sailed out through the door. The sound of it clanging shut behind her would, Jinnie was certain, stay with her for ever.
Billy Quinn never gave up. Like a dog with a bone, once he’d got his teeth into something, he kept them there, tearing and gnawing away until he’d got to the core of it. So it was with the matter of Jinnie. For weeks now he’d been searching for her, had all his mates keep an eye out for her but, mystifyingly, there hadn’t been even a hint of a sighting. No one had the first idea where she might be hiding. But he knew she couldn’t hide for ever. Not from him. And now, at last, his luck had changed.
His chat with Sadie had been quite enlightening. She’d certainly come to rue the day she’d decided to interfere with Billy Quinn’s arrangements. The last he’d heard of her, she’d taken her two black eyes and broken ribs back to Bolton, where she’d be well advised to stay.
Now Len Jackson had got word on the street that Jinnie had been spotted going into the Ebenezer Mission. Taken there only yesterday by a well-dressed woman. Some do-gooder no doubt.
‘Is he reliable, this source of yours?’
‘So far as I know. Want me to go and knock on the door and ask?’
Billy growled his displeasure and said he’d see to the matter personally. He was looking forward to seeing the expression on young Jinnie’s face when he found her.
Bella was quite unaware of Jinnie’s changed circumstances. Once the girl had settled comfortably into her new surroundings, she’d quickly become absorbed back into her normal routine. In fact, she’d hardly set foot inside the house on Seedley Park Road during the last day or two. It didn’t trouble Bella that Jinnie hadn’t been in evidence the previous evening because she knew Edward had gone into Manchester on some errand for their father, and rather assumed that Jinnie had gone with him.
This afternoon, as on many another, she was busy catching up on her ‘ladies’. She’d witnessed the direst of poverty, had advised on varicose veins, prolapsed wombs and the dangers of septicaemia, as well as extracting promises of better behaviour from several drunkard husbands and treated the usual assortment of sore throats, bad coughs and the ubiquitous head lice.
Bella was inwardly convinced that all these everyday ills were worsened, if not actually caused by prolific child bearing; by the burden of large numbers of children that seemed to crowd every house; by wearing the poor mothers down to the point of starvation, exhaustion, bad health and even death. If there was indeed some way to prevent such disasters, she would certainly like to hear of it.
She again visited Mrs Stobbs and was comforted to find young Lizzie on the mend, almost restored to her old cheerful self. Bella was delighted.
‘I said that tonic would do the trick,’ Mrs Stobbs beamed. ‘Now, ‘ow about that other little matter what I mentioned the other day. Have you found out - you know - what’s what?’
‘Not yet, I’m afraid. But I’ll keep trying, I promise.’ Bella wondered whether to take a chance with their old family doctor, though had little hope that he would be prepared to talk to her, an unmarried woman, so had kept putting the moment off.
The problem went clean out of her head when she arrived back home later that afternoon to find the house in turmoil. Bella heard the din the moment she entered the hall and found Mrs Dyson and Tilly unashamedly listening outside the parlour door.
‘What on earth is going on here?’ The pair had the good sense not to answer but scurry back to the kitchen before they were given their marching orders.
This time it was Edward who was railing at his mother while Emily sat weeping and thrashing about like a woman demented. Simeon stood helplessly looking on, saying nothing as usual. He hurried to Bella the moment he saw her approach.
‘Don’t get involved,’ he warned, drawing her to one side. ‘Something to do with that
Billy Quinn never gave up. Like a dog with a bone, once he’d got his teeth into something, he kept them there, tearing and gnawing away until he’d got to the core of it. So it was with the matter of Jinnie. For weeks now he’d been searching for her, had all his mates keep an eye out for her but, mystifyingly, there hadn’t been even a hint of a sighting. No one had the first idea where she might be hiding. But he knew she couldn’t hide for ever. Not from him. And now, at last, his luck had changed.
His chat with Sadie had been quite enlightening. She’d certainly come to rue the day she’d decided to interfere with Billy Quinn’s arrangements. The last he’d heard of her, she’d taken her two black eyes and broken ribs back to Bolton, where she’d be well advised to stay.
Now Len Jackson had got word on the street that Jinnie had been spotted going into the Ebenezer Mission. Taken there only yesterday by a well-dressed woman. Some do-gooder no doubt.
‘Is he reliable, this source of yours?’
‘So far as I know. Want me to go and knock on the door and ask?’
Billy growled his displeasure and said he’d see to the matter personally. He was looking forward to seeing the expression on young Jinnie’s face when he found her.
Bella was quite unaware of Jinnie’s changed circumstances. Once the girl had settled comfortably into her new surroundings, she’d quickly become absorbed back into her normal routine. In fact, she’d hardly set foot inside the house on Seedley Park Road during the last day or two. It didn’t trouble Bella that Jinnie hadn’t been in evidence the previous evening because she knew Edward had gone into Manchester on some errand for their father, and rather assumed that Jinnie had gone with him.
This afternoon, as on many another, she was busy catching up on her ‘ladies’. She’d witnessed the direst of poverty, had advised on varicose veins, prolapsed wombs and the dangers of septicaemia, as well as extracting promises of better behaviour from several drunkard husbands and treated the usual assortment of sore throats, bad coughs and the ubiquitous head lice.
Bella was inwardly convinced that all these everyday ills were worsened, if not actually caused by prolific child bearing; by the burden of large numbers of children that seemed to crowd every house; by wearing the poor mothers down to the point of starvation, exhaustion, bad health and even death. If there was indeed some way to prevent such disasters, she would certainly like to hear of it.
She again visited Mrs Stobbs and was comforted to find young Lizzie on the mend, almost restored to her old cheerful self. Bella was delighted.
‘I said that tonic would do the trick,’ Mrs Stobbs beamed. ‘Now, ‘ow about that other little matter what I mentioned the other day. Have you found out - you know - what’s what?’
‘Not yet, I’m afraid. But I’ll keep trying, I promise.’ Bella wondered whether to take a chance with their old family doctor, though had little hope that he would be prepared to talk to her, an unmarried woman, so had kept putting the moment off.
The problem went clean out of her head when she arrived back home later that afternoon to find the house in turmoil. Bella heard the din the moment she entered the hall and found Mrs Dyson and Tilly unashamedly listening outside the parlour door.
‘What on earth is going on here?’ The pair had the good sense not to answer but scurry back to the kitchen before they were given their marching orders.
This time it was Edward who was railing at his mother while Emily sat weeping and thrashing about like a woman demented. Simeon stood helplessly looking on, saying nothing as usual. He hurried to Bella the moment he saw her approach.
‘Don’t get involved,’ he warned, drawing her to one side. ‘Something to do with that
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