‘You said manpower? It’s women who work in the Garment and Embroidery room.’
There was a pause. ‘I know that but with more men leaving soon—’
‘How do you know they’ll be leaving?’
‘The call for more volunteers will soon be going out. Lord Curzon has said we’re no where near the end of this war. Sacrifices are going to have to be made. The Church will have to wait for its cassocks and albs and candles.’
‘He said that?’
‘No, no. You are funny!’ Charlotte laughed. ‘Our French allies are covering themselves in glory, trying to hold back the Hun. They’re losing thousands of men. We have to get more involved. So there’s going to be a need for more uniforms, more guns and more shells. We’re fighting evil, Mrs Payne, and with God’s help our wonderful, brave men will defeat the enemy!’
Molly was completely taken aback. ‘I thought you were a suffragette, only interested in votes for women and their cause?’
‘I am. And this is the way to do it.’ Her eyes shining, Charlotte leaned across the desk towards Molly. ‘Mrs Pankhurst says we must get behind our men. Show them where their duty to their country lies. As I said, as more of them march off to war, women are going to have to fill their posts. We’ll show them we’re equal to the task and just as good as they are!’
‘I see. And does Mr Collins know how you feel?’
Before Charlotte could answer there was a knock on the door and she called, ‘Enter!’ Miss Jones came in with the tea tray and Charlotte sent her out again.
Molly took a biscuit and nibbled on it before saying, ‘Mr Collins, how is he? I heard he was gassed and in hospital in Birmingham.’
Charlotte fixed her with a stare. ‘Where do you get your information from?’
Molly smiled. ‘I have my spies.’
‘Well, they haven’t kept you up to date. He’s now down in Eastbourne convalescing at Summerdown Camp.’ Charlotte sighed. ‘He wants me to take Jess there as soon as the school holidays start. It’s a bore, really.’
‘Perhaps I could take her for you?’ said Molly, surprising not only herself.
‘You?’
‘I’m very fond of Jessica. I’ve known her since she was born.’
Lottie blinked rapidly. ‘I don’t know if I was ever told that. Or maybe I was. I’ve forgotten. What happened to your husband? Wasn’t he one of the heroes of the riots a few years back?’
‘He’s at sea now. Like you, I’m having to make my own decisions. I have my own clothing business.’ That was true in a way, although it sounded grander than it actually was. ‘I’ve been working flat out and could do with a holiday in the South.’
Charlotte held her gaze a little longer before smiling. ‘Yes, I suppose you could take her, seeing as she knows you.’
‘I’ll need some money. I’ve had no dividends for the last year. And I’d like that money, please.’
‘Of course! It’ll be a relief not to have to worry about my stepdaughter. What with Nat’s mother to keep my eye on as well as a business to run, I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. Nat’s sent me the names of some hotels in Eastbourne. I’ll book you and Jess into one.’
‘And my son as well, if you would,’ said Molly, getting to her feet. ‘I’ll come and see you again as soon as school’s finished.’
She did not know how she got out of that office without throwing her arms in the air and dancing. She was going to spend time in Jessica’s company, and hopefully sort out a few things with Nathan as well.
When she told Cath, her sister-in-law smiled. ‘I don’t blame you for going to see him. Make the most of it. Who knows if you’ll ever see him again?’
‘It’s not like that,’ protested Molly, reddening. ‘It’s purely business. I don’t trust that woman. She’s got the bit between her teeth and wants to run the Leeds factory flat out and sod Liverpool. I didn’t believe her when she said Nathan knew what was going on.’
‘Would she have agreed you could go down there if that was true? She must realise you’ll tell him.’
‘Why? In her eyes I’m not going down on business, I’m looking after Jessica.’
‘When in fact you’re going to tell Mr Collins?’
‘Of course,’ said Molly with a smile.
But when Molly next saw Charlotte she had changed her mind. ‘I’ve decided I should see Nat after all. I mean, he’s suffered for his country,’ she said with a sigh. ‘I should be a good wife to him.’
‘Then you won’t want me,’ said Molly, the sunshine going out of her day.
‘Oh, you must come too!’ Charlotte’s bright blue eyes widened. ‘I’d appreciate your company. It’ll be easier for me driving if you’re there to make Jessica behave – and I can tell you all about the Movement.’ Molly was surprised but did not argue. Better to be going than to be left behind.
* * *
Summerdown Camp was about a mile outside the town of Eastbourne, nestling at the foot of Beachy Head. It was surrounded by a wire fence but inside the army huts were set among gardens bright with flowers. Charlotte parked the motor outside the gates and they were directed to the hut which Nathan shared with several other men.
They found him sitting outside in the sun, reading a newspaper. He was clad in blue trousers, white shirt and red tie, the same as most of the men were wearing. The legs were turned up at the bottoms as the trousers were much too long for him. Molly felt very peculiar as she paused to watch him, allowing Charlotte to go ahead with Jessica. The girl broke into a run, shouting, ‘Daddy, Daddy!’
Nathan’s head turned and he rose to his feet, catching Jessica to him as she reached him. He hugged her tightly, kissing her hair. There was an expression on his face that caused a lump to rise in Molly’s throat.
‘You look a fright, darling,’ said Charlotte. ‘Isn’t there a tailor in this town?’
He made no answer, eyes going past her to where Molly and George waited. ‘Perhaps you’d like to fix them for me, Moll?’ he said with a glimmer of a smile. ‘You’re the seamstress.’
‘I’m on holiday.’ She smiled, relieved he was not going to hold that last farewell against her. She held out her hand.
Nathan clasped it firmly. Molly realised he was trembling. ‘How are you? You look—’ She searched for words as her eyes scanned his face.
‘A wreck?’ he supplied with a rueful grin.
‘You said it.’ She managed to infuse amusement into her voice. ‘But you’re alive and that’s the main thing.’
A shadow crossed his face but all he said was, ‘How about a cup of tea?’
‘We thought we’d take you out,’ said Charlotte, eyes going from his face to Molly’s. ‘I’ve the motor outside. That’s if you don’t mind being seen in town like that? Although I did think to bring you a change of clothes – just in case you only had your uniform. And I’ve brought you some money as requested.’
‘If you’d seen me covered in mud a few months ago you wouldn’t have recognised me,’ he said lightly. ‘In comparison today I’m fragrant and look devilishly smart in this gear. I’ll just get the jacket to go with the trousers. Come in and see our Home Sweet Home.’
The four of them trooped after him into the hut, Jessica clinging to his arm; George pressing close to Molly’s skirts as he glanced around. The beds were neatly made, the asbestos walls bright with hand-painted pictures displayed above the bed heads.
‘Pussy cat,’ said George, pressing his finger against the head of a tiger.
‘It’s a tiger, silly,’ said Jessica in superior tones. ‘And it could eat you up in one bite!’ She snapped her teeth at him.
He snapped back.
‘Oh, do behave, you two,’ said Charlotte irritably.
‘Who’s the artist?’ asked Molly, looking at the other pictures with a marvelling eye.
‘We all do our bit,’ said Nathan, shrugging himself into a blue jacket. ‘Shall we go?’
Charlotte took them back to their hotel where they ha
d tea in a dining room overlooking the sea. There were plenty of people strolling along the Grand Parade taking the air and Molly would have found it relaxing if Nathan had not been sitting a foot away from her. As it was she was having difficulty keeping her eyes and hands off him. She sensed a great change in him and it made her feel divorced from reality. The discreet chink of china cups, the tiny fancy cakes on stands, the murmur of subdued conversation, the chandeliers and the southern voices, were all a far cry from home.
After tea he suggested they take the children crabbing on the rocks below the promenade. ‘Then you’d best carry on wearing that awful suit,’ said Charlotte. ‘Unless you want me to get one of the maids here to make it more presentable while you’re out?’
‘You’re not coming?’ he said.
‘Darling! Crabbing is hardly my style.’ She smiled sweetly at him. ‘But you enjoy yourself. I’ll have a snooze. I’m tired after driving all the way here, despite the stopover.’
‘You’re a Trojan,’ he said, brushing her cheek with his lips.
He and Molly were silent as they made their way to the beach. They stopped on the way and he bought buckets and spades, handing them to the children. George’s face lit up. ‘Thanks!’ For a moment he hesitated, as if remembering something. Then he dashed down to the beach with Jessica.
The two adults followed at a more sedate pace. It was several minutes before Nathan broke the silence. ‘What’s going on? How is it you’re here with Lottie? I was never so surprised in my life as when she told me you were coming.’
‘I had to see you. I’ve been worried sick about you. That time I walked out on you—’
‘Forget it. You’re here now, that’s all that matters. But you didn’t say any of that to Lottie, I take it?’ There was that old glint in his eyes.
‘No. I just offered to look after Jess. Did you know she’s planning on closing the Liverpool factory?’
‘Yes. Mr Taylor wrote to me.’
Molly was dumbfounded. She had thought Charlotte would have played her cards closer to her chest. Or maybe Nathan had spies in the company? ‘And you’re in favour of it?’
‘At the moment I don’t really care. You wanted to know how I am.’ His eyes clouded. ‘I’m one of the lucky ones. We thought we heard the order to retire and scarpered when we saw this yellow-green cloud coming towards us from the German lines. It was…’ His voice trailed away and
Molly saw beads of sweat break out on his face.
She slipped her hand into his and squeezed it gently, realising that the war was the only thing that had been on his mind for months. ‘Wicked and cruel, that’s the Hun! They’re devils who have to be stopped.’
Nathan looked down at her and she waited for him to agree with her but instead a shout of laughter burst from him and, keeping hold of her hand, he ran with her to the beach where the children were already digging in the sand.
Perhaps his mind’s going? thought Molly. But he seemed perfectly normal as he talked to the children about the sands at Blackpool. She felt tender, almost maternal towards him as she sat, hugging her knees, gazing at the three of them. She felt happy. Here were the most important people in her life.
Molly wanted her time in the South to be carefree but at the back of her mind there were always her feelings for Nathan and a determination to broach the matter of the factory closing again. It was getting time alone with him that was the trouble. Charlotte took them out most days in the motor to nearby Pevensey or Hastings, never seeming to want Nathan to herself. It was as he had said, their marriage was a sham.
In the evenings they had dinner and drinks and made conversation with other people at the hotel. There were plenty of wounded soldiers there who seldom spoke about the front, only talking of their off duty experiences in French villages or towns.
The day before they were due to return to Liverpool Jessica and George were asked to join a party of other children. Molly thought that she should offer to let Charlotte spend the last day with Nathan on her own. But, holding a hand to her forehead, she drooped against her pillows in bed and whispered, ‘I’ve got this terrible headache. D’you think you could see Nat and tell him I can’t come today? But I’ll definitely bring Jess to say goodbye in the morning before we go.’
‘Of course,’ said Molly, relieved.
Immediately she went and asked reception if she could have a picnic for two. Then she put on the cream blouse and green skirt she had made for the Whit holiday that year and hurried over to the camp.
Nathan saw her coming and came to meet her. ‘What’s up?’
‘The children have gone to a party and Lottie has a terrible headache. I’ve brought us a picnic. I thought you might know somewhere we could go. If that’s what you’d like to do?’ she added, feeling shy all of a sudden.
‘Right!’ he said, eyes bright. ‘I’ll get my jacket.’
He reached for her hand as they struck off from the rear of the camp and Molly did not pull away. Neither of them spoke as they climbed to the top of Beachy Head. Once there they sat together in the long grass. ‘The factory in Liverpool,’ she began.
‘You want me to keep it open?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then I will. You’ll have to work out how it’s to be done.’ He drew her to him and kissed her.
Only for a moment did Molly consider the moral aspect of what they were doing. Then she thought of how she loved him and how she would feel if he was killed before they had known their happiness again.
Nathan eased her down on the ground, unfastening her blouse. She drew his head on to her breast, remembering his face as he’d talked about the cloud of gas at the front. She determined to help him forget such horrors. There was no discussion about how far they should go.
Afterwards they sat, having their picnic, looking out over the Channel to France. They talked about the children. She told him about Bernie and Frank and her thoughts on getting a separation.
‘A divorce, Moll?’ said Nathan. ‘Nothing’s going to be the same after the war. If I survive I’m going to ask Lottie for one too.’ He gathered her into his arms once more.
‘Listen, I’ll write to my solicitor and ask him to make over a quarter of my shares to George immediately.’
‘But, Nathan—’
‘Shush! You’ll be his trustee and have the right to vote on his behalf. And I’m leaving another quarter to you in the event of my death.’
She couldn’t believe it. What would Mr Taylor think about Nathan’s changing his will? What would Lottie think? But probably she wasn’t going to get to know. It seemed impossible that Nathan would die. ‘Don’t talk about dying! I can’t bear it.’ She put her hand over his mouth.
He kissed her fingers. ‘I have to. In a way I hate it that the Leeds factory will make money from this lousy war but you keep the Liverpool one open. Even if it’s only making candles and selling incense burners.’
Molly nodded. ‘Will you tell Lottie what you’ve decided about Liverpool?’
He threw back his head and laughed. ‘And have her make your life a misery all the way home! No. She’ll find out soon enough from Taylor.’
After that they were silent for a while, avoiding any other mention of the future, watching small airships patrolling the Channel on the look-out for German U- boats. Molly wondered if they would ever see each other again.
Chapter Eighteen
Molly found it a wrench saying goodbye to Jessica but her daughter asked if George could come and play at her house.
Lottie was in full agreement. ‘Come Saturday week and we can talk.’
Molly wondered whether she would be as cordial when she received the letter from Mr Taylor about the Liverpool factory. She went into town to see him and at the same time visited the Parisian Photo Company, as Nathan had asked for a picture of George and herself. She sent it off on the day of their visit to Blundellsands.
Lottie appeared to be in a good mood. Apparently there was a sale of silk on at Lewis’s and she
had been shopping. ‘I had a lovely time. I’ll show you what I bought later. But first we must talk business.’ She waved Molly to a chair. Tve had a meeting with Nat’s solicitor and he wants you more involved in the business. Says it will help me out as well as you. He’s made over some shares to George as well. I never realised he was Nathan’s godson?’
‘Oh, yes,’ said Molly, crossing her fingers and thinking, So that’s how he explained away his actions.
Lottie sighed. ‘Mr Taylor has his spies apparently and Nat says I’m to keep the Liverpool factory going. What are your opinions on that?’
Relieved she seemed so amenable, Molly said, ‘I think we could find different work for the women on the sewing machines and I don’t mean uniforms. I hate saying this but black’s going to be the dominant colour for a lot of women this season.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Did you know there’ve been over forty-two thousand casualties in the Dardanelles alone? I know many of them are from the colonies but even so a lot of our men were killed. And if our business were to grow, it would give some war widows a means of support, too.’
Lottie smiled. ‘You’re right. There’s a market there and someone’s got to fill it.’
‘Perhaps we should be thinking of taking on more women in the candlemaking room, too, while we still have some men to train them? Although that’ll depend on how much paraffin wax we’re able to lay our hands on with the German U-boats so busy. There could be a shortage – and the same with timber, silver and cotton.’
‘I never realised that.’ Lottie put her chin in her hand. ‘Clever you.’
Molly flushed. ‘Not really. I didn’t even think about it until we got back and I heard another ship had been sunk.’
‘I’m pretty certain we have materials stockpiled. We’ll just have to hope we don’t run out before the end of the war.’ She stood up and smiled. ‘And now that’s sorted out, come and see what I bought in the sales.’
They went upstairs and on the way met a much older Mrs Collins. She appeared to have shrunk, lost teeth and looked generally feeble, only mumbling indistinctly as they passed. Molly was relieved she did not appear to recognise the visitor.
Another Man's Child Page 29