella and Dan seemed to be back on their old good terms. They began by meeting up every Monday evening for a walk in the park or by the Irwell. She no longer showed any interest in going up Dawney’s Hill. Afterwards, Dan would buy them each a fish supper for tenpence which they would eat with their fingers as they walked along the street, content to be together. Then their meetings grew to twice a week, three times, till she saw him most days at some point or other, even if it was only for him to walk her home from the clinic, and Bella was glad.
She was afraid now, of walking home alone in the dark.
On one never to be forgotten evening as they reached her door, before she had time to guess his intention Dan grasped her by the arms, almost lifting her off her feet, then pulled her against the breadth of his great chest and kissed her. Finally! At last! Of his own free will. And it was surely worth waiting for. Dan’s kiss, unlike Quinn’s, managed to be both passionate and tender, gentle yet irresistibly seductive and in a strange sort of way far more compulsive, leaving her utterly breathless. After it was over he set her carefully back on her feet and they stood there on the doorstep, alone in the moonlight, with his arms wrapped around her and she snuggled close and warm against his chest.
‘You like working at that clinic, don’t you?’ Dan said while Bella mumbled something incoherent by way of response.
‘Happen one day though, other events in your life might be more important.’
She glanced up at him, her hair rumpled from his fingers, eyes dazed by the depth of her emotion. ‘Happen they will,’ she teased, ‘but I shall always want to be involved with the clinic. You must understand that.’
‘I do.’ Smiling softly, he pulled her tighter into his arms. ‘So long as I’m right up there, at the top of your list, I’m happy.’
On fine Saturday afternoons, Edward and Jinnie would sometimes join them for a picnic and they’d laugh and giggle together, because they were young and in love, without a care in the world.
‘You know that Tilly and Sam have been given their notice,’ Jinnie whispered as the two girls walked arm in arm along the Flower Path in Seedley Park.
‘Oh lord, I was afraid something of the sort might happen. Poor Tilly. Has she found another place yet?’
Jinnie shook her head, saying that the last anyone had seen of Tilly was when she caught the tramcar home to her grandmother in Irlams o’ th’ Height. ‘I doubt she’ll be welcomed, not unless she’s a regular wage in her hand.’
‘Poor Tilly. We can’t let her end up in the workhouse. We must do something for her.’
‘Save some of your sympathy for Edward. He still hasn’t found a job and your Pa isn’t the man he was. There’s something else worrying him, I can tell. As for your mother -well, she point blank refuses to enter the portals of the kitchen so Mrs Dyson stays, no matter what. I do Tilly’s job, which suits me fine. It makes a change from winding wool and threading needles.’ And the two girls were giggling again as if it were no more than a silly nonsense and not a serious state of affairs at all. But then Bella had suffered her fill of problems recently. She really felt it was time she had some fun, for surely this slump couldn’t last. There’d be work enough for everyone come the spring, she was certain of it.
One bright Saturday afternoon in late autumn, Dan and Bella caught the number thirty-four tram to Belle Vue, marvelling at the fireworks and the set battle pieces. This time they went alone, Jinnie and Edward saying that, cheap as it was, they couldn’t afford such treats. Not until he’d found himself a job. Dan was still getting regular work down at Salford docks and it seemed strange to Bella that Dan should suddenly be better placed than her brother. As if the world had indeed turned upside down. She started to protest that she could afford to pay her own way, thank you very much, but recognising the stubborn light of pride in Dan’s eyes, managed to bite back the words just in time. She knew better now than to risk offending him by showing too much independence. Besides, they were young and in love. What did a tram fare matter anyway? That chip was still there, hard and fast upon his shoulders, and she’d no wish to cause offence or hurt him in any way.
Another time he took her to the Salford Hippodrome to see a
Christmas Spectacular
, otherwise known as a pantomime. Bella laughed at the Ugly Sisters till her sides ached and almost got hit with a custard pie as one skidded off stage. She’d never had so much fun in all her life which thus far had seemed to be made up almost entirely of duty and responsibility, of seeking opprobrium from her adored father as well as fending off Emily’s imagined woes and crises. For all she regretted these difficulties with her family, it was good to be reminded that she was still a young woman with a zestful appetite for life.
Apart from her days out with Dan, her daily routine continued as busy as ever, if not more so. Bella marvelled at how well her colleague coped with a medical practice as well as the Mothers’ Clinic. She truly was a treasure and there were no real problems now. Even the local press had gone quiet, perhaps because they could find nothing more to complain of at present as the whole operation seemed to be running so smoothly.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas Bella realised she had spoken too soon. Dr Syd became increasingly harassed with yet another round of ‘flu victims as the clinic was locked in the grip of an epidemic. This put extra strain on all the staff as they felt duty bound to visit patients in their own homes, if only to check that all was well and that they were receiving the care they needed.
The local papers had a field day. ‘
Mothers’ Clinic is unhygienic
!’
screamed one. ‘
Don’t get pregnant, get sick
!’ yelled
another and, as with all other publicity which had been meant to harm them, the articles brought a fresh flood of eager disciples to their door. ‘How will we cope?’ cried the overworked Dr Syd, who looked far from spry herself.
‘We will cope because we must,’ answered Bella, aching in every limb, just as if someone had beaten her black and blue all over.
When Nurse Shaw herself took sick, there seemed to be no help for it but to consider the unthinkable. The clinic would have to close.
‘Nay, thee can’t do that,’ Violet protested. ‘What about all them women who aren’t ill with the ‘flu. They still need you. What about asking your Doctor Lisle, see if he’ll help.’
‘Over my dead body,’ Bella protested. ‘And he isn’t
my
Doctor Lisle.’
‘No, but he’d like to be,’ joked the irrepressible Mrs Blundell.
Fortunately, Dr Syd heard of a student nurse who’d helped her in the past on a part time basis and Bella went to see her. She was called Diana Crompton. She was young, pretty, hard working, and most important of all willing to volunteer for a few hours duty during her free time from the hospital. The girl arrived at her first clinic the very next Tuesday morning on the dot of nine, as instructed. Once she was settled in and seemed to be coping well, working with smooth efficiency beside Dr Syd, Bella hurried off to begin her morning calls, leaving Violet and Mrs Blundell to counsel the new patients.
That same dinner time Quinn strolled into the little pie shop at precisely the moment that the pretty young nurse came hurrying down the stairs, thereby managing to accidentally knock her flying.
‘Aw, now aren’t I the clumsy one? Will ye look at what I’ve done. Knocked all yer bag and papers on the floor, so I have. Let me help you pick them up. Are ye all right?’
‘Yes, I think so.’ The young nurse lifted her eyes to his, ready to assure him that she was fine and he heard the slight intake of breath.
Quinn offered his most dazzling smile and knew with the certainty of experience even as he suggested that he owed her a drink at least, by way of recompense, that this girl would refuse him nothing. This girl would be putty in his clever hands. And wouldn’t Isabella Ashton be sorry, then?
It was one Thursday evening in late November that Bella spotted a shadowy figure standing beneath the gas lamp across the street from the clinic. Not Dan this time but Billy Quinn. She’d recognise those hunched shoulders and that slouch cap anywhere, not to mention the thread of blue tobacco smoke. He glanced up at the window and Bella drew quickly back, heart pounding, not with desire but from recollection of their last, alarming encounter. She was not easily frightened yet Quinn’s behaviour that night had shaken her to the core. As she watched, Bella heard Nurse Crompton call goodnight and clatter down the stairs. The next moment the girl walked across the road, straight into Billy Quinn’s arms.
Bella agonised all the following week over whether she should speak to Diana Crompton. It surprised her that she didn’t feel in the least bit jealous but was concerned for the young student nurse, and angry with Quinn. He mustn’t be allowed to ruin this young girl’s life as well. Hadn’t he done enough damage to Bella’s own, and to Jinnie’s?
No more than eighteen or nineteen, she seemed pleasant and friendly, was gentle and trusting, probably because she came from a sheltered background and possessed a warm heart entirely suited to nursing. In Quinn’s terms, she was ripe for the plucking. Bella decided she would be doing her a favour if she could only break things up between them before matters got too advanced. But it must be done with tact. The very worst scenario would be for Bella to blunder clumsily in, seeming to interfere in her life. This might only result in a perverse rebellion, which the young were prone to.
She could always dismiss her, save for the fact that Nurse Crompton was a volunteer, working for the clinic for no reward other than out of the goodness of her heart. And since her recovery from the ‘flu, Nurse Shaw was now nursing her brother and nieces, who also had gone down with it. She wouldn’t be back for another two weeks at least and then only on Tuesdays for a while, she’d told them, because of her other commitments. Besides, even if Bella insisted Nurse Crompton was no longer required, which would easily be recognised as a lie, that wouldn’t necessarily prevent her from continuing to see Quinn. It might even make the situation worse as Bella would have no way then of protecting her.
Each day Bella meant to search him out at his favourite places in order to tackle him on the subject, to tell him to leave the girl alone. Yet each day she avoided the task. As eagerly as she had once used to rush to Quinn’s side, now she felt anxious to avoid him at all cost. Unable to decide what to do, she called on Jinnie for advice. Jinnie’s response was not encouraging as she reminded Bella of what little notice she herself had taken of well meaning intervention. Bella accepted the truth of this, and admitted that confrontation with the young nurse might not be the best approach.
‘Besides, Quinn is the one causing the problem, the one still interfering in your life, albeit indirectly, so he’s the one you should tackle,’ Jinnie bluntly told her. ‘But don’t ask me to do it. I’ve enough on my plate. Besides, Edward wouldn’t want me seeing Quinn again and I’ve no intention of even taking the risk of losing what I have with my lovely husband.’
‘What you’re saying is that I’ve got myself into this mess, so I can get myself out of it.’