MONDAY ARRIVED SOONER than Sally would have liked. Yesterday, she’d spent a lovely afternoon with Maggie Benson, her mother and small twins. She’d taken along Jonathan and Shield. Flo and Harry had squealed in delight over the dog and played with him all day. The gentle beast would make Jonathan a fine friend when he was older.
Passing through the dreary streets to work, she smiled, recalling the warm welcome. Ellen had thanked her for defending her daughter, railed over the mill overlooker and his filthy ways and bemoaned that Maggie hadn’t found further employment. Yet despite their problems, Maggie and Ellen were great company, had her in fits of laughter.
When leaving, Sally had promised to keep eyes and ears open for a position for her new friend. Along Davies Street, into Ridgeway Street, past St Philip’s Church and on down Butler Street towards home, she’d racked her brains for a solution to the family’s dilemma. And as she reached the corner of Bradford Street and Bradford Road, an idea had formed.
Now, hurrying on, she crossed her fingers that Pru would agree. There was no harm in asking – nothing gained, nothing lost.
Entering the shop, she gave her Pru best smile. ‘Good morning, Miss Sharp.’
‘Ah, Sally, good morning.’ As had become habit, she patted the empty stool. ‘You’re in high spirits, dear.’
‘I am, though I’m afraid you may deem the reason impudent.’
‘Impudent? I’m intrigued.’
She took a deep breath. ‘Miss Sharp, I have a friend in desperate need of work. Her name is Maggie Benson and until recently she was an employee of Brunswick Mill. Through no fault of hers, the overlooker dismissed her; she spurned his advances, nothing more. She’s widowed with twins, and I, I wondered—’
‘Whether I had a position for her?’
‘She’s trustworthy and hard-working. She’d prove most helpful in the shop. Just several hours a week would ease her financial woes.’
Pru frowned in contemplation. ‘I must admit it is difficult managing this place alone. Naturally, some days are busier than others – Mondays and Saturdays are somewhat arduous. I don’t suppose it would take long to train her …’
‘Oh, it wouldn’t,’ Sally readily agreed. ‘She’s a lovely woman. You’ll like her, Miss Sharp.’
Pru tapped a finger against her lips, eyes thoughtful. ‘I don’t doubt it, if you recommend her. I respect your judgement. It would be nice to have company in here … Very well. She may help out Mondays and Saturdays for the time being and if she proves satisfactory, I shall increase her hours. There will be a fortnight’s trial period, you understand?’
Grinning, Sally nodded. ‘Yes, Miss Sharp. Thank you.’
‘Inform her that she starts on Saturday. We’ll discuss wages and so forth then. Now, we’d better get to work. The shop will be filling soon and Mother will be awake shortly.’
At the mention of Agnes, Sally’s happiness dipped. ‘How was she over the weekend? She wasn’t … hasn’t …?’
‘No, dear, no. She was no more difficult than usual.’
Sally couldn’t contain a small sigh. ‘I’m glad to hear that, Miss Sharp.’
Pru filled two cups. ‘Here. Tea for you and Mother when she wakes.’
Another day with the pernicious old woman stretching before her, Sally squared her shoulders, needing all the resolve she could muster.
‘Please don’t mention Maggie to Mother. I shall tell her myself, soon.’
Smiling sadly in understanding, Sally climbed the stairs.
‘The bastards! The rotten, stinking bastards!’ Nancy fumed. She shifted the hot pie dish in her arms. ‘You should’ve let me at them, lad. Cowards, that’s what they are. Bleedin’ cowards!’
Joseph stared ahead, mind clearly on the upcoming task.
‘Who do they think they are, anyroad? And that young ’un what flew at thee, well, you can see he takes after his mam. She can be a vicious bitch at times, can Ivy. Then there’s Arthur: why drag his son off you then thump you one hisself?’
‘For the love of Christ, will you shut that gob of yourn? Tha knows why. That bitch must of told them a pack of lies about me.’
She shook her head in disgust. ‘Well, after what they did to you yesterday, I’d happily swing for the lot of them.’ As she gazed at his bruised face, her heart contracted. ‘It were reet thoughtful of you to push me into Nellie’s when you spotted them. They’d have shouted their mouths to my father about us seeing each other. I do love thee, you know that, but I can’t bring shame upon him.
‘Once you’ve dealt with Sally, we can be together proper, can’t we? Then you’ll not have to stop at that filthy cottage of your sister’s; we can live together. Aye, not long now and I can shout my love for thee, to anyone who’ll listen, from the bloody rooftops.’
She ignored the usual prickle of unease when wondering what he planned for Sally. All she knew was he wanted rid of her for good. And more than anything, so did she. With her out of the way, they could be together for ever. She just didn’t like dwelling on how he’d achieve it.
Skirting a small stream, Joseph continued through the field. He began to laugh and she smiled.
‘’Ere, what’s tickled you?’
‘Is that what you thought I did, pushed you out of sight for your reputation’s sake?’ Her smile slipped and he laughed harder. ‘You’re a stupid bitch at times, you are really. Aye, I didn’t want them knowing you’ve been messing with me, you’re right there. But it weren’t for you, you daft sow.
‘I did it because if all that lot you’ve thieved from your father’s shop comes out, I don’t want my name dragged into it. Folk will know you swiped it for me. That’s why I did it, you silly bitch.’ Snorting with mirth, he quickened his pace. ‘Now move it, for God’s sake. I’ve been waiting for this. I’m going to get so much pleasure from wrapping my hands round that scraggy throat.’
Gulping heartache, Nancy hurried after him. Yet doubt, for the first time, tugged at her. Staring at his broad back as he scaled a wall and dropped behind Spring Row, she bit her lip until she tasted blood. He does love me. He does. He doesn’t mean to be cruel, it’s just his way, she told herself firmly. She rested the pie dish on the wall and hauled herself up.
Joseph hopped from foot to foot. ‘Hurry up and jump afore someone spots us. ’Ere, give me your hand.’
His large one closed around hers and she melted. ‘Ta, love.’
When she stood beside him in the deserted back lane, he placed his hands on her shoulders and grinned. ‘By God, I’m going to enjoy this.’
She pressed her lips to his. He pushed her against the wall and her body relaxed. She knew she’d been right; he did love her. Feeling him harden, she smiled inwardly. The thrill of danger turned him on something rotten and she knew just how to stoke the flames.
Crushing Nancy closer, Joseph sucked and bit her neck. But, returning his lips to hers, he gasped and stumbled back. For a split second the face before him had been Sally’s.
‘Love?’
He shook his head. What in hell had just happened?
‘You all right? You’ve gone a shocking colour.’
‘Eh? Aye. Get that dish and get moving.’
Rage made his blood boil. That bitch was sending him mad. She was constantly on his mind. He had to find her. And when he did, she’d suffer more than she could imagine.
‘I’ll be away, then.’
He nodded. ‘You sure you know what to do?’
‘Aye. Serve Father his meal then keep an eye out from the shop door.’
‘And?’
‘And if I see anyone making for Ivy’s, sing as loud as I can to get your attention.’
‘Are you certain that father of yourn won’t think it queer you squalling all of a sudden?’
‘Nay, I’m allus bursting into song. Love singing, I do. It sends him barmy, mind.’ She smiled at the admission. ‘I’ll not let you down, love.’
‘You’d better not. Mess this up and you’ll regret it, girl.’ Glancing to the cottage, his spine tingled. ‘The owd bitch won’t be so brave this time.’
‘Scare the liver from her, lad. She’ll soon talk. And don’t fret, I’ll be ready if I see anyone coming.’
When she’d rounded the corner, he looked left and right then sprinted to the Morgans’.
Pressing against the stone wall, he craned his neck to steal a glance through the kitchen window. He grinned to see that Ivy had her back to him, peeling vegetables by the fire. Silently, he eased open the door.
His fists tightened in hatred. She’d suffer for her meddling, his humiliation, for slapping his face. She’d suffer for harbouring Sally. And she’d suffer for her husband’s and son’s blows.
Baring his teeth, he crept across the flagged floor.
Midday seemed to take an age to arrive and Sally sent up a thank-you when Pru’s voice drifted upstairs. She was home in no time and after feeding Jonathan, cuddled him tenderly. She treasured these snatched minutes before she had to leave him again.
Grace pushed a cup across and motioned to a plate of bread and butter. ‘Eat up, lass.’
As she ate, Sally told her of Pru’s decision. ‘I cannot wait to tell Maggie the good news. I’m so glad Miss Sharp agreed.’
A mischievous smile played at Grace’s mouth. ‘So Con was right. He said no one could deny you, didn’t he?’
She laughed softly. ‘You can look at me like that all you like. I’m sure he’ll make some woman very happy but—’
‘It’ll not be thee. Aye, you’ve said. Eeh, you want your bumps feeling, lass. He’s a good ’un, he is, and thinks the world of thee; you can see it a mile off. Ed and Stan got on with him yesterday evening, didn’t they? And you know I approve. Just don’t rule him out altogether. I know you’re still married but you don’t know what the future holds. Tha might be a free woman one day—’
‘And I’ll remain one,’ she murmured, all trace of laughter gone. ‘I couldn’t be with any man … like that … again.’
The memory of Con’s kiss brought back a small smile. It was a good thing Grace didn’t know of that; she’d plan to have the banns read!
‘You still fret over that divilish bastard, don’t you?’ Sally lowered her gaze and Grace sighed. ‘You’re rid of him, love. He’ll not hurt thee again. You’ve your family, here, now. You’re not his to do with as he pleases, with no one to question him, not any more.
‘Anyroad, you said yourself he don’t know you’re here. And if your Mrs Morgan don’t tell him, he ain’t likely to find out. It’s time to start living, lass, to lay the demons to rest and look to the future – for that babby’s sake as well as yours.’
Tears pricked her eyes. Sally wanted desperately to agree but couldn’t. The horrors he’d put her through haunted her. Him finding her, snatching Jonathan – even killing her – were very real possibilities.
‘Aunt Grace, I’m in heaven, now. Life before was hardly worth fighting for.’ She stroked Jonathan’s cheek. ‘It is, now, and I’ve this one to thank. However, I cannot deny I’m terrified that fiend will find me. He’ll be trying, you can be sure of that. I pray daily, until I run out of words, he doesn’t succeed.’
Grace’s eyes flashed with protective love. ‘I half hope he does turn up, for he’d get his comeuppance, have no fear of that. Your uncle would thump his warped head in. Raging, Ed were, when I told him how that swine treated thee over the years. I’ll say that for him, in all the years of our marriage, he’s never once lifted a finger to me. Though by God, I’ve give him cause to many a time.’ She chuckled. ‘Aye, he’s been a fair husband.
‘I only wish things were better betwixt him and our Stan, but you can’t have it all, can you, lass? Maybe in t’ future …? What I’m getting at is I want that for thee, to know the love of a good man. And as far as I’m concerned, you’ll not find it with no one nicer than Con Malloy.’
Peggy’s hacking cough saved Sally from responding. As Grace murmured over the skeletal figure, Sally pondered over Con. Could she take a chance on love? As Grace pointed out, she might indeed be a free woman one day. Would she rue it if she let him slip through her fingers?
The more she saw of him, the more she found to like, it was true. He’d revealed he ran a clothing stall at nearby Smithfield Market. The day they met, he’d been visiting Bolton market as he was considering opening a stall there, too, which his cousin would run. She knew if this cousin was anything like Con, it would be a roaring success.
Con had a way with both women and men; he’d had Ed and Stan in his palm last night. Grace’s opinion of him also strengthened when he’d sat by Peggy’s bedside and, with real tenderness, told her what a big brave colleen she was and promised to buy her a pretty ribbon for her hair.
And yet … She sighed. Was it her experience with Joseph or for an altogether different reason that she’d rebuffed his attentions?
‘Oh! Sally, help me, lass!’
Thoughts of Tommy melted. She placed Jonathan in his basket and hurried to the bed. Peggy’s mouth, nightdress and sheet were stained crimson. She grabbed a rag and dabbed at blood still trickling between the grey lips, while Grace rushed for a clean nightdress.
When the flow ceased, she lifted a small hand and kissed it. ‘Rest, now, good girl. Shall I fetch Thunder?’
At Peggy’s weak nod, she lifted Shaun’s carving from the shelf. Though too frail for play, the girl found comfort in the wooden beast she’d lovingly named, would tuck it in beside her.
Sally watched the chest rise and fall laboriously. To see her withering away pained her dearly. She and Stan sat by her bedside each night, talking to her, holding her hand. Sally just wished she’d met her sooner, that she had memories of her before this hideous disease.
When Peggy was sleeping, she went in search of her aunt. As she passed Shield he looked up dolefully, as though sensing the child’s plight, and she stroked his ear. She found Grace in the backyard, slumped against the mangle, Peggy’s nightdress pressed to her mouth. Her muffled sobs tore at Sally. She wrapped her arms around her aunt with a sigh of despair, wishing she could take away her pain.
‘She’s dying, i’nt she? There’s no use denying it any longer. My little girl’s dying.’
There was nothing she could say. She held Grace tighter, her own heart breaking.
After throwing carrots into a pan by her feet, Ivy reached for the cabbage. Her back muscles twinged and she sighed, knowing she had a pile of clothes and sheets in steep to see to once she finished here.
When she felt the searing pain around her neck, her reaction was to scream but the pressure restricted it. She tried twisting around; the grip tightened and light spurted behind her eyes. She clawed the hands choking her but the world was fading …
Suddenly, they released her. Rearing back, she took an almighty breath and whirled around, but her streaming eyes blurred the room. When the voice cut through her splutters she didn’t need to see to know to whom it belonged.
‘That’s just for starters, Poison Ivy.’
Bending double, she fetched up a stream of bile. She spotted the dropped cabbage and knife beneath her chair but moments later, his large hand snatched up the latter.
She drew a trembling hand across her mouth. ‘How … I thought I’d locked …?’
Sitting down at the table, Joseph smiled. He ran the blade’s tip under his nail and wiped the dirt on his trousers. ‘Tha needn’t fret on that. It’s what I’m to do now I’m in what’s important.’
‘You demented bastard, yer. I ain’t scared of thee.’ Glancing at the knife, Ivy’s mouth ran dry but she lifted her chin. ‘I’m warning you, Joseph. Get from my cottage and Spring Row on your two feet or I swear on all that’s holy, you’ll leave in a box.’
He threw his head back and laughed. ‘I’ve gorra better idea. Tell me where that slut of mine is and I might let you live to see the morrow. I could’ve snapped your worthless neck just now and believe me, I’ll not stop squeezing next time if you don’t start talking. Where is she?’
‘Out of your evil reach, that’s where.’ Despite her fear, she stepped closer. ‘You’ll not harm her again. Threaten me all you want. I’d sooner you gut me like a fish than tell you where she is.’
With a roar, he leapt up, grabbed the front of her dress and lifted her off her feet. ‘Tell me!’
‘Never! You don’t frighten me, you bastard,’ she bluffed. ‘I ain’t no slip of a lass and I don’t bully easy. Go on, do your worst. You’ll not get far. My Arthur and the lads will be home any minute.’ She ran her gaze over his bruises. ‘Did a right number on you, didn’t they? They’ll finish the job, mind, when they find you here.’
Grinning, he tossed her to the floor. ‘Did you really think I’d swallow that, you stupid owd bitch? They’re at the pit, will be for hours.’ She looked away and he laughed. ‘You see, I’ve been racking my brains forra way to get youse back. I were thinking on burning yon cottage to the ground while you slept, kill four birds with one stone, but that’s not my style.
‘You’ll suffer, all right, but I want to see the terror on your faces while I do it. I’ll pick you off one by one, torture the lot of you till you’re begging me to put you out of your misery. I were going to bide my time but your husband and son, jumping me yesterday like the cowards they are, put paid to that. The time for waiting’s over.’
Her blood ran cold at the eerily soft words but the threat to her family sparked fresh bravado. Lunging, she landed a punch to his mouth. He staggered back and she leapt forward and snatched the abandoned knife from the table.
Panting with pure fury, he charged. She jabbed the blade at his face. Lightning fast, he grabbed her wrist and twisted. She fought like a raging bull but the pain of the bone close to snapping was too intense. To her horror, the knife clattered to the floor.
Joseph threw his hands around Ivy’s neck, bent her over the table and squeezed with all his might.
‘You’re first to go but don’t fret,’ he hissed, pressing his face to hers, ‘your family will be joining you shortly. I’ll find Sally without your help. And when I do, I’ll watch the life drain from her worthless body, an’ all.’
As her flailing limbs stilled, singing rang out from the row.
His mouth fell open. He flung Ivy’s inert body aside and bolted. Knocking at the front door sounded as he reached the back one. He scrambled through into the lane.
Sprinting away, he smiled jubilantly as the scream of Ivy’s visitor filled the air.