New Arrivals at Mulberry Lane

by Rosie Clarke

  ‘No, that was so upsettin’ for her,’ Maureen sighed. ‘Well, I must go and catch my bus or I’ll miss the train. I’ll talk to you when I get back.’

  ‘Give my love to Gordon, and tell him we’re all thinkin’ of him.’

  ‘Yes, thanks,’ Maureen said. ‘I’d better get off…’

  Peggy smiled and watched her leave through the kitchen door, waving as she went under the archway. She picked up a paper that Laurie had fetched earlier and read some of the headlines. There was a picture of a young German boy of fifteen-years-old in a soldier’s uniform. At least in Britain they hadn’t got to that stage, Peggy thought; eighteen was plenty old enough for young men to have to fight.

  Peggy washed the teacups before returning to the cooking she’d started before Maureen arrived. She’d made a shepherd’s pie with buttered greens to go with it, mince pasties, scones and some fresh crusty bread, which smelled so delicious that it made her hungry, and she’d peeled the green cooking apples for a pie. She started to flour the board for her pastry, feeling her throat tighten, because every time she made apple pie she thought of Able and the longing for him almost overcame her.

  *

  ‘I wondered – do you know if Peggy Ashley still runs the pub?’ the man asked Rose as she came out of Mavis’s house and prepared to cross the road. She stared at him for a moment, because his uniform was strange and she thought he was American or Canadian, though she wasn’t sure which.

  ‘That’s a matter of debate,’ Rose said, feeling rueful. She’d lost a good job she loved and was not particularly looking forward to working in the cardboard factory. ‘Most would say her husband runs the pub since he came back from the war – and she has to look after the twins. They’ve not long had their second birthday and are quite a handful – especially Fay…’

  ‘Peggy has two-year-old twins, you say?’ The man in the strange uniform looked at her oddly for a moment and then nodded. ‘I see – thanks for telling me, ma’am… I didn’t know her husband was back…’

  ‘Yeah, he’s been away for ages…’ Rose began, but the man had turned and walked away and didn’t hear her as she said, ‘He’s a brute and a beast and she would be better off without him, if you ask me.’

  Rose stared after him for a few moments, wondering who he was and why he’d wanted to know if Peggy was still at The Pig & Whistle. He’d walked off in the opposite direction, so why had he wanted to know? Perhaps Rose should tell Peggy someone was asking about her.

  Crossing the road, she stopped as Ellie came out of the hairdresser’s.

  ‘Hi, Rose,’ she said. ‘You asked if I could fit you in for a trim this afternoon and I said no, but I’ve had a cancellation and I can fit you in at two thirty if that’s all right.’

  ‘Yes, that’s lovely,’ Rose said. ‘I’m looking forward to starting work with you on Saturday.’

  ‘I shall be pleased to have you, Rose. It means Irene can start to have her own customers and not just her mum.’

  ‘Where’s your little girl today?’

  ‘Mabel is looking after her for me. I’m really lucky to have her. Sid brought round a huge teddy bear for Beth last night. I don’t know where on earth it came from, but he says it isn’t pinched so I’m happy for her to have it.’

  ‘Sid is a nice person,’ Rose said. ‘I’ve seen him in Tom’s shop – he lodges with him, doesn’t he?’

  ‘Yes…’ Ellie looked pensive, a little sad and Rose spoke impulsively.

  ‘I wondered if you’d like to go out sometimes in the evening…’

  Ellie looked surprised. ‘Where were you thinking of going?’

  ‘I’ve been given two free tickets to a dance, but I think it’s more of a social do. We could watch, listen to the music, have a drink, and play cards or the tombola… shuffle round the dance floor together if no one asks us.’

  ‘I like tombola,’ Ellie said. ‘I used to go to that when I lived at home with my friends…’

  ‘Well, we could try that,’ Rose said. ‘You don’t seem to get out much – and I don’t have many friends. I thought we might go out together sometimes…’

  ‘Well, yes, I can’t see why not,’ Ellie said. ‘Mabel wouldn’t mind me goin’ with you now and then. She never grumbles when I go out with Maureen – but she’s too worried about Gordon at the moment…’

  ‘I haven’t met him, but everyone says he’s lovely. I hope he will soon get better.’

  ‘We all do,’ Ellie assured her. ‘All right, I’ll come to the social do with you, Rose. I’ll ask Mrs Tandy if you can come to lunch one Sunday. It’s not a lot of fun when you don’t have many friends.’

  ‘It was all right at Peggy’s…’ Rose felt a surge of anger against the man who had made it so uncomfortable for her that she’d had to find another job at a factory. Rose knew that the reason he’d wanted her out was because he knew she wouldn’t have let him have all his own way. He was determined to put Peggy in her place and Rose would have stood up to him and told her to tell him where to go – and that’s why he wanted her gone; that and the fact that he fancied her and she’d turned him down. Well, even though she couldn’t work in his pub she would be around for Peggy, whether he liked it or not…

  Waving goodbye to Ellie, Rose walked into the pub yard. It was her last but one morning and meeting Laurie Ashley as he crossed the yard, she was glad she’d made the break. He’d been hostile towards her since that day in the pantry and she would be glad when she didn’t have to see him every day. All thought of the man she’d met in the lane had gone from her head as she walked into the kitchen and Peggy told her that Janet would be there that evening.

  ‘You’ll be happy to have her back,’ Rose said and smiled, because she really liked Peggy and she would never have let her down if it hadn’t been for her husband. ‘It means you’ll have some help with the twins, doesn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, I shall be fine now,’ Peggy said and poured her a cup of tea. ‘But don’t be a stranger, Rose. I’m sorry you had to leave – but Laurie…’ Peggy sighed and shook her head.

  ‘I’m not going anywhere, Peggy. I’ll still be living at Mavis’s house and around a lot of the time if you need me…’

  ‘Thanks,’ Peggy said. ‘Can you pop upstairs and help Nellie with the bedrooms, Rose? She wants to get away early, because her daughter is due at the maternity clinic this afternoon and she’d like to go with her…’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ Rose said. She thought fleetingly then of the man in the lane but pushed it aside. Peggy was too busy that morning to be bothered with someone who had just walked away. After all, if he’d wanted to see her, he would have gone to the door of the pub and asked after Rose told him she was there.

  *

  ‘Oh, Jan darling, it’s lovely to have you home,’ Peggy said and embraced her daughter as she carried a sleeping Maggie into the kitchen. ‘It must have been such a long day for you…’

  ‘We started very early,’ Janet said, ‘but we stopped for a drink and some sandwiches a couple of times, and Ryan’s car is so comfortable, much better than clambering on and off trains. Is Maggie in her old room? I’ll take her straight up and say hello to the twins… I’ve got a belated present for their birthday… some things Rosemary gave me out of her attic.’

  ‘I haven’t moved Maggie’s things – but I’ve had the large guest room decorated freshly for you, love, and there’s room for her with you if you prefer. I hope you like it…’ Peggy saw a flash of grief in her daughter’s face but Janet said nothing, merely carrying her daughter out into the hall and up the stairs as Ryan entered the kitchen loaded down with their belongings. ‘Goodness me! It’s just as well Janet had you to bring her home… She’d never have got that lot on and off the trains by herself.’

  ‘I was delighted to bring them both back to you, Mrs Ashley.’

  ‘Please, call me Peggy – I think we’ve known each other long enough now, Ryan. How are you these days?’

  ‘Much better and happier to be ba
ck in England,’ he said. ‘It’s so long since I saw you. I understand you have twins? Your husband must be over the moon.’

  ‘Yes…’ Peggy turned her head aside, as she always did when anyone spoke of the twins as Laurie’s. It was what he’d asked for in return for her remaining at the pub, but sometimes she felt she was betraying Able’s memory. ‘Can I give you a drink – or a cup of tea?’

  ‘I could murder a cup of tea,’ Ryan said and laughed as he deposited an old and much-loved rocking horse in the kitchen. It had been in Rosemary’s attic, but she’d brought it down for Maggie and then given it to her as a parting gift. ‘I can see fights over this once the twins are old enough to want their turn. I don’t think Maggie is too keen on sharing…’

  ‘No, perhaps not,’ Peggy said. ‘I think that may be why Janet is planning on finding a home of her own…’

  ‘She would be silly to move too soon,’ Ryan said with a slight frown. ‘This is a lovely comfortable home, Peggy. I know I would be quite happy living here if it was mine. I’m looking for something in the suburbs. I’d like to be a short ride from the city on the tube. I have a lot of contacts in this area…’

  Peggy looked into his eyes and then nodded. ‘I wish you lots of luck with your plans,’ she said and smiled, because she was glad Janet had a friend like him. ‘And please call whenever you wish…’

  Peggy turned away to pour boiling water into the large brown pot as Janet returned to the kitchen. She was smiling and looked much less tense than when she’d left them to stay with Rosemary in Devon.

  ‘The room is lovely, Mum, thank you,’ she said and went to hug her. ‘I’m really glad to be home. It’s been awkward at Rosemary’s the past few weeks. I felt in the way when Mack was always there.’

  ‘This will always be your home while I live here, Jan…’

  ‘Yes, I know, but I shall find a place for Maggie and me when I can afford it, Mum.’

  ‘Of course… Tea for you, Jan?’ Peggy asked. ‘I’ve got some fresh scones ready – or there is a ham salad if you would rather… and Ryan is welcome to stay, as I hope he knows.’

  ‘Mum, you shouldn’t have gone to any trouble,’ Jan said. ‘We ate snacks on the way. Rosemary sent a huge basket of stuff from her garden too, winter greens, eggs from her chickens – and a chicken. Her gardener plucked it for us…’

  ‘Roast chicken this weekend then,’ Peggy said and turned to Ryan. ‘I’d like you to stay…’

  ‘I have several appointments this weekend,’ Ryan said, ‘but I’d love to come another time. I’ll leave you now, Jan. If there is anything you need – just ring me. I’ll give you my new number…’ He took a little white card from his inside pocket. ‘It was nice talking to you, Peggy. I’ll call another day.’

  ‘Ryan – thank you,’ Janet said and moved towards him. She took his card and held it in her hand. ‘It was so good of you to bring us.’

  ‘I’ll always do anything for you, Jan. Goodnight – and I’ll see you soon.’

  Jan stood watching as he left by the back door, closing it behind him. She sat down at the kitchen table and pulled her cup of tea towards her.

  ‘Ryan didn’t have his tea—’

  ‘No, I expect he wants to get home. Do you know where he lives now?’

  ‘He uses hotels and lodging houses for the moment.’ Janet looked at her mother. ‘I’m glad to be home, Mum. I’m sorry if I made things difficult for you, goin’ off the way I did.’

  ‘I understood, my darling,’ Peggy said. ‘I’m glad to have you back, but you must do whatever suits you. It’s your life and I shan’t stand in your way. I can manage with Nellie’s help – and your father’s.’

  ‘Is Dad helpin’?’ Janet asked and sipped her tea. ‘Pip told me they’d had a row…’

  ‘I wish he hadn’t fallen out with Pip – but you know what he’s like,’ Peggy said.

  ‘I think Ryan wants to marry me…’Janet blurted it out and then looked flushed. ‘I don’t know how I feel. Rosemary thinks I should if he asks me – but I have to be sure. She’s not in love with Mack, but she thinks he’ll give them all a better life.’

  ‘Yes, you must think carefully,’ Peggy agreed. ‘Don’t marry just because it would make your life easier, Janet.’

  ‘I thought once I was fallin’ for Ryan,’ Janet said. ‘There was one night when I almost went to bed with him… but then Mike was found alive and I made my choice.’

  ‘Yes, but things are different now, my love. You have another chance – but you must take your time and think carefully. I want you to be happy whatever you choose.’

  ‘Yes, I shall take my time,’ Janet said, got up and put her arms around her mother and kissed her. ‘I do love you, Mum. I just couldn’t show it because I was hurtin’ too much.’

  ‘I know that,’ Peggy smiled and gave her a hug. ‘You are my daughter and I shall always love you whatever you do. Never forget that…’

  ‘I don’t think I forgot; I just didn’t want to let any form of love in – it was easy to be angry and shut it all out, except for Maggie. I clung to her because without her I should have gone under…’

  ‘Yes, I know.’ Peggy stroked her hair and smiled at her. ‘I’m so glad you’ve come back to me, Jan. We’ll make it a good spring and summer for everyone – and then we’ll talk about the future when you’re ready.’

  Chapter 17

  Maureen looked anxiously at Gordon’s pale face as he lay back against the hospital pillows. Sister Matthews had told her he’d been having some intensive treatment, which had exhausted him. Tears pricked behind her eyes, but Maureen refused to let them fall. She must never show Gordon pity because he would hate it.

  ‘I’m a bit late,’ she said and smiled as he opened his eyes to look at her. ‘The train was diverted due to damage on the line, because the bloody Germans have decided to start making our lives difficult again – so it took half an hour longer…’

  Gordon nodded wearily. He’d read the papers and knew that the Germans had suddenly decided to bomb London and things like railway lines again. The RAF was bombing the hell out of their towns and cities, so it wasn’t surprising that they’d decided on another mini Blitz.

  ‘As long as you’re safe,’ he said and looked at her with a mixture of love and concern. ‘You need to look after yourself now you’re having our baby. If the travellin’ becomes too much for you, you mustn’t come so often…’

  ‘I might come down and stop for a while, unless they find a bed for you in London,’ Maureen told him. ‘Shirley wants to see you, and Robin would like to see his daddy – and Shirley is so good with him. I can trust her as much as I trust Gran these days. She’s growing up so fast, Gordon.’

  ‘I’ve missed seeing them both growing up,’ Gordon said and reached for her hand. ‘It has been touch-and-go about whether they needed to take my leg off, Maureen. I should hate that, but it is at last responding to this new treatment and the infection is under control. I’ve been told I may be moved to London in a couple of weeks or so. I shan’t be home, but you’ll be able to visit me more easily…’

  ‘That’s wonderful news, love,’ Maureen said and bent to kiss him. ‘We’ve all been very worried about you, but I had confidence in the nurses here. Shirley will be so happy to see you. She’s making you a present – but I’m not allowed to tell you what, of course.’

  Gordon reached for her hand and held it. ‘How did I get to be so lucky? I dread to think where Shirley would be now if you hadn’t taken her on.’

  ‘Gran has looked after her a lot of the time, but she loves her – we all love her, Gordon. Shirley is my daughter and all we need to be happy is to have you home with us again.’

  ‘I wasn’t sure I would make it,’ he admitted. ‘The pain nearly sends me mad at times, but I can see the healing is happening and so I’ll put up with the agony of the treatment.’

  ‘I know they’re giving you penicillin, and the papers are full of how wonderful that is, and I expect they give y
ou salt baths…’ The worry inside belied her calm tone, but she couldn’t let him see that she’d been fearful for his leg and his life.

  ‘That hurts like hell,’ Gordon said, ‘but it is helping the wound to heal. They packed it with maggots and they ate out the rotten flesh, but the doc says it will gradually restore itself now that all the puss and infection have gone.’

  ‘Yes, I know it all sounds horrible and the treatment is controversial, but it works. Had the gangrene set in, you would’ve lost your leg.’

  ‘I know. At first, I shouted at the doctor for the pain he was puttin’ me through, swore and called him all the names under the sun, but he’s done me the world of good.’

  ‘We must be thankful they didn’t just chop your leg off over there,’ Maureen said. ‘The field surgeons are so busy, they don’t have time to wait in most cases. You were lucky – even though it doesn’t feel that way.’

  ‘I know I’m lucky to be alive. It was fierce fighting when the Allies landed at Anzio, Maureen. I was lucky to be near an American unit when I was hit; they got me out when I was wounded, otherwise I might have died, I kept thinking about you and the children and it kept me goin’, though it meant I was longer before I was able to get home.’

  Maureen nodded. There hadn’t been much in the papers, because it was all hush-hush and Gordon was wounded soon after the landing, but perhaps that was luck, because the Americans had still been landing their troops and they’d sent him back from the conflict on one of their ships. ‘You’re here now. I pray you’ll never have to fight again.’

  ‘I’ll be lucky if I can work or return to the Army,’ Gordon said wryly. ‘I doubt I’ll be sent overseas again, even if I can manage to hobble about on two legs.’

  ‘You will in time,’ Maureen said and took his hand, holding it firmly. ‘I promise you that you will in time. I’ve bought a little van and both Tom and I are learning to drive it so that he can deliver the goods and I can go to the wholesaler.’

  ‘I don’t want you overdoin’ things in your condition…’