The Shoemaker's Daughter (39 page)

‘Can I draw a picture round your foot, Billy?’ Hari said softly. She placed the paper on the floor and gently placed the small foot on it. ‘I won’t tickle you, I promise,’ she said smiling.

The small foot was not damaged but the ankle still bore a deep scar and Hari tried not to show her distress. The child must have suffered a great deal, no wonder Beatie was so bitter.

There was silence as she worked and Hari was aware of the tension in the room. So was Billy because he put his hands to his eyes and began to cry.

‘There, it’s all right, I’ve finished now,’ Hari said standing up quickly. ‘You’ve been a good brave boy.’

‘Lewis did the exact same thing, mind,’ Cleg said, watching Hari fold away the paper carefully and put it in her bag. ‘And still the boots weren’t any good.’

‘I know,’ Hari said, ‘Lewis is an excellent cobbler but he’s not used to this sort of work and I am.’ She spoke with more confidence than she felt.

‘You can do something for our Billy then?’ Beatie’s voice was eager.

‘I’m pretty sure I can make Billy a comfortable pair of boots that will lift his foot just enough so that he won’t have to limp. And I’ll put some soft calf at the top of the boot so that his bad ankle won’t be chafed.’

Beatie poured the tea and smiled for the first time.

‘Sit down Hari, I’m sorry I was such a grump to you when you first came in.’

‘I understand,’ Hari said softly, ‘having my own son has made a difference, I can tell you. I don’t think I’ll ever be so wrapped up in myself as I used to be.’

‘Aye, having a babby changes you all right, wait till you got a family like me, then you’ll realize just how tired you can get and still carry on,’ Beatie said ruefully.

Cleg rose to his feet. ‘Well, I got work to do,’ he said. ‘Can’t sit down drinking tea all day like you women.’ He winked at Hari, ‘Got a wonderful life you have, don’t know why you’re grumbling.’

‘Get out before I throw the teapot at you, man,’ Beatie said but there was a note of indulgence in her voice.

‘Cleg,’ Hari said, ‘before you go, can I ask you to keep a look out for cobblers wanting work?’ She smiled. ‘Your Ben is doing well and so are the others, but I need more workers so keep your ears open.’

‘I’ll do that,’ he said. ‘I’ll spread the word, tell anybody who is interested to come to your place, shall I?’

‘Yes, please, Cleg,’ Hari said and watched as Cleg kissed his wife and son and then, heaving his leather jerkin on to his shoulders, he left the house.

‘Good man is my Cleg,’ Beatie sighed, ‘and I shouldn’t blame him for the accident.’ Her hands shook as she refilled her cup almost absent-mindedly. ‘Left the door open a minute, that’s all Cleg did and our Billy was out in the street before any of us could stop him.’

Hari could think of nothing to say, words were so trite, so inadequate when a woman was hurting as much as Beatie was.

Hari tried to imagine her own grief if anything should happen to David but the thought was too painful and she pushed it away from her quickly.

‘Don’t worry, Beatie,’ she said, ‘I’ll make sure Billy has the finest pair of boots this side of the Bristol Channel.’

Beatie smiled. ‘I know you’ll do your best, Hari, you always did care about others.’

She saw Hari to the door. ‘How long will the boots take do you think?’

‘I’ll get working on them straightaway,’ Hari said. ‘Shouldn’t be more than a day or two.’

‘Right then, see you soon.’ Beatie lifted her hand in farewell and then retreated back into the kitchen, closing the door after her.

Hari stood for a moment in the familiar street not seeing anything but the pale face of the small boy whose life had been blighted almost before it had begun.

But Hari would do her best for him, she was determined. She felt invigorated, filled with a new determination, she would make the boots a priority and everything else must wait.

But what about Meg’s wedding slippers? She’d forgotten them. Well, she would just have to work all the harder for the next few days, that’s all.

William stood near the back entrance of Emily’s Emporium, his arm around Sarah’s waist. ‘Come on,’ he whispered softly, ‘come down the park with me tonight, you know how much I love you and isn’t it normal for a man to want a woman then?’

‘Oh hush, Will!’ Sarah reproved, ‘Sometimes I think you only want one thing from me.’

‘You are a beautiful woman, Sarah, naturally I want to hold you and kiss you and make love to you.’

‘Have you no shame and broad daylight too!’ Sarah pushed him away but she was smiling. Will leaned good-naturedly against the back door of the shop and looked down at Sarah indulgently.

‘You mean it will be all right for me to kiss and hold you and make love to you when it’s dark then?’ he said softly.

‘Don’t be daft,’ Sarah said, ‘and hush your talking, someone might hear, my dad might hear then you’d cop it.’

‘I’m not afraid of your dad,’ Will said and Sarah laughed up at him.

‘I know you’re not but I told you that you’re daft, didn’t I? My dad was champion boxer, mind.’

Will reached out and caught her arm. ‘Are you coming out with me tonight? That’s all I want to know.’

‘Aye, all right then, if saying yes will give me a bit of peace, then so be it.’

‘Saying yes will give you more than you bargained for, my lovely,’ Will said wickedly. ‘See you tonight down by the park gates then.’

‘I’ll think about it,’ Sarah said but her wide generous mouth was curved into a smile.

Will whistled as he strode back to the workshop in the High Street, things were looking up lately, he had Sarah in the palm of his hand and work was improving too.

Hari was back at the helm infusing her workforce with her own enthusiasm and three more cobblers had been taken on making the workload lighter, but Hari herself was working extra hard trying to get some special orders completed.

She sometimes brought the baby into the workshop, good as gold the boy was too, and, in spite of Will’s fears, Hari’s health seemed not to have suffered at all by the birth, not like that of his poor old mam.

But then Will’s mother had given birth to too many babies, childbirth had drained her so that when the sickness came she had no resistance to it.

Will would never forget Hari’s kindness to him then, she had been a tower of strength, supporting the family, and in the end when there was no family left, taking Will away from the empty house.

‘William!’ Hari was sitting at the bench, the baby in the crib beside her, when he entered the workshop. ‘Just the man I wanted to see.’

‘Hey, not giving me more work to do, are you?’ Will said smiling, ‘Slave driver you are, everyone should have a day off, mind.’

‘Just a tiny bit of a job,’ Hari coaxed, ‘I want some of these pearls sewn on to Meg’s slippers, there’s only me and you can do it and I want to get these boots done for Cleg’s boy, I’ve been on them longer than I thought as it is.’

‘Aye, all right,’ Will said good-naturedly. He bent over the crib and tickled the baby’s chin. ‘
Duw
, you’re a lovely little boy then, aren’t you?’ he said and he heard Hari chuckle.

‘Keep talking long enough and David will answer you,’ she said, ‘he’s only a few weeks old, remember.’

‘Never mind,’ Will said, ‘I’ve had brothers and sisters myself and they like it if you talk to them, there, see, David’s smiling at me.’

‘Got wind more like it,’ Hari said good-naturedly.

Will sat quietly sewing the pearl beads to the satin-lined slippers with delicate stitches. ‘Fair play to you, Hari,’ he said at last, ‘these shoes are lovely, I bet Meg will fall in love with them.’

‘I know,’ Hari said slowly and held up one of the small boots, ‘and yet these give me more pleasure to work on because I know they’ll make such a big difference to the way Billy stands and walks. See this extra piece of calf in the ankle, it’s pliable and soft and yet it will support him where he’s got a weakness.’

Will admired Hari as well as loving her like the elder sister she’d become. He wished he had the words to tell her his feelings, feelings that should be spoken, not kept hidden as they’d been in his own family. Then suddenly, it had been too late for words.

‘You are looking a bit down in the mouth,’ Hari’s voice cut into his thoughts, ‘not quarrelled with Sarah, have you?’

‘
Duw
, you’re nosy!’ Will said playfully. ‘No, I haven’t quarrelled with her, I’m seeing her tonight if it’s any of your business.’

‘Cheek,’ Hari flipped at him with her fingers, ‘remember you’re only a beginner in life, you don’t know it all by any means.’

She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. ‘And why don’t you trim that baby moustache of yours and shave the bum fluff off your chin?’

Will knew she was teasing him. ‘All right, then, once I’ve finished this sewing, I’ll go and make myself all beautiful, enjoy what’s left of my day off.’

‘Seriously, Will,’ Hari said, ‘don’t rush into anything, with Sarah I mean. You’ve got a good future before you and I wouldn’t want you to saddle yourself with too much responsibility too soon.’

Will had no intention of doing any such thing, he loved Sarah well enough but he did not yet want a wife.

‘All right, Hari,’ he said soberly, ‘I won’t do anything silly, promise.’

‘Silly things just happen when you’re young and in love,’ she said.

‘Is that what happened to you, Hari?’ Will asked quietly, ‘Is that why you don’t seem happy any more?’

Hari gave him a quick look and Will did not miss the tell-tale flush that rose to her cheeks.

‘I wasn’t talking about myself. How are those slippers looking, beads all sewn on are they?’

Will rose from the bench in one easy movement. ‘All done. Now can I get myself something to eat and make myself beautiful for my night out?’ he said, smiling.

‘All right, go on with you then.’ Hari looked up at him, ‘And thanks for the help, Will.’

He moved towards the door of the workshop, smelling the familiar scents of leather mingled with the soft milky scent of the baby. On an impulse, he glanced back.

‘Don’t work too hard, Hari, I don’t want you falling sick, mind.’

He left her, then at once his thoughts were with Sarah, her soft womanliness, the sweetness of her lips when he kissed her and he sighed. Hari was right, it was all too easy to do something silly.

‘Are you going out then?’ Edward was seated in a chair near the fire, a glass of port in his hand. He seemed pale and restless but Hari had other things on her mind.

‘I won’t be long, I promised these boots for young Billy, don’t worry, the nurse can look after David till I get back.’

‘I’m well aware of the girl’s capabilities,’ Edward sounded fractious, ‘but I do think you should be with our son more often.’

‘But Edward, I’ve had David with me in the workshop all the afternoon,’ Hari said in surprise. ‘I’m not neglecting him, I promise you.’ She kissed Edward’s forehead, ‘and I’ll be back before you know it, you’ll see.’

‘All right,’ he said grudgingly, ‘but try to ease up, Hari, I worry about you working so hard.’

She let herself out into the cool of the evening air and drew her good woollen shawl close around her shoulders. Edward hated that shawl, he thought it more suitable for her to have a good woollen coat but Hari had no intention of conforming to anyone else’s ideas of how she should look. She had worn Welsh wool for as long as she could remember and she was not about to change now. Sometimes she tucked David up in the folds of the shawl snug as a baby bird in a nest he was, held close and safe against her, she sighed, she really was a very lucky woman.

The boots were finished now, nestling in the basket hanging from her arm, strong and light they were, tiny boots, carefully fashioned and hopefully the answer to little Billy’s needs.

‘Hari!’ The strong masculine voice stopped her in her tracks. ‘I haven’t seen you for days, you’ve always been busy in the workshop when I’ve called at Chapel Street.’

‘I know,’ Hari hardly dared look up, she felt Craig’s nearness and resisted the urge to throw herself into his arms. ‘I’ve been so busy, Craig, I didn’t know if I was coming or going. There’s been Meg’s wedding slippers and Cleg the Coal’s son’s boots and I . . .’ Her voice trailed away as Craig touched her cheeks briefly.

‘You don’t have to make excuses, Hari, I know that your life is with Edward now, I do understand.’

‘I must go,’ Hari said, glancing around uneasily. ‘Why don’t you walk to Cleg’s house with me, that’s if you’re not expected anywhere else, mind.’

‘I’m not expected anywhere else.’ He fell into step beside her. ‘I hear you’ve taken on new men.’

‘That’s right, I’m building up the business,’ she said softly. ‘I want to give my son a fine inheritance when he grows up.’

‘I want to give
our
son just as much as you do,’ Craig said, ‘and I will, Hari, if you will only let me.’

‘Your offer comes too late,’ Hari said gently. ‘The answer has to be no.’ At the corner of the road where Cleg lived, she stopped walking. ‘Don’t come any further,’ she said pleadingly, ‘I don’t want any gossip.’

She watched as he swung away along the street, a tall handsome man, well set and with a proud carriage, and she felt herself dissolve with love for him.

Briskly, she turned the corner and moved quickly along the street full of cottages with windows curtained against the fading light. From within, she could just see the glimmer of lamp light and suddenly she felt lonely.

It was Beatie who opened the door to her. ‘So you’ve come at last,’ she said ungraciously, ‘I thought you’d forgotten all about us.’

‘No, I hadn’t forgotten,’ Hari said, ‘it’s just that the job took longer than I thought it would, that’s all.’

‘Well come in, though I was just going to put Billy to bed, the youngest one’s gone already.’