by Dilly Court
Despite the fact that they were far from home there was no shortage of news, most of it bad. The allied forces’ landing in Gallipoli with vast numbers of casualties was bad enough, but at the beginning of May the sinking of the Cunard liner the Lusitania, with its appalling loss of life, cast a shadow over everyone at Lamarck. Somehow their spirits revived as the miserable spring gave way to warmer summer weather. The fighting around Ypres had virtually come to an end and Daisy had been away from home for almost nine months. She had the occasional letter to keep her up to date with family matters and everything seemed to be going along as usual, until the fateful day when a telegram arrived.
She had been about to drive to the station to transport wounded soldiers to the waiting troopship when a messenger pedalled into the courtyard on a rusty old bicycle. She stared at the telegram for several seconds before gathering up enough courage to open it. Her fingers trembled as she tore the envelope and the words danced before her eyes. Clarice took it gently from her. ‘Oh, Daisy, I’m so sorry. You’ve talked so often and so fondly of your brother. I am terribly, terribly sorry.’
Daisy gulped and swallowed, but she was too stunned to cry. For months she had been expecting the worst but she had been lulled into a false sense of security when no news was good news. Now she must face what women all over Britain and the Empire had been facing for almost a year. She had lost someone very close to her.
‘You must go home,’ Clarice said gently. ‘You’re due for some leave anyway, Daisy. You must tell Boss and she’ll let you go on compassionate grounds.’
‘Yes,’ Daisy said, dully. ‘Yes, of course. I must go home.’
Rainbow’s End was in deep mourning. The curtains were closed and it was a sad-faced Beatrice who opened the door. After a fond and tearful greeting, Daisy took off her hat and gloves and sat down at the kitchen table. It had been a long journey, starting the previous day when she boarded a troopship after a heated argument with the officer in charge who, despite her uniform, was adamant that women were not allowed to travel on a vessel commandeered by the army. In the end she was allowed on board but only if she promised to stay in the captain’s cabin and not venture out on deck until they docked in Dover. There had been a long wait at the station and then the train journey to Victoria. She took a taxi to Liverpool Street, but even so it had taken all day to get to Nutley Green and she was overwrought and exhausted.
Beatrice eyed her warily. ‘Are you all right, Daisy?’
‘I’m just tired. I’d love a cup of tea.’
Beatrice went into the larder and came out with a bottle of brandy. ‘Purely medicinal,’ she said with a wry smile as she poured two tots into tumblers. ‘Sip this while I make the tea.’ She busied herself at the range. ‘You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. I’ll understand.’
Daisy took a sip of the brandy and felt its heat strike her stomach like a bolt from a crossbow. ‘That’s Father’s Armagnac unless I’m very much mistaken.’
‘You’re absolutely correct,’ Beatrice said with a rueful smile. ‘Mrs Aitken from the village has a weakness for a drop of tiddley, so we don’t put temptation in her way. She’s a good cleaner, when she’s sober. But I do miss Ruby, and her cooking. It’s a pity that she had to go.’
Daisy choked on the brandy. ‘Do you ever hear from her?’
Beatrice put the teapot on the table and sat down. ‘Not a word. I’m sorry, Daisy. I know you were fond of her, but she hasn’t been in contact.’
‘She never answered any of my advertisements. I suppose the poor girl thinks we treated her very badly.’ Daisy put the glass down. Drinking brandy on an empty stomach was making her feel light-headed, and she needed to keep her wits about her. ‘You said that Mother has taken to her room. Doesn’t she come downstairs at all?’
‘Not since we received the telegram four days ago. We’ve had the doctor to her but he just advises rest and gives her something to make her sleep. He says he’s seen it dozens of times and he expects that she’ll rally. Maybe she will when she sees you.’
‘I doubt it. I was never her favourite. It was always Teddy and then you. I always came a poor third.’
Beatrice reached out across the table to hold her hand. ‘She doesn’t mean half the things she says. It’s just her way.’ She smiled and set about pouring the tea. ‘It’s Father I’m worried about. He’s taken Teddy’s death very much to heart and he practically lives at the office these days.’
‘But what about his assistant? Surely he could take over and give Father some time at home with Mother.’
Beatrice shook her head. ‘I don’t like Arley Meadows. I don’t trust the blighter.’
‘That doesn’t sound like you, Bea.’ Daisy stared at her in surprise. It seemed that in the relatively short time she had been away from home her sister had suddenly matured beyond her years. ‘What’s wrong with him?’
‘He’s a Uriah Heep,’ Beatrice said, pulling a face. ‘He pretends to be so nice and humble but I think he’s cheating Father out of money, although I can’t prove a thing.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘I can’t base it on anything other than the fact that money is so tight. I know that Father works really hard and has rebuilt the business, but he’s always worried. He won’t tell me anything, of course, because I’m just a girl and the baby of the family. Or that’s what he thinks.’
‘I can see that you’re completely grown up,’ Daisy said, smiling. ‘You’ll be getting married next. I can see it coming.’
Beatrice’s fresh face flushed to the roots of her hair. ‘I am, actually. Jimmy and I plan to be married before Christmas, but I daren’t tell anyone. Not yet, anyway. It would seem heartless in the circumstances. Although, of course, I know I’m under age and will need Father’s consent, but I’m sure he’ll be sympathetic.’ She paused with her cup halfway to her lips. ‘And what about you and Rupert? Have you heard from him?’
‘He writes occasionally, although they’re just little notes really. I would hardly call them love letters. But then I’ve seen what it’s like at the Front. It’s terrible, Bea. Just too awful to describe. I can only hope and pray for him.’
Beatrice put her cup down and fumbled in her pocket for her hanky. ‘It’s the same for so many people, Daisy. Jed Smith was killed three months ago, and Iris is left alone to bring up her little boy. We don’t know if it’s Teddy’s, but I’d like to think that there’s something of him left to carry on. He’s a beautiful baby. I quite often visit Iris and she lets me hold him. He has blue eyes just like Teddy’s.’
Daisy could take no more. She rose to her feet. ‘I’d better go upstairs and see Mother. Perhaps I can persuade her to come down for dinner.’
‘Good luck with that,’ Beatrice said grimly. ‘Father promised to come home early, so let’s hope he gets away from Arley’s clutches.’
Daisy frowned. She only had a short home leave but she would put Arley on her list of things to do. Tomorrow she would walk to Pendleton Park and call upon Lady Pendleton, but perhaps she could borrow the Prince Henry and drive into Colchester afterwards. Maybe a surprise visit to her father’s office would reveal exactly what Mr Meadows was up to.
‘You look dreadful, Daisy,’ Gwendoline said when Daisy walked into her bedroom. ‘You’re thin as a lath and your face is tanned like a farm labourer’s. You obviously haven’t been looking after yourself properly.’
Daisy would have laughed if she had not been so close to tears. She perched on the edge of the bed. ‘I can see you’re feeling a bit better, Mother.’
‘My heart is broken, and I don’t think I’ll ever feel anything again after losing my dear boy. I hate this war and everything about it. I want it to end, and you must come home and look after us again. Your father is a shadow of his former self, and Beatrice spends most of her time at the farm. I’m afraid she’ll make a dreadful mistake and marry that Jimmy Gurney. I’ll never hold my head up again at one of dear Jane’s soirees, if I have a daught
er living in a hovel.’
‘The Gurneys are a very respectable family, Mother. And I’d hardly describe the farmhouse as a hovel. It’s twice the size of Rainbow’s End.’
‘Stop, you’re giving me a headache.’ Gwendoline clutched her forehead in a dramatic gesture. ‘It’s all too much for me.’
‘We all need you, Mother. You’re the one who keeps everything together.’
‘Do you really think so?’
Daisy smiled. ‘I know so, Mother. Now please, get up and get dressed so that we can have dinner as a family, and raise a glass to Teddy. That’s what he would want, wouldn’t he? He’d hate to see you laid so low.’
Gwendoline raised herself on her elbow. ‘He would. Teddy always liked to see me dressed in my best with my hair done nicely, and just a touch of lip rouge. Not too much, of course.’
‘Of course not.’ Daisy rose to her feet and went to the wardrobe. She opened the door and riffled through the elegant gowns hanging inside. She selected her mother’s favourite lilac tussore afternoon gown and laid it across the foot of the bed. ‘No black for any of us, Mother. Teddy hated to see women wearing black. He said it made them look like crows.’ She backed towards the door. ‘I’ll leave you now, but if you need any help just give me a call.’
Gwendoline sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. ‘I really miss having my own maid. It’s terrible being poor, Daisy. I do so hope that Rupert doesn’t get killed before you have a chance to marry him. I don’t want you ending up a sad old spinster living off the pittance that your father will be able to leave you.’
‘I’m a modern woman, Mother,’ Daisy said, trying desperately to be patient. ‘If I don’t marry I’ll earn my own living. Anyway, we won’t worry about that now. I’ll see you downstairs.’ She left the room before she said something that would burst the bubble in which her mother obviously still lived. Untouched by the real world, Gwendoline Lennox inhabited a dream-like place rooted in the last century when the old queen ruled a huge empire and no one questioned their position in the class structure. Daisy suspected that things would be quite different when the war finally came to an end.
She went downstairs to help Beatrice in the kitchen. She found her deep in conversation with Donovan, the head groom from Pendleton Park. They stopped talking when she entered the room and Beatrice rushed over to her waving a piece of paper. ‘Darling Daisy. There’s a note from Lady Pendleton. She’s got the most marvellous surprise for you.’
Chapter Seventeen
DAISY OPENED THE envelope. It was hard to imagine what Lady Pendleton could have to say that would make any difference to the terrible sense of loss that hung in a dark cloud over Rainbow’s End. Nothing, other than time itself, could ease the suffering caused by Teddy’s death. She unfolded the sheet of expensive hand-crafted writing paper with its embossed family crest, and scanned its contents.
‘Well, what does it say?’ Beatrice tugged at her sleeve. ‘We could do with some good news.’
‘Rupert is in London,’ Daisy said dully. ‘Lady Pendleton wants me to travel up to town with her tomorrow morning. But it’s impossible.’
Beatrice shooed Donovan out of the kitchen with a murmured excuse. She came flying back and grasped Daisy by the shoulders, giving her a good shake. ‘Stop behaving like an idiot. Moping around here won’t bring Teddy back; nothing will. He’s gone, bless him, and he’s hopefully in a better place, but life has to go on. He loved Rupert. They were best friends all through school and university, so you must go with Lady Pendleton tomorrow. You simply must.’
Daisy stared at her in astonishment. Where was scatterbrained, spoilt Beatrice who lived for the moment? This forceful young woman with flashing eyes and a determined tilt of her chin was a virtual stranger. ‘You think so?’
‘I do indeed.’ Beatrice gave her a hug. ‘Things have changed, Daisy. Nothing is the same as it was before the war, and we can all take care of ourselves, even Mother. Although of course she pretends to be helpless and a victim of circumstances, but beneath the silk and lace there beats a heart of pure steel.’ She kissed Daisy’s cheek. ‘Now sit down and write a note to Lady Pendleton saying that you’ll be delighted to go up to London to see your fiancé.’ She moved swiftly to the dresser and took a pen and a bottle of ink from the drawer. ‘Write it on the bottom of her letter; she won’t mind. After all, there is a war on and we must save paper.’
Daisy sat down at the table and penned a few lines.
‘That’s right,’ Beatrice said, nodding with approval. ‘But where’s your engagement ring? I’ve only just noticed that you’re not wearing it.’
Daisy tweaked the gold chain which hung round her neck and pulled it so that the ring dangled between her fingers. ‘I’ve worn it round my neck for safe keeping.’
Beatrice frowned. ‘Your hands are in a worse state than Mother Gurney’s, but you’d better wear the ring tomorrow or Rupert will think you don’t love him any more.’
‘Of course,’ Daisy murmured. ‘I wouldn’t want to upset him.’ She unhooked the chain and slipped the ring on her finger. ‘Are you satisfied now, miss?’
‘It’s not me you have to please, Daisy Lennox.’ Beatrice seized the letter and blew on the ink until it dried. She folded it and slipped it back into the envelope. ‘I’ll give this to Donovan, and you can help me by peeling a few potatoes for dinner.’ She hurried off without giving Daisy a chance to argue.
Lady Pendleton was in a high state of excitement as they sat in the back of the Rolls with Parkin in the driver’s seat.
‘It’s such a wonderful coincidence that Rupert has leave at the same time as you, Daisy dear.’
‘Yes, ma’am. It’s quite amazing.’
Lady Pendleton turned her head to give Daisy a quizzical look. ‘You do look very thin and pale. Are you quite well? You must have endured so much in France.’
‘I’m fine,’ Daisy said stoutly. ‘Just a bit tired after the journey, but otherwise I’m quite well.’
‘You must tell me all about it. I lead such a sheltered existence that sometimes I feel quite guilty, although I suppose we all have our part to play in the grand scheme of things. I myself am on several fundraising committees.’
‘I’m sure that’s a great help,’ Daisy said dutifully.
‘I hope so indeed.’ Lady Pendleton relaxed against the soft leather upholstery, folding her gloved hands in her lap. ‘We send knitted garments to the troops and organise raffles. I also assist as much as I am able in encouraging young, able-bodied men to enlist in the army, but Henry fears that conscription might become law if there aren’t enough volunteers.’ She frowned, shaking her head. ‘I abhor the practice of sending white feathers to men who for reasons of their own do not enlist, or have not yet plucked up the courage to do so. In my opinion it’s a cruel and rather cowardly act. It inflicts pain and humiliation without giving the person concerned the opportunity to explain why they don’t choose to defend their country.’
‘I agree,’ Daisy said earnestly. ‘No one can have any idea what it’s like in Flanders unless they’ve seen the battlefields and the utter destruction of farms and villages for themselves.’ She stared out at the green hedgerows in their full summer glory and the ripening corn studded with poppies, cornflowers and moon daisies. The flat Essex countryside looked so peaceful and serene that the war seemed a million miles away. She shot a sideways glance at Lady Pendleton’s calm countenance and wondered what her future mother-in-law would say if she knew about her feelings for Bowman. Not for the first time Daisy suffered the agony of guilt. She was not worthy of Rupert. He deserved better.
They arrived in Grosvenor Square at midday and found Rupert waiting for them, but the young army officer who came to greet them was a shadow of the man whom Daisy had known for most of her life. Thin, gaunt and deeply tanned, Rupert said all the right things, but his manner although welcoming was slightly aloof, and there were deep lines radiating from the corners of his mouth. He seemed tense, and althou
gh he was obviously trying hard to be sociable Daisy could tell that his thoughts were elsewhere. Pain was etched in his eyes, as though he had witnessed more suffering than was good for any man, and his haunted expression hinted at ghastly sights that he could not put from his mind.
He kissed his mother and then Daisy, but his lips were cold and he might as well have been greeting a maiden aunt for all the passion there was in his embrace. Daisy was at a loss to know how to treat him. She had been genuinely pleased to see him, but now she felt as though she was speaking to a stranger. A glance at his mother’s face revealed that Lady Pendleton felt similarly baffled by her son’s detached manner.
Luncheon was served in the grand dining room but conversation was stilted, and Lady Pendleton’s attempts to coax Rupert to open up failed miserably. Daisy ate very little although the chef had excelled himself and there was little sign of food shortages in the Pendleton household. Rupert consumed everything on his plate but Daisy could see that he was hardly aware of the delicious morsels created to tempt a jaded appetite. He answered his mother’s questions with monosyllables and drank rather too much wine with each course. Daisy was relieved when at last the meal was over and Lady Pendleton suggested that they might like to take coffee in the Japanese saloon.
Rupert rose to his feet. ‘If you’ll excuse me, Mother, I would really like to get some fresh air. I find it quite stifling in London. It’s never been my favourite place in the summer.’