‘Mummy,’ George said as he came running into the room, followed by a red-faced Frank. ‘Can we go and get the medals now?’
‘He’s run me ragged round that garden,’ Frank puffed. ‘You’ve got to listen to this. Tell your mum what you told me, George.’
‘The medals. Nanny told me where she hid them for safekeeping. Come on and I’ll show you,’ he said as he rushed out into the hall and headed upstairs.
Ruby frowned at Stella and Frank. ‘I have no idea what he’s thinking, but let’s go and see.’
They hurried up the steep staircase and found George in Milly’s bedroom. He was rummaging through the few clothes hanging in a wardrobe that had been left by the previous tenant.
‘He’ll be out of luck. Eddie went through that wardrobe last night. I remember straightening her clothes and closing the door while we were all up here,’ Stella said.
Ruby stopped dead. ‘George is right. Mum did hide the medals. She told me to look in the lining of her Sunday coat. With all that happened, it slipped my mind. I only remembered the box under the bed.’ Joining George in his search, she found a black woollen coat in the wardrobe, pulled it out and laid it on the bed. Running her fingers over a basket-shaped brooch, picked out with red and green beads, she smiled. ‘I gave this to Mum one Christmas. I couldn’t have been much older than George,’ she said.
Slipping her hands into the pockets, she pulled out a clean white handkerchief. ‘She never went anywhere without one.’
George hopped up and down in excitement. ‘Undo the buttons so we can see inside,’ he begged her.
Ruby did just that, and ran her hands down the lining until her fingers touched a couple of bumps close to a side seam. ‘I need some scissors,’ she said.
‘Here, use this.’ Frank handed over a small penknife.
Flicking up the blade, she picked carefully at a hand-stitched part of the seam. She let George put his small hand inside, and with glee he pulled out two fabric bags. Whoops of joy came from his lips as three medals pinned to ribbons were shaken loose from one of the bags. The other, Ruby tentatively picked up and emptied onto the bed.
Milly had been true to her word: there was money enough here to give her a good send-off, and some over for Ruby to use as she wished. No doubt she had left a little money in her box to fool anyone who was after taking her possessions. Amongst the notes was a neatly folded piece of paper with Ruby’s name on the outside.
‘I’ll read this later,’ she said, tucking it into the pocket of her skirt. She wanted to be alone when she read her mum’s final words. Pulling her son close, she said, ‘God bless Nanny, eh, George?’
8
New Year’s Eve 1905
Eddie Caselton stood in the shadows of the alleyway running between the terraced houses of Alexandra Road. From his vantage point across the road, he could see number thirteen. The curtains had yet to be drawn and as he stared at the bay window he caught a glimpse of his wife, Ruby. There was a smile on her face as she swayed from side to side. He could see she was singing, and kept looking down to where his son stood holding her hand. It wasn’t the first time he’d come back to check all was well, although he never knocked on the door or spoke to his family. He didn’t wish to be seen or to bring danger to their doorstep.
He hated what he’d done to them. If only they could understand his hand had been forced. If he hadn’t fled that night as his mother-in-law lay dying, Ruby might well have had two funerals to organize. Eddie had watched from afar as Milly was laid to rest shortly afterwards, and had been puzzled to see Ruby and George visit a nearby grave to place a posy of flowers before rejoining her sisters in the waiting carriage.
Once he was alone in the cemetery, he’d paid his own respects to his mother-in-law. Bowing his head, he begged her forgiveness and did his best to explain. It did him good to get things off his chest, even though she couldn’t hear or reply. Curiosity got the best of him, and he went over to read the headstone of the grave that Ruby and George had visited before they left. He scratched his head in puzzlement – the name of the woman meant nothing to him. He could see she had died around the time they’d moved to Erith, but still had no idea who she was.
As his eyes were drawn to the posy, he noticed a small engraving. Bending to move the flowers to one side, he saw the word ‘Sarah’. A fleeting memory came to him of his wife saying that the child she had lost would be called Sarah. Was this his daughter’s resting place? But why in this grave? Pondering, he stood up and looked out towards the River Thames. This town had prospects, and he hoped his wife and child would prosper. They were better off without him.
Deep in thought in the alleyway, Eddie was startled as doors suddenly began to open along Alexandra Road. Excited residents flowed into the street, some banging saucepans with wooden spoons while boats on the nearby river tooted their horns. Eddie pulled back further into the shadows, fearful of being spotted as the door to number thirteen opened. Amongst people flowing out of the door, he saw Ruby. She looked so pretty in the lamplight. Her dark hair was pulled high on her head, and she wore a dark purple dress befitting a woman in mourning. Despite her situation, she was smiling and laughing as residents clasped hands, forming a circle and starting to sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’. Eddie’s stomach clenched as
