It took her a long time to fall asleep, her entire body buffeted with emotion. As she tossed and turned, she felt a whirl of happiness in her heart. Oh, and she did need to confide in Cecily about how she was emotionally captivated by Johnny, let alone deeply moved by his kisses. She decided to reveal this secret to her sister some time when they were alone, making sure their mother was nowhere around. All too aware that her gaze would instinctively follow his every move, Merryn resolved never to allow her eyes to meet his whenever they were working together, fearful of Queenie noticing how a relationship was developing between them. The last thing she needed was to have her mother dictating whom she could love or marry. And men were so hard to find.
NINE
AUTUMN 1917
THEY MOVED on with the battalion, transported in the old wagon or else in an armoured vehicle driven by Corporal Lewis. Today they were travelling in an old London bus, painted grey, heading to a camp close to Saint-Omer. It was a large town situated less than fifty kilometres southeast of Calais and a hospital centre. It had suffered many battles, the enemy anxious to reach Ostend or Calais and then move on to attack Britain. The camp was situated at the edge of town in a large field, holding dozens of lines of tents and a few Nissen huts, many of them used as wards for patients, a small rough platform set up at one end for the concerts. Surrounded by beautiful meadows and woodlands here at Longuenesse, Cecily ached to walk out and explore them. They were not allowed to do that because of the dangers involved. At times she could hear the sound of birds instead of guns firing, which helped to take her mind off the horror of war. Shrapnel shells would frequently burst from the sky, bringing black smoke everywhere, or the sound of heavy fire would zip around, the entire area constantly under attack. Very scary.
This morning, as she sat scribbling on a script, she heard the rumbling sound of a plane overhead. Glancing up, she watched in awe as it flew closer. The speed of its approach indicating it was an enemy plane caused her to leap to her feet, realising she should run for cover in case it fired at them. Fear began to pound in her as she turned to go, making her entire body shake at such a prospect. It was then that she found herself grabbed and flung upon the ground a few yards away, hearing the plane roar back up into the sky and disappear. Gasping for breath, she glared up into Johnny’s grey eyes.
‘Thank God you’re safe,’ he said, smoothing his hand over her face.
‘What the hell did you do that for?’ she cried, slapping it away. She felt a quiver of panic within her as she strove to recover.
‘That plane was only fifty yards or so above us, no doubt about to take photographs not just of you, beautiful though you are, but also the entire camp, guns, rifles plus other equipment and details. Not even the soldiers fired at it, probably equally shaken and overwhelmed by such an audacious pilot.’
‘I was alarmed by its closeness, although about to run for cover in case he fired at us. I was perfectly capable of doing that so not in need of your assistance,’ she smartly responded, brushing the mud from her arms and legs.
Heaving a sigh, he said, ‘How is a poor confused male able to decode such signals of independence in a classy lady?’
‘You should appreciate that women can look after themselves. I know that for a fact, being involved with the suffragists. Although I suppose I should thank you for attempting to save me, Johnny. Quite brave of you to take that risk,’ she grudgingly admitted, not at all appreciating what he’d done but wishing to sound polite.
‘My pleasure,’ he remarked softly, his gaze sliding over her. ‘I believe there could be something special growing between us. Surely I’m not wrong about that?’
Cecily almost stopped breathing. Was he attempting to awaken a desire in her, as he clearly had with Merryn? She almost gave a mad little laugh at such a prospect. He was a most pretentious young man, and wolfish. Still feeling his arms holding her tightly around the waist she pushed him away and stood up, releasing herself from his grip. ‘You’re talking absolute tosh, Johnny, sounding far too coquettish.’
A sparkle lit his eyes as he blinked provocatively. ‘I do relish the opportunity to have fun in my life, some of that with a lovely woman. You look so glorious I find you utterly dazzling. Let me know if you ever feel the same.’
Cecily met the teasing flicker of his gaze with a glimmer of dismay in her own violet-blue eyes. He surely wasn’t declaring love for her, merely giving her a snippet of his aspiration for pleasure. Foolish man. ‘I assure you that however much I might still ache for Ewan and the loss of love in my life, nothing of the sort will ever happen again, certainly not between you and me.’
After a lingering moment of silence, he jumped to his feet, a frown once again marking his face. ‘My sympathies for your loss, although I’m sure you’ll change your attitude towards me, given time. I did make a valid point that all women are in need of protection from a man.’
The urge to argue over this comment faded in her, feeling the necessity to remain polite in consequence of this terrifying incident. ‘Possibly there are occasions when that may be appropriate. So long as you learn to calm your emotions and stop trying to flirt or control me. Keep your hair on, as the Tommies would say.’ Walking away, Cecily vowed that in spite of his eagerness to protect and flirt with her, he would never win her round. It was her sister who cared for him, not her. But was Merryn right to trust him?
The next day, they attended a local hospital packed with more pain-wracked boys. Seeing them was quite traumatic. How they must have suffered from the torment of fighting, leaving them badly injured and in such need of care and comfort. Often stuck in the trenches, death seemed imminent whenever a raid or attack was launched. The nursing staff welcomed Cecily’s offer of entertainment with equal delight to the Tommies, many feeling lonely in this remote part of town, clearly drained of energy and they too constantly having to dodge shells. The misery, distress and torment the patients were subjected to were instantly relieved by smiles and laughter. As well as lively songs, Cecily sang ‘Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty’. Their response was a moment of silence, ripe with emotion, followed by a whoop of applause.
Her heart went out to these Tommies, who were finding this performance a good way to shut out the awfulness of war from their troubled minds. As the concert proceeded, Cecily noticed a line of German prisoners approaching, led by a group of sentries. Some looked very young; others wore an Iron Cross tied to a buttonhole with a black-and-white ribbon, obviously attempting to prove their pride and bravery. They all seemed entirely immune to the scream of shellfire. Could that be because they were already in a serious state of shell shock? Stretchers too were being brought in, carrying the wounded. Some patients would lift their heads to try and see what was happening, striving to ignore their pain. They might even offer a weary smile.
The performance lasted only an hour, the medical staff insisting that patients could not stay out of their beds too long. When it was over, Cecily, Merryn and Johnny went round the wards to entertain those unable to attend the performance, being trapped in their bed because of a fractured limb fastened to a system of slings, ropes and pulleys, or other serious injuries. Johnny couldn’t carry his drum around, but chatted with the patients. Queenie was nowhere to be seen, not interested in caring for men who stank or were covered in blood. Cecily asked Merryn where she was.
‘She declared herself far too exhausted and went off to the orderly room in search of a cup of tea,’ Merryn said. ‘I feel pretty exhausted myself after all the sewing and other jobs I’ve done in recent weeks, running back and forth to clean her clothes or do her hair. Whatever I find for her to eat rarely pleases her. At least she’s stopped demanding I buy her gin, which is a bit of a puzzle. That could be the reason she frequently visits the orderly room. There is the possibility that the bottle of water she constantly carries around with her is not water at all but something much more alcoholic. I vow to find the opportunity to investigate that.’
Cecily gave a weary nod of her
head. ‘You could be right, love. We’ll look into that later.’
Shutting out that problem for now, she found it most exhilarating to spend time chatting with the wounded and singing to them. One young man, who looked about eighteen, was propped up against several pillows in bed, listening to her, his face etched in pain. The lower half of his left leg had gone, a cloth soaked in blood wrapped around the remaining stump. She went over to him, held his hand and began to sing ‘Every Cloud has a Silver Lining’. He joined in the first line or two then lay back, looking quite relaxed and smiling happily at her.
‘Did you enjoy that?’ she asked him when she’d finished singing. It was then that a nurse came over and quietly told her he’d passed away peacefully.
‘Thank you for singing to him. It gave him a little pleasure before departing this life.’
Quivering with emotion, Cecily kissed the boy on his brow then walked away to find Merryn who was happily playing her accordion to other patients.
They continued to work hard over the following weeks in various camps and bases, and it was one day in early October as she prepared for their morning rehearsal that Cecily told Merryn she had an idea for a one-act play. ‘It might take a while to rehearse and perfect our performance, but it would provide a lively event for Christmas.’ Looking around, she again asked where their mother was. ‘I do hope she hasn’t gone off in search of more gin.’
Merryn pulled a face. ‘Nope, I provided her with breakfast in bed as usual, and she then went back to sleep.’
‘We need Johnny too, so when you’ve helped Corporal Lewis set things up, can you go and find him?’
‘Rightio, happy to do that. You go and drag Queenie out of bed.’
Cecily chuckled and hurried back to their Nissen hut to do that. As she approached, she heard the sound of a man’s voice. Peeping through a slit in the door, she saw her mother still lying in bed, her hands patting Johnny’s cheek as he knelt beside her. Then pulling him close, she kissed him.
Alarm reverberated through Cecily. Good grief, was Queenie attempting to seduce him, as she had done many times in the past with other men? She remembered when they were on board the ship how her mother had ordered her not to attract him. That could be the reason if this difficult woman was jealous. Queenie was always sweetly and cleverly demanding of Johnny, constantly flashing a smile or gazing adoringly at him. Did she dream of inspiring him to fancy her? Cecily felt she really should attempt to protect him from her mother’s demands. More importantly, she surmised there could be a growing attraction between her dear sister and Johnny, so must protect her too.
Quickly backing away, she felt a waft of shame for having such a sex-mad mother. Gathering the necessary courage to approach again, this time she called out to her before reaching the hut. ‘Are you ready, Mama? It’s time for our next rehearsal.’
When she entered, Cecily found her entirely alone, her face a picture of blithe innocence and her rosy lips twisted up into a charming smile. Had Johnny slipped out through the back door, eager to escape? ‘Ah, there you are. It’s time for our rehearsal. Please go and join Merryn while I find Johnny.’
‘Very well, dear. I feel more than ready to help. Sorry I’m late. I’ll go this very minute,’ Queenie said, and taking a sip of water from the bottle the cook had provided for her, she quickly dressed.
Going in search of Johnny, Cecily found him a short distance away from the Nissen hut. Gently touching his arm, she gave a sorrowful smile. ‘I feel the need to apologise for my mother’s behaviour. I should have warned you that she has always had an obsession with young men. Do take care not to allow yourself to be – how can I put it – captured by her ardency. She is most promiscuous.’
He looked startled by this remark. ‘Are you saying that you saw us together just now?’
‘I’m afraid I did, quite by chance.’
‘I assure you I was just delivering her letters from her maid and checking that she was feeling well. If you assume I was attempting to seduce her, you are absolutely wrong.’
Why would he assume she was blaming him, even though she’d apologised for her mother’s behaviour? An alarming thought. ‘I simply wished to warn you that Mama has had more sweethearts than I care to count. She adores men and . . .’ Cecily clamped her mouth shut, blushing with embarrassment as she had no wish to use the word ‘sex’.
‘Why would she not? Queenie is a beautiful woman and single. So are you accusing her of being a tart just because she thanked me with a kiss?’
A sense of anxiety seeped through her, worrying how Merryn would react if she learned that her mother had kissed this man of whom she was becoming fond. There was evidence of her sister’s true feelings glinting in her eyes whenever she glanced at him, then she’d tactfully look away. Cecily now studied him most cautiously, wondering what Johnny’s feelings were towards her sister. He was a very self-obsessed man. Infuriatingly, he’d attempted to flirt with her too, a fact she’d still avoided mentioning to Merryn, not wishing to offend her. ‘I – I just have no wish for you to get the wrong idea and assume yourself to be of special importance. Mama’s problem is that she’s obsessed with . . .’ To her dismay, the words again stuck in her throat.
He laughed. ‘Ah, so you’re jealous, is that it? Do not for a moment imagine I would prefer her to you,’ he said, pulling her into his arms and placing a sweet kiss on her cheek. ‘You’re a beautiful young woman.’
This response was not at all what she’d expected or hoped for. Cecily pushed him away. ‘Don’t start your silly joking or flirting with me again. I’m sorry if I’ve offended you. I appreciate that Mama might only have been thanking you for bringing that letter. It was wrong of me to suggest otherwise.’
‘It was indeed.’
Seeing Merryn approach, Cecily firmly closed her lips, hoping her apology had been entirely appropriate.
‘Ah, there you are, Johnny. I’ve been looking everywhere for you,’ Merryn said, then meeting the glimmer of consternation in her sister’s eyes with a puzzled query in her own, she frowned. ‘Is something wrong?’
It came to Cecily that, possibly having misjudged what she’d seen her mother doing, she had no desire to reveal this embarrassing mistake to her sister. Saying nothing about what she’d seen seemed a sensible option. But if Johnny was the one at fault, then maybe she should warn Merryn to take better care of herself. Now was not the moment to discuss this.
Quickly moving on, she said jokingly, ‘No, lovey, dragging Mama out of bed was not easy, and it took me a while to find Johnny. Good to see they’re both here now as I have a suggestion to make.’ She turned to Queenie and spoke more openly to her. ‘I know that our music, songs and poetry are popular and the audience loves to join in. I thought it was time we offered a little play as well, as you recommended, Mama. One that we could perform without props or scenery would, I’m sure, be welcomed with open arms. I thought we could perform a short extract from The School for Scandal. Mama, would you play Lady Sneerwell, as you did say you could act?’
‘I can indeed, so I would be delighted to play that part,’ Queenie said.
‘Oh, what a good idea, and Johnny could be Sir Peter Teazle. I’m sure he’d be brilliant in that role,’ Merryn suggested.
‘Blimey, I’ve never acted in a play in my entire life, but I’m prepared to give it a go if you all believe me capable.’
‘We do,’ Queenie said, giving him a bewitching smile.
Cecily struggled not to reveal her censorious frown. Was this another attempt to win him round? Nevertheless, his role in the play must be accepted. ‘Whether you can act or not, Johnny, we don’t have any choice but to give you a part in this play, being short of men,’ she said, before glancing again at the cast list. ‘Merryn, would you play Lady Teazle?’
Merryn looked thrilled and gave a little smile. ‘I suppose so, only I’ve never acted before either.’
Cecily rolled her eyes in amusement. ‘You’ll be fine, lovey, and we’re only going to do a
n extract. We’ll do the scene where Lady Teazle speaks to Lady Sneerwell, or the one where Sir Peter believes his wife is having an affair with Joseph. Which of us should play him, that is the question?’
Johnny grinned. ‘Hey, I could play Joseph and you could be Sir Peter, Cecily.’
She laughed out loud. ‘Why not? As I said, we are definitely short of men.’
‘That would not be appropriate,’ Queenie said with a sniff of disapproval. ‘You can dress up as a man, by all means, Cecily, as you’ve done men’s jobs these last few years. You should play Joseph and be the one to flirt with your sister.’
Merryn frowned. ‘I don’t think they do have an affair. Joseph just suggests that Lady Teazle should make her husband jealous,’ she tactfully reminded her mother, catching an echo of that emotion in her eyes. ‘I’m happy with whatever you prefer, Cecily.’
‘I will play Sir Peter so that I can have a moustache and beard to make clear I’m a man, not a woman,’ Cecily said with a grin. ‘Right, here’s the script. Now we must read it and start to learn our lines.’
TEN
WINTER 1917
SMOKE HUNG heavy over a nearby village, where trees and the once beautiful brick houses now lay wrecked. Merryn stared in apprehension as they drove past. The fields and orchards were full of shell holes. There were no people left living there, with many killed and the rest having fled to safety. The old trenches had been so badly damaged by shellfire, new ones had been dug from where the Tommies furiously fought. They felt extremely exposed to the enemy, being so close to German lines, standing for hours at a time in case of further attacks.
Merryn was filled with admiration for their courage and the increase in their confidence. Corporal Lewis explained how things had improved since the battle of the Somme, the Tommies’ skills being now much more efficient. Communication too was apparently better with new technology in the form of wireless, field telephones, as well as runners, signallers and pigeons that carried details for battalions and brigades. Whenever another terrifying barrage began, everyone would run to their dug-outs.
Girls of the Great War Page 8