The Hills and the Valley (33 page)

‘Yes, so would I,' Harry said crossly, getting up. ‘And when we do find them they deserve a jolly good hiding.'

Margaret's lips tightened. She was firmly against corporal punishment which she did not believe achieved anything.

‘I don't know what we're going to do,' she said. ‘It's dark and cold and they've had no tea. We'd better go out and look for them.'

‘They'll come home when they're hungry,' Harry said stubbornly but privately he was worried. The girls had had no dinner and no tea. They must be hungry already. But they were not here.

‘We'll give them another hour,' he said. ‘If they're not home by seven I suppose we shall have to tell the police. In the meantime, I'd better do what the girls were supposed to do and take Betty back her purse.'

‘Well, I'm going out to look for them now,' Margaret said.

She walked the streets looking everywhere she could think of but there was no sign of the girls. At seven she returned home. Harry was in the kitchen looking annoyed.

‘Are they back?' she asked hopefully, though it was clear they were not.

‘No. And since you obviously haven't found them either I suppose we had better phone Sergeant Button. The little idiots! The whole story will have to come out now and there would have been no need for it to if they hadn't behaved so stupidly. Betty was prepared to let the matter rest now she has her purse back provided we do our best to make sure such a thing never happens again – though personally I think it probably will. They are bad girls and that's all there is to it.'

‘They're not bad, they're just deprived,' said Margaret, springing to the girls'defence. ‘I should have thought you of all people would understand that. You are supposed to be committed to fighting for better conditions so that people wouldn't need to steal.'

‘Elaine and Marie don't need to steal. They have all they could wish for here – and more. You're soft with them, Margaret.' He got up. ‘But there's no point sitting here arguing about it. I'll phone Sergeant Button now. He'll have them back in no time. Wherever they are they can't have got far.'

Eddie Roberts was working late this evening. Whatever adverse effects the war might have had on other businesses it had certainly done the insurance trade no harm. People were more anxious than ever to insure life and property and Eddie saw no reason to point out the exclusion clauses to them unless they specifically asked. Even then he usually had a platitude to offer. ‘Well – strictly speaking, of course … but this is a very good company, very fair. I know of a case …' By the time Eddie had finished his client was usually ready to sign on the dotted line. Eddie Roberts was such a
nice
man, so cheerful, so helpful, it was a pleasure to have him calling.

It was just after eight o'clock when Eddie came out of a house on the main Bath road in Sanderley and walked down the path to where he had left his bicycle on the path by the front gate. With eyes not yet accustomed to the dark he felt for it and realised it was not there. At the same moment a car came along the road and by its shaded lights Eddie saw a bicycle wobbling off along the road in the direction of Bath.

‘Hoi!' he shouted and began to run after it without much hope. Then there was a crash. Eddie got his second wind and ran harder to find the bicycle –
his
precious bicycle – lying in the road and two girls picking themselves up out of the gutter.

‘What the devil do you think you are doing?' he demanded angrily.

They got up, rubbing their grazed knees and looking up at him fearfully. There was a moon and now his eyes had grown used to the dark he recognised them.

‘You're the two vackies staying with Harry Hall, aren't you?' he asked. ‘What are you doing in Sanderley – and where the blazes did you think you were going on my bike?'

The older of the two girls straightened up defiantly.

‘We're going back to London.'

‘On my bike?'

‘No, stupid. We're going to Bath. Then we're going to get a train.'

Eddie almost laughed. ‘You can't do that! Not without telling anybody. You can't go back to London anyway. It's being bombed nearly every night.'

‘We don't care,' Elaine said. ‘It would be better than staying here. Anything would be better than that.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘They're awful to us,' Elaine said plaintively. ‘Really awful, aren't they, our Marie? Well,
she's
not too bad, I suppose, but him … He says we've done things we never have and then he …' She paused dramatically. ‘He hits us. He does! So we want to go home. Oh, please help us, Mister!'

‘I'm hungry!' Marie wailed suddenly. ‘Really hungry!'

‘We haven't had anything to eat all day,' Elaine went on, prompted by her sister's outburst. ‘Not a thing. We often don't.'

‘You mean they don't
feed
you?' Eddie asked. He was beginning to feel strangely excited. He'd never heard anyone say a word against Harry Hall before, usually it was all sickening praise. This was a revelation!

‘Well, we usually have our dinner at school,' Elaine said. ‘But we didn't today. He wouldn't let us. He came and took us home to go on at us again. It was awful. That's why we're going, isn't it, our Marie?'

Marie nodded.

‘Please help us, Mister!' Elaine said plaintively. ‘You've got a kind face …'

Eddie was thinking furiously. What on earth was he to do with two vackie children in the blackout and him with only his bike? But he was determined not to let this golden opportunity slip through his fingers. For years now he had nursed a jealousy of Harry Hall and he had been looking for a way to put him down, Clever Dick that he was. When Harry had put a stop to his little sidelines on the council Eddie had made up his mind that one day he would get his own back, but instead he had been forced to sit quietly back and endorse him as prospective Labour candidate. Eddie had practically sweated with rancour and impotence. No matter how he dug about looking for something to pin on Harry he had always been unsuccessful. In all his dealings Harry seemed above reproach. And now suddenly this had been presented to him.

In secret Harry Hall was cruel to children. Helpless evacuee children placed in his care. Hitting them. Starving them. Treating them so badly they were prepared to face the bombs in London rather than spend another night under his roof…

‘You can't go to London, tonight,' he said. ‘You'd better come home with me. You can have a meal and I'll look after you until we get something sorted out.'

‘What about
him?'
Elaine asked. ‘He'll make us go back with him!'

‘No he won't. When the authorities hear what you have to say about his treatment of you I'm sure no one will make you go back there.'

‘They might not believe us!' Elaine said. For the first time she sounded frightened. ‘He'll call us liars – he will!'

‘I don't think so,' Eddie said grandly.

‘He will. He always calls us liars.'

‘We did something bad today,' Marie said in a small voice.

‘Oh, what was that?' Eddie asked, bending lower to hear her.

‘We took some money from the house next door.'

‘But only because we was hungry!' Elaine put in swiftly. ‘We wanted to buy some food.'

‘Are you hungry now?' Eddie asked. ‘I expect you are. Well, I'm taking you home with me. I'll see you all right.' He picked up his bicycle and sat Marie on the crossbar. ‘We shall have to walk, I'm afraid,' he said to Elaine. ‘I can't ride with both of you.'

As they set out along the road there were expressions of triumph on both his face and Elaine's. Only Marie looked unhappy. She did not like the things Elaine had said. Of course, Elaine was her big sister and she was usually right. Marie always stuck by her through thick and thin. But this time she did not think Elaine was right.

Marie clung to the crossbar of the bicycle feeling confused, hungry and frightened.

‘It's ridiculous!' said Margaret. ‘The most ridiculous thing I ever heard!'

‘Not only ridiculous but a pack of lies!' said Harry.

‘Nevertheless, accusations have been made.' Sergeant Button shifted uncomfortably, taking refuge under his voluminous cape. He did not like this one little bit. He had enormous respect for both Harry and Margaret Hall, but he still had a job to do. ‘You don't deny taking the children out of school today, Mr Hall, and making them miss their dinner.'

‘No, I don't deny that. But I took them out for a very good reason. A purse had been stolen, Sergeant, and I found it in their room. I wanted to get to the bottom of it all.'

‘The girls say they took the money because they were hungry. They wanted to buy something to eat.'

‘Do you honestly believe that?' Margaret demanded.

The sergeant shifted again. ‘There are people who take in vackies for the money they get for their keep and don't spend what they should on them.'

‘And you're saying we are like that?'

‘Not necessarily. But it does happen …'

‘Not in this house, it doesn't!' Margaret marched to the larder, took out the pie and banged it down on the table in front of the policeman. ‘Here is their tea, uneaten. The fact that they didn't have it is entirely their own fault. But I assure you that until today they have never gone hungry in their lives. Well – not since they have been with us at any rate.'

Sergeant Button's majesty wilted beneath her furious attack.

‘They are a cartload of little monkeys, it's true,' he admitted. ‘I've had more trouble with the vackies and the things they get up to than all the local youngsters put together. Being away from home I suppose they think they can get away with anything.' He paused, remembering it was not just the children who had caused him trouble. There had been one of the young women, soliciting openly outside the Miners Arms, and several cases of theft and shoplifting. ‘Well, at least you won't be troubled with them any more,' he said.

‘What do you mean?' Margaret asked sharply.

‘They're with Mr Eddie Roberts. He has offered for them to stay with him for the time being and I reckon that would be best all round.'

‘But they live here!' Margaret was distressed. ‘All their things are here!'

‘As far as I'm concerned I'm quite happy to bundle the lot of it in the car and drive it up to Eddie Roberts'house,' Harry said. ‘He's got them, he can keep them, and good luck to him.'

‘No!' Margaret protested. ‘I'm not happy about that Sergeant. I'm sure I could get through to them if I had the chance and find out why they said those terrible things.'

‘You've had plenty of chance to get through to them – and it hasn't worked,' Harry said bluntly. ‘Let them stay where they are, I say. Well, what about the accusations against us, Sergeant? Will you be preferring charges?'

‘I doubt it, Mr Hall. I shall have to make a few enquiries, of course, but I feel sure it will end there.'

‘I wish you would take us to court,' Harry said.

Margaret's eyes went round with horror. ‘Harry!'

‘I do. At least then we could refute the allegations. As it is mud will stick. And Eddie Roberts will do his best to see that it does, no doubt. Can't you just imagine how he'll love to go round muttering “There's no smoke without fire”? I can!'

‘It's unfortunate. Very unfortunate,' Sergeant Button said uncomfortably. ‘But I still think it's best to leave them where they are for tonight. Perhaps you'll be able to sort something out tomorrow, Mrs Hall.'

‘They are not coming back here if I can help it!' Harry stated.

Elaine and Marie arrived on the doorstep two days later.

‘What are you two doing here?' Margaret asked coldly.

They looked at her sheepishly.

‘Can we come back and stay with you?'

‘I don't know about that,' Margaret said. ‘I thought we ill treated you.'

‘It's better than at Mr Roberts'house. You can't move there. His mother keeps telling us not to touch things,' Elaine said in disgust.

Margaret hid a smile. She had heard Amy talk of her former mother-in-law's fetish for tidiness.

‘Well, I don't know,' she said. ‘Mr Hall is very upset about the things you have said and done.'

‘Oh, please!' Marie cried. She hurled herself at Margaret, clutching her skirts. Margaret was lost.

‘All right, you had better come in,' she said.

‘Things are going to be different from now on,' Harry said sternly. ‘I'm telling you straight that if I had my way you would certainly not have come back. And if I ever have another moment's trouble from either of you, you won't get another chance.'

They returned his gaze submissively. What was it about these urchins, he wondered. They could do the unforgiveable and still worm their way back into your heart.

Of course, if he was honest, his motives were not entirely altruistic. Already, Eddie Roberts had begun to spread the rumours, a word here, a word there. ‘Of course, nothing could be proved but …', always with the look that said maybe Harry Hall was not all that he seemed. With the children back under his roof his case looked a little stronger. If he had really ill-treated them they would never have been so eager to return.

As prospective Labour candidate Harry felt he could not afford even a whisper about his character – and given the opportunity Eddie Roberts would do plenty of whispering.

‘Very well, for the moment we will forget about it,' he said to the children.

But he knew there were plenty of political opponents now and in the future who would not be so ready to forget.

Throughout the spring of 1941 while the war gained in ferocity and momentum Marcus Spindler continued to court Barbara Roberts.