Free Two for Three Farthings by Mary Jane Staples Page B

Palmer knew nothing of the fact that he had no relatives, that he was illegitimate. She had never asked pointed questions or nosy ones, being a woman who took people as she found them.
    â€˜They’ve come ’ere?’ she asked.
    â€˜Unexpectedly, I’ll admit,’ said Jim easily. ‘Trouble in the family, I’m afraid. Not the sort of things friends or relatives want to talk about. You know how it is.’
    â€˜That I do. But ’ere, Mr Cooper?’
    â€˜I couldn’t say no. They were waiting for me when I got back from work last night. On the doorstep. Too shy to knock.’
    â€˜They knew you had late workin’ hours?’ said Mrs Palmer, grey-haired and stout.
    â€˜It gets around families,’ said Jim. ‘All that time in the rain, poor little devils. I told them you’d have made them welcome, that they could have waited in my room, but like most children they’re shy with strangers. They’ll be here only until I get new lodgings, which I will just as soon as I can.’
    â€˜Well, you’re being downright kind to them, I must say,’ said Mrs Palmer, ‘but you do know me brother Wally’s comin’ tomorrow week, like I said? Now his wife’s gone, poor woman, he can’t manage ’is house by hisself, specially as he’s still working, and he fancies just a quiet little room on his own with us, and he gets on well with me husband. I’m sorry I’ve had to ask you to leave according, you’ve been a welcome lodger, but you see how it is, and you’ll need more space, anyways, if your niece and nephew are goin’ to be with you for a while.’
    â€˜I can’t argue with that, Mrs Palmer. Don’t worry now, I’ll have moved out before your brother arrives. But you don’t mind them being in my room for the time being?’
    â€˜But can you manage? A boy and girl and yourself?’ Mrs Palmer obviously wondered how old the girl was.
    â€˜They’re only young,’ said Jim. ‘Ethel’s seven and Horace is ten.’
    â€˜Oh, you can put the girl on me parlour sofa at night till you go,’ offered Mrs Palmer out of consideration for what she thought proper. Many people in Walworth set great store by being proper, never mind the difficulties posed by poverty.
    â€˜That’s very kind of you,’ said Jim, ‘I’ll tell her.’
    â€˜And I’ll be pleased to keep my eye on them for you when you go off to your work this afternoon.’
    â€˜That’s even kinder,’ said Jim. His hours were from four in the afternoon until midnight, but he was always free to leave in advance if his work was finished. He did not mind the awkward hours. He had no real social commitments. He was wary about women. The closer a relationship with a woman became, the closer the inevitable problems came. He sometimes felt he was simply waiting, that somewhere, sometime, a woman would appear, a woman who did not mind in the least about a man being illegitimate, providing he did not wear devil’s horns. Meanwhile, the local lending library was open to him during the day, and he spent enjoyable hours there. He was also an avid book borrower. He thought public lending libraries constituted one of the finest privileges a civilized country could bestow on its citizens.
    â€˜I’ll give ’em tea this evening, if you like,’ said Mrs Palmer, motherly generosity prompted by her lodger’s Christian outlook towards his troubled relatives. She could never think why some nice woman hadn’t taken him on as a husband. No nice women minded about a kind man only having one arm. ‘I’ll be pleased to make them tea.’
    â€˜Bless you, Mrs Palmer,’ said Jim, who had an easy way of talking to people.
    â€˜My pleasure, I’m sure,’ she said, pleased that Mr Cooper hadn’t made any fuss about accepting notice to quit.
    He went back to his room. He