Child of the Mersey. Annie Groves

wasn’t for Gloria, she had other ideas about the sort of man who would be worthy of her.

      ‘Eddy, listen to me,’ Gloria said as he started to hum along to the piano. ‘Eddy? Eddy, are you listening?’ She turned his face towards her and could see by the silly grin and half-closed eyes that he was already half-cut. Eddy nodded like an adoring two-year-old.

      ‘It’s about Sid.’ Gloria voice was urgently solemn now and she saw his expression change. His brow pleated and his head went up.

      ‘What about him?’ Eddy asked, alert now.

      Gloria leaned over and whispered in his ear. Concentrating hard, Eddy felt his head begin to clear.

      ‘Frank,’ he said in a low voice, summoning his brother with a slight nod of his head. Frank dutifully left the piano and joined Eddy at the end of the bar.

      ‘What’s the matter?’ Frank asked. Able to take his ale better than his younger brother, he was listening intently.

      Eddy wagged a finger in front of his nose and said in a low voice, ‘I don’t want Pop to hear this, but we’ve to go on a mission.’

      ‘A mission? Where to?’ Frank asked. ‘And why don’t you want Pop to hear?’

      ‘First things first,’ Eddy answered, putting his full pint of best bitter on the bar. ‘We are going to the Adelphi Hotel.’

      ‘What? Now?’ Frank asked, puzzled, and Eddy nodded. ‘It’s a bit late to be going into town; Ma will have our guts for violin strings if we get up to mischief and spoil the wedding.’

      ‘She’ll do more than that if she ever finds out what I’ve just heard.’

      ‘Oh, aye,’ said Frank, suddenly interested, ‘and what was that?’

      ‘I’ll tell you outside,’ Eddy offered, before letting Pop know he would see him back at the house later.

      ‘Sailors, hey?’ Pop’s laughter was drowned out by the cheers of the other men at the bar, all of whom had been away to sea at one time or another. ‘You can’t keep good men down.’

      ‘Thanks, Glor.’ Eddy gave her a peck on the cheek, quickly followed by Frank, who did not want to miss a female hug. A cheer went up as the two brothers left the pub.

      ‘So, what’s the mystery?’ Frank asked, hands in pockets, as they ambled across to the dock road. A striking pair of handsome sailors, the same height, weight and jovial manner.

      ‘I think Sid might be in a bit of bother,’ Eddy said in a low voice as they crossed over towards Seaforth and the terminus of the overhead railway. ‘He certainly will be if we don’t go and fetch him.’

      ‘What kind of bother?’ Frank felt his heartbeat quicken. He never went looking for trouble but if it came to visit, he was always ready.

      ‘Gloria saw him in the Adelphi Hotel last night and again tonight. And he was not on his own.’ Eddy filled Frank in on the details Gloria had told him about Sid enjoying the company of a woman whose brother, infamously, was not averse to the use of violence.

      ‘I’m more Queensberry rules than the rough stuff,’ said Frank, who knew how to handle himself if need be. Coming from a neighbourhood where being tough was a state of mind, as well as body, you had to learn very quickly.

      ‘And what about Gloria?’ he asked. ‘How come she was in the Adelphi?’

      ‘She’s a singer, is Glor,’ said Eddy. ‘Didn’t you know? Nancy told me that she’s got a regular spot at the Adelphi. She’s going places, that girl.’

      ‘Have you gone a bit soft on her?’ asked Frank, nudging his brother playfully in the ribs.

      ‘Who wouldn’t be? That figure, those hips! She drives men wild.’

      Frank was amused by his brother’s glowing assessment of Gloria. The drink had clearly loosened his tongue.

      ‘But I’m not daft, Frank. She’d no more look at me than she would a scrape of mud on one of her shoes. I’m not in her league.’

      Frank clapped his brother on the shoulder. ‘Who dares wins, Edward, who dares wins …’

      The dance floor at the Adelphi was heaving with couples entwined in the last waltz of the evening. Soldiers, sailors and airmen were taking a chance to enjoy the tranquil ambience, the good music and fine wine before they were to be shipped off at a moment’s notice to God knew where.

      It took only a moment before the Feeny brothers caught sight of Sid Kerrigan swishing around the polished floor like Fred Astaire, obviously enjoying himself. Perhaps a little too much. They both recognised his dance partner immediately and they were shocked to see Queenie Calendar, sister of the infamous gang leader Harry Calendar, hanging around Sid’s neck like a barnacle. Sid appeared to be whispering sweet nothings into her ear and she was lapping up every minute. They certainly looked like more than dance partners. Before Sid was aware of it, a handsome sailor had whisked his ravishing partner away and was twirling her around the dance floor himself.

      ‘Oy, this ain’t a gentlemen’s-excuse-me,’ Sid protested. Then he noticed who it was leading him off the dance floor and he gave a sickly grin. ‘Oh, hello, Eddy, me old cock sparrow, where did you come from?’

      ‘We just thought we’d escort you home, Sid,’ Eddy offered with a tight smile. ‘A nice fish supper and an early night would do you the world of good, don’t you think?’ Sid looked flummoxed but nodded all the same.

      Just then, Queenie, who had extricated herself from Frank, came up to Sid, and with her hands on her hips said, ‘What happened to my dance?’ Queenie was all woman, with large breasts and hips that strained against her tight-fitting dress, and a mop of dark brown curls that she had pinned up in the latest style.

      ‘I’m just having a chat with some old friends, Queenie,’ said Sid, ushering her away, his face flushing as he tugged nervously at his necktie, which suddenly felt too tight.

      He turned back to the Feeny brothers. ‘Yes, a nice fish supper, that’s just what I was saying to that nice lady over there,’ Sid recovered himself quickly, ‘before she dragged me up to dance. I don’t have a clue who she is. Never seen her before in my life.’

      ‘Is that right, Sid?’ Eddy, level-headed now, was in no mood for excuses. He had left a full pint on the bar at the Sailor’s and was not pleased about it one bit. However, his sister’s good name was at stake and it was his job to make sure that Sid did nothing to embarrass her in any way.

      ‘And your white lies are turning darker by the minute, me old mucker,’ Frank advised Sid. He went on to inform his future brother-in-law about the danger of plank walking over the River Mersey. ‘… A man might miss his wedding day and that would never do. We have to think of the poor bride in all of this.’