When Day is Done

  ‘So you’d like to live here?’ John said mischievously, but Kit only looked at Richard and said simply, ‘I’d live anywhere with Richard.’

  ‘Lucky Richard,’ John said, but he looked thoughtful as Richard came to join them, taking Kit’s hand and asking John about the expedition to Kilimanjaro. ‘Does that mean you’re leaving your job?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, I always planned to when I’d made enough money,’ John said. ‘When the money runs out, I’ll go back to it.’

  ‘And he will too, and probably be just as successful,’ Richard said as they drove home. ‘He might seem wild but he’s got his life planned to suit him. I think I picked a bad day to take you there, though, Kit. It isn’t usually like that when John and Magda are there, is it, Kate?’

  Kate, who was sitting in the back seat, agreed. ‘I think your mother touched a sore spot when she spoke about marriage,’ she said. ‘I don’t think Magda is unwilling to marry but John is. That’s why she was so touchy.’

  ‘He doesn’t seem to have it on his agenda,’ said Richard.

  ‘Poor Magda,’ Kit said. She was sorry for anyone who was not as happy as she was with Richard.

  ‘Anyway, how did you like the family, Kit?’ Richard asked. ‘They certainly liked you.’

  ‘I thought your parents were lovely,’ Kit said. ‘Isn’t it sad that your mother’s such an invalid and that she didn’t have the chance to go to university?’

  Richard’s eyes met Kate’s in the driving mirror, but he only said, ‘Mum certainly took to you, but I knew she would.’ He squeezed Kit’s hand. ‘How could anyone help it?’

  Kit soon realised that Richard’s mother was a hypochondriac, but she never forgot the warmth of Rose’s welcome, and listened patiently to her complaints when they visited her.

  Kit and Richard decided that they would become engaged at the Christmas which followed their meeting, but would only marry eighteen months later when Kit – they hoped – had graduated. They realised that the waiting would be difficult and laid down rules for themselves. They were tempted to spend every available moment together, but they decided that Richard would continue to play football and have an occasional night out with his friends, and Kit would spend some of her spare time studying and some with Helen and Alytwyn. This was the theory, but in practice Richard could not resist hanging round Holly Road hoping to see Kit, and they saw each other every day, no matter how briefly.

  They expected their time together to be all the sweeter because it was restricted, but sometimes quarrels blew up suddenly, like thunderstorms from a clear blue sky. Their deep love and knowledge of each other made them vulnerable. They knew how to hurt each other, but their love prevented them from using the knowledge even in moments of anger, and their quarrels were soon over.

  Kate had never felt happier. Henry was always her last thought before she slept, and now she could think too about his family. She had feared that she might lose her dream world but now it took on another dimension and Henry seemed even closer to her.

  Kate had visited the farm with Richard during Kit’s long vacation and was popular with all the family, especially the grandparents. Rose felt unable to make the journey and Robert never left her side, but Margaret and Charlie visited them at Sandfield Park several times. Rose had gained even more weight and had difficulty in breathing. Exercise might have benefited her earlier, but it was clearly impossible now.

  All the family were concerned about her, but she still managed to move to her sofa every day, and twice during the summer months even to the garden seat. Robert cared for her tenderly and her private doctor came frequently, mainly to listen patiently to her complaints and make soothing noises.

  ‘All that fellow does is tell her to avoid stress and worry,’ Richard said disgustedly to his father. ‘Talk about preaching to the converted,’ but Robert only said calmly, ‘As long as she wants him to come I’ll pay his bill gladly,’ and Richard said no more.

  At the start of Kit’s final year, everyone was saddened when old Mr Tyland died peacefully in his sleep. Just before Christmas another blow fell when Rose suffered a heart attack. She made a partial recovery and Kate went to stay with her to help with the nursing. It was like a return to their childhood before they were parted, and Kate treasured this time together, when her loving little sister, the Rose she had known and loved, seemed to return to her.

  All Rose’s pretensions and grievances seemed to vanish, and to Robert she was the sweet and loving wife he had always believed she was. One day, as he sat holding her hand, she said softly, ‘I’d never have been a famous doctor, would I? I’ve been much better off as your wife, Rob. I know how lucky I’ve been to have a husband like you.’ She closed her eyes, and Robert and Kate looked at each other in surprise that Rose had said she had been lucky when for most of her life she had complained that nothing went right for her.

  They tiptoed away, leaving her sleeping. ‘It was good to hear that Rose feels like that, Kate. Perhaps now her life will be happier,’ Robert said.

  ‘I’m sure she’s always thought that, but I’m glad she’s told you how much you mean to her. People feel these things but never get round to saying them,’ said Kate.

  ‘To say that she was lucky,’ Robert marvelled. ‘I was the luckiest fellow in the world when she agreed to marry me. She could have had anybody.’

  ‘Not anybody better than you, Rob,’ Kate said. ‘Thank God she seems so much better today.’

  ‘Even her breathing seems easier,’ Robert agreed.

  Rose had refused to have a night nurse, and Kate and Robert shared the duties between them. At two o’clock in the morning Kate had just come to take over from Robert when Rose made a sudden sound. They both bent over her as the sound of her breathing stopped. It was so easy and peaceful that it was hard to realise she was dead.

  ‘Her heart just failed,’ the doctor told them later. ‘It could have happened at any time.’

  Robert said simply, ‘I’m just thankful that she went first. That was always my fear, that I would die first, because she’d never have managed alone.’

  ‘That’s true,’ Kate said. ‘She’d have been lost without you. You were her rock, Robert.’

  Kate felt almost unbearable pain at the loss of her sister, her last link with her childhood, and could only imagine what Robert must be feeling.

  They both grieved with quiet dignity, and after a while Robert reorganised his life. He decided to stay on in the house in Sandfield Park as he had a live-in couple working for him, the wife as housekeeper and the husband as gardener/handyman. They had been evicted from a tied cottage early in the war and Rose had been told of their plight and offered them the job.

  ‘The Hignetts will insist on staying out of loyalty to your mother,’ Robert told Richard. ‘When they retire I’ll take a service flat. Saunders has suggested we do some travelling together later.’

  ‘Is that the cotton broker you used to lunch with?’ Richard asked.

  ‘Yes. We often talked of travelling to some out-of-the-way place sometime. His wife died about ten years ago.’

  ‘That’s a good idea, Dad,’ Richard said. ‘This is the time to do it, while you’re fit enough to enjoy it.’

  Richard’s sorrow was less for his mother than for what his father and Kate were suffering, although he had felt an exasperated affection for his mother. He admitted to Kate that Rose’s frequent references to her favourite grievance – her failure to become a doctor – had always particularly irritated him.

  ‘She needed her dreams, Rich,’ Kate said. ‘We all do. I know that better than anybody.’

  ‘Yes, but you used your dreams as a refuge, Kate, and you never spoke about them. Mother used hers as a grievance and let them sour her life.’

  ‘She was the sweetest little girl,’ Kate said dreamily. ‘Everyone loved her. She was so beautiful, with big blue eyes and a pink and white complexion. Her hair was like spun gold and Mama used to comb it into ringlets. She said the good fairy
was present when Rose was born and gave her every gift, beauty and charm and cleverness too.’

  ‘She left out one thing. A happy disposition,’ Richard said swiftly. ‘You got that, Kate.’

  Richard and Kit had planned their wedding for the following August, and Robert told them that their plans must go ahead. ‘Your mother would have wished it, Rich,’ he said. ‘The old ideas about mourning have changed, quite rightly in my opinion. For many people it was only outward show.’

  ‘Thanks, Dad,’ said Richard. ‘We were a bit worried about how you’d feel about it only eight months after – after Mother’s death.’

  ‘Life must go on,’ said Robert. ‘I know it’s a cliché, but it’s true just the same.’

  Richard and Kit had been house-hunting for several months and had found the house they wanted in West Derby. They had discussed it with Kate and asked her to move with them, and she had agreed. The house was newly built and well planned, with a small bungalow built on to it which was perfect for Kate. It ensured privacy for both households, yet it was a relief for all of them to know that they would be near if needed.

  Richard’s business was running smoothly and his father came into the office occasionally, so he thought he would spend time with Kit in Shropshire before the wedding, but she asked him to stay in Liverpool. ‘We’ve got the rest of our lives,’ she said firmly. ‘This time is for Mum and Dad and Grandma.’

  Richard kissed her. ‘They say a good daughter makes a good wife,’ he said ruefully, ‘so I should be all right,’ but he agreed with her.

  Most of Kit’s university friends had dispersed, but Helen and Alytwyn and a few others promised to come to the wedding. Meg insisted that Kate and Robert stayed at the farmhouse, but the other guests, including a large contingent of Richard’s friends from Liverpool, found accommodation in the village. Richard and John, who was his brother’s best man, stayed with farming neighbours overnight.

  The day of the wedding was one of glorious sunshine, and the village church was packed to the doors with friends and neighbours, although neither family was numerous. Kit seemed to float down the aisle to Richard, and their happiness was almost tangible as they knelt together at the altar.

  When the ceremony was over, they walked to the vestry smiling at each other as though they were alone. Meg followed holding Robert’s arm, and Charlie held out his arm to Kate with a beaming smile.

  Soon the organist was given a signal and broke into the triumphant strains of the Wedding March as the bridal procession moved down the aisle. Everyone was smiling at the blissful expressions on the faces of the bride and groom.

  Kate felt almost as blissful as she followed the newly-weds, holding Charlie’s arm. Out in the sunshine, the official photographer was fussing about the bride and bridegroom, but numerous guests were taking photographs too.

  Kate and Charlie were still standing together talking, and John rushed up to them. ‘Come on, Aunt Kate,’ he said. ‘One of you and Charlie.’ Kate stood with her arm through Charlie’s as John looked through the viewfinder. ‘Closer,’ he called, and Charlie moved nearer to Kate, smiling down at her.

  She looked at him, at the face that was so like the one that had filled her dreams for so long. Fifty years, she thought, since the day of Mama’s funeral when Henry first smiled at me like that. His dear spirit has been with me ever since and has always brought me comfort and happiness.

  Now I’m holding his son’s arm, she thought, and today our families have really been joined together. I’m so happy. I’ve always been lucky and had a lovely life, but I’ve never been happier than I am now or felt closer to my dear Henry. She smiled up at Henry’s son as John’s camera clicked.

  ‘Perfect,’ he called, and Kate agreed with him.

  The Liverpool Sagas

  ‘A family saga you won’t be able to put down’ Prima

  Land is Bright

  To Give and To Take

  There is a Season

  First published in the United Kingdom in 1998 by Headline Book Publishing

  This edition published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by

  Canelo Digital Publishing Limited

  57 Shepherds Lane

  Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2DU

  United Kingdom

  Copyright © Elizabeth Murphy, 1998

  The moral right of Elizabeth Murphy to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 9781788631112

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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