by Pam Weaver
‘This place is a fair step from the school,’ said Miss Bullock.
‘It’s only next door to the original guest house,’ Mr Balentine remarked languidly.
‘I suppose so,’ Miss Bullock replied with some reluctance. She lowered her voice. ‘But do you think it suitable?’
‘What’s wrong with it?’ asked Mr Balentine. ‘She seems a nice enough woman and the place is spotless.’
‘But her husband is in a wheelchair,’ said Miss Bullock.
‘So?’
‘So,’ said Miss Bullock with a sigh, ‘I’m not sure how boys who are growing up with the idea of being Aryan supermen will feel about living with a cripple.’
Overhearing what was being said, Ruby bristled.
‘Then perhaps,’ Mr Balentine replied tartly, ‘they should find out how things are done over here.’
‘I suppose beggars can’t be choosers,’ Miss Bullock conceded with an exaggerated sigh. ‘They’re young, and the school isn’t that far away, I suppose. Besides, I have it on good authority that they are extremely fit. A longish walk will give them a good chance to look around.’
‘Look around?’ said Mr Balentine faintly.
‘Around the town,’ Miss Bullock said quickly. She laughed nervously. ‘And why not? Worthing is a lovely place.’
As Ruby walked into the room, Miss Bullock’s gloved hand rested on the mantelpiece. Instinctively Ruby knew she had been checking for dust. She put the tray of tea on a low table beside it and began to pour.
Miss Bullock explained that the boys who would be staying with her were members of a drama group from a German school. ‘They’re coming to the Assembly Hall to perform a play called Der Unsichtbare Elefant.’
Ruby handed her a cup of tea and, as Miss Bullock sat down, Ruby struggled to recall what the word unsichtbare meant. Of course Elefant was the German word for elephant. That was easy enough . . . The Something Elephant.
Miss Bullock obviously noticed her puzzled expression, because when Ruby glanced up at her, she chuckled. ‘The Invisible Elephant.’ Ruby was about to explain that she was in the process of learning German herself when Miss Bullock added, ‘Do forgive me, my dear. I quite forgot that someone like you, with little or no education, wouldn’t have a clue what I was talking about.’
Ruby felt her face flare with indignation and it took all her willpower not to snap. How dare she? The patronizing cow! But much as she wanted to be just as rude to Miss Bullock, she couldn’t afford to be. Instead she handed Mr Balentine his tea, aware that he was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
‘You needn’t worry about entertaining them, Mrs Searle,’ he said as he took the cup. He was clearly embarrassed by his colleague’s attitude. ‘They speak good English, and we want them to talk to you and your husband as much as possible. It will be good practice.’
Ruby nodded. ‘I understand.’
‘Besides, they will be fully occupied whilst they are here,’ he went on. ‘We shall collect them by coach on Thursday morning for a full programme, and they’ll perform their play in the Assembly Hall in the evening.’
Ruby liked him. He had an open and honest face.
‘All that is required is an evening meal on Wednesday when they arrive,’ Miss Bullock interrupted, ‘a hearty breakfast on Thursday, and breakfast and a packed lunch for Friday – the day they leave. They will eat their evening meal with the rest of the school on Thursday.’
‘So you would like to book the room?’ said Ruby.
‘Yes, please,’ said Mr Balentine. ‘Normally we offer our exchange pupils accommodation with a family, but for some reason these boys preferred to be in a guest house.’
‘Then I shall do my best to make sure their stay doesn’t disappoint,’ said Ruby with a smile.
The three of them sipped their tea. ‘I suppose,’ Mr Balentine began again, ‘that with all this sabre-rattling going on between Germany and this country, it must seem odd to you that these boys should be coming at all.’
Ruby hadn’t liked to say so, but her thoughts had travelled along those lines.
‘The boys from Worthing High School went to the German school last year,’ Miss Bullock said, taking over from her colleague. ‘They performed Twelfth Night. That’s Shakespeare, you know.’
Ruby knew perfectly well, but swallowed hard and said nothing. Although she didn’t like the woman, there was little point in antagonizing her; after all, she wasn’t the one who was going stay in her house.
‘And Mr Martin, the headmaster,’ Miss Bullock continued, ‘is keen to keep open the lines of communication between our two countries.’
‘Very commendable,’ said Ruby. ‘I guess we all have to do our bit for world peace, however small.’
‘Quite right too, Mrs Searle,’ said Miss Bullock, holding her gaze. ‘However small.’
They left soon afterwards and Ruby wasn’t sorry to see them go. As they walked through the gate, Cousin Lily was coming up the road. Ruby waved to her. Mr Balentine turned his head as Lily walked past him. Ruby thought he was admiring her neat figure – plenty of men did – but then, lifting his trilby, he smiled at Ruby, who was waiting by the gate. Miss Bullock stared ahead, her back ramrod-straight.
As Lily drew near, Ruby was concerned to see that she was apparently upset. Oh no, Ruby thought to herself, don’t tell me the wedding is off. She and Lily belonged to the same family, but they had little in common. Bea and Lily’s mother, Vinny, were sisters, with a rather volatile relationship at times, although they would happily do anything for one another. Ruby and Lily got on well, but they were as different as chalk and cheese. Ruby was a steady girl, unafraid of hard work, eager to make a go of life and always anxious to please those she loved. Lily was more flighty. She was very pretty, and she knew it. Judging by the look Mr Balentine had thrown in her direction, Lily hadn’t lost any of her charms. She had already been engaged three times and had broken the engagements off, each time keeping the ring she’d been given. Now she was engaged again, but until now she had seemed genuinely prepared to marry this fiancé. Nick Wilkins had certainly lasted longer than the others, and their wedding was set for April 17th.
‘What wrong?’ asked Ruby as her cousin walked through the gate.
‘I can’t marry him,’ said Lily tearfully.
‘Oh, Lily,’ said Ruby sympathetically. ‘What’s happened now?’ They linked arms and the two of them walked up the path together.
‘Where’s Jim?’ Lily asked anxiously as they went inside.
‘Down in the shed,’ said Ruby. ‘He’s sawing wood and things, so he won’t hear us. Do you want a cuppa?’
Lily shook her head. ‘Oh, Ruby,’ she sniffed, ‘I love him so much, but I can’t – I just can’t.’
Ruby was well aware that she and Nick were already sleeping with each other. Lily had already given herself to Albert Longman, a previous old flame, and when Nick came along she had fretted that he would know she wasn’t a virgin. Sometime after she had confided in Ruby, Lily had told her that she was now sleeping with Nick and he was so besotted with her that he didn’t appear to have guessed that she had already had a lover.
‘I don’t understand,’ said Ruby. ‘What’s happened?’ Whenever she’d seen Lily and Nick together, Ruby had been convinced that they’d have a marriage made in heaven.
‘Nothing,’ said Lily. ‘Nick is just perfect. I’ve got my dress, and when we’re married we’re going to live in two dear little rooms in a big house in Portland Road. The banns are to be read at the end of this month, but I can’t let them do it.’
‘Lily,’ said Ruby, ‘you’re talking in riddles. If you love him and he loves you, and all your plans are falling into place, why on earth can’t you marry him?’
‘Because,’ said Lily irritably, ‘he told me about the certificate.’
‘What certificate?’
‘Oh, Ruby,’ she said. ‘Do pay attention. The wedding certificate.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Ruby. ‘I still
don’t understand.’
‘He told me I’ll have to sign it.’
‘Well, of course you will,’ said Ruby.
‘Then I can’t marry him.’
Ruby frowned.
‘Well, I can’t just put an X on it, can I?’ wailed Lily. ‘Everyone will know I can’t read or write.’ She burst into tears.
Ruby put her arm around her cousin’s shaking shoulders. ‘Oh, Lily, is that all that’s worrying you? Then let me help you. We’ve still got a few weeks till the wedding. Let me teach you how to sign your name.’
‘I went to school until I was twelve,’ said Lily, reaching up her sleeve for a handkerchief and blowing her nose. ‘When I left, I still couldn’t do it. I’ll never manage to write my name in just a few weeks!’
‘I bet you weren’t really trying back then, when you were at school,’ said Ruby with a smile. Lily turned her tear-stained face towards her. Ruby squeezed her shoulder. ‘You’ve got a real reason to do it now. So let’s give it a go, shall we?’
A hundred miles away from Worthing, on the outskirts of a village called West Moors in Dorset, Eric leaned against the bonnet of the van and took a long drag of his cigarette. He craned his neck to see if she was coming. He’d worked up quite a sweat gathering together a pile of large stones, which he’d put in an old sack that he kept in the back of the van. Where the hell was she? Hanging around here made him nervous. In the distance he heard the clock on the church tower chime three. She said she’d be here by half-past two. Perhaps she hadn’t been able to get away after all. They’d disagreed about when to make the move. He’d said she should slip away in the dead of night, but she’d had other ideas.
‘Supposing Christine wakes up and cries,’ Lena had said. ‘Mr West’s a light sleeper. He’s always padding around the house at night. If he catches me halfway down the stairs with the baby and a suitcase, he’ll make sure I never see her again.’
Eric threw his dog-end down and ground it with his foot, before reaching into his pocket for another Woodbine. A ciggie was supposed to calm your nerves, but he felt worse than ever. He cupped his hand around the end as he struck a match and drew on the cigarette. When he looked up again, there she was, coming round the bend in the road with the Silver Cross pram gliding in front of her. She was walking briskly. Eric’s heart thudded in his chest. Was she being followed? Dear God, he hoped not. He walked round the van and opened the passenger door, just in case she had to make a run for it.
She was wearing a coat, but it was open and flapping in the cool spring sunshine. Her dress clung to the contours of her slim body as she came closer, and he felt himself harden. Content that no one was behind her, he walked along the path to meet her, his feet crunching on the gravel beneath his shoes. She had all her stuff on the tray underneath the pram. It wasn’t much. The little girl was sitting upright and looking around. She was a pretty thing, with a mop of light-brown curls and big, innocent eyes, but Eric only glanced at her. It was Lena he was here for. As they met, he pulled her roughly into his arms. ‘Lena – oh, Lena.’
‘’Ang on, lover boy,’ she said. ‘Let me get me breath back.’
He silenced her protest with a hungry kiss and kneaded her breast with one hand. As he released her, she laughed softly.
‘Oh, Eric. Get away with you, you great lummox. There’ll be plenty of time for that later.’
‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ he asked gruffly. ‘Once you get into that van, there’s no going back.’
‘Course I’m sure,’ she said. She looked down at the child. ‘This is Jean. Say hello to your new daddy, Jean.’
‘Jean?’ said Eric.
‘Yes,’ said Lena. She ran her finger lovingly along the child’s face. ‘Jean is her proper name. The one I gave her. Isn’t she sweet?’
Eric grunted congenially. As they turned to go, her foot slipped on the mud at the side of the path and he grabbed her arm to steady her. They smiled at each other, and Lena lifted the child out of the pram. He took the suitcase from the tray underneath and they made their way to the van. Flinging the case into the back, he helped her into the passenger seat and put the little kid on her lap. Then, walking back down the path with the sack of stones, he threw it into the pram. He pushed the pram towards the river bank and so far down, then gave it a hearty shove. It rolled away quickly, but just before it hit the water, the wheels came up against a ridge. The pram upended and the rocks tumbled into the hood. Instead of sliding into the water, the whole thing turned over and went in hood-first. It sank, but not as much as Eric had intended. The wheel rims were visible in the water. He thought about sliding down the bank and giving it another shove, but there was no time to lose. They had to get away as soon as possible, and trust that no one would think of coming down this way until they were long gone. Cursing under his breath, Eric hurried back to the van and climbed into the driver’s seat.
‘All right?’ said Lena.
Eric started the engine. ‘Fine.’ Jean clapped her hands and he grinned. ‘That’s right, little one. Hurrah! This is where we begin the rest of our lives.’
CHAPTER 5
Ruby was on her way back from Lonsdale House in Rowlands Road, where Mr and Mrs Bennett had a lending library. For a shilling a month, she could borrow up to two books a week.
‘Yoo-hoo, Ruby.’
Ruby turned sharply to see her old friend Edith Parsons running towards her. She and Edith hadn’t met up for ages. As the two of them hugged each other in the street, Ruby realized how much she missed her old friend, but somehow the pressures of running the guest house and Edith’s wedding preparations had got in the way. The pair of them laughed and danced around each other like two excited schoolgirls.
‘It’s so good to see you,’ cried Edith, when at last they both stopped to catch their breath.
‘And you,’ said Ruby. ‘Have you got time to come home for a cup of tea?’
Edith pulled a face. ‘Oh, Roob. I’m so sorry. I’m on my way to Mrs Kinson’s for another fitting for my wedding dress, and I’m late already. Can you come with me?’
Mrs Kinson lived in Heene Corner, which was on the way back to Sea View, but Ruby shook her head. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, threading her arm through Edith’s. ‘I’ll walk with you for a bit, but I can’t come in. I’m expecting a couple of schoolboys. They’re staying in the guest house, so I have to get back.’
The two women walked together in companionable friendship. They had worked together as chambermaids in Warnes Hotel before she and Jim got married. Back then, they had rooted for each other, especially when their supervisor, the dreaded Mrs Fosdyke, was around. Mrs Fosdyke could be heartless and cruel. Many a time she emptied the linen cupboard onto the floor, just as they were about to go off-duty. At times like that, it was good to have a friend like Edith.
‘Been shopping?’
‘I’ve just been to Timothy Whites to get some liniment for Jim’s back,’ said Ruby and, holding her books aloft, added, ‘and the lending library.’
Edith squeezed her friend’s hand. ‘How is dear Jim these days?’
‘About the same,’ said Ruby. ‘I don’t think anything will change. Not after all this time.’
‘Oh, Roob, I’m so sorry,’ said Edith.
Ruby shrugged. ‘That’s life,’ she said with a small sigh. And then, realizing the air of melancholy she’d brought between them, she added, ‘Not long before your big day.’
Edith’s eyes sparkled. ‘Just over six months,’ and then she added conspiratorially, ‘although, just like any Potter & Bailey customer, I’ve already sampled what’s on offer.’ The pair of them sniggered and laughed. Edith’s fiancé, Bernard Gressenhall, was a manager in Potter & Bailey’s, one of the largest grocery shops in the area. Although Ruby and Edith had never openly discussed sex, a few nights before Ruby’s wedding they had talked about what it might be like.
‘Bernard showed me his thingy,’ Edith had told her. ‘It was huge.’
Ruby had shivered. �
��So is Jim’s,’ she’d confided.
‘And hard,’ said Edith, then she and Ruby had giggled helplessly.
Thinking back to that moment and their wide-eyed innocence, Ruby wished she could turn the clock back. Anything would be better than this nagging desire that she had – a desire that was destined never to be fulfilled. She quickly changed the subject.
‘Everything going smoothly for the big day?’
‘Yes,’ said Edith. ‘This is my first fitting for my dress. The bridesmaids’ dresses are already being done. I wish you had agreed to be my maid of honour.’
‘With Jim the way he is, I was afraid of letting you down at the last minute,’ said Ruby.
‘I understand,’ said Edith. ‘Mum tells me you’ve always got the No Vacancies sign up, so you must be very busy.’
‘What about you?’ Ruby asked. ‘How is life at Warnes?’
‘Much better now that Mrs Fosdyke has gone,’ said Edith. ‘I’m in charge of the linen cupboard now.’
Ruby tapped her best friend’s arm playfully. ‘Ooh, get you, Edith Parsons. What would the old dragon say to that?’
‘“Call that tidy, Parsons?”’ said Edith, mimicking their former manager perfectly. ‘“Piles like that won’t impress the management.”’
Ruby laughed. ‘I wonder what happened to her. Is she still around?’
‘I heard she works for some rich chap in Goring. Something to do with the government, so I’ve been told. What’s all this about German schoolboys?’
‘They were going to stay with Mrs McCoody, but . . .’
‘Oh yes, I heard she’d died,’ said Edith. ‘Someone said you found her.’
Ruby nodded. ‘It was horrible. I still think about her the minute I wake up.’