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  His expression was hard as he looked at James and Grace, saying abruptly, ‘Get out of my sight. Go to your rooms.’

  ‘Alec, the bedrooms are freezing,’ Mavis protested.

  That was enough for Alec. How dare she undermine him! All his anger, all his shame at being hauled before his superior, was swiftly taken out on Mavis as the children fled the room in terror.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  ‘Come on, you little bruiser,’ Lily said as she lifted her son onto her lap. His chubby legs kicked, his hands clutched into fists, and Lily grinned. Bobby was certainly living up to his reputation. It was a new year, 1963, and he’d soon be six months old, yet still looked like a boxer. Bobby chuckled as Lily bounced him on her lap, dribble running down his chin, and Lily felt her heart would burst with love.

  When the front door opened Lily looked up, surprised to see Pete coming in. ‘What’s this? No work?’

  ‘It’s tipping down with rain and it ain’t safe to be up on the scaffolding. I told the blokes to bugger off home and I’ve done the same.’

  ‘You’ll still have to pay them.’

  ‘Don’t worry, we’re doing fine and I can stand the loss.’

  Lily smiled happily. Pete had finally started up his own business and so far he was doing really well. He loved being his own boss, relished the challenge, and what’s more he’d found a good crew to work for him.

  ‘Hello, Bobby, my boy,’ he said. ‘Give your daddy a smile.’

  The baby did just that and Pete grinned proudly. ‘Look at the size of those legs,’ he said, taking him from Lily’s arms.

  ‘Pete, I know you’ve only just come in, but when you’ve dried out and warmed up, would you take me over to see Mavis?’

  ‘You rang her yesterday and she put you off again.’

  ‘Yes, but on Sundays Alec’s there. If we go today he’ll be at work and it’ll give me a chance to find out what’s going on.’

  ‘Yeah, all right. Get yourself ready and we’ll go.’

  It was over an hour later when they arrived in Ellington Avenue and they were just in time to see Mavis hurrying along the street, clutching Grace’s hand, the child having to run to keep up with her mother.

  Lily handed Bobby to Pete, and then struggled to open her umbrella as she climbed out of the van. ‘Hello, Mavis.’

  ‘Mum! What are you doing here?’

  ‘Do I need a reason to visit my daughter?’ Lily asked brusquely, before she went round to the other side of the van, taking Bobby in her arms and doing her best to shield him from the rain.

  ‘I’ve just been to collect Grace from nursery and we’re soaked. Let’s get inside,’ Mavis urged.

  Lily moved quickly and with Pete behind her she shoved her umbrella at him as she followed Mavis into the house. He stood on the step, shaking it madly, while Mavis took off Grace’s wet coat, and then her own.

  Lily did the same and as Mavis took it from her, Lily opened the living room door, only to stop in her tracks.

  ‘Don’t go in there, Mum. It’s warmer in the kitchen.’

  ‘What’s going on? Why haven’t you turned this back into your living room?’

  ‘Because Alec won’t let me.’

  ‘Won’t let you? What do you mean?’ Lily asked as she followed Mavis to the kitchen. A lovely fire was burning in the grate and Lily sat next to it, Bobby in her arms. ‘Pete, get that wet coat off and sit down too,’ she ordered as he hovered uncertainly.

  ‘Yes, give it to me and I’ll hang it up,’ Mavis suggested.

  As soon as her daughter returned, Lily said, ‘Now then, Mavis, I asked you about Edith’s room.’

  ‘Alec just wants it left as it is.’

  ‘That’s bloody daft.’

  ‘I dunno, Lily,’ Pete said. ‘Grief takes people in different ways. My old mum hung on to my dad’s clothes for years. She said she could still smell him on them and refused to let us chuck them away.’

  ‘Clothes, yeah, I can sort of understand that. But a whole room? It’s like he’s turned it into some sort of shrine. It ain’t healthy.’

  ‘It’s been under six months, Lily. Give the bloke time.’

  Grace was fascinated by Bobby, and now that he could sit up Lily placed him on the rug. Bobby was equally fascinated, his hands reaching out to grab Grace as he chuckled happily.

  ‘I…I’ll make you a cup of tea,’ Mavis said.

  Lily frowned. Her daughter looked awful, pale and thin. ‘What’s going on, Mavis?’

  ‘Going on? I don’t know what you mean.’

  ‘Don’t act all innocent with me, my girl. You ain’t been yourself for ages.’

  ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘No, you’re not. Now tell me what’s going on,’ Lily demanded again.

  ‘Mum, please, don’t bully me,’ Mavis begged as she turned away. ‘I can’t take any more, I really can’t.’

  ‘What are you talking about? I’m not bullying you,’ Lily said as stood up to walk over to Mavis. She took her daughter’s arm, turning Mavis to face her, but couldn’t fail to miss her wince of pain. ‘Sorry, love, I didn’t mean to hurt you.’

  ‘Daddy hurts Mummy,’ Grace said.

  Shocked, Lily spun round. ‘What do you mean, darling?’

  ‘No, Grace. No, he doesn’t,’ Mavis said hurriedly.

  ‘He smacks Mummy.’

  Lily took her daughter’s arm again, and though Mavis tried to resist, she pushed up the sleeve of her jumper, eyes boggling. ‘My God, look at those bruises. Did Alec do that?’

  ‘No, no, I fell over, that’s all.’

  ‘Don’t take me for a mug, Mavis. Tell me the truth.’

  Mavis lowered her eyes, paused, but then said, ‘All right, Alec did it, but he didn’t mean to bruise me. He just gripped my arms a little too tightly, that’s all.’

  Lily didn’t believe her daughter, and shook her head impatiently. ‘That isn’t what Grace said.’

  ‘Mum, she’s just a child.’

  ‘Grace has seen something, that’s for sure, and it isn’t Alec just gripping your arms,’ Lily snapped as the awful truth gripped her mind. The doorbell rang, and impatiently she said, ‘You stay where you are. I’ll get it.’

  Lily was soon at the front door where she yanked it open to peer at the young woman standing there, an umbrella held over her head. Though it had been a long time since she’d seen her daughter’s friend and neighbour, she recognised her. ‘It’s Jenny, isn’t it? Come in,’ Lily said.

  ‘No, it’s all right, I’ll go. I usually pop round for a coffee about this time, or Mavis comes to my place. I didn’t realise she had visitors today.’

  Lily wondered if Jenny knew what was going on, and leaning forward she said quietly, ‘Grace has just told me that Alec hits Mavis. Do you know anything about it?’

  Jenny’s eyes rounded. ‘Hits her? No, surely not? I know Alec can be difficult, but he just doesn’t seem the type. What does Mavis say about it?’

  ‘She denied it, of course, but I saw some nasty bruises on her arm.’

  ‘Bruises? I don’t like the sound of that.’

  Lily’s eyes narrowed in thought. ‘I’d like to get to the bottom of this, but I doubt Mavis will talk about it in front of Grace. I know she’s fond of you and if I bring her round to your place, between us we might be able to get her to open up. Pete’s here with me and he won’t mind keeping an eye on Grace.’

  ‘You’re on,’ Jenny said. ‘I’ll shoot back home, but you’ll have to think up some sort of excuse for coming round.’

  ‘Leave it to me,’ Lily said, thinking hard as she hurried back to the kitchen and was pleased when she came up with an answer. ‘Pete, would you mind looking after Grace and Bobby? We won’t be long, but Jenny next door is in a bit of a state and needs a bit of help.’

  ‘Jenny! What’s wrong with her?’ Mavis asked worriedly.

  ‘I’ve just said, ain’t I? She needs a bit of help. Now come on, Mavis, get a move on.’ With that Lily rushed out
again, leaving Pete looking bemused; but thankfully Mavis followed her.

  ‘Mum, is Jenny all right?’

  ‘You’ll see in a minute,’ Lily said and they hurried next door.

  Jenny was waiting to usher them inside, saying nothing as she led them to the kitchen. Once there she said, ‘Please, both of you, sit down.’

  ‘Jenny, what’s wrong?’ Mavis asked anxiously.

  ‘With me, nothing. It’s you we’re worried about.’

  ‘Me! But why? I’m fine.’

  ‘No, you’re not,’ Lily said firmly. ‘Now, tell me the truth. How did you get those bruises on your arm?’

  ‘I…I can’t tell you.’

  ‘Don’t be daft. Of course you can.’

  ‘Alec, he…he’d take it out on James or Grace.’

  Jenny gasped. ‘Oh, no! I saw bruises on James when he was staying with us and suspected that Alec was heavy-handed. He hits him too, doesn’t he?’

  ‘No, no, he used to smack James, but not any more, not now. It…it’s only me.’ And now that she had started, something in Mavis broke. It all came out as, between sobs, she told them everything while Lily and Jenny listened in horror.

  Lily was rigid with anger. How dare he? How dare Alec hit her daughter? She wasn’t going to stand for this and her need to protect her daughter became all-consuming. It was then that the truth hit Lily in a rush. She loved Mavis, really loved her, but it had taken this to wake her up. Maybe it was the life she’d once been forced to lead, the need to flog her guts out to keep a roof over their heads, along with the way that Ron had always let her down. She’d been too wrapped up in herself, ashamed of her so-called backward daughter, so unhappy that she had taken her pain out on Mavis. Selfish, self-centred, that’s what she’d been and now the thought sickened Lily. She had pushed Mavis away instead of loving her. Yet the love must have always been there—how else could she be feeling it now?

  ‘Oh, Mum, what am I going to do now? If Alec finds out I’ve told you, he’ll go mad.’

  ‘You leave him to me. He won’t touch you again, I’ll see to that.’

  ‘No, Mum, please. I have to live with him and if you say anything, it’ll make things worse.’

  ‘No, Mavis, you don’t have to live with him. You ain’t alone, you’ve got me, and I’ll sort something out.’

  ‘How, Mum? You haven’t got room for me and I’ve nowhere else to go.’

  Lily wanted to take Mavis and the children in, to keep them near to her, and even if they had to sleep on the floor, she’d find a way. Wait, though, there was a solution. Her eyes lit up. ‘Mavis, the house next door to me is still empty. I’ll have a word with the landlord; ask him if you can rent it.’

  Mavis dashed the tears from her cheeks. ‘And how am I supposed to pay the rent, or support the children? I haven’t any money of my own.’

  ‘I’ll pay it. I’ll support you.’

  ‘No, Mum, I can’t let you do that.’

  Lily crouched down in front of her daughter. She’d been a bad mother, had taken every penny that Mavis had earned and, if wasn’t for her, the girl wouldn’t have felt forced to marry Alec Pugh. Unlike Mavis, Lily knew that life had been kind to her since then, and, thanks to Pete’s generosity, she had a nice little nest egg tucked away.

  ‘Listen, love,’ Lily said. ‘I know I wasn’t much of a mother, but give me a chance to make it up to you. I’m not hard up and, anyway, once you file for divorce that bastard will be made to support you and the kids.’

  ‘I…I don’t know, Mum. I haven’t got any furniture, and I can’t ask you to buy any. Yes, I’d love to be able to leave him, to take the kids somewhere safe, but it doesn’t seem right to ask you to support us.’

  ‘You’re not asking. I’m offering. As for furniture, once we know you’ve got the house I can soon pick up some second-hand stuff for next to nothing,’ Lily said as she rose to her feet. ‘In the meantime I’ll put Bobby in with me and Pete, but I haven’t got any spare beds. We’ll have to sort something out, if only mattresses on the floor, so let’s hope we can get hold of some and quickly. The room’s only tiny and it’ll be a bit of a squash, but it shouldn’t be for long.’

  ‘I can’t believe this,’ Mavis said, her expression bewildered. ‘I’m leaving Alec? Really leaving him?’

  ‘I could have you here for a while, Mavis, but I doubt you want to stay that close to Alec,’ Jenny said, but then her face took on an animated expression. ‘Hold on, I might have just the answer. Lily, would you mind if Pete runs me down to my cousin’s yard?’

  ‘No, but what for?’

  ‘Willy’s got a flat in Wandsworth, and I’m sure if I tell him the circumstances he won’t mind letting Mavis and the kids have it for a while. He can move back in here and problem solved.’

  ‘I dunno,’ Lily said. ‘I’d prefer to have them with me.’

  ‘It’s not just Mavis and the children. It’s all their things too, clothes, toys.’

  ‘We don’t have to take everything now. Just a few bits would do.’

  ‘You don’t know how Alec’s going to react. When he finds out that Mavis has left him I think he’ll be furious, vindictive enough to chuck everything out.’

  ‘He wouldn’t dare,’ Lily snapped.

  ‘You can’t be sure of that.’

  With so much going on in her mind, Lily couldn’t think straight. ‘Mavis, what do you think?’

  Mavis blinked, the bemused look at last leaving her eyes as she said, ‘Mum, I’d love to come to Peckham now, but Jenny’s right. Alec’s cruel enough to destroy all our things and I’d rather take as much as we can now. Once we’re living next door to you and Pete, he wouldn’t dare to come near us, but until then, as long as Alec can’t find us, the flat might be all right.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Jenny said. ‘You’ll be safe there until you can move to Peckham.’

  ‘All right, Mavis,’ Lily reluctantly agreed, ‘if you want to take all your stuff, it’ll have to be the flat for now.’

  ‘Right, you start packing while I go and get Willy’s keys,’ Jenny said.

  ‘He hasn’t agreed yet,’ Lily warned.

  ‘He will. I know my cousin and he’s a smashing bloke.’

  They all trooped next door where Mavis ran upstairs to pack, while Lily took Pete to one side. She told him what happened, and, though he at first looked angry on Mavis’s behalf, he quickly agreed to drive Jenny to her cousin’s yard.

  ‘Yeah, I’ll do it, Lily, but Alec Pugh ain’t getting away with this. I’ll leave it for now, just until we get Mavis sorted out, but then I’ll be back to sort the bastard out.’

  ‘You and me both, Pete,’ she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. ‘But won’t it be nice to have Mavis and my grandchildren living next door?’

  ‘Yes, love,’ Pete agreed before going with Jenny to the van, leaving Lily praying that the house was still available.

  Mavis had stuffed James’s clothes into a suitcase, and now started on Grace’s. She felt as though she was in some kind of wonderful dream, but that at any moment she’d wake up into the nightmare of reality.

  Toys, she had to take as many toys as possible, but needed some large boxes. Why wouldn’t her mind function? Why was she running around like a headless chicken? She was getting away from this house, from Alec, but please, if this is a dream, she prayed, don’t let me wake up. Let it go on forever.

  ‘How are you getting on, love?’

  Mavis spun round. ‘Oh, Mum, is this really happening?’

  ‘Of course it is. Now I’d like to help, but I’ve got my hands full with Grace and Bobby.’

  ‘Can…can you really afford to support us?’

  ‘Stop worrying, love. Since I’ve been with Pete I’ve been tucking money away. Money he knows nothing about.’

  ‘But why?’

  ‘To be honest, I wanted a little nest egg in case things didn’t work out between us. I didn’t want to go back to how things were before, living hand to mouth
and trying to make ends meet by flogging other people’s junk.’

  ‘But surely you’re happy with Pete?’

  ‘Yes, of course I am, but putting money aside got to be a sort of habit, I suppose. I know that me and Pete are set for life, and as he’s always generous I’ve never had to touch me nest egg. Honestly, love, you’re welcome to it.’

  ‘Oh, Mum…’ Mavis said, hardly aware that Grace was taking her toys out of a box she had just started to fill.

  ‘Now don’t start crying again. You need to get the rest of your stuff sorted out, and then once we’ve picked James up from school, we’ll be off.’

  ‘I’ll never get it done in time. I haven’t even started on my clothes yet.’

  ‘Pete can always come back later to fetch the rest.’

  ‘Alec might not let him in.’

  ‘Huh, he won’t be able to stop him. Men who hit women are nothing but cowards and, believe me, Alec won’t be able to stand up to a man, especially one like Pete.’

  Mavis hoped her mother was right, but what did it matter if she had to leave some of her things behind? She was going to be free of this house, free of fear, and she and the children were starting a new life. Oh, it was wonderful, wonderful, and for the first time in months she found herself smiling.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  It had been a mad dash to get the van loaded while Jenny volunteered to bring James home from school. Alec wasn’t due home for hours yet, but Mavis was frantic to leave as soon as possible, fearful that fate would deal her another blow and for some unknown reason, he’d come home early. She was being silly, she knew that. Pete would protect her, but she didn’t want the children to witness yet another scene and her heart thumped in her chest as she urged them into the back of the van.

  ‘I’ll be over later with my cousin,’ Jenny said as she handed Mavis the keys to his flat. ‘Willy will need to pick up a few things.’

  ‘All right, I’ll see you then,’ Mavis said as she gave Jenny a hug.

  With Lily in the front, Bobby in her arms, Pete now urged, ‘Right, Mavis. Are you ready?’