Towards a Dark Horizon (41 page)

She blushed as we all looked at her and gave her mother an annoyed glance.

Undeterred Alice went on, ‘Aye, he proposed to her at Christmas time but she’s still thinking about it. Tell them, Rosie.’

She said very quietly, ‘Aye, I am thinking about it.’

We all said our congratulations to her and I really wished her all the happiness in the world – she deserved it.

Granny then made a huge meal for Dad who looked as if he hadn’t eaten in years. Meanwhile Lily was getting her oar in as far as Rosie’s wedding was concerned.

‘Can I be your flower girl, Rosie?’

For a woman on the verge of getting married, Rosie didn’t look very happy and I hoped Dad’s appearance hadn’t spoiled her future plans. She deserved better treatment from a man instead of forever being passed over on his whims. Still, when did any of us ever get what we deserved?

Much later, after Alice and Rosie had gone, Dad said, ‘I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of Margot. She says she wants my wages every week because I have to keep her.’

Granny made a sound between a snort and a laugh. ‘She’s not entitled to your entire wages Johnny but you’ll probably have to make some kind of settlement to her as she’s your wife.’

Granny said to me later that she almost told him to make the same kind of settlement he made to us – nothing.

Instead she carried on, ‘Go and see Mr Pringle and he’ll keep you right.’

Dad promised he would and we all left for the Hilltown.

After Lily was tucked up in bed, he said, ‘What a bloody mess. She was going with my boss for over a year and long before Harry died. Mind you, I don’t blame John Pringle. He was as big a fool as I was and just as stupid.’

‘You know that Rosie also overheard her that night of Maddie’s wedding?’

He nodded bleakly. ‘Aye, I do.’

‘And what about Dorothy Pringle? Does she know the whole story?’

‘Aye, I had a word with him and he’s told her the truth. She’s really angry at them both but she’s prepared to give him another chance. Dorothy’s a great woman and, although she can’t hold a candle to Margot in looks, she’s worth a hundred of her kind. Then there’s Rosie. I can cry when I think about her and how I’ve finally lost her to Albert.’

‘Well, Dad, it’s no use crying now. You heard what Alice said – Albert has proposed and, if Rosie is thinking about it, then she’ll not let him down.’

He sat slumped in the chair and that is how we celebrated the first day of 1939 – with the threat of war now growing more certain, Dad arriving home with his tail between his legs and his wife Margot hanging like a millstone around his neck. She knew I still had the bulk of my legacy and she wouldn’t let Dad go until the money was all hers – this Mary Farr, one-time housemaid in Perth.

It was good having Dad back home. Meanwhile Margot, true to form, was acting like Shylock but instead of a pound of flesh she was demanding the entire body.

Dad had taken Granny’s advice and had been to see Mr Pringle. He suggested a small weekly settlement from Dad’s wages but that didn’t suit madam.

Dad came home one day very depressed. He had just been to see Mr Pringle. ‘Margot wants more money than I’m giving her and she also says she’s entitled to half your legacy, Ann.’

I gasped in astonishment.

He held up his hand. ‘Just a minute till I tell you what Mr Pringle said. He told Margot that she has no claim on any money belonging to you and, as she’s had over a hundred pounds from Miss Hood’s money, she’s not entitled to another penny – except her weekly settlement.’

‘Well, that’s fine then, Dad.’

‘I’m still annoyed that she got some of Miss Hood’s money because that was yours.’

‘Don’t worry about that. It’ll be worth it if it gets her away from us.’

He rubbed his eyes. Although now getting decent meals, he was still thin and tired looking.

It was none of my business but I asked him about John Pringle. ‘Do you think she’s bothering him for money as well?’

‘I haven’t a clue but it wouldn’t surprise me. He’s had another word with me about it and we both agree what total fools we were and he’s very kindly said he’ll put a wee bit extra in my wages to cover what Margot gets – although she doesn’t know this.’

Once again I couldn’t get over how generous the members of the Pringle family were.

‘That’s very decent of him, Dad.’

‘Aye, he’s a decent bloke. Like me, he was dazzled by Margot and I don’t blame him for that. Still, his wife has been a great rock to him and he was telling me he’s never going to hurt her again.’ He looked sad. ‘Another thing that’s bothering him is the fact of Harry’s death. He blames himself for it because Margot told him that Harry found out about them before he died. Thank goodness I only met her afterwards.’

I was appalled by Margot’s cruelty – not only to Harry but also to John Pringle.

‘Do you think she’s lying about Harry finding out about her and John Pringle?’

Dad shook his head. ‘Goodness knows but Mr Pringle will have to come to terms with it. At least he has his wife – not like me and Rosie. I’ve burned my boats well and truly now that she’s marrying Albert.’

There was nothing I could add to that.

Greg’s letters were full of news about the big city and, although the war was never mentioned, I could read between the lines that the government was now planning for a war.

Joe seemed delighted that his predictions were coming true and, when he arrived at the shop every morning, he had long discussions with Connie about the latest developments.

He said, ‘I hear the government is to issue air-raid shelters to the towns that would be the biggest target for enemy bombing.’

My heart grew cold as Connie nodded and added, ‘Aye, it’s the youngest men that will be called up first and then the older ones later, I suppose.’

I thought of Maddie and Danny. She had got a part-time job in a private nursing home. She loved the work and it kept her busy while Danny worked long hours in the shop. He was up for promotion to under manager and Maddie’s pride in him knew no bounds. I just hoped and prayed that their life together wouldn’t be cut short by a war.

Hattie loved to visit them. She told Granny, ‘I just love walking through that lovely tiled close and the flat is such a delight.’

Grandad, who had recovered from his chest infection but still refused to give up his pipe, butted in, ‘Aye, we know it is, Hattie. Your mother and I have been to visit them as well.’

Although Hattie said nothing, I knew she wasn’t pleased by the fact that all the family had been invited since the wedding. Bella had gone with Granny and Grandad while Kit and her sisters and their families had also gone for a Sunday visit. They all knew it was an open door to them and that they were all welcome at any time as Maddie had no side to her. The only person who hadn’t gone so far was Ma but she enjoyed hearing about the news from Kit. As I said, this seemed to annoy Hattie who would have liked to keep the flat as somewhere only she was invited to go to. Granny had also voiced this view to me but had very sensibly remained silent about it to her daughter.

Then, in April, the government planned to introduce conscription. A compulsory list of young men under the age of twenty-one was drawn up and Sammy’s name was on this list. As it was, Danny was really angry with Sammy because a rumour was going around Lochee that he was seeing another girl and that she was also expecting a baby.

‘Maybe it’s the best thing that can happen to him is to be in the army,’ said Danny one night when I was sitting in their lovely living room.

The view from the window was spectacular as the setting sun cast a molten gold glow over the water. Maddie also gazed out at the scene with a faraway look in her eyes. When she spoke her voice was soft. ‘It seems so strange to be approaching a war on such a lovely night as this, doesn’t it?’

Danny didn’t want her upset so he said, ‘Och, it’ll maybe not come to anything, Maddie.’

I felt we were all wishing on the moon with this ostrich-like view. I also felt that, if war did come, then it would last a lot longer than the prophets were saying and, like all wars, it would be a nasty conflict with some people surviving and others who wouldn’t. But of course I couldn’t voice this to Maddie who was holding fast to the wish that it would all go away in some magical puff of smoke – if only.

Sammy was called up and he went to a training camp near Perth. On the day of his departure, Maddie and Danny asked me to go with them to see Kathleen and Kitty.

‘She’ll need some support,’ Maddie said.

We made our way up the narrow stair that led to Kathleen’s poky flat. We heard a baby crying before we reached the door. The thin wails echoing down the dark lobby. It had to be Kitty’s cries.

Danny opened the door and the cries became louder. He shouted out, ‘Kathleen, it’s Danny!’

The baby wailed even louder as we all crowded into the small room. Kathleen was lying on the bed and she looked really ill.

Danny made a rush for her but Maddie held him back and she quietly approached the bed. Kathleen was crying softly and her hair and face were streaked with blood and sweat. Maddie smoothed her hair away from her face and lifted the slender body into her arms.

‘What’s happened, Kathleen? Have you had an accident?’

Meanwhile, I lifted Kitty from her cot and, although she didn’t stop crying, her sobs weren’t quite so loud now.

Maddie said quietly, ‘Tell us what happened, Kathleen?’

She turned and we saw the bruises. Her face had a large black bruise down the left side and we could see other marks on her body. She was wearing just her vest and pants and her arms and legs were also a mass of bluish bruises.

Danny was almost speechless with anger. He said, ‘Who did this to you, Kathleen? Was it Sammy?’

She nodded tearfully. ‘He told me I’ve not to see any other man while he’s away so he gave me this beating to show me what would happen if I did.’

At that moment, I swear that, if Danny could have got his hands on Sammy, he would surely have given him the beating of his life – just to let him see how he felt about a smashed face. But Sammy was in his training camp and away from Danny’s anger.

Maddie got Kathleen dressed and I carried the toddler while Danny set about packing her things into a suitcase. We then made our way to Kit’s house where she would be looked after and would hopefully remain – even if Sammy did return.

Like Danny, when George saw his daughter and his granddaughter, he went white with anger. ‘If that wee bugger has any sense, he’ll not come back here or I’ll sort him out once and for all.’ There was no doubt of that and, if Sammy should return, I knew he would be in big trouble. He must have hoped that Kathleen would cover her injuries up and say nothing. Just like countless women who took the beatings and said nothing, thinking it would bring shame to them if they told the community what their lives were like – as if the fault was somehow theirs.

Kit was appalled by Kathleen’s injuries but Maddie thought most of them were superficial.

‘Thankfully her skin is so white and translucent that some of the bruising looks worse than it is.’

Kit looked at her in astonishment.

Flustered by now, Maddie explained, ‘Oh, don’t get me wrong, Kit. That brute certainly gave her a bad beating but I don’t think anything is broken and hopefully the bruises should subside in a week or two.’ She took Kit’s arm and led her over to where I stood, still clutching Kitty who had now fallen asleep in my arms.

‘Although the bruising will heal, Kit, I don’t know what damage has been done mentally and I strongly advise her to stay away from her husband. A brute like that never changes.’

Kit’s eyes were blazing. ‘Don’t you worry about that, Maddie. If George or I ever set eyes on him … Well, he’d better watch out, that’s all I’m saying.’

Although it was never voiced, we all still wondered why in heaven’s name she had married him. Maybe she had loved him but one thing was crystal clear – she didn’t love him now.

The story of Sammy swept around Lochee at the speed of light. Even Maggie, his mother, was gunning for him. As she said, perhaps it would be better for him if Hitler got his hands on him first instead of her.

Joe came rushing in one lovely day in May. ‘Have you heard that Hitler’s signed a pact with Mussolini?’

Connie nodded. ‘Aye, it’s not far away now, this war.’

It was a strange summer, that year of 1939. On the surface, everything looked normal. People strolled in the warm sunshine and went about their daily chores as usual but the underlying feeling was one of fear for the future. Wives worried about their husbands and mothers feared for their sons.

Minnie wrote to me that summer. She was also worried about Peter, her husband. He was in his late twenties but the general rumour was that all the male population under the age of forty would be called up. Still she seemed reasonably cheerful in spite of this and she was determined to remain where she was. After all, as she said, young Peter was now at the primary school and he was loving it.

I wrote back with my news which wasn’t much. I mentioned Maddie and Danny’s wedding but I couldn’t say much about Greg because I had only seen him twice since the wedding.

I couldn’t help but think my life was in some sort of limbo. I did the same tasks each day – took Lily to school then worked with Connie. Would this all stay the same if war was declared? I wondered.

In August, it all changed. Greg was coming back to Dundee as his work in London was now over. Then we heard through Maddie’s father that Margot had sold her flat in Victoria Road. She had moved away from the town but Mr Pringle didn’t know her whereabouts which was a huge relief.

However, Dad didn’t see it that way. ‘I’m still married to her,’ he said sadly.

‘Can you not get a divorce?’ I knew divorces were very rare and I had no knowledge of what they entailed but it sounded like a good idea, just to finally get rid of her.

Then there was Rosie who had still not made up her mind to marry Albert. Granny told me in confidence that she wouldn’t marry him if she thought there was even the slimmest of chances with Dad. But he was still married and Rosie could see no possible end to the problem. It was getting her down and the fact that Alice kept harping on at her to seize her chance of happiness with Albert – that didn’t help.