by Nancy Revell
The vicar looked at Jack and then at Gloria and told them, ‘This is your child’s baptism. It is a sign of a new beginning …’
Gloria looked at Jack and her baby and thought how true the words of the vicar were.
This was a new beginning. It was a terrifying, exciting beginning. A beginning she had only dreamed of. It was the beginning of a new life. Not just the new life of her baby daughter, but a new life for them all – for her, Jack, and Hope.
Gloria knew the road ahead of them would not be an easy one. There would be huge hurdles to overcome and many battles to be fought. She could see in Jack’s eyes that he still did not know her – but she had also seen love, and that was enough for her. If they had love, then they had a foundation on which they could build a future. They could face their new life together.
After the vicar said a short prayer for Hope and for all those who would support her, everyone recited the words printed on the Order of Service leaflet that had been put out on their seats at the start of the ceremony. As they did so, Gloria caught Arthur’s eye and mouthed ‘thank you’ to him. He smiled back at her, before closing his eyes and saying a few words to his beloved Flo, who he knew would be pleased with what he had done.
Lily pulled out a hankie from her bag and handed it to Kate, whose face was now wet with tears. Rosie put her arm round Kate and gave her a little cuddle, thinking that for someone who had endured such a hard life, she really was a big softie. Rosie kept a protective arm around her old schoolfriend as she watched the vicar light a candle and hand it to Dorothy, who took it with a look of great seriousness and listened intently as the vicar told her that, as godmother, she was holding the light for her goddaughter.
As the vicar brought the ceremony to an end, Gloria looked across to Dorothy, who looked as though she didn’t know whether to laugh with joy, or cry with sheer emotion.
Gloria then looked at all the people she knew and loved, who were sharing with her the most wondrous moment in her life. Hope had been the one to be blessed by the vicar with his holy water, but it was Gloria herself who felt truly blessed.
Blessed to have her baby daughter.
Blessed with the return of the man she had loved her whole life long.
And blessed with her family of friends.
Epilogue
Peter was standing on the corner of the street, awaiting Rosie’s return home.
He was frozen to the bone, and his hands and face felt numb, but the wind had finally exhausted itself and dropped to a mere bluster and the dark clouds were starting to drift away, allowing splashes of aqua blue sky to show through.
He had guessed Rosie would be heading home around now. Enough time to have enjoyed the christening and then to have gone somewhere afterwards for a little celebration. Probably the Elliots’ would be his guess.
It had given him the chance to bang Vinnie up, for a while at least. His work for now was done, although he knew Vinnie would be an ongoing problem. But, at least today Gloria and baby Hope had been able to enjoy their special occasion.
As Peter stared down the cobbled main road, presently glistening in the sheen of fresh rainwater and a wealth of patchwork puddles, his body leapt to life as he spotted Rosie walking up the street.
He knew it was her, even though she was some distance away. He knew the way she walked – her confidence, the way she marched rather than walked, in spite of the fact she was wearing heels and not her usual rubber-soled boots.
He watched transfixed as Rosie transformed from a grey and red blur at the bottom of the road to the beautiful woman she was. Her crimson trousers peeking through her long grey gaberdine mackintosh and her corn-coloured curly hair shining in the sunlight that was starting to break through the gloom.
He watched, barely able to breathe as she hurried across the road.
Only then did he move out from the shadows.
‘Rosie,’ he called out.
Rosie turned quickly, her eyes searching.
And then she saw him.
She stood still, watching him as he strode towards her, his trilby hat in one hand, his black woollen coat, as always, flapping open. When he reached her they both stood still, facing each other, looking each other in the eye.
Then Peter gently took her hand in his, and as he did so, kissed the woman whom he had tried to stop loving.
And, this time, Rosie lifted her face up to his and kissed him back.
Dear Reader,
I hope you have enjoyed this third instalment of the Shipyard Girls series. If you’ve been with the women welders and their nearest and dearest (and not so nearest and dearest!) from the start, you’ll know that for each book there is a subtle underlying theme – for The Shipyard Girls it was love, for Shipyard Girls at War it was hope, and for Secrets of the Shipyard Girls it is charity.
I love the Winston Churchill quote I have used at the start of the book. In my opinion, it encapsulates the true meaning of charity. And how wonderful that someone in such a powerful position could say this during a time that was dominated by so much hatred and warmongering.
Love, hope and charity have been around from the beginning of time, but I believe that in this day and age – more than at any other time in our history – they really are needed.
I wish you all three – love, hope and charity – and lots of it!
With love,
History Notes
Photo credit: The Salvation Army International Heritage Centre
Here is the front cover of the Deliverer, the magazine published by The Salvation Army back in the early 1900s. It is the same one that was handed to Pearl in the novel and which led her to Ivy House – the country’s first ever maternity hospital for unmarried mothers, financed and run by the charitable organisation, The Salvation Army.
During my research for Secrets of the Shipyard Girls, I was amazed to learn about the truly inspirational and ground-breaking work carried out at Ivy House, which was not just a maternity hospital for unmarried mothers, but also a refuge for vulnerable women from all walks of life who had fallen on hard times and had nowhere else to turn.
Nancy Revell
June 2017
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Epub ISBN: 9781473536760
Version 1.0
Published by Arrow Books 2017
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Copyright © Nancy Revell 2017
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First published in Great Britain by Arrow Books in 2017
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781784754662
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