A Mother's Shame by Rosie Goodwin Page A

dry, the way she saw it. As she moved along, her thoughts returned to Lennie and tears stung at the back of her eyes. She had just spent a miserable weekend worrying about why he hadn’t kept his promise and come to speak to her father, and the mood she was in now he was due for a tongue-lashing when she did manage to catch up with him. If he didn’t have a very good excuse, that was.
    By the time the post office came into sight Maria was panting with exertion. It was no easy task wading through the ever-deepening snow and her mood did not improve when she saw that there were no lights on within. Normally Mrs Everitt was pottering about by the time Maria arrived but today the place appeared to be deserted. Pressing her nose against the cold glass, Maria peered inside before rapping sharply on the door. She waited some seconds then knocked again, louder this time but no one came.
    ‘Oh dear, what now?’ Maria grumbled to herself. If Mrs Everitt had overlaid, no doubt it would be she who would pay for it. Mrs Everitt was not the sweetest-natured of women at the best of times. Seeing no alternative, the girl now went around the side of the building to the back door that led into small living quarters. The curtains were still drawn but Maria could see a faint glow through them.
    She rapped and called, ‘Mrs Everitt . . . are you there?’
    After a while she heard a shuffling and then the sounds of a bolt being drawn. Next minute the door opened and Mrs Everitt appeared with her thin grey hair hanging loose about her shoulders and still dressed in a long voluminous nightgown.
    ‘Goodness me!’ Maria exclaimed. ‘You look awful, Mrs Everitt.’
    ‘I feel awful,’ the woman croaked. ‘I think I’m coming down with this influenza that’s going around, so you’ll not be needed today, Maria. The shop will remain closed.’
    ‘There’s no need for that,’ Maria said hastily, afraid of losing a day’s wages. ‘I could keep it open for you.’
    The woman shook her head. She had never trusted anyone enough to be in charge of her till, even Maria, who had always appeared to be very trustworthy.
    ‘No, that will not be necessary. I shall send for you when and if I need your assistance again.’ The woman then closed the door abruptly, leaving Maria standing there.
    ‘Damn,’ she cursed beneath her breath, thankful that her father wasn’t there to hear her. It sounded suspiciously as if she had just been dismissed, so now what was she to do? Her father would never allow her to sit at home with idle hands, but jobs were hard to come by. It seemed that things were going from bad to worse – if that were possible. There was nothing for it but to return home and tell her mother what had happened, but first she decided she would pay an impromptu visit to Lennie.
    With her mind made up, she turned and headed purposefully for his mother’s cottage. On the road she passed a few of the village men who were making their way to the pit to begin their shifts and they all raised their caps to her. The lanes were deserted and she was sure that no one would have ventured out on such a day unless they had to.
    When she finally reached Lennie’s home she was again confronted with drawn curtains, but now that she had come all this way she had no intention of going away without seeing him, so she rapped on the front door.
    ‘Bugger off!’ a woman’s voice shouted and Maria pursed her lips. Mrs Glover had obviously been planning a lie-in. She knocked again and heard cursing as someone approached the door. The woman peered out at her blearyeyed and said, ‘Oh my Gawd, it’s you again. What do you want this time, eh?’
    Maria was more than aware of the rumours that circulated about Dora Glover. It was said that she was never short of male company – or a bob or two, if it came to that – and she wasn’t particularly fussy about who the males were either. Single men, married men, young men, old men . . . it made no difference to