The Price of Love (27 page)

‘Really; so what did you say to that?’ Robert asked, looking across at her.

She felt the hot colour flooding her cheeks as she tried to avoid his direct gaze. ‘I thought it was diplomatic to say yes because Percy said that it would be an opportunity to tell me what had been decided about Sam,’ she added hastily.

‘I would have thought that his decision about whether there was a job for Sam or not should be discussed with Sam, not you,’ Robert said sharply.

‘Well, yes, I am sure you are right and of course he’ll talk to Sam about what has been decided, but I thought it would be nice to know as soon as possible. Otherwise it might mean having to wait several days before a letter arrives,’ Lucy explained lamely.

‘Mmm! Or was it the idea of a night out somewhere glitzy with Percy Carter that appealed to you?’ Robert asked dryly.

‘No, most certainly not, but I didn’t know how to refuse without causing offence,’ Lucy said hotly. ‘In fact, I’m not at all sure that I will go because he said we would be going to the Paradise Club and I have nothing suitable to wear to a place like that.’

‘You’ll probably look as good as any of the others there whatever you are wearing,’ Robert said dismissively.

Lucy didn’t argue with him because she thought it was pointless to do so; what did a man know about such things? It was so easy for them, all they had to do was put on a clean shirt and a fancy tie and they could go anywhere.

Nevertheless, she couldn’t put it out of her mind and she tossed and turned most of the night wondering whether she should brave it out and wear her summer dress or send a message to Percy to say she wouldn’t be coming.

If she turned down his invitation, she reasoned, it might jeopardise Sam’s chance of a job and she knew it meant so much to him to be back in work.

She was hollow eyed and still tired when it was time to get up the next morning. In silence she prepared Robert’s breakfast and placed it on the table in front of him before pouring herself a cup of tea and sitting down to drink it.

‘Did you have a bad night?’ Robert asked piling his fork with egg and fried bread.

‘Yes, I’m afraid I didn’t sleep very well,’ Lucy admitted, desperately trying to stop yawning.

‘I suppose it was Anna who kept you awake and now it’s time to get up she’s sound asleep.’

‘No, Anna was as good as gold, she didn’t keep me awake,’ Lucy admitted.

‘Oh, I see,’ Robert said grimly. ‘In that case, I suppose you were thinking about your date tonight and what you should wear to impress Percy.’

‘I haven’t even decided whether or not to go. I’ll have to wait and find out if Brenda is off duty this evening and if she can come and babysit first.’

‘Brenda? What has Brenda got to do with it? I can look after my own daughter.’

‘I wasn’t sure if you were free to do so or not; you never offered when I mentioned about going out.’

‘You knew perfectly well that I would be here and that you are free to go out in the evening any time you wish to do so,’ Robert told her huffily.

When she made no reply Robert fished out his wallet from his back pocket and took out a five-pound note. ‘Buy yourself a new dress; something to show him that you are as smart as you ever were,’ he said as he put it down on the table beside her cup and saucer.

Lucy’s mouth tightened. ‘Thank you, but I don’t want that; I’ll wear what I’ve got.’

‘And ruin your evening by feeling out of place? Don’t be daft, go out and buy something new; a dress to knock spots off all the others there. Afterwards, when you get back, try and get an hour’s sleep otherwise you’ll be falling asleep in Percy’s arms on the dance floor and making a laughing stock of yourself.’

Before she could answer he’d stood up from the table, reached down his cap and top coat and was walking out of the house, leaving her looking questioningly at the money he’d left lying on the table.

Robert was so right in what he had said but she wished he hadn’t seemed so angry and cynical. She didn’t like the idea of taking his money to buy a new dress when it was to go out with Percy. She wondered if perhaps Robert was jealous and if so did that mean that he still had feelings for her and resented the fact that Percy was showing an interest in her again?

Robert Tanner was in a very bad mood when he arrived at Carter’s that morning. He hadn’t slept well because he couldn’t put the thought of Lucy going out with Percy from his mind. What on earth did she want to do that for? he kept asking himself.

It stirred up so many memories that he’d thought were buried and gone for ever. He’d tried to move on after Patsy died and he thought he’d done so. He’d been quite proud of the way he’d dealt with all his problems and life had started to look good again but suddenly it seemed to be all turning to ashes.

What made it worse was the way he’d handed her the five-pound note and told her to buy a new dress almost as if he was condoning their outing.

His reasons for doing that had been because he didn’t like to think of her turning up at the Paradise Club in one of her old frocks and being the laughing stock of the hoi polloi who went there. Deep down he did want her to enjoy her night out because she had worked so hard that she deserved it.

Why he hadn’t thought to take her out one night himself he couldn’t understand; well, he knew the reason but he didn’t want to admit it. His feelings for Lucy were as strong as they’d ever been. Never a day passed when he didn’t wish that he could turn the clock back to the time before things began to go haywire. There would have been no Patsy in his life, for a start, he thought grimly.

That would have meant that there would have been no little Anna either, he reminded himself and there was no doubt about it that she meant a great deal to him and always would, even though he still loved Lucy.

Loving your child was different and something very special, he told himself. She was part of him and he felt responsible for her welfare and happiness.

It was one of the reasons why he’d wanted her to be brought up by someone he could trust to care for her properly and even love her. Lucy filled the bill perfectly.

Even as he told himself this, he knew that deep in his heart he also hoped that perhaps one day, if he was sure that Lucy had the same sort of feelings for him that he still had for her, the three of them might become a proper family.

So far they had treated each other with tremendous caution as if both of them were afraid of saying or doing something that might be wrongly construed. They both seemed to be taking great care not to reveal their true feelings. At least he had, but he wasn’t sure about Lucy. Did she still have feelings for him or was she finding it onerous to be living with him and regretting her decision to do so?

In the olden days they had never wanted to be out of each other’s sight for a minute. They’d walked home from school together talking over the day’s happenings and helping each other with their homework. At the weekends they’d gone for walks together and, in the summer, over to New Brighton on the boat.

In fact, in those days they’d spent every moment they could in each other’s company. They’d shared their thoughts and dreams for the life ahead of them and had taken it for granted that they would be together for ever.

It was all Percy Carter’s fault that it had all gone wrong, he told himself. It had started with the stupid incident when Percy had fallen on the bonfire. That had started a chain of events that within a very short time had churned up all their lives.

After Sam’s car accident, Robert reflected, Lucy had been so busy grieving for her parents and then looking after Sam after he came out of hospital that he’d felt pushed into the background. Patsy had been so dependent on him helping her with Sam and so willing to keep him company when he’d felt miserable that at the time she had filled the yawning gap in his life.

Before he realised what was happening Patsy was pregnant and there was no turning back. He’d done the only thing he could in the circumstances; he didn’t love Patsy, but he had married her because that was what was expected of him.

He knew that both Lucy and Sam had been bitterly hurt and angry; Lucy because he had jilted her and Sam because he’d lost Patsy.

Looking back, Robert could see how selfish he’d been. Still, he told himself, there was no point in dwelling on that now. In his estimation, simply because of what happened then was certainly no excuse for Lucy to accept a date with Percy.

If she thought going on a date with Percy would make any difference as to whether or not Sam was given a job at Carter’s Cars, he could have told her that she was wasting her time. Percy had no real say in matters of that sort; those decisions were made by old man Carter himself and he brooked no interference from anybody.

Lucy cleared away the breakfast dishes and washed up after Robert went to work but she left the five-pound note lying on the table where he had put it. Each time she walked through the room it seemed to draw her eyes towards it and stir up the argument that was trying to battle itself out in her mind.

She had to admit that she was tempted. She knew exactly the sort of dress she would like to have. It would skim her knees, have a dropped waist and the skirt would be box-pleated. As she danced the pleats would flare out prettily as she twirled around. She wasn’t sure about the colour but she thought perhaps a dramatic red or else a pretty pastel colour, so that she could enjoy wearing the dress to go out in all through the summer.

When she’d finished dressing Anna and done all the housework the money was still lying there, tempting her to go on a spending spree. As she strapped Anna into her pushchair ready to go shopping she picked it up and slipped it into her purse. It would be safe there, she told herself. Perhaps she’d use it to buy something special for their meal tonight.

It was a crisp, sunny morning and as she set out for the shops she decided that for a change she would go as far as St John’s Market. It was quite a long walk but because it was such a nice day they would enjoy it and she might pick up a bargain.

She hadn’t meant to walk through the town centre and look in all the shop windows again but when she did so she couldn’t help thinking of the money tucked away in her purse. Before she knew what was happening she was inside Frisby Dyke’s and was making her way to the ladies’ dress department.

She had already seen the sort of dress she wanted in their window but it wasn’t in a colour she liked. Inside the store there was a whole rail of similar styles.

As she looked through them one in a gorgeous shade of turquoise seemed to jump out at her. She studied the label: it was her size and it would fit her perfectly.

‘Would madam like to try it on?’ a posh young voice asked.

Lucy backed away from the slim, elegant young woman who stood at her side. ‘Thank you, I was only looking.’

‘It’s a colour that would suit you,’ the well-modulated voice told her. ‘Do try it on. I am sure you will look perfectly lovely in it,’ the girl added persuasively.

‘I … I’ll think about it; I want to have a look around and see what else there is first,’ Lucy told her.

Quickly she moved away, accidentally bumping the pushchair into the nearby counter which made her feel all the more gauche and uncomfortable.

Determined not to be rushed into buying, she walked around the entire dress department. There was nothing at all that seemed more suitable and, instinctively, she made her way back to where the turquoise dress was hanging. She needed to see the price tag before she committed herself.

The moment her fingers touched the soft, silky fabric she knew she must have it; the price was four pounds, nineteen shillings and eleven pence. She could afford it but it would mean she had spent the entire five pounds; she had never paid that much for a dress in her life.

She stood there trying to convince herself that it was the right thing to do because it was to help Sam.

‘Perhaps madam would like to try it on now?’ the salesgirl suggested hopefully.

‘No, I haven’t time to do that,’ Lucy said hesitantly. ‘It is my correct size, so I am quite sure that it will fit me perfectly,’ she added quickly, the colour rushing to her face.

She would have liked to try the dress on very much and to study her reflection in one of the full-length triple mirrors in the well-appointed changing room. It was impossible to do so, though, because it would be far too embarrassing to let this immaculate-looking young assistant see her shabby underwear.

‘My little girl is tired and she might prove rather fractious,’ she said lamely.

The salesgirl smiled superciliously. ‘Very well, madam, I quite understand. ‘If you’ll accompany me over to the counter I’ll pack it up for you.’

As she handed the five-pound note over Lucy wondered what Robert would think of it. It seemed to be such a lot of money to spend on one dress, even such a lovely one. Nevertheless, as the girl folded it meticulously in white tissue paper before carefully putting it into a carrier bag with the shop’s name printed on it, she couldn’t wait to get home and try it on so that she could see what she looked like in it.

On the way home Lucy kept thinking about her new dress and hoping Robert wouldn’t feel that she had been extravagant in spending so much money on it. She also hoped he would be in a better mood when he came home from work because he’d certainly seemed to be so very put out about her going out with Percy that, for a moment, she’d wondered if he was jealous.

Anna was asleep when they arrived home so Lucy left her in the pushchair while she unpacked her new dress. As she took it out of the smart carrier bag and removed the layers of tissue paper, she drew in her breath in delight. It looked even better than it had when it was hanging in the shop.

Quickly, right there in the living room, she took off her blouse, stepped out of her skirt and slipped the new dress over her head. It fitted perfectly.

Excitedly she dashed upstairs to her bedroom to see if she could get a full-length view in the mirror in her room. As she twirled, the pleats at the bottom of the skirt swirled out attractively exactly as she had thought they would.