Stormy Days On Mulberry Lane
Page 31
Peggy turned to look at him, all ears, because she hadn’t heard this story. ‘Do tell us, Mr Grundy, please. I’d love to hear…’
‘Well, there were at least six lads after her, but she chose Harold – that was his name, though she didn’t call him by it. He hated the name his parents gave him – hated them. When he married a girl they thought beneath him, his father threatened to cut him off, but then the war came and he changed his tune. He was going to give it all to his Harold when he came home, he was that proud – but it was one of them there Zeppelins that caught him out. Blew both him and his shop to smithereens, so they said. I was in the Army meself so I didn’t see it, but Alice told me about it when I got back.’
‘Couldn’t they have got insurance or some such thing?’ Peggy asked, but Mr Grundy shook his head.
‘In them days, things weren’t done right,’ he said and sipped his beer. ‘Harold hadn’t got the deeds or anything to prove his father owned the place – it had never been registered or nought. Just a handshake in them days. So, when this bloke turned up and said the whole plot of land was his, they hadn’t got a leg to stand on. Cheated they was – and Harold with a chest like that…’ Mr Grundy shook his head sorrowfully. ‘Well, Alice never made a bit of fuss, she just went out to work scrubbing early mornings and looked after her man – and then them kiddies died one after the other. Most women would have gone into a decline, but not our Alice…’
‘I knew she’d had a hard time, but not as bad as you’ve just told me,’ Peggy frowned.
‘She pulled them out of it, earned enough one way or another to look after him until he died – and then…’ Mr Grundy shook her head. ‘There were blokes like me who would’ve taken her on, but she wasn’t fer marryin’ – said she liked a drink and a laugh, but she was best on ’er own. I reckon there was one she might have had, but he went off abroad somewhere.’
‘Yes, Alice told me about Alf,’ Peggy said with a smile. ‘Well, Mr Grundy, you must come in sometimes and tell me more about Alice in the old days. I’d like to hear your stories.’
‘Would you?’ He looked at her under hooded lids. ‘Well, ’appen I might.’
Peggy smiled as she cleared away used glasses and rinsed them. Able was at the bar serving drinks, coffee for some ladies, food and a smile that was fast endearing him to her many friends and regulars. Sheila was upstairs feeding her daughter and Carla was washing up in the kitchen.
The time ticked by and the twins lingered on and Peggy let them. She knew that the atmosphere of this party would remain in their memories a long time and life was changing. The world was becoming a different place rapidly now. Like others, she sensed that the fifties were going to be a new era, a time of innovation and change, and life as she’d known it would evolve as the years passed. Alice was part of a breed of old Londoners that were fast disappearing and Peggy doubted their like would be seen again.
She was glad that she had returned to the lanes and that she’d been here for Alice’s passing and this celebration of an old friend’s life. She’d been meant to return to Mulberry Lane and she knew that her life was here for the next few years, at least until her children were grown and had gone off to explore new lives, because she didn’t think that Able’s children would spend all their years in one area of London, as she had most of hers. They would spread their wings and fly away, perhaps to visit their father’s country – perhaps she and Able would visit America one day, but for the moment she was Peggy of Mulberry Lane and content to be so.
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About the Author
Rosie Clarke is a #1 bestselling saga writer whose most recent books include The Shop Girls of Harpers and The Mulberry Lane series. She has written over 100 novels under different pseudonyms and is a RNA Award winner. She lives in Cambridgeshire.
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First published in Great Britain in 2021 by Boldwood Books Ltd.
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Copyright © Rosie Clarke, 2021
Cover Design by The Brewster Project
Cover Photography: Colin Thomas
The moral right of Rosie Clarke to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologise for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Paperback ISBN 978-1-80048-091-9
Large Print ISBN 978-1-80048-092-6
Hardback ISBN 978-1-80048-094-0
Ebook ISBN 978-1-80048-093-3
Kindle ISBN 978-1-80048-095-7
Audio CD ISBN 978-1-80048-086-5
MP3 CD ISBN 978-1-80048-087-2
Digital audio download ISBN 978-1-80048-090-2
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