‘SIT YOUR ARSE by the fire, you big bugger, afore you knock me south.’ Ivy jerked her head across her kitchen, expression stern, but couldn’t contain a smile as Shield sloped off. ‘He’s like a bucking hare, ain’t sat still since you arrived.’
‘He’s excited to be back, I suspect,’ said Sally, then chuckled, seeing her mother grinning at Ivy’s no-nonsense way.
Ivy sat with a groan. ‘Eeh, my bleedin’ back. Rotten owd age, I could swing for it.’
Rose could hold back no longer and laughed. ‘Oh, Ivy, you’re a tonic. I sympathise, mind. My knees ain’t what they were; creak like an owd barn door, they do.’
‘Aye. They don’t know when they’re well off, these young ’uns, Rose.’ She nodded to Sally. ‘You wait till you’re owd and grey. There’ll come a day when your crumbling bones struggle to shift thee.’
‘I shan’t mind. I’ll have my husband to carry me in his arms.’
Ivy hooted with laughter. ‘Soppy bugger, yer. By, but it’s good seeing you sat there, lass. Have you really no regrets? Don’t you miss yon lodging house, not even a bit?’
‘No,’ she answered truthfully. ‘It shall remain what I intended, with or without me. That’s what matters. Oh, Anna’s face when I handed her the keys and deeds. The woman whose money bought that house, all she suffered at her hands … Anna deserves it far more than I ever did.’ She peered around the cosy kitchen she’d so missed. ‘Oh, it’s good to be back.
‘Truly, it is,’ she insisted when Ivy shot Rose a look. ‘I feel nothing but hope, Mrs Morgan; that won’t change upon Tommy’s return. Do you remember my taking the carrier’s cart all those moons ago?’ she asked quietly.
‘I do.’
‘As we passed through the row, I admit, I vowed never to set foot inside there again. But it wasn’t the cottage I loathed and feared, I know that now. From today, it will be what it never could under Joseph’s rule. It will be a home.’
Ivy’s eyes were suspiciously bright. ‘Drink your tea, lass, afore it grows cowd.’
Sally and her mother shared a tender smile for this woman. Having her for a neighbour was a delight; a friend, more so. To call her family was a blessing from heaven. Their futures were all the brighter for having her.
Voices sounded beyond the door. The children burst inside, holding hands.
‘Go see, Mama, go see!’ said Jonathan excitedly.
‘See, see!’ mimicked Jenny.
Sally chucked the toddler under the chin then ruffled her son’s hair. He had no idea she was no stranger to the cottage soon to be his home. And she hoped he never would. She glanced to Tommy in the doorway. He held up a key and winked, and she smiled.
‘Let your mam and father look round by theirselfs,’ said Ivy. ‘We’ll stop here, eh, and have some fruit cake.’
With her mother’s encouraging hug, Sally took her husband’s hand. His love lent her strength and as they passed up the familiar path, her step didn’t falter.
Inside, he hung back and she was grateful for his understanding. As she’d secretly feared, past demons lingered and she knew if she was to be happy here, she alone must banish them. No one could do it for her.
She wandered through the rooms, long-ago memories flitting then disappearing. At last, she returned to Tommy, pale but calm.
‘Can you face it, Sally?’
‘Yes.’ Though she spoke truthfully, she knew pain flickered behind her eyes.
He wrapped his arms around her. Then he took her face and kissed her.
Taking her hand, he led her to the next room. Again, he held her then kissed her softly. This, he repeated in each. They spoke no words and needed none. After holding her in the last room, his kiss was more tender still. When they drew apart, Sally knew he saw a different look: one of peace and hope.
She stared around through fresh eyes. With each embrace, each kiss, the badness had seeped away. This wasn’t a house any more but a home. They had blessed it with their love.
‘Happy?’
‘Happy,’ she answered on a sigh of serenity.
They left hand in hand. At the gate, she motioned to Ivy’s. ‘You go in. I’ll follow in a moment.’
Alone, she gazed at her new home and smiled for the future. She envisioned family life: eating dinner together at the table, the children’s laughter as they played with Shield, sipping tea with her mother by the fire on wintry nights, she and Tommy making love beneath the eaves …
‘Hello, missis.’
Sally turned in surprise.
The child, a fluffy cat in her arms, was taller, cleaner, less pinch-faced. None the less, there was no mistaking her. ‘Lily? It is you! Oh, how lovely to see you!’
‘Please don’t be angry with me.’
It was then that Sally noticed the dread in the blue eyes, the nervous biting of her lip. ‘Lily, what’s wrong? Why on earth would I be angry with you? I’m delighted to see you after all these years.’
‘Aye?’
‘Of course.’ She tapped the tip of her nose. ‘Why would I ever be angry with you, lass?’
‘Because of Uncle Joseph.’
‘Your … Uncle …? Dear God, it was you? Tommy said the child who helped them was named Lily, but I never … never imagined …’
‘I’m sorry, missis. I never knew you were his wife and when I saw you in fat Nellie’s, and what he’d done to you, and I knew it were you from the market, I cried, and I’m sorry, and, and—’
‘Shhh, Lily, it’s all right. It’s all right.’ Sally drew her, sobbing, into her arms.
‘He were wicked, he were, wicked. I thought you’d not want to be my friend if you knew he were my uncle. I thought you’d be angry, that you’d tell me to bugger off.’
‘Oh, Lily. You’re as innocent as a lamb. You helped the Morgans rescue me. You saved my life. You’ve been only brave, clever and good. I could never be angry with you, never.’
Lily wiped her nose on her sleeve. ‘You mean it, missis?’
‘Of course.’
The cat struggled for release. Setting it down, Lily pulled a face. ‘Bleedin’ heavy, that thing. I’ve carried her all the way. Never go nowhere without Clover, I don’t.’
A slow frown creased Sally’s brow. ‘How did you know I was here?’
‘I were at the market, earlier, saw thee and another lady and Mr Morgan’s son boarding a cart. I thought my eyes were having me on.’
‘The lady’s my mother. And Mr Morgan’s son, Tommy, he and I are married now, Lily. We left Manchester this morning.’ She pointed to her cottage. ‘There’s our new home.’
Lily smiled. ‘I saw that babby of yourn, an’ all. Grown, ain’t he?’
It suddenly struck her that Lily and her son were cousins. Lord, but it was a small world. ‘You can come say hello to him if you like.’
‘Can I, missis?’
Sally nodded, wondering how this lovely girl had come from the womb of such a terrible woman. And with thoughts of Alice, her smile melted.
‘Does your mother know you’re here?’
‘Nay. Long gone, she is.’
‘Gone?’
‘Aye. Father had enough and slung her out. She’s been gone this past year, thanks be to God. He’ll not mind me seeing thee, for he knows you never did wrong. He couldn’t stand Uncle Joseph, neither.’
‘Well, I don’t know what to say. And your mother’s never returned?’
‘Nay and I’m glad. She worsened after he died, began drinking more and thumping us about. She said you drove him to do away with hisself with your wicked ways. We knew she were wrong; he were the wicked ’un, not thee. Home’s better, now. Father’s not sad and he’s gorra job. And our Lizzie’s returned with her babby.’
Their conversation at the market, of Lily’s sister allowing her master’s son in Manchester to have his way, came back to Sally. Little had she known it was Alice’s Lizzie the child was referring to. ‘I’m so very glad you’re happy, Lily.’
‘Ta, missis.’
She held out a hand and asked, ‘Shall I take you to see your cousin?’
Lily clasped it with a nod and a grin. ‘Stay there, you,’ she told Clover. ‘The missis here’s gorra dog the size of a horse. Gobble you up in one, he would.’
‘If we hurry, there may be some cake left,’ Sally said as they headed for Ivy’s. ‘Are you hungry?’
The child smiled at what she clearly still deemed a daft question. ‘Do fishes have a fondness for water?’