Part 20 (2/2)

He nodded. ''Ave yer never bin in one?'

She shook her head. 'Will they let women in?'

'It's all right. This one does,' he laughed. 'Long as yer wiv somebody.'

Carrie soon found herself sitting in a small public house in Jamaica Road, sipping a ginger beer and gazing wide-eyed around the bar. Most of the customers were men but there were a few women sitting in secluded corners with their escorts. A fire was burning in a large open fireplace, and around the papered walls hung ornaments of pewter and bra.s.s alongside dark-coloured pictures of river scenes.

Tommy took a large draught from his pint of ale, afterwards wiping his mouth. 'I shouldn't 'ave let yer come wiv me,' he said quietly. 'It's a depressin' place. It gives me the creeps every time I go in there.'

Carrie tried to comfort him with the ghost of a smile. 'I'm glad I did come wiv yer,' she said. 'The place doesn't seem so frightenin' ter me now. It's jus' so sad ter see all them old people lyin' there.'

Tommy nodded, and then paused for a moment. 'Look, Carrie, I've bin doin' a lot o' finkin' since last Sat.u.r.day night. I can't expect yer ter walk out wiv me, not the way fings are. I've got me ole lady ter look after an' it wouldn't be fair ter yer. We couldn't go out much an' I can't let meself get serious wiv anybody, not fer the time bein'.'

Carrie looked at him with concern in her large blue eyes. 'Why did yer ask me out in the first place?' she said quickly.

Tommy looked down at his drink. 'I was feelin' a bit lonely, I s'pose,' he replied. 'I wanted somebody ter talk to, an' yer was very nice ter me when I come in the cafe. Besides, I was curious about yer. Yer a very pretty gel, Carrie, an' anybody would be proud ter walk out wiv yer.'

'Curious? Was that why yer asked me out?' she checked him, a note of anger creeping into her voice. 'Was yer lookin' fer a free an' easy gel who might let yer take advantage of 'er?'

He shook his head vigorously. 'No, 'course not. I could see yer wasn't that sort o' gel the first time I spoke ter yer when yer was strugglin' wiv that copper, an' I've 'ad no reason ter change me mind since. What I'm tryin' ter say is, I couldn't give yer much o' me time. I'm under the cosh, Carrie, an' I ain't gonna expect any gel ter share that wiv me any more. I tried it once an' it didn't work out. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.'

'I'm not any gel,' Carrie replied with vigour. 'I can understand fings. I know 'ow it is wiv yer mum bein' ill an' yer 'avin' ter care fer 'er. I'm not stupid.'

'That's why I'm sayin' it, Carrie,' he said in a tone of despair. 'I fink yer somefink special an' I ain't gonna expect yer ter wait. There shouldn't be any pretendin'. I wanna court yer but I can't, not the way fings are.'

'We could see each ovver now an' then,' she said. 'We could be good friends wivout puttin' an end to it.'

Tommy looked up at her and his large expressive eyes stared into hers. 'I want us ter be friends, Carrie, but I don't want yer ter expect too much. If yer do yer gonna get 'urt. We both will.'

When they left the pub they walked back through the gaslit streets without speaking, mindful that something had grown between them. It was not long before they reached Tommy's house, and as he opened the door and they stepped into the dark pa.s.sage she was in his arms, her mouth pressed to his, her body moulded against him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She could hear her own heartbeats and felt a delicious sensation flowing up from deep inside her as his arms enfolded her tightly and he held her close to him in the darkness. He was kissing her ears and her soft white neck. She shuddered as she let him move his hands down along her body, feeling no inclination to deny herself such a pleasurable experience. She was breathing more quickly when Tommy suddenly eased the pressure of his arms around her willing body, tenderly holding her close to him without moving for a while, to temper their rising desire. She clung to him, feeling his chest rise and fall, calmly and deeply. She was near to giving herself to him completely but she knew deep down it would not be now, not yet. Tommy seemed to understand too, she could tell.

'I'd better get yer 'ome,' he said suddenly, releasing his hold on her and breathing deeply in an effort to quell his lingering pa.s.sion.

As they walked quickly to Page Street Carrie held his arm tightly, her stomach fluttering with the delicious feeling that had awoken deep inside her. Their friends.h.i.+p would grow from this night on, she felt sure. Whatever happened, whatever fate had in store for them, there would always be a closeness between them.

Chapter Twenty-three.

Will Tanner slumped down at Galloway's desk in the yard office and clipped the worksheets on to the bundle. Monday mornings seemed to be more difficult lately, he sighed. In the old days the carmen would have their usual moans about the work rotas and then drive out of the yard without more ado, but Soapy Symonds had left now, Sid Bristow was still off ill, and they were the last of the old crowd. The new men were a different sort altogether; casual carmen hired on a week-to-week basis, most of them unfamiliar with the type of carting they were expected to do. Many of them were footloose drifters, scratching a living where and when it suited them. Few of them could competently handle and load the large hop bales or scotch up the rum barrels so that they stayed in place on the cart. Occasionally one of them mistreated a horse and then William would have to make sure he never came back for a day's work.

George Galloway seemed quite happy with the state of affairs even though it sometimes caused problems with the firms he dealt with. Will had quickly realised the motive behind his employer's thinking. Carmen were only hired when they were needed and now none of them was ever left hanging about the yard as in the old days. The hire rate was less too, and William could only suspect that contracts with their customers were obtained by undercutting all the other cartage firms. Galloway probably lined the pockets of the firms' transport managers and still made a good profit, he guessed.

At nine o'clock that morning Horace Gallagher walked into the office and peered at William through his thick-lensed spectacles.

'George and Geoffrey not in yet?' he queried, easing his long, lean frame into his desk chair.

William shook his head. 'I expect they're on business. They're always in by this time,' he answered.

Horace was already busying himself with a ledger and the yard foreman got up to leave. He had never liked the accountant very much and was wary of discussing his employer with him. Horace had been with Galloway from the very beginning and handled all the firm's financial arrangements.

As William made for the door, Horace looked up from his desk. 'Have you got a minute?' he asked.

William sat down in the chair again and folded his arms. 'Yeah. What's wrong?'

'Nothing,' Horace said quickly. 'I just wanted to ask you something. Have you ever heard of a man called Mitch.e.l.l? Jake Mitch.e.l.l?'

William shook his head and Horace leaned forward in his chair. 'Does the name Gypsy Williams mean anything to you?' he asked.

'Wasn't 'e the one George brought over from Cannin' Town ter fight at the Eagle a few years ago?' William remarked, his eyebrows fixing into a frown.

Horace nodded. 'That's right. His real name is Jake Mitch.e.l.l and I understand he's coming to work here as a carman. I thought you should be warned, although I would ask you not to let on you already know when Galloway tells you,' he added quickly.

William tried to hide his feelings of disquiet. He had never met Mitch.e.l.l but Galloway had spoken about him often enough and Sharkey Morris had told him of the night he saw Mitch.e.l.l almost kill his opponent at the Eagle public house before the fight was stopped. What reason did Galloway have for suddenly employing the man, he wondered, and why should Horace break the habit of a lifetime and confide in him? It seemed very strange to William and he stared at Horace, trying to gauge the man's reasons.

'Why should I be warned, Horace?' he asked with a guarded look.

The accountant glanced at the door anxiously before replying. 'As you know, Will, I've worked for this company for a very long time and I thought I'd seen everything there was to be seen. Lately, however, I've started to question some of the things that have happened here. I've been ordered to make Sid Bristow's money up. He's being put off, did you know?'

William nodded.

'The man's worked here for over twenty years, for Christ's sake!'

William was shocked by Horace's sudden show of feeling and wondered what else lay behind his outburst.

'I guessed Bristow was goin' from what Galloway said last week,' he remarked. 'I'm gonna try an' talk 'im out of it, but I don't see what I can do. All the old carmen 'ave eivver left or bin sacked. It seems ter suit the ole man but it's affectin' the business in one way or anuvver. I can't understand 'im lately.'

Horace let slip a short, bitter laugh. 'No, neither can I. Anyway, you asked me why I should warn you about Mitch.e.l.l. That man is a nasty piece of work and I'm afraid you're going to have a hard time dealing with him. That's why I wanted to put you on your guard. I wouldn't like to see you be forced to leave. Just be careful.'

William nodded. 'Thanks for the warnin', 'Orace. An' don't worry, I won't let on I know.'

Horace turned his attention to the ledger and William walked out into the yard, unable to still his troubled thoughts. There was something strange about Horace's behaviour, he told himself. And what was Galloway's reason for bringing Mitch.e.l.l in? There had been no boxing matches at the local pubs since the Eagle's landlord lost his licence. Some of the publicans must be planning to start up again, he decided. What other reason could there be for Galloway's move?

William continued to puzzle over the problem while he bandaged a lame horse's fetlock. Just as he was leading the animal into the small stable, Galloway drove into the yard. Geoffrey was with him and there was another man sitting beside them. Galloway hailed William and waved him over.

'I want yer ter meet Jake Mitch.e.l.l, Will,' he said breezily. 'Jake's gonna start work termorrer. Jake, this is Will Tanner, me yard foreman.'

William studied the man as he shook his hand. He was about his own height, he guessed, but at least a couple of stone heavier. His bullet head sat squarely on broad shoulders and his face was flat and fleshy. William could see by the way Mitch.e.l.l's nose was twisted that it had been broken several times, and there were white scars over both his eyes. His short coa.r.s.e hair was greying and spiky, and as his mouth parted in a thin smile he displayed chipped, yellow teeth.

'I'm puttin' Jake on the 'ops contract, Will,' Galloway went on. ''E's done that work before so there'll be no problems. Oh, an' when yer got a minute, I wanna see yer in the office.'

William nodded and glanced quickly at Geoffrey. The young man sat motionless in the trap, looking uncomfortable. George seemed perfectly at ease. He joked with Mitch.e.l.l as they got down from the trap and walked into the office.

As Geoffrey stepped down, William discreetly called him aside. 'I don't know 'ow much yer know about Mitch.e.l.l, Geoff,' he said quietly, 'but if yer ask me I'd say yer farvver's playin' wiv fire employin' the likes of 'im.'

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