‘Ah, there you are Snell; an arrangement has been worked out.’
‘Yes sir, I know, Bateman will have to run after me when I call.’
‘Don’t be facetious Snell; you are to reside with Matron here, in her cottage which is in the grounds, and during the day you will attend classes. Meals will be taken at the cottage, you will not mix with the rest of the pupils, the only contact you will have with them will be in class, is that understood?’
‘Yes Sir, then I won’t have to run after Bateman?’
‘No, but you will be expected to help with the chores at the cottage, and assist Matron whenever she needs help.’
‘Okay, that sounds good to me.’
‘John has explained to me the circumstances that have brought you here. I have agreed, as a friend of John, to hide you and educate you, I expect you to keep your end of the bargain. John assures me it will only be for a couple of months, so your cooperation is mandatory.’
‘Yes sir, you won’t even know I am here.’
‘I hope not, now, be so good as to follow Matron to your first class which, I believe is English Literature.’
‘Phil or Phillip, which do you prefer?’
‘I don’t mind, either is okay, but I don’t like being called Snell.’
‘I’m Jessie Bainbridge. In earshot of the pupils you call me Matron, but on our own and in my house, you can call me Mrs. Bainbridge. I’ve never been married but the title traditionally fits the role.’
Okay Mrs. Bainbridge, what about my clothes, how do I get them?’
Don’t you worry about them I will move them, to the cottage.’ Jessie knocks on a heavy oak door, a muffled ‘Come in’ can be heard. On entering I can see there are only seven boys in the class, all about my age, they all look up as I come in.
I’m introduced to Mr. Plant.
‘So you are Snell I’m afraid your reputation has gone before you. In my class I expect you to pay attention, speak only when you are spoken to, is that clear?’
‘Yes Sir.’
‘Thank you Matron, I’ll take it from here.’ Matron pauses at the door,
‘I will meet you outside your class at lunch time.’ I nod she closes the door behind her.
‘Sit over there, you will find the necessary books on the desk, our study literature is Dickens, ‘A Tale of two Cities.’ I smile; it is like being back at TSM.
Mrs. Bainbridge is waiting in the corridor as I come out of the science classroom,
‘Hello Matron, are we going to the dining room for lunch?’
‘I’m afraid not Phillip, we are going to my cottage for a sandwich, I have strict instructions that you are not to mix with the others.’
‘What about Bateman’s nose, is it broken?’
‘No, you didn’t do a very good job; you must try harder next time.’
‘Then I will have to wait until he bullies me again, that will be the next time.’
‘I don’t think that is likely, that is why you are not allowed to mix. Here we are this is my cottage.’
She holds the door open for me and beckons me through. The door opens directly into a small, neatly furnished sitting room. To the left is a narrow staircase, directly ahead I can see a kitchen, to the right of the kitchen is a closed door.
‘Phillip, the door next to the kitchen is where you are to sleep, it is really meant to be a store room but the caretaker has fitted a bed and a cabinet, I think you will be quite at home there.’
‘Where is the toilet and bathroom?’
‘Through the kitchen, there is only one, we will have to share. There are a couple of ground rules, when using the bathroom, clean up after you and do not leave the seat up. My bedroom is upstairs, it is the only room up there, and it is strictly out of bounds to you. We will get on fine if you pull your weight and help with the chores.’
My bedroom has been painted white, the single bed has a blue eiderdown over it, my clothes are hung on a rail across one corner, and there is a three drawer cabinet beside the bed. The floor is bare boards, except for a small rug beside the bed, it looks quite cosy, I think I will like it here. Curled up on one of the armchairs beside the fireplace, is a very large, black cat. ‘That is Monty; he always claims the best chair or the best lap.’ Monty opens one eye doesn’t seem too impressed with what he sees, and closes it again.
‘Will I always eat here?’
‘Yes Phillip that will be one of your chores. Each evening, at dinner time, you will collect from the kitchen two meals, one for each of us and bring them here. After our meal is over you will wash and dry the dishes then, on your way to class each morning, deliver them back to the kitchen. Our breakfast consists of porridge and toast which I will prepare. However, some mornings I have an early start and won’t be here, so I will teach you how to make porridge and use the toaster. Once again it will be your job to clean up. Lunchtime will always be a sandwich, which I will collect.’
‘I know, it is my job to clean up.’
‘Well done Phillip, you learn fast. Having you staying here with me is somewhat of an inconvenience, I am used to being on my own, in my own space, so therefore, the least disruption I have, the better it is.
‘I won’t make a mess; you will hardly know I’m here.’
‘That is good, it is always better to start off on the right foot don’t you think; do you want tea?’
‘Yes please, do I have to make it?’ With a smile and a sort of cockeyed look,
‘No, I can manage that; it is only another cup of water in the pot.’
‘Being here for two months, what will I do if I can’t mix with the other boys?’
‘Phillip, you made your choice when you refused to play by their rules and brought bar room politics into play.’
‘Bateman was bullying me; I won’t stand for it that is why I hit him.’
‘I know, I must admit that I have felt like hitting him myself, but I like to do it in a quiet way, like today, it gave me great satisfaction to tweak his nose a little harder than I should, to see if it was broken, my, he did squeal. By the way how is your bruise I will take a look when we finish our lunch?’
‘Its okay a little sore, but it is not too bad.’
‘As to what you can do; study you will get a lot of work to do outside of lesson time. Read that is always good at filling time, do you play chess?’
‘Yes, but I’m not very good.’
‘Excellent, then I will teach you. What about Monopoly, have you ever played that?’
‘No, what’s that?’
‘It’s a board game and great fun; I can see I am going to enjoy your stay as my house guest.’
‘I hope so, The Superintendent said you had your own swimming pool here, when will I be able to swim?’
‘Not here, I’m afraid you are not allowed to mix. The pool is in constant use outside of lesson time.’
‘Hell, I really messed it up didn’t I?’
‘You certainly did, perhaps you have learnt a lesson, always think of the consequences before you lash out.’
‘I’ll try’
‘Phil how do you come to be in this situation, you have a London accent and obviously not local.’
‘Well it is a long story; my mum got killed by a bomb’
‘I’m going to have to stop you there, if it’s a long story we haven’t time, save it for tonight after dinner’
I did the washing up while Mrs. B read a newspaper, Monty has replaced the paper in her lap and I’m about to do some school work.
‘Isn’t this cosy’, she says with a sigh, stroking Monty, who is purring so loud he sounds like a motorbike; ‘Phil, how about telling me your long story now, I’m dying to know’
‘Well as I said mum was killed, our house was blown away, we had nowhere to live so Gran, and I moved to Hastings. To a guest house called Gosford House in Devonshire Road, it is owned by June and Reg Milligan, they gave Gran a job there as a cook. Before the war it was a guest house for holidays, but when we moved there
it had twenty eight guests who were all working for the Ministry of Defence. Two of the lady guests wore uniforms, the one called Olive is an officer in the Navy, Olive is very tall, and very pretty. The other lady wasn’t very friendly at first; she is a Captain in the Army she was always in a rush and never spoke to me. Then at the Christmas party she told me her name was Joan, when I got to know her I found out she was really very nice, she even taught me to dance. Two of the men were soldiers, two were airmen and one was a sailor, they are all officers, another was an American Army lieutenant. The rest of the guests just wore ordinary clothes.
Our bedroom was right at the top of the house, eighty two stairs from where we lived in the basement to the top. I think that is what killed Gran, having to climb them every night after working so hard.’
‘Oh Phil your Gran is dead’
‘Yes she died July the twenty fifth, the same night I won the County under twelve breast stroke championship, I also broke the record. I think Gran was so excited, and what with having to climb the stairs she had a heart attack.
‘Oh Phil I’m so sorry, you must have been so happy and then to have that happen it must have been terrible’
‘It was, I cried for days and still feel sad when I think of her’
‘It will get better, time is a great healer’
‘It’s not fair Mrs. Bainbridge, Gran and I were so happy, she loved her job and I was having a great time taking Mr. Milligan’s Labrador dog called Jet for walks, I met Michael when I was walking Jet one day, Michael is or rather was a Jew, he died a couple of weeks ago from polio. Before he became sick we did everything together, I spent more time at his house than I did at ours. His foster dad Pop and Tess his wife are lovely people I wish they could foster me now they haven’t got Michael.’ Pop is a school teacher, he taught me to swim’
‘What, a swimming teacher?’
‘No a history teacher, he also taught me to play chess,
‘That is great I love chess; as I said we will have to play a few games while you are here and see if I can improve your game’
‘Thanks I would like that, anyway because I learnt to swim, I joined the swimming club; that is where I met Superintendent Langdon, he is captain of the club.
‘And that would be why you want to use the pool’
‘Yes, I need to train, there must be sometime when it is not in use, what about when the other boys are in bed.’
‘Phil that is not possible, for two reasons, one; you will not be allowed to swim unsupervised and two: when the others are in bed you are as well’
‘Just a thought, anyway when Gran died the council wouldn’t let June or Pop foster me so I was sent to a children’s home. The first night I was there a house father molested me, Lion, an older boy, his real name was Lionel, tried to protect me, he then ran away and ended up murdered, I wrote to Pop, telling him all about it. He told the police and they closed the home, the ones that murdered Lion tried to kidnap me and that is why I am hiding here.’
‘My God Phil, what a story, that must have been very traumatic for you, would you like to talk about it’
‘Well not too bad really, but I’m sorry Mrs. Bainbridge I’m not allowed to talk about it while the investigation is going on.’
‘I understand, I won’t press you, One thing I do not understand, you are a very intelligent boy and appear to be kind and sensitiveand therefore it seems out of character for you to settle problems with your fists’
‘That’s right I don’t like fighting but you see when I first came to Hastings I was bullied at school. It started by some boys calling me Phyllis, saying I was a girl. Then they started beating me up, so I joined the Police boys club and learnt to box. The main bully Keith Smith, also joined the club, one morning Keith tried to beat me up, Chalky, the boxing coach and Superintendent Langdon, arranged a boxing match between me and Keith, and I beat him, so when Bateman bullied me I thought I could do the same to him, I’m not really a ruffian.’
‘Well Phil I am certainly pleased to hear that, now I know a little more about you I’m sure we will get along just fine’
‘I think so too’
‘I’m going to make us a cup of cocoa and you had better get on with that home work’
‘That will be nice and no argument Mrs. Bainbridge, I insist on doing the washing up’
‘Watch it you cheeky devil’
The Super has only been four times, staying just half an hour on each occasion. I don’t know why he bothers to come; he never tells me anything about the investigation. When I ask him about June and Reg he says they are fine, missing me and counting the days to when I come home. I can’t understand why, one night he could just take me there, or allow them to come and see me, or at least bring a note from them. After all this place is only half an hour away from them, I feel like I’m being imprisoned for a crime I haven’t done. On his last visit, three days ago, I asked would I be going home soon, it is over two months he replied nearly there, just be patient.
My chores have become everything to do with house work, making breakfast every morning, collecting the dinners each evening, sweeping, mopping, carrying out the rubbish, chopping the kindling wood for the fire, which is now lit every night and yes, that is my job too, bring in the coal and, of course the endless task of washing up. I remember Gran saying a women’s work is never done, I now know what she meant. The only room I do not clean is Mrs. B’s bedroom; what’s more I have never heard or seen her clean it, so goodness knows what state it is in. I have been tempted to sneak up and have a look, but so far have resisted the urge.
Not only have I learnt a lesson in not to solve a problem with my fists, I also know what Cinderella must have felt like; it would have been easier running after Bateman. Mrs. B told me that most of the boys are sons of wealthy, army and navy officers. Bateman’s father is a General in the war office and his mum can’t be bothered with him, she is too busy entertaining. Therefore he only goes home for the summer, no wonder he is a bully it must be terrible not to be loved, I feel sorry for him.
Half term holiday was the worst time for me. Some of the boys went home at lunchtime on the twenty second of October, and came back on Sunday, the twenty eighth. The others stayed here but went out as a group for day visits, Mrs. B asked could I tag along, but was told it was too much of a risk, I might be seen, so I was left to entertain myself.
There were no lessons, I couldn’t go out and was still not allowed to mix with the boys that were still here. At the back of Mrs. B’s cottage there is a large garden, which opens out into a small wood, Mrs. B calls it a copse. I spent most of the days there; I found a tree with a low branch and was able to use it for pull ups. I also found a piece of electric cable which I use as a skipping rope. Everywhere I go, I run, well not quite everywhere. I can’t run when I’m carrying the dinners to the cottage, but most other times.
Mrs. B spent a lot of the holiday during the day, up in her room I became so bored one day, I climbed over the fence with the intention of running away, but only a hundred yards from the fence there is a deep railway cutting. I couldn’t see any way of crossing it, so I walked until I came to a road. I was about to climb over the gate when I saw a parked car with two men standing beside it, I got scared and ran back to the cottage, they were probably just having a chat, but they could have been looking for me.
Mrs. B is okay, I just wish she liked housework a little more. She is a good chess player and certainly has improved my game. I wish I could meet Peter to try my skills against him. Monopoly is fun; we played one evening until eleven o clock, and then continued the next evening to about the same time. This went on for four evenings, it was real fun. I think Mrs. B became fed up, letting me win, but then, maybe she didn’t.
My school work has really improved, algebra is not a mystery anymore, science is good, and we are mixing chemicals some stink, some go bang. The teacher is a Polish man, Mr. Kosciusko, he told us he has a mountain in Australia named after him, but I think it may be the
other way around. His English is a bit strange but, with only eight of us in the class, learning is easy and much more interesting. I’m not ignored and have to get involved.
If asked to I could almost recite the Tale of Two Cities; I have finished the Talisman but would like to read it again. I am going to ask Pop if I can keep it. Mrs. B brought from the school library, Canterbury Tales, it is interesting, but I find it hard reading, preferring to play Monopoly, sometimes by myself, when Mrs. B is working late.
Mr. Plant interrupts the passage he is reading to answer the door, after a few whispered words he closes it again and continues with his reading. The bell sounds for the end of lessons. ‘Gentlemen, you may retire for the day; Snell, you are to report to the Principals office immediately.’
‘What for Sir?’
‘How would I know, just do it and don’t question everything you are asked, it can be very tedious.’
On my knock, Mr. Saville shouts, ‘Come in.’ Opening the door to his office I can see Mr. Saville behind the desk, Mrs. B is sitting in front. ‘Ah Snell, come in, today is the salvation of all of us, after two and a half months you are eventually going home.’
‘When sir?’ A female voice answers from behind me,
‘How about now?’ I turn around to see WPC Maisy on impulse I rush to her and give her a hug and a kiss much to her embarrassment, ‘Hey steady on, I’m only the messenger save that for June.’
‘I’m sorry, but I always wanted to kiss a copper, when can I go?’
‘As soon as you have your things packed.’
‘Snell, follow Matron home and collect your things. I suggest you take all of your exercise book, so your new head teacher will see what level you have achieved, and there is no need for you to come back here to me. I cannot say it has been a pleasure to have you, if you had cooperated in the first place things could have been different, but let us just say that we have both fulfilled an obligation and that is something to be thankful for, now, be on your way goodbye.’
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