The Fight for Lizzie Flowers Read online

  Carol Rivers, whose family comes from the Isle of Dogs, East London, now lives in Dorset. Visit www.carolrivers.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter @carol_rivers

  Also by Carol Rivers

  Lizzie of Langley Street

  Bella of Bow Street

  Lily of Love Lane

  Eve of the Isle

  East End Angel

  In the Bleak Midwinter

  East End Jubilee (previously Rose of Ruby Street)

  A Sister’s Shame

  Cockney Orphan (previously Connie of Kettle Street)

  A Wartime Christmas

  Together for Christmas

  First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2015

  A CBS COMPANY

  Copyright © Carol Rivers, 2015

  This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.

  No reproduction without permission.

  ® and © 1997 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

  The right of Carol Rivers to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  Simon & Schuster UK Ltd

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  222 Gray’s Inn Road

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  www.simonandschuster.co.uk

  Simon & Schuster Australia, Sydney

  Simon & Schuster India, New Delhi

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  Hardback ISBN: 978-1-4711-3132-5

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-4711-3134-9

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Typeset by Hewer Text UK Limited, Edinburgh

  Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

  The Fight for Lizzie Flowers was written for you, my readers.

  Acknowledgements

  Once again, my thanks go to Simon & Schuster for whom I’m currently writing my thirteenth book. I still can’t believe it! To Jo Dickinson, my awesome editor, and to the editorial, art and production teams, whose skill and ingenuity bring to life the very small germ of an idea in my head. To Judith Murdoch, agent extraordinaire, who has encouraged me to dig deep from the very start. With her help and support I’ve gained a new insight into my writing goals.

  Finally, my thanks go to all the friends I have made on social media and Amazon, to those who have read the books, both in paperback, electronic and audio, and to those who have reviewed. I was able to reach more readers than ever this year, and felt honoured to learn about your lives and families in a very special way. In return, I published my first newsletter in 2015, expressing my thoughts on a more personal level. A big thank-you here to the talented Rik Ubhi, who made my newsletter possible.

  Lastly, a nod to him indoors – Chris, who, a bit like a police artist, creates sketches of my characters as I describe them, until suddenly they jump off the canvas and into my arms. Well, almost!

  So, thank you everyone. I am truly grateful.

  Carol Rivers

  www.carolrivers.com

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Chapter Sixty

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Chapter Sixty-Six

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  Chapter Sixty-Nine

  December 1932

  It was a sunny winter’s morning and ladders of gold streamed in through the registry office windows. It was also the last Wednesday before Christmas and Lizzie rejoiced in the fact that, at last, in her twenty-seventh year, she would be married to the love of her life, Danny Flowers.

  The scene was set – low-key, no frills, just as she had wanted. Beside Danny stood Bert, her brother and best man. The ring was poised carefully between his great clumsy fingers, ready to pass to the groom. Bert’s towering six-foot-four frame strained every stitch of his ill-fitting wedding suit, his presence giving her a feeling of reassurance. As did her good friends Lil and Doug Sharpe, seated in the row behind, the only witnesses to today’s brief civil ceremony.

  Lizzie looked into Danny’s clear blue eyes, spaced evenly in his handsome, weather-beaten face. A jagged scar on his forehead was still visible, the handiwork of her late husband, Frank, Danny’s older brother. Thankfully, nature had healed the vertical slash of smooth, pale skin and Danny’s blond hair fell lightly across it, disguising any unsightliness. But the thought of Frank and the violence he had been capable of still made her shiver.

  Uncannily, a door ground open at the back of the room and her mother’s words flashed into mind. ‘Someone’s just walked over my grave, Lizzie, girl. The hairs on my neck are standing on end.’

  But why had she thought of that now? Lizzie wondered as Danny took her hand in his. Frank was dead and buried; a swollen, almost unrecognizable corpse dragged from the River Thames seven months ago, now laid to rest in East London Cemetery.

  She and Danny were to be man and wife today. Nothing could spoil this moment. Not even those painful memories she had buried, sealed and locked away, and hoped would fade completely as the years passed.

  Danny moved closer. His tall, powerful figure was dressed impeccably in a hand-finished black suit and silk tie. Thick blond waves parted on his crown and a smile curved over his even white teeth.

  Lizzie’s heart lifted in anticipation. This was the moment she had dreamed of since Danny had sailed out of her life to seek his fortune in Australia almost twelve years ago. She had loved him then. She loved him
now. It was as if she had never lost him, never taken his brother for her husband.

  And lived to regret it.

  Chapter One

  ‘I love you,’ Danny whispered, tracing his thumb gently over her fingers. ‘Always and forever this time.’

  Her heart raced, missing yet another beat. ‘Always and forever,’ she repeated, her voice lost as the registrar, pasty-faced and squat, cleared his throat noisily.

  The door rattled again.

  Danny held her gaze, as though forbidding her to turn round. She saw Bert pass Danny the ring and the golden band gleamed, poised to glide effortlessly over her finger.

  But it was as if her eyes couldn’t help themselves. As if in slow motion, she turned, the minute details of the room imprinting themselves on her mind. The shabby wallpaper, the well-thumbed reference books on the shelves, a vase of white chrysanthemums placed on a small table and a sprig of holly pinned precariously above the handwritten notice wishing the public at large a Festive Christmas and Happy New Year.

  ‘Oh Christ, it can’t be,’ she heard Lil gasp behind her.

  In that moment, Lizzie’s world began to crumble. The feeling of unreality she had been trying so hard to suppress all day now fully encompassed her. The man – the intruder – was walking towards them. A dark fedora shaded his eyes. A camel-coloured coat was buttoned over his chest. But it was the two-tone brown-and-white brogues that sent real fear throughout her body. Shoes that were her late husband’s trademark in life.

  And so – Danny had told her – in death.

  Lizzie shook her head, refusing to believe what she saw. If this was a ghost, then everyone else was seeing it too. Lil and Doug stood open-mouthed, staring at the figure in the aisle. The registrar frowned, a look of annoyance on his face at the interruption. But it was Danny who stepped forward and squared his shoulders, confronting the apparition. ‘Frank? But you’re supposed to be—’

  ‘Brown bread,’ Frank acknowledged, his pale blue eyes moving uncertainly in their red-rimmed sockets.

  Lizzie felt fingers of ice on her neck. Frank, her dead husband, was here, in this room. The same man Danny had identified in Limehouse morgue, back in May.

  ‘But it can’t be you,’ Danny said. ‘I saw you. Fished out of the river—’

  ‘Not me,’ Frank replied softly. ‘Sorry to disappoint.’

  ‘Is this some sick joke?’ Danny demanded. ‘What are you playing at, Frank?’

  ‘This ain’t no game, Danny. I’m flesh and blood standing here. Same as you.’

  ‘But I saw what I saw,’ Danny insisted. ‘It was you—’

  ‘Floaters are ten a penny in the docks,’ Frank interrupted with a slight shrug. ‘You should have took a closer gander.’

  Before Danny could reply, the registrar spoke. ‘Who are you, sir? This is a private ceremony, with invited guests only.’

  ‘You’d better ask her.’ Frank nodded at Lizzie.

  But she was speechless; like Danny she couldn’t believe this was Frank. He was thinner and paler than he used to be, his cheeks sunken under his eyes. But he was still wearing his trademark stacked-shoulders overcoat and ridiculous two-tone brogues.

  ‘Mrs Flowers?’ the registrar prompted. But Lizzie could only shake her head as she tried to speak.

  ‘I . . . I . . . don’t know . . .’ she mumbled at last, her voice a distant echo in her ears. ‘He was – he is—’

  ‘Alive and kicking,’ Frank said quietly. ‘Last time I saw you, gel, I was on my way out of this world. And no one is more surprised than me to be standing here in one piece. But this time, you have my word I ain’t here to make trouble.’

  ‘Your word?’ Danny repeated incredulously. ‘Why the hell should anyone take your word? You’re nothing but bad news, Frank. And though you are family and in all conscience I should be relieved that it wasn’t a brother of mine they fished out of the river, I am truly gutted.’

  As the two men faced each other, all Lizzie could think was why in God’s name had she married a man like Frank Flowers? She could still smell his drunken breath on their wedding night. Feel his hands ripping at her clothes. The dream had turned to a nightmare. She had been blind. Naive. And worst of all, she had lost Danny.

  ‘Get out of here,’ Danny continued with quiet menace. ‘You ain’t welcome, Frank. This is my and Lizzie’s day. We are going to finish what we came here for.’

  ‘Problem is,’ Frank said, slowly raising his eyes, ‘the law thinks different.’

  Suddenly Lizzie understood what was truly happening. It didn’t matter where Frank had been or why he was here. The sad truth was there wouldn’t be – couldn’t be – any marriage today. No blushing bride or wedding kiss after Danny had slipped the ring on her finger, no congratulations and confetti on the registry office steps. No wedding breakfast. Gone was the planned knees-up, the tinkling of ivories and serious drinking until dawn. Frank had robbed her of happiness once again.

  ‘Come, come!’ the registrar exclaimed impatiently. ‘Please either leave or be seated, Mr— ?’

  ‘Flowers,’ Frank provided. ‘This lady here is my wife.’

  The silence in the small room was deafening; Lizzie could hear her own heartbeat. No one moved, or drew a breath.

  ‘It’s true, ain’t it, Lizzie?’ Frank insisted. ‘You and me tied the knot – when was it? Must be all of seven years back.’

  ‘Wife?’ the little man repeated as he turned to Lizzie. ‘But you have applied as a widow to be married here today.’

  Lizzie felt her face flush. She stared at Frank and into his expectant gaze. ‘Y-yes . . . I was,’ she faltered. ‘But there’s been some kind of mistake—’

  ‘Obviously,’ the official replied, and taking the ledger in front of him, he snapped it closed, pushing it to one side of the desk with an expression of undisguised anger.

  Chapter Two

  A bead of sweat rolled down Lizzie’s back. Her two-piece suit, the perfect shade of green that she loved and only a shade lighter than her deep, sea-green eyes, was clinging uncomfortably to her skin. Her jaunty, narrow-brimmed hat of the same shade, with a delicate three inches of embroidered veil, felt a mockery now.

  She heard Danny breathing hard, watching Frank as he stepped towards her. ‘You’re the one good thing that’s happened to me, Lizzie. And I’d cut off my right arm if I could change what I did. I’ve seen the error of me ways and I reckon, if we gave it a shot, you and me could make a go of it. It’s never too late to change.’

  Lizzie glared in disbelief at the man who had cheated on her from day one of their marriage. Not caring how much he hurt her or how deeply she had been humiliated. Staring into his face, she felt the breath leave her lungs as she shook her head. ‘Listen to you, Frank! Listen to what you are saying! After all that’s happened do you really believe there could be a future for us? Look at me, look at Danny, we’re here to begin a new life. A life that, until you walked into this room, we had intended to make together.’

  ‘But you can’t leave me now, Lizzie,’ Frank pleaded, opening his arms and gazing into her eyes. ‘Not now. Not now I’ve sorted myself out. And I have, honest to God, I have. On my life, Lizzie, they only just unlocked the door. Can’t you see I’m gen this time?’

  Lizzie’s head started to reel. ‘What door?’

  ‘I’ve been ill, gel. Really bad. But they cured me. They knocked the shit out of me in the hospital and it worked.’

  For one moment Lizzie wanted to laugh. She wanted to laugh long and deeply at the irony of such a statement. If only she could laugh! If only she could see the funny side of the ruination of her wedding day.

  ‘You have got some nerve,’ Danny burst out, pulling his brother round to face him. ‘You turn up at the very minute we’re about to get wed and give us some sob story about being in hospital?’

  ‘It’s true,’ Frank said with a nod. ‘I was in a loony bin. Mad as the proverbial hatter.’

  ‘What’s new? You’ve never been the full shilling,
’ Danny replied, pushing his brother away from Lizzie. ‘It takes a nutter to try and blow up his family and think he can get away with it.’

  ‘I swear it’s the truth,’ Frank insisted as he shrank back. ‘That day I set the bomb off in Lizzie’s shop, I was out of me mind. I didn’t know what I was doing. All I can remember is I heard these voices in my head. Voices saying I had to get rid of you to get my wife back. Then Ferreter turned up and it’s all a blank from there, till I woke up, ranting and raving, in this hospital. I was out of my mind. I didn’t even know my own moniker. The shrinks put me behind bars with all these crazies. I thought I’d died and landed up in hell. It’s been the worst six months of my life.’

  Danny drew a breath and shook his head fiercely. ‘Pull the other one, Frank. Can’t you think up something more convincing?’

  ‘It’s the truth, Danny. I swear it.’

  ‘Enough!’ Danny shouted, pushing his brother’s shoulder again, until he stumbled back and almost fell against a chair. ‘You are nuts, Frank. That’s old news. But listen to me and listen good. Stay away from us. Stay away from Lizzie. Somehow you’ve managed to cling on to life. But enough is enough. You’ve had all your chances and blown them. If I ever see you round here again I’ll personally put right what Ferreter failed to do.’

  Frank looked at Lizzie. He said quietly, ‘Is that what you want too? Don’t you believe me, gel?’

  Lizzie felt the tears very close as she stared at the man whom she had married and promised to love, honour and obey. Whose child she had adopted as her own. It wasn’t enough that Frank had put her sister in the family way and out of it had come their one blessing in Polly, an innocent child whom Babs and Frank had heartlessly chosen to abandon. Now he was claiming that madness had driven him to lie and cheat and almost kill his family. She shook her head slowly and whispered, ‘Danny’s right, Frank. You’ve used up all your chances.’

  ‘One more,’ Frank implored huskily, reaching out. ‘I can do it now. I can look after you and Polly like I should have. And Babs too. I can make things right—’

  ‘Get out, Frank!’ Danny shouted. ‘Get out before I lose my temper. You are on borrowed time, chum, do you hear me?’