The Shoemaker's Daughter (45 page)

He turned then and, with slow footsteps, he left the hospital behind and made his way back to the empty house he called home.

29

‘I love it, John.’ Emily clung to her husband’s arm as she stared up at the large, well-proportioned house that stood facing the sea on the outskirts of Swansea. ‘I’m sure I could be happy here.’

‘Well, it’s the third time we’ve come to look at it and if you really are sure, I think we should go ahead and buy it before anyone else snaps it up.’

Emily laughed. ‘At the price it’s going for, there won’t be any rush I don’t think. But we can well afford it what with the machines installed in the workshop and production so good.’

‘What are we waiting for then?’ John leaned down and kissed her, ‘This is the perfect place for us to start that family you are always talking about.’

Emily felt a shadow fall over her happiness, the longed for baby had not materialized and she knew that the fault must lie with her. She could not forget the doctor telling her, some time ago, that she might not be able to conceive a child. In any case, John had Sarah as living proof that there was nothing wrong with him.

‘Let’s go inside,’ she said quickly. ‘I love looking out over the bay, did you know you can see a storm coming over the rocks of Mumbles Head long before it reaches Swansea?’

‘No. I didn’t know that but I will watch out for it now that you have told me.’ John tweaked her nose playfully. ‘To be more practical, what about the kitchens? They are so large you must have staff to run things.’

Emily smiled, everything she possessed was now the property of her husband but he still deferred to her in all matters of importance.

‘Oh, I will,’ Emily said, ‘I’ll be too busy with the business to bother with domestic matters.’ She moved inside the large entrance and regarded the empty, sunlit rooms thoughtfully. ‘The drawing-room is a good size, isn’t it, John?’ She stared around her at the long windows leading out to a lawned garden and then moved to the elegant marble fireplace, touching the cold stone with the tips of her fingers.

‘It looks enormous to me,’ John said, ‘but then I was brought up in a humble cottage, remember.’ He put his arm around her shoulder. ‘You do realize, Emily, that I would be happy anywhere with you, I don’t need a grand house and all the trappings of riches, I only want a wife and a family to make me happy.’

She turned into his arms and kissed his mouth. ‘I know and I love you for it but there is a need, deep inside me, to replace Summer Lodge in my life otherwise I won’t feel I’m really a success as a business woman or as a person.’

John kissed her. ‘If you will be happy here, Emily, so will I.’ He said softly, ‘Let’s go and choose our bedroom.’

Laughing, they hurried up the broad staircase to the minstrels’ gallery above. ‘We shall naturally have the master bedroom,’ Emily said, flinging open the tall, heavy doors and moving inside with a flourish of her hand.

The room was well proportioned with large windows that looked out over the golden five-mile curve of Swansea Bay towards the outcrop of rocks beyond the village of Mumbles.

‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ Emily asked sighing softly. ‘Imagine it furnished and with good drapes, it will be so warm and cosy.’

‘Cosy isn’t the word I’d use,’ John said, ‘grand, luxurious, splendid, certainly.’

Emily came to him and rested her head against his chest, ‘I love you, John, none of it would be worth anything without you, you know that, don’t you?’

‘You keep telling me so and I must believe it, difficult though it is to know what you see in an oaf like me.’

He smoothed back her hair and then held her away from him, looking down at her frowning a little. ‘I must confess that I’m rather worried about Sarah,’ he said, ‘do you think it’s a good idea to let her sleep up at the shop alone?’

‘She isn’t going to be alone,’ Emily said forcefully, ‘that’s why I’ve employed Mrs Grinter as housekeeper, she’ll keep an eye on all the shop girls, they are living in now don’t forget, your Sarah will be fine.’

John frowned and shook his head. ‘I don’t know what to make of my daughter these days, she professed herself so much in love with young William Davies but now that he’s laid up in the hospital she’s walking out with Sam Payton.’

John paused. ‘This Payton boy works as a cobbler, too, not with Hari Morris but with some master up in Carmarthen Road, I suppose the lad is all right and yet there’s something about him I don’t like.’

‘Sarah can take care of herself,’ Emily said briskly, ‘she’s young yet, she needn’t make up her mind to marry anyone until she’s ready.’

Emily rubbed at her forehead. ‘It’s poor Hari I’m worried about. She went into lodgings when her husband died and I haven’t seen much of her since.’

‘She’s had enough to put up with lately,’ John said in his slow way. ‘Being widowed so suddenly and then having young William in hospital. And she’s still trying to earn a living, mind.

‘I saw her once,’ John continued, ‘didn’t I tell you? It was when I went to the hospital with Sarah. We were visiting young William at the time.’ He shrugged, ‘But Sarah’s visits are getting less and less, I think she’s giving up hope of the boy ever recovering.’

‘You are right as usual, my love,’ Emily said. ‘Hari has a lot to contend with and I would like to help her if I could.’

‘Look,’ John said gently, ‘if Hari has dropped out of sight it’s because she wants to be left alone, she could have come to you if she’d needed anything, couldn’t she?’

‘You don’t know her,’ Emily replied ruefully, ‘she’s very proud, she would never ask for
anything
especially not from me.’

‘Well, for now there’s nothing you can do about Hari and her problems,’ John said practically, ‘so don’t worry about it. She’ll be all right, just give her time.’

Together they left the house and, at the large wrought-iron gates, Emily looked back. The big white house called
Ty Gwynne
in Welsh seemed to beckon her, there, she felt sure, she and John would conceive the child they wanted so badly. Doctors could be wrong, indeed they often were.

When Emily returned to the shop, she saw that it was more crowded than ever, the new stock, the very latest in fashion, had been manufactured on her own premises, the outbuildings at the back having been utilized for housing the new machines.

The premises were not ideal, all that had been done was to whitewash the walls and clean up the buildings but they served a purpose for the moment. If business continued to expand Emily felt she would be able to look about for a proper factory building, something as elegant as those owned by Mr Clark of Street in Somerset.

‘We’ll have to take on more staff.’ Sarah approached Emily, her face was flushed, her hair escaping from its bows, ‘Me and the girls can’t keep up with the customers who all want personal attention, mind.’

‘I’ll see to it,’ Emily said, ‘by the end of the week we’ll have a fully qualified staff, don’t worry.’

‘Another thing,’ Sarah sounded truculent, ‘as senior saleslady I think I should have more money than the others, it’s only fair.’

‘You’re right, Sarah,’ Emily said and meant it, but it was a great pity that John’s daughter seemed to have none of his charm. ‘We’ll discuss it later.’

John had gone to the outbuildings, he never did see the sharp, almost arrogant side of his daughter Emily mused, but then Sarah could be so changeable.

Emily touched Sarah’s arm. ‘How is young Will Davies coming along, are there any signs of improvement?’

‘None that I can see.’ Sarah’s mouth trembled and even though she quickly turned away, her distress was evident and Emily suddenly felt sorry for her.

‘When did you last see him?’ Emily asked gently and then she became aware that the girl’s shoulders were shaking. ‘Please don’t worry,’ Emily added quickly, ‘I’m sure William will be all right given time.’

‘I can’t bear to see anyone sick,’ Sarah’s voice was muffled, ‘especially Will who was so strong and healthy, it just turns my stomach.’ She glanced almost defiantly at Emily. ‘I did think I loved him but I can’t live with an invalid, I just can’t.’

Emily put her arm around Sarah. ‘It’s all right,’ she said, ‘no-one can make you go to see William if you don’t want to.’

She found Sarah’s attitude difficult to understand, wild horses wouldn’t keep her away from John if he was sick. But Sarah was obviously in distress and she needed to be comforted.

‘He’s all right at the hospital, he’ll be well cared for, you can be sure of that.’ She said firmly, ‘And William won’t be released until the doctors are sure he’s well enough.’

It wasn’t strictly true, the boy would need somewhere to go to recuperate when and if he regained consciousness. Still, that wasn’t Sarah’s problem or Emily’s come to that. And yet she felt that she owed Will something, if only for old times’ sake.

On the other hand, there was little doubt that Hari would have everything arranged; once Will was released he would probably go to live with Hari as he’d always done.

Emily sighed heavily, she was such a fortunate woman, she had a flourishing business and the most wonderful husband in the world. What did she care if she was not longer invited to the At Homes given by people like Lady Caroline or that she was scorned socially by the very women who were first in line to buy her fashionable footwear? She had everything she wanted in life, everything, that is, except a child to call her own.

Hari stared down at Will’s pale face as he rested against the hospital pillows, the bruising was fading now and the swelling around his eyes had disappeared, he looked almost normal except for the stillness of his emaciated body.

It was a miracle that he was still alive, it must only be his tremendous strength of will that kept the spark of life aglow in him.

Silently she rose and leaning forward pushed the shock of bright hair away from his forehead. Tears misted her eyes, she loved Will dearly, he was like her own flesh and blood, she could not, must not lose him. Everything dear to her suddenly seemed to be slipping away from her grasp.

Hari covered her face with her hands. Why wasn’t Craig here at her side? He had let her down all along the line, his word simply wasn’t to be trusted. He said he’d come back to her and there had been no sign of him, not when Edward had died, nor since.

Hari left the infirmary and made her way towards the mean streets surrounding Salthouse Passage, knowing it would soon be time to feed her son. David was a healthy boy and growing more like his father every day. Longing for Craig washed over Hari but she pushed the feelings aside, Craig had not meant the things he’d said, he did not want her, otherwise he would have come back for her.

The grimy houses seemed more dismal than ever, the windows staring blankly at her like hostile eyes. Hari drew her shawl around her shoulders, shivering for the sun did not penetrate the slight gaps between tall buildings.

Suddenly, a woman with heavily rouged cheeks stepped into her path and stood arms akimbo. ‘Don’t remember me, do you Miss High and Mighty? But I remember you right enough, threatened to set the bobbies on me, didn’t you?’

Hari looked at her blankly. ‘I don’t know what you are talking about, let me pass if you don’t mind.’

‘Aye, short memories are handy enough when you wants to forget something unpleasant.’

The woman moved closer and pointed to her garishly painted mouth. ‘Remember I told you I got a big gob that would see you paid back one day? Well now, Maria Payton have paid you back or at least made a start at it.’

Hari remembered then. ‘You are the one who stole a pair of boots from Will all those years ago!’ Hari realized suddenly why the area had always seemed strangely familiar to her. ‘It’s a wonder you want to remember such a dirty trick yourself,’ Hari added hotly.

‘Dirty trick indeed!’ The woman put her hands on her hips. ‘We all got to live somehow as you have found out by the look of it.’ She sneered, ‘Living down by here isn’t no fun, is it?’

‘At least I don’t rob from people as bad off as myself,’ Hari said angrily. She made to move past but Maria Payton deliberately barred her way. ‘You are not goin’ anywhere till I’ve finished with you.’ She pushed Hari roughly and Hari stumbled against the wall grazing her elbow. She felt a sudden surge of fear, this woman meant to hurt her and, if she succeeded, what about David left at home with Hetty?

‘This is silly!’ She tried to speak reasonably, ‘What on earth is the point in making a fuss about something that happened such a long time ago? Anyway, you stole boots from young Will and we got them back, surely that’s fair enough?’

‘Life isn’t fair or haven’t you noticed?’ The woman pushed her again and Hari began to feel desperate. ‘You made a fool out of me and now my boys have had their revenge.’ She nodded her head in satisfaction.

‘What do you mean your boys have had their revenge?’ Hari’s voice was suddenly quiet. The woman lifted her chin defiantly.

‘That William Davies is in the hospital, isn’t he?’ She spoke with an air of triumph, her eyes glittering beneath powdered lids and Hari felt the searing heat of anger run through her like wine. She thought of Will, so battered and bruised and still lying unconscious and suddenly all she had endured during the past weeks seemed to crowd in on her.

Hari’s fear was replaced instantly by a choking, blinding rage. At that moment the woman chose to push her again. Suddenly, without conscious effort on her part Hari moved swiftly forward and pinned Maria Payton against the wall.

‘You are an evil woman!’ Hari didn’t recognize her own voice. Without thinking, she held the woman tightly by her throat, not realizing the strength that years of shoemaking had given to her wrists.

‘Leave me alone, you’re mad!’ The woman tried to struggle but her efforts were futile against the strength of Hari’s anger.

‘Let me go!’ Maria Payton croaked, ‘you’re going to kill me.’