Sing Them Home
Page 33
When they all looked closely, they could see that the pin was too short, which was why it had fallen from Betty’s lapel.
‘The police didn’t need it, so after Betty’s confession, I took it from the dish on the hallstand one time when Dorcas wasn’t looking,’ said Pip. ‘It’s the only thing I’ve ever stolen in my life, but I did it to spare her feelings.’
Susan went back upstairs to get the siren suit, while the children and their father collected together the photographs and Peter’s letter. While Margo cleared away the coffee cups, Georgie found a stout envelope and put everything into it.
Pip was looking at the brooch once more. It crossed her mind that so often the big things in life swing in a different direction because of flimsy little things. What a blessing that Betty was always losing that brooch. She was exonerated of any wrongdoing, of course, but Pip had no idea what happened to Betty, or Iris and Mr Knight. She supposed they carried on working at the station until they retired, but she would hazard a guess that Mr Knight wasn’t nearly as friendly as he once had been.
As she smoothed out the newspaper cutting to lay it flat, a little air escaped from her lips. The brooch in her hand was a parrot on a branch. The brooch on Betty’s lapel was a woodpecker. Good Lord! The brooch Pip had found on the stair wasn’t Betty’s after all. Dorcas must have bought one too. When she and Stella confronted Betty in the station cafe all that time ago, Pip had assumed that she had Betty’s brooch. Betty must have assumed the same thing. If Betty had realized her brooch had been lost somewhere else, she might never have blurted out what really happened to Lillian, and poor old Gordon might have been found guilty of a murder he hadn’t committed and been hanged.
The door opened and Susan, dressed in Pip’s old siren suit, walked into the room. She looked amazing and Pip was transported back in time. She remembered the nights she’d sat hunched over her sewing machine as she opened trouser legs to give a little flare, and how she’d taken the big, blousy pockets off to make everyone look slimmer. The colourful turban neatly tied on Susan’s head looked really attractive. The children squealed with excitement as their father clicked away with the camera. They had to have one with Granny Pip, of course, so with Susan sitting on the arm of her chair, Pip smiled for the camera.
All at once, Angela cupped Pip’s face and looked into her eyes. ‘Can we sing one of your songs, Granny Pip?’
Pip hesitated. ‘Well, I . . .’
‘Oh, please,’ Josh pleaded. ‘Please say yes.’
Everyone was looking at her. ‘Well, if Nana Margo plays the piano . . .’ she began.
Everyone rushed to collect the music, choose a song and position themselves. Margo sat at the piano, and Susan put her arm around Pip’s shoulder. With the children sitting cross-legged at her feet, Pip listened as the music swelled. ‘We’ll Meet Again’ had always been Vera Lynn’s song, but she didn’t say anything. She was beginning to understand a great truth: in good times and bad, it’s the song that keeps people together. Keep smiling through . . . Long after she’d gone, this would be a memory for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to treasure. A song people would still be singing a hundred years from now.
The song ended and Margo picked out another tune, ‘I’ll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time’. Now, that was a Sussex Sisters song. Pip’s voice wasn’t what it once had been, but as she sang, just for a moment, the years melted away and she could see the delighted faces of the audience as they clapped and cheered for more. In her mind’s eye, she could see Stella, not Margo, seated at the piano, and there was Lillian, dear Lillian, always making everybody laugh with her jokes and limericks.
Now Margo was searching through the music sheets for another song.
Georgie turned round. ‘All right, Mum?’
Pip nodded.
Susan squeezed her shoulder, and Josh looked up at her with a soppy grin. Pip wouldn’t forget this day easily. Her heart was filled to bursting with love for everyone around her. This was why they had sung all through the dark days of the war. It was for precious moments like these.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Jan Spooner Swabey for her invaluable help with this book. Over the years, I have watched her encouraging people of all ages and abilities, including my own daughter, and changing them from timid and unsure into award-winning singers, so who better to ask when creating The Sussex Sisters!
My thanks also goes to Caroline Hogg my editor and Juliet Burton my agent. Where would I be without you both!
Blue Moon
by PAM WEAVER
Worthing, 1933: Ruby Bateman works at the prestigious Warnes Hotel on Worthing seafront. She enjoys her job and the camaraderie with the girls at the hotel, but she also loves a day off . . .
On an outing to the Sussex Downs, Ruby meets handsome photographer Jim Searle and instantly falls for him. The only cloud to overshadow her otherwise perfect trip is the dark mood of her father when she returns home. It’s the first of many clouds to loom threateningly over the hardworking Bateman family.
When a tragic accident shakes each family member to the very core, Ruby’s older brother Percy turns to the Blackshirts – a group who have recently started making trouble in the town – for support. But when unrest escalates to violence, will he see right from wrong?
Ruby dreams of a life outside of the seaside town with Jim, but it falls to her to hold the Batemans together. However, a long-buried family secret may just undo all her hard work.
Love Walked Right In
by PAM WEAVER
Worthing, 1937: Ruby and Jim Searle run a guest house, but the newly-weds have had a rocky start to their marriage. Their troubles are only set to get worse when Jim starts to unravel a dark secret from his past.
The guest house is in high demand, and Ruby is asked to take in two German schoolboys on a cultural exchange. She agrees, but when they arrive they seem more like grown men and their activities are far from innocent. The Germans’ arrival is followed by that of two Jewish refugees, and Ruby does as much as she can to help these young girls whilst they’re in her care.
As the country gears up for war, Ruby throws herself into war work as a distraction from her troubles at home. But revelations from Jim’s childhood continue to surface, with devastating consequences. And when war is declared, Ruby’s life is changed forever . . .
Always In My Heart
by PAM WEAVER
1939. When war is declared, twins Shirley and Tom are evacuated to the coastal town of Worthing. Almost fourteen, they are very close to their mother, but leaving London is the only way to keep them safe. The twins are taken in by a local farmer, but their new home quickly proves to be far from a rural dream. Tom is forced to do back-breaking work and sleep under the stairs each night. The farmer’s wife is heavily pregnant, and seems to live in fear of him. Their new teacher at the local school notices that something is not right with the children, but the farmer keeps the twins from seeing anyone, even their own mother. As the cold weather sets in and Tom falls ill, will Shirley be able to find a way out for them both?
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Praise for Pam Weaver
‘What a terrific read – Saga fans everywhere will love it and be asking for more from this talented author’
Annie Groves
‘An engaging and gripping post-war saga . . . a hard-hitting story of female friendship tested against the
odds’
Take a Break
‘A heart-rending story about mothers and daughters’
Kitty Neale
‘Pam Weaver presents us with a real page-turner – with richly drawn characters and a clever plot’
Caring 4 Sussex
‘The characters are so richly drawn and authentic that they pull the reader along through the story effortlessly. This book is a real page-turner, which I enjoyed very much’
Anne Bennett
‘An uplifting memoir told with real honesty’
Yours
Sing Them Home
Pam’s saga novels, There’s Always Tomorrow, Better Days Will Come, Pack Up Your Troubles, For Better For Worse, Blue Moon, Love Walked Right In, Always In My Heart and Sing Them Home, are set in Worthing during the austerity years. Pam’s inspiration comes from her love of people and their stories, and her passion for the town of Worthing. With the sea on one side and the Downs on the other, Worthing has a scattering of small villages within its urban sprawl, and in some cases tight-knit communities, making it an ideal setting for the modern saga.
Also by Pam Weaver
Novels
There’s Always Tomorrow
Better Days Will Come
Pack Up Your Troubles
For Better For Worse
Blue Moon
Love Walked Right In
Always In My Heart
Featured Short Story
Christmas Fireside Stories
eNovellas
Emily’s Christmas Wish
Amy’s Wartime Christmas
Amy’s Seaside Secret
First published 2018 by Pan Books
This electronic edition published 2018 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
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ISBN 978-1-5098-5718-0
Copyright © Pam Weaver 2018
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