The Liberty Girls

by Fiona Ford

  Neither seemed a better option than the other, and frankly the more Alice thought about it, the less she knew what she wanted to say. Now as she stood in front of the hotel, the uniformed doorman looking at her as if she were slightly unhinged, Alice gritted her teeth and walked straight into the foyer.

  Heels clacking across the marble floor, she smiled at the receptionist who she knew was a friend of Joy’s. ‘Is Luke here? I just thought I’d pop up and see him.’

  The receptionist grinned at Arthur and ran her finger down the handwritten ledger on her desk. ‘He hasn’t signed out so yes, he should be in. Leave the pram in the corner if you like, save you the trouble of taking it all the way up there.’

  ‘Thank you!’ Alice scooped out her still-sleeping boy.

  She knew Luke was staying in the staff quarters at the top of the hotel. She walked down to the lift at the far end of reception and pressed the call button.

  As she waited for the lift to appear Alice tapped her foot nervously on the marble floor. Would he be pleased to see her, or would he simply tell her to get out? After all, the last time they had seen one another she hadn’t exactly given him an awful lot to feel hopeful about. Still, she thought as the lift pinged open in front of her, that was then and this was now. All she could do was hope that together they could find a new way forwards.

  As the lift raced upwards, the scream of the lift shaft became so loud that Alice was terrified Arthur would wake up and start screaming himself in protest. But amazingly, as if sensing the magnitude of what his mother was about to do, Arthur slept through it all, stirring only briefly when the lift ground to a halt on Luke’s floor.

  Stepping out into the corridor, Alice managed a smile. These maids’ quarters were in stark contrast to the marble floors and vaulted ceilings in reception. Here the corridors had concrete floors and bare brick walls, and as Alice crept past door after door, she had a feeling that the rooms themselves would hold only a single bed and not much else.

  Eventually she found Luke’s room. Rapping on the panelled wooden door she hoped Luke would let her in without fuss, as Arthur was heavy and her arms were beginning to ache.

  Impatiently she waited but there was no reply so she rapped again and pressed her ear to the door to listen for sounds of movement. ‘Luke,’ she called. ‘It’s me. I thought we could talk.’

  Listening again, she thought she could hear the sound of voices and frowned: he must have the radio on. She rapped again, but there was still no reply, just the echo of laughter.

  Glancing down at Arthur, who now felt like a baby elephant in her arms, Alice tried the handle. Amazingly the door wasn’t locked and she was able to walk straight inside. Only as she pushed the door open and took a step into the room she found herself wishing she could turn back time, for the sight in front of her left Alice thunderstruck.

  A wave of sickness crashed over her as she made sense of the scene before her. Clothes had been flung across the room, a tangle of tops and bottoms immersed in their very own rumba, while a half-drunk bottle of port with two glasses rested on the bedside table.

  Alice’s gaze swept past the debris of what had obviously been up until now a very good evening and took in the sight of two figures lying naked in a single bed. Rooted to the spot, she fixed her eyes on her husband who was lying in a jumble of sheets, his head propped up on the pillow, looking for all the world as if he were about to face court martial.

  She watched the colour drain from his face.

  ‘Alice,’ he began hurriedly, ‘I can explain.’

  Alice held up her one free hand to stop him. She wasn’t interested in what Luke had to say. The scene before her told her everything she needed to know and she realised with a disgusted thud that the time for talking was over, that there was nothing that Luke could say that would make anything about this situation better. As her eyes left those of her husband’s she turned her gaze to the other figure, because lying next to him, sheets clamped around her chest as she stared at Alice, her green eyes flashing defiance, was her sister.

  Chapter Fifty

  Even though it was entirely inappropriate under the circumstances, Alice wanted to laugh. She had spent years trying to help Joy and set her on the right path. Now, here was Joy truly demonstrating what she thought of her sister and Alice knew that Luke would have been only too willing an accomplice. This was a man who had set up home with another woman, leaving his wife to think he might be dead. Sleeping with her sister was surely just the next step in the road. It was sad really that they couldn’t have been a bit more imaginative.

  ‘And what exactly can you explain, Joy?’ Alice asked, her voice steady and even despite the fact her heartbeat was roaring in her ears. ‘Can you tell me why you and my husband are curled up together in this single bed? Is it because you’re freezing cold in the middle of summer perhaps? Is it because you’re working on some new rationing project where clothes are not required, or is it because you two are a pair of dirty, cheating little sods who want ripping limb from limb?’

  Joy sat up and smiled smugly at her sister. She looked like the cat that got the cream. ‘There’s no need to be like that,’ she replied in a mocking tone. ‘Think about Arthur. Think about your family.’

  Alice looked at her sister, ready to open her mouth and tear strips off her for her behaviour as she usually did, despite the fact she was carrying Arthur. But she knew this was exactly what Joy wanted. It was so pathetic that Alice almost felt sorry for her.

  She turned her gaze back to her good-for-nothing husband. To think she had been considering falling to her knees and telling him about her kiss with Jack. It was clear to her now just how much the war had changed things, putting distance between Alice and Luke both physically and emotionally, so that when he met Hélène he had allowed himself to be swept away. By the time Luke had returned, Alice had changed too. Not only had her son become the apple of her eye, but she had become more confident and capable too. She didn’t need Luke the way she used to. Alice glanced down at Arthur, who was now beginning to stir. She had spent so long trying to create a perfect family life, and to give him opportunities that she’d never had, that she’d forgotten to worry about whether or not the man who was his father was worthy of such a title.

  ‘Alice,’ Luke tried again, cutting into her thoughts as he tried to pat down his mussed-up hair. ‘Please can you forgive me? I made a mistake. I was feeling low after our exchange yesterday. It’s been so hard for me since I got back from France; I don’t know who I am any more. This meant nothing. I’m sorry, I got carried away, Joy was there, we had some port, we got lost in the moment – you know how these things go.’

  Alice had heard enough, and all she wanted to do was get out of that tiny room that reeked of whatever the pair of them had been doing and return to the safety of the Elephant and Castle.

  Squaring her shoulders, she lifted her chin in defiance and held on tightly to her son. ‘Then let me make it a little easier for you,’ she said with a hint of steel to her voice. ‘I don’t want you in my life any more, or Arthur’s. In fact, I don’t ever want to see you again. So go back to Hélène in France, go to your brother’s in Wales, or set up house with Joy here for all I care. As long as you don’t darken my door again, Luke Milwood, I really don’t care what you do.’

  A flash of anger crossed Luke’s face. ‘I think you do care and you will care. You are my wife. You’re stuck with me.’

  Alice took another look at the scene before her and said nothing. Instead she turned to go, pulling open the door, only to swing round and face her husband and sister, one more punishing delivery to make. ‘You two deserve each other. Luke, we may never be able to get a divorce, so yes, legally perhaps Arthur and I are stuck with you as you call it. You may even insist on coming home, and living in a house where nobody wants you. I can’t stop you doing that. But know that in my heart’ – she banged her hand against her chest for emphasis – ‘you died the moment I received that letter telling me you were
missing.’

  Chapter Fifty-One

  The following morning Alice got up to find Mary sitting at the table, her face glum, while Dot busily buttered toast with the barest scraping of spread as if her life depended on it.

  ‘What’s up with you two? And Mary, what are you doing here? You don’t live here no more.’

  ‘Malcolm and Rose have been up since the crack of dawn arguing.’ Mary sighed, resting her head in her hands. ‘I thought I’d escape and come here for a cup of tea before work. It was hell to listen to.’

  ‘What were they rowing about?’ Alice asked, placing Arthur on the floor as she took a sip of tea.

  ‘Malcolm found out about Rose’s pickpocketing. He discovered the wallet she took from the man’s coat – although all the cash was gone, his Identity Card was in there and of course it all came out.’

  ‘We’ve got to get through to Rose somehow,’ Alice said urgently.

  ‘I know.’ Mary nodded, her eyes filled with concern. ‘That’s what me and Dot have just been discussing.’

  ‘Is that why you’re upset then?’ Alice asked, turning to Dot.

  ‘Partly,’ Dot replied curtly, ‘and partly because George’s sister’s coming today.’

  ‘Your husband George?’ Mary quizzed.

  Dot nodded.

  ‘Vera?’ Alice exclaimed. ‘But why? She’s not seen you for ages.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Dot sighed as she took a bite of her breakfast, sending crumbs across the work surface. ‘She wants something. Wrote to me last week saying she was coming over from Bromley to see me today.’

  ‘When was the last time you saw her?’ Mary asked.

  ‘Must be two Christmases ago.’ Dot sighed again. ‘She always manages to find something wrong. I haven’t dared tell her I’m courting. I can only imagine what I’m meant to have done this time.’

  Mary frowned. ‘Why would she be upset? George has been dead twenty-five years.’

  ‘Because in her head I should still be wearing black and in mourning,’ Dot said, rolling her eyes. ‘George always thought she was a daft mare as well, so he never had much to do with her when he was alive.’

  ‘So will you tell her today then?’ Mary asked. ‘About Mr Button? I mean if he’s mentioned marriage.’

  ‘Yes, you’ve kept that very quiet lately.’ Alice chimed in. ‘Has that all gone off the boil? I thought you were considering it.’

  Dot shrugged. ‘He hasn’t even asked me, so there’s nothing to consider.’

  ‘But if he does?’ Mary persisted.

  ‘Then I have to say I don’t know, girls.’ Dot pushed her plate of toast away from her. ‘I love Edwin, but I’m not sure I could get married again, not now.’

  ‘You’re never too old to get married again,’ Mary offered. ‘Life’s short, Dot.’

  ‘I know that! It’s not the shortness of time that bothers me, girl, it’s the length of marriage! They ought to dish out medals for length of service – Alice will tell you.’

  Alice held her hands up. ‘Don’t talk to me about marriage! I’m hardly the world’s greatest advertisement for it. Anyway,’ she said, swiftly bringing the subject back to Dot, ‘it’s not exactly like Vera will be here for long, is it? Quick cup of tea and she’ll be off, surely?’

  ‘Let’s hope so. I shouldn’t be so mean about her. She’s my last link to George, but the trouble is she’s still so possessive over him and she’s been worse since her Reg died five years ago.’

  ‘Was Reg her husband?’ Mary asked.

  ‘That’s right. They wed the same time as me and my George, had two children together. Sam and Violet, who must be about your age now – I haven’t seen them for a long time either.’

  ‘She could just want to say hello,’ Alice mused.

  ‘Never in this world.’ Dot sniffed, pulling her plate of toast back and taking a large bite. ‘What’s up with you anyway?’ she asked, regarding Alice thoughtfully. ‘You’ve a face like a busted clock.’

  Alice sighed. She had half thought about lying but decided there was no point. The truth would come out sooner or later – it always did. ‘Last night I went to find Luke to talk to him about repairing our marriage.’

  ‘Good idea, love,’ Dot said sagely, jerking her head towards Arthur. ‘That kiddie needs a dad.’

  ‘That’s what I thought, and still do think,’ Alice replied. ‘Only trouble is that I don’t think Luke is fit to be Arthur’s father. When I arrived at Mayfair House and went up to his room I found him in bed with another woman – Joy.’

  Mary’s jaw dropped open with shock. ‘Oh my goodness.’

  ‘That two-timing little sod,’ Dot seethed, putting her toast down in disgust. ‘And as for her, if I lay eyes on that little madam again I’ll crown her! Who the hell does she think she is?’

  Taking a deep breath, Alice lifted her chin and looked at her friend and then her landlady. ‘I will never forgive Joy for this. I mean, sleeping with her own brother-in-law is low, even for her.’

  ‘You know she only did it out of revenge, don’t you, love?’ Dot said, echoing Alice’s own thoughts on the matter. ‘Much as I want to string the little cow up for this, you know this was never about her wanting Luke.’

  ‘I know. This was all about those daft codes of honour my old man used to bang on about.’

  ‘Oh yes.’ Dot raised a knowing eyebrow. ‘Your old mum used to tell me about ’em. “Always get revenge on someone if they make you look a fool” was one of his favourites.’

  Mary stared at them in disbelief. ‘You think that’s why Joy slept with Luke? Because of something your father said?’

  ‘Joy was and I suppose still is a real daddy’s girl, Mary.’ Alice sighed. ‘I think if she could have she would have followed him to the States.’

  ‘You did your best for her, love,’ Dot insisted.

  Alice shrugged, feeling helpless. ‘That may be so, but I didn’t realise quite how angry Joy was with me. You should have seen her face when I caught them both. It was as though all her Christmases had come at once. She looked so pleased with herself. I think she imagined telling me all the details afterwards, but for me to catch them at it, well, that was the icing on the cake.’

  ‘I’m shocked,’ Mary exclaimed. ‘I mean I thought I knew better than anyone how low sisters could go, but what Joy has done, no matter what her motivation, is despicable. As for Luke, I knew you were having problems but how on earth did he think that sleeping with your sister would fix them?’

  Alice let out a bitter laugh. ‘I don’t think he thought about me for a moment. I think he thought about himself, and that’s what he’s been doing for months.’

  ‘How do you mean?’ Mary asked.

  Alice looked down at what was left of her cup of tea. When Chris had first told her of Luke’s betrayal she’d thought she would fall to pieces, but now, in her home, surrounded by women who truly loved her, she felt oddly calm.

  ‘I mean that Luke could have come back from France a lot earlier,’ she admitted, her voice shaky. ‘Chris told me when he came to visit that the reason Luke didn’t come back sooner wasn’t because he was waiting for the right time to make his escape. It was because he’d fallen in love with a French Resistance fighter named Hélène. The only reason he returned at all apparently was because this Hélène was making noises about marriage and that wasn’t something Luke could do – given he was already married.’

  As Alice’s words hung in the air there was a silence; Mary and Dot exchanged looks of incredulity.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ Mary said at last. ‘How could he deceive you like that?’

  ‘’Cos he’s got the morals of an alley cat,’ Dot growled, lifting her butter knife in fury and waving it in the air. ‘I tell you this, he’d better not think about coming back here or he might have another injury to worry about besides his gammy leg. I hope you’re not thinking of having him back, love? He wants stringing up for what he’s done.’

  ‘Does Luke know you know?
’ Mary pressed.

  Alice nodded. ‘Yes, I told him some time ago. He apologised, said it wasn’t what I thought …’ Her voice trailed off; repeating the excuses he had fobbed her off with made her feel so weak and used – she couldn’t bear to repeat them.

  ‘What will you do now?’ Dot asked bluntly.

  Alice raised a smile. It was typical of Dot to be so practical. ‘I don’t know,’ she replied honestly. ‘I know that I can’t forgive both of these betrayals but divorce? I don’t know if I can do that either. The expense, the stigma of it all …’

  ‘And yet he’s the one that’s left you with this decision,’ Dot snapped angrily, getting up to clear away the breakfast things.

  ‘I just cannot think about this any more. All I know is that us girls are back together in fabrics from this morning and we’ve got the fashion parade at Mayfair House tonight.’

  ‘And work is often the best place to find an answer to our problems,’ Mary reasoned. ‘Now shall we go up there? The last thing we want is to be sacked for tardiness.’

  Mary needn’t have worried. After an effortless Tube ride into the centre, the girls were ten minutes early for work and delighted to find Flo behind the cash register going through the previous few days’ orders.

  Mary chuckled. ‘It’s as though you’ve never been away.’

  Flo beamed in return. ‘It feels so wonderful to be back here. I should never have left. Fabrics is my home.’

  ‘We’re all back where we belong,’ Mary chimed in, just as Jean approached the girls, looking nervous.

  ‘Hello, Mrs Canning,’ she said cautiously.

  ‘Jean! I’m looking forward to working together,’ Flo welcomed her. ‘Now, I know how you did things with Mrs Claremont but when I ran fabrics we did things a bit differently.’