pocket.’
Ruby had never heard of a moonlight flit, but got the meaning. She didn’t have half a crown, but she was wearing the gold watch Emily had bought for her birthday which had cost five guineas. She’d offer Mrs Howlett the watch as a deposit until she earned enough to pay the rent.
‘I hope she lets you have it,’ the girl said wistfully. ‘It’d be nice to have young people for a change.’
The front door opened and a voice shouted, ‘Dolly!’
‘I’m upstairs, Mam,’ the girl shouted back. ‘There’s people here about the room.’
‘Coming.’ Mrs Howlett puffed up the stairs like a train. She appeared in the doorway, a big, stout woman, red-faced from her exertions. Her small eyes took in the young couple, Ruby sitting on the bed, Jacob hunched and awkward, wishing he were anywhere else in the world.
‘Where’s your luggage?’ she snapped.
‘We haven’t got—’ Ruby began.
‘And where’s your wedding ring?’
‘I haven’t—’
Mrs Howlett gestured angrily towards the stairs. ‘Get out me house immediately. I’m not having the likes of you under me roof.’
‘But—’
‘Out!’ the landlady said imperiously.
It was the first time Jacob had ever seen Ruby stuck for words. She drew herself to her full height, tossed her head, and stalked downstairs. By the time she reached the bottom she must have recovered her composure, because she said in her loudest, most penetrating voice, ‘Come on, Jacob. This place is a pigsty. I wouldn’t live here if they paid me.’
They were outside, on the pavement, it was raining properly now, and Ruby was shaking, her face the colour of a ripe plum. Jacob longed to comfort her, as she had comforted him during the night, but nothing in his body seemed to be working, only his legs, which stumbled after Ruby wherever she chose to take him.
She took his hand. ‘What shall we do now?’ she whispered. It didn’t feel like an adventure any more.
Jacob’s head drooped. He didn’t know.
The door of the house from which they’d just been evicted opened and Dolly crept stealthily out. ‘Me mam’s gone to the lavvy.’ She touched Ruby’s hand. ‘I’m sorry, luv. I would have liked you to have the room, but mam’s a stickler for convention.’
‘She’s got awful manners,’ Ruby said spiritedly.
‘I know.’ Dolly sniffed. ‘And I’ve got to live with ’em, an’ all. Would you like a piece of advice, luv?’ She ignored Jacob. Perhaps she thought him deaf and dumb as well as useless.
‘What sort of advice?’ Ruby enquired.
‘If I were you, I’d buy meself a wedding ring from Woollies. They only cost a tanner.’
‘I will, thanks. We only got married yesterday,’ she lied shamelessly. ‘It was very sudden and we couldn’t afford to buy a proper ring. I didn’t realise you could get them for sixpence.’
‘Good luck – what’s your name, luv?’
‘Ruby.’
‘Good luck, Ruby.’
Dolly smiled and was about to leave when Ruby said, ‘Do you know if there’s a room going anywhere else?’
‘No, luv. There’s bed and breakfast places around, though they might get a bit sniffy if you haven’t got luggage and a ring. Anyroad, have you got the money?’
Ruby made a face. ‘Only tenpence.’
‘That’s not nearly enough. Mind you, if you’re stuck for cash, you could always pawn that lovely watch. In the meantime, you could try Charlie Murphy in Foster Court, number 2. He charges by the night, only thruppence, and he won’t care if you’re wearing a ring or not. But I warn you, it’s a terrible fleapit. Scarcely fit for human beings to live in.’
‘Your mam’s just made me feel less than human, so that won’t matter all that much.’
In all the times she had happily roamed the streets of the Dingle, Ruby had never come across anywhere like Foster Court. It was hidden, out of sight, between a billiard hall and a butcher’s, a narrow alley, barely six feet wide, with a handful of four-storey dwellings
Ruby had never heard of a moonlight flit, but got the meaning. She didn’t have half a crown, but she was wearing the gold watch Emily had bought for her birthday which had cost five guineas. She’d offer Mrs Howlett the watch as a deposit until she earned enough to pay the rent.
‘I hope she lets you have it,’ the girl said wistfully. ‘It’d be nice to have young people for a change.’
The front door opened and a voice shouted, ‘Dolly!’
‘I’m upstairs, Mam,’ the girl shouted back. ‘There’s people here about the room.’
‘Coming.’ Mrs Howlett puffed up the stairs like a train. She appeared in the doorway, a big, stout woman, red-faced from her exertions. Her small eyes took in the young couple, Ruby sitting on the bed, Jacob hunched and awkward, wishing he were anywhere else in the world.
‘Where’s your luggage?’ she snapped.
‘We haven’t got—’ Ruby began.
‘And where’s your wedding ring?’
‘I haven’t—’
Mrs Howlett gestured angrily towards the stairs. ‘Get out me house immediately. I’m not having the likes of you under me roof.’
‘But—’
‘Out!’ the landlady said imperiously.
It was the first time Jacob had ever seen Ruby stuck for words. She drew herself to her full height, tossed her head, and stalked downstairs. By the time she reached the bottom she must have recovered her composure, because she said in her loudest, most penetrating voice, ‘Come on, Jacob. This place is a pigsty. I wouldn’t live here if they paid me.’
They were outside, on the pavement, it was raining properly now, and Ruby was shaking, her face the colour of a ripe plum. Jacob longed to comfort her, as she had comforted him during the night, but nothing in his body seemed to be working, only his legs, which stumbled after Ruby wherever she chose to take him.
She took his hand. ‘What shall we do now?’ she whispered. It didn’t feel like an adventure any more.
Jacob’s head drooped. He didn’t know.
The door of the house from which they’d just been evicted opened and Dolly crept stealthily out. ‘Me mam’s gone to the lavvy.’ She touched Ruby’s hand. ‘I’m sorry, luv. I would have liked you to have the room, but mam’s a stickler for convention.’
‘She’s got awful manners,’ Ruby said spiritedly.
‘I know.’ Dolly sniffed. ‘And I’ve got to live with ’em, an’ all. Would you like a piece of advice, luv?’ She ignored Jacob. Perhaps she thought him deaf and dumb as well as useless.
‘What sort of advice?’ Ruby enquired.
‘If I were you, I’d buy meself a wedding ring from Woollies. They only cost a tanner.’
‘I will, thanks. We only got married yesterday,’ she lied shamelessly. ‘It was very sudden and we couldn’t afford to buy a proper ring. I didn’t realise you could get them for sixpence.’
‘Good luck – what’s your name, luv?’
‘Ruby.’
‘Good luck, Ruby.’
Dolly smiled and was about to leave when Ruby said, ‘Do you know if there’s a room going anywhere else?’
‘No, luv. There’s bed and breakfast places around, though they might get a bit sniffy if you haven’t got luggage and a ring. Anyroad, have you got the money?’
Ruby made a face. ‘Only tenpence.’
‘That’s not nearly enough. Mind you, if you’re stuck for cash, you could always pawn that lovely watch. In the meantime, you could try Charlie Murphy in Foster Court, number 2. He charges by the night, only thruppence, and he won’t care if you’re wearing a ring or not. But I warn you, it’s a terrible fleapit. Scarcely fit for human beings to live in.’
‘Your mam’s just made me feel less than human, so that won’t matter all that much.’
In all the times she had happily roamed the streets of the Dingle, Ruby had never come across anywhere like Foster Court. It was hidden, out of sight, between a billiard hall and a butcher’s, a narrow alley, barely six feet wide, with a handful of four-storey dwellings
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