Brow of the Gallowgate Page 23

  She swallowed – it would be difficult seeing him on a different footing from doctor and patient – but met her husband’s eyes. ‘I don’t mind – it was good of you.’

  By Sunday, she’d been on her feet for three days, and her anxiety about her hair, and if her figure was back to normal, made Vena remark, ‘You look just fine, Mother. The doctor’ll take a fancy to you if you’re not careful.’

  Bathie wondered if this was a warning, but didn’t really care. She tried on her second-best dress – not the very best, in case Albert read something into it – and was pleased that it didn’t look too tight, although it strained a little across the bust. Luckily, it fastened down the back.

  When her husband returned from church with his two sons and his four eldest daughters, he exclaimed at the sight of her. ‘My, Bathie, you’re looking the picture of health again. Be careful not to overtire yourself.’

  She laughed, but took a rest in the early afternoon to be sure she’d look her best at suppertime. When she heard the knock at half past four, she glanced at Albert and a stab of alarm shot through her when she saw his eyes fixed on her.

  Ellie ran down to let the visitor in, but when she came back, she announced, ‘It’s Grandmother and Grandfather.’

  Henrietta walked in first, and her eyebrows lifted above the top of her spectacles when she saw Bathie sitting by the fire. ‘I am glad to see that you are up and about again. No one came to tell us how you were.’

  Arthur stared at his son-in-law. ‘Surely you could have sent Ellie or one of the others to let us know, if you could not tear yourself away from your wife?’

  Recalling what Arthur had said, in his drunken ramblings on the day that Hetty was born, Albert was rather incensed by the man’s sanctimonious sarcasm. Fortunately, Ellie saved him from having to reply.

  ‘I’m sorry, Grandfather. We’ve all been busy.’

  Recovered slightly after her disappointment that it wasn’t Gavin who had come in, Bathie said, ‘I’m fine, Mother. There was no need for you to worry about me.’

  Another loud knock made her jump. ‘That’ll be the doctor this time.’ Hoping that she sounded calm enough, she turned to her mother and added, ‘Albert invited him to supper because he’s been so attentive to me.’

  ‘Your doctor?’ Henrietta’s brows met then parted slowly. ‘He will tell us the truth about your state of health.’

  A loud gasp from Arthur Johnstone made them all look at him as he staggered suddenly and collapsed across the couch, his face grey and beads of perspiration standing out on his high forehead.

  ‘Is it the same pain again, Arthur?’ exclaimed his wife.

  Gavin McKenzie came in unnoticed, grasped the situation and strode over to the couch. Pushing Albert and Henrietta aside, he probed gently around the area Arthur was indicating until his fingers told him what he wanted to know, and the man’s sharp cry only served to endorse his diagnosis.

  ‘Appendicitis,’ he said, tersely. ‘It’s acute, and needs to be operated on immediately. Can you give me a hand to get him downstairs, Albert? I’ll have to take him to the Infirmary.’

  Donnie and Ellie took their sisters upstairs out of the way, leaving Bathie and her mother alone in the parlour.

  ‘He has been complaining several times of a pain there,’ Henrietta said, ‘but I never thought . . . you know your father. He is half dead when he has a cold. Your doctor seems to be a very capable man. What is his name?’

  ‘It’s McKenzie. Gavin McKenzie.’ Her father’s collapse had put an effective stop to Bathie’s romantically-inclined thoughts towards him. There really had been nothing between them, but she felt as guilty as if they’d been carrying on an illicit love affair for years.

  ‘Gavin?’ Henrietta smiled. ‘What a nice name for such a nice man. You know, Bathia, he is exactly the kind of man your father would have been happy to see you marrying. He is well educated, very handsome and mannerly.’

  ‘Oh, Mother. Gavin’s everything you say, but you know I love Albert.’

  ‘How much does he love you, though? Do you think, if he really loved you for yourself, he would have saddled you with so many children? Ten, if they had all lived.’

  What her mother was saying made Bathie wonder again if Albert had really meant to propose to her on that far-off day, or if it was the beast inside him that had wanted her for her body alone, as her father had said at the time.

  ‘He does love me, Mother.’ It sounded unconvincing.

  ‘Do you remember how much your father was against you marrying him at first? I wonder now if he had recognized the same needs in Albert as he had himself. He only gave in when I threatened to leave him if he did not stop . . . er . . .’ She halted in confusion.

  ‘Stop what?’

  ‘I did not want you to know, Bathia, but I suppose I owe you an explanation. Some men have insatiable appetites for . . . that sort of thing, you know, and your father was no exception. When I refused him, he . . . er . . . went to my maids. That is all over now, of course.’

  Bathie was shocked and angry at what her mother had said about Albert and her father, also worried about her own guilty confusion over Gavin McKenzie, and finding out the reason for the reversal of her father’s decision about her marriage did nothing to ease the tumult in her brain.

  They sat in silence until Vena tapped and came in. ‘Will Grandmother be staying for supper? It’s nearly ready.’

  Bathie nodded. ‘Yes, she’ll be staying, and you can serve it now. There’s no sense in all of us going hungry.’

  When Vena went out, Henrietta leaned forward anxiously. ‘Bathia, I am sorry, I never meant to tell you . . .’

  ‘We all say things we don’t mean, when we’re upset.’

  ‘But telling you that about your father, and saying those awful things about Albert. I really do like him, you know. He kept his word and paid me back every penny of the loan, with interest I did not want.’

  ‘He’s an honourable man, Mother, and please don’t think it’s all his fault. I agreed with him, from the very first, that we’d have a large family, and I’m very happy with all my beautiful children.’

  Their tête-à-tête was brought to an end by the return of the two men from the Infirmary.

  ‘They said we were just in time,’ Albert informed them. ‘They’re going to operate as soon as they can.’

  Bathie kept her voice as calm as she could with Gavin’s eyes on her. ‘It’s a good thing you were here, Doctor.’

  He smiled stiffly. ‘Appendicitis is unusual in a man his age, but I was sure that it couldn’t be anything else.’

  At the table, while Henrietta was being profuse in her thanks to the doctor, Bathie turned to Albert.

  ‘Are you sure my father will be all right? You’re not keeping anything from me, are you?’

  ‘I’m telling you everything I know, my love. They told Gavin there shouldn’t be any problems, so don’t worry.’

  He squeezed her hand, but drew away hastily when he saw her glancing towards the other man.

  Bathie was ashamed that she’d made him jealous, and took his hand again, very deliberately, keeping her voice at its normal pitch as she said, ‘I love you, Albert.’

  She was conscious that Gavin was looking at her across the table, and that all other eyes were also on her, but she kept her head turned towards her husband.

  ‘It’ll always be you I love, Albert,’ she declared, ‘no matter what happens.’

  Chapter Twenty-three

  ‘It gives you a funny feeling when the king dies, doesn’t it? As if things are going to be different.’

  Bathie Ogilvie had been listening to her husband reading out the front page of the Aberdeen Journal.

  Albert nodded. ‘Aye, everything changes when there’s a new ruler to the country. Mind you, Edward was only king for nine years, and Victoria reigned for more than sixty. I wonder how long this George the Fifth’ll have?’

  ‘Edward would have had longer if his mother had let
him. Fancy making him wait till he was sixty before he was King.’

  Albert’s eyes twinkled. ‘She couldn’t die just to please him, though. Not even a Queen can do that.’

  Bathie was horrified. ‘What a thing to say. You know what I mean. She could have abdicated, couldn’t she?’

  ‘Aye, she could, I suppose, but she didn’t think Edward was fit to be king.’

  ‘Neither he was. Carrying on with women the way he did. Poor Alexandra must have been heartbroken.’

  ‘Royalty’s different from ordinary folk, Bathie.’

  ‘They’re not when it comes to things like that. I tell you, Albert, I couldn’t live with you if I thought you were carrying on with anybody else.’

  Her serious face made him laugh. ‘She’s got appearances to think of, that’s the difference. She was the queen, and the queen can’t leave her husband, no matter what he’s done.’

  ‘More’s the pity, then.’

  Bathie looked up as their eldest daughter walked into the parlour with her coat on. ‘You’re not going out again, are you, Ellie? That’s every night for about a fortnight.’

  ‘I think our Ellie’s got a steady lad.’ Albert winked and the girl blushed to the roots of her deep chestnut hair. ‘So I’m right, am I?’ He smiled indulgently.

  ‘I don’t want any of the rest to know, they’ll tease me.’ Ellie’s dark eyes pleaded with him.

  ‘We won’t tell them, but I’d like to know a bit about him.’ Albert felt rather jealous of this unknown youth who seemed to have captured his favourite daughter’s heart.

  ‘His name’s Jack Lornie, and he’ll be nineteen in two weeks. He’s very nice.’ She blushed again, deeper than before. ‘He’s a conductor on the tramways, and I got to know him when I was coming home from Ferryhill one night.’

  ‘How long have you been going with this one?’ Bathie was quite surprised that Ellie had been keeping it to herself. She was usually so open about all the boys who took her out, and only went with them once, as a rule.

  ‘Just over a month. I would have told you, Mother, but . . . I’ve always told you everything before. I never told you lies.’

  Bathie had assumed that the girl was meeting some of the friends she’d made through the church. ‘No,’ she admitted, ‘you never told any lies, but I’d have liked to know the truth.’

  Ellie smiled mischievously. ‘You know now.’

  Her step was springy when she went out, making Albert say sadly, ‘She’s not old enough to be going steady with a lad. I hope she’s not serious about him.’

  ‘Don’t act the heavy father,’ Bathie laughed. ‘She’s eighteen, two years older than I was when I married you.’

  ‘That was different.’

  ‘No, it wasn’t, and you can’t hold on to her for ever, even if she is your pet.’

  ‘She’s not my pet.’ Albert’s indignant expression softened into a smile. ‘Nothing goes past you, does it? I’ve always had a soft spot for Ellie, ever since she was born. Remember the trouble she used to get into when she was little?’

  ‘She’s always known her own mind, and, if she wants to, she’ll marry this boy, whatever we say, though we could be reading more into it than there really is. Let her have her way, Albert. If you try to stop her seeing him, she’ll just be more determined. You should know her by this time.’

  ‘Aye.’ He smiled crookedly. ‘She’s got a thrawn streak in her, the same as me.’

  Chuckling, Bathie said, ‘That’s true, and if we don’t interfere, she’ll maybe tire of him in a week or so.’

  Ellie didn’t tire of Jack Lornie, however, and her initial attraction to him developed into something much deeper over the weeks, until eventually she confided in Flo. ‘Don’t tell any of the rest, but I’m in love.’

  Flo’s reaction was all that she’d feared. ‘Oh, Ellie, you speak a lot of rubbish. You can’t be in love, you never go out with any boy long enough.’

  ‘That’s all you know.’ Ellie wished she hadn’t mentioned it, but it was too late now.

  ‘Father’ll go mad if he finds out.’

  ‘He knows, and Mother as well, for I told them about Jack ages ago, and they didn’t say anything.’

  ‘Jack? Jack who? And how did you meet him? You never said anything about him before.’

  Ellie told her all the details, then said, ‘I do love him, Flo, and I think he loves me.’

  ‘He must be daft, then.’

  ‘He’s not, he’s really nice, and I’m sure he wants to marry me. He hasn’t asked me yet, but I’ll say yes if he does.’

  ‘I bet he hasn’t even kissed you.’

  ‘He has so. Well, just little pecks when he takes me home, but he’ll do it properly one of these nights.’

  Flo sighed. ‘I feel uncomfortable when any boy speaks to me, though I haven’t met that many, really. I don’t even think I’d go out with one if he did ask me.’

  ‘You’ll know the right one when you meet him. Jack just looked at me when he took my fare, and I could feel a spark of something between us, maybe love at first sight. You’ll know what I mean when it happens to you.’

  ‘I don’t think it’ll ever happen to me.’ Flo screwed up her nose ruefully. ‘But you never know, it might.’

  Jack Lornie started a late shift the following night, so Ellie had to wait a full week before he took her out again. Luckily, it was a warm, dry evening, so they walked to the Bridge of Don, then along the beach, and while they strolled, Jack told her of his ambition to travel.

  ‘I’d like to go to France, and Germany, and Spain, just to see how the people live there. I often look at folk on the tram and try to imagine what kind of houses they live in, what they work at. Oh, it must sound silly to you.’

  ‘No, it doesn’t sound silly.’ Ellie had never thought along these lines herself, but it sounded interesting.

  ‘After that,’ his voice was high with excitement, ‘I’d like to see the rest of the world – America, Australia . . . ’

  He stopped, the light going out of his eyes. ‘Oh, Ellie, it’s only a dream. I’d have to work my passage, but it would mean I’d be away for years.’

  Ellie’s face fell. Years? She could hardly bear it when she didn’t see him for a week.

  He was still talking. ‘I don’t want to leave you, though.’

  ‘Take me with you.’ All practicalities were forgotten.

  ‘Oh, no!’ He sounded shocked. ‘It’d be bad enough for a man, but a girl . . . No, it’s impossible, Ellie.’

  Her racing thoughts halted. ‘What did you mean, when you said you didn’t want to leave me?’

  ‘Just what I said. I think I love you.’

  ‘Oh, Jack, I think I love you, too.’

  At last Ellie received the proper kisses she longed for. She’d known that they’d be wonderful, but hadn’t imagined that she could feel anything like this. Her hands slid up round his neck and she was aware of nothing but his body against hers.

  ‘If you only knew how much I’ve wanted to do this,’ he murmured. ‘But I was scared I’d frighten you.’

  ‘You wouldn’t have frightened me, I wanted you to do it.’

  His kisses became more passionate, and Ellie could hardly breathe for the thrill of them, so she wasn’t conscious of his arms slipping downwards until his hands reached the small of her back. When he held her so close, she could feel something big and hard pressing into her at the front, and a picture of Donnie came into her mind.

  She’d almost forgotten it. Donnie, panting and red faced, before he’d buttoned up his trousers to hide the huge thing she’d only caught a glimpse of.

  Jack looked puzzled when she shoved him away. ‘What’s wrong, Ellie? Have I frightened you with my kisses, after all?’

  ‘No, it’s not that. I remembered something. I’ll have to go home now, Jack, and don’t bother coming with me.’

  ‘All right, if that’s how you feel.’

  Her conscience pricked her at the hurt note in his vo
ice, but she stalked off, still trying to come to grips with the memory he’d evoked. She’d never learned the truth of what Donnie had been doing that night, so how could she find out if it was right or wrong for it to happen? And why it happened at all?

  She was about to cross Castle Street when she remembered one person who always answered her questions honestly. This was different, of course, but Grandma was her only hope.

  Nell was quite surprised to see her at that time of night, but Ellie often surprised her. ‘I was thinkin’ aboot goin’ to my bed, lass, but did you want to speak to me aboot somethin’?’

  Ellie hesitated, then decided she may as well ask now she was there. ‘Grandma, there’s something about boys I just don’t understand. I can’t ask Mother or Flo, but if I tell you what it is, will you tell me the truth and not laugh at me?’

  ‘I’ll do my best, Ellie.’ Nell smiled.

  The girl told her everything, and ended up, ‘So I want to know why their things grow big – Donnie wouldn’t tell me.’

  Her forthright attitude had alarmed Nell at first, but it proved how innocent Ellie was, so she did her best as she had promised, and explained the phenomenon as simply as she could.

  Ellie listened intently, then remarked, ‘So it’s not wrong for a boy to be like that, is it?’

  ‘It’s nae wrong, lassie, it’s very natural.’

  ‘Would Jack have wanted to put it inside me, like Charlie did to Vena? Donnie said that’s why they’d to get married.’

  Stifling the amusement she felt, Nell said, ‘If your Jack’s a decent laddie, he’ll nae do onything like that, even if he feels like it.’

  Ellie frowned. ‘It must be wrong if decent boys don’t . . .’

  ‘Oh, Ellie, you’d ask the breeks off a Heilan’man. It’s how bairns are made.’

  ‘Well, I wouldn’t want a baby before I was married, but did you mean that Jack grew big because he loved me?’

  Nell’s amusement burst out at that. ‘Oh, I’m sorry for laughin’, Ellie, an’, aye, I suppose that’s what I did mean.’ Her face straightened. ‘But keep yoursel’ pure, lassie. Dinna let him tak’ his way wi’ you, even if he wants to. Wait till you’re wed, an’ he’ll respect you for it.’