Dreams Can Come True (37 page)

“I might have known this would happen,” Katie cried. “I should never have let yer do the swap. He was happy here, you know. And now I come to think of it, you and your kids have made a right mess of this place. There’s dirty marks everywhere and that rug’s in a terrible state.”

“Well, what did yer expect?” Annie fired back. “There’s five kids, a cat, a granny and me and Sam living here. Yer didn’t think I’d pay fer a daily to come and clean fer us?”

“The deal was that you looked after Ernie for me while I was away at the hospital. Cook fer him, wash his clothes and do the cleaning at his place. Now, if yer can’t manage your part of the bargain, just say so, Annie. It’s Ernie’s name on the deeds as well as mine, yer know, and he can always come to live back here again.”

Hannah groaned as she saw who was on her doorstep. It was Grandmama Haines, looking every inch of her seventy two years, with Mr. Arlington close behind her. Hannah braced herself for the visit, by putting a smile on her face.

“Why, Grandmama, to what do I owe the pleasure? How long has it been now since last I saw you then?”

“Don’t get clever with me, young lady. I know I’m not welcome in this house; your stepmother has always made that clear enough.”

“Alice, get to the point, dear, of why you’ve taken the trouble to call on Hannah,” Mr. Arlington said, looking embarrassed. “Perhaps we could come inside for a moment, if that’s not too much trouble for you?”

“Maybe you would like to sit in the garden with me instead. It’s pleasant in the sunshine and little Johnny is fast asleep in his perambulator. Perhaps you would like to take a peek at him.”

Alice muttered something under her breath but meekly followed Hannah. Her husband gave her a warning look, but she took no notice of him.

“The reason I’m here is because I’ve had a very distressing letter from my grandson,” Alice began, once she had settled into a chair without even looking at the sleeping baby.

“We’ve just been up to church, haven’t we, Mr. Arlington? And I said to you, didn’t I, it’s not right what’s been happening? So I decided to see what’s been going on. We’ve only just got back from staying in Llandudno with Mr. Arlington’s cousin and there it was; a letter from Michael. It had been posted to me a couple of days ago.”

“And?” said Hannah frostily, knowing what was coming. She could almost here the accusations that were about to start ringing in her ears.

“Is it true that you refused to visit him in hospital? And where has his mother gone? He says that she’s away visiting some relatives. Doesn’t Michael know there are none now?”

“Well, if you’ll let me get a word in, Grandmama. I sent Eddie to visit Michael, because as you can see I’m expecting another baby. I didn’t want to go myself in case my brother was infectious.”

“I can see you’re expecting, Hannah, but that’s no reason to turn your back on yer brother. He has more right to be in Selwyn Lodge than you have, yer know. I’ve a good mind to write to your father, let him know what you’re up to. He’s still married to Maggie and he can still have his say.”

Hannah lost her temper then, with her grandmama mentioning her father like that. If it hadn’t have been for his defection, the family wouldn’t have got in this mess.

“Oh, do what you like, I can’t stop you. And let me say it for you, shall I, since you try to remind me at every turn? I must remember I’m illegitimate, not entitled to a sausage, because of Kitty May!”

Eddie found her later, crying bitter tears as she cuddled little Johnny on her knee. He’d seen Alice and her husband go as he’d driven down to the stable. Alice had been shouting something and Mr. Arlington was looking annoyed.

“I see you’ve had a visit from Atilla. What’s she said now to upset yer then? You only see her when she’s up to mischief. I suppose this has to do with Michael and you not going to see him.”

“Yes,” Hannah sniffed, pulling her baby closer as he tried to slide off her knee. “ Look he wants to come to you now. Go on then, go to Dada.”

She passed the baby over to Eddie then began to walk a few feet away to deadhead a couple of roses.

“I don’t know why I put up with her, for all she is my grandmama. All she did was pick and poke and never even acknowledged our little baby. You know, I’m beginning to think you’re right about leaving here and starting afresh somewhere else together. Somewhere no one knows me and can remind me who I am.”

“Oh, Hannah. Come here, will yer.”

Eddie’s voice broke as he saw the hurt in his adored wife’s eyes. She went into his arms and he hugged her and their child together.

“Now sit yourself down, Hannah and let me tell yer something. Never feel that way about yourself again. It wasn’t your fault that your Dad made Kitty May pregnant. It happens. There’s selfish men out there who only consider themselves and not the consequences. You, Hannah, are the best wife and mother that anyone could ask for and it doesn’t matter which side of the blanket yer were born on and it certainly doesn’t matter to me.”

Hannah went pink at her husband’s praise and she picked on some threads in her dress to cover her embarrassment.

“If it wasn’t for my mother, Eddie, I would leave here. I mean it, but it seems so cruel when she’s relying on us so.”

“Ah, but yer don’t know where I’ve bin today, do yer? I was going to wait until you’d written to Maggie, to tell her of Michael’s untimely appearance. But if Joan has left us some dinner, we’ll eat it now and then I’ll show yer what I’ve found fer us!”

Katie felt really cross with her sister as she walked down Bull Hill’s leafy lane to get to Burton Road. Poor Ernie. He’d never been able to stand up to Annie. She’d been selfish and mean to treat him that way. Katie opened the top button of her long-sleeved blouse, realising she was sweating profusely. No wonder Annie hadn’t wanted to stir out of the coolness of the terrace; it was the hottest day they’d had that summer. It was a good thing she’d remembered to put her boater on her head.

“Aunt Katie! Up here, Aunt Katie.”

A disembodied voice came shouting from the trees above.

“What are you doing up there, our Lukey? Do yer want to end up in my hospital with a broken leg?”

“No fear,” called back Katie’s nephew, as he swung from the lower branch like a monkey.

“Where yer going? Can I come with yer? Or do yer know if Mam has got any grub?”

“Well, she hadn’t been cooking when I left home, but I think she’s waiting fer your granny. Why don’t you come with me to Uncle Ernie’s? Then we’ll come back together and have some tea.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that, Auntie. It’s Sunday anyway and he’ll be out in his punt. I’ll go and see if Freddie Jones is playing. His mother makes him go to Sunday school, but he should be back by now.”

“Oh, go on, Lukey. It’ll be company for me and besides I don’t see yer very often now that I’m working away.”

“No, I’m not comin’ with yer. I’ll see yer later,” her nephew said firmly and ran very quickly to the top of Bull Hill.

I wonder what’s got into him? Katie thought, as she carried on walking. He’d been like this when he’d brought a message to the hospital. It was strange how he’d taken a dislike to her brother that way. Still, being on her own gave her chance to think about the letter she’d had from Michael. And wasn’t that his house she was passing? She was sure that house on the corner was called Selwyn Lodge. It looked deserted, but what a pleasant-looking place to live.

Katie came to the site entrance of the new development. There were a lot more dwellings now than the last time she had been this way. A row of four substantial houses lined the perimeter and she could see the footings ready for another three. Each house was set on a half acre, with a sweeping stone-chipped drive and extensive gardens enclosed by walls and impressive gates. Unfortunately for Katie, these gardens were blocking her journey down to Lilac Cottage. The developer must have forgotten to leave a right of way.

She gazed for a moment at the half-timbered, gabled residences, wondering how she was going to get through, unless she went back along the road to Briggs’s farmhouse which she could see in the distance through a gap in the trees. But her skirt was clinging damply and her shoes felt very tight. She turned in disappointment; she’d best be starting back.

But first she would think on Michael’s letter, while there was no nosy sister or a house full of kids. She savoured the pleasure of receiving it as she sat for a moment on a fallen log. She could feel her senses stirring with his memory inside her head. He must have felt the same towards her if he had taken the trouble to write.

She sighed; there was no point in weaving happy fantasies. She knew her place in the scheme of things, she would be wasting her love on a man like him.

“So, did yer see him? How’s he coping?” Annie asked as Katie let herself into the house, which smelled appetisingly of roasted chicken. “I don’t know how yer did it, walking all that way in this heat.”

“I didn’t get that far, Annie. They’ve blocked the way with those new houses. You were right, it’s far too hot today to be out walking, so I’ll have another go tomorrow. But this time I’ll walk down past Briggs’s farm.”

“Did yer see any sight of the kids while you were down there, Katie? Luke and Matthew went out together this morning, said they were going fer a paddle, but I suppose their bellies will bring them home.”

“I saw Luke, not Matthew. He was hiding in the trees at the bottom of Bull Hill, but he said he was off to Freddie Jones’. He didn’t want to come with me. Why is that, Annie? Why doesn’t Lukey like his uncle any more?”

Her sister laughed and lowered her voice so that Mrs. Piper couldn’t hear her in the kitchen.

“He’s suffering with what I think is embarrassment. He was spying through Ernie’s bedroom window and got a bit of a shock. Ernie was doing what Sam said was called “wanking”. Our Lukey’s never been back to the cottage since then!”

Eddie drove the carriage quickly along the Chester High Road, intent on getting his wife to their destination before she could change her mind. As much as Eddie loved her, he knew that it would be hard to convince her that they should leave Selwyn Lodge. Hannah could be stubborn once she had set her mind to something. But the visit from Alice might just have swung her towards thinking his way; a new start in a new place and leave all that silly feuding behind.

Hannah felt hot and sweaty sitting with her little boy in the confines of the sultry carriage. Johnny’s clothes were sticking to his small damp body and his hair lay in slicks about his head. He nodded on her lap from the lull of the carriage’s motion, sucking at the bottle she’d remembered to bring.

Where was Eddie taking her? Hannah wondered, as they passed through the village of Heswall and trotted alongside the acres of farmland that undulated down to the sea. She hoped it wasn’t where people could see her, because she hadn’t changed out of her morning clothes.

The air became fresher and cooler as a breeze came off the estuary and Hannah looked over with interest, past the stooks of yellow corn in the fields and across, to the church spire at Thurstaston as it appeared above the trees.

“How much further, Eddie?” Hannah cried, as the horses began to labour up an incline and her view changed to heathland and scrub. The journey seemed never-ending; this was more than just a little jaunt.

“Not far now sweetheart, and I promise it’ll be worth the wait. Watch out fer the windmill and an old red barn, past a duck pond and then we’ll be there.”

Hannah looked out of the window as Eddie had said, but all she could see was a forest of trees. The track they were taking was potholed and rough and jolted the carriage all over the place.

“Sorry, Hannah, I’m taking a shortcut. There’s a better road just over the hill, but it’s the long way around, through a village. We’ll be there in a minute, I promise you. Watch out fer the windmill like I said.”

Sure enough the jolting stopped, as Eddie turned the carriage onto a narrow highway. He brought the horses to a stop and jumped down from his seat with a smile on his face.

“Well, what do yer think of it, eh? Hand me Johnny and step outside. You’ll see more if yer down from the carriage.”

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to be looking at, Eddie. All I can see is an ancient windmill, a disused quarry and old decrepit cottage.”

“Ah, but feast yer beautiful eyes over there, me darlin’. Across those fields. Do yer see it now, the Irish Sea? You have to admit it’s a breathtaking view.”

Hannah nodded, too rapt to comment on the rolling meadows and sparkling sea that lay before her. Eddie took her hand in his; he was clearly delighted with it.

“So, now what do yer think of it? Would this be a good place to start afresh, away from the folk that cause yer pain?”

“Well, it might be if yer showed me a different house. You didn’t want us to live in that tumbledown cottage, did you?”

“Course not, come with me. Nothing is too good fer my Hannah,” Eddie winked at her secretively. “You take Johnny and walk behind and I’ll lead the horses the rest of the way.”

Redstone House stood in an acre of gardens and woodland. It was a splendid residence made from local sandstone, squarely built with narrow leaded windows, a grey slated roof and an archway leading to a large oak door.