Love and Marriage at Harpers, page 29
‘I don’t care about the money,’ Gerald sneered. ‘I’ll make some other woman pay for what you’ve stolen for me – but you’ll pay for setting the law on me before I’ve finished with you.’ He lunged at her again, grabbing her by the waist and wrestling her, trying to bring her down.
Beth guessed what he meant to do and screamed for all she was worth. He pushed her back and she felt the warmth of the range, uncomfortable at her back. She reached behind herself and grabbed the kettle she’d used earlier to make tea, bringing her arm back swiftly and hitting him in the face. He staggered back, swearing loudly because the remains of the boiling water went into his eyes, and made an angry lunge at her. Beth screamed again in terror, managed to avoid him and yanked open the back door, shouting out for help at the top of her voice. If her neighbour was still in his garden perhaps he would hear…
Gerald swore and moved towards her purposefully. His face looked red and sore where the water had struck him, but he’d recovered enough to grab her from behind before she could escape and his arm was around her throat again, cutting off her cries for help. The last scream died in her throat as he flung her down on the floor and then stood over her, leering at her as he fumbled with his trouser buttons.
‘No!’ Beth screamed again and again, scrabbling to get up and bucking in an effort to throw him off, but he was on her, his weight pinning her to the ground, and his intent was plain, to humiliate her and rape her, inflicting as much pain as possible.
Beth bit his hand, wriggled and kicked as she tried to throw him off but his hands were clawing at her skirts and her strength was almost spent. She knew he would have his way, for there was nothing she could do to stop him, but then she heard voices, figures barged through the back door and she was vaguely aware that someone pulled the heavy weight off her. She heard shouts and yells and a groan of pain just before she passed out.
When she opened her eyes a short time later, Jack was bending over her anxiously and her neighbour was standing there, pitchfork in hand, glaring down at her attacker. Gerald was on his knees, head bowed and another man was behind him, clicking on what looked like handcuffs. He glanced at her, nodded and went off to report to the police, leaving Fred’s neighbour, Bob, on guard with his fork.
‘Jack…’ Beth tried to rise but felt dizzy and fell back against the cushions of the old daybed. Someone must have lifted her on to it after she fainted. ‘How— when did you get here?’
‘I came as soon as Phyllis at the hotel gave me the message,’ Jack said. ‘Bob heard you scream and was on his way to see what was wrong when I arrived. We dealt with the bugger, and Harold’s man, who had been patrolling the street, was here seconds after. Gerald had got past him somehow, probably across the gardens from the river, and he’s gone to summon the police now.’
Beth felt sick but struggled to hold it in. She managed to push herself up against the cushions so that she was sitting and looked at him. ‘I’m so glad you came,’ she whispered. Her throat was sore where Gerald had pressed his arm against it. ‘When I rang earlier, I had some good news – but then he sneaked up behind me. He must have got into the house when I went to hang out the washing.’ Beth took a shaky breath, her limbs quivering. She’d sensed someone watching her earlier when she went to the post box at the end of the lane, but Gerald must have crossed the neighbouring gardens to avoid him. She threw a look of shuddering disgust at her aunt’s widower.
At that moment, the man who had left earlier entered the kitchen with a sturdy young police officer following in his wake.
‘Now then, what’s all this,’ the constable said and looked from Gerald on his knees, still breathless and subdued, to Beth. ‘Are you all right, ma’am?’
‘My wife was set on by this man,’ Jack said furiously. ‘He is a murderer, officer, and your people are looking for him…’
‘Perhaps you would tell me what happened, ma’am?’
Beth nodded, taking a deep breath as she controlled the trembling. ‘This man attacked me from behind and I believe he intended to rape me. I tried to fight him off, but then my husband came.’ She took a shaky breath. ‘He calls himself Gerald Greene, but it is not his name. We have proof that he has killed at least once and perhaps three times or more. He was going to punish me for setting the law on him…’ Beth was shaking, trembling all over despite her attempts to stop. ‘If Jack and Bob hadn’t come when they did…’
‘Well, we did and now he’s the one that will pay,’ Jack said, looking grim as the police constable read Gerald his rights and took a firm hold of his arm. The officer turned to Jack with a grin.
‘My old boss, Chief Superintendent Brooks, will be pleased with me – and so will my current boss. I reckon I’ll get a commendation for this.’
‘Thank you,’ Beth said. ‘Thank you all for helping me…’
The officer pushed Gerald in front of him, brandishing his truncheon. ‘Just try to get away from me, laddo. Just you try…’ He looked as if he relished the idea of hitting him hard.
Gerald had a bruise on his face, several cuts to his mouth and cheek and his hand was bleeding. Someone had tied a handkerchief round it. He also limped and winced as he walked. He didn’t look capable of making a break for it, but Bob told the police officer that he would go with him to the station and Harold’s man went too, to give his account of events.
Bob brandished the pitchfork at Gerald and grinned, pleased with himself. ‘I sharpened it this morning,’ he said. ‘Care to test it?’
Gerald looked at them sullenly but didn’t answer. Then, at the door, he turned his head and spat in Beth’s direction. ‘Witch,’ he muttered. ‘I shan’t forget…’
‘You can think about it while you wait for the hangman,’ Jack said and shut the door behind them. He looked at Beth. ‘I’m so sorry, love. I didn’t get your message for half an hour…’
‘You came sooner than I expected. I asked you to come home early, not right away – and I didn’t expect Gerald to be watching me here. I had some good news I wanted to share, Jack… but I’m so glad you were here…’ She gave a strangled cry and the tears slipped down her cheeks now they were alone. ‘I never even thought of locking the kitchen door while I hung the washing out…’
‘You shouldn’t have to,’ Jack said bitterly. ‘You should be safe in your own home. Sit down and I’ll get you a drop of brandy for the shock.’
‘I’d rather have a cup of cocoa,’ Beth said and he nodded.
‘Whatever you want, love.’ He looked pale and angry. ‘When I think of what that bastard might have done to you…’
‘He didn’t,’ Beth said, ‘because you came and so did Bob and Harold’s man – I didn’t know he had someone patrolling outside…’
‘Harold told me he would just for a few days until they caught Gerald – but his man didn’t help much.’
‘How did Gerald know to come here?’ Beth shook her head.
‘He probably followed you home at some time.’ Jack poured milk and water into a little saucepan and set it on the range. He fetched two mugs and spooned cocoa powder into them and then took the warmed milk and made their drinks. ‘You are all right – he didn’t hurt you?’
‘A bit,’ she admitted. ‘I’ll have bruises, but never mind that, let me tell you my good news, Jack.’ Beth fought down her shudders determinedly. She wasn’t going to let Gerald get to her. Making an effort, she got up and went to the table, taking the letter from the solicitor and placing it on the table. ‘Read that – and I have some shares in Mum’s box that may be the same…’
Jack read the letter and stared at her in stunned silence. ‘Two thousand is a huge sum, Beth – and they may be worth more.’
‘Perhaps twice as much if my shares are the same…’
‘What will you do with it?’ he asked, still seeming stunned by the news.
‘What we dreamed of,’ she said. ‘With your savings, we can get the property you’ve always wanted, Jack. Our own hotel…’
‘It’s your money – are you certain it’s what you want? Hotels are not always easy, Beth. We’ll make money, but you might make more by reinvesting into more shares.’
‘That’s how my grandfather lost the fortune he inherited,’ Beth said. ‘No, we’ll put it into a business we know will bring in a living. I don’t want riches. I want security and a life we can share.’
Jack looked at her a few moments longer and then he smiled. ‘We’ll invest the money well, Beth. As you said, we want a good living – a good way to live. A family hotel, and I’ll make it work, I promise you.’
‘I know you will,’ she said and smiled at him. ‘It’s what you deserve, Jack – it’s what we both deserve.’
‘It’s a reward for your honesty,’ he said and laughed. ‘Well, I never – I can hardly believe it. I could never have bought something as good as we’ll get now. I’ll come with you when you visit your lawyer, Beth, and we’ll get him to act for us – squeeze as much as he can from whoever wants the shares and then we’ll know what to do next.’
‘Yes, that’s what I thought,’ Beth said and he put his arms about her. ‘It’s wonderful, Jack. I feel so lucky.’
‘Not half as much as I do,’ Jack told her. ‘Drink that cocoa up, Beth. I’m not going to leave you today. You’ve had a nasty shock and I intend to stay with you until you feel better.’
Beth allowed Jack to look after her, making her sit still and tending the fire so she was warm and comfortable. He even went to bring in the sheets from the garden and when Fred got home, Jack went off to fetch their supper from the pie shop. Neither of them would allow her to do a thing. Beth tried to persuade them she was all right to carry on as usual, but neither would listen and later that night when the cramping pain woke her she knew they had been right. Beth clawed out of bed, clutching at her middle and bending double as the dragging pain grabbed at her insides. She felt the wetness on her thighs and looked down, seeing the blood on her nightgown just as Jack woke and saw her in agony. He was out of bed in an instant. Beth looked at him with tears in her eyes.
‘You’d best get the doctor,’ she whispered. ‘I think I’m losing our baby…’
‘The bastard…’ Jack muttered and for a moment his eyes were wild. Had Gerald been there that moment she knew Jack would have killed the man who had attacked her.
Jack went from the room as Beth whimpered in pain. She heard him wake his father and a short argument. Jack came back to their bedroom.
‘Dad went for the doctor. He told me to stay with you. Can you lie down, love?’
Beth shook her head. She felt the pain was enough to tear her apart. ‘Go down and put the kettle on,’ she begged him, wanting now to be alone.
Because there was no upstairs toilet, they had a commode in an alcove off their room and Beth went and sat on it. She felt the urge to push and it was like trying to pass waste elements when constipated and then, suddenly she felt something come away from her and she knew it was Jack’s child and her heart broke. He would never forgive her for losing their baby…
Looking down at the mangled mess of blood and flesh, which would have been a baby in another seven months, Beth staggered back to the bed and collapsed onto it, closing her eyes. She was crying now, tears trickling down her cheeks. When Jack returned with tea, she couldn’t look at him or speak, the tears telling their own story. She felt ashamed and miserable. It was her fault. She hadn’t wanted to be pregnant yet and now she wasn’t – what should have been their baby was just a mess of blood in a chamber pot.
‘What’s wrong, Beth?’ Jack asked, desperate to help. She managed to point towards the commode and heard his gasp as he found the evidence of her guilt. ‘Oh, Beth love, I’m so sorry – that wicked devil is to blame for this.’
‘I lost our baby…’ she managed to get the words out. ‘My fault…’
‘Never,’ Jack said loyally. ‘It was him – what he did to you. The doctor is coming, Beth, he will tell you the same. It wasn’t anything you did.’
They could all say the same thing, but Beth knew. She hadn’t wanted a baby yet. She’d felt it too soon, preferring to have more life with her husband before she was tied to the home with children. It was her fault it had died and she would never forgive herself.
37
Sally took the telephone call in her office. She’d only just got in and Jack’s news shocked her, making her feel both angry and upset.
‘Give Beth my love and tell her she must stay at home until she’s feeling better,’ she said. ‘I’m so sorry, Jack. Is there anything I can do – or Ben? I know he would want to help if he could…’
‘No, the police have Gerald under lock and key and they won’t let him out of their sight. The evidence is piling up against him and it looks as if he might have duped several women out of their savings, some of whom are still alive to give evidence. His photograph has been circulated to other forces and he’s been recognised as an offender.’
‘If only he’d been caught sooner…’ Sally said and Jack made a guttural sound in his throat. ‘I’ll come and see Beth in a couple of days, when she feels a little better.’
‘Thank you. I’m sure she would like that,’ Jack replied. ‘I’ve taken a couple of days off, though Beth says she’s all right…’
‘She isn’t though,’ Sally said. ‘How could she be?’
Jack muttered something and rang off.
Sally sat staring at the wall for a few moments and then opened the silver compact Ben had given her as a wedding gift, peering at her reflection to tidy her hair, which she’d grown a little longer because her husband loved her hair. Satisfied that no tears streaked her face, she went downstairs to the hat department. Sally needed to tell Beth’s friends what had happened. Rachel and Maggie would want to know that she was all right – although she wasn’t all right. How could she be when she’d just been savagely attacked and suffered a miscarriage? Jack hadn’t said much about that, but in Sally’s mind that was the most painful bit of it. Beth had been saved from the worst of her uncle’s attempt to harm her, but in losing the baby she had suffered far more. It must have upset her terribly.
Sally decided to visit the florist in her lunch break and send her friend some flowers. She was busy most of that day, but would make time to see Beth the following morning, because she knew Beth would be holding the hurt inside her, letting it fester.
Rachel and Maggie were both upset and asked Sally to accept a contribution to the purchase of flowers for Beth. They both spoke of visiting her later in the week. Sally spent a few minutes talking to them and then set out for her appointment in Hatton Garden. The jewellery department at Harper’s was doing very well and she wondered if they ought to expand it. Janice Browning had been brought up to stand in for Beth and she wasn’t truly up to handling both the bags and the jewellery in Sally’s opinion. Jenni had never expected the silver bangles and pendants she’d purchased to sell as well as they had and it might be time to reorganise the hat department. It would be difficult if Beth was away for some time. Either they needed another counter or the bags should go down to the ground floor and be displayed with the suitcases and other leather goods. She would have to ask Mr Stockbridge what he thought and speak to Ben, because it was a big decision.
It had been Ben’s idea to offer Rachel the position of floor walker when Miss Hart was forced to retire because of ill health, but it had left the department vulnerable. Maggie did well on her counter but wasn’t ready to take charge, nor was Janice, in Sally’s opinion, which left them in some difficulty. Perhaps they should look for an older woman again, someone who wouldn’t leave to have a family.
Not for the first time, Sally regretted Miss Hart’s departure. The floor walker hadn’t always got on with other members of staff but she’d been an excellent employee and Ben’s business needed good people. Perhaps Sally should just take Beth’s place for a few days if necessary…
She was on the path outside the store hailing a taxi when a car drew up beside her and she turned her head to see Mick grinning at her. ‘Can I give you a lift anywhere, Sally?’ he asked.
‘That’s kind of you,’ she said and smiled. ‘But I’ve hailed a cab – he’s coming over now. Thank you for offering, though.’
She moved towards the cab and opened the door, giving the address in Hatton Garden that she wanted. Sally had seen the disappointment in Mick’s eyes, but she didn’t look back. Ben would be annoyed if she accepted a lift with the Irishman. Her husband was still jealous, even though he knew he need not be. Ben had asked Sally if she wanted to invite Mick to their wedding and she’d sent him an invitation; he’d been at the church but not the reception.
Sally hadn’t expected him to attend and she didn’t want to travel some distance with Mick in his car, perhaps because she felt a little guilty. Mick had been good to her when she’d been feeling lonely and let down, and she’d allowed him take her out a few times. He might feel he had the right to be aggrieved because she’d married Ben and she didn’t want to risk an argument so had avoided him, though she felt a bit of a coward for it. Mick was a friend but he’d wanted to be more and Sally should have made sure he knew it wasn’t going to happen. Perhaps she hadn’t been fair to him.
‘That’s rotten luck for them both,’ Ben said that evening after they’d settled down in their apartment with a glass of wine and she told him about Beth’s loss. ‘I’m really sorry for your friend, Sally, and if you want to take on a replacement, to give her time to get over her loss, I think that’s the best thing in the circumstances.’
‘I’m sure she will want to return to work,’ Sally said. ‘We promoted Rachel and that has left my old department a little bit short of experienced staff. Janice Browning is fine as a salesgirl, but I don’t think she is ready to run the department. The jewellery is expensive and needs to be properly overlooked and a strict check kept on the stock or it could easily get misplaced.’
