Remember Me (10 page)

‘Yes, Scarborough is lovely,’ she said, ‘but then I would say that, wouldn’t I? I’m sure to be prejudiced. I find it rather confusing. We’re walking northwards, but in Scarborough, with the sea on our left, we’d be walking south.’ She laughed. ‘I know it’s because we’re right at the other side of the country here, as far west as we can go…but my sense of direction was never very good.’

‘Well, I’m here to guide you,’ smiled Dan. ‘And if you look back you must admit it’s a magnificent view.’

And so it was. Far away in the distance the tall structure of the Tower pointed to the sky; to the left of it stood the Palace building, the Big Wheel silhouetted on the skyline, and a long long row of hotels and boarding houses facing onto the
promenade. The sea, catching the rays of the sun, was a shining sheet of silver, shifting and shimmering with the movement of the breeze. Maddy, comparing it with the view of Scarborough she had seen so often – the sweep of the South Bay, the fishing boats in the harbour and the ruined castle perched high on the clifftop – realised that Blackpool, although it was so different, had a grandeur that was all its own.

‘Yes…it is magnificent,’ she breathed. ‘In its own way, it’s quite beautiful.’

Dan gently put his arm around her shoulders as they stood there taking in the view, and they looked at one another and smiled. It seemed natural, then, to hold hands as they continued their walk.

‘You say these cliffs are entirely man-made?’ asked Maddy.

‘So I’ve been told,’ replied Dan. ‘They’re made from massive boulders of rock encased in clay, but they’re not indestructible. They are gradually eroding, being worn away by the tide. See the building up there on the top of the cliff? That’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.’

‘Yes, I’ve heard of it,’ said Maddy. ‘It’s a popular place for entertainment, isn’t it?’

‘So it was, but it won’t be for much longer,’ said Dan. ‘See how near the cliff edge it is? In fact, very soon it will have to be closed down and the buildings demolished, before the sea puts paid to it altogether. It used to be a popular place for dancing
and there’s a good refreshment room.’ One or two people could be seen sitting at tables or walking around the site.

‘What a pity,’ said Maddy. ‘You’ve been dancing there, I suppose, Dan?’

‘No…actually, I’m not much of a dancer,’ he replied. ‘Look up on the roof, Madeleine.’ He seemed anxious to change the subject. ‘Those wooden statues are Uncle Tom, Little Eva and Topsy, from the book
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
.’

‘Yes, I’ve heard of it,’ Maddy nodded. ‘It was written by a lady called Harriet Beecher Stowe, and it’s about the slave trade.’ She wanted Dan to know that, even though she had left school at thirteen, she was not unintelligent or uneducated. She was somewhat fazed by the knowledge that he would be going to college to train as a teacher…although he didn’t seem very keen on the idea. She liked him, though, she liked him a lot, and she guessed that he liked her too.

‘Come along then,’ he said. ‘Let’s go and have a closer look at them, and I think we deserve a cup of tea after all that walking.’

As they sat on the wooden bench, near to the railings which separated the café grounds from the clifftop path, it was not hard to imagine that, quite soon, the whole structure might well go crashing down into the sea. The waves pounding against the bottom of the cliff looked perilously close. The drink of tea refreshed them, but Dan decided that
they would ride the couple of miles back to town on a tramcar. They made for the nearest stop and boarded a huge cream and green Dreadnought tram. It was a double-decker and Maddy insisted on going upstairs to have a better view.

She found the ride exciting although she had ridden on tramcars before, in Scarborough, and in Leeds and Bradford. It was the pleasant company, though, on that Sunday afternoon, and the blissful freedom of the day that were causing her to feel so light-hearted and so dazed with happiness. She loved everything about it, as though she were a little girl again: the clanging of the wheels against the iron rails, the ‘ting-ting’ of the bell, and the occasional ‘toot-toot’ of the hooter when pedestrians wandered too near to the track, as visitors to the resort were inclined to do.

They alighted near to Central Station, the stop nearest to Dan’s home and Maddy’s lodgings. He had to be back to assist with the visitors’ teas, and Maddy, too, was expected to return, although the day was their own to do with as they liked. She was sad that the afternoon was coming to an end, and hoping against hope that Dan would ask to see her again.

She was surprised, though, as they stood at the gate, to hear him say, ‘Would you like to come out again this evening, Madeleine?’

‘This evening?’ she repeated. ‘Well, yes, of course I would but…’

‘But what?’ He raised his eyebrows in a question.

‘Well, I was wondering about you. It’s my day off, but won’t you be needed to help with the suppers?’

‘Oh, I’ll have a word with my brother,’ said Dan. ‘He’s a very obliging lad, and he knows how to keep mum when needs be. He’ll cover for me.’

‘All right then,’ agreed Maddy. ‘Yes…I’d love to.’

‘Seven o’clock then,’ said Dan. He leant forward and kissed her cheek. ‘Goodbye, Madeleine, till then. And thank you for a lovely afternoon.’

‘Thank you, too,’ she replied. As she watched him walk away she felt that it was all so very unreal. When was she going to wake up? she wondered.

But it was no dream. The rest of the company had noticed her absence, and Susannah and Nancy were quick to remark on it. ‘I’ve been for a walk on the cliffs with a young man,’ she told them. ‘We met by chance, and he recognised me from the show. He’s Joe’s brother; you know, the lad who helped us with the props when we arrived. And…I’m seeing him again tonight,’ she added, making up her mind to be truthful about it.

‘Mmm…’ Nancy looked at her seriously before saying, ‘You’re a sensible girl, though, aren’t you, Maddy?’

‘Of course she is,’ said Susannah, giving her a sly wink. ‘You enjoy yourself, love.’ They exchanged meaningful glances. After their tête-à-tête in
Roundhay Park, Susannah had learnt enough about Maddy to trust that she could take care of herself. And Maddy recalled Susannah’s remark that she would meet quite a few young men before she met the right one. She wondered, though, about that. Already it seemed as though Daniel was…rather special.

Chapter Eight

‘I
want to show you one of the most wonderful sights to be seen anywhere in the world,’ said Dan as they walked along Albert Road. ‘Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but certainly one of the most wonderful sights in the country.’

‘In Blackpool?’ queried Maddy.

‘Yes, right here in Blackpool,’ said Dan, grinning at her. ‘Just you wait and see.’

On reaching the promenade, they crossed the road and the tramtrack and stood by the railings opposite the Tower, in almost the same spot where Dan had been standing when they had met for the first time on Thursday, three days ago. Could it really be only three days? Maddy pondered. She felt as though she had known Dan for ages.

It had been a fine day, not overwarm, but the sun had shone all the time, and now it was beginning to set in a slow descent over the sea. And as they gazed across the sand to the silver-blue expanse of the ocean, Maddy realised what Dan had meant. Never had she seen a more glorious sunset. Earlier in the day the sea had looked grey and choppy, but now the wind had died down and all was calm. As the
sun’s rays caught the slight movement of the waves, the shimmering sheet of turquoise blue was set ablaze with a million golden coins dancing on the surface. The sky was a glory of darkening blue streaked with rose, orange and vermilion and each cloud was rimmed with gold.

‘Yes, I see what you mean,’ said Maddy, in a quiet voice because she was awestruck. ‘It’s…so beautiful.’

‘And unique to the west coast,’ said Dan. ‘I’ve watched the sun setting over the hills and rooftops in other places. It’s always beautiful, but the sea adds that extra touch of wonder. I come to see it from time to time when I’m able. I find it so very restful and soothing.’

Maddy nodded silently. God’s in His heaven, all’s right with the world… The words came into her mind again. But what she said was, ‘This can’t happen in Scarborough, can it? Over on the east coast the sun sets over the land, doesn’t it?’ It was something she hadn’t considered before.

‘Yes,’ agreed Daniel. ‘So it does. But it rises over the sea, and I’m sure that must be just as beautiful a sight. Don’t tell me you’ve never been up early enough to see it?’ he laughed.

‘I’m afraid not,’ smiled Maddy, ‘but maybe I will, one of these days.’ She felt Dan’s arm steal around her shoulders as they stood there, not speaking, for several moments. And it felt so very right and natural.

They both seemed to know without mentioning
it that they must not stay out too late. As they strolled along the promenade the sky grew darker and the electric lights came on over the tramtrack and road. They found a solitary café open in the town where they drank tea and held hands across the table. She told him about Jessie with whom she had been best friends long before her father had married Jessie’s mother. And about the twins and Aunty Faith, her father and Grandad Isaac. And then, because Dan seemed so very interested in everything, about some of the other members of the concert party. And in exchange Daniel told her…really very little.

She did not wonder if he would ask to see her again because she knew it was inevitable. As they said goodnight at her gate he held her shoulders and kissed her, very gently, on the lips.

What Maddy did not know was that it was the first time ever that Daniel Murphy had kissed a girl. He could not quite comprehend what was happening to him. He had never felt anything like this before. He was happy – he could not remember ever feeling so happy – but it was more than that. There was a feeling of rightness about it. He had been experiencing doubts about his future for quite some time, and now, meeting Maddy was forcing him to come to a decision. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to go on seeing her. And he also knew that very soon he must tell her the truth about himself.

His mother had not questioned him about where he had been that afternoon and she did not enquire about the evening either. She appeared preoccupied and scarcely spoke to him at all.

Maddy and Dan continued to enjoy one another’s company over the following days. They walked to the end of the North Pier, rode on the Big Wheel and, on a rainy afternoon, they visited the various delights of the Tower buildings.

‘I’ve heard tell that John Bickerstaffe – he’s the chairman of the Tower Company – that he prays for rain,’ Dan told Maddy, ‘because then all the visitors flock to the Tower.’

There was certainly plenty to see. On the ground floor was the Aquarium, an eerie place with limestone pillars and dim lighting, where strange and exotic fish swam around in glass tanks bathed in a greenish glow. Upstairs was the Menagerie which housed lions, tigers, monkeys and a noisy hyena, as well as producing a very strong and malodorous smell. By contrast, the roof gardens were a source of pleasure with cool shady corners where you could sit and marvel at the palm trees, vines, and plants of every kind and colour, to the accompaniment of orchestral music. On the same floor was ‘Ye Olde English Village’ where you could buy souvenirs to take home; and from this floor, too, was the lift that ascended to the top of the Tower.

Dan persuaded Maddy that this was something
they really must do and so, despite her trepidation, she agreed. She had already had a ride on the Big Wheel, and that had turned out to be not so scary as she had imagined, but the Tower was much higher. The glassed-in viewing platform, however, was not at the very top and afforded stupendous views in all directions. They could see across to the hills of Barrow and the Lake District in the north, south to the resort of Southport across the Ribble estuary, and along the stretch of the Fylde coastline, from Lytham St Annes to Fleetwood.

Before they left the building they took a peep into the ballroom, which had been described as the finest in Europe. ‘Gosh!’ exclaimed Maddy. ‘It takes your breath away, doesn’t it?’

From the wooden floor, inlaid with a pattern of mahogany, oak and walnut blocks, up to the frescoed ceiling, which had been painted by talented artists of the day, the ballroom was a magnificent sight. It was surrounded by roomy balconies with red velvet seating, supported by massive marble pillars. A few couples were dancing to the strains of a light orchestra, but it would be at night that the place truly came alive. Maddy wished that she might see it. Maybe she would, sometime; but her two weeks in Blackpool were already turning out to be far more wonderful than she could ever have imagined.

The rain had stopped so they stood in a now familiar spot near to the promenade railings. It was
Friday afternoon. They both knew that their time together would soon come to an end. Maddy had a matinée performance on Saturday afternoon followed by one at seven-thirty in the evening. And on Sunday the Melody Makers would be off on their travels again.

‘Madeleine,’ Daniel began, putting his arm around her shoulders, ‘you know how much I have enjoyed being with you over this past week, don’t you?’

She nodded, breathing an almost inaudible, ‘Yes…’

‘And I do so hope that we might be able to go on seeing one another…’

She nodded again. ‘Yes, and I hope so too, Dan,’ she said softly.

‘But there is something that I have to tell you,’ he continued. ‘I’m afraid I haven’t been entirely honest with you…’

‘Oh?’ she queried. She could see the shadow of uncertainty in his eyes, and she felt the first faint stab of apprehension.

‘You remember how I told you that I might be going to college, sometime soon, and you assumed that I would be training to become a teacher?’

‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘And that is what I let you go on believing. But the truth is…I should say the idea was…that I should train to become…a Catholic priest.’

She gave an involuntary gasp as she drew a step
away from him. She felt the colour drain from her face and all she could do was utter an incredulous, ‘What…? No…!’

He shook his head. ‘But I’m not going to do it, Madeleine. I’d been having doubts, and I know now that it was never what I really wanted to do. Not with all my heart and soul…’

‘But you mean…because of me?’ She stopped then, aware that what she was about to say might sound very presumptuous, very conceited of her to suggest that she could have had any bearing on his decision. She was only seventeen – well, nearly – and although she knew already that she was growing very fond of him, and she had even wondered if there might be a future for them together, it was still far too soon. They had known one another for only a short time, and now Dan was considering turning his life around completely. She shook her head. ‘No, of course it isn’t because of me,’ she went on, ‘and I wouldn’t want it to be. But I wish you had told me…’

She had drawn away from him, but he stepped nearer to her again, placing his hand over hers as it lay on the railing. ‘Yes, it is partly because of you, Madeleine. It must be, don’t you see? Meeting you has made me realise all the more that I don’t want to take that enormous step. If I’d told you the truth straight away, you wouldn’t have gone on seeing me, would you?’ She could not answer. ‘And I would have felt that I was doing something wrong.
I knew as soon as I met you that I wanted to see you again like…like any ordinary lad wants to go on seeing a girl he’s met. And it’s not wrong to want that. As I said, I’d been having grave doubts, and this – meeting you – was the catalyst, you might say, that made me realise I was heading in the wrong direction. It was never entirely my idea, you know, to become a priest. Well, if I’m honest, it wasn’t my idea at all. It was Mammy…er…my mother.’

‘Yes…your mother,’ breathed Maddy. ‘And what is she going to say when you tell her you’ve changed your mind?’

‘I’ve already told her,’ said Daniel.

Indeed, it had been a stormy encounter. He had known the previous evening that it was time he had a frank discussion with his mother. Not about Madeleine; there would be time enough later for her to know about that. But he must tell her about his change of heart, the decision he had arrived at that the priesthood was not for him. He was a devout Catholic, although he preferred to think of himself as a Christian and not first and foremost as a Catholic; and there were other ways in which he could serve God and lead an honest and virtuous life.

He decided to speak to his mother as soon as the family meal was over and the dishes had been washed and put away. It was the usual procedure for the family to dine after the visitors, then they had a short respite before starting on the job of
resetting the tables, in part, for breakfast the following morning.

Dan was thankful that his father had gone into the backyard, as he often did of an evening, to have a smoke of his pipe and a time of quiet contemplation. And Joe was chatting by the front gate to the waitress-cum-chambermaid, a young girl by the name of Myrtle, whom they had engaged only that week. Dan had never seen his brother so animated before in the company of a girl.

‘Could I have a word with you, Mammy?’ he said. ‘Just you and me at the moment, although I shall talk to Daddy and Joe later. There’s something I want to tell you.’

His mother nodded curtly. She sat down in the family living room at the back of the house, not in a comfortable fireside chair, but in a wooden one near to the table, which was covered with a maroon chenille cloth when it was not in use. Dan sat opposite her, but she did not give him the chance to speak. She placed her clenched fists on the table, leaning forward in an aggressive manner.

‘Yes, and I’m not at all surprised that you’ve something to tell me. Who is she?’

His mouth dropped open with shock. He knew what she meant, of course; someone must have seen him with Madeleine. But all he could answer was, ‘What…? How did you…?’ He was well aware that he sounded stupid, but there was no thought in his mind about denying it. Anyway, why should he?

‘How do I know? Because you’ve been seen… And I’m not going to tell you who it was,’ his mother went on as soon as he opened his mouth. ‘Who is she? That’s what I want to know, this…floozy that you’ve been gadding around the town with all week?’

‘Be careful what you are saying…Mother,’ said Dan, feeling immediate anger at such a wrongful description of Madeleine. ‘Yes, I have been out with a young lady, quite a few times during the past week. But she is certainly not a “floozy”. She is a most respectable young lady, and one that you have met. Well, Joe has met her anyway, and you and my father have seen her.’

‘Don’t tell me it was one of the girls from our congregation? If it was then she should be ashamed of herself. All the young women at the Sacred Heart know that you are destined for the priesthood. And more fool you if you’ve let your head be turned by one of them; although I know it wouldn’t be the first time that a young novice priest has been led astray by a girl who should know better.’

‘Will you please listen to me,’ cried Daniel. ‘No, it isn’t anybody from the church, and as for me becoming a priest – and everyone knowing about it,’ he added pointedly, ‘that is exactly what I want to talk to you about. The young lady in question is the singer from the North Pier show, Madeleine Moon. If you remember, she had a lovely voice. And she’s a lovely girl too.’