Nessie peeped beneath the mattress of Reuben’s bed and frowned when she saw the money that had been there was gone. Half of her was relieved, the other half wondered what was going on. Reuben couldn’t possibly have spent that amount and how had he come by it in the first place? On many occasions she had come close to questioning him about it, especially since she had seen him speaking to Snowy White. Thankfully, she hadn’t and now she just hoped that this would be the end of it. Reuben seemed so happy at the minute and she had a suspicion that it was something to do with a certain Miss Maria Harding, whose father owned a shop in town. Twice this week he’d got all togged up in his Sunday best and disappeared out sporting a posy of flowers. Nessie had teased him about it and he’d got all defensive.
‘Why shouldn’t I have a lady friend?’ he’d asked and Nessie had giggled.
‘I’m actually really pleased for you, I haven’t seen you looking so happy in ages,’ she’d teased and his face had turned the colour of a boiled beetroot. ‘So when are you going to bring her home to tea so that I can meet her?’
‘Soon, I suppose,’ Reuben had muttered and Nessie was looking forward to it. Molly had told her that the Hardings were a lovely family.
Now Nessie hurried away to get ready for Oliver who was coming to pick her up to take her to see the room that might become the new soup kitchen.
She took especial pains over doing her hair and changed into her best lilac gown. Then she daringly applied a tiny amount of rouge to her cheeks and a small amount of lip salve to her lips.
‘I shouldn’t be too long, Molly,’ she told her. ‘And you do know that Joseph’s dinner is all ready for him and—’
‘Will you please stop fussing.’ Molly giggled. ‘I’m more than capable and take as long as you like.’
Nessie gave her a grateful smile, marvelling at how much Molly had changed in the time she had known her. She had gained a little weight and there was colour in her cheeks and a twinkle in her eye now. She was always spotlessly dressed, even if her clothes were still somewhat shabby and sometimes Nessie wondered how she had ever managed without her. They heard the rattle of wheels on the cobbles outside and seconds later a carriage drew up and Oliver hopped out and hurried in, his eyes alight with excitement.
‘All fit then?’
Nessie could hear the enthusiasm in his voice and nodded.
‘Then let’s be on our way, shall we?’ He smiled at Molly as Nessie headed for the door and soon they were on their way to Red Roofs, the surgery in Riversley Road.
‘It’s been shut up for some time, so Dr Peek informs me, so I don’t know what state it will be in,’ Oliver warned her as he fiddled with a bunch of keys. The door groaned as he pushed it open and the rusty hinges creaked alarmingly but Oliver didn’t seem concerned. ‘It just needs a bit of oil on it,’ he said optimistically.
Nessie glanced about and had to stop herself from shuddering. The place was in a terrible state. There were empty boxes and pieces of out-of-date medical equipment scattered everywhere. The windows and floor were filthy and festoons of cobwebs hung from the ceiling.
‘Blimey, how are we ever going to get this place clean enough to serve food in? I didn’t realise it was going to be this bad,’ Oliver said, not looking quite so sure about the idea.
‘There’s nothing wrong with it that a bit of hot soapy water and elbow grease won’t put right! We can get Reuben, Charlie and Molly to come and help and between us we’ll have it right as rain in no time.’ She set off across the room, sending clouds of dust flying into the air. ‘There’s room for a nice long counter here where we can serve the food, look,’ she said, trying to build his enthusiasm again. ‘And there’s space where people can sit to eat. Didn’t Dr Peek say he had some old chairs we could have?’
‘Well yes, he did, but I can’t promise what state they’ll be in,’ Oliver answered.
‘What if they are in a state? We can always paint them,’ Nessie pointed out.
He grinned as he looked towards her, wondering if there was anything this young woman couldn’t do and suddenly he felt optimistic again. Somehow he felt anything was possible with Nessie. ‘So you think this room will eventually be suitable then?’
‘Why ever not? It’s right on the edge of town, easy for people to get to and not too far out and it’s a very nice size room.’
‘And when do you think we should make a start on it?’
‘Just as soon as we can. If either Andre or Reuben will keep an eye on Joseph tonight I can come round and start clearing the rubbish out into the yard. We’ll be able to see where we’re going then and exactly what needs doing.’ She began to walk around among the boxes and the rubbish. There was a big fireplace with a large bread oven in the wall, which led her to think that at one time this might have been part of a doctor’s living quarters. ‘I can cook the soup over the fire,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘Though the chimney will need a good sweep … and there’s a sink there with a pump, so that will be useful. Oh, and we’ll need oil lamps to light the place, of course, we can’t expect people to sit and eat in darkness, and pots and pans and cutlery, and some tables … The walls will probably need a coat of limewash too, once the place has been cleared and scrubbed.’
Oliver grinned, happy to leave this side of the planning to her; she clearly knew what she was doing.
‘The only trouble is all this is going to cost,’ she fretted. ‘And I know I haven’t anywhere near enough saved to pay for it all.’
‘I shall be seeing to that side of it,’ Oliver told her firmly. ‘And I’ll also be happy to help get the place ready. I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty.’
When she smiled at him he found himself thinking how pretty she was and had to force himself to drag his eyes away from her. Then he gave a little cough and said, ‘Perhaps I should be getting you back now?’
‘What was it like then?’ Molly asked the second she stepped through the door. Nessie had told her what they hoped to do and Molly thought it was an excellent idea. In fact, she had already started to spread the word among the people in the courtyards and they were all for it.
‘The room was perfect for what we had in mind. At least it will be when it’s had a huge tidy up,’ Nessie told her. ‘It’s absolutely filthy at the moment but it’s nothing a good scrub can’t cure.’
‘And I’m just the woman to help yer do it,’ Molly declared. ‘An’ I reckon some o’ the women from the courtyard’s u’d muck in an’ help, an’ all, if I asked ’em.’
‘Any help would be welcome,’ Nessie admitted.
So that evening she and Molly set off through the marketplace armed with mops and buckets and a pile of rags. Nessie gawped in amazement to see a number of women waiting for them when they got to the surgery.
‘What …?’
Molly tittered. ‘Didn’t I say I’d put the word out for volunteers? The people in the courtyards appreciate what yer tryin’ to do so those as can have come to help.’
‘Thank you all so much,’ Nessie said, trying to swallow the large lump that had formed in her throat.
‘Just let us in out o’ the cold, dearie, an’ let us get crackin’,’ one of the women piped up, so Nessie hastily unlocked the door and somehow they all piled in.
‘Bleedin’ ’ell!’ Molly didn’t usually swear in front of Nessie but once she saw the state of the place she couldn’t stop herself. ‘Ugh! It’s filthy.’ She rolled her sleeves up, and ordered bossily, ‘Come on, ladies, let’s get all this old rubbish out inter the yard so as we can see what we’re doin’.’
Seconds later the crowd of women were working like busy little ants, cleaning the windows, scrubbing the floors and swiping the cobwebs from the ceiling. Oliver arrived amidst all this and looked surprised but pleased.
‘I thought it was going to take us months to get this place ready for opening but at the rate you’re all going it will be weeks,’ he told the little army of women gratefully. Already, lovely black-and-white tiles were appearing from under the layers of dust and dirt on the floor and as he glanced at Nessie, who was down on her hands and knees scrubbing as if her life depended on it, he had to smile. She was dressed in her very oldest clothes and her hair was tied back into the nape of her neck with a blue ribbon. There was a large smear of dirt across her nose and yet he thought that somehow, she still managed to look so very beautiful.
After several hours, once Nessie had thanked them profusely, the women began to drift away to their homes.
‘And I think it’s time you went home too now,’ Oliver said sternly. ‘You look all in. Come on, lock up and I’ll give you a lift back.’
Nessie shook her head. ‘There’s no need for you to do that. I haven’t got far to go.’
‘Even so, it’s getting late and you never know who’s about,’ Oliver said insistently and she nodded.
When they arrived back at the funeral parlour she looked weary but happy. ‘We will make this work, won’t we?’ she asked as he helped her down from the carriage.
Holding onto her hand for a fraction longer than was necessary, he nodded and once again her heart did a little tattoo in her chest and she wished that the moment could last forever.
‘We most certainly will, miss. Now go and get some rest, that’s doctor’s orders.’
She threw back her head and laughed merrily before tripping away, leaving him standing with a wide smile on his face.