‘Yesterday,’ Sylvia answered as she returned from the kitchen, where she had left Anthony with some warm milk and a plate of biscuits.
‘I heard a man’s voice shouting,’ Sylvia went on. ‘I knew it couldn’t be you. I guessed it was him. So, I opened my door to see what was going on. I could see Anthony standing there, completely frozen to the spot. She shouted to him to run to me. I got him safely inside and shut the door. I listened. I didn’t know what to do. Thank God John Hastings came in the front door just at the right time. I heard him tell Jones to leave her alone. Then there was a lot of banging and crashing, and suddenly everything went quiet. John shouted for him to clear off and there was a deal of language that I can’t repeat. Then the front door slammed. He saved Sarah from certain . . .’
‘Thank you. I’ve heard enough, Sylvia,’ Ronnie said, looking towards Sarah. ‘Now, are you all right to keep Anthony here for a while, please? Sarah and I need to go and speak to John Hastings, and then we need him to accompany us to the police station. He’s a witness to an assault. Jones can’t go on getting away with this and the police have to do something now.’
‘Happy to,’ Sylvia replied. ‘You make sure they nail him this time.’
‘I certainly will,’ Ronnie replied. Ronnie returned to Sarah’s side, holding out her coat for her. ‘Come, Sarah. Let’s go and get this done. They can’t ignore how you look and they have to listen to an independent witness. You certainly have grounds for divorce now, but we still need to get you out of here, somewhere he can’t find you. Let’s get to the police station first, then we’ll find a way to keep you and Anthony safe.’
John Hastings accompanied them to the station and together the three of them informed the police of events and gave their statements. When they returned to Sarah’s flat andpicked up Anthony, Ronnie stayed with them for a while until Sarah felt safe enough to be left.
On the way home, Ronnie went through the recent events in his head. Amelia had mentioned a witness — they now had one. The police had believed Sarah and Ronnie’s account of her attack, and said that they would find David Jones and arrest him for assault. That might be more difficult than they thought. They had to find him first. Ronnie knew that something more had to be done to keep Sarah and Anthony safe. He decided to talk to Dot and Amelia, and see if they could do anything more to help.
When Dot and Amelia heard of the violent assault on Sarah, they were shocked and said that they would do all they could, if a way could be found to protect her. Ronnie didn’t know what more could be done — they were doing as much as they could already. Amelia was looking for a solicitor who would take on Sarah’s case and Dot had explained the problem to William who said that he would contribute to the costs. They discussed the financial costs and calculated that between the four of them, they could find the money to pay for her legal help. They remained silent for a while, all lost in their own thoughts. Dot was the first to break the silence.
‘How would she feel about leaving the Isle?’ Dot asked.
‘She has a job. She has her aunts. She needs to provide for her son,’ Ronnie replied.
‘But she also needs to protect herself,’ Dot said.
‘What are you thinking, Dot?’ Amelia asked.
‘I’m thinking that if her husband couldn’t find her, then he would have to give up his pursuit of her. She needs a safe place while we employ a solicitor to obtain a divorce,’ Dot replied.
‘Like where?’ Ronnie asked.
‘Like Micklewell,’ Dot replied.
Ronnie felt a glimmer of hope, like sunbeams through a cloud. Had Dot hit upon an idea that might possibly work?It wouldn’t be easy convincing Sarah, and then there was the matter of whether his mother and father could or would be willing to help. It was such a small house, 2 Mead Cottages. They hadn’t even met her yet. It wasn’t going to exactly be a gentle introduction to ask if she and Anthony could stay on a long-term basis.
‘Let’s think about this,’ Ronnie said. ‘It’s easy enough to say it, but it’s a big imposition upon the family. What about the question of money? They’re not exactly well off.’
‘When did a few challenges get in the way of the Truscott family, Ronnie? One thing at a time. If you want something badly enough, you’re prepared to fight for it, aren’t you? You do your part and talk to Sarah. I will write to Kate right away,’ Dot said.
‘I can’t let you do that,’ Ronnie replied, standing his ground. ‘I will write to her myself and explain the situation.’
‘I can’t see your mother and Albert turning you down,’ Dot said. ‘They would do anything for you, you know that, Ronnie.’
‘And I will instruct a solicitor to act for Sarah,’ Amelia said.
Chapter 15
‘Post!’ Rose called as she came through to the kitchen in 2 Mead Cottages and placed the letter on the kitchen table. Kate lifted her hands out of the mixing bowl and brushed the crumbs of flour, sticky fat and sugar from her fingertips.
‘Whose writing is it? Can you tell?’ asked Kate. ‘We haven’t heard from Dot in a while.’
‘Don’t think it’s Aunty Dot’s,’ Rose replied. ‘Postmark is the Isle of Wight, though.’
‘Let me see. Hold it up,’ Kate said, squinting to decipher the handwriting.
‘Looks like Ronnie’s writing. I hope that means he’s going to pay us another visit soon. Well, I’ll have to finish this off now. I want to read the letter. That’s the pudding done. If you scrape the crumble onto the apple and pop it in the oven, then I’ll clean up my hands and settle down with a cup of tea and read what Ronnie has to say. Might be more news of his flying lessons.’
‘I think it’s wonderful that my big brother is going to be a pilot,’ Rose said. ‘I’ve been telling everyone else at school. Beats being a tractor driver any day.’
Kate smiled to herself. She was extremely proud of Ronnie’s achievements. Who’d have thought that a boy born in a workhouse could have got so far in life? A tear formed in the corner of her eye. She washed her hands and tucked a strand of grey hair behind her ear. She had passed her fortieth birthday and, as well as greying hair, she was developing a few aches and pains in her fingers. Her mother had developed arthritis in her later years and Kate wondered if she would follow her in that regard. Apart from that, though, she was generally in good health and managed very well with the household duties with the help of the twins. Rose and Annie were good girls. They were fifteen now and they would soon be making some decisionsabout their own future lives. Where did the time go? It seemed only yesterday that she was pushing them along Micklewell High Street in their pram. It brought a lump to her throat when she thought of the time she had contemplated not going through with the pregnancy.
She poured herself a cup of tea and took down the biscuit tin. She had a few minutes to herself. Rose had gone to find Annie at a friend’s house and the men wouldn’t be home from work for another hour. This was a rare quiet time. She broke the seal on the letter and what she read surprised and shocked her. As she turned to the second sheet and read what an awful time Sarah was going through, her heart ached for her. No woman should have to suffer such treatment at the hands of a man. The anger stirred in her at the thought of the protests she had joined as a younger woman with the suffragette movement. There had been some progress with women’s rights over the years since then, but it was painfully slow and the law did not seem to be there to protect women and children; rather it was still heavily weighted in favour of the man with regard to marital issues.
