The Brooklands Girls

by Margaret Dickinson

  She crossed the room and put her arm around him. ‘Don’t look so forlorn, darling Daddy. You can sell the house in Yorkshire and come and live here. The apartment is paid for, isn’t it? And I’m earning enough to pay the bills.’

  George eyed her sceptically. ‘My dear girl, my father had a saying, “you don’t see the chickens scratching for the old hen”. It really wouldn’t be right for me to be living off you. Besides, one day, you might want to get married.’

  Rebecca pulled a face and said wryly, ‘Hardly likely, Daddy, is it?’

  ‘But you’re a pretty girl . . .’

  She shook her head. ‘That makes no difference. There just aren’t enough men of my age to go around now. No, I’ll be quite content to continue with my career as a nurse and to care for you. Maybe I’ll end up as a matron one day. Who knows?’

  George smiled thinly, but the worry never left his eyes. He didn’t know how on earth he was going to broach this subject with Pips.

  Making a decision, he said, ‘Well, I’m not quite bankrupt yet. I’ll go up to Lincolnshire and see Pips at the weekend.’

  ‘George!’ Pips’s face lit up as he was shown into the Brown Parlour, where she was sitting with her mother finalizing the details of her wedding day – 7 December. She jumped up and went towards him, her arms outstretched. He took her hands in his and kissed her on both cheeks.

  He shook hands with Henrietta and smiled down at her, but the smile never reached his eyes. Henrietta, quick to notice, rose and said, ‘I’ll leave you to it, then. We can talk again later, Pips. Have you eaten, George?’

  ‘Yes, thank you.’

  ‘Then I’ll have tea brought in for you both and I’ll see you at dinner.’

  As her mother left the room, Pips wound her arms round George’s waist and lifted her face to be kissed properly. Though he kissed her, it was not with the same ardour that she was used to. She pulled back and looked up into his face. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’

  George sighed heavily. ‘Sit down, my dear. We must talk.’

  ‘George – darling – you’re frightening me.’

  ‘There’s no easy way to say this, my love, but I have to release you from our engagement.’

  Pips’s eyes widened and then narrowed suspiciously. ‘You’ve met someone else?’

  George was actually able to laugh at the absurdity of such a thought, but he knew in a moment why Pips would think that. She had been hurt before. ‘Heavens, no! I love you with all my heart, Pips, and I always will. You must know that.’

  ‘Well, I thought I did, but – then why?’

  ‘I’ve lost almost all my money.’

  ‘In the Wall Street crash, you mean?’

  He nodded. ‘Do you remember me telling you that at the time I received my promotion, I was posted to join our troops launching a counter-attack alongside the French and the Americans?’

  Pips nodded.

  ‘I became great friends with an American officer. His father was a stockbroker – a reputable one, I might add – in New York. On Wall Street.’

  ‘Oh dear. I think I know where this is heading. Go on.’

  ‘He survived the war and when he went back home, he joined his father’s firm. We kept in touch and he offered to handle my financial affairs, if I should think of investing in American stocks and shares. Pips, through the twenties, America has experienced a boom. I have made a lot of money through his sound advice. I was paid handsome dividends. Some of it I used to supplement my other income, but most of it I ploughed back into shares. So, I suppose, you can guess what’s happened now. I’ve lost almost all my money.’

  ‘George,’ she gripped his hands. ‘I’m so sorry, but why should that affect us getting married?’

  ‘I can’t support you in the way you’ve – er – been used to.’

  Pips frowned. ‘But my income’s quite safe. We, as a family, don’t have investments in stocks and shares. Everything we have is tied up in the estate and that’s how we make a living for all of us. Well, most of it, anyway. Until recently, Father still insisted on running his practice, but that’s always been more because he wanted to rather than because he had to. And now that Robert runs it, it’s still part of our overall income.’

  ‘And you think I’m the sort of man who would be happy to live off his wife?’ George said stiffly.

  Pips stared at him. ‘When you put it like that, no, I don’t, but you see, I’m one of these irritating modern women who thinks that a husband and wife should be equal partners in a marriage. What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is yours.’

  ‘I don’t think that your parents – or your brother – would see it that way.’

  ‘Then we’ll ask them,’ Pips said simply.

  As the family, apart from Daisy, sat down for dinner, George was nervous – more nervous than he’d ever been in his life. Leading his troops ‘over the top’ had never been as frightening as this.

  As forthright as ever, Pips came straight to the point. ‘George has offered to release me from our engagement because he has lost most of his investments in the Wall Street crash.’

  ‘Oh dear,’ Henrietta said, glancing anxiously from one to another and then turning to Edwin. For once in her life she was at a loss as to what to say.

  But it was Robert who took the lead. ‘I’m sorry to hear that, old chap – about your finances, I mean, but why would that mean you can’t marry Pips?’

  ‘I won’t be able to support her in the manner in which I would wish to do,’ George said stiffly.

  ‘Is that the only reason you’re asking to be released from your promise?’

  ‘Of course it is.’

  Robert nodded. ‘I respect and admire you for that, but if this had occurred after you were married, you wouldn’t have abandoned her, would you?’

  ‘Of course not, but that isn’t the case.’

  ‘So, in true army fashion, you’re falling on your sword, are you?’

  George had the grace to smile. ‘Something like that, I suppose.’

  ‘I don’t know what our parents think,’ Robert said, glancing at them both, ‘but I think this is a load of nonsense. You’ve been together for several years and it’s high time you were married and Pips settled down.’

  ‘What d’you mean, “settled down”?’

  ‘Stop all this daredevil stuff. Poor Mother has kittens every time she knows you’re racing or flying.’

  ‘Oh phooey!’ Pips said, making them all smile – even George. ‘I’ve already promised to give up motor racing, though not the flying, and George has agreed to that.’

  Robert chuckled. ‘I don’t suppose you gave him much choice, did you? And, if I’m not much mistaken, we have another member of the family following in your footsteps. Daisy already rides her pony like the wind – and Samson, when she can. Even Jake can’t keep up with her. Anyway, enough of that for the moment.’ He turned to Edwin. ‘What d’you say, Father, about George’s problems?’

  Edwin glanced at his wife before smiling and saying, ‘Well, apart from the little bit of money that my practice brought in, I’ve been a “kept man” all these years.’

  ‘Oh Edwin, nothing of the sort. Everything we have is ours, not mine.’

  ‘Exactly!’ Pips said triumphantly, as Edwin touched his wife’s hand and said, ‘I know, my dear, but perhaps George doesn’t see it that way.’

  Henrietta turned towards George and said spiritedly, ‘Well, he should. Tell us just how bad things are. Have you nowhere to live?’

  ‘I have the apartment in London, but my daughter classes that as her home when she’s off duty.’

  ‘That’s understandable,’ Henrietta murmured. The family knew all about Rebecca’s animosity towards her father’s marriage to Pips, but they were too courteous to allude to it. ‘Have you any other property?’

  ‘A house near York which I can sell, though I don’t think I’ll get its true value in this climate.’

  Edwin cleared his throat. ‘Have you a
ctually sold any of your shares yet?’

  George shook his head. ‘No, not yet, but . . .’

  ‘Then don’t be too hasty, at least not with the companies that are still in business. You won’t receive dividends for some time, probably, but surely things will recover eventually – apart, of course, from companies that have actually gone bankrupt. You can’t do anything about them. Take advice from your stockbroker in America. If you trust him, that is.’

  ‘Oh, I do. None of this is his fault. It seems that he was trying to get in touch with me after the twenty-fourth, when the panic first started, to discuss what I wanted him to do, but was unable to do so.’

  ‘Since the war,’ Robert put in, ‘I’ve dabbled a bit in the stock market. Oh, not in a big way, but just to give myself an interest. Something to do, you know. But if you’d like a second opinion . . .’ He smiled at the allusion to his own profession. ‘I have a very good stockbroker, if you’d like to talk to him.’

  George glanced around the table. He still wasn’t sure what their answer was. ‘So . . .?’

  ‘I think what we’re saying, old chap,’ Robert said, ‘is that it’s all up to Pips. She’s the one marrying you, but we’ll support her – and you – in whatever decision she makes.’

  ‘And if you’ve nowhere to live,’ Henrietta smiled, ‘there’s a cottage on the estate about to become vacant. You could have that. You could spend your time between here and London, if that’s what you want.’

  There was silence around the table until Robert said, ‘You’re still not comfortable with it, George, are you? I expect you see it as charity.’

  George winced. ‘Not exactly, it’s just that I don’t want to live off my wife’s income.’

  ‘If you marry Pips, you’ll be part of this family and you’ve heard what Father has said.’

  ‘But he worked right up until this year. He did a very useful job. I don’t. And to be honest, I don’t know what I could do. I’ve only ever known army life.’

  ‘We’ll give it some serious thought,’ Henrietta said, ‘but for now all we need to know is – is the wedding still going ahead?’

  ‘As far as I’m concerned, yes,’ Pips said at once and, in an effort to lighten his mood, she added, ‘and George, you really can’t disappoint Daisy. She’s so excited about being my one and only bridesmaid and wearing her pretty frock.’

  As they prepared for bed that night, in the privacy of their bedroom, Henrietta whispered, ‘Edwin, is there anything else we can do to help George?’

  Edwin climbed into his side of the double bed. ‘Leave it with me, Hetty my love. I have an idea, but please don’t say anything to anyone. It will have to be very hush-hush.’

  Henrietta switched off the bedside lamp and climbed in beside him. ‘Dear me, you make it sound like something Basil used to confide in us during the war.’

  ‘Hetty my love, sometimes you are just far too astute for your own good. Now, go to sleep and try not to worry. You’ll still see your daughter walking down the aisle, I’m sure.’

  Forty-Four

  ‘I really don’t understand what their motive is.’ Rebecca frowned when George told her about his trip to Lincolnshire. ‘Her family must be absolutely desperate to see her married. And why does she still want to marry you if you can’t keep her in the lap of luxury?’

  ‘You’re very cynical, Rebecca. Can’t you believe that we love each other?’

  ‘Oh, I can see you’re besotted with the woman, but as for her . . .’ She met her father’s troubled gaze. ‘Daddy, I adore you, you know that, but I’m not blind. You’re in your fifties now and what is she? Early thirties, I’d guess?’

  George didn’t answer. He wasn’t exactly sure of Pips’s age. It was something he hadn’t really wanted to know. All he knew was that he loved her and couldn’t bear to think of spending the rest of his life without her. And yet, he loved his daughter dearly too.

  Huskily, he said, ‘Rebecca, Pips and I are going to be married in a month’s time. Can’t you try to get along with her for my sake? Please?’

  Rebecca was silent for a moment, glaring at him resentfully. Through gritted teeth she said, ‘Never in a million years. I can’t stop you coming here, to the flat – it’s yours. But I’d be obliged if you’d let me know when the two of you are going to be in residence and I’ll make other arrangements. I’m absolutely appalled that a man of your moral uprightness should be prepared to be kept by a woman.’ She turned on her heel and with a parting shot over her shoulder, added, ‘But if you’re determined to go ahead with it, you can tell them that I won’t be coming to the wedding.’

  George slumped into his chair, still anguished over his decision. The war, with all its horrors and tragedies, had been much simpler than family feuds.

  Pips was due back in London the following day and after a restless night, when he had barely slept, George rose, washed, dressed and went to Milly’s apartment.

  Milly opened the door in her silk dressing gown. ‘Darling – what a nice surprise. Do come in, but Pips isn’t back until later today. She’s driving back. Actually, I thought you were up there with her.’

  ‘I was, but I came home on the train yesterday. I needed to talk to my daughter.’

  Milly made coffee and they sat at the kitchen table. ‘You know, I know everyone sees me as this empty-headed chatterbox, but I can keep confidences when I need to.’

  ‘I have never thought of you like that, Milly. Although we never met out there, Pips has told me just how valuable an asset you were at the front. You’re anything but empty headed, my dear.’

  ‘Sweet of you to say so, but what I’m trying to say is that if you need someone to talk to, then I’m always here for you. For both of you. Nor would I tittle-tattle from one to the other, if you know what I mean.’

  George smiled thinly. ‘There are no secrets between Pips and me.’ He sighed heavily.

  ‘But you have got a problem of some sort, haven’t you? A big one, by the look on your face. Is it your daughter?’

  George nodded. ‘Partly. She just can’t – or won’t – come to terms with Pips and me marrying.’

  ‘Well, she’s leaving it a bit late in the day. The wedding’s in a month.’ Milly paused and then asked softly, ‘And what’s the other part?’

  ‘I’ve lost most of my money in the crash.’

  Milly pulled a face. ‘Daddy’s lost quite a lot too, but he thinks the secret is not to panic. Just hold tight and don’t sell. I don’t know if he’s right or not, but that’s what he thinks.’

  ‘Yes, that’s what Robert and his father suggested too.’

  ‘The markets will recover, I’m sure, but it’ll take a while.’ With a shrewdness that few people gave her credit for, Milly said, ‘But you’re a man of honour – a true gentleman – and you can’t bear the thought of marrying Pips when you can’t support her in the way you’d wish to. Am I right?’

  ‘Absolutely! Her family have been very good – very magnanimous and, when I was there, I sort of agreed to their suggestions, but now I’m back here and – to be honest – after something that Rebecca said, I’ve changed my mind. I have to tell Pips today that I can’t marry her. At least, not now.’

  ‘I see,’ Milly said quietly. ‘Then I’d better get dressed and make myself scarce, but can I ask you something, George?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Do you intend to break it off completely or just to postpone the wedding?’

  ‘That will be up to Pips.’

  ‘I’d be quite happy for you to move in here, if you wanted to. I love having Pips here. We get along so well and, even if we don’t always agree, we seem to have found a lovely way of working things out.’

  ‘I wouldn’t want to make things – well – awkward for you.’

  Milly shrugged. ‘You wouldn’t. I’m a modern woman. I’m sure you know that Paul and I are lovers. He stays some nights and it never bothers Pips. The apartment’s quite big enough for all of us. Anyway, the of
fer’s there. And now, I’ll get out of the way . . .’

  Pips was surprised to find George waiting for her at Milly’s home when she arrived back. ‘Is everything all right?’ she asked anxiously, seeing his solemn face.

  ‘Not really, my darling. I have to ask you to postpone the wedding or – if you so wish – to release me from our engagement. My principles will just not let me go through with it whilst my finances are in such a chaotic mess.’

  She moved to him and put her hands on his chest and looked up into his troubled eyes. ‘George – be honest. Do you want to break it off all together?’

  ‘Of course not,’ he said hoarsely.

  ‘Then we’ll just carry on as we are now. I’ll write and tell mother to put the wedding plans on hold and we’ll see how things go.’

  ‘Your family were so generous. I feel I’m throwing kindness in their faces.’

  ‘They’ll understand, I promise.’

  ‘I talked to Milly this morning – before you came home. She’s offered for me to move in here too, but I don’t feel it’s a good idea, do you?’

  ‘Good old Milly.’ Pips laughed. ‘She’s a darling, but I agree with you. It might feel a bit crowded. Besides, I feel you need your independence. You’d be feeling as much in her debt as in my family’s, don’t you think?’

  ‘Yes, yes, I do.’

  ‘So, we’ll carry on as we are, as I said. We’ll meet at your flat when Rebecca’s not around and here when Milly’s away.’

  But George was still frowning. ‘I still don’t like these clandestine meetings. I want to make an honest woman of you.’

  Pips threw back her head and laughed. ‘Too late for that, my darling. Besides, I like the intrigue and the excitement and leaving people guessing just what the truth might be. Now, stop looking so worried and kiss me.’

  ‘Have you heard?’ Bess Cooper stood in front of Ma on the hearth rug. The old lady had not ventured out into the cold today and was sitting huddled near the fire in the range.

  ‘Don’t know till you tell me, Bess. Go on, then, what choice bit of gossip have you got for us today?’