Chapter Twenty-Six
Nancy was helping Annie dust the shelves in the shop the next morning when the bell above the door tinkled and a delivery boy bearing the most enormous bouquet of red roses entered.
‘Mrs Annie Taylor-Lloyd?’
‘Y-yes that’s me.’ Annie was so shocked her voice came out as a squeak as the boy handed her the flowers and departed.
‘Cor! Who are they from?’ Nancy asked excitedly. ‘Look, there’s a little card there.’
Annie extracted the card and laid the flowers on the counter while she opened it, blushing furiously.
‘Oh, they’re, er . . . from a friend of Marie’s. I met him last night at her dinner party.’
Nancy grinned. ‘Well, he must ’ave liked yer. What was he like an’ what’s ’is name?’
‘He was a very nice man and his name is Simon,’ Annie informed her primly as she pushed the card into the pocket of her skirt. ‘Why don’t you go and fetch a vase from upstairs for these? They’ll look nice on the counter.’
While Nancy was gone, she retrieved the card and quickly read it again with a little smile on her face. Thank you so much for a lovely evening, Simon xx
Once Nancy had arranged them in a vase, the blooms looked beautiful on the counter and soon the shop was full of the scent of them.
‘So, what’s this Simon like? I mean what does he look like an’ how old is he?’ Nancy questioned. Adam was having a nap, so she was happy to help Annie for a while. She was also very curious.
Annie blushed again. ‘Well, er . . . he’s a bit older than me I should think, and quite tall.’
‘An’ is he good-lookin’?’
‘I suppose he is, but don’t let your imagination get running away with you,’ Annie warned. ‘I’m sure he’s just being friendly.’
‘But it would be nice if yer could meet someone to go out with from time to time. All you ever do is work,’ Nancy said cautiously. ‘What I mean is . . . I think Monty would ’ave liked yer to be ’appy.’
‘I think it’s far too soon for me to be thinking along those lines,’ Annie said more sharply than she’d intended to. ‘Anyway, why don’t you tell me how things were last night.’
Nancy shrugged. ‘Everythin’ were fine except . . .’ She chewed on her lip, wondering if she should say anything.
‘Go on,’ Annie urged.
‘It’s nothin’ really, I don’t suppose, but I glanced out o’ the window about nine o’clock an’ there were someone standin’ in the shop doorway over the road. I got the feelin’ they were watchin’ our shop.’
Annie frowned. ‘Was it a man or a woman?’
‘It were too dark to tell, they stayed in the shadows an’ they ’ad a hat pulled low over their face. They stayed there for a good hour or more an’ then when I checked again, they’d gone. It were probably just some tramp havin’ a rest.’
‘Yes, I’m sure it was,’ Annie reassured her, but she was troubled all the same.
On a few occasions she’d seen someone there in the dark and she shuddered as she wondered if Reggie might have somehow found out where the shop was.
It was just the sort of thing he would do.
A customer entered the shop at that moment and there was no more time to think as Annie bustled away to serve them and Nancy went back upstairs to watch over Adam.
Marie called in during the afternoon, and like Nancy she was curious to know how Annie had got on with Simon Walters.
She grinned as she eyed the beautiful roses. ‘From Simon by any chance?’ Her eyes were twinkling with mischief.
Annie blushed like a schoolgirl and nodded.
‘I could tell he liked you,’ Marie teased. ‘And what did you think of him?’
Annie sighed. ‘He’s very nice but I’m not ready to be in another relationship yet, so don’t get building your hopes up. I’ll be quite happy to have Simon as a friend, but that’s it.’
‘We shall see,’ Marie teased before going to sift through Annie’s new stock.
Late the following afternoon, as Annie was preparing to close the shop, the door opened and Simon appeared armed with a huge box of chocolates.
Annie didn’t quite know what to say, so she merely mumbled, ‘Er . . . thank you. And for the flowers too.’
‘You’re very welcome. I was wondering if you’d care to join me for a meal this evening?’ Simon asked.
‘That’s very kind of you, but I’m afraid I can’t make it this evening.’
‘Oh, I see.’ He couldn’t hide the look of disappointment that flitted across his face and she felt a little guilty. Even so she didn’t want to lead him on.
‘Perhaps another time?’ she suggested tentatively. ‘I’m actually quite busy now that the shop’s getting more customers in, so I like to spend as much time as I can with Adam and Nancy in the evenings.’
‘Yes, of course. I’m delighted to hear that the business is doing well,’ he said kindly.
Alfred came bounding in at that moment with his tail wagging wildly and Simon bent to stroke him. Annie felt herself warming to him again; he really was a very nice man and good-looking too.
‘Alfred out, you know you’re not supposed to be in here,’ Annie scolded as she ushered him out to the kitchen.
Simon laughed. ‘It certainly looks like you have your hands full with one thing and another, so I’ll say goodbye for now. I could perhaps pop in again one day next week to see if you have any free time?’
‘That would be very nice, and thanks again.’ Annie saw him to the door and once it had shut behind him, she turned the sign to ‘Closed’ and sighed.
Why was it, she wondered, that when she saw Simon, she found herself comparing him to Alex?
Comparing every man she met to Alex if it came to that!
He was nothing more than a beautiful memory now – a part of her past, so why did she still think of him every day?
But then how could she not when every time she looked at Adam, she was reminded of him?
With a shake of her head, she turned off the lights and after checking that the door was securely locked, she made her way up to Nancy and Adam.
The following night, Annie was lying in bed half asleep when she heard Nancy potter across the landing and down the stairs.
No doubt she was going to the toilet in the yard.
Annie had told her on more than one occasion that she had no objections to her having a chamber pot beneath the bed if she didn’t want to go out in the dark, but Nancy wouldn’t have it.
‘Ugh!’ Her face had showed what she thought of that idea. ‘Yuck, and then yer’d ’ave to empty it in the mornin’. No, thanks very much, I’d rather go outside.’
‘So use the toilet in the bathroom?’ Annie urged.
Again Nancy had shaken her head. ‘No, cos then I’d ’ave to pull the chain an’ it’d wake Adam up.’
Fully awake now, Annie lay listening for Nancy.
She wouldn’t settle until she was sure she was safely back inside.
The only sound to be heard was the ticking of the clock on the bedside table, but as the minutes ticked away, Annie got concerned and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
Nancy had been gone for an awfully long time.
Perhaps she’d decided to make herself a hot drink before coming upstairs?
Deciding that she’d go and check on her she slid her feet into her slippers and pulled her dressing robe on before hurrying down the dark staircase.
As she entered the kitchen, she saw the back door swinging open and frowned.
There was no sign of Nancy and a squirm of unease started in her stomach.
Glancing around she looked for something to arm herself with before venturing outside.
Her eyes lit on a heavy saucepan, and she snatched it up and made her way over to the open door.
‘Nancy!’ Her voice echoed eerily around the small yard but there was no answer, so she moved forward cautiously.
It was then that a dark figure suddenly appeared out of the darkness and hurtled past her.
Taken unawares, she toppled backwards and landed in a most unladylike heap on the grass.
By the time she’d clambered to her feet, whoever had been there had gone, leaving the gate swinging wide open.
Annie didn’t attempt to follow them. She was more concerned about Nancy and she almost flew down the path to the outside toilet.
When she saw a still form lying on the ground, a cry of terror escaped her.
It was Nancy and she wasn’t moving. But who could have done this to her and why?
Nancy was such a lovely young woman and everyone who met her fell in love with her sunny personality.
‘Oh Nancy . . . Nancy.’ Dropping onto her knees beside her, Annie lifted the girl’s head and laid it in her lap as tears coursed down her face. Nancy slowly opened her eyes and blinked up at her.
Annie gasped with relief. For a terrible moment she’d thought she was dead. ‘Oh sweetheart, you gave me a fright. What happened?’
‘I-I don’t know. I was just goin’ into the loo when someone smashed me on the ’ead from behind,’ she groaned.
‘Let’s get you inside before you catch your death of cold,’ Annie said with a last fearful glance towards the gate. Somehow, she managed to get Nancy back upstairs and sitting on the sofa.
Alfred was still asleep on the hearth rug where she’d left him and she shook her head at him. ‘Some guard dog you’ve turned out to be,’ she scolded. ‘Right, I’m going to make you a hot drink. Don’t move,’ she warned Nancy.
Downstairs, she crept down the garden to lock the gate before hurrying back into the kitchen to lock the door there too. Ten minutes later, she carried a tray of tea back upstairs.
‘At least they haven’t cut you,’ she told Nancy as she parted her hair and stared at the back of her head.
‘But you’ve got a whopping great lump coming up.
I think we’ll get the doctor to have a look at you in the morning, just to be on the safe side.
I wouldn’t mind betting you’ll have a raging headache come morning.
Are you quite sure you didn’t see who did it?
Oh, and take this coat off now you’re back inside. ’
‘It’s your coat actually,’ Nancy said apologetically. ‘It was hanging on the back of the door, and I slipped it on cos it was a bit nippy. I ’ope it ’asn’t been damaged.’
‘Oh, that’s the least of my worries at present.’ It was only as she helped Nancy off with the coat that a thought occurred to her and she frowned. Could it be that whoever had been in wait out there had thought it was her visiting the toilet?
A shudder ran up her spine as a picture of Reggie’s disfigured face flashed before her eyes.
He was the only one she could think of who might want to harm her.
She still suspected him of starting the fire that they had in the shop in Nuneaton, but she had no proof.
For now, though, she could only hope he hadn’t discovered where she was.
Hiding her concern as best she could, she pressed the hot, sweet tea into Nancy’s trembling hands. Peggy had always insisted that sweet tea was the best thing for shock. The poor girl was shaking like a leaf, and it was no wonder.
Eventually Annie led her back to bed and tucked the blankets around her. ‘Have a lie-in in the morning. I shall get Adam up then go for the doctor.’
‘But that will make yer late opening the shop,’ Nancy objected.
Annie bent to kiss her forehead. ‘So what? It won’t hurt for once. Now, you just try to get some sleep. You’re quite safe.’
Despite her brave words, Annie stayed up for the rest of the night, gripping the poker and keeping a watchful eye on the street below, just in case whoever had attacked Nancy decided to come back.
Annie was relieved the next morning when the doctor informed her that Nancy had suffered no permanent damage. ‘She probably just disturbed some chancer who’d decided to break in to see what they could steal,’ he told Annie as he snapped his bag shut.
‘Yes . . . yes you’re probably right,’ Annie answered, but she wasn’t so sure and promised herself that she would be extra vigilant from then on.