Betty laughed. ‘No way! I’d rather die.’
Chapter Twenty-seven
The only sound was the creaking of the cranes down on the dock and the odd jangling of chains on the Morry. Seamus gave each man very clear instructions.
‘One man every five steps,’ he whispered as his obedient dockers descended the steps. They needed no light, for it was a journey they made most days of their lives. The air was tense – the customs men could have walked out of the bond warehouse at any time and caught them red-handed.
Outside the pub, Jerry licked his lips, nervously, his mouth dry. ‘Conor should be on board by now,’ said Tommy.
‘Aye, it’s business as usual, Tommy. I can hardly believe my eyes you’re back. I feel like this is my lucky night. Where’s Maura? She’s the big organiser on the top, we’ve never done it without her before.’
‘She might have gone down the steps with Kathleen and Alice to look for Peggy, though I can’t believe Conor was right. I mean, who could confuse Peggy with a whore?’
Jerry shook his head. ‘I don’t know, it’s an odd one. I’m sorry for Maura that your return home has been spoilt by a haul, Tommy. Would have been nice if it could have been before you got here. Your wash house won’t be Maura’s own for a day or two.’
Tommy grinned. ‘Are you fecking kidding me or what? I’ve missed all this; it couldn’t be a better welcome home.’
After what felt like an eternity, Seamus let out the awaited whistle from the bottom of the steps to let Jerry know that everyone was in place and they were about to start unloading. The decision not to tell Paddy that Conor had seen Peggy down on the dockside had been taken by Tommy.
‘Nah, let the women go and check it out. They will be down and back up in twenty minutes.’
‘They’d better carry a few crates of rum each with them on the way back up,’ said Jerry and they both began to laugh at the thought.
‘I don’t know what you’re laughing at Jerry,’ said Tommy.
‘I’m laughing at what your mam and Alice would do to you if they heard you.’
*
Deirdre was washing the cups in Kathleen’s sink, Shelagh was drying and they were less than happy.
‘I’d just like to know what’s going on,’ said Deirdre. ‘We all go off looking for her, Kathleen pops into the pub to speak to Paddy and we all get sent back.’
Shelagh began to stack the cups and saucers. ‘Well, I suppose if that means they know where she is, so it doesn’t matter, does it, really?’
Mary was in the parlour, looking through the front window with Annie O’Prey and Biddy, who had heard Deirdre and shouted back, ‘We’ve got a job to do, Deirdre, you won’t be missing out.’
‘Look, Mary, there’s our Callum going down the steps. He’s strong, he is, can carry as much as two men together, he can.’
Mary saw Callum, lithe and quick, speak to Seamus, take his instructions and then disappear down the steps. She made no comment, but her heart stirred. Not in the way it had for Jimmy, but somewhere deeper and slower and she knew he was the one whose safe return she would be waiting for.
Deirdre came and stood next to them. ‘Has your da gone down, Mary?’
‘He has, he’s near the top though.’
‘He’ll be helping to run it round the back then, to Maura’s wash house.’
‘We will have a busy day on tomorrow, so we will, doling that lot out,’ said Biddy as the back door crashed open. ‘Sshh,’ said Biddy, without knowing who it was she was talking to. ‘There’s a haul on and everyone has to be quiet.’
Maura appeared not to have heard her; she was carrying a bundle in her arms and the bundle was wailing. ‘Shelagh, are you still feeding?’
Shelagh stood stock-still. ‘I am. But whose baby is that, Maura? I was the last to have a baby on the streets.’
‘No you weren’t, Shelagh, Peggy was. I just found this baby girl under the bed and I think poor Peggy has lost her mind.’
The women crowded around. ‘God love her,’ Shelagh said, ‘is this all there is on her?’ She turned to Mary and Nellie. ‘Girls, would you go to my house and bring me some nappies off the airer? There’s a jam jar with pins in it on the mantelpiece and a jar of zinc and castor oil there too. There’s a couple of winceyette nighties and vests on the airer. Oh, God love her! Sshh, sshh; there, don’t you be crying, baby, we’ve got you now. And if you knock on at Mrs Keating, ask her does she have any spare matinee coats and booties. Sure, she will give you a few, for she never stops knitting.’
Her orders given, Shelagh sat down on the comfortable chair next to the fire and, without a second thought, she undid the top buttons on her blouse and placed Peggy’s crying baby to her breast. The eyes of every woman in the room met and they blessed themselves. For the first time they feared for Peggy’s life…
*
Cindy and Reg returned to their table to find it empty. ‘Oh, they’ve gone,’ said Cindy. ‘Do you think they left together or separately?’
Reg rubbed his chin. ‘Well, that’s a difficult one. What do you think? Eric lives with a harridan who scares him and half of his customers to death and she’s lived alone for the past twenty years. I think they’ve definitely gone together, Cindy.’
Cindy gasped and then she grinned. ‘Well, I hope so; it’s about time she had a bit of fun. Now, Reg, sit down, I’ve been thinking.’
Reg grinned. ‘Oh, hang on, this calls for a top-up, don’t go away.’
Cindy turned to the fire and, bending down, picked up a log and threw it on. She lost herself in the soporific warmth and the flickering flames as she thought about what she was about
