Part 38 (1/2)

'So this is yer boy, is it?' Mitch.e.l.l sneered. 'Got a lot ter say fer 'imself, ain't 'e? Well, if I was you I'd tell 'im not ter get too lippy, 'e might come unstruck.'

Before William could reply, Danny took him by the shoulders and gently eased him to one side. 'So you're the famous Jake Mitch.e.l.l, are yer?' he said quietly. 'I've 'eard a lot about you. Bin knockin' 'em all out, so yer told everybody. Well, maybe now the war's over you'll get a better cla.s.s o' fighter up against yer.'

Mitch.e.l.l moved forward menacingly. 'Yer not includin' yerself on that list, are yer, sonny?' he sneered.

Danny grinned calmly. 'Yer past it, Mitch.e.l.l. Yer wouldn't go the distance wiv me.'

Carrie and her mother had jumped up from their seats and as they tried to pull Danny away Alec Crossley leapt smartly over the counter and placed himself in front of Jake Mitch.e.l.l. 'The war's over, pal, an' I'm not gonna be a party ter any more 'ostilities. Now drink up an' let's 'ave no more of it. That goes fer you too, Danny. Understood?'

Mitch.e.l.l's eyes were bulging. 'Me an' you, sonny, first opportunity. An' we'll 'ave our own little side bet on the outcome,' he sneered.

Danny nodded. 'Suits me fine. Sooner the better,' he said, turning his back.

'You'll be 'earin' when, Tanner,' Galloway's foreman shouted over as the publican hustled him to the door.

When Mitch.e.l.l had left Nellie rounded on her son. 'I'm not 'avin' it!' she raved. 'I told yer, I won't allow a boy o' mine ter be a fighter. Christ Almighty! Ain't yer 'ad enough o' fightin'? Do somefink, Will. Tell 'im.'

William shrugged his shoulders. ''E's a bit too big fer me ter chastise. Did yer see the way 'e put me ter one side?' he grinned.

Nellie gave him a withering look and flounced back to her seat, while Carrie smiled slyly at her younger brother. 'Yer'd better get inter trainin',' she said quietly.

Florrie Axford was sitting in her parlour with her friends. Nellie had joined the company but looked pale and ill. She clasped her hands nervously as Florrie banged her fist down on the table.

'We done it before at the Kings Arms an' we'll do it again at the Crown,' she declared. 'If we all go there tergevver, they daren't stop us goin' in. We'll tell 'em we want ter place bets an' we're gonna cheer our boy on.'

'I couldn't go,' Maudie said, shuddering. 'First drop o' blood spilled an' I'd be ill, I know I would.'

'Well, n.o.body's makin' yer. Jus' give us yer bet money an' we'll put it on fer yer,' Sadie scowled at her.

'I couldn't bet on men killin' each over,' Maudie went on.

'Don't be so melodramatic,' Florrie said sharply. 'Danny ain't gonna kill 'im. 'E's only gonna knock that ugly great git right out, ain't 'e, Nell?'

Nell looked very worried. 'I wish 'e'd never got 'imself inter this,' she sighed weakly. ''E knows 'ow I feel about fightin'.'

Sadie waved her anxieties away with a sweep of her large arm. 'Don't worry, Nell,' she bl.u.s.tered. 'My Billy's 'elpin' 'im wiv 'is trainin' an' 'e knows all about such fings. Matter o' fact it's a pleasure ter see Billy takin' an interest in somefing at last. 'E's bin a different lad since your Danny come back 'ome. It was nice ter see the pair of 'em this mornin', goin' out runnin' in the park. Mind yer, my Billy come back lookin' like a train 'ad 'it 'im an' 'e was wheezin' like a concertina. Poor sod's chest ain't too good.'

Florrie held her hand up for silence then leaned forward over the table. 'Now listen, gels, me an' Sadie 'ave bin puttin' our 'eads tergevver an' this is what we're gonna do ...'

Carrie Tanner s.h.i.+vered against the cold wind as she stood beside her brother on the platform at Waterloo Station. All around them soldiers in full kit were hugging their loved ones and sweeping young children up into their arms before climbing aboard the military train to Southampton. Charlie turned anxiously to his sister.

'Now listen, Carrie,' he said as he looked at her intently, 'I want yer ter be 'appy. Try an' keep an eye on Mum an' Dad, won't yer?'

She sighed heavily. 'Gawd, I wish yer 'adn't signed on, Charlie,' she said sadly. 'I won't be seein' yer fer ages an' ages, an' I'm gonna miss yer terribly.'

He smiled at her and softly kissed her cheek. 'It's fer the best, Carrie,' he said quietly. 'I wouldn't 'ave 'ad any 'appiness if I'd stayed in Bermon'sey. It 'olds too many memories, too many ghosts. Anyway, India sounds like an excitin' place,' he added quickly. 'Who knows? I might get the chance ter ride an elephant or be the guard of honour in some prince's 'arem!'

His lightheartedness was lost on Carrie who bit back tears as the guard appeared on the platform, holding his flag.

'Now you take care, bruv,' she cried as she hugged him tightly. 'Write ter me as soon as yer can.'

He climbed aboard the train quickly and stowed his kitbag in the luggage rack before leaning back out of the carriage window.

'Be 'appy, Carrie, an' don't worry about Danny. 'E's gonna win,' he shouted above the din as the train started to move. 'I love yer, sis.'

Carrie stood in the pale January sunlight and waved until the train was out of sight, then she turned slowly and walked out of the station, blinking back her tears. Charlie had looked cheerful, but the deep sadness in his eyes had cut into her like a sharp knife. She could still see the look on her mother's face as she said goodbye to him that morning. Nellie had embraced him gently and then stood there gazing at him with a faraway look in her eyes. It felt to Carrie almost as if something inside her mother died.

She pulled her coat around her against the cold as she stood at the tram stop, and a feeling of dread began to grow inside her. Her mother had been looking ill lately, and Charlie's departure seemed to have shaken her badly. She had already been worried out of her life over Danny's coming fight with Jake Mitch.e.l.l. Carrie knew instinctively that her mother needed her, and decided to go straight home. Fred would be able to take care of the cafe for a while, she was sure.

By the time Carrie stepped down from the tram in Jamaica Road and reached the dilapidated buildings in Bacon Street it was nearing midday. She climbed the dusty wooden stairs and knocked on the front door of her parents' flat. As she stood waiting she could smell the stench rising up from the communal dustbins below. It seemed a long time before anyone answered, and when her mother finally opened the door Carrie could see dark circles around her puffed eyes.

'Are yer all right, Mum?' she asked with concern as she walked into the flat.

Nellie did not answer. She slumped down into a chair beside the table and buried her head in her arms, sobbing bitterly.

'I couldn't tell 'im, Carrie,' she moaned. 'I dunno what I should've done, but I couldn't tell 'im.'

Carrie bent down and slipped her arm around her mother's shoulders. 'What is it, Mum?' she said gently. 'What couldn't yer tell 'im?'

For a while Nellie said nothing, and then after what seemed like an eternity she took Carrie by both hands and pulled her down into a chair beside her. Nellie's eyes looked tortured.

'I was just a young woman, not much older than you are now, Carrie,' she began in a broken voice. 'James was a baby at the time an' there was fousands o' men round 'ere out o' work. Yer farvver was gettin' a load of 'ay from the farm when George Galloway called roun' ter see me one mornin'. 'E told me 'e might 'ave ter put yer farvver off 'cos o' the slump. Galloway said 'e wanted me ter know before'and so I could look fer anuvver place ter live. Oh, 'e was very sorry an' full of apologies an' 'e said 'e'd give us a reference ter 'elp us get a place. 'E told me not ter let on fer the time bein' in case fings changed, but it looked very likely if there was no more contracts comin' in the yard.'

'What are yer tellin' me, Mum?' Carrie asked, suddenly feeling sick as the awful truth began to dawn on her.

Nellie tugged at the handkerchief in her hands as she went on: 'I was so terrified we'd get put out on the street I pleaded wiv Galloway not ter let yer farvver go. I broke down and cried, an' 'e put 'is arm aroun' me. Yer gotta understand 'ow desperate I was, child. It was as though I was turned ter stone. I couldn't feel anyfing, an' I didn't try ter stop 'im when 'e got familiar. That mornin' George Galloway got me pregnant. Charlie is George Galloway's son.'

Carrie looked at the floor, feeling sick. She could think of nothing to say. She felt her mother's pleading gaze on her.

'Don't 'ate me, Carrie,' Nellie said, bursting into tears. 'Don't 'ate me.'

Carrie's eyes misted and she hugged her mother tightly. 'I don't 'ate yer, Mum,' she said gently. 'It ain't your fault.'

Nellie sobbed loudly. 'Charlie told me 'e'd asked Josephine ter marry 'im,' she spluttered. 'The poor child must 'ave found out when she asked 'er farvver fer 'is permission. It come out at the inquest that she was very drunk. She must've done 'erself in.'

'Yer mustn't blame yerself, Mum,' Carrie implored her. 'We'll never know what really 'appened ter Josephine. An' if anyone's ter blame,' she added fiercely, 'it's that evil stinking b.a.s.t.a.r.d Galloway, not you.'

Nellie dabbed at her eyes. 'I've carried this cross all these years fer yer farvver's sake,' she sobbed. ''E's a lovely man an' I could never bring meself ter tell 'im.'

'Ain't Galloway ever shown any remorse fer what 'e done?' Carrie asked angrily.

Nellie nodded. ''E offered me money but I refused. We've always 'ad ter sc.r.a.pe an' scheme ter live, an' yer farvver would 'ave found out if I suddenly 'ad extra money ter play wiv. Besides, I'd 'ave felt like a common wh.o.r.e takin' Galloway's money. Yer farvver mus' never know,' she pleaded. 'Promise me, Carrie. It'd kill 'im, the way 'e is.'

Carrie felt herself breaking into sobs as she hugged her mother and kissed her forehead. 'Don't worry, Mum,' she said as tears ran down her cheeks. 'I won't tell Dad.'

Chapter Forty-three.