Douglas frowned. ‘I’d heard as much, but it doesn’t seem fair when women like Betty have worked so hard and achieved positions of responsibility just to hand them back again. Why, it would be like snatching away her dream.’ He looked at each of the girls in turn. ‘Is this why you wanted to speak to me?’
‘In a manner of speaking,’ Freda said, aware that time was ticking by. ‘It’s just that we think we know why Betty pushed you away. She did, didn’t she?’ Freda asked timidly.
‘I have no idea. It seemed that at one point we had some kind of future together then minutes later she was a different person and had no wish to know me.’
‘Cutting a long story short, we think it’s because she’s aware of her age and that she is most likely too old to give you a family,’ Sarah said shyly. Now that the time had come for them to share their thoughts with Douglas it felt as though they were interfering in something that wasn’t their business.
Douglas ran his hand through his hair. ‘I knew it was something like this. I just knew it. Rather than face Betty and asked her what was wrong I just walked away. I just didn’t want to have her reject me. I’m such a fool. What can I do now? I doubt she’d even speak to me if I was to approach her.’
‘That’s what we thought,’ Maisie smiled, ‘so we’ve arranged for her to be alone and somewhere she can’t easily walk away from you.’
‘Can you arrange to be at Mitchell’s tea room for one tomorrow?’
‘I most certainly can,’ Douglas grinned.
Bob rolled over in bed and stared out of the window into the night sky. Even after travelling through the night from Erith and a day spent investigating the farm followed by a hearty meal cooked by Ruby’s daughter Pat, he found that sleep was evading him. He climbed out of bed and stood by the window. There was certainly a lot of sky in Cornwall and so many stars. With no chance of dropping off to sleep, he decided to head downstairs and make himself a drink in the small kitchen of the converted barn. If he was quiet, he’d not wake up Jago or the two boys, whose bedrooms were either side of his own.
The small stove in the corner of the room was still warm. Bob checked the kettle. Yes, there was just enough water to make a cup of cocoa. First sliding the kettle to the middle of the hob, he pottered about finding a mug and a tin of cocoa and a teaspoon and waited for the water to boil. The light of the moon came through the large kitchen window so there was no need to light a gas lamp. Taking his hot drink to an armchair by the stove, he sat quietly sipping the drink deep in thought, anticipating the day ahead. The plan was to help Pat with her chores before heading off to a nearby cove so the children could swim and spend time with their grandmother. Ruby had explained to him that rather than evacuate their children by themselves Pat and her husband, John, had agreed that Pat should go with them to Cornwall, where she would work on a farm and the children be safe from the war. The farm where John worked, and the tied cottage in which they lived, were close to the River Thames in Slades Green. With the enemy using the river to guide their planes to the capital city, the village was often a place where planes returning home would dump their explosives. Bob knew that Ruby missed her grandchildren something rotten although she hadn’t been brave enough to make the journey to the South West of the country before now.
Deep in thought, the creaking of the wooden staircase along with whispered words startled him. It was far too early for the two lads to be rising to help with morning milking duties so what were the young scallywags up to?
18
‘How do I look?’ Freda asked as she spun around on the spot in the front room of number thirteen while Sarah clapped enthusiastically. ‘I’m quite pleased with the alterations to this coat. Maisie was right when she said adding a new collar and cuffs would make a difference to it. No one would know that with Maisie’s help I’d cut up an old coat I’d picked up from the jumble and edged it and changed the buttons as well.’
‘Sorry, love, I was miles away,’ Maureen said, looking flustered. ‘Why, you look a treat. Is that a new coat?’
Freda looked at Sarah and could see that she too was concerned. Sitting down next to Maureen on the sofa, she took her hand. ‘Is something wrong, Maureen?’
Sarah knelt down in front of her mother-in-law. ‘You’ve been very quiet all day, Maureen. Are you poorly?’
‘Don’t the pair of you go worrying about an old woman like me. Go out and enjoy yourselves . . . And Sarah, you shouldn’t think twice about what people say about you going to the pictures with Freda and her friends. You have my blessing and if that nosy so-and-so Vera Munro says anything, she will have me to answer to. Now, get cracking, the pair of you, or you’ll miss that Clive Danvers film and I know how much you admire him, Freda.’
‘There’s something else, isn’t there, Maureen? Have you heard from Alan?’ Sarah asked, thinking the worst had happened.
‘Goodness me, no. I showed you the last letter he sent to me. He told me that everything was tickety-boo, whatever that means.’
Sarah smiled. That did sound like her husband. ‘He does seem to be in good spirits, doesn’t he? But I don’t think you are, Maureen. Please tell us what is wrong. We may be able to help. After all, a trouble shared is a trouble halved.’
Maureen’s hand shook as she reached into the pocket of her cardigan. ‘This letter came from my landlord, Ken Barnham. He reckons that he won’t be paying for the repairs to the roof and chimney as the damage is my fault, and that I have to pay the bill before I can move back into the house.’
‘Why is he blaming you?’ Freda asked.
‘He says that I never took care of the property. Alan was a baby when we first moved into that house and we’ve decorated and done everything possible to make it a comfortable home. He’s always been a pain in the backside where money’s concerned, but we’ve never not paid the rent on time or not complied with what’s in the tenancy agreement. He’s just a mean, horrid man.’
Sarah took the letter and quickly read the words as Freda looked over her shoulder. ‘How many hundreds of pounds does he want you to pay? Why, that’s preposterous. I’m sure he can’t do this to you. Bob was telling me that the government pays for repairs to homes damaged by enemy action. Granted Barnham hadn’t pointed the chimney, but it was enemy action that made it come through the ceiling. You shouldn’t have to worry about this.’
‘But I am worried. I can’t stay here at Ruby’s for much longer. It’s not fair on everyone and it also affects you, as where will Alan live when he comes home? Ruby can’t squeeze another person into this house and the pair of you do need your privacy.’
Sarah blushed as she realized what Maureen was referring to. ‘I don’t think we should do anything rash. Why not wait until Bob is back from Cornwall at the end of the week? He is sure to be able to help. I’d ask Dad, but Mum said he’s up to his neck in work at the moment and may as well sleep at Vickers for all the time he spends there. You have a bed here and as Ruby is away there’s plenty of room.’
Maureen nodded but didn’t seem to be convinced.
‘And what you said about being an old woman,’ Freda added, ‘you’re not at all old so that won’t wash with us either.’
‘You’re both good girls,’ Maureen said, giving them a watery smile. ‘Now, off with you and enjoy your evening out. Don’t you worry about me. I’ve got my knitting and there’s a programme on the wireless that I want to listen to. So off with you right now.’
The two girls slipped out of the house, making sure to close the door quietly as Georgie and Myfi were already tucked up in bed and Gwyneth was upstairs reading. After Maureen’s scare they’d all decided that the children would never be left alone upstairs in case there was a sudden raid.
‘Maureen’s right, you know. We’re fit to bursting in the house and it only needs Alan to come home early and we’re in a right fix,’ Sarah said.
‘I suppose I could ask Betty if she would put me up for a while until Maureen’s house has been repaired.’
/> ‘Hmm, that is an idea but it’s not fair on you as number thirteen is your home and we are the ones who have taken over. I think I should look into moving somewhere else along with Maureen. I’ll ask at the council offices.’
‘But you may be moved miles away. How will you and Maureen cope with getting to work and who will look after Georgina?’ Freda said with alarm. ‘Why, it would be worth me moving up the road to live with Vera rather than you going to live somewhere else.’
‘Now, that is an idea,’ Sarah said brightly. ‘I don’t mean you moving in with Vera but perhaps she would put me and Georgie up and possibly Maureen. She does have two spare rooms going begging. I’ll pop down the road tomorrow morning and have a chat with her.’
‘Rather you than me,’ Freda giggled as they arrived at the Odeon cinema. ‘Look, there’s Hank and his friend over by the main doors.’
Sarah took a deep breath. Here we go, she thought to herself.
Freda introduced Sarah to Hank and he did the same with his friend, who smiled shyly to Sarah and stood next to her as they joined the queue filing into the sumptuous interior of the popular Erith cinema. The men purchased tickets and they walked up the wide carpeted stairs from where they were shown to their seats by a smartly dressed usherette. Even when seated Sarah was looking around to see if there was anyone she recognized who would naturally assume she had not long waved off her husband and was now in the company of an American soldier. There was a name for women who did such things and it wasn’t nice.
‘I believe you are married,’ the soldier said as he sat to the left of her.
‘Yes, that’s right. My husband is in the RAF fighting overseas. We have a daughter.’ She hoped she wasn’t giving away vital information. Did ‘careless talk’ include chatting to an American serviceman called Chuck? She had a feeling that perhaps it did.
Chuck pulled out a wallet and produced two photographs. ‘This is my wife, Jean, and here are our children, Sophie and Chuck Junior. We live out in Oregon. It’s the first time I’ve ever left them,’ he explained with more than a hint of sadness in his voice.
Sarah took a photograph of her daughter from her handbag and passed it to Chuck. ‘This is our daughter, Georgina. She will be two in a couple of months. And this,’ she said, taking out another small photo, ‘is my husband, Alan. We were married the day war was announced. It was my twenty-first birthday.’
‘A momentous day,’ Chuck said as he took the picture and whistled. ‘Gee, a pilot, that’s one brave husband you have there, ma’am, if I may say so,’ he said in admiration.
‘You may,’ Sarah said proudly as the lights were lowered slowly to indicate the first film was about to start. ‘Alan flies Spitfires. I thought I’d lost him at one time.’
‘Gee, those men are gods.’
‘Alan has always been a god to me,’ she whispered as she tucked the photographs away safely in her bag and settled down to watch the film.
Freda could hear Sarah chatting to Hank’s friend about their families and was thankful her friend had accompanied her and that Hank had brought along someone who was a respectable family man. As the lights lowered and the screen lit up Hank put his hand over hers and she settled back to enjoy the film with no thought of her last visit to this cinema.
All four enjoyed the film and remained standing until the national anthem finished. Outside in the dark night Chuck shook Sarah’s hand and thanked her for her company, adding that he wished her husband well wherever he was. Sarah reciprocated, hoping it wouldn’t be too long before he saw his wife and family once more. They’d walked a little way away from where Hank was saying goodnight to Freda. Sarah noticed how tenderly he kissed her young friend. Someone would be walking on cloud nine tomorrow.
Bob huddled by the edge of a wall trying to catch his breath. The two boys had walked at a brisk pace until they’d reached the edge of a small inlet. He knew from studying maps of the area in the lead-up to their holiday that this would be part of the Helford River. He could hear waves gently lapping the shore and also murmuring voices. Whatever were those boys up to? The middle of the night was not a time for messing about on the river. Ruby would have a fit if she knew her grandchildren weren’t safely tucked up in their beds. He could feel the start of cramp in his leg and tried to stretch it without attracting attention. Dressed only in pyjamas with his suit jacket thrown over the top, he felt rather ridiculous. A twig snapped underfoot and he froze.
‘Don’t move. Stay right where you are,’ a menacing voice hissed in his ear as his arm was grabbed from behind. What felt like a gun was held to his back.
Bob held his breath for what seemed like an age before another person appeared and briefly flashed a torch into his face before swearing, whereupon Bob was dragged along a shingle beach and into a boathouse, where he was pushed onto a seat and his hands tied behind his back.
A bare light bulb was switched on and Bob could see a group of men who, in any normal situation, would have looked like simple fishermen going about a day’s work – apart from it being the middle of the night and he couldn’t see a boat, so what the hell were they up to?
Aware that a gun had been held to his back, he decided to stay put and not make a run for it. With the door to the boathouse closed, there was only one way out and that was into the river. Bob was not a good swimmer, especially with his hands tied tightly together.
‘Does anyone recognize him?’ a gruff voice asked.
‘He’s our nan’s friend, Bob,’ a boy’s voice piped up. ‘They’ve come to visit us on the farm. He must have followed us.’
‘What have you got to say for yourself?’ the man with the gruff voice asked, shaking his shoulder roughly. ‘Why are you spying on us?’
Bob never knew whether it was nerves or the absurdity of the situation but he burst out laughing. His situation reminded him of one of the books Freda sold on her counter at Woolworths and she always had her nose in at home. ‘I’m not a threat to you, whatever you’re up to. I was just following those boys as they were out of their beds at such an ungodly hour. However,’ he added with a serious look on his face, ‘if you are up to no good, it’s a pretty poor show to involve children. Does Jago Trevellyn know that evacuees are being dragged into your wrongdoings and that you are now holding a retired policeman against his will?’
The men fell silent, the only sound the splash of oars as a rowboat came close to the boathouse. Two men jumped out and dragged the boat free of the water’s edge, assisted by several of the men who’d stood watching Bob.
‘There was no one there to hand over the goods. We’ll have to try again tomorrow night,’ said a voice that Bob recognized. ‘What have we got here?’ he added as he noticed Bob for the first time.
Bob inwardly groaned. Whatever had they got themselves into coming to Cornwall? Would Ruby, Pat and the youngsters be safe once it was known he’d stumbled into a den of thieves?
‘I feel ridiculous spying on Betty like this,’ Freda said as she stood alongside Maisie and Sarah as they peered through the upstairs window of Woolworths that looked out over the main shopping road of Erith. They could see down to the large Mitchell’s store opposite and the door that led into the popular tea rooms. Behind them Maureen was serving food to staff who were arriving for their midday break. ‘What if Betty comes in here before she heads off to Mitchell’s?’ Sarah worried as she looked over her shoulder at the door, expecting her boss to walk in and catch them.
‘She won’t,’ Maisie said confidently. ‘Freda’s the only one working up here today and she told Betty we’d all meet her in the tea room. Look, there she is crossing the road. I do ’ope Douglas arrives on time or our plan will fail.’
‘How long should we leave it before we go over there?’ Sarah asked.
‘I’m thinking we ought ter cross over and peer through the window. It may be a way ter see how they’re getting on. Let’s give it a few minutes ter make sure Douglas arrives as planned, shall we?’
The girls were on
tenterhooks as they watched and waited for Douglas to go into the tea rooms, but how would Betty react? Would she walk away? Perhaps she would be angry with her friends for interfering? Or just maybe she would be reconciled with Douglas, as they truly wished would happen.
‘Look, there he is,’ Freda squeaked, almost unable to speak with the excitement. ‘Come on, let’s go and look through the window of the tea rooms and see what’s happening.’
The girls hurried down the staff staircase and rushed through the busy store to the street outside. Dodging around shoppers and a delivery van, they arrived at Mitchell’s department store and the door to the tea room.
‘Don’t go in yet,’ Maisie shrieked at Sarah, who had her hand on the door. ‘Let’s look in the window and see what’s happening.’
‘Sorry, I wasn’t thinking straight,’ Sarah said as her stomach growled. ‘I was just wondering when we’d get to eat. I’m starving.’
‘Come here, you two,’ Freda called from where she was peering intently through a window crisscrossed with tape to save diners from shards of glass if there should be an air raid. ‘It looks like Betty is smiling. I think everything is going to be all right.’
They watched as the couple spoke earnestly for a few minutes before Douglas leant over and gave Betty a brief kiss and she reached for her handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.
A waitress arrived to take their order, but was brushed away as they continued to talk without taking their eyes from each other.
‘I think our plan must have worked,’ Sarah said with a huge sigh of relief. ‘My goodness, look!’
In the middle of the busy tea room Douglas had knelt down on one knee and appeared to be proposing to Betty.
Maisie whooped with delight and hugged her friends. ‘At least I can head off to the in-laws without worrying about Betty’s love life. Come on, let’s go in and have a bite to eat. I have to leave in a couple of hours and I want to say goodbye to Betty and Douglas and wish them all the best.’
Christmas at Woolworths Page 26