The Three Kings Read online

  They had been in their new jobs barely two weeks – her fear of being caught not so acute since two policemen had walked past them in the street on different days without looking at them – when she was disquieted by what Sammy said one evening. ‘Are you my wife now, Katie?’

  Sick inside, she exclaimed, ‘What made you ask that?’

  ‘Well, Hairy says he takes in coal and chops sticks for his wife, and cleans the spoons and forks for her, like I do for you, so I thought you must be my wife.’

  Her tension eased a little. ‘You’re my brother, and that means I’m your sister, not your wife.’

  ‘My sister?’ Never having made this connection, Sammy took a moment to chew it over, then dismissed it. ‘Hairy and his wife sleep in the same bed, and she heats her bloody great feet on his legs. If we slept in the same bed, I’d let you heat your bloody …’

  Even knowing that he was only repeating what the old man had said, Katie had to stop his train of thought. ‘Brothers and sisters can’t sleep in the same bed. It’s not allowed.’

  That satisfied him – he knew there were things he was not allowed to do – but her jangled nerves took a long time to settle.

  With the shops being so handy, Katie often popped into the baker’s shop and was now very friendly with Lottie McRuvie. She bought their supper on her way home each day, and at first, she had taken Sammy with her on Saturday afternoons to stock up on heavy items such as oatmeal, flour, bleach, etc. After a few weeks, she felt that he could manage by himself, which gave her time to attend to all the chores she usually had to leave until the weekend.

  At first, Sammy had been a trifle hesitant to tackle the weekly shopping, but now he trotted off happily, the money wrapped in the list she wrote out and placed at the bottom of a string bag she had bought for the purpose. He was very proud of being her errand boy, and the shopkeepers gave him a few sweets or a biscuit, as they did to the children who shopped for their mothers; even the butcher gave him the odd bowl of potted head, which pleased him immensely, for he was quite partial to it.

  He and Katie were sitting together one Saturday night, a few months after they had come to live in Marischal Street, when he heaved a long deep sigh. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked anxiously, afraid that someone had said something to him about being backward.

  ‘Nothing.’ His smile was blissful. ‘I like this house.’

  She relaxed. ‘So do I.’

  ‘I like it being just me and you. Sammy’s happy, Katie.’

  ‘Me, and all.’

  ‘The happiest I’ve ever been in my whole life.’

  Aware that he had no recollection of his earlier life, or indeed of any time before they came to live there, she still leaned over and patted his hand. ‘I’m glad.’

  Sammy’s happiness was shattered when he caught a cold which developed into a feverish influenza. He had never been ill before, and Katie had difficulty in persuading him to stay at home. At last, she said, ‘You’ll make it worse if you’re outside all day, and you could end up having to lie in bed for weeks.’

  ‘If I don’t go to work today, will I be better tomorrow?’

  ‘Maybe not tomorrow, maybe in two or three days.’

  He gave in, but she was worried about leaving him on his own for so long and issued some instructions before she went out. ‘I’ve left soup in a pan for your dinner, and you’ll have to keep the fire going so you can heat it up. Will you manage that? Don’t try lighting the gas stove, and don’t bother answering the door if anybody knocks, it’ll likely just be a gypsy selling pegs.’

  Sammy was never far from Katie’s thoughts that morning – she pictured him letting the soup pot drop and scalding himself, or turning dizzy when he was putting on coal and falling into the fire, or trying to light a gas ring and blowing himself up – and the bedrooms at the Salutation had never been cleaned so superficially as she rushed through them in order to get home to make sure he was all right.

  Her work finished, she ran as fast as she could, and she was in the Longate when someone on the opposite side of the street shouted, ‘Katie!’

  Not wanting to stop, she gave a quick glance across, but came to an abrupt halt at the sight of the familiar figure. ‘Dennis!’ she cried, all concern for Sammy forgotten.

  He came across to her. ‘I heard you got a job.’

  ‘Not a waitress’s job, though, just a chambermaid, and Sammy helps the gardener. Mr Noble said he couldn’t give us rooms and I thought we’d have to go into lodgings, but I found a house to rent.’

  ‘A house? My, you’re coming up in the world.’

  ‘It’s quite nice, three rooms in Marischal Street, all furnished.’ It dawned on her that there was nothing to stop her inviting him there. ‘I’d be happy if you wanted to visit me some night. I’ve … missed you.’

  ‘I’ve missed you, and all, and I’d love to visit you … oh! Will your brother be there?’

  Her heart sank. ‘Yes, he will. He’s got the ’flu just now, that’s why I was hurrying home, so I’ll have to go, Dennis.’

  ‘I’ll come with you, so I’ll know where to come.’

  Katie’s renewed worry for Sammy vanished again when Dennis slid his arm around her. ‘It’s like old times, isn’t it,’ he murmured.

  As they sauntered down Broad Street, he said, ‘By the way, about a fortnight after you left the Temperance, Mag Stewart – remember, the wee chambermaid with the Eton crop? – well, she was caught red-handed taking money out of a wallet, and she owned up to stealing the other things. Leith sacked her on the spot.’

  ‘I told him it wasn’t Sammy,’ Katie burst out, ‘and I hope he’s ashamed for what he did.’

  The young man smiled. ‘You know, I got a shock at you that day. I didn’t think you had the guts to stand up to Leith, and I like girls with a bit of spirit. It made me like you a lot more, Katie.’

  ‘Oh, Dennis, I’m glad, for I like you an awful lot.’

  He regarded her seriously. ‘If you can tame your brother, we might get together again.’

  ‘I’ll make sure Sammy knows I … I like you. It’ll be all right, Dennis, I promise. Here’s my house. Through the pen’ and it’s the last door. Do you want to come in now?’

  ‘I suppose I could, it’s my day off, but only if you’re sure Sammy won’t fly at me.’

  ‘I’ll make sure he understands you’re my … friend.’

  She told Dennis to sit down by the fire till she talked to Sammy, and when she came back, she said, ‘He won’t bother us. I told him I’d my … friend in, and I’d never speak to him again if he came through, so he won’t bother us. You can stay for your supper, can’t you? There’s pork left over from yesterday.’

  While she mixed a sponge pudding and put the bowl into a steamer, then prepared some vegetables to eke out the pork, Dennis told her what had been happening at the Temperance, and she found that she wasn’t really interested in hearing about her ex-workmates – she had never known any of them very well – but she took good care not to let him see how she felt.

  ‘We have our supper at half past five,’ she said, when he ran out of stories. ‘That’s when Sammy usually comes in, so I hope that’s all right with you?’

  ‘Any time’s all right with me,’ he smiled.

  ‘How do you get on with the waitress who came after me?’ This was something she had often wondered.

  ‘Peggy? She’s gorgeous! Curves that make me want to grab hold of her every time she passes, lips made for kissing, and her legs! Her skirt’s so short, I can see the backs of her knees every time she bends over a table.’

  ‘Have you … taken her out?’ Katie faltered, wishing that she had never asked, and dreading his answer.

  His loud roar of laughter told her that he had only been joking. ‘Oh, you!’ she exploded. ‘What’s she really like, this Peggy?’

  ‘She’s fifty, if she’s a day,’ he grinned, ‘with no curves at all and skirts down to her feet, but she’s a good enough waitress. Oh, Katie
, you should have seen your face!’

  She was hurt by his teasing, even more so because he had enjoyed seeing her discomfiture. ‘I’m glad you think it’s funny,’ she said, huffily.

  ‘I’m sorry, Katie, I didn’t mean it. Listen, I’ll tell you something that’ll maybe cheer you up. I’ve never looked at anybody else since that last night with you. I used to be a great one for the girls, but you changed that.’

  She was flustered by the way he was looking at her. ‘I’d better light the gas under the tatties,’ she said, turning away. ‘Supper won’t be long now.’

  He said nothing personal while she set the table and put plates in the oven to heat, nor during the meal, except to congratulate her on her cooking, but when she turned from laying past the dishes he dried for her, he stretched out his arms. ‘Come to me, my lovely, lovely Katie.’

  After only a fractional hesitation, she gave a happy sigh and almost swooned against him. ‘I used to dream about us being together like this. It’s better than when we were in the street having to be careful nobody saw us.’

  ‘It might be even better if we sat down on the couch.’

  It was better, far better, and she responded to his kisses and caresses like a drowning person responds to a lifebelt. Suddenly, he leaned away. ‘I’ll have to stop, Katie. I might do something …’ He disengaged her arms from his neck, and when she pressed herself against him again, he gave her a gentle push. ‘No, it’s not right, and anyway, it’s time I was going. It’s twenty to ten already.’

  ‘You’ll come back to see me?’ she begged.

  ‘After I finish work on Friday?’ He gave her a quick kiss, then lifted his hat from the dresser and left.

  Katie did not go through to see if Sammy needed anything; she couldn’t face him just yet. She was hot and bothered, her whole body tingling from the touch of Dennis’s hands. The love she had felt for him before was as nothing in comparison with what she was feeling now. This wasn’t a girlish infatuation, it was a woman’s love, crying out for fulfilment. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t tried to get in touch with her. Nothing mattered except that they were together again.

  Going up Broad Street, Dennis was wondering if he’d been too cautious in refusing what was blatantly on offer. Katie had been his for the taking, but not tonight, Josephine. Tonight he’d been preparing the ground for a bumper harvest – he didn’t want to scare her off at this early stage. Besides, it gave him a feeling of power to make her wait, just like teasing a dog with a bone.

  But he’d gone too far for his own good, and he didn’t have time to satisfy himself with Beth. He was sick of having to keep to Leith’s rules and be in by ten. Wait! Why hadn’t he thought of it before? All he needed was a place to live, and now he had the choice of two houses. Asking Beth Morton was a bit dodgy, for she had an old-fashioned outlook on things, and she probably wouldn’t agree unless he promised to marry her. That might be the only way he’d get his hands on any of her cash, but as his wife, she would keep a tight rein on him. In any case, was it wise to tie himself to a woman so much older?

  No, Katie was the answer. She might balk if he asked right out if he could sleep with her, but surely he could string her along and make her think the idea was hers. Once he was in, say in a few months when he’d be bored with her, heigh-ho! She’d be so much in love with him, she’d believe any excuse he gave for being late home. He could go on seeing Beth or any other bit of skirt he took a fancy to. It would be dangerous, but by God he’d enjoy the challenge.

  When Dennis arrived on Friday, Katie warned him at the door, ‘Sammy’s in the kitchen, so don’t kiss me in front of him.’

  ‘It’s hardly worth my while coming, then, is it?’

  ‘It’ll just be till he gets used to seeing you here … then it’ll be all right. Anyway, he always goes to bed at nine, so we’ll have a wee while on our own.’

  Sammy, however, did not go to bed at nine, and kept his eyes fixed on the other man. ‘That’s been a waste of time,’ Dennis observed, sourly, when Katie saw him out.

  ‘He’ll come round,’ she muttered, miserably.

  ‘He’d better. It puts me off when he glares at me like I’m doing something wrong. I’d be as well not coming at all.’

  ‘Oh, Dennis, please don’t stop coming.’

  ‘You’ll have to do something about him, then.’

  ‘I’ll try, honest I will. I’ll see you on Monday?’

  He took her in his arms and kissed her, passionate kisses that left her gasping, then he said, ‘Monday,’ and walked through the pend.

  She kept standing after he waved from the street and went out of sight; she couldn’t get over Sammy recognizing him. She had thought he wouldn’t remember, but when she took her ‘friend’ in, he had shrunk back into his seat, not in fear, but more as if he were trying to make himself invisible so that he could keep watch. Angry at him now, she went inside to have it out with him. ‘That was a fine way to carry on!’ she scolded. ‘Did you have to glower at Dennis like that the whole time he was here? He didn’t like it, you know, so why didn’t you go to bed?’

  Sammy’s eyes filled with the pain of one whose motive had been misunderstood. ‘I wanted to see he didn’t hurt you.’

  ‘He won’t hurt me, and I’ll be really angry with you if you stay up so long again. Nine o’clock’s been your bedtime ever since we started at the Salutation, and you need all your sleep so you’ll be fit to help Hairy in the gardens.’

  He trailed out to the lavatory sadly, and when he came back, he made for his bedroom. ‘Will he be here again?’ he asked, before he opened the door.

  ‘He’ll be here every Friday,’ she said, firmly, ‘and every Monday and Wednesday, and all, so just remember.’ Wondering where Dennis went on the other nights of the week, she knew that she couldn’t ask him. She didn’t have the right … yet.

  On Monday when Sammy came home, she reminded him that he had to go to bed at nine, and after sitting morosely silent for nearly three quarters of an hour after Dennis appeared, he stood up and went into his room without saying a word.

  Grinning, Dennis put his arms round Katie. ‘Thank God that’s him out of the road.’

  His kisses were not quite so passionate as they had been on the first night, and she supposed that he didn’t want them to get so worked up … not until they were married.

  When the familiar knock came on Wednesday – da-didi-da – she ran to let Dennis in, sliding briefly into his arms before taking him into the kitchen, where Sammy – having been told to try to be more friendly – gave him a half-hearted smile. Dennis patted him on the shoulder and sat down. ‘You been busy today, Sammy?’

  Katie did not know that Dennis had only asked this to get in her good books, but she did know that making conversation wasn’t easy for Sammy. ‘You trimmed the hedges, didn’t you?’ she prompted.

  A proud grin lit up his face. ‘Yes, and Hairy said I did a grand job.’

  ‘Good for you.’ Dennis pulled Katie down on the couch and put his arm around her. ‘And what have you been doing today, my sweet one?’

  ‘Just the usual,’ she said, uncomfortably conscious that Sammy was scowling darkly now. ‘Bedrooms and bathrooms.’

  ‘And I’m sure you did a grand job, and all,’ he teased.

  To fill in time until he had Katie on her own, Dennis gave her the latest gossip from the Temperance, and at last Sammy stood up. ‘I’m going to bed now.’

  Once they were alone, Dennis drew Katie towards him and kissed her hungrily. ‘I hate having to waste nearly an hour waiting for him to go to bed,’ he murmured in a few moments. ‘If I didn’t live in at the hotel I wouldn’t have to be back by ten. If I could only find a room somewhere …’

  ‘You could live here. It’s not far from the Temperance.’

  ‘Do you mean that?’

  His astonishment at the suggestion pleased her; it had obviously not occurred to him. ‘Yes, I mean it, as long as you don’t mind sleeping on the couch.’ />
  He gave her a troubled stare. ‘I likely wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing I was so near you. I’d feel like going in beside you. No, I’d better try and find somewhere else.’

  So tempted by the thought of sharing a bed with him, Katie took no time to think. ‘It’s all right,’ she murmured, ‘I’ll not make you sleep on the couch.’

  ‘You’re sure?’

  It wasn’t what she had meant originally, but did it make any difference? After all, she was ninety-nine per cent sure that she would be giving herself to her future husband. ‘Yes, Dennis, quite, quite sure.’

  With a low moan, he crushed her to him. ‘Oh, God, Katie, I’ll be the happiest man alive. I’ll tell John Leith in the morning I’ve found lodgings. When can I move in?’

  ‘As soon as you like.’

  ‘Not tomorrow but the next day?’

  ‘That’s fine.’

  For the next half hour, Dennis gave Katie a foretaste of the passion they would soon share nightly, taking off her blouse and bodice to fondle her, but going no further than that, and when he left, she was a trembling mass of longing.

  Lying down on the couch again, she could still feel his hands on her, his fingers gently kneading her. She let her own fingers emulate his, stroking each breast, running her thumbs round her nipples as he had done, until the same thrills started, and shamed by what she was doing, she shut her eyes and let her thoughts dwell on a future with Dennis. She didn’t hear Sammy coming in, and he stood looking down at her over the back of the couch. Her top half was totally exposed, and although he had a boy’s mind, he had the body of a man now, with a man’s responses to seeing a woman’s naked bosom, especially for the first time. At last, he said, ‘Can I feel them?’

  Startled, Katie jerked her head up. ‘Feel what?’

  ‘Them.’ His index finger pointed.

  Remembering her condition too late, she covered herself with her arms and cast her eyes round desperately to find where Dennis had thrown her blouse and bodice. ‘Give me over my clothes, please, Sammy.’

  ‘But I don’t want you to hide them.’