covered with small sprigs of blue flowers, and a pair of black shoes with high heels, on the bed.
‘Maggie said to be careful not to spill anything on them and Bessie said to mind you don’t get the heels stuck in the tramlines!’
‘I won’t.’
Shelagh leaned against the wall and watched her as she tried to wind her thick mass of curls into a small bun. ‘He’s the lad
you met on the boat, isn’t he?’
Cat nodded, her mouth full of hairpins.
‘Proper little sneak, aren’t you? How long has this been going on?’
‘Mind your own business!’
Shelagh curled her lip. ‘Doesn’t look as though he’s got much in the way of prospects.’
‘He’s a damn sight better than the lot you were with last night! He’s got me a job – nearly!’
‘Some job, skivvying for some daft old bat!’
‘At least I won’t have to put up with you all week, and I won’t have to share a room or a bed or a privy with a dozen other
people!’
Shelagh sniffed and left her, still struggling with her hair.
The navy skirt and neat little blouse fitted her well but the shoes were tight and she wobbled on the unaccustomedly high
heels, but when at last she went downstairs, even her sister grudgingly admitted she looked neat and tidy. Her mother said
she looked so grown up she hardly recognised her and from the look on Joe’s face she knew all the compliments were true. She
did feel different. She felt clean and smart for the first time in her life and as she stepped into the street she smiled
shyly at Joe as he offered her his arm.
In place of the old trousers and jersey he wore grey-flannel trousers without the customary braces, and a clean white shirt
with the collar attached and covering his dark hair he wore a jaunty cap, for no man was seen without some sort of hat on
his head. She herself had Shelagh’s red felt beret clipped over her smoothed-down curls.
She was conscious of the stares and nudges of the neighbours as they walked down the street, but it only made her feel more
confident. She could hear them whispering to each other. ‘Cat Cleary’s finally got herself a feller. Walkin’ out, now she
is, an’ he ain’t bad-lookin’ either!’ It was a good feeling and even Joe’s remark of‘Mind you don’t fall off those heels and break your neck!’ failed to arouse any annoyance in her.
They had taken the tram to the Pierhead and then boarded the Overhead Railway that ran in a straight line along the docks
to Seaforth. Joe had pointed out all the ships and all the docks. The Princes Half Tide, Waterloo, Victoria and the Trafalgar
that also encompassed the Clarence Dock Power Station. The Collingwood and Salisbury Docks, the Nelson, Bramley Moor, the
Sandon Half Tide, the Wellington and finally the Sandon Dock itself.
He had pointed out the ships of so many lines that her head buzzed. The Blue Star, Black Star, White Star. The Port Line,
Shaw Saville & Albion, the Henderson, City and Ellerman Lines. Brocklebank, Booker and Booth Lines. The Houlder, Harrison
and Blue Funnel, the latter known as the ‘Blue Flue’ Line. He seemed to know so much about ships and shipping, while she knew
nothing at all.
The sensation of being hurtled along above the roadway, looking down on the houses and up the rows of narrow streets, was
exhilarating. It must be like flying, she thought. The carriage windows gave a good view of all the shipping and she could
see figures moving across the decks. But none of these ships was as big or as beautiful as the White Empress. In her mind
she called it ‘her ship’, her ‘White Empress’ and despite everything she had not forgotten the words she had spoken with such
determination to Joe. One day she would sail on that ship. She didn’t know how she would do it, but she would find a way!
Somehow!
They got the train going in the opposite direction and got off at the Bramley Moor Dock, walked up Blackstone Street and caught
the tram up
‘Maggie said to be careful not to spill anything on them and Bessie said to mind you don’t get the heels stuck in the tramlines!’
‘I won’t.’
Shelagh leaned against the wall and watched her as she tried to wind her thick mass of curls into a small bun. ‘He’s the lad
you met on the boat, isn’t he?’
Cat nodded, her mouth full of hairpins.
‘Proper little sneak, aren’t you? How long has this been going on?’
‘Mind your own business!’
Shelagh curled her lip. ‘Doesn’t look as though he’s got much in the way of prospects.’
‘He’s a damn sight better than the lot you were with last night! He’s got me a job – nearly!’
‘Some job, skivvying for some daft old bat!’
‘At least I won’t have to put up with you all week, and I won’t have to share a room or a bed or a privy with a dozen other
people!’
Shelagh sniffed and left her, still struggling with her hair.
The navy skirt and neat little blouse fitted her well but the shoes were tight and she wobbled on the unaccustomedly high
heels, but when at last she went downstairs, even her sister grudgingly admitted she looked neat and tidy. Her mother said
she looked so grown up she hardly recognised her and from the look on Joe’s face she knew all the compliments were true. She
did feel different. She felt clean and smart for the first time in her life and as she stepped into the street she smiled
shyly at Joe as he offered her his arm.
In place of the old trousers and jersey he wore grey-flannel trousers without the customary braces, and a clean white shirt
with the collar attached and covering his dark hair he wore a jaunty cap, for no man was seen without some sort of hat on
his head. She herself had Shelagh’s red felt beret clipped over her smoothed-down curls.
She was conscious of the stares and nudges of the neighbours as they walked down the street, but it only made her feel more
confident. She could hear them whispering to each other. ‘Cat Cleary’s finally got herself a feller. Walkin’ out, now she
is, an’ he ain’t bad-lookin’ either!’ It was a good feeling and even Joe’s remark of‘Mind you don’t fall off those heels and break your neck!’ failed to arouse any annoyance in her.
They had taken the tram to the Pierhead and then boarded the Overhead Railway that ran in a straight line along the docks
to Seaforth. Joe had pointed out all the ships and all the docks. The Princes Half Tide, Waterloo, Victoria and the Trafalgar
that also encompassed the Clarence Dock Power Station. The Collingwood and Salisbury Docks, the Nelson, Bramley Moor, the
Sandon Half Tide, the Wellington and finally the Sandon Dock itself.
He had pointed out the ships of so many lines that her head buzzed. The Blue Star, Black Star, White Star. The Port Line,
Shaw Saville & Albion, the Henderson, City and Ellerman Lines. Brocklebank, Booker and Booth Lines. The Houlder, Harrison
and Blue Funnel, the latter known as the ‘Blue Flue’ Line. He seemed to know so much about ships and shipping, while she knew
nothing at all.
The sensation of being hurtled along above the roadway, looking down on the houses and up the rows of narrow streets, was
exhilarating. It must be like flying, she thought. The carriage windows gave a good view of all the shipping and she could
see figures moving across the decks. But none of these ships was as big or as beautiful as the White Empress. In her mind
she called it ‘her ship’, her ‘White Empress’ and despite everything she had not forgotten the words she had spoken with such
determination to Joe. One day she would sail on that ship. She didn’t know how she would do it, but she would find a way!
Somehow!
They got the train going in the opposite direction and got off at the Bramley Moor Dock, walked up Blackstone Street and caught
the tram up
Similar Books
