Patsy of Paradise Place, page 21
The thought of Billy not being able to work for the foreseeable future worried Patsy a great deal. It meant that as well as providing for her and Liam, Joe and Elaine Grant would also have to keep Billy.
Joe Grant might earn good money, but it wouldn’t stretch endlessly. He and Elaine had been very kind to let her stay there all this time. She couldn’t expect them to let her go on living with them for ever, though, not unless she was able to contribute her fair share of the household expenses.
The trouble was that she had nothing to offer, Patsy thought unhappily. Although her mother had paid Billy a proper wage when he’d taken over the running of her dad’s business she’d only ever given Patsy a few shillings a week pocket money.
‘You don’t need to worry,’ her mam had said, ‘I’ll buy you all the new clothes you want as well as everything else. You won’t go short of anything. As long as you’ve got some money in your pocket for the flicks that’s all you need.’
Maeve never had bought her any new clothes, though. All the money that Billy handed over from the business her mam had kept for herself and spent it at the Grafton as fast as Billy earned it.
She hadn’t even paid some of the bills. Several times they’d had a visit from the man who owned the stable pointing out that rent was well overdue and if they didn’t pay up right away then they were out.
Now, if Billy was to be on crutches for months to come, even if they could get hold of another horse he wouldn’t be able to manage to take it out on his own. Nor would he be able to cope with loading up the cart. And since she had the baby to look after she wouldn’t be able to help him out on the cart either, not unless his mam would take care of Liam while they worked.
It hadn’t seemed fair to worry Billy about such matters while he was so ill in hospital, but as soon as he was back at home, and settled in, Patsy knew she would have to discuss it with him and they’d have to try and work something out.
Perhaps the best thing they could do, Patsy thought sadly, would be to clear out whatever remained in the stable and call it a day. There might be a few bits and pieces that they could sell, like Samson’s harness and tack and whatever remained of the feed and straw.
As for the immediate future, well once Billy was used to moving about perhaps he would be able to look after Liam for a couple of hours each day and she could go out to work. It would only be for a very short time because once Bruno came back, and she was able to tell him about the baby, then she hoped they would be married and off to Spain as soon as it could all be arranged.
It all seemed so very unsatisfactory and such a muddle that Patsy’s mind was in turmoil. She wasn’t at all sure how the Grants would feel about her and Liam staying on any longer. If, as she suspected, they were only making a home for her because they thought the baby was Billy’s then once they knew the truth they might feel very different about having her there.
They had been kindness itself, Patsy thought gratefully. She’d never be able to repay Elaine for the way she had looked after Liam during those first couple of weeks when they’d first arrived on their doorstep. It had been Elaine who had nursed Liam back to health, found clothes for him and cared for them both. Apart from feeding him I was too ill to do very much for him, she thought.
Janie and Freddie had both been so good, too, helping to look after the baby so that she could go with Elaine to visit Billy in hospital.
Living with the Grants had been an eye-opener. It had shown her what a happy home life could be like. The more she witnessed the warmth and support they gave each other, the more she dreamed that one day she and Bruno would have a home life exactly like that.
Patsy constantly went over in her mind all the wonderful things Bruno had told her about his home in Spain. He said how friendly all the people were and that his family would love her. She could almost feel the warm sun and see the golden sands. She could visualise the people dancing, hear the music, and the happy laughter.
She dreamed of the day when Bruno would be back in New Brighton and reunited with her and baby Liam. She could hardly wait for them to be together so that they could start making plans to go to his home in Spain as soon as the season ended.
She felt bitter. It was hard to understand why Bruno hadn’t let her know that he was leaving New Brighton or told her where he was going. It wasn’t as though they’d had a row. She knew he’d been frustrated because there was nowhere they could go in the cold weather so that they could be on their own. Perhaps she should have taken him home, but after what had happened on her sixteenth birthday how could she?
Perhaps Bruno had tried to get in touch with her and been unable to find her because she’d been living in the stable, she thought hopefully.
If he’d gone to her house after her mam had left he would have either found it empty or Mrs Blackwood living there and she wouldn’t have been very helpful. She’d have said that me mam had gone and Bruno might think I’d gone with her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
HAVING BILLY AT home seemed to create problems no one had anticipated. For the first couple of days everyone was in a state of euphoria, dashing around waiting on him hand and foot. Once the novelty wore off, however, they all began to understand the full impact of what having an invalid to care for involved.
The bulk of the extra work fell on Elaine, but this was partly her own fault. When Patsy offered to help Billy to wash and dress each morning she was aghast.
‘You can’t do that!’ she exclaimed in shocked tones. ‘It wouldn’t be right for you to see him without any clothes on when you’re not married.’
Billy was not a good patient. Far from it. He was impatient, demanding and irritable. Because of his good looks and warm smile he had been a favourite with most of the nurses and as a result they had danced attendance on him more than was normal.
While he’d been in hospital he’d been longing to get home; now that he was at home he missed not only the nurses, but also the companionship of the other patients in the ward. ‘Being in hospital was like being in a different world,’ he told his mother and Patsy. ‘There was always something new happening on the ward with people leaving or new patients being brought in.’
Even though he’d been confined to bed, and had been lying prone for most of the time, he hadn’t been bored.
‘There was so much going on I didn’t have time to think,’ he told them. ‘Mealtimes, medicine rounds, bed-making and all the rest of it took up every hour of the day. All day long there were doctors or specialists coming into the ward to visit one or other of the patients. And each morning there was a tour of inspection by Matron and her sisters and nurses. Before she came round the place was full of cleaners and orderlies making sure everything was spick and span. Then the nurses would come round to check that all our beds were tidy. Everything had to be exactly right for Matron – even a creased bedcover would bring a stinging reprimand.’
Billy missed the muted noise and orderly bustle. His mother took him his breakfast and insisted that he should stay where he was.
‘You rest that leg of yours and I’ll come and give you a hand to wash and dress as soon as I’ve finished clearing up and done the shopping,’ she would promise.
There was so much for her to do that often it was almost midday before she managed to find time to see to him.
Realising the pressure Elaine was under, Patsy did her best to help with tidying Billy’s room and the rest of the house after she’d fed and bathed Liam.
The trouble was Liam always seemed to wake up when she was halfway through a cleaning job and the baby’s crying irritated Billy. He only liked the baby when it was asleep or had just been fed and changed and was gurgling and contented.
Patsy tried hard to keep them both happy, but it was not always very successful. When the baby wasn’t grizzling then Billy was complaining about something or other. A further problem was that Elaine, too, was becoming more and more tight-lipped and irritable.
In her case it was a combination of being overworked and the fact that now Billy was at home, as well as Patsy and Liam living there, she was finding it difficult to stretch the weekly housekeeping money to cover all the food and other things that were needed.
‘I was wondering about taking a part-time job now that I’ve started weaning Liam,’ Patsy suggested tentatively. It was something that had been in her mind for quite a while, but she wasn’t sure how Elaine would react to the idea.
Elaine sighed. ‘It’s a great thought, luv, but what about Liam? I’d look after him like a shot, but I’ve got me hands full as it is what with housework and shopping and looking after our Billy.’
‘I thought that perhaps Billy could keep an eye on Liam,’ she mused.
‘Billy!’ Elaine’s eyes widened. ‘How can Billy look after a young baby? He can’t do much for himself let alone tend a baby.’
‘Not right at this moment, perhaps,’ Patsy conceded, ‘but in a few weeks, when he’s more used to getting about on his crutches. I thought he might enjoy it,’ she said lamely.
‘Well, you could ask him what he thinks about it, I suppose,’ Elaine agreed reluctantly.
‘Me carry a baby around, when I can’t even balance on my bloody crutches?’ he said bitterly. ‘If I dropped him I wouldn’t be able to pick him up!’
‘Well I didn’t mean right this moment,’ Patsy said quickly. ‘I meant later on, when you can balance or when you no longer have to use your crutches.’
‘And when will that be?’ he asked cynically.
‘As soon as you stop feeling sorry for yourself and make yourself walk,’ Patsy snapped, a look of exasperation on her face.
Billy stared at her in disbelief then for the first time since he’d come home from hospital he laughed.
‘Still the same old slave driver, aren’t you,’ he guffawed. ‘I’m not Samson so don’t get the whip to me, just because I’m not moving quickly enough for you, luv.’
‘I won’t,’ she promised, ‘but I can’t stand seeing you simply lying there accepting what’s happened and not putting up a fight. One of us has got to work and help your mam with the housekeeping money.’
He looked at her blankly as though he didn’t understand what she was talking about.
‘I’ve been living here for months and I’ve not tipped up a penny piece,’ Patsy pointed out. ‘All I’ve done is take, take, and take. Food, things for Liam and even clothes for me. Your mam’s provided them all from the housekeeping money your dad hands over on a Friday night. It’s not fair on either of them.’
Suddenly the old Billy was grinning back at her. The kind, considerate partner she’d known since she was a young girl. It was almost as though, because of his long stay in hospital, he’d forgotten about the need to earn money for food and home comforts. Now he was as anxious as she was to pay his way.
He ran a hand through his hair. ‘No, you’re right, but what can we do? You have the baby to look after and I’m pretty helpless no matter what you say.’
‘We could clear out the stuff in the stable for a start,’ she told him. ‘The rent hasn’t been paid and the owner is threatening to kick us out anyway. There’s Samson’s spare harness in there and there must also be straw and hay and perhaps some feed that we could sell.’
‘How am I going to manage to sort that lot out when I’m on crutches?’
‘I bet your dad would help if you asked him and Freddie would give a hand.’
‘You’re on, luv,’ Billy grinned. ‘We’ll give it a go on Sunday.’
Elaine agreed to keep an eye on Liam while Patsy went to the stable with Billy, Joe and Freddie.
‘Bloody hell, it stinks in here!’ Joe exclaimed as they opened the door and the strong odour of horse manure that had been left untouched for about three months hit them. ‘Have to clean this lot up and air the place before the landlord sees it.’
‘It’s a stable, Dad, not a palace,’ Billy told him.
‘Bloody stinking one too. Look at the state of the place. Look at that bloody wall over there! It’s falling apart!’
‘I can explain that,’ Patsy said quickly. ‘I knocked that hole in it when I was trying to get out. That’s the tunnel I was telling you about, the one I escaped through.’
Billy looked puzzled. ‘Escaped? What are you on about?’
‘The day you had your accident, Billy,’ she reminded him, ‘you’d left me locked in here and you’d taken the key with you, do you remember?’
Billy nodded. ‘I’d forgotten all about that. You said something about the tunnel when I was in hospital. What’s it got to do with this mess though?’ he asked, indicating the crumbling wall.
‘It’s where I broke out,’ she grinned. ‘The tunnel is on the other side of it.’
‘Can I go and look?’ Freddie asked eagerly.
‘Look yes, but don’t try walking along the bloody thing. It might fall in on your head and one bugger on crutches is enough,’ his father told him.
‘No, it’s safe enough structurally,’ Patsy assured them. ‘I walked miles through it, all the way into town, and it was fine apart from the dampness and slimy walls. Oh, and all the rubbish that had been tipped down into it, especially at the other end where it comes out behind the market. Masses of stinking fruit and vegetables and soggy cardboard boxes,’ she added with a shudder.
While Freddie and Joe explored the tunnel, Billy and Patsy took stock of what there was in the stable that might be saleable.
As they were finishing Elaine appeared with Liam in her arms, looking for Patsy.
‘This baby needs a feed,’ she announced, ‘and the rest of you can pack up and come home because I’ve got a meal ready for you.’
While they tucked into generous helpings of scouse, they talked non-stop about the tunnel. Joe agreed that he and Freddie would walk the full length of it before Joe repaired the broken wall. He reluctantly admitted that he too had heard rumours about the tunnels that had been built by engineers returning from the Napoleonic wars.
‘I always thought it was a load of bunkum,’ he told them. ‘Now I’ve got the chance to see for myself I’m going to do so.’
‘And me as well, ’Freddie put in quickly, his boyish face full of excitement.
‘It might be dangerous,’ Elaine protested. ‘If it’s as old as you say then the roof could cave in at any moment.’
‘I’m sure it’s safe,’ Patsy told her. ‘The roof is sound and quite high so they won’t have to crawl or anything. I walked upright the whole way and I’m as tall as Freddie.’
‘Then Freddie and me will go and do it while you have a rest for an hour or so, Billy,’ Joe said, pushing back his chair.
‘Yes and then you and Patsy can go back and sort things out at the stable after she’s fed Liam,’ Elaine said quickly when she saw that Billy was about to protest.
By the end of Sunday they had stacked up anything that they thought they could sell in the middle of the stable floor and cleaned the place up. Joe had even managed to fix the bricks back into the alcove wall.
The following week, with Joe’s help, they found someone willing to buy the tack. When the man came to take it away he agreed to take the feed and hay as well as long as they agreed a knockdown price.
It seemed pointless to argue. They needed to get rid of it before the landlord turned them out and even the meagre sum they were being offered was better than nothing.
‘Please take it,’ Patsy insisted when they handed the money over to Elaine. ‘You’ve done so much for me over the last months I know it’s only a fraction of what I owe you. Apart from giving me somewhere to sleep and feeding me, everything I’ve got on you and Janie have given me. You’ve even cut up your sheets and towels and blankets for the baby, as well as buying him clothes.’
Cleaning out the stable seemed to clear the fog that had temporarily blurred Billy’s mind and blotted out so much from the past.
‘Have you heard from your mam?’ he asked Patsy.
She shook her head. ‘I don’t know where she is. There’s a Mrs Blackwood living in our house now.’
Billy frowned. ‘Doesn’t anyone know where your mam’s gone?’
‘No!’ Patsy’s face clouded. ‘Mam doesn’t even know that Liam’s been born and he’s over four months old now.’
‘And what about Bruno?’
Patsy shook her head. ‘I’ve not heard from him either.’
‘So you haven’t been over to New Brighton to tell him?’
Her mouth tightened. ‘I thought of doing so hundreds of times, but I hadn’t the money for the ferryboat and I couldn’t bring myself to ask your mam for it. She’d want to know why I was gadding off to New Brighton, wouldn’t she, and neither of us have ever said anything to her about Bruno. Anyway, I thought that he’d come looking for me before now.’
‘It’s probably best to leave things like that,’ Billy admitted. ‘Don’t start rocking the boat, not when my mam’s so taken with Liam.’
‘She’ll have to know one day, Billy! Supposing Bruno comes looking for me and finds strangers living where I used to and they tell him to try your house?’
‘The season will be finished in another few weeks and he’ll probably be off back to Spain so you may never see him again.’
Patsy shrugged, but her face softened as she looked down at the baby in her arms. ‘I suppose he ought to know about Liam.’
‘Then you’d better go over there and tell him!’
He fished in his pockets and held out some coins. ‘Here, me dad gave me this when I was in hospital. He insisted I have a few bob in case I needed to buy a paper or soap or anything.’
Patsy looked at the money Billy was holding out and shook her head.
‘Go on, take it,’ he insisted. ‘Go over and see Bruno and clear the air so that we all know where we stand one way or the other.’
Chapter Twenty-Seven
IT TOOK PATSY three days to pluck up the courage to go across to New Brighton and face Bruno Alvarez.
