Chapter Fifteen
Monty and Annie arrived punctually at the workhouse at three o’clock the following afternoon to find Nancy and Mrs Latimer waiting for them.
‘She’s feeling a little nervous as she’s never been in a car before,’ the housemistress explained as Nancy stood beside her shuffling from foot to foot.
‘Oh, I’m sure she’ll like it,’ Annie said reassuringly. ‘Nancy, this is my husband, Monty.’
‘I’m pleased to meet you.’ Extending his hand Monty smiled, and Nancy blushed as she shook it. ‘Now how about we go and have a look at where you might be living? Annie’s made a cake.’ He looked towards Mrs Latimer. ‘Will it be all right if we bring her back in a couple of hours?’
The woman nodded. ‘Yes, I have the address. I’ll see you later, Nancy.’
As they led Nancy outside, Annie chuckled and whispered to her, ‘She’s certainly a lot nicer than the housemistress who was in charge when I lived here.’
‘Yes, she’s all right is Mrs Latimer,’ Nancy agreed.
When they reached the car, she stared at it uncertainly, but she climbed in the back when Monty opened the door for her all the same. They set off and Annie was pleased to see Nancy starting to relax as she began to enjoy the ride a little.
‘Here we are then, home sweet home,’ Annie said when they pulled up outside the house in Attleborough Road. Nancy stared up at it in awe while Monty helped Annie and Adam out of the front seat, then led her through the front door.
Since moving in, Annie and Monty had worked tirelessly on the house and now every room was freshly decorated and comfortably furnished, and Nancy felt as if she had entered another world.
‘Monty, put Adam down,’ Annie told him. ‘Nancy might like to entertain him for us while you come and help me make the tea and get the cake. I’m sure she will find room for a slice.’
Monty did as he was asked and as they prepared a tray in the kitchen, they could hear Nancy chattering away to the baby and Alfred through the open door. ‘Well, Adam and Alfred certainly seem to have taken a shine to her,’ he commented.
‘Yes, they have, and I think she quite likes them too.’ Annie placed a large Victoria sponge cake, oozing with jam and cream, onto the tray and they went to join them.
Nancy was on her second slice when the door opened and Peggy breezed in.
‘Hello all,’ she greeted them as she crossed to Adam, who was sitting in his highchair, and affectionately ruffled his hair.
‘I thought I’d leave Eve in charge o’ the shops an’ drop round to see you all.
’ Annie had told her of Nancy’s visit and curiosity had got the better of her.
‘An’ how are you, pet?’ She smiled at Nancy.
‘Our Annie makes a nice cake, don’t she?
’ Peggy had stopped working at the workhouse some time ago, but she remembered Nancy, although she had been younger then.
Nancy nodded. They rarely got served cake at the workhouse and even when they did it never tasted as good as this.
‘So, how’s yer visit goin’? Has Annie showed yer where yer might be sleepin’ yet?’
‘No, I haven’t.’ Annie answered for her. ‘But when she’s finished that cake, you can pour yourself a cup of tea and keep Monty company while I take her up to see what she thinks of it.’
Minutes later she led Nancy upstairs and once on the first floor she nodded towards another staircase that led up to two rooms in the attic. She’d decorated and furnished one of them and hoped that Nancy would like it.
‘This would be your room,’ she told Nancy, throwing open the door. ‘I thought you’d feel more private up here and Adam won’t disturb you if he wakes in the night.’
Nancy stepped past her and gazed about. The floorboards had been painted white and there were patterned rugs scattered across them, and the bedspread and curtains were in a pretty floral material.
There was a highly polished wooden wardrobe standing against one wall and a small desk and chair next to it.
Beside the bed was a bedside table and a chest of drawers that matched the wardrobe.
The window overlooked the garden and there was a little cast iron fireplace with a fire burning in it.
Nancy sighed with delight. She had never seen a prettier room.
After the austere dormitory she slept in at the workhouse this was pure luxury.
‘I lit the fire in here to air it just in case you decide to give it a try,’ Annie explained. ‘But there’s no pressure.’
Nancy was smiling when she turned to face her and said, ‘I-I think I’d like to, if yer think I’ll do.’
Annie beamed. ‘I think you’ll do very well indeed.
Now come on, we’ll go down and tell the others the good news.
Oh, and the lady that just arrived is Peggy, by the way.
You probably won’t remember her, but she used to work at the workhouse.
She’s been like a mother to me since I was much younger than you and if you come to live here, you’ll be seeing a lot of her.
She’s the salt of the earth with a heart of pure gold. ’
‘Nancy has agreed to give us a trial,’ Annie told Monty and Peggy when they got back downstairs.
‘That’s lovely,’ Peggy approved. ‘An’ you’ll be ’ere fer Christmas.’
‘We’ll make all the arrangements with Mrs Latimer when we take you back,’ Monty told her, and she nodded. She had a feeling that she could be happy living here.
It was decided between them that Nancy would join them two days later and Annie was happy as she and Monty chatted about it that evening over a cup of cocoa.
‘She’s a nice girl, isn’t she?’
Monty nodded. His wife was sitting in her nightwear with her hair loose about her shoulders, in the glow of the fire. He felt like the luckiest man in the world and if it had made Annie happy, he would have taken half the children in the workhouse.
‘Of course, it will be some months before I’d think of leaving her with Adam and going back to work,’ Annie told him.
‘I shall want to feel quite sure that she can cope and look after him properly first, and even then, I doubt I’ll go back full-time until he’s a little older.
And I want Nancy to have a happy life too,’ she went on pensively as she thought of how she had felt when she was first taken from the workhouse.
‘It was a long time before I felt at home at the Lilburns’, and I don’t want Nancy to feel like that. ’
‘I agree.’ Monty nodded solemnly. ‘And I did notice that the poor child has quite a bad limp too. We’ll have to see if something can be done about it.’
Once again Annie was reminded of why she’d married him. He really was one of the kindest men she knew.
‘I did ask Mrs Latimer about her limp and she told me that Nancy had one leg slightly longer than the other. So yes, it would be wonderful if we could make things easier for her.’
As arranged, Monty and Annie went to fetch Nancy two days later. The girl was solemn as she said her goodbyes to Mrs Latimer and followed them out to their car, wondering what the future had in store for her.
Annie was saddened to see the few pitiful clothes she had in her bag and could hardly wait to start getting her some new things. She would do it tactfully though, so that she didn’t overwhelm her.
As soon as they entered the house and Annie had put Adam in his playpen Nancy tentatively offered, ‘Shall I make yer both a hot drink?’
‘No, I’ll do that,’ Annie told her with a smile. ‘You sit down and get yourself comfortable.’
Nancy looked anything but comfortable but she did as she was told and perched on the edge of the chair.
Soon after, as they all sat sipping their drinks, Annie told her, ‘You really don’t have to look so worried, Nancy.
I know everything must feel strange to you at the minute but hopefully you’ll soon settle in.
And please don’t think you’re only here to work.
We want you to look out for Adam when I’m not here and help about the house a little, but most of all we want you to feel part of our family.
Now, why don’t you go up to your room and put your things away? Can you remember where it is?’
Nancy nodded solemnly.
‘Good, and when you’ve done that come down and dinner should be ready. I’ve done us a shepherd’s pie.’
Nancy skittered away clutching her few measly possessions and when she’d gone Annie sighed. ‘Poor thing, she must feel like a fish out of water. I know I did when I first left the workhouse.’
‘She’ll soon settle,’ Monty said confidently. ‘And she’ll be someone for you to talk to when I’m at work.’
After just a few days, Annie felt as if Nancy had always been there. Adam adored her and she never tired of playing with him. Nancy couldn’t do enough for any of them and was smiling much more, which Annie took as a good sign.
After a week she took Nancy and Adam in his pram into town to buy the girl some new clothes, and Nancy was speechless at some of the pretty things Annie pointed out. They looked so colourful after the drab uniform she’d worn at the workhouse.
‘We’ll just get you some basics for today,’ Annie said. ‘A couple of outfits to wear in the day, underwear and nightwear, eh? Then perhaps next week we could find you something really pretty for going out in and to wear over Christmas. Oh, and you’ll need a nice warm coat and some decent shoes.’
She’d noticed as each day wore on that Nancy’s limp became more pronounced and she would constantly rub her hip as if it was paining her, so when they got home, she asked tactfully, ‘Have you always had that limp, Nancy?’
They were standing side by side at the kitchen sink preparing the vegetables for dinner while Adam had his afternoon nap.
Nancy kept her eyes lowered as she nodded. ‘Yes. I’ve got one leg longer than the other, see? That’s why I ’ave to sort o’ throw meself from side to side an’ it makes me hip ache after a time.’
It was exactly what Mrs Latimer had told her.
‘Hmm, then we’ll have to see if there’s anything we can do to improve that.
’ Annie recalled Peggy telling her that a young boy from the courtyards had suffered with exactly the same thing and that his family had found a cobbler who had made him a built-up shoe so that his legs were the same length.
She would speak to her about it and hopefully they would be able to do something similar for Nancy.
Nancy peeped at her from the corner of her eye.
She was getting used to sleeping on her own now, although it had seemed strange at first after sleeping in a dormitory full of other young people.
She was also realising that Annie had meant what she said when she told her that she wasn’t taking her to be a maid.
More than once, she’d suggested that Nancy should go out and make some friends of her own age, although she didn’t encourage it after dark.
Another poor girl had been found murdered with her throat cut just a couple of weeks ago.
Nancy hadn’t yet taken her up on her offer, even in daylight.
She was very self-conscious of her limp and was content to spend time with Annie at home.
She had now met all the people that Annie was close to: Eve and Davey, Susan, and Levi and Peggy, and they’d welcomed her like a long-lost member of the family.
The only person she didn’t like was Monty’s brother, Reggie.
They met him while taking Adam out for a walk one day and he looked her up and down as if there was a bad smell under his nose.
‘So, this is the waif you’ve taken under your wing, is it?’ he sneered. ‘I’m not surprised; you’ll have more in common with the scum that comes from the workhouse, seeing as you did too.’
‘Good day to you too, Reggie,’ Annie responded, walking away with her nose in the air.
‘Take no notice of him and try to keep out of his way,’ she told Nancy when he was out of earshot.
‘He’s Monty’s brother but you’d never believe it.
They’re as different as chalk and cheese, as you’ve just seen.
And he’s been worse since he was burnt in the war.
He’s got a chip on his shoulder as big as a house brick.
Unfortunately, his mother and father are little better.
You’ve got the pleasure of meeting them to come.
They’ve never thought I was good enough to marry their son because I came from the workhouse. ’
‘Did you always live there like me?’ Nancy questioned.
‘Yes, I was left on the doorstep shortly after birth, so I’ve never known who my parents were. What about you?’
‘Well, me ma died when I were just a few days old,’ Nancy said sadly. ‘But accordin’ to the notes they had on her she’d worked as a maid an’ the man o’ the house took advantage of her then threw her out when he knew she were havin’ a baby.’
‘How awful.’ Annie shook her head. It was a story she’d heard all too often. ‘Did your mother never say who he was?’
‘Oh yes, him an’ his missus lived in a posh house in Swan Lane by all accounts.’
Annie felt a shiver run up her spine. ‘Really – and did your mother leave his name?’
‘No, she just told ’em he had two sons.’
Annie clutched the handle of the pram as shock coursed through her. If what Nancy was saying was true, and she had no reason to lie, it could well be that Nancy was actually Monty’s half-sister.
‘Right, I think we ought to head back now,’ she suggested suddenly, and happy to comply Nancy followed her trustingly.
For the rest of the day Annie’s thoughts were all over the place.
Should she tell Monty what Nancy had confided, or should she keep it to herself?
She was painfully aware that her father-in-law was more than capable of taking advantage of a young maid, for hadn’t he done exactly the same to Eve, with tragic consequences?
He had got the poor girl pregnant and she had run away to live with Susan until returning to Nuneaton shortly before giving birth to a stillborn baby.
But she didn’t want to cause Monty pain and so she decided to sleep on it before making a decision.