Sitting in his office at the nails works, Joshua felt again the flush of embarrassment that accompanied his thoughts of Kath Clancy. She’d refused his offer to walk out with him and become his social partner, politely… but it was still a refusal.
Casting a glance around, he turned his mind instead to how well the business was going. Orders for nails were flying in from all over the country now, so much so that Spencer’s works had picked up the overload and both factories were working flat out. Following the thread of his thoughts led him to Frank Woolley and his hanging himself from the banister in his home. Poor bugger, Joshua thought. It had not yet come to light exactly what had gone wrong at the factory. The women who had once worked at Woolley’s Nails were now employed by Gittins’ Nails, and they were turning out batch after batch of perfectly good nails. It was a mystery.
Crossing to the window overlooking the shop floor, Joshua gazed down at the women below as they worked the nails and chatted amongst themselves. Not one of them had spoken of Woolley’s inferior nails, which he found strange to say the least. The women of Wednesbury, as in any other town, loved to gossip and yet…
Sitting again at his desk, his thoughts continued to wander. Something didn’t sit right with him about all this, but he was damned if he knew what it was!
Unable to concentrate on work Joshua strode through the door; maybe Spencer could shed some light on the matter.
As he jumped down from his horse at Spencer’s factory, a man nearby took the rein. Doffing his cap, he said, ‘Arrrternoon gaffer, I’ll take him for you.’
Making his way through the factory, Joshua was greeted by the workers with smiles and waves, each seemed happy enough, he thought, as he knocked on his son’s office door before entering.
Spencer’s face lit up as he saw his father and he leaned back in his seat. ‘Father! Come in, have a seat.’
‘Hello lad,’ Joshua said, slumping into a nearby chair.
Another knock to the door followed almost immediately and a young woman brought in two cups of tea on a tray.
Thanking her, Joshua turned to Spencer, ‘By God, son, you’ve got them well trained here!’
Laughing, he said, ‘They don’t miss much, Dad, be sure of it. They saw you coming in.’
‘Ar well…’ Joshua let the sentence hang.
‘What’s up dad?’ Spencer asked.
‘Aye? Oh nothing, lad…’
‘Come on,’ Spencer went on, ‘two heads are better than one, isn’t that what you always told me?’
‘Ar lad, it is… well I went to visit Kath Clancy the other day and…’ He began to feel foolish all over again and was not even sure why he was bringing it up now. He had come to ask about the nails, but had blurted out about his visit to Kath. Joshua felt he needed to talk to someone about it, and hoped his son would not stand in judgement of him regarding his feelings for Kath.
‘And?’ Spencer prompted.
‘An’ I asked her would she go out with me?’
‘You sly dog!’ Spencer laughed, clapping his hands together.
‘Ar well, she refused me,’ Joshua managed quietly.
‘Why?’ his son asked.
‘She said she wasn’t ready for another man in her life.’ There he’d said it!
‘Oh, I see,’ Spencer replied gently as he saw the hurt in his father’s eyes.
‘Damn it all son!’ Joshua spat, feeling embarrassment, anger and disappointment fuse. ‘I’m not that bad, am I? I mean to say, we’ve got the business, so I’m not short of a penny or two…’
‘Dad, it’s not about money,’ Spencer said, trying his best to console his distressed father, ‘it’s about John Sligo.’
Looking at his son, Joshua asked, ‘What about John Sligo?’ He saw Spencer suddenly look very uncomfortable as he shifted in his chair. What was it he knew that Joshua didn’t?
Spencer said without looking up, ‘John Sligo was Kath’s second husband and he…’
‘He what?’ Joshua asked, impatience getting the better of him.
Spencer fidgeted in his seat again before saying, ‘He was a wrong one, Dad.’
In utter exasperation, Joshua said, ‘I know he liked his drink, son, but that doesn’t make a man a wrong one, does it?’
‘No Dad.’ Spencer was looking in more discomfort by the minute.
There was more to this and Joshua was determined to find out what it was. ‘Look, lad, whatever you are hiding will come out sooner or later so…’
‘I can’t tell you, Dad!’ Spencer snapped, ‘I’m sworn to secrecy… so please… don’t ask me again!’
‘Oh I see! Can’t even trust your old dad eh?’ Joshua stood to leave and Spencer waved a hand for Joshua to sit down again.
‘Dad, listen to me…’ He steepled his fingers over his mouth as if trying to prevent any words leaving his lips. Drawing in a deep breath, he continued, ‘Kath found out something terrible about John Sligo…’
Keeping his mouth shut, Joshua watched his son’s face as the emotional battle raged in the boy’s mind. Joshua wondered who had sworn him to secrecy – then it dawned on him. Kath! She had made him promise never to divulge whatever it was he was now hiding. Taking a deep breath himself, Joshua said, ‘Son, don’t tell me. Hold your tongue and keep your word to Kath.’
Letting out a big sigh, Spencer said, ‘Thank you Dad. I’m sure if Kath wants you to know, she’ll tell you herself.’
‘Ar, maybe one day eh?’ Standing and clapping Spencer on the back as he left the office, Joshua said over his shoulder, ‘To work, lad, to work!’
Joshua trotted his horse down Hydes Lane in the cold winds. He began to shiver and he thought how quickly the seasons appeared to be passing. In the great scheme of things, life was very short.
Joshua looked out at the great expanse of heathland spanning either side of the road, and its long abandoned coal shafts. Bringing the horse to a walk he passed beneath the aqueduct bridge built over the Tame Valley Canal, before turning into Hall Green Road. Kicking the horse gently to a trot once more, he headed back to his factory in Stone Cross. Joshua’s mind went over what had been said between him and his son. What had Kath discovered about John Sligo? Whatever had he done that was so terrible? Who else would know?
Suddenly another thought struck him. Joyce Clews was a gossip – she might possibly know. After all, she was the one who had known Woolley’s nails were inferior and the contract with his buyer was up for grabs. Mrs Clews appeared to know an awful lot about what went on in Wednesbury; perhaps she’d know the secret surrounding John Sligo, particularly as she lodged with Kath. Joshua made up his mind: he would make sure to have a little chat with Joyce Clews.