‘What’s all this for?’ Ester asked.
‘What do you think?’ Dolly said, as she studied the leaflets.
‘You planning on bugging us?’
‘Don’t be stupid, Connie. These are to be put to good use.’
Dolly glanced up at the ceiling as she heard a soft cry. She said to Gloria, ‘I thought you told me they were asleep.’
‘They were last time I looked in but it’s a strange house, Dolly, and, well, they’re scared.’
Dolly hurried upstairs and crossed to the room set aside for the kids. She eased open the door and could see them lying huddled together. The twins were sleeping but little Sheena was mewing like a kitten. ‘What is it, darlin’?’
‘Dark,’ came the whimpered reply.
Dolly fetched her own bedside lamp, and covered it with a headscarf. ‘There, how’s that, then?’ Sheena’s eyes were wide with fright. ‘Would you like me to read you a story?’
The little girl nodded and Dolly opened one of the cheap plastic suitcases and took out some dog-eared books.
‘Which one is your favourite?’
‘Three Little Piggies,’ Sheena whispered.
‘Okay, Three Little Piggies it is. Oh, you’re all awake now, are you? Well, cuddle up and I’ll read you a story.’
Dolly read until one by one they fell asleep. She went on until she’d finished the book and whispered, ‘No one will blow my house down, no big bad wolf. This is my house.’
Downstairs, Gloria picked up a transmitter. ‘She’s obviously serious about it. This gear must have set her back a few quid.’
They heard Dolly coming down and started to make conversation.
‘What time did Angela leave?’ Dolly asked as she walked in.
‘She went out in style,’ Gloria said, then repeated what had happened, only a little shame-faced that she hadn’t told Dolly immediately.
‘She tried to top herself,’ Ester said, but then Julia interjected that she had called the hospital and she was off the danger list. They were unsure, however, if the baby would be all right.
Dolly sighed. No matter what she felt about Angela she was sad. Dolly yawned. ‘You go and see her tomorrow, Julia, take her a few things. Just check on her.’
‘She’d not get me whippin’ in grapes, she deserves all she gets, the nasty little snitch,’ Gloria said.
Dolly yawned again.
‘So, you gonna tell us, Dolly, what all this gear is for?’ Ester sat next to her.
‘Yes, but not tonight, I’m too tired. We’ll discuss it in the morning.’
‘Is it the security wagon?’ Ester asked.
‘Nope. Like I said, we’ll talk about it tomorrow, I’m run ragged now.’
‘It’s the train, isn’t it?’ Connie said.
Dolly slowly got up. ‘Yes, it is.’
‘The mail train?’ Ester asked, springing to her feet.
‘That’s right.’
Julia was resting one foot on the fireguard. ‘You’ll never do it, Dolly. I spoke to Norma. She said the security for the drops is really tight and there’s no access by road. You’d never get a truck or a car up there without the cops knowing. That’s why they chose this station, for its inaccessibility.’
‘We wouldn’t be doing it by car.’ Dolly was on her way to the door.
‘On foot? How the hell could we carry big fat mail-bags?’
Dolly cocked her head to one side. ‘We wouldn’t carry them and we wouldn’t be going by car, or on foot.’
Ester smirked. ‘Helicopter, is it?’
Dolly opened the door. ‘We hit the train on horseback.’ They fell about laughing. Gloria snorted like a braying donkey. Then they saw that Dolly wasn’t smiling. She looked from one to the other, her voice quiet, calm, without any emotion. ‘Julia gave me the idea, so as from tomorrow we start to learn to ride. Every one of us. If we can’t do it, then we look for something else. There’s a local stable within half a mile of here. They’ve got eight horses. We’re all booked for the early-morning ride so I don’t know about you lot but I need to get some sleep. Goodnight.’
She shut the door behind them and not one of them could speak.
‘I’ve never been on a horse,’ Connie said lamely.
‘Me neither — well, nearest I got was a donkey ride on Brighton beach,’ Gloria said.
‘It’s bullshit, isn’t it, Julia?’ Ester said flatly. ‘She’s joking.’
Julia prodded the fire with the poker. ‘I don’t think she’s joking. One, she’s laid out for all that equipment, two, she was up by the woods, checking out the station. I think she’s serious. That’s why she’s made Connie, me, even you, Ester, start checking it out.’
Overhead, the chandelier creaked as Dolly walked along the floor above them. Her footsteps sounded ominous and the long shadows cast from the fire were scary as they loomed large across the big dilapidated room. One after another they opened their mouths as if to say something but nothing came out. They were all thinking the same things. Was Dolly serious? Was the robbery for real? But it was Julia who broke the atmosphere, laughing softly. ‘She’s pulling our legs. Let’s have a drink.’
Chapter 13
Angela was sitting hunched on her side, a sodden piece of tissue in her hand. She had cried herself into exhaustion. She didn’t look up or turn when the door opened as she thought it would be a nurse. She knew it couldn’t be her mother — she hadn’t called her, hadn’t wanted to speak to anyone. She felt so sick and sad; she had never meant to hurt the baby but now it was too late. She was no longer pregnant; she had miscarried early that morning.
‘There’s grapes and some clothes to change into.’
Angela recognized Dolly’s voice but was afraid to look at her so she just curled up tighter.
‘I know you lost the baby, Angela, and I’m sorry, sorry for what you’ve done to yourself.’ Dolly laid out the things she had brought. She stood near to the bed, not close enough to touch Angela. ‘Maybe it’s for the best, but it won’t seem like that now.’
‘You’d know, would you?’ came the muffled reply.
‘No, I don’t really know at all. I ached for a baby, Angela, all my married life, so no, I wouldn’t know what it feels like to lose one, be it my own fault or not.’
Angela sobbed. Dolly was so cold and hard and she so badly needed someone to put their arms around her. ‘Please be nice to me, Dolly, please.’ Angela turned and held out her hand to Dolly.
‘Come to the house and...’
‘Can I stay? I’ll cook and clean for you.’
‘Pack the rest of your things. That’s all I came to tell you. You have to leave but we’ll keep your things safe until they release you from here. And you should eat those grapes, almost eighty pence a pound.’
The door closed behind her and Angela flopped back on to her pillow. She felt totally dejected. She wished she’d killed herself properly, wished she had never woken up because she had nothing to live for, and no place to go.
Dolly walked into the kitchen through the back door, the smell of burning bacon making her wrinkle her nose.
‘Oh, sorry, Dolly, it’s me. I can never get the hang of this Aga. I dunno whether to put stuff in the oven or stick it on the top there.’ Connie shovelled charred bits of bacon on to a piece of paper towel, dabbing the fat off it. It broke up into little pieces.
‘I been in to see Angela. She lost the baby.’
‘Julia told me. She’s just bathing the girls — they’ve had their breakfast.’
Ester appeared. ‘Serves the little cow right. Any breakfast going?’
They came in in dribs and drabs but no one seemed inclined to start up the conversation about the proposed robbery. ‘You all got boots, jeans to ride in?’ Dolly suddenly asked.