The Cockney Angel (41 page)

‘What is it to you? Why won’t you leave us alone?’

His brow darkened. ‘I don’t want to see you lying on a slab in the dead house, Irene. The law will take care of the Sykes gang and I promise you they will be brought to justice.’

‘How can I have any faith in the law after what it has done to my pa? I don’t trust the police, and I don’t trust you. Now let me go.’

He moved away from the door. ‘You must trust me, Irene. It’s your only hope.’

‘You are a copper first and foremost. You’re no different to the rest of them.’

‘And you are a wayward, stubborn creature,
but
God help me I care what happens to you. I admire your spirit and your bravery and I don’t want to see you crushed by your desire to seek revenge on Vic and Wally Sykes.’ He took her by the hand and his expression softened. ‘Trust me, Irene. Stop this folly and allow me to protect you.’

For a wild moment she was tempted to believe him. The touch of his hand was sending shivers down her spine and causing her pulses to race. She wanted to believe in him, but somehow she could not bring herself to abandon the prejudice that had been bred into her since childhood. He was a policeman and that put them on opposite sides of the law, and he was the son of a callous bully. Inspector Edward Kent had the same blood coursing through his veins as his father – a man who had brought misery to the women who loved him. It would be so easy to give in to his demands, but that would be a leap of faith she was not prepared to take. ‘I don’t believe a word you say,’ she cried, taking refuge in anger. ‘You are only interested in seeking promotion. You don’t care if my pa spends the rest of his life in Newgate and you are afraid that I might succeed in bringing the Sykes brothers to justice when you have failed.’

‘You are terribly wrong. Please consider what I have said.’

‘Once a copper, always a copper.’ Irene spat the words at him. ‘Just leave me and my brother alone to get on with our lives.’ She wrenched the door open and ran from the house. She heard it slam behind her but she did not look back. The chill of the night air made her gasp for breath and her legs felt as though they had turned to jelly. When she reached the alley she stopped to lean against the wall while she caught her breath. She had thought he might pursue her but he had not. ‘So much for his concern about me walking home on my own,’ she muttered. ‘Well, I don’t care what you say, Inspector bloody Kent, neither you nor the whole of the City of London Police force are going to stop me. I’m going to see the Sykes brothers punished if it’s the last thing I do, and I’m not going to stop until I get Pa released from jail.’ She braced her shoulders and headed for home.

Irene did not mention her visit to Robin Hood Court when she set off for the furniture warehouse next morning with Jim. He was in high spirits and she had no intention of passing on Kent’s threat to block his application for a gaming licence, or his promise to close them down if they went ahead without a permit from the magistrate. Jim was full of plans for their new venture and he assured her that he
had
everything in hand. He hoped that they would be able to open for business in less than a week, provided that the painters could finish the two main rooms in time. ‘That was where I went last evening,’ he said, relaxing against the worn leather squabs of the hansom cab. ‘I had the names of artisans recommended to me by an old seafaring friend who came ashore a couple of years ago and has started up a wine importing business with great success. You must meet him, Renie. He’s a good fellow and is still unmarried.’

Irene giggled in spite of the nagging worries that beset her. ‘Are you trying to marry me off, Jim?’

He grinned. ‘Well, I don’t see you as an old maid, my dear. And Gilbert is a steady chap with good prospects. You could do worse.’

‘You can put that idea out of your head right now. My one aim in life is to get justice for Pa and to put an end to the Sykes gang.’

‘Now, Renie, don’t get carried away, poppet. You know I’ll do anything I can to get Pa freed from jail, but we must avoid antagonising Vic and Wally at all costs. I haven’t forgotten what they do to people who get in their way and it isn’t pretty.’

‘But Jim, I thought—’

‘No, Renie, we’re not going to do anything illegal. I didn’t spend ten years at sea, saving
every
penny of my wages, to risk losing the lot when I finally came ashore. I grew up watching the old man fritter away any money that came into his hands and I saw Ma dragged down by hard work and poverty. That’s all in the past and I’m going to make our fortune. From now on we’re going to be respectable citizens.’

Irene absorbed this in silence. Jim and Emmie both seemed to share the same ambition, but hers was simpler. She wanted to see Pa free and her family reunited; she could think no further than that.

Jim tapped on the roof of the cab with his malacca cane. ‘Stop at the warehouse on the corner, cabby.’ His face was alight with anticipation as the vehicle slowed down and came to a halt. ‘This is where it all begins.’ He leapt out and held up his hand to assist her from the high vehicle. ‘You can choose the colours, but I will pick the style of furnishing.’

Irene had not been looking forward to a morning spent selecting tables and chairs but once inside the huge building she began to take an interest. By mid-morning they had ordered tables, chairs and sofas for the gaming and reception rooms. They went on to a fabric warehouse and chose curtain material, which the obsequious salesman assured them could be made up and delivered in less than a week.
Jim
had laid out a small fortune but he brushed aside Irene’s fears that they had overspent, and he treated her to luncheon at a chophouse in Upper Thames Street.

‘Now then, young Renie,’ he said, wiping his lips on a starched white table napkin. ‘There’s another thing which I ought to mention before we go any further.’

Irene swallowed the last morsel of spotted dick and custard and licked the spoon. ‘What is that?’

‘Clothes, my dear girl.’ Jim angled his head, casting a meaningful look at her faded gown that had once belonged to Emmie. ‘You appear to be rather short in that department.’

‘Are you saying that I look shabby?’

‘No, of course not. Well, perhaps a little. What I mean to say is that you ought to find a dressmaker who could fix you up with something a bit smarter, if you know what I mean.’

‘I do know exactly,’ Irene said, smiling at his obvious embarrassment. ‘I’m still wearing Emmie’s cast-offs. I could do with a new skirt and blouse.’

Jim took a wallet from his breast pocket and peeled off a crisp new ten pound note. ‘You need more than that, ducks. A whole wardrobe more like.’

‘Put it away before someone sees. That’s too much, Jim. I can’t take it.’

‘Don’t be silly, of course you must. Dressing you like a lady is all part of the plan to establish ourselves as a respectable gaming house. I’m not going to encourage the riff-raff from the docks to frequent our establishment. I want the well-off punters who will behave themselves, not drunken dockers and sailors.’

Irene glanced nervously at the other diners but thankfully they all seemed too intent on eating and drinking to take any notice of them. She snatched the note and tucked it into her reticule. ‘Well, if you’re sure, but this would keep us in food and coal for couple of months or more.’

Jim leaned back in his seat, preening himself. ‘Not in the way I intend to live, Renie. We’re going to have the best of everything. I’ve done with living rough at sea and now I’m going to enjoy the comforts of life ashore. You’ll see.’ He beckoned to the waiter. ‘I’ll settle up here and then I’ll walk you home.’

Irene shook her head. She fully intended to spend the afternoon with Alice, but she did not want to get into a long explanation as to how she had become involved with a copper and his family. There were some things that it was better to keep from Jim. ‘If you don’t mind, I’ll go straight to the dressmaker that Emmie uses. I know where it is and it’s not far from here. I can find my own way home.’

‘Capital,’ Jim said happily. ‘Pay her extra to get at least one suitable gown finished before the week is out. I want to open the doors to the first punters as soon as possible.’

Irene rose to her feet, wrapping her shawl around her shoulders. ‘The sooner I get there the better, then. I’ll see you later.’ She blew him a kiss, and squeezing past a corpulent gentleman, part of whose large bulk hung over the edge of his chair, she edged her way between the closely packed tables and out into the street. The atmosphere in the chophouse had been thick with steam and tobacco smoke. The smell of roast meat and hot fat clung to her hair and clothes as she hurried along the street, heading not for the dressmaker’s rooms in Bread Street but for Robin Hood Court. She was desperate to see Alice and she was fairly certain that Kent would not be there at this time of day.

She found the door unlocked and she let herself into the house. ‘Alice, it’s me, Irene.’

A cry of delight from the parlour was all the encouragement that Irene needed. She entered the room and went straight to the sofa to give Alice a hug. ‘My dear Alice, I am so pleased to see you and so ashamed that I did not write to you, but you know how it is. I am not much of a hand at letter writing.’

‘I have missed you so much, and I don’t care
about
anything now that you are here. Edward told me that you had called last night. I was extremely cross with him for not waking me.’

Irene drew up a chair and sat down. ‘Yes, I was silly not to have realised that it was so late, but I am here now, and I have so much to tell you.’

‘Have you? How exciting.’

Irene had intended to recount the details of everything that had occurred during her stay in Essex, but now it did not seem to be such a good idea. Perhaps it was best if Alice remained in ignorance of the love triangle involving her father and the Greenwood sisters. Irene improvised wildly. ‘Did Edward tell you that my brother has returned after a ten-year absence?’

‘No, but Danny did. He couldn’t wait to pass on that tasty morsel of gossip. I hope you don’t mind.’

‘Of course not. I had given up hope of ever seeing Jim again but he arrived in Essex, taking me completely by surprise, and now he has rented a house in Five Foot Lane where we are to start up in business.’

‘No! How thrilling. What kind of venture is it to be?’

‘A gaming house. But I’m afraid that Edward does not approve.’

‘I don’t suppose he would,’ Alice said
seriously
. ‘He doesn’t tell me anything about his work, and I have to rely on Gladys to keep me up to date about what is going on in the outside world. She says that there are gangs at work who terrorise innocent people. They make their money from illegal gaming establishments, and by threatening shopkeepers with violence if they don’t pay huge amounts of money for protection from other street gangs.’

‘That is true, but our establishment will be more like a club for respectable city gentlemen. Everything will be legal and above board.’

‘I don’t doubt it for a moment, and I’m sure it will be a great success. Now tell me about your sister. Has she had her baby?’

‘I arrived back in London just in time for the birth. She has a beautiful baby girl and I intend to visit them on my way home from here.’

Alice sighed. ‘How lucky you are, Irene. You can come and go as you please.’ Her lips trembled, but she reached out to lay her hand on Irene’s arm. ‘I don’t mean to sound envious; it’s just that sometimes it is very hard to be shut up in one room day after day with no hope of getting out into the fresh air, or doing things that other people take so much for granted.’

Irene grasped her hand and held it to her
cheek
. ‘How thoughtless I am, Alice. Here am I, chattering on like one of the rooks in the tree outside our old shop, and you have to sit there listening to my prattle. I am quite ashamed of myself.’

‘You mustn’t feel like that. Now I feel bad for upsetting you, when you have spared the time to come and see me and bring me such exciting news.’

‘I’m just angry to think that you should have to spend your days a prisoner in this room, which, if you’ll forgive me for saying so, is dreary enough at the best of times. I know that Edward takes you out when the weather is good, but he really should provide you with some permanent means of transport.’

‘It’s not his fault. He has so much to do and so little spare time.’

Irene acknowledged this with a slight inclination of her head. ‘Even so, we must think of a way to get you out of the house more often.’ She rose to her feet, staring down at Alice with a thoughtful frown. ‘I will think of something.’

‘You are leaving already?’

‘Yes, but I will return tomorrow.’ She leaned over to kiss Alice’s pale cheek and she patted her on the shoulder. ‘Things will change for the better, I promise you.’

* * *

On her way to Love Lane Irene stopped off at the dressmaker’s basement home and had her measurements taken for a whole new wardrobe. She left armed with a list of the material necessary to make up two skirts, three blouses, two afternoon gowns and two more to wear in the evening, and an assurance that at least one gown would be finished within the week. Tomorrow, Irene decided as she strolled along Wood Street, she would take a cab to the West End to do her shopping. She would need new boots and at least two pairs of shoes, and if she had enough money left from the ten pound note she would buy gloves and a shawl. It was an exciting prospect and she felt like a rich woman. She quickened her pace, striding along with new-found optimism and confidence.

On her arrival at the house in Love Lane, Irene went straight to Emmie’s room where she found Ma sitting on a chair by the bed with the baby cradled in her arms, and Emmie propped up on pillows with a radiant smile on her face.

‘What a pretty picture,’ Irene said appreciatively. ‘May I hold the baby, Emmie?’

‘Of course, but be careful. You must support her head.’

‘What are you going to call her?’ Irene asked, taking the sleeping infant from Ma’s arms as
if
she were a fragile piece of porcelain. ‘She is so tiny.’