When another week had passed and apart from the cough and a slight cold, Anthony was safe and content, she relaxed and began to concentrate on the busy months ahead of her, organizing the holidays at home for the town of St David’s Well.
Although the season didn’t begin until May there was already plenty to do. Requests for local concerts during the out of season months she handed to Ken. Others, pencilled in for the summer were her concern and her diary began to fill up.
A letter came for Ken which he showed her. He was asked to tour with a small group of actors who performed a three act play and alternated it with a song and dance routine interspersed with a few comedy acts. Apart from a few small items which they would beg, borrow or steal locally, the group carried all their needs on a clumsy looking vehicle that had once been used for coal deliveries and to which a cover had been amateurishly added.
‘What d’you think?’ he asked. ‘Two bookings in Scotland, one in an unspecified dockyard, then in Lincolnshire a bomber ‘drome — not specified, and back to somewhere in Kent, again not specified. It will mean being away from home for weeks.’
They discussed it and agreed that he should go. Rumours were gathering strength about a gradual build up of men and equipment in the south, and demands for the Second Front were increasing. They knew the men and women needed relaxation and it was right for Ken to do what he could to help.
Travelling was extremely difficult. The stations were crowded with weary servicemen and civilians. Trains were late or didn’t come at all, and many went through the stations full of servicemen and didn’t even stop. Food was hard to find and he wondered why he had agreed. Scotland might have been the other side of the world the time it took to get there.
He spent hours hanging around waiting for trains and buses but eventually met up with the rest of the group and they set off in a convoy of a car and the strange-looking lorry to their first performance in the north west of Scotland. He was feeling miserable and wished he hadn’t agreed to come. It was so far from home and he couldn’t even telephone Eirlys unless she was at the office. He concentrated on the concert party, but the loneliness wouldn’t go away.
Everything went well and they stayed for a third evening, the cast arranging a sing-song on the last night before setting off south.
It was at the bomber airfield that things became really difficult. Almost as soon as they had been shown to their accommodation, Ken heard the name Janet, referring to someone who worked in the Naafi canteen. He knew the chances of it being Janet Copp were minute, but he had to find out.
He and Janet had once been lovers but the affair had ended and his marriage to Eirlys was secure. But the prospect of talking to her was extremely tempting. Meeting someone from St David’s Well, someone from home, was just what he needed at that time. Common sense warned him not to go, but after they had all settled in for a night’s sleep, he went out and innocently passing behind a guard who had moved from his position to stare across the field at something, he walked into a restricted area and approached the canteen.
A hand touched his shoulder suddenly, and he looked up and saw two very tall, powerfully built soldiers barring his way. He turned and silently two others appeared behind him. By their stance he knew they were holding guns and as his night sight improved, he saw they were aimed at his chest.
Thirteen
Ken was interrogated several times and the sessions were exhausting. Several men at once threw questions and accusations at him, then two of them left and there was only one man who, while still suspicious, seemed to gradually accept what he was saying was the truth. He was left in a locked room while enquiries were made and it was dawn before he saw anyone again. A cup of tea and a piece of toast, then the questioning continued.
All the time, whenever he had the chance, he begged them not to tell his wife. ‘I was looking for an ex-girlfriend,’ he insisted, ‘and Eirlys might misunderstand and would be hurt.’
‘So, you’ve been a naughty boy, have you?’ one asked jocularly. Ken smiled and the next question made it vanish.
‘Who do you pass your information to?’ And so it went on through most of the next day.
* * *
When two military policemen called to speak to Eirlys, she was alarmed. She tried to think of someone she knew who might be a victim of war, but she had no relations serving. They came in and sat rather stiffly on chairs and politely asked her a few questions. They told her nothing about Ken but asked instead about Janet.
‘Is she all right?’
‘So far as we know, yes.’
‘She’s serving abroad with Naafi, I believe.’
No reply. Then, ‘Is she a friend of yours?’
She didn’t answer straightaway, wondering whether to be completely honest, wishing she knew the reason for the questions to help her decide. From the way the two men were staring, they were suspicious of her hesitation. Better, she thought, to be honest.
‘I knew Janet, but my husband was closer. She sang and as he organizes concerts they worked together.’ Another uneasy silence, then she went on. ‘They had an affair.’ Still no reaction. ‘I have no reason to think it is still going on. She’s abroad and out of touch. My husband and I have sorted it out and we’re very happy.’
‘He wouldn’t try to see her?’
‘Definitely not.’
They looked at each other, thanked her and left.
Ken was kept in a prison cell for three days and then allowed to leave. Shaking, looking pale and ill, he checked to make sure the drama group had gone, and caught a train home. He wondered if he would ever feel confident enough to leave it again.
He couldn’t decide what to tell Eirlys, if anything. She broached the subject and he told her everything at first, except that he had been hoping to see Janet.
‘You were just going to the Naafi for something to eat? But isn’t the Naafi for servicemen?’
Seeing the expectant look on her face, he knew he had to be truthful. ‘Don’t take this the wrong way, Eirlys, but I heard the name Janet and I admit I went to see if it was Janet Copp. It wasn’t with a hope of starting something between us, that’s well and truly over, but to talk to someone from home, who remembers so much of what has happened since this war began. I was tempted. That’s all.’
Eirlys smiled. ‘Ken, I believe you. I just hoped you would tell me. You will tell me everything that happens, won’t you?’
‘Yes, specially as I missed you so much whilst I was away.’
She slipped into his arms and a low, slow voice that could only be Percival, came from upstairs, ‘Look out brovers, they’re kissin’ again.’
Their laughter was fresh and natural, a shared joy, and they both knew they had turned yet another dangerous corner in their marriage and were still together.
* * *
As winter eased its grip and the days grew longer and warmer, business at Audrey’s café increased. News of its unique attractions for young people spread, and the place was filled right up to nine o’clock when she closed. Although she was pleased with its success, proud of her conceptual skill, in truth she had little heart for the enterprise.
Preparations for the start of the new summer season were underway as March turned into April, and she wondered if Maude and Myrtle were feeling regret at not being included in Marged’s plans for the beach. They seemed to be enjoying life, going out more and gathering a group of friends around them. They were out most evenings when they weren’t needed at the café, to the pictures, concerts and dances, and to visit friends.
When they were working, the café became a meeting place for their friends as well as others who were attracted to its welcoming atmosphere to meet away from the suspicious gaze of their mothers. A place where they could meet boys and taunt them with insults and persuade them to buy them an extra coffee when pocket money day was too far away.
She smiled at the confident way the two girls coped with the badinage, remembering their withdrawn and sickly demeanou
r when they had been rescued from the tumbledown stable in which they had been living. It would have been impossible then to imagine them coping with the café, giving their tormenting friends as good as they got and being capable and hard working members of the Castle family.
How she regretted ever separating them from that close circle and bringing them to this place. Successful it undoubtedly was, but it had hardly brought her happiness and Maude and Myrtle would have been more content if they had remained in Sidney Street with Marged and with Huw and Hetty and Bleddyn close by.
A roar of laughter filled the air and she looked across to where Myrtle was collecting dishes and her sister was offering a plate of biscuits to a crowd of young people. She was in a melancholy mood and the laughter didn’t make her smile as it usually did. Perhaps she should sell up and go back to Sidney Street?
‘Audrey?’ a voice called, and she looked up to see Keith at the door. ‘Can you come out for an hour, there’s someone I want you to meet.‘
Her first instinct was to refuse. She was on the defensive most of the time these days. So many disappointments, it was easier to say no to whatever was offered.
‘Go on, Auntie Audrey,‘ Myrtle said. ‘We’ll rope some of these in to help with the cleaning up if you aren’t back.’
‘I’ll just clear the tables first,’ she said, unwilling to capitulate too soon.
Keith helped and they stacked the dishes and cutlery in the orderly kitchen and he took her winter coat from the hook and helped her put it on. Slowly, deliberately delaying, she added a scarf and a hat.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked.
‘Not far. We’ll be back to deal with the dishes.’
The evening was milder than of late, the end of a day when the air was warm, and everyone had been touched by the joy of the strengthening sun. Summer dresses had been brought out and could be seen hung on washing lines to freshen them ready for the attention of an iron. The early preparations for summer were frowned on by many, young people were warned to ‘not cast a clout till May be out’. No one hurried, the pace was leisurely, the extra hours of daylight giving everyone more time.
Incurious, too unhappy to feel the pleasure of anticipation, Audrey walked with Keith to the park in the centre of the town. There were children playing on the swings and from the size of them she guessed it was past their bedtime, but the mothers had sensibly decided that they deserved an extra hour of outdoor activity.
Keith walked towards the family and beckoned to Audrey to follow. ‘These are my five grandchildren,’ he said. ‘Alwyn’s two boys and Geraint’s two girls and a boy. Their fathers are away but my daughters-in-law are over there and they want to meet you.’
Whatever she had imagined, it wasn’t this. She looked towards the two young women who approached her, smiling in a friendly way. She hardly heard as Keith introduced them as Frances and Gillian.
‘Audrey? Can we call you Audrey? Stepmother-in-law is a bit of a mouthful,’ the one called Frances said.
They asked very few questions, and spoke more as strangers might, knowing they wouldn’t meet again. They were polite and friendly but didn’t fuss; no gushing, no crowding her with questions or facts, they just sat beside her and Keith and watched the children playing.
Casually, very casually, Gillian suggested that if she wished, she could come to the twins’ birthday party a few weeks hence. No pressure, they were skilled enough to make her feel she was wanted but would understand if she refused.
Gradually, Audrey realized that they were welcoming her into the family with gentle coaxing and she warmed to them. An hour later, she was pushing two-year-old James on the small swing and talking freely to the others as they came and went between games and friendly arguments.
Keith walked her back to the café from where the sounds of laughter and shrieks told her that Maude and Myrtle’s friends were supposedly helping to clear up. Keith stood hesitantly before she nodded for him to follow her and they tip-toed past the kitchen door and up to the flat.
‘I hope you didn’t mind. It was a bit like throwing you in at the deep end,’ Keith said ruefully. ‘But I didn’t know how to introduce you and the park is a good place for meeting children.’
‘I had a lovely couple of hours and your daughters-in-law are kind and charming, Keith.’
He looked slightly embarrassed. ‘Does this mean we can talk properly, as friends?’
‘As friends?’ she queried.
‘For a while, but I hope one day you’ll forgive me and we can be more.’
She waited for him to continue, it was clear he had more to say.
‘About the drinking. I only drink when I’m worrying about something over which I seem to have no control. If we can make a fresh start…?’ he hesitated, then reached out and took her hand in his. ‘Audrey. I can’t promise I’ll never drink again. I’d be terrified of breaking that promise and that alone would make it difficult. But I do promise I’ll fight it if it threatens, seek help, do anything to avoid hurting you again.’
‘I’m not a great one for promises, an unwise promise can ruin lives. I would ask only that you tell me when something is bothering you. That way, if there’s any fighting to be done we’ll deal with it together.’
‘Then I can stay?’
‘If you are sure it’s what you want.’
His arms slid around her shoulders and he pulled her so close she could feel the beating of his heart. They sat for a long time without another word.
* * *
Eirlys was troubled. Ken seemed to have lost direction. He was delegating more of his work and, worse, seemed unaware that Anthony was unwell.
‘Will you be at home tomorrow?’ she asked one morning as she cleared the breakfast table. ‘I have to go to the office, I have several meetings arranged with people promising help in the summer. But if you’re home, I think I’ll leave Anthony with you, he still has that cough and it’s better to keep him indoors, I think.’
He looked up at her as though he hadn’t listened to a word. Irritably she repeated them. ‘Anthony isn’t well and I think you ought to stay at home with him.’
‘Darling, it’s only a cough. Everyone’s assured you it’s nothing more.’
‘But it’s gone on too long, and he’s listless and too willing to sit still and listen to a story, during which he usually falls asleep. At two years old he should be full of energy, always finding mischief, and for the past weeks he’s been neither of those things. He doesn’t get excited when I suggest a walk to the park or to the beach or to the shop to buy sweets, or anything else I’ve suggested.’
‘Hannah will cope,’ he replied.
Eirlys accepted that but promised herself that they would talk that evening until she found the reason for his self-absorption.
Hannah had been true to her word and had taken him to the doctor, but typically, Anthony had chosen that time to be chatty, and lively, curious about the new surroundings and keen to investigate. The doctor had smiled as he retrieved various items from the child’s determined grasp and could find no cause for concern. But Eirlys was unconvinced.
Taking him to stay with Hannah, she reiterated her worries and Hannah assured her the little boy was in safe hands. When she reached the office she tried to relax, reminding herself that Hannah and Alice were good friends who both loved Anthony and gave him the best possible care.
The list of things needing her attention was a long one as she battled to make arrangements for the various entertainments that would take place throughout the approaching summer of 1944. Her mind was not as concentrated as normal. Anthony was on her mind and so was Ken. His work was similar to her own although he worked far away from St David’s Well on most occasions, but since his return from his terrifying arrest, he appeared to have little to do. When she questioned him, he said he was resting before planning a new tour.
When she collected Anthony he was brighter than he’d been that morning and had enjoyed a few hours watching schoolchil
dren playing in the park with Hannah and Alice providing a picnic in the shelter of the pavilion. He chattered to his mother on the way home and had clearly enjoyed his day. Eirlys hoped that the irritating cough which had plagued him for so long was at last leaving him.
Her talk to Ken took place as they pushed Anthony in his pushchair through the lanes to call on Beth and Mr Gregory. At first he assured her there was nothing wrong, but she said, ‘No secrets, Ken. We share everything good and bad.’
‘I suppose I’ve lost my nerve. The thought of going into another army camp or walking through the guard house of an airfield is the stuff nightmares are made of.’
‘Go back to what you do best; after a week your fears will have vanished. Please, Ken, just think about when the war ends. You’ll need all the contacts you have made. If you don’t use them someone else will and you’ll spend the rest of your life aching with regrets.’
They discussed it for a while and by the time they reached the smallholding and the cup of tea certain to be offered. Ken had made up his mind.
‘I’ll need a pile of pennies,’ he said. ‘Mr Gregory’s bound to have plenty, he gets change ready for when he gives donkey rides on the beach. Tomorrow I’ll need them for phoning around and getting a concert party ready for the next tour.’
‘I’m so happy, Dadda.‘ she said to her father that evening as she lifted Anthony out of his pushchair. ‘Ken and I are very happy now. We have a wonderful son, we truly love each other, and we are working together in perfect partnership.’
‘There’s pleased I am, Eirlys. You deserve it,’ Morgan replied.
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