to rinse those she’d already soaked in the sink, as she heard the voices in the kitchen. The lads were laughing and talking to Reggie. They liked him and he sometimes played football with them in the street, something their father had never done.
Marion delayed her return to the kitchen until good manners drove her back. The least she could do was offer a cup of tea and, of course, payment.
The lock was finished and Kathy had already made the tea when Marion returned. Her sister was smiling, clearly enjoying Reggie’s company, as were the boys.
‘Thank you so much, Mr Jackson,’ Marion said. ‘How much do I owe you please?’
‘Nothing at all, Miss Kaye,’ he replied, his grin making her stomach clench. He had no right to be so good-looking and nice and a decent girl had better be on her guard. ‘Any little jobs you need doin’ are free to you and your family – and I still owe you for the sausages.’
‘No, that is quite fair; you’ve repaired the lock,’ Marion said.
‘I bought the sausages,’ Robbie chimed in. ‘They cost me a bob…’
Reggie laughed and looked at her. ‘I dare not give you the shillin’, Robbie – but I’ll take yer to the footie on Saturday if yer like?’
‘Thanks, Reggie!’ Robbie looked at him adoringly. ‘I don’t care if yer dog did eat me sausages if I get ter go to the footie…’
‘Right yer are then,’ Reggie said. ‘Shall we take the young’un an’ all?’ He jerked his head at Dickon and Robbie frowned but then relented.
‘Yeah, all right, he can come too…’
Marion went to the door to look at the brand-new lock. It must have cost him far more than the sausages. ‘You had no need to do that…’ she whispered, ‘but thank you…’
‘You’re welcome, Miss Kaye,’ he said and smiled at her and something in his eyes made her heart stand still before racing on. ‘Anytime, anywhere – I’m always at your service, Miss Marion…’ The twinkle in his eyes scared her to death and she took a step back. ‘Me dog likes yer – and if he thinks yer OK, yer must be…’
The cheek of him! She caught her breath as he walked away, standing to watch despite herself. At his gate, Reggie turned and winked and then he was through and walking up to his back door.
Marion returned to her work. She wanted to get all the clothes rinsed and hanging up to dry in the scullery before she went to bed – and it didn’t look as if she would have time to do the floor…
3
‘Will you be working late again this evening?’ Beth Burrows asked her husband Jack as she reached for her warm coat and pulled it on that morning in mid-March. The wind still had a bite in it even though Mr Marco had dressed Harpers’ windows with spring clothes, daffodils and Easter bunnies. They were a colourful sight and had already brought customers in looking for the new hats, but she wasn’t ready to give up her winter coat just yet.
‘I should think so,’ Jack said and kissed her briefly, looking distracted. As part owner and manager of a hotel, he was always working extra hours to make it profitable and she knew things had improved since he’d made lots of changes to the way things were done and improved the décor. It was now producing a reasonable profit, though not enough to make anyone rich. Beth sometimes wondered if he’d jumped in too soon, but he seemed pleased with what he was doing, so she didn’t say much, even though she regretted her husband’s long hours. ‘Don’t wait supper for me, love. I can grab something at the hotel…’
‘Yes, I know…’ She smothered a sigh because this wasn’t how she’d imagined it would be. Jack had spoken of running a hotel that they could live in and manage together. Now Beth spent most of her evenings at home with Jack’s father Fred Burrows and saw her husband for a few hours at the weekend. ‘I might go to a meeting with Rachel Craven…’
‘Those women’s suffrage things…’ Jack frowned at her. ‘I would never deny you anything, Beth, you know that – but all that marching and demanding equal rights for women… well, it isn’t going to happen. It would be better if you stayed away. I don’t want the police throwing you in prison…’
Beth moved towards him, half curious, half annoyed. He’d known she was a member before they married and she wasn’t going to let him get away with that remark. Other husbands might forbid their wives to be members or take part, but Jack should know better and respect her views. ‘Would you disown me if it happened?’
‘No! You know I wouldn’t,’ Jack said genuinely horrified. Yet it was happening in homes all over Britain. Working men were some of the worst and they bullied their wives to try and stop them joining the suffrage movement, but since the death of Emily Davidson, more and more women of all classes had joined, and quite a few men too. The way the suffragettes were being treated, force-fed in prison and beaten when arrested, was terrible, and Beth knew Jack was only concerned for her, even though pride had driven her to ask. Jack looked down at her and smiled. ‘You know I love you, Beth, and I agree that women should have the vote if they want it – why not? I can’t see things ever being equal in the workplace, the men just won’t stand for it, but you should all be paid a fair wage and treated decently.’
‘So that’s why I married you,’ Beth teased and kissed him again, relieved that he wasn’t going to start laying down the law the way many husbands did. ‘You don’t mind if I go then?’
‘Of course, not – but get a taxi home, love. We can afford it and I don’t want you running the risk of being set on by louts…’ He smiled and reached out to touch her cheek. ‘I’m only concerned for your safety…’
‘I’ll probably walk to the bus stop with my friends, but if there’s no bus, I’ll take a cab,’ Beth promised.
She understood why Jack worried, because feelings against the Women’s Movement were running high. The militants had angered many, both in government and out, and a lot of men simply did not see why their wives, daughters and sisters were shaming them by speaking out in support of such disgusting behaviour. Men with money took care of their womenfolk, some even went so far as to grant them an allowance that made them almost independent, but they still considered that the feminine mind and body was too weak to be considered as an equal to men. Only very special men understood that women could be as strong and determined as they were themselves, that they didn’t want to be petted and treated as fragile beings but as intelligent humans with minds of their own.
Beth smiled as she followed her father-in-law out to the bus stop. Fred Burrows had once been the headmaster of a boy’s school. He’d fallen out with the governors because he refused to use the cane in his school and because of that he’d been asked to resign and had ended up working at Harpers as the goods manager, seeing that all the stock reached the department it was intended for. Beth was happy that he’d resigned rather than give into bullying for two reasons: one, because it showed the kind of man he was and, two, because she’d met her husband through him.
‘Feeling a bit down in the dumps, love?’ Fred asked, glancing at her face. ‘You should put your foot down, Beth; tell Jack you want to go somewhere nice – to the theatre or the pictures…’
‘He took me dancing for my birthday,’ Beth said, smothering a sigh. ‘Jack wants a better future for us, Dad, so how can I complain?’ She smiled at him with
