A Change of Fortune (14 page)

‘I hope it doesn’t get too bad,’ she said.

‘Nah, ’course it won’t,’ Stan laughed. ‘As long as we can keep the barrow going, we’ll be okay.’

‘Barrow?’ Jenny looked at Fred for an explanation.

‘We’re costers, luv,’ he told her, and then laughed at her bewildered expression. ‘Costermongers. We goes along to Covent Garden Market early in the morning, buy up fruit and veg, and sell it from a barrow at the market in The Cut.’

‘Oh, I see.’

‘Now,’ Glad said, ‘let’s see if we can sort you out, Jen. You got any ideas, Fred?’

He shook his head. ‘Bugger if I know.’

‘I can’t stay here,’ Jenny said quickly. ‘I’m so grateful you took me in last night, but there isn’t room. I’d be a burden to you, and that would make me very unhappy. You must let me pay for my bed and breakfast.’

Glad patted her hand reassuringly. ‘We don’t want your money, Jen. You’re a nice kid and we want to help.’

‘What about Ma Adams?’ Ivy interrupted. ‘Since her old man died she’s alone in that house and needs some help.’

‘Of course!’ Glad beamed at her daughter. ‘Ma Adams would love to take her in for a bit of help with the cleaning, shopping and cooking. But Jen will need a job as well.’

‘I might be able to get her something with my lot.’ Ivy cast a doubtful glance at Jenny. ‘Do you mind charring? It’s hard graft, but we’re free after about ten in the morning.’

Jenny knew that a charwoman cleaned and scrubbed, and she’d been doing that kind of work as under housemaid. ‘I don’t mind what I do! I’d be very grateful if you could fix it for me.’

Ivy stood up. ‘I’m just off to my second job, so I’ll see what I can do for you.’

‘Thank you.’ Jenny began to feel more hopeful. If this Ma Adams gave her a room in her house, and Ivy could get her a job, then she’d be all right. And she wouldn’t mind staying with these kind people.

Having finished their bread and tea, the men also got ready to leave.

‘We’ll be home at the usual time.’ Fred kissed his wife on the cheek. ‘Take Jen to see Ma Adams.’

‘I’ll do that this morning. Do well today.’

‘We’ll ’oller until we’re hoarse,’ Stan told them with a grin.

When they’d gone, Jenny gathered up the dishes and began to wash up.

‘Thanks,’ Glad said. ‘I’ll just go and get the nipper dressed, and then we’ll pop along to Ma Adams; she’s only next door.’

The front door was open, so Glad, carrying baby Bert, walked straight in. Jenny followed. The room was identical to Fred and Glad’s, except it was badly in need of a good clean. An elderly woman sitting in a battered but comfortable-looking armchair smiled when she saw them.

‘Hello, Glad. My, but that kid’s growing fast. Here, let me have him while you make us a nice cuppa.’

The baby was handed over, and Ma Adams studied Jenny thoughtfully. Her faded blue eyes alive with intelligence. ‘And who’s this, then?’

‘This is Jenny. She’s in a spot of bother and needs help.’

‘Ah. Got yourself pregnant, have you?’

‘No, I haven’t, Mrs Adams!’ Jenny was indignant. ‘I’ve lost my job and had nowhere to go.’

The skin crinkled around the alert gaze as Ma grinned. ‘Don’t get on your high horse, ducky. I was just asking. Stop hovering in the doorway and come
and sit where I can see you properly. And the name’s Ma.’

As ordered, Jenny sat opposite her just as Glad came back with the tea.

‘Bit posh, ain’t she?’ Ma said, putting the baby over her shoulder and patting his back, giving a satisfied grunt when he burped loudly. ‘Where’d you find her?’

‘On her way to the pawnbroker’s.’ Glad took Bert away from her and propped him in an armchair so he could see what was going on.

‘I needed some money in a hurry,’ Jenny supplied helpfully.

‘Folks don’t go to those buggers for any other reason.’ Ma cackled with mirth and slapped her knee in delight. ‘I’d love to have been a fly on the wall then. Who did you go to?’

‘Erm …’ Jenny hesitated, ‘he was called Uncle.’

That produced another rumble of laughter. ‘Did you get what you wanted?’

‘He finally paid up, with Fred and Glad’s help.’

The blue eyes were fairly sparkling now as she turned to Glad. ‘I’ll bet the crafty old devil thought he was on to a good thing as soon as she opened her mouth. She sounds like one of those posh talkers on the wireless.’

Once away from the pretence of hiding her identity while at the Stannards’, Jenny had quickly reverted to her natural way of speaking.

Glad was laughing as well. ‘We enjoyed squeezing a bit extra out of him, but Jen was no pushover.’

‘No, I don’t suppose she was. Now, why have you brought her to me?’

The explanation took no more than five minutes, and at the end Ma nodded.

‘Running away, are you?’

Jenny nodded.

‘Good for you. Nice to see a girl with a bit of gumption.’

The praise given with such obvious approval made Jenny square her shoulders, the defeated feeling of earlier completely vanishing.

‘I like her,’ Ma said to Glad. ‘We can do each other a bit of good.’

Then Ma set out her terms to Jenny. ‘I can’t pay you nothing, but you can have the back bedroom, and in exchange for that I’ll expect some help with the house, shopping and cooking. I’m not completely helpless, but I can’t stand for long and the shops is impossible for me now. However, my body might be feeble but I’ve still got all my marbles,’ she announced with a flash of pride.

What did that mean? Jenny frowned.

‘That means I ain’t daft yet,’ Ma said, guessing her thoughts.

Jenny’s grin spread. That the elderly woman was still in control of her mental faculties was obvious. ‘Thank you for giving me a room, and I think we shall get along just fine.’

‘You go and get your things, then you can get me a bit of shopping.’

As they left the house, Jenny heard Ma say quietly, ‘Thanks, Glad.’

Jenny moved in her few possessions immediately. The back bedroom was tiny, with room for only a bed and a small cupboard, but it seemed like heaven to her. She had been so frightened that she would end up homeless and sleeping anywhere she could find. She knew that some young girls ended up as prostitutes in an effort to get enough money to live on, but nothing on this earth would make her do that. She would rather starve.

After settling in her room, she went to the kitchen and looked through the larder. As there was little food in the house, her first task was to get the shopping. Armed with Ma’s list and half a crown, Jenny walked up to the small parade of shops at the top of the street. She watched in fascination as the grocer cut off the required amount of butter from a large slab and patted it into shape with a pair of wooden paddles. She put in another one and sixpence to add to the meagre basket of goods. One lesson she had learnt over the last few months was to be careful with money, so she spent wisely and was quite pleased with her efforts.

She returned to the house and was just putting the purchases on the kitchen table so she could decide how to make the best of them when Ma came in, walking with difficulty and leaning heavily on a cane.

‘You never got all that for two and six,’ Ma said suspiciously. ‘You been spending your own money?’

There was little point denying it with those sharp eyes pricing every item on the table. ‘I bought a few extras. After all, you’ve been kind enough to give me a room and I can’t let you pay for my food as well.’

‘Humph! Well, if you can’t get a job you can stop that.’ Ma pulled the wrapping aside on one packet. ‘I see you got the butcher’s best bangers. We’ll have them for our dinner.’

‘What time do you have your dinner?’ Jenny asked.

‘Around twelve will do nicely.’

Jenny was taken aback for a moment until she realized Ma was talking about noon and not midnight. ‘Oh, you mean lunch.’

‘You’re going to have to learn our ways,’ Ma told her. ‘We has dinner in the middle of the day and tea at five o’clock.’

‘And what do you have for tea?’ Jenny asked.

‘A nice bit of bread and jam.’ Ma looked at her with a twinkle in her eyes. ‘You gonna make a cake?’

‘I thought I’d try.’ She had bought what she thought were the right ingredients, though she’d never made a cake in her life. ‘I think I’ve got everything.’

‘Try?’ The elderly woman chuckled. ‘What did they teach you at school?’

‘Very little, I’m beginning to find out.’ Jenny pulled a face, knowing how ill prepared the girls at the school were for the real world. But most of them were so wealthy they wouldn’t have to step outside of their cosy lives.

‘You’re a bright-enough kid, so you’ll soon learn. I’ve
got a good recipe you can follow.’ Ma took a torn and greasy sheet of paper out of a nearby cupboard and gave it to Jenny. ‘Simple, that recipe, you can’t go wrong.’ She turned painfully and looked over her shoulder. ‘Put the kettle on, ducky, I’m gasping for a cuppa. Did you get any biscuits?’

‘Only broken ones. They were cheaper.’

‘That’ll do fine. I likes a bicky to dunk in my tea.’ She tapped her way back to the other room, muttering under her breath, ‘The kid might be posh, but she’s got a bit of sense.’

Jenny took that as a compliment and set about making the tea.

After enjoying the tea and biscuits, Jenny gave the house a thorough clean. The elderly woman had obviously done her best, but there was a lot she couldn’t manage now.

‘My, the place looks spick and span. I can see you’re no stranger to a bit of spit and polish.’

‘I was under housemaid and did this kind of thing every day,’ Jenny said.

‘Humph. You finished now?’ Ma gazed through the open front door.

‘Unless there’s something else you’d like me to do.’

Ma put on a forlorn expression. ‘My step’s a right eyesore.’

‘I’ll soon put that right.’ Jenny stood up and smiled, not a bit fooled by the elderly woman’s acting. ‘You’ll have a step to be proud of, Ma. Then I’ll get our dinner.’

The step was gleaming when Ivy arrived; she hopped over it so she didn’t make it dirty again. ‘Crikey, Ma,’ she exclaimed, ‘that’s the best step in the whole street.’

‘Not bad, eh?’ She was fairly bursting with pride. ‘Me and Jen’s going to get along just fine.’

Ivy winked at Jenny. ‘I’ve got you a job with me. Be ready at half past five in the morning and I’ll show you the ropes.’

‘Oh, Ivy, thank you so much!’ Jenny was overjoyed and hugged her in gratitude. It looked as if things were going to be all right after all.

Full of hope and confidence, Jenny set about making the cake, following the instructions in the recipe with great care. She beat the margarine and sugar until fluffy, added the eggs and flour, greased a tin and poured the mixture in. When the oven was hot enough, the cake was put on the top shelf and Jenny stood back with a smile of satisfaction. That was easy.

It was impossible to resist the temptation to have a peek after about twenty minutes. It was rising nicely and she was so proud, but there was one thing she wasn’t sure about. She popped into the front room. ‘Ma, how do you tell when a cake is cooked?’

‘You stick a knife in the middle, ducky. If it comes out clean, then it’s done.’

‘Thanks.’ She returned to the kitchen and hovered by the stove until the cooking time was over. When she opened the oven door, she was disappointed to see that it had collapsed in the middle, but the knife came out clean so it must be cooked.

Using a cloth, Jenny picked up the tin and took it to Ma. ‘It’s sunk!’

Ma studied the cake and pursed her lips. ‘Did you open the oven door too soon?’

‘I had a look to see how it was getting on,’ she admitted, watching the elderly woman’s face carefully. She wasn’t sure if she was going to tell her off for making a mess of it, or burst into helpless laughter. It was hard to tell from her guarded expression.

‘Ah, that’s why. You shouldn’t do that.’ Ma leant forward and sniffed. ‘It smells all right, though. Tip it out and leave it upside down and the hole in the middle won’t show so much.’

Jenny eyed it doubtfully. ‘Is it going to be edible?’

Ma did chuckle then. ‘If you mean can we eat it, well, there’s only one way to find out. Put the kettle on and we’ll try it.’

As Jenny went back to the kitchen, she heard Ma give a stifled hoot of laughter. When the tea was made, she cut two slices of the hot cake and took them back to the front room. Jenny didn’t touch hers but watched Ma eat in silence, gazing into space as she chewed each mouthful and picking up the last of the crumbs with the tip of her finger and popping them in her mouth. After giving the cake her very careful tasting test, Ma grinned at Jenny. ‘Don’t look very pretty, but it tastes all right. Not bad for a first effort.’

Jenny beamed at the praise.

Ma was still asleep when Jenny looked in her room at five the next morning, and she didn’t wake her. She doubted the elderly woman got up early, so she’d get her breakfast when she got back.

Ivy was waiting for her and they went to the first job of the morning: a school about a mile away. Jenny met the boss and was officially taken on as part of the cleaning staff. For the next two hours she scrubbed endless corridors, dusted and polished. She’d thought the work hard as under housemaid, but it had been easy compared to this. She didn’t care. She had somewhere to stay and a job. Yesterday she had been on the brink of admitting defeat and returning home to accept her fate. Glad and her lovely family had quickly put that notion out of her head.

The end of the passage was finally reached, and Jenny sat back on her heels to look at the gleaming floor, tired but with a sense of satisfaction. Of course she knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Glad and her family lived tough lives, but she would be safe with them for a while. Her life was uncertain, and it would be best to take things a day at a time. What the future held would depend upon the spin of the coin, and one day it would fall as heads, she assured herself firmly. Although she had never been superstitious, she had to cling to some kind of hope or else she would sink into despair, and that would be fruitless. She was young with time on her side!

Jenny was back by eight to get Ma a hurried breakfast of bread and butter. She’d offered to make her toast,
but the elderly woman had complained that her teeth wasn’t too good now and could she have something she could suck! Highly amused by Ma’s dry remarks, she just had time to put the plates in the sink before dashing off to her next job. This was at an engineering factory and even harder work. There were iron filings all over the floor that had to be swept up, then the offices to be polished. The washrooms were a disgrace, the smell making her heave. She followed Ivy’s lead, and between them they managed to make them presentable.