Hers to Have and to Hold, page 16
Eliza and Jack exchanged looks.
‘Do you know her?’ asked David Jones.
‘I think I might do,’ said Jack.
‘I haven’t had the pleasure,’ said Eliza. ‘I was planning on looking her up back home. My employer, Mrs Amelia Jones, wants me to trace her husband’s ancestry.’
‘Amelia, the writer,’ he said. ‘She’s not a true Jones.’
‘Neither am I,’ said Eliza. ‘Although, my son Alfie is, and I have Welsh blood. My father was a Griffiths from Anglesey.’
‘How did he end up in Liverpool?’
‘Like many Welsh men and women in Victorian times, work took him there. But he and my mother and grandparents have passed away now,’ she said. ‘So, it’s good that Alfie has relatives on his father’s side.’
‘We’ll help you the best we can and, of course, you and Bryn’s son will have the income from the shares in the business.’
‘I’m sure he’ll appreciate that as he gets older,’ she said. ‘In the meantime, why am I here?’
‘They wanted to look you over and get some idea of your attitude to Alfie,’ said Jack.
‘You mean they wanted to see if I was a good and loving mother?’ she said, looking the chairman in the eye.
‘Reasonable, don’t you think?’ said David Jones.
She nodded. ‘What do you think of Mr Davies, the solicitor who is one of Alfie’s trustees?’
‘He was Bryn’s mother’s choice for her son. I don’t trust him, and we don’t have to keep him in that position. We have a company solicitor and a separate treasurer we’d prefer you to use.’
‘Do I have any say in the matter?’ she asked.
‘You can express your opinion, but you won’t be on the committee or have a casting vote. However, much you mightn’t like it, our company does not like women being in power in a business such as ours.’
‘You mean men do all the hard graft, so your women are under your thumbs?’ said Jack.
Davy stared at him. ‘Mr Molyneux, whatever your relationship to Eliza and Alfie may be in the future, you’ll have no say in matters.’
Jack nodded. ‘As long as you and your male shareholders are fair to Eliza and Alfie. My relationship with them is ongoing. I’m a policeman, and my aims are to keep them safe and see that justice is done to those who would harm them.’
‘Understood. We look after our women, too, Molyneux. But we don’t approve of the actions and claims of the suffragettes since before the Great War, taking men’s jobs and wanting equal pay to men.’
‘But it was women who worked in factories and trams and swept the streets while their men were away fighting. This war isn’t much different, except those on the home front are in danger of losing their lives,’ said Eliza.
‘But what about those who had children? They need to care for the children,’ said the chairman.
‘Of course, they do,’ she said. ‘As I must care for Alfie, but I’m fortunate enough to have a job that means I can have him with me sometimes and support myself and him. I will have to carry on doing so, the same as thousands of women whose husbands won’t be coming home.’
‘And what of the single women whose hopes of their own home, husband and children are gone because those men they could have married have been killed in the war?’ said Jack.
‘Whether you like it or not, more women will need to work outside the home, and their contribution to the country’s economic recovery after this war is over is vital,’ said Eliza.
‘Enough said,’ muttered the chairman. ‘We’ve gone way off the original subject.’
‘I agree,’ said Eliza. ‘But you must understand that attitudes towards women must change. The government must alter the law and give women equal rights with men, and if they have children or a sick husband to care for, then the government must give them welfare benefits to provide for their needs.’ She paused. ‘I could say more but I won’t.’
‘Then I’ll bid you good evening, Eliza, and see you and Alfie tomorrow,’ said David, shaking her hand. Then he turned to Jack and bid him good evening, too.
Jack and Eliza left with Alfie.
‘It was a waste of time coming,’ she said. ‘Male chauvinist pigs.’
‘We were right to come… and where did you learn words like MCP?’
‘From plays on the radio,’ she muttered.
‘He’s only saying what a lot of people who believe both men and women have fixed roles would say. It doesn’t say they’re right or wrong. There are still men in the force who don’t agree with having policewomen,’ said Jack.
‘But you accept women in the force?’
‘I agree that they have a role to play, especially when dealing with women and girls. I’ve heard many a copper saying they don’t understand women.’
‘Do you think the chairman has a male or female secretary?’ she asked.
‘You could probably find out tomorrow,’ he said. ‘Anyway, let’s change the subject.’
‘Where are you going to stay?’ she asked.
‘I haven’t decided yet,’ he replied. ‘Right now, a police cell seems more welcoming than our chairman’s grandmother’s house.’
‘What about Rambling Rosie? Won’t she be expecting to see you?’
Jack drew Eliza’s arm through his and said, ‘I’m not so sure. I arrested her once.’
Eliza halted and stared at him. ‘Milly told me. You wouldn’t mention it, though.’
‘Of course not, but she might. She relishes having a reputation for being a bit naughty in her neighbourhood.’
‘Aren’t you curious to see how she is with family? I know Amelia doesn’t approve of her.’
‘I’d rather spend time with you,’ he said. ‘Let’s find a chippy and buy some fish and chips and a bottle of Tizer, if they have any, and find a bench in the nearest park and relax.’
‘Sounds good to me,’ she said, handing Alfie over to him, as her arms were aching.
They met a bobby on his beat and asked him where the nearest fish and chip shop was, and he pointed them in the right direction. Eliza left the two men discussing petty crime and went on ahead to the chippy, having been told there would likely be a queue. Jack joined her shortly after and by then she had reached the counter and given her order. Then they went to the park that the bobby had told Jack about and settled on a bench.
‘So, what did you talk about?’ she asked, putting down the newspaper-wrapped parcel of fish and chips on the bench and taking Alfie from him.
‘He asked whether Alfie was mine.’
‘And what did you reply?’
‘That I was hoping to be a father to him. That I worked in Liverpool and had met you when Alfie had been kidnapped.’ He paused. ‘I do want the three of us to be a family.’
She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. ‘I’d like that, too,’ she said huskily. ‘But it’s early days yet.’ She changed the subject. ‘So how did the bobby react to Alfie being kidnapped?’
‘He was shocked, told me that they’d never had a case of kidnapping and asked what it was like working in a tough port like Liverpool,’ said Jack.
‘Did you tell him that it was tough?’ She chuckled and almost choked on a chip.
‘Funny,’ he said. ‘No wonder there are so many comedians from Liverpool on the radio.’
‘What else did you tell him?’
‘I told him about the Irish priest who smuggled in a bottle of whisky in a welly in a rucksack.’
‘Now it’s you who are the joker,’ she said.
‘No, cross my heart and hope to die, I was told it by a mate who’s a customs officer. The priest swore it was for his granddad, who’s a cocky watchman but was a fire watcher during the bombing.’
‘Was he believed?’ she asked, offering a chip to Alfie to suck.
‘He was given the benefit of the doubt, as my mate’s mother was Irish.’
‘But Southern Ireland are on the Jerries’ side,’ she said.
‘It’s neutral,’ he replied. ‘You talk to Milly. Her mother is Irish and lives in Dublin, and has relatives who farm and others who live in Belfast, which has been bombed by the Luftwaffe.’
Eliza sighed. ‘I wish the war would hurry up and be over.’
‘Don’t we all,’ he said, placing an arm around her shoulders. ‘Any chips left?’
She took one and placed it between his lips. ‘Are you looking forward to getting back to Liverpool?’
‘As long as you’ll be there,’ he said.
‘I thought Alfie and I would be returning with you,’ she said.
‘Of course, but Mam and Jean are talking about staying on as long as Milly and the twins.’
‘Whatever for?’ asked Eliza.
‘I’m sure you can guess,’ he said.
‘The Polish soldier?’
‘Jean introduced him to Mam and, apparently, he’ll soon be moving to London. He hasn’t told her why, but it must be something to do with the war effort and Jean has it fixed in her head that he’ll get killed and she’ll never see him again.’
‘The—’
‘Don’t say it,’ Jack said. ‘I knew you’d be sorry for them, but she’ll get over him.’
‘Girls feel deeply at that age. She could hate you if you prevented her from staying on in Colwyn Bay a bit longer.’
‘What if she gets herself into trouble and follows him to London?’ He sighed.
‘Your mother will be watching her. Have some trust in them.’ She paused. ‘Anyway, where are you staying tonight?’
‘I want to keep my eye on Rosie. I think there are two sides to her. Why is she here? And where did she get the money for the journey? Back in Liverpool she’s viewed with a certain amount of sympathy and most think she’s a real character who’s looking out for herself when she steals stuff.’
‘So, you’re going to stay at David Jones’s grandmother’s house?’ She frowned. ‘Is that wise?’
Jack’s eyes twinkled. ‘Don’t let your imagination run away with you. She’s not going to stick a knife in me. However much she hates the police.’
Eliza believed him. Yet she lay awake that night, worrying about him, but finally fell asleep after convincing herself that Rosie was most likely just visiting her female relative in the hope of cadging money from her.
* * *
The following day she met the other shareholders, including one of the younger men, Theo Jones, who told her that they would meet again in Liverpool at his aunt Amelia’s house. It was then that she remembered he was the guest that her employer was expecting. She asked about his cousin, who was also to be a guest, and he told her that he was picking her up in Ludlow, where she lived with her parents. They parted just before the AGM started and Theo said he looked forward to meeting again in Liverpool.
Eliza and Jack had arranged to meet in the park where they’d had the fish and chips. He was already there when she arrived with Alfie and a picnic lunch provided by the hotel. They settled down on the same bench. Alfie had dozed off in his pushchair, after having been fed and changed at the hotel.
Eliza told Jack about her meeting with Theo, whose full name was Theophilus, which had been his great-grandfather’s name. ‘I didn’t say anything at the time, but I think Bryn told me that was a family name and it was from the Bible, and that the great-grandfather had originally been a farmer.’
In turn, Jack told her that he had asked the chairman’s grandmother if he could go straight up to his bedroom, as he was tired after the journey. He thanked her for offering to put him up and added that he would not need any supper, as he had already had something to eat that evening. ‘That way I avoided seeing Rosie, although I did hear her having an overloud whispered conversation on the landing.’
‘Did you manage to catch what was said?’ asked Eliza.
‘Some of it. They seemed dissatisfied with their menfolk’s attitude to the females in the family and mentioned not only that the suffragettes had it right, but that Ada Jones did the right thing in having joined them recently. Apparently, she had been force-fed in Walton gaol. Bryn had treated her, and her daughter, disgracefully. Although, I got the impression that they believed she tricked Bryn into marrying her by telling him that she was pregnant with his baby when it was someone else’s. It was Rosie who said that. She and Ada meet up in Liverpool sometimes.’
‘Stop right there,’ said Eliza, holding up a hand. ‘You should, as a policeman, know that sort of thing no longer happens. After the Great War the suffragettes succeeded in some of their aims and there is no longer force-feeding. You’ve misheard. What I want to know is: did they mention me in connection with Ada?’
‘There’s nothing wrong with my hearing. I think they’d forgotten I was there and, as for you, they’ve never met you and, as you are now a widow, I think they most likely dismissed you as not being important.’
‘But they’re widows,’ cried Eliza indignantly.
‘From a different era,’ said Jack earnestly. ‘You’re young and have the opportunity for a different life altogether. You’ll have choices that they never had.’
‘I doubt it’ll happen that quickly,’ she said. ‘The men will want their jobs back and their women in the home, doing housework, caring for any children, and satisfying the men’s appetites. I bet the divorce rate will increase.’
‘A lot of women have tasted freedom, but divorces cost a lot of money,’ he said.
‘They’ll make do then with separations,’ she said.
‘They’ll still need legal grounds,’ he said.
‘Which will be weighed on the men’s side because we’re still not considered equal with men, who make the rules,’ she said.
‘That’s too much of a sweeping statement,’ said Jack, biting into a ham sandwich. ‘Lots of men consider women their equal, and there are women who believe men to be their superior and like them to make the decisions, and men consider it their job to protect and cherish them. Lots of women are content with that, and to be a wife and mother.’
‘I wouldn’t argue with that but there are those who can’t have children and those who will never marry, simply because they aren’t cut out for that life,’ she said.
‘And there will be women who will want it both ways: marriage and children, and a satisfying well-paid job outside the home,’ he said.
Eliza thought of Amelia working from home and then of the past, when women spun, weaved, sewed, and knitted at home to add to the family budget. Some probably still did in different parts of the country, as well as others who took in washing and still did, but at least their tasks were easier now there were washhouses, where one could also do the ironing.
‘The suffragettes weren’t only fighting for equal rights and votes for women,’ she said. ‘There were men who didn’t have the vote and a decent wage for the job they did,’ she murmured.
‘I never realised you were political,’ he said.
‘I just want fair play for all and that means the poor, which includes men, as well as women.’
‘Fair do’s,’ he said. ‘You’re not a suffragette, though?’
‘No, besides, I don’t agree with everything they did, such as giving white feathers to men who weren’t in uniform during the last war. So many were doing their bit for their country in other ways. There were pacifists who worked down the mines or as medical orderlies on the battlefield.’
‘Enough, please,’ said Jack. ‘I’m on your side. I’m not a pacifist but there’s always criminals in wartime, as well as peacetime.’
‘Your mother told me you tried to join up, but you were turned down as unfit,’ she said.
‘I thought she might, so shall we change the subject? Do you think we can go back to Colwyn Bay today?’
‘I want to go there or home. I’ve had enough of being treated as a second-class citizen.’
‘Then let’s leave within the hour. I left a note and some money and thanked Mrs Wyn Jones, saying I had to return to work.’
‘I’ll leave a note at reception and wish the committee well and remind them that I would appreciate a newsletter of their deliberations.’ She reached for a smoked salmon sandwich. ‘But first let’s finish eating.’
They did so and were soon on their way, and despite the rain, they arrived back in Colwyn Bay for afternoon tea at the tearoom where Cathy worked. She showed them to a table for two, and brought them delicious-looking cakes and buttered fruit scones, as well as fingers of toast with smoked mackerel pâté, Welsh cheese sandwiches and a big pot of tea.
As she served them, she told them that her son Jimmy had arrived, taking them by surprise. He had brought news that his friend and Milly’s, Ben, whom Jimmy had worked with and who was now in the army, had moved from the camp in Wales to the south coast of England. He was on coast-watching with a gun placement ready to shoot down any of the enemy who still thought they had a chance of taking the Brits by surprise and invading.
Eliza was only half-listening, but she felt that she had heard the name Ben before. Of course, it was another Biblical name, like Theophilus, but more well known, because Benjamin was the youngest brother of Joseph, of the coat of many colours fame, who dreamed dreams with meaning. It was one of her favourite Old Testament stories. The next moment she was roused from her reverie by Jack nudging her and saying it was time to go. They’d be able to see Jimmy tomorrow.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
They were to have other matters on their mind the following day. Jean had not returned to the B&B when Jack arrived there after dropping Eliza at Alfie’s grandmother’s house, lingering to talk and have a cup of good coffee with Mairi and Gladys. He had drawn Mairi aside to speak to her about Ada, while Eliza talked to Gladys about the trip to Newtown and gave her some time to cuddle Alfie, before feeding and changing him.
Eliza went for a walk around the shops with Gladys and Alfie to make up for cutting short their outing a few days ago. They called into the tearoom for a cup of tea and a cake but were told by Cathy that the family had gone to the beach, hoping the rain of yesterday had passed. She mentioned that Jack had called in first thing that morning asking if she had seen Jean, as her bed had not been slept in.
