Starting Over
Page 27
Tom studied her face and took the plunge. ‘Lily … I was hoping you might be free for a drive.’
‘A drive?’
‘In my new car.’
Lily could sense the eagerness in his voice. ‘So you finally bought your car?’
‘Yes, and it’s still a beautiful evening.’
‘I’m not sure …’
He leaned forward and whispered, ‘It’s important.’
Then he went off to offer his thanks to Vera.
The observant Millicent Merryweather had spotted the close attentions of Tom Feather towards Lily and came over and spoke softly to her.
‘Lily, do you want a lift – or have you other plans?’
Lily looked thoughtful. ‘Thank you, Milly, but Tom has just asked me to take a drive with him.’
Millicent smiled. ‘That’s fine. See you soon.’
When Tom returned he saw Millicent walking towards her car and glancing back at him expectantly. He looked at Lily and smiled. ‘So you’re coming with me? Thank you.’
They walked across the courtyard towards the vicarage gate. ‘It’s here,’ he said.
Lily saw his new car and felt a great sadness. She knew he was so proud and wished to impress her, but it was wrong to encourage this fine man.
‘Do you mind if we walk instead – just for a little while?’
There was a moment of disappointment, but Tom seemed undeterred. ‘Very well.’
They strolled slowly down the Morton road towards the village green under a vast red sky in which the stars, like celestial fireflies, held steadfast in the firmament. They didn’t hold hands as they used to do, and Lily realized that a life of unfulfilled promises was complicated.
When they reached the village green the orange lights of The Royal Oak shone brightly, and they stopped and breathed in the balmy night air.
‘So, the end of your first year, Lily. You’ve certainly made your mark.’
‘I’ve grown into the job, I suppose – and I’ve loved teaching these children. So, yes, there’s a sense of satisfaction. Ragley School is a special place and the village has become my new home.’
She looked down the High Street where the lights of the shops gave out a reassuring glow: the General Stores & Newsagent, Piercy’s butcher’s shop, the village Pharmacy, Pratt’s Hardware Emporium, Doris Clutterbuck’s Tea Rooms, the Hair Salon and the Post Office – all silent now.
Tom gestured towards the old bench beneath the graceful canopy of the weeping willow tree. ‘Do you mind if we sit down? There’s something I want to say.’
Lily sensed he was searching for the right words. In the distance the familiar sounds of the night could be heard – a hooting owl, the rustlings of small creatures in the grass and the distant bark of a farm dog. She allowed him to take her hand as they walked across the green and the gentle twig-combing breeze was soft in her hair.
When they sat down there was silence between them as they leaned back and took in the shapes of the pantiled roofs, the school bell tower and the moonstone hills beyond. It was a view painted in heaven.
Lily began to relax. Suddenly in this cocoon of private space she felt secure.
‘What did you want to say, Tom?’
He took a deep breath. ‘You’re a wonderful woman and I love you … and I believe you love me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.’
‘But I can’t.’
‘You can. I met Rudi.’
‘Rudi – you spoke to Rudi?’
‘Yes, two days ago, after the cricket. I learned a lot.’
‘Oh, Tom!’
‘And I know about Freddie.’
‘Freddie – my Freddie?’
‘Yes, so I know that is what has stopped you saying yes.’
‘But Tom …’
‘No – let me finish. The past is in the past. That was wartime.’
Suddenly Lily’s shoulders shook and tears ran down her cheeks.
‘How can you accept me?’
He stroked her cheek gently. ‘Sshhh,’ he whispered. And he put his arm around her shoulders. ‘You don’t need to say any more.’
There was a strained silence until, like the bursting of a dam, they both began to speak at once.
‘Sorry – you first,’ said Tom.
‘We did what was right for Freddie. He deserved married parents, not a single mother. After Father died my mother was in a terrible state. Her world had collapsed around her. A new beginning for us all up here in Yorkshire seemed ideal. I knew then that I loved teaching – and I’m good at it,’ she said defiantly. ‘If they had known the truth I wouldn’t have got a teaching job here as an unmarried mother, especially in a Church of England school. The school governors would have been horrified, but no one has ever known the truth until now.’
Tom held her closer. She was shaking with emotion. ‘Lily, I really do understand, but there must be a way to make it right.’
‘Don’t you see? If the school governors knew they would insist on my resignation. They would demand it. It may be 1953, but it may as well be 1923. Society still treats a single mother like an outcast.’
‘They don’t need to know, and, anyway, I don’t care what people think. I still want us to make a life together and be happy.’
Lily knew it was a rare show of strength for Tom to swallow his pride.
‘But do you really want me in spite of all you know?’
Tom sighed and stared up at the sky. It was changing from purple to black and the stars shone down like sentinels.
‘I’ve always wanted you, Lily … for better or worse. I love you … always have … always will.’ The brief pauses gave weight to his words. These were the measured thoughts of an intelligent and sensitive man.
Lily looked up at him. ‘Tom, I don’t want to live a lie and be scared for the rest of my life. That’s how it was,’ she murmured to herself. ‘Rudi was gentle and kind, but our time together was always in secret, away from prying eyes.’
‘Yes, that’s how things were then and they still are now, but they won’t be in the future. It doesn’t have to be like this. Times can change … we can change.’
Lily wanted to believe him. In the silence of the night the thunder of her thoughts was overwhelming.
She stood up and walked a few paces, then turned. ‘Then there’s Freddie. He will need to know one day.’
‘One day, yes, but not now – not now. I don’t think he would fully understand.’
‘But would we stay here in Ragley? I love teaching here at the village school.’
Suddenly her secrets had scattered in the wind like sycamore keys and there was a new lightness to her thoughts. The weight of worry had been lifted.
Tom stood up, walked towards her and held her hands. ‘And I enjoy being a Yorkshire policeman. We could stay here. I just want to be with you for the rest of my life.’
‘Oh, Tom.’ There were tears in her eyes. The shadows of the past had flown. The old world was behind her now and it was time for starting over.
He held her close. ‘So, Lily … will you marry me?’
Lily looked up at Tom and saw there was no weakness in this man … only love.
She smiled and said simply, ‘I will.’
And in a heartbeat her new life began.
About the Author
Jack Sheffield grew up in the tough environment of Gipton Estate, in north-east Leeds. After a job as a ‘pitch boy’, repairing roofs, he became a Corona pop man before going to St John’s College, York, and training to be a teacher. In the late seventies and eighties, he was a headteacher of two schools in North Yorkshire before becoming Senior Lecturer in Primary Education at Bretton Hall College of the University of Leeds. It was at this time he began to record his many amusing stories of village life as portrayed in Teacher, Teacher!, Mister Teacher, Dear Teacher, Village Teacher, Please Sir!, Educating Jack, School’s Out!, Silent Night, Star Teacher and Happiest Days.
Starting Over is his eleventh novel in the Teacher series
and continues the story of life in the fictional village of Ragley-on-the-Forest.
In 2017 Jack was awarded the honorary title of Cultural Fellow of York St John University. He lives with his wife in Buckinghamshire.
Visit his website at www.jacksheffield.com
Order Jack Sheffield’s latest novel now …
CHANGING TIMES
For the residents of the small Yorkshire town the war is finally starting to feel like a distant memory. Gone are the days of rationing and sacrifice, replaced with the joys of spin-dryers and Beatlemania.
But Lily Feather can’t quite forget the events of the war and the years that followed. Buried in her past remains a terrible secret from which she cannot escape but that still threatens her fragile family. After the death of their mother, her brother, Freddie, has come to depend on her and her husband, but their lives will soon change for ever. On the cusp of adulthood, Freddie’s life is simple: all he really has to worry about is school, girls and a spot of rugby. But when he stumbles across his family’s secret past it is his life that is changed forever. A dark history lies between Freddie and the truth and he begins to question how much he’ll have to sacrifice to learn who he truly is.
Available in July 2019
Also by Jack Sheffield
Teacher, Teacher!
Mister Teacher
Dear Teacher
Village Teacher
Please Sir!
Educating Jack
School’s Out!
Silent Night
Star Teacher
Happiest Days
For more information on Jack Sheffield and his books, see his website at www.jacksheffield.com
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First published in Great Britain in 2018 by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Jack Sheffield 2018
Cover design by Beci Kelly/TW
Images by Getty
Jack Sheffield has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
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 apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
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Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473543096
ISBN 9780593078624
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