Free Mother’s Ruin by Kitty Neale Page B

wondering what Arthur was up to, but then heard someone shouting outside in the lane, followed by a door slamming.
    It was probably that lot next door, Ruth decided, closing her eyes again. The room felt clammy, airless and she wondered if there was a storm brewing. With an impatient sigh, she threw back her blankets and padded to the window to open it a little wider.
    Ruth was just about to return to her bed when she heard a faint noise that sounded like muffled sobs. Puzzled, she looked up and down the lane. At first she saw nothing, but then, in the dim light from a street lamp, Ruth saw a small figure sitting on the kerb, feet in the gutter. A child! What was a child doing outside after midnight?
    Careful not to make any noise, Ruth threw on her dressing gown to go out into the lane. Shocked, she saw that the small figure sitting hunched in a thin jumper was Tommy Walters, his head bent as Ruth approached. ‘Tommy, what on earth are you doing out here at this time of night?’
    ‘Me muvver chucked me out,’ he said, cuffing his face with his sleeve to wipe away tears.
    Ruth found herself angry. What sort of mother threw a child onto the streets? ‘Why, Tommy?’
    ‘’Cos of me bonfire.’
    ‘I don’t understand. That happened earlier so why wait until now to throw you out?’
    His thin shoulders lifted in a shrug. ‘She’s had a few more bottles of cider, that’s why, and she gave me a right old belting too.’
    ‘Come on,’ Ruth said, holding out her hand. ‘I think it’s time for you to go indoors and I’ll have a few words to say to your mother.’
    ‘No, missus!’ he cried, scrambling to his feet. ‘You can’t do that. She’ll go mad.’
    ‘I can’t leave you out here all night.’
    Tommy straightened his shoulders, now saying bravely, ‘I’ll be all right. I’ll wait until she’s asleep, me dad too, and then I’ll sneak back in.’
    ‘Have you got a key?’
    ‘Nah, of course not, but me bedroom’s at the back. I can climb over the wall into the yard and then shin up the drainpipe.’
    ‘But you might fall,’ Ruth said, horrified by the danger.
    ‘Course I won’t. It’s a piece of cake and I’ve done it loads of times.’
    Ruth shivered, clutching her dressing gown closer to her body as she eyed Tommy’s inadequate clothing. All right, the boy had lit a bonfire in their backyard, but it didn’t warrant being thrown out. Despite Tommy’s protests she wanted to give the woman a piece of her mind and said, ‘No, you’re not climbing drainpipes. Come on, we’re going to knock on your door.’
    ‘No! No, don’t do that! If you do, I – I’ll run away.’
    Ruth could see the fear in the boy’s eyes and hear it in his voice. She touched his shoulder. ‘All right, but it’s freezing out here so you had better come into my house for the time being.’
    All might have been well, but as they stepped inside, Sadie came out of her room. In other circumstances her appearance might have been comical as she stood, her blue hairnet askew and her dressing gown gaping to reveal a long, flannelette nightdress. Toothless, and lisping, she demanded, ‘Why are you bringing that hooligan in here again and at this time of night?’
    ‘Because his mother chucked him out.’
    ‘Yeah, well, after what he’s been up to he deserves it. Now get him out of my house.’
    ‘No, Mum. I’m not leaving him on the streets.’
    ‘But look at the state of him. He’s probably alive with fleas and as I said, I want him out of my house.’
    ‘This isn’t your house, Mum, it’s mine, and I’ll say who comes in and out of it.’
    ‘Don’t you dare talk to me like that!’
    Ignoring the indignant look on Sadie’s face, Ruth spoke to Tommy. ‘Go into the kitchen and I’ll find you a bite to eat.’
    ‘What! You’re going to feed the little bugger too?’
    ‘It’s all right. I don’t want nuffin’,’ Tommy said, his eyes glistening with tears.
    ‘Go into the kitchen,’ Ruth urged again,