THE DEPRIVED... Chapter 3...Part 33.

A continuation of my book.

At the back of the house where the back alley cut through to the large public park, Nat waited and seeing Fanny and Beth hurrying towards him he waved a hand, his face breaking into a wide smile. He wore a cap and scarf which Beth thought made him appear quite handsome. He hugged and kissed Fanny warmly then kissed Beth on the cheek, almost shyly as if he was afraid Beth might not approve.
“Come on, Nat!” Fanny cried. “Don’t be acting in such a shyness. Be giving Beth a proper kiss!”
This prompted Nat to hold Beth tightly and put his lips on hers. Beth kissed him back although she seemed to read his mind that he would rather wait till they were alone. The three of them walked through the alleyway and joined others who sought the open spaces of Victoria Park.
“Let’s be sitting.” said Fanny and they sat on the bench which overlooked the stretch of water which rippled its tide in the quiet of evening.
“Do you know.” Nat said to Beth. “In a daytime this water is right full of rowing boats with people all laughing and having fun. They has some swans here, white and as fanciful as a snowdrop. And they has ducks too which people feed.”
He promised Beth he would come here with her on a Sunday if they got the time off from work, to come and take a boat-ride and feed the swans. The three of them shared their thoughts on work and the dreams of one day being able to get away from all the drudgery. They talked of buying their own small home away from the smog and the rigours of life. Beth spoke of the supervisor, Stanbridge and of Mr. Rather, who touched Beth whenever he got the chance. Beth did not see Nat’s face tighten nor the fierce look which darkened his look as he turned his head away. Beth sensed his moodiness and spoke no more of work and those within it. Fanny lightened the mood by standing up and dancing so that Nat and Beth laughed in delight as Fanny imitated the latest dance moves, almost falling over.
“I has to go!” said Fanny suddenly.
“You don’t have to go, Fanny.” said Beth.
Fanny smiled, pulling on her shawl and pinning her bonnet to her head.
“I has an amount of sewing to do before the candles are out. Anyways you pair of fancy love-birds need to be alone by my reckoning.”
With that Fanny skipped away leaving the echo of her laughter behind.
For a while Beth and Nat sat in silence. For all his good looks and charming smile, Beth guessed that he had not been any sort of Casanova.
“I’m glad we’re alone, Nat.” she said, taking his hand.
“You are a most beautiful girl, Beth.” said Nat, turning to face her.
“Then you may kiss me.” replied Beth, somewhat shocked by her forwardness.
However this sense of being forward was lost as Nat put his hands to her face and drew her in, kissing her passionately. Beth lost herself in the swirls of feelings which made her light-headed, all thoughts of the world and its troubles forgotten in the embrace as Nat held her in his arms.
“Beth, I love you.” whispered Nat.
Beth did not reply straight away. She was afraid to say the words, afraid to trust the feelings which throbbed through her. Having only known the sadness of losing those she loved, her father and mother and Sam, she was afraid to allow herself to cling to something which might suddenly be taken away from her. Her mind flashed to the rape and loss of the child. What would Nat say if he knew?
“What’s wrong Beth?” asked Nat, feeling Beth draw away from him and her mood changing.
Beth sat, quiet in her thoughts and then turned to face Nat, her eyes sad in the darkening night.
“Nat.” she whispered. “I have something to tell you.”
Nat sat and listened as she opened her heart, the tears falling as she told of that terrible night in the dormitory and of the death of the child in childbirth. When she had finished Beth sat with her eyes closed, not wanting to hear what Nat had to say. Nat put his arms around her, protective and strong.
“That’s a hard life you’ve had, dear Beth. But it’s lost to a passing and I will always love you.”
They sat on the bench, holding each other till Nat rose.
“Come on, sweetheart.” he said. “We should hitch back to the house. That old woman is a fierce crafty and you needs to be back afore she snaps the lock.”
Hurrying back to the house, Beth left Nat and ran up the steps.

“You only had five minutes before I locked the doors!” exclaimed Mother Bellamy. “I don’t know where you young girls get to go to at nights.” she scolded, only to hear Beth’s happy laughter as she ran up the stairs.
“Well me ducks?” asked Fanny. “Did Nat take to kissing you to a good tasting?”
Fanny had exchanged places with one of the other girls and now had her bed pushed up to Beth’s so they lay facing each other. The candles had been blown out and they whispered to each other in the dark.
“Yes, we kissed.” admitted Beth, glad that the darkness hid her blushes.
“Does Nat love you? Did he say so? Does you love him?”
Fanny’s excited run of questions had Beth giggling.
“I think he loves me.” Beth replied, suddenly serious.  “I told him about the bad time I had at the workhouse and the death of the baby.”
Fanny was quiet for a while.
“And what did Nat say?” she queried at length.
“He told me it did not matter. Whatever went on in both our pasts should be left there, in the past.”
“There’s the making of what Nat is like, Beth. There’s times when he’s like a big strong man and highly dependable. Then there’s times as you’ve been witness to, when he’s playing with children and he’s like a big baby himself. He aint to holding back on his feelings ‘cause he aint to keeping others in the dark. But he’s a dear man to me heart and a very good brother.” she finished.
Beth remained silent at that, wondering what Fanny would do if she and Nat got together.
“But there comes a time when his heart will take him then Nat will have to take his leave of me, is my thinking” said Fanny airily, almost as if she had read Beth’s mind.
“Nat will never leave you behind, I’m sure of that!” whispered Beth fiercely.
“It aint for us to know that, Beth. There comes a time when he will go to his own way of choosing. I hopes it’s with you Beth is his fancy and we stays as the very best of friends.”
With that Fanny turned over on her side and stopped talking, leaving them both deep in their own thoughts.

 

“Hurry up or you’ll be late for work and then you’ll get fined for being late.” harangued Mother Bellamy as Beth and Fanny ran down the stairs and continued to run to catch up with the others who hurried through the main gates of the factory.
“I does believe that old Mother Bellamy lives in the keyhole of the street door!” shouted Fanny as they split up, each heading for their place of work.
“I’ll see you tonight!” shouted Beth as Fanny disappeared.
Stanbridge stood with her eyes on the large wall clock. It read three minutes to five o’clock and her eyes dropped to pick out Beth as she passed with the other girls.
“You’re just in time!” she snarled to no-one in particular although Beth felt the words were directed at her.
Reaching her place of work she bent over the dip, her hands searching for the small bundles of sticks. The machinery had started to whir and clank loudly as the place came alive, the fumes already pulsing the air and having many of the girls coughing.
“You two!”
Stanbridge’s voice snarled loudly above the machinery.
“Yes, you two girls! You’re late! Look at the time, it’s one minute past the hour. Go down and report to Mr. Rather. Tell him you’re late. You’ll both lose wages over that and the next time you’re late it will be double the fine!”
Beth did not turn round, none of the girls did. It was none of their business if others lost their wages in fines. They all continued to bend their backs and work with the boredom and routine of automatons.
It seemed to Beth that the children who worked in the factory seemed to get younger each time she saw them.
“I bet they’ll have mothers just dropping the little brats as they stand over the machines, so the brats can be starting the  work as soon as their little bonces get the sense in them!” had joked Fanny.
There was one little boy, around the age of five or six who often passed where Beth worked. He carried a broom and bucket which seemed to be larger than himself and with which he stopped at each bench to sweep up any waste. He seemed to walk as if he had no sense of direction or aware of what life was all about. His thin face had a sense of being haunted, ghostly white with large brown eyes with seemed sad and always lowered to the floor. He passed now and Beth quickly turned to smile at him as he went past. His eyes gave no flicker of recognition.
“What are you doing here!” snarled an outraged Stanbridge, suddenly coming forward and cuffing the boy about the head which sent the bucket and broom cluttering to the floor.
“Pick up the bucket and broom and get working you little urchin!”
Her club foot held the floor while her other foot raised itself to catch the boy in the rear as he bent to retrieve the fallen bucket and broom. The boy made no sound as he climbed back on his feet and retrieved the fallen items then continued on his way.
“Sweep up, you little beggar!” shouted Stanbridge after the boy and she walked back to stand next to Beth before walking out of the hall.
“That was for your benefit.” whispered the girl next to Beth. “She hates you and fears you because you have the favour of Mr. Rather.”
“I do not favour Mr. Rather!” hissed Beth, fiercely. “He’s awful and besides, I have a boyfriend.”
“Then watch out for him.” whispered the girl. “If he doesn’t get what he wants from you, he’ll see you are on the streets.”
Beth shrugged and continued to work on, feeling the phosphorus burn her fingertips.

 

The hooter blasted for dinner and the girls hurried to get their bowls of soup and piece of bread. It was as Beth went down to the ground floor where the food was being served that she felt a hand on her shoulder.
“I need to talk to you in my office.” said Mr. Rather.
“I’m going to get my food.” replied Beth, feeling the hand tighten its grip on her shoulder.
“I have some fine turtle soup in my office. I will share it with you, as well as some dainty cake that has cream on it.” said Mr. Rather, his eyes appealing.
“I’m sorry, I do not want it.” said Beth, raising her eyes to his face and trying not to stare at the large red growth on the end of his nose.
The eyes which had tried to have a softness to them suddenly changed to a hardness of intention.
“Are you refusing me? Are you saying that you have no wish to keep your job? I can do as I like with you, harlot!”
Beth saw that Mr. Rather was not to be put off and she would certainly lose her job if she did not comply with his order. Seeming to relent, Beth nodded submission and followed Mr. Rather to his office.