When Katie went into the Salutation Hotel on the morning following her trip to Cullen, Mr Noble was waiting for her. ‘Where were you yesterday?’
Her heart sank. ‘I got word my … our grandmother was ill, so I took Sammy to see her.’
‘I wasn’t bothered about Sammy not being here, Jackie kept himself busy, but you should have let me know you wouldn’t be here and not left me in the lurch. Keith said he couldn’t manage on his own, so I’d to put Sally into the dining room, and he …’
Katie sighed. ‘I suppose he said she was better than me.’
‘That is what he implied, and they certainly did seem to get on better. There was none of the usual mishaps.’
Katie could have told him that the mishaps were engineered by the waiter, but she was sure he wouldn’t believe her. ‘So you want me to leave?’
‘You could have the chambermaid’s job back.’
‘And have them all laughing at me? No thank you, Mr Noble, I’ll leave right now, though I’m sorry I wasn’t suitable as a waitress.’
‘I’ve the feeling it wasn’t all your fault, but you see the position I’m in? Keith’s the best waiter I’ve ever had, and I don’t want to lose him. I’m sorry, Katie, but if your mind’s made up, you’d better come to the office and I’ll pay you for the three days you worked this week.’
‘Thank you.’ She felt a pin-prick of satisfaction at his patent discomfort, but she was not going to knuckle down to being shunted around because of Keith Robb. She should have known she had played right into his hands, though it would have likely been only a matter of time till she lost her job, in any case. If Sammy had told Jackie what he had done to her, the young boy wouldn’t keep it to himself, and once Keith heard about it, he would have gone right to Mr Noble … she was probably better out of there.
Five minutes later, she walked into the gardens. ‘I’ve got the sack, Sammy.’
‘Me and all?’ he asked, his eyes widening in apprehension.
‘Just me, and I’m leaving now, so I’ll see you when you come home at suppertime.’
‘Aye.’ He bent his head to carry on weeding.
On her way home, Katie went into the bakery. There was a queue of women at the counter, and when it was her turn, she asked Lottie for four morning rolls and then whispered, ‘I’d like to see you when you’ve time.’
‘Are you not working today? The back of two, then?’
‘That’s fine.’
After tidying her house, Katie remembered that she should have let Dennis know she was back. He would be wondering what had happened in Cullen, and he’d be delighted that the police had made a mistake, and that she and Sammy weren’t wanted any longer. Looking at the wag-at-the-wa’, she saw she would just have time to go to the Temperance and be back before Lottie came.
She felt like an interloper when she went into the place where she had once worked, not that there was any reason to be scared, because she had left of her own accord, but it would be awkward seeing anybody she knew. Dennis was attending to three men in the far corner of the dining room, and didn’t seem pleased to see her standing in the doorway. He came across to her with what she knew was a forced smile and shepherded her into the lobby. ‘Well?’
She assumed that he was annoyed at being interrupted at work and said, hastily, ‘Everything’s all right, and I’ll tell you about it tonight.’
‘I’m busy tonight.’
‘Oh, have you arranged to meet some of your friends? Well, tomorrow, then?’
‘I’m busy tomorrow, as well.’
This did disconcert her, but she asked, hopefully, ‘The day after tomorrow?’
Getting no reply, it suddenly dawned on her that he hadn’t expected to see her again. His promises to come back to her and to marry her had been made because he’d been sure he would never have to keep them. But she had to hear him saying it. Sick at heart, she whispered, ‘You thought Sammy and me would be locked up, didn’t you?’
He couldn’t meet her eyes now. ‘Why weren’t you?’ he said, harshly.
This question confirmed what she thought, and the pain it caused her was evident in her voice. ‘You should have been honest with me, Dennis.’
Looking her right in the face, he snarled, ‘You want me to be honest? Right! You disgust me! You were carrying on with that idiot and he wasn’t your brother at all, though you let me believe he was. Speak about being honest? It’s the pot calling the kettle black! I don’t want to have anything more to do with you! I’ve got somebody else!’ He whirled round and walked away.
Realizing that she couldn’t keep standing there, Katie went outside on legs that would scarcely bear her weight, wishing that she was dead. This last shock, coming so soon after she had been sacked from her job, and just the day after being told that Mr Gunn wasn’t dead, had been too much for her, although she wasn’t capable yet of reasoning this out. Her thoughts were totally engaged in recalling the horrible things Dennis had said. She had been longing for his comfort, his love, and without them, there was nothing left for her.
Then she remembered, with a tightening of her chest, that she would only have Sammy to protect her when his father came after her. She was positive that Mr Gunn wouldn’t have forgotten what she had done, even though three long years had gone by, and she’d be wise to keep the outside door locked all the time.
Back in her own house, her bruised heart gradually started to recover, and she told herself that Dennis wasn’t worth being upset about. He had only wanted her for one thing, and he was getting it from another girl now. As Lottie had said, she was better off without him … though it would take her a long time to get over being used. And what would she tell Lottie about yesterday? Maybe it would be best to tell her what she had told Mr Noble, to save her asking questions.
When Lottie arrived and learned why the girl had lost her job, she was quite indignant. ‘I never heard the like! He gave you the sack just because you took a day off?’
Katie shrugged. ‘I should have asked him first.’
‘Aye, I suppose you should. What are you going to do now?’
‘I’ll have to look for something else. Maybe I should try at Crosse and Blackwell’s.’
‘Would you consider working for me? I could be doing with somebody that’s used to serving at tables.’
‘Oh, you can’t give Kirsty the sack just to let me …’
‘I was going to get rid of her, any road. You’ll need to serve behind the counter as well, of course.’
‘When would you want me to start?’
‘I’ll have to give her notice, so not this first Monday but next? You’d need to be there by seven, that’s when Bob has the first batch of rolls ready, and there’s aye a rush on them. He’ll be glad to see the back of Kirsty, for he’s aye said she’s a useless lump.’
‘I’ll be there at seven sharp, a week on Monday. Thanks, Lottie, you’ve taken a weight off my mind.’
It had started off as a cold, but Mary Ann was growing more and more concerned for her husband. None of the mixtures the doctor prescribed had helped, and William John had started to complain about a terrible pain in his chest. At first, she had thought it was a result of the coughing, but she soon realized that it was worse than that. He was steadily weakening, and she felt absolutely helpless.
Sitting at his bedside while he slept, as she did every afternoon, she rose to make herself a cup of tea, trying not to disturb him, but his eyes opened. ‘Write and tell Katie the truth,’ he said, hoarsely.
‘What good would that do?’
‘Maybe none, but she should ken.’ Another cough made him hold his chest as if the pain was too much to bear.
His wife waited until he seemed easier. ‘Tell her she was dumped on our doorstep? How d’you think she’d feel about that? All her life she’s thought her mother and father were dead, and it’ll not hurt her to keep thinking that. Now, I was going to make some tea, would you like a cup?’
When she returned with the tray, she held his cup to his lips because his hands were too shaky to hold it himself. ‘Telling her the truth now would be like opening Pandora’s Box,’ she murmured, carrying on the conversation as though there had been no break. ‘Can you not see how hurt she’d be? Things is best left the way they are.’
Too weak to argue any more, William John sighed, ‘Aye, I suppose you’re right.’
But he had made his wife think. Had she been wrong all along? Should she have told Katie from the beginning that her mother had abandoned her? But how could she, without explaining the rest? Even William John didn’t know why she had taken such an ill-will at Lizzie Baxter. If she had been more friendly to the lassie, they wouldn’t have gone away. It was her fault, Mary Ann thought remorsefully, she had always known that, and she had done what she could to salve her conscience – something her man knew nothing about and never would now – but was it enough? And would poor Katie understand when the time came?
On the Sunday three weeks after she started work at the baker’s, Katie was sitting by the fire knitting a pair of socks for Sammy – who was leafing over a comic Jackie had given him – when someone knocked. Thinking that it would be Lottie, her only visitor these days, Katie rose to unlock the door. Her welcoming smile froze when she saw, not the familiar cheery face, but the saturnine features of Angus Gunn, Her legs turned to jelly and the knitting fell from her nerveless fingers.
‘Well, well!’ he sneered, shoving past her and standing just inside the door. ‘You and Sammy have a cosy little love-nest here.’
The sound of his voice stirred a far-away memory in Sammy, a memory that made him cringe and put his hands over his eyes, and Angus gave a wicked laugh. ‘So you remember your father, do you, boy?’
‘Wh-what are y-you d-doing here?’ Katie stammered, her heart pounding.
Advancing into the room, he waved a finger at her. ‘That’s not a very nice welcome.’
His sarcastic smile made her flesh creep, but she found the courage to say, ‘You’re not welcome.’
Another spine-chilling laugh. ‘I think it’s time you and I had a little talk, Katie.’
His teeth baring now like a wolf ready to pounce, her bravery deserted her, and afraid to move in case her legs gave way, she muttered, fearfully, ‘We’ve nothing to talk about.’
He still had the horrible grin on his face. ‘Sit down, my dear, and tell me why you ran away with my son and left me lying unconscious. That was not very charitable, was it?’
Rooted to the spot, she had difficulty forcing the words out. ‘I thought … you were dead.’
This had obviously not occurred to him, and his expression became less evil. ‘Ah! I begin to see things more clearly. You thought that my son had killed me, and you made him run away to escape justice?’
‘Yes.’ Her lips were stiff, every inch of her body felt as though it had been anaesthetized, and she desperately longed for outright oblivion.
He smiled encouragingly. ‘You can relax. I have not come to do you any harm.’
‘What did you come for?’ Noticing the long jagged scar on his cheek, she shuddered at the memory of how she had raked his face with her scissors.
‘Please sit down. You make me feel that you are afraid of me, and I can assure you that you have nothing to fear.’
She flopped into her chair again. ‘What did you come for?’ she repeated.
‘I am going to take you back to Fenty.’
She cast a beseeching glance at Sammy, but Mr Gunn’s soft voice having reassured him, he had picked up his comic and was paying no attention to them. ‘You can’t force me to go back,’ she said, hoping that she sounded confident enough.
‘Hear me out, my dear. As you probably know, I married again after poor Marguerite died, and it is for Betty’s sake that I came here. I want her to have some help in the house, and I am offering you the position of maid again, Katie.’
‘Me?’ Terrified as she was of him, Katie couldn’t help laughing at his audacity. ‘You’d have to be kicking up the daisies before I’d set foot in your house again.’
An ingratiating smile followed his brief frown. ‘It would be on a different footing this time, Katie.’ Stretching out his hand, he stroked her knee.
She sprang to her feet. ‘Keep your filthy hands off me!’ she shouted. ‘I don’t want to be on any kind of footing with you!’
When he jumped up and made a spring at her, she wished she still had the steel knitting needles in her hands, not just to jab at his face, but to plunge them into his heart. But she was powerless against him, and he had her pinned against the wall with her arms behind her, his face close to hers as he hissed, ‘This is where I should say, in the words of the old melodramas, “Come to me, my fine beauty”.’
Giving a sneering giggle, he forced her legs open with his knee and put his arms round her neck, but at that, Sammy, who had been keeping an eye on him since Katie raised her voice, leapt out of his chair roaring, ‘Leave her! You leave Katie alone!’
Angus did not move, but his body was tensed in readiness for the onslaught. ‘Go on then, boy! Hit me! The police will not overlook a second charge of assault against you.’
Realizing that this was what he wanted, Katie screamed, ‘Don’t hit him, Sammy! Put him out and lock the door so he can’t get in again!’
Grinning happily, Sammy grabbed his father under the arms from the back and hoisted him off the floor in one seemingly effortless heave. ‘Let me go, you idiot,’ Angus squealed, threshing his legs about, but he was carried to the open door and flung out with such force that he landed on his knees on the flagstones. The door slammed and the key clicked in the lock, but he knew that he was beaten and picked himself up to scurry through the pend to his car.
Trembling uncontrollably, Katie held on to the nearest chair for support, her knuckles turning white from gripping so fiercely. ‘Thank goodness you were here, Sammy,’ she breathed.
His chest puffed out with pride. ‘He was trying to kill you, wasn’t he, Katie?’
‘I think he was.’ She knew he hadn’t been, but it was best Sammy did not know what his father had tried to do. She was scared enough as it was that he might try the same at any time.
‘And I saved you?’
‘Yes, you saved me, but I want you to sit down again and read your comic.’
Crossing obediently to his chair, he said, ‘Will that man be coming back?’
‘Oh, God, I hope not!’ Seeing his agitation at that, she said, ‘No, no, he’ll not be back. It’s all right, Sammy, just read your paper.’
When she was sure that he was engrossed once more in the Wizard, she sat down in her own seat to think. That old devil had likely waited three weeks after he discovered her address so she would be off her guard. And what about Mrs Gunn – the first Mrs Gunn? He couldn’t have strangled her, because the doctor – or the police or the undertaker – would have seen the marks. He could have smothered her, but how had he got her back into bed? However he had managed, she had no proof of anything, and what did it matter now?
He would be mad enough at her as it was, without raking that up, and she would have to find out who was at her door in future before she opened it to anyone.