A Change of Fortune (42 page)

‘I was a young man myself once.’ He leered at his wife. ‘I knows what’s going on in his head.’

Glad couldn’t stop her smile spreading. ‘But you was never a gent! Come inside, you daft old fool.’

‘Not so much of the old, woman! Come on, I’ll show you just how
old
I am.’

Matthew and Jenny doubled over with laughter as Fred and Glad disappeared from the doorway.

‘Don’t worry, sir,’ Matthew called, ‘I’ll stay only five minutes, I promise.’

Fred’s head appeared briefly, and he winked. ‘I’ll be watching. And you’d better not make it longer ’cos at this time of night you’ll come out and find all your wheels gone. There’s a lot of tea leafs round here.’ He jerked and disappeared, after obviously having been pulled indoors again.

‘What’s a tea leaf?’ Matthew asked.

‘A thief.’ Jenny opened the front door. ‘Are you coming in for a minute?’

‘Five minutes!’ he protested. ‘I’ve been given five minutes.’

They were laughing as Matthew closed the door behind them, but, gazing around the empty room, he became serious once again. ‘I don’t like the thought of you living here on your own, Jen.’

‘I’ve been thinking about that, and if I can manage to buy this house, I’m going to ask Ivy and her family to move in. It’s much too crowded next door, but Fred
and Glad took them in when they got chucked out of their place by a greedy landlord. They couldn’t possibly have afforded the rent he was asking.’

The frown left his face and he drew her into his arms. ‘That’s a great idea. I’ll get Luke moving.’ Then he dipped his head and kissed her very gently. ‘Thanks for a lovely evening.’

Jenny was flustered by the kiss and didn’t know what to say. That was the first grown-up kiss she’d had, and it had quite made her head spin. At eighteen she was a late starter at this dating lark. It was exciting, though. ‘I’ve enjoyed myself,’ she managed to say. ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’

He shook his head, stepping away and glancing at his watch. ‘I’ve had my five minutes, and if I don’t leave now Fred will charge in here and throw me out!’

Jenny gurgled. ‘I think he’s taken on the role of my father.’

‘I’m pleased he has. You are so lovely, and if some of the men around here find out you’ve now got money, they might start pestering you.’

He thought she was lovely! ‘Fred and Glad were afraid of the same thing when I told them, so we’ve decided to keep it just between ourselves.’

‘Very wise. Now I really must go. I’ll see you at the children’s party, and after Christmas we’ll go out again.’

‘I’d like that.’

He gave her another kiss and left. Before driving away, he stopped outside Fred’s and tooted his horn to let him know he was leaving – on time.

As Matt drove home, he couldn’t help smiling. Jenny was financially secure now; they’d had their first real date, which had been a great success; he was fully recovered and already back at work. The future looked good for both of them.

The next day at the market was busy, and Bet was well pleased with the takings, so she gave Jenny six shillings. Jenny didn’t feel guilty about taking the money because she’d worked hard for it, and she was going to put it to good use. She ran along to the toy stall and caught Ted as he was packing up; she spent her earnings for the day on toys. Ted promised to have them wrapped and delivered to the centre in time for the party. She would do the same tomorrow and the next day until she had bought enough presents for all the children.

On arriving home, she found the three brothers waiting for her, stamping their feet trying to keep warm.

‘Come in, please.’ The fire was ready to light, and she put a match to it straight away. ‘I’m sorry it’s cold in here, but it will soon warm up.’

Matthew smiled. ‘Don’t worry about that, Jen. Luke and John have some business to discuss with you. I’ll put the kettle on, shall I?’

‘Please. I’m gasping for a cup of tea.’

Luke settled in Ma’s chair. ‘I’ve managed to track down the owner of these houses. I’ve had a real tussle with him, and he refused to sell.’

Jenny was disappointed and it must have shown on her face, because Luke leant forward. ‘Don’t worry. I
could see he wasn’t as disinterested as he made out, and we settled down for some hard bargaining. I pointed out that the house was badly in need of repair. I had a strong feeling that he would like to sell the whole street, but he finally began to give way when I suggested that we might be interested in two houses, and no more.’

‘Two?’ she gasped. ‘How much is that going to cost?’

‘He gave the price of £300 for your house and next door, Fred and Glad’s. But that’s just a starting price; we should be able to get them for less than that.’

She pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes and looked at John, who hadn’t said a word up to now. ‘What do you think?’

‘The houses might not be in a desirable area, but they are sturdy places, and would be a sound investment.’

Jenny’s mind was racing, and she dipped her head as she thought this through. She had only considered buying this house, but to own Fred and Glad’s as well sounded like a wonderful idea. However, she had better be honest with John. The businessman in him would naturally think of any purchase as being an investment, but that wasn’t what she was planning. It wasn’t a huge amount out of her money. ‘I would like to buy both houses, but I’m not thinking of this as a way to make money. I owe Fred and his family a great debt of gratitude, and I wouldn’t collect rent from them.’

It was clear that John didn’t agree with this, but he stifled his objections and nodded. ‘That would be entirely up to you. The houses are freehold, and I
suggest you make an offer of £250 and be prepared to go up to £270 or £280 at the most.’

‘Do you think the owner will accept that?’ she asked Luke.

‘I’m sure he will. Do you want me to go ahead with the purchase?’

‘Yes, please. As John thinks it’s a good idea, make the offer.’

‘Tea’s up!’ Matthew came back carrying a tray of tea and a plate of biscuits.

They sat chatting for a while about the Christmas party for the children, and then they left, leaving Jenny excited and praying that her offer would be accepted. She nibbled on a biscuit, revelling in the idea that she might soon be the owner of not one but two houses!

The noise was ear splitting as Father Christmas came in the hall with a sack over his shoulder. The children screamed and hurled themselves at him, almost knocking him off his feet.

Matthew and Luke were doubled over with laughter.

‘Don’t just stand there,’ Jenny scolded, ‘let’s go and help the poor man.’ She waded in until she reached the beleaguered Father Christmas. ‘Get over in the corner by the presents,’ she yelled above the din, ‘I’ll try to get this rabble into some kind of order.’

‘Thanks, Jen.’

As he fought his way through the mass of children, Jenny watched in disbelief. She hadn’t known who was going to be Father Christmas, but the voice was familiar.

He wouldn’t do this, surely? But if it was him, then she now understood Matthew and Luke’s hilarity.

The two brothers joined in the task of trying to bring order, and they eventually managed to get the children sitting in front of the figure in red with an enormous white beard. Each child received a present: pink wrapping for the girls and blue for the boys. Father Christmas hammed it up with far too many ho, ho, ho’s, but the kids loved it.

Jenny shook her head in amazement. ‘Is that really John?’

Luke howled with glee as one scruffy little boy with the seat hanging out of his pants clambered on to John’s lap and refused to move.

Matthew mopped his eyes and nodded, speechless with laughter. Everyone else – Mrs Stannard and her committee, Fred, Glad, Ivy, Ron and Stan – was in the same state. Mr Stannard had turned up as well. Jimmy and Agnes were pitching in and seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as the others.

Jenny was glad she had bought extra presents, as they had far more children than anticipated. They were all from unemployed or very poor families. No one had been turned away.

The cries of joy from the little ones as they tore open their parcels brought tears to Jenny’s eyes. This was probably the only present they would get.

‘Just wait until they see all that food,’ Luke gurgled. ‘My God, there will be jelly everywhere.’

‘We’ve got plenty of helpers.’ Matthew slipped his
arm around Jenny’s shoulder and smiled down at her. ‘Have you told Fred and his family about the houses yet?’

‘No. Now that our offer has been accepted, I’m going to talk to them after dinner tomorrow.’ She was bursting to tell them but had waited until it had all been settled. They’d had to go up to £280. That had been accepted, and the deposit paid. Luke would deal with the paperwork in the New Year.

‘Children!’ Louise Stannard clapped her hands. ‘I want you all to make an orderly queue. Tea is waiting for you in the hall.’

That was asking the impossible, and there was a stampede for the food. Toys were clutched firmly in one hand, with the other used to demolish the sandwiches, cakes, jellies and biscuits.

All the helpers were fully occupied, and at one point Jenny dragged a small boy off the floor as he tried to suck up some jelly that had fallen. She spooned some more in his dish and was rewarded with a brilliant smile, minus two front teeth.

By the time the parents collected their children, each was stuffed full of food and was hugging the precious toy and a bag containing an apple, orange and a few sweets. In the eerie quiet after they had gone, the exhausted helpers gulped strong cups of tea. No one spoke, but every so often someone chuckled as they remembered the party. It had been a joyous time.

Christmas Day was special. Jenny had made sure that each family in the street with the man unemployed had a proper
meal. Gifts of a chicken, pudding and vegetables were made by Fred and said to come from an anonymous friend. Everyone had assumed the food came from the centre, and it had been accepted with much gratitude.

Jenny’s house was crowded with Fred, Glad and their family. The place rang with laughter as the children opened their presents, and as a special treat Jenny had bought a turkey. There had been a moment of panic when she had thought it might not fit in the small oven, but it had – just. The gorgeous smell of good food cooking made their mouths water.

There were murmurs of approval as they tucked in, savouring each mouthful of the wonderful feast. Jenny waited until they were all sprawled out, replete after the huge meal, before telling them her news.

She began cautiously. These were proud independent people and she didn’t want to offend them. ‘Have you managed to find anywhere to live yet, Ivy?’

‘Afraid not. We’ve been trying to find something close to Mum and Dad, but the rents is too steep.’

‘Why don’t you, Ron and the children move in here with me?’

Ivy’s mouth dropped open and she sat up straight. ‘Would you mind? How much rent? Oh, but you’d have to ask the landlord first.’

Jenny grinned. ‘I am the landlord, and the rent is nothing.’

Pandemonium broke out as everyone began to ask questions at the same time.

‘You’ve bought this house, Jen?’ Fred was astonished.

She nodded. ‘And your house as well. From the 15th of January your rent will also be nothing.’

‘Jen!’ Glad exploded. ‘That’s too generous; you must take rent from us.’

‘Why?’ Jenny went and knelt on the floor in front of Fred and Glad. ‘That night you took me in I vowed that if ever the time came when I could repay you, then I would. That time has come. Please let me do this for you.’

There was silence as they digested this staggering turn of events.

It was broken by Stan. ‘Good Lord. Does that mean I’ll be able to sleep in a bed instead of on the settee?’

Glad squeezed Fred’s hand and gave a slight nod of her head. Ivy was mopping up her tears.

‘Do you agree?’ Jenny prompted.

The entire family nodded, too overcome to speak.

‘Good.’ Jenny rose to her feet and opened the sideboard. It was full of bottles of whisky and beer. ‘Let’s drink to our good fortune, shall we?’

Ron and Stan poured the drinks and handed the glasses round, not forgetting the children, who had a glass of lemonade each. They were too interested in their toys to take much notice of the grown-ups.

Fred raised his glass. ‘I always said you was special, Jen. The day we met that frightened child on her way to a pawnbroker’s was the luckiest day of our lives. I think 1932 will be an easier year for all of us – and all because of you.’

And you deserve it, Jenny thought. It is only a small payment for your kindness to me.

35

‘Can I ask Jenny to our New Year dinner?’ Matt said, as he watched his mother working on the seating plan.

‘Of course, Matt. That would be lovely.’

‘And can I ask Emma Holdsworth?’ John asked.

‘Indeed you can, John.’ His father nodded approval.

‘Charming girl. So that’s who you’ve been seeing on the quiet.’

Louise gazed at each of her sons in turn, and then settled on Luke. ‘And have you found a girlfriend you would like to bring?’