In Pursuit of the English - Doris Lessing [93]
‘Better there than being killed by you and Dan one dark night,’ said Rose.
Dan was now moving about in his chair with heavy restless movements. He was grinding his teeth – at Rose, at me, at Jack.
Rose stood up. She was still buttoned up in her suit, and she had drunk no more than a mouthful of beer.
‘Where’s you going, sweetheart?’ said Flo. ‘Out with Dickie? That’s nice, and I hope you’ll have a nice time.’
Rose did not answer. She gave me a meaning glance – Come with me, and avoid trouble. I got up, too.
Jack suddenly cried out: ‘Why are you cross with me? Just because I didn’t know how to talk right in the box? You’re not cross with Rose, and she didn’t say nothing in the box.’
‘Oh, but Rose was clever,’ said Flo hastily, sacrificing her son to her husband. ‘She told us better than the lawyers did, they said so themselves.’
‘But she didn’t say nothing in the box,’ said Jack, helplessly, in terror of his stepfather.
‘You didn’t even try,’ said Dan.
‘Well, don’t take it out on Jack, just because your consciences are hurting you,’ said Rose crisply.
‘I don’t know what you mean, darling,’ cried Flo, Upstairs the noise had ceased and we heard a car drive off.
‘Well, they’ve gone,’ said Flo. ‘And now let’s sit down and have a nice little drink and be happy.’
Dan said, looking steadily at Jack: ‘And now I’m going right upstairs, to start work. It’ll take a month or more. And you’re going to do something for your keep for once.’
‘Oh, not tonight,’ cried Flo, ‘not tonight, sweetheart. It’ll do tomorrow.’
He shouted at her: ‘You get me my supper. And then I’m to start.’ And at Jack: ‘Well, are you coming?’
Jack shrilled up; ‘Why should I? When I work for you it’s for nothing. I can work every night till one or two in the morning, and I don’t get a penny for it.’
Flo said: ‘Jack, don’t talk back to Dan.’
Dan said: ‘So you don’t? And who feeds you? Do you think you’d get the food you get from your mother on thirty bob a week?’
Flo said: ‘Oh. Dan, oh. Jack – but the food’s nothing, I just make it up as I go along …’
Dan said: ‘You know the restaurant business. Tell me what it’d cost for Jack to get fed as he gets fed here.’
‘Oh, sweetheart…’ began Flo, and burst into tears.
Rose took my elbow, and we went quietly to the door, ‘Quick,’ she whispered, ‘or the Lord knows what we’ll have to be witness to.’
Jack backed against the wall. Dan was on his feet. Jack shouted out to his mother, who had her hands over her face: ‘And you’re not my mother since you married him, you’ve not treated me right since …’ Dan slapped him across the face. Jack fell over and picked himself up, crouching under the powerful figure of the man towering over him. He was cut off from help in the corner. He shrieked: ‘Mum, mum, don’t let him hit me.’
‘Are you going to help me get that place straight or not?’ ‘No, no. I won’t. Why should I? You don’t pay me for my work.’
Rose and I had reached the bottom of the stairs. She was clinging on to me. I could feel her trembling again, as she had earlier in Court. ‘Wait,’ she said. ‘I feel sick. People shouting, people fighting, it makes me feel all sick.’
There was a silence in the room we had left. ‘Thank the Lord,’ whispered Rose. ‘They’ve stopped.’
There was a yell of pain from Dan. ‘He’s bitten me,’ he shouted. ‘Your precious son has bitten my thumb right through.’ Flo sobbed out: ‘Dan, Jack. Dan, Jack …’
Jack had rushed out and was in the dark passage with us. In a second Dan was after him. He picked up the boy in his arms and with one hand opened the outer door and flung him outside on to the cement of the passage. Jack got to his hands and knees, Dan was over him, and kicked him. Jack crawled up the steps out of sight, groaning, as Dan kicked at him, in a heavily-breathing silence.
There was a screech of brakes as a lorry swerved. Dan shouted: ‘And you needn’t come back, this isn’t your home any longer.’
‘For God’s sake,’ said Rose, ‘help me, dear. Help me out of here.’ I got her up into the hallway, where she leaned against a wall,