by Rosie Clarke
‘No, you’re right…’ Flo looked at Honour.
‘Why don’t we go round to your house and fetch some clothes for you and Ruthie?’ Honour said. ‘You and your sister can stay here. You can sleep in my bed and I’ll sleep with Flo for now. We’ll get your things and collect Ruthie on the way back…’ She glanced at the clock. ‘If Roy comes before we get back, tell him I shan’t be long, Mum…’ She put her arm about Ben’s shoulders again, because he was so upset he didn’t seem to quite know what she was saying.
‘Yes, all right, love.’ Flo smiled at her gratefully. It was exactly what she would have suggested herself, but she hadn’t known what Honour would think – especially with Dad just dead. Yet there was nothing more they could do for him and these children needed help. ‘I’ll change the sheets on the beds and make room in your chest for their clothes…’ She needed to keep busy, because her mind was racing with all the possibilities. Robbie must be hurt; he couldn’t have disappeared into thin air!
‘Come on, Ben,’ Honour said, slipping her coat on and offering her hand. ‘We’ll go to your house and bring a bag full of things and then call at Bert and Millie’s to tell them you and Ruthie will be staying with us – you can still go there each day and help them, just as you have been doin’…’
‘All right,’ Ben said and looked at Flo. ‘It’s good of yer, Miss Flo – me dad said yer were all right, so I thought you’d know what to do…’
‘We’ll find him, Ben,’ Flo said and smiled. ‘I can’t promise he isn’t hurt but don’t say anythin’ to Ruthie. You’ll be company for us – cheer us up in this sad time and your dad will probably be home before you know it…’
After Honour had gone with Ben, Flo received a visit from Mavis next door. Her daughter Kitty was Honour’s best friend and Mavis had been friends with Flo’s mother.
‘I couldn’t help noticin’ a lot of comin’ and goin’,’ she said to Flo as she answered the door. ‘Is everythin’ all right, love?’
‘Dad died in his sleep last night,’ Flo said, tears on her cheeks because it was all too much. She’d lost her father and now Robbie was missing! ‘They’ve taken Dad to a chapel of rest… the doctor thought it best…’
‘That’s a terrible blow fer yer,’ Mavis said. ‘Losin’ yer poor father. I thought I saw them take a coffin out and I said ter Kitty as it was yer dad. I’m sorry fer yer, Flo…’
‘Yes, it was a shock to find him,’ Flo said. ‘I’d believed he was gettin’ better, but he’d been ill for a long time.’
‘If yer need anythin’ – anythin’ at all, let me know,’ Mavis said. ‘Yer will be closin’ the shop for a while no doubt.’
‘We’re never busy after Christmas,’ Flo said. ‘I shan’t open again until after the funeral – and I’m not sure when…’ She shook her head.
‘Did I see a little lad leaving with Honour just now?’
Flo hesitated for a moment, then, ‘Yes, you did, Mavis. We’ve promised to look after two children for a friend and she’s gone to fetch their things…’ There was no need to tell her neighbour that Robbie was missing.
‘Well, I never! At a time like this… I should’ve thought you would tell your friend it wasn’t convenient. With yer dad just gone… God bless his soul…’ She crossed herself fervently. ‘May he rest in peace…’
‘Well, they will make it feel less empty, cheer us both up a bit…’ Flo said.
‘Well…’ Mavis was clearly shocked. She took her leave soon after that, leaving Flo hardly knowing whether to laugh or cry. Her neighbour would think she was showing her father no respect and probably spread the word that she was heartless, but Flo had more to worry her than her neighbour’s gossip.
Looking after Robbie’s children would be more a pleasure than a bother but she couldn’t help the nagging feeling at the back of her mind that something terrible had happened to him.
‘Robbie, where are you?’ she whispered. ‘I’ve just lost Dad. I can’t bear to lose you too. Please, come back to us… wherever you are…’
25
Flo pulled the sheets from all three beds and bundled them up for the laundry. She would put them out in the scullery cupboard until the man came round again the next week. She polished the furniture in the bedrooms and enjoyed the smell of lavender when she closed the doors on them and went downstairs. She had just put the kettle on when someone knocked on the door and she opened it to Honour’s fiancé.
Inviting Roy into the kitchen, she explained about her father’s death, Ben’s arrival and his father’s disappearance.
‘Honour went to fetch the children’s things,’ she said. ‘They can’t stop with their friends indefinitely, because Millie couldn’t cope, even though she loves them. Honour suggested we have them here and I believe it is the best solution. Hopefully, their father will be found soon.’
‘What will you do if he isn’t?’
‘I’m not certain,’ Flo said. ‘I think Robbie would want me to care for them – if I’m allowed to. I have the business to look after her, but I can afford to employ some help in the house – and to be honest, the children will not be more trouble than an invalid father.’
‘Growing children are expensive,’ Roy said and looked thoughtful. ‘I’ve known what it’s like to be hard up. I couldn’t do much for a start – until I have my own business up and running, but I would like to help if you need me later on…’
‘I couldn’t take your money,’ Flo said and smiled at him, because at least he had shown willing. ‘You and Honour will need that – for yourselves and your own family once you have children.’ She gave him an old-fashioned look. ‘You are planning to marry Honour I hope?’
‘Of course.’ He had the grace to look ashamed. ‘I was thrown into a tough training course, and to be honest, I was too exhausted every night to think straight – but I should have found a way to let Honour know.’
‘I shall forgive you, providing you never let her down again.’
‘I promise I won’t – but this other business. How will you manage with two young children and a shop if their father doesn’t turn up?’
‘I’ll find a way,’ Flo said and lifted her head proudly. ‘I haven’t given up hope yet, Roy. I’m hoping perhaps we shall find him in a hospital and all will be well once he recovers…’
‘Of course, that is the best solution and I pray he’s safe somewhere…’ Roy frowned. The door opened and Honour came in. She was carrying a large but very old leather suitcase and held tightly to the little girl with her other hand. Ben followed behind, carrying a bag filled with various bits and pieces.
‘We brought a few clothes and some toys,’ Honour said and smiled at Roy before looking down at the very nervous little girl who still clung to her hand.
‘Hello, darling,’ Flo said, bending down to be on Ruthie’s level. ‘Would you like some milk and a piece of cake?’
‘Yes, please…’ Ruthie said in a small voice.
She followed Flo to the old sofa and sat down. Ben gave her the doll she’d had for Christmas and she hugged it to her, looking anxious as her gaze moved about the big kitchen.
‘Why don’t you take Roy into the shop for a while?’ Flo said to her sister who had gone to her fiancé’s side and was whispering to him. ‘Its cold out for walking – I’ll get Ruthie and Ben settled.’
Ben sat beside his sister, clutching his Meccano set. He looked uncomfortable, because it was all so strange.
‘Granny Millie said we could stay, but she looked tired and Granda said it was best we came here until Dad gets back…’
‘Mr Hansen will find him,’ Flo told Ben.
‘Yeah, I know,’ Ben said and put his Meccano set down. ‘What can I do – fetch in some coal or wash the window…’
‘You can fetch the coke in for the range,’ Flo said, understanding that he needed to make himself useful. She too needed to be busy. ‘I’m going to take your case up and show you where you and Ruthie will sleep – and we’re very lucky, we h
ave a toilet upstairs and one in the back yard. When you’ve had something to eat, you can play with your Meccano or go out to meet friends – this is your home for the time being, Ben. You can do what you like…’
‘I filled Granda’s coal buckets this mornin’,’ Ben said. ‘I’ll go round this afternoon and see what they need – but the shops are still closed fer Christmas, ’cos it’s Boxing Day. They won’t have no jobs until the mornin’.’
‘Then play with your Meccano set,’ Flo said. ‘You can set it up in the kitchen or in the bedroom if you like…’
She carried the case into Honour’s bedroom and unpacked their clothes, Ruthie watching with her thumb in her mouth. Apart from Ruthie’s new dress, her clothes were very shabby. Ben had two decent pairs of trousers, but the rest of his things were patched and his jumpers were worn thin. Flo knew that several of Honour’s dresses she’d kept from her childhood would fit Ruthie. She could get them out, wash and iron them and see if the little girl liked them, but there wasn’t much she could do for Ben – the only way was to buy something decent off the market and cut them to fit him. Second-hand clothes were all right, providing you bought only the best and were good with the needle.
Ben looked round the spacious bedroom and grinned. ‘Can I set up the Meccano here and leave the models half built?’
‘I’m sure you can,’ Flo said. ‘Come and have a drink of something and a piece of cake and then you can play...’
*
After they’d eaten, Ben went back upstairs to set out the pieces of his Meccano set, but Ruthie sat on the sofa and watched as Flo started to prepare their lunch. She sliced some potatoes and put them in the oven to roast, prepared some sliced carrots and cabbage and then cut meat from the large cockerel they’d roasted the previous day. Flo then started to make a strawberry jelly, which she intended to offer with some tinned fruit and cream for their tea. The smell of the jelly melting in hot water brought Ruthie to the table.
‘My mum used to make strawberry jelly,’ she confided shyly to Flo.
‘Do you like it?’ Flo asked and the child nodded and smiled for the first time since her arrival. ‘I like it too – especially with tinned peaches and cream.’
‘Ohh that’s lovely…’ Ruthie said, her face lighting up. ‘I haven’t had that since I was five on my birthday…’
‘That’s a long time ago,’ Flo said. ‘I’m going to put this outside in the scullery so that it sets quickly. Do you want to help me set the table for lunch?’
Ruthie nodded and looked at the large oak dresser that took up most of one wall and was set with lots of blue and white crockery. ‘Do I get the plates from there?’
‘Yes, please. The middle-size ones, I think. I’ll get the knives and forks – and the place mats.’
Between them they set the table and Ruthie started to chatter. She talked about Granny Millie and school – and how her friends had laughed at her because her dress split.
‘Mum used to mend my things,’ she explained, ‘but Dad doesn’t know how to. Granny Millie put patches under the arms of one, but the other girls called me names because of the patches… they were a different colour…’
‘Well, I might be able to sort something better out before you go back to school,’ Flo said. ‘I’ve got some pretty dresses we could look at after dinner – and if you find something you like, I’ll alter them to fit you.’
Ruthie nodded happily. She was used to second-hand clothes. As long as they fitted her, she didn’t mind. Her school friends had second-hand things too; they’d taunted her because hers had big splits and odd patches under the arms. Yet none of them were much better dressed, but for some reason they’d decided to pick on her, perhaps because she cried easily after her mum died.
Flo called Ben down for lunch when Honour came through to the kitchen. Roy was on duty that afternoon, but he was coming back the next day and would stay to lunch then.
The meal was easier than Flo had thought. Both children ate their food with evident enjoyment, and Honour managed a little too. She seemed to have stopped crying now and Flo was too busy to dwell on her father’s death. It was something that she would always regret, because she’d just begun to know him, but at least they had broken down some of the fences before he died. She just wished she’d been with him at the end so that she could have said goodbye… but that was most people’s lament and Flo had to think about Robbie’s children. At the back of her mind the shadow of Robbie’s disappearance haunted her, but she tried not to let it weaken her resolve.
It was mid-afternoon when John Hansen came to the door. Ben had taken Ruthie round to see if Granny and Granda were all right, and Flo was just thinking about what she ought to do next when he knocked the door. She smiled and invited him into her kitchen, which was not quite as tidy as usual, but John knew she didn’t have a parlour and was relaxed as he sat on one of the kitchen chairs.
‘I was so sorry to hear about your father, Miss Hawkins,’ he said. ‘I know he has been ill for some time, but he did seem a little better in himself when I last called.’
‘Yes, that’s why it upset us so much…’
‘Your father was a stubborn man. You’ve been very patient and kind, looking after him so devotedly, Miss Hawkins…’
‘Please, call me Flo,’ she said. ‘We know each other too well for you to be so formal, John.’
‘Yes…’ He smiled and looked pleased. ‘Am I right in thinking you’re looking after Robbie’s children while he’s… missing?’
‘Yes.’ Flo looked at him anxiously. ‘You haven’t heard anythin’? He isn’t at the hospital or the infirmary…’
‘Neither of our local medical facilities had taken in a man of his description,’ John said and looked anxious. ‘I thought he might have slipped on the ice but…’
‘He can’t just have disappeared, unless…’ Flo couldn’t say the words. If he’d been murdered, his body might have been hidden or thrown in the river, but she daren’t think about that eventuality.
‘He may have been hurt and wandered off in a daze,’ John said. ‘I’m so sorry, Flo. I wanted to bring you better news, especially at a time like this…’
‘It isn’t your fault,’ Flo said. ‘We just have to pray that Robbie will be found and that whatever happened to him, he will be all right soon…’
‘Yes – and now we had best discuss the details of your father’s funeral. Once the authorities give you permission to bury your father you will wish to have it all in place.’
Flo agreed and they talked about her father’s favourite hymns. Talking with John eased the tension inside her and made it possible for her to grieve for her father without regret.
‘You will continue your visits to the mission?’ he asked as he was leaving.
‘If I can,’ she said. ‘The children are my first priority now – and Honour is courting, so she must have time to go out. I just hope Robbie is safe and comes home soon.’
John looked at her a little oddly, hesitated as if he would say something, then smiled and left. Flo wondered if she’d shown her feelings for Robbie too plainly, but she couldn’t hide how she felt. She needed Robbie to come back.
The children came home for their tea and everyone enjoyed the strawberry jelly, tinned peaches and bread and butter. Even Honour ate all hers and Flo knew that she’d begun to get over the shock of losing her grandfather and the suddenness of his death. As for how she felt about her real father, Flo could only guess that her thoughts were in turmoil, because she had not yet come to terms with her feelings.
Flo sent the children to bed at half-past seven but told them that they could play for a while. Normally, they would be preparing to open the shop the next day and to start baking, but the shop would remain closed until after their father was laid to rest.
‘Have you and Roy talked about the future?’ Flo asked as they sat over a cup of tea.
‘Yes…’ Honour sighed. ‘He can’t find premises large enough for a shop with a workshop behi
nd and living accommodation over the top. He found a good workshop which would be just right, but there were no rooms over the top. It would take all the money he has saved, which means we should have to rent some rooms for ourselves.’
Flo nodded thoughtfully. ‘You could live here for a while – if you wanted?’
‘I’m not sure that would work,’ Honour said. ‘I love you, but this is your home, your shop – and I’d like my own home.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Flo agreed, though she was a little disappointed that Honour should feel that way. ‘Well, I’m sure something will turn up.’
‘I wish we had news about Robbie,’ Honour said suddenly. ‘I feel mean talking about my plans when he’s still missing…’ She gave a little sob. ‘Oh, Mum, I don’t want him to die… I’ve never even spoken to him properly…’
‘We’re all worried,’ Flo said, ‘but I don’t think Robbie is dead. I’m sure I would feel it inside if he were. He must be hurt or he would have come home before now – but I can’t – I won’t believe he’s dead…’
‘I pray you’re right,’ Honour said. ‘He’s my father and I want him to give me away when I get married – and I want to see you happily settled too…’
Flo smiled and got up to kiss her cheek. ‘I love you, Honour, and your happiness is my chief concern – but I do hope that one day I shall be Robbie’s wife and those children upstairs will be mine to love and care for until they’re ready to leave us…’
‘They should always have been yours,’ Honour said and put an arm about her waist as they prepared to go up. ‘It wasn’t right what Mum did to you. If I have my way, Robbie will marry you and give you the happiness you’re entitled to…’
Flo made sure the kitchen door was locked and followed Honour upstairs. As she looked in at the sleeping children, her thoughts were with Robbie, wherever he was, and she prayed that if he had been hurt his injuries had been attended to, unable to bear the thought of his lying injured somewhere. John Hansen had told her that he wasn’t in the local hospitals… so where could he be?