A Wedding at Mulberry Lane

by Rosie Clarke

  ‘I’ll arrange it,’ Gordon said and touched her cheek with one finger. ‘We’ll have two nights in a posh hotel up the West End and save the honeymoon for when I come back next time.’

  ‘Yes, lovely,’ Maureen said and smiled. ‘You haven’t asked me why I don’t just give my notice in.’

  ‘Why should you give up a job you love?’ Gordon said. ‘You’ll know when you’re ready – or they’ll decide. It’s ridiculous that nurses can’t marry and remain in the service, especially now. We need all the nurses we can get.’

  ‘Some hospitals turn a blind eye these days,’ Maureen said, tears stinging her eyes because he was so thoughtful and kind. ‘I’m not allowed to wear jewellery on the wards, so I’ll wear my ring on a chain round my neck under my uniform. I’ll have to tell them in time… but there’s no sense in givin’ up while I can work.’

  ‘We’ll have to decide where you and Shirley will live. My house was let for the duration, but I could find somewhere for us… somewhere to come back to when I’m on leave.’

  ‘Why don’t we just stay with Gran until you’re home for good?’ Maureen said. ‘She’s happy havin’ Shirley and me there – and she’ll make you just as welcome, Gordon. I think she’s guessed already, because I’ve seen a knowin’ look in her eye.’

  ‘Whatever makes you happy,’ Gordon said. ‘I’m not sure where they’re shippin’ me off to next time – but I’ve heard it might be quite hot.’

  ‘You couldn’t tell me even if you knew,’ Maureen said. ‘I know our men are fightin’ all over the place and I know you have to go – but don’t let’s think about it. We have another two weeks before you leave, and I want to spend as much time as I can with you before then…’

  ‘Maureen, my love.’ Gordon kissed her and then realised his daughter was watching them. ‘I think perhaps we should all have some ice cream at Lyons, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, why not?’ Maureen held out her hand to the child. ‘Come along, darling. Did the monkeys like their buns?’

  Listening to Shirley’s chatter, Maureen tucked her arm through Gordon’s. Her feelings for Gordon were still a little new and uncertain, because until now she’d thought of him as a friend, but his letters had been nurturing this warmth inside her for a long time, a warmth she’d just begun to realise could be love.

  Chapter 29

  ‘It’s very quick, isn’t it, Maureen?’ Gran switched off the radio and looked at her after Gordon had taken Shirley up to put her to bed. ‘I like Gordon and I’m glad if he makes you happy – but what about Rory’

  ‘Rory let me down, Gran. I’ve realised that I would’ve made a big mistake if I’d married him, and now I’ve decided that I want to marry Gordon.’

  ‘It isn’t that you have to get married quickly?’

  Gran’s shrewd eyes met hers and Maureen’s cheeks heated. ‘Yes, I am havin’ a child and Gordon does know. He has accepted it and it’s over with Rory. I shan’t ever tell him…’

  ‘Is that right or fair?’ Gran asked, giving her a long hard look. ‘I never did think much of Rory and I’m glad you’ve chosen Gordon Hart – but even a cheat has the right to know his child.’

  ‘No! I’ve made up my mind, Gran. Rory will never know. I can be happy and I can forgive him in time – but I shan’t forget what he did, and I won’t give him the chance to ruin my life or my child’s.’

  ‘Well, it’s your decision, my love,’ Gran said, but the doubt was in her eyes. ‘It may prove harder to keep the secret than you imagine, but you must be the one to choose.’ She smiled and kissed Maureen on the cheek, the smell of lavender soft and sweet in her clothes and hair. ‘You’re my girl and I just want you to be happy – have you told your dad yet?’

  ‘No. We’ll visit him before next Friday together and tell him, but I shan’t tell him about the baby until I have to. It’s best if everyone thinks it’s Gordon’s. He thinks that’s for the best and so do I.’

  ‘Well, as I said, it may prove harder to keep the secret than you imagine, but as long as you’re happy that’s all that matters… and that child of his loves you.’ Gran smiled. ‘She was a right little madam when you first had her to tea, but she’s changed completely.’

  ‘I suppose Mrs Hunter had a lot to do with that,’ Maureen looked thoughtful. ‘Shirley hasn’t said much about her life on the farm but Mrs Hunter told me herself that she’d taken a hairbrush to her. I’m just glad that Shirley’s here with us now.’

  ‘Well, you’d best be off to work then,’ Gran said as Gordon came down the stairs. ‘Have you two thought about where you’ll have the wedding?’

  ‘It will be a registry office – and I thought I’d ask Peggy if she’d do us a small reception at the pub,’ Gordon said. ‘Maureen doesn’t want a church weddin’ and there isn’t time to arrange anythin’ fancy.’

  ‘I would have my weddin’ at the pub anyway,’ Maureen said. ‘It’s where we live and all our friends are here in the lanes, Gordon. I don’t know if you have any Army friends you want to ask?’

  ‘None of them are on leave just now,’ Gordon replied. ‘I’ll probably ask Jack Barton to be my witness. We used to be good friends and there isn’t anyone else – and your friends are mine, Maureen.’

  ‘I’ll tell Peggy for about twenty then; I’m goin’ to ask her to do a buffet like she does for her Christmas party,’ Maureen said. ‘Everyone enjoys that and it’s easier to arrange than a sit-down meal these days.’

  ‘As long as you’re happy,’ Gran said and nodded. ‘What will you wear, love? Your mum’s dress is in the wardrobe, but it’s a bit old-fashioned…’

  ‘Maureen will have a new dress,’ Gordon said, giving her a look filled with love and pride. ‘We’ll go up West and get it…’

  ‘No, you won’t,’ Maureen said and laughed. ‘The groom doesn’t see what the bride wears until the day. Leave it to me, Gordon. I know just what I want…’

  *

  Peggy looked at the bride as she stood in her bedroom at Hilda’s in the pretty yellow full-skirted dress and jacket. Maureen’s hair had been done earlier that morning by Ellie from the shop in Mulberry Lane; she’d opened early specially for her. Maureen had a tiny hat that was made of yellow and white silk flowers and fine veiling on the back of her head, white leather court shoes and white lace gloves and she carried a posy of yellow roses tied with satin ribbons.

  ‘You look beautiful, love,’ Peggy said, her eyes moist with affection. ‘Really lovely. And that hat is gorgeous with the veiling just over your eyes – perfect for a wartime bride.’

  ‘That’s what I thought,’ Maureen said. ‘It would’ve seemed wrong to marry in a long white dress for several reasons, Peggy. I feel special in this dress and I was lucky to get it. I knew what I was looking for but not sure I would find it – but there it was in the first shop I tried.’

  ‘That’s a pretty brooch, Maureen. I haven’t seen you wear it before.’

  ‘It was my mother’s,’ Maureen said and touched the pearl and gold brooch pinned to her jacket. ‘It’s too special for every day – and Dad bought it for her as her wedding gift.’

  ‘It’s a pity your dad can’t come to the wedding, Maureen.’

  ‘Yes, but he did manage to wish us luck and told Gordon he was pleased. He told Violet to give me ten pounds to buy myself something nice, and she has. I shall put it away for later.’

  ‘You’ll be all right now. Gordon has a few bob put by I dare say.’

  ‘Well, he owns his house, but that’s let for the duration. He’s had the money paid into a bank account for Shirley in case anythin’ happened to him, but there isn’t very much put away otherwise. He really only has his Army wages; that was one of the reasons he decided to let his house while he was away.’

  ‘Well, that’s as much as most have,’ Peggy said.

  ‘Oh, I wouldn’t want him to be rich. I’m not marryin’ him for money.’ Maureen smiled. ‘Besides, I can work for a few months and I’ve always been good at managin
’.’

  ‘I can see you’re happy,’ Peggy nodded. ‘I hope everythin’ goes well for you, love. Janet wanted to come and see you married, but Mike is home today. She’ll be there at the reception, Mike too if he feels able. You won’t mind that?’

  ‘Of course not,’ Maureen said. ‘Knowin’ you, there will be loads of food and it will be lovely.’

  ‘I couldn’t manage an iced cake,’ Peggy said regretfully. ‘I’ve made a sponge though and some other treats… but you’ll see.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘The car should be here any minute now. We’d better go down…’

  *

  Gordon looked very handsome in his best uniform. Shirley was wearing a pretty white voile dress that Maureen had made for her recently and carrying a little basket of rosebuds tied up with yellow ribbons. Gordon had asked her to be one of his witnesses and she looked nervous but proud to stand behind her dad as the brief ceremony took place.

  It seemed like the blink of an eye before they were out again in the October sunshine and Maureen had a wide gold band on her finger. The wind was cool and she shivered a little in her thin dress and jacket, but the smiles and jokes, the hugs and presents, and silver horseshoes tied with ribbons, given her by Mrs Tandy and Alice Carter, helped to keep off the chill. Maureen blinked back the foolish tears, because she knew she was happy – far happier than she’d expected to be. Marrying Gordon might have been a marriage of convenience, but it wasn’t, because she felt her new love growing stronger all the time. Within a few minutes, everyone had piled into the borrowed cars and they were all driven back to Mulberry Lane.

  Outside the pub, someone had tied a big bunch of colourful balloons and some silver ribbons and another horseshoe. A large hand-drawn sign welcomed Mr and Mrs Gordon Hart on their wedding day, and when they walked into the pub, the bar had been dressed with white and silver ribbons and a large card stood on the table by an impressive sponge cake. Looking inside the card, Maureen smiled to see it had been signed by everyone in the lanes.

  Quite a few presents had been placed on a table near the splendid buffet and there were telegrams to read when the cake was cut and the toast drunk, one of them from Violet and Henry Jackson. Violet hadn’t come to the wedding, because she was visiting her husband in hospital, but she had given Maureen a lace tablecloth as a gift and wished her happiness.

  Peggy tapped a glass to gain everyone’s attention. ‘As you all know, Mr Jackson is unfortunately ill and cannot be with us today, so I’ve been asked to say a few words. It should have been Hilda, but she thinks I’ll do it better…’

  Smiling, Peggy told them all what a good daughter, granddaughter and friend, Maureen had been. She congratulated Gordon on finding himself a wonderful wife and then spoke briefly about Maureen’s selflessness in working as a nurse.

  ‘So I ask you to please raise your glasses and wish them well… Gordon and Maureen. May their lives together be long and happy…’

  There were cries of here, here, and then everyone raised his or her glass to toast the bride and groom, who smiled and looked suitably pleased as they sipped the delicious wine.

  It wasn’t champagne but it was sparkling and everyone said how nice it was, before they all fell on the food. Peggy had done the best she could with the coupons she’d been able to beg, borrow or steal, as she put it with a wicked smile, and if there was any sense of it being a wartime wedding, neither the bride nor the groom was aware of it.

  ‘Mike wanted to say hello,’ Janet said to Maureen when everyone was on their second or third drink. ‘He didn’t quite feel up to a weddin’, but he says he’d like to say hello to you and Gordon – but he won’t remember you. He knows he should know you, but nothin’ is clear to him yet.’

  ‘We’ll come through to the kitchen,’ Maureen said and took Gordon’s hand, giving him a shy smile. ‘I was pleased when Peggy said he was home for you, Janet. How long will he be able to stay?’

  ‘They suggest three days for a start,’ Janet said and Maureen thought her smile was a little forced, though when she introduced them to Mike her smile became natural. ‘Mike love – Maureen and Gordon just wanted to say hello…’

  The man who stood up to greet them looked nothing like the healthy, strong and handsome man Janet had married in 1939. What a difference two short years had made – and that was this wretched war.

  ‘It’s lovely to see you home,’ Maureen said and kissed Mike’s cheek. His scars were not that bad really, more just brown skin than puckers or deep gashes, but he looked thin and weary and his eyes had lost their sparkle. ‘I expect you’re happy to get out of hospital for a few days.’

  ‘Yes, I am, very much so,’ Mike said, sounding like a polite stranger. ‘May I wish you and your husband a very happy life ahead.’

  ‘Thank you, Mike,’ Gordon said and offered his hand. It was a firm handshake and the two men exchanged a few words, and then Gordon said they had to return to their guests. ‘We’ll look forward to seein’ you in the future, Mike…’

  ‘He looked so ill,’ Maureen said as they left Janet with her husband and returned to the bar. She’d been shocked to see the change in him and it brought home the realisation of what war could do as never before, making her cling to her new husband’s arm in sudden fear, because she didn’t want to lose him. ‘It must have been terrible for him – and Janet. I thought he must be gettin’ better if they let him out, but he looks exhausted.’

  ‘Poor devil. It must be bewildering. Bad enough if you knew you were home but when you can’t even remember your name…’ Gordon shook his head. ‘We see mates gettin’ shot, Maureen, but we don’t often see them in hospital or the way these illnesses drain them of strength and life… I imagine he has a long way to go yet.’

  ‘Yes, poor Mike.’ Maureen looked at her husband. ‘Promise you’ll come home safe to us, Gordon.’

  ‘I haven’t gone yet,’ he teased but then saw the expression in her eyes and touched her hand. ‘You know I shall if I can, love. I want to be with you until we’re old and grey…’

  ‘That’s all right then,’ Maureen said and the shadows lifted. Seeing Mike that way had upset her, because she knew how much both he and Janet must be suffering – and it had made her very aware of how much she too had to lose.

  Shirley ran up to them as they returned to the bar and threw her arms around Maureen. She looked up at them, her eyes wide with wonder.

  ‘Are you really my mummy now?’

  ‘Yes, Shirley, I am. I’m your daddy’s wife – but I was always your friend, and I always shall be.’ She bent and kissed her, laughing as Shirley’s arms clung for a moment.

  ‘Gran says you’re goin’ to a posh hotel for two nights – can I come?’

  Gordon swooped down and picked her up, kissing her cheek. ‘Not this time, sweetheart,’ he said. ‘One day when we have longer, we’ll take you to the seaside – how’s that?’

  Her eyes widened at the prospect of the treat. ‘To the real seaside?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, darling, the real seaside.’ He put her down. ‘Have you had something to eat?’

  ‘Yes, but Gran says I can have a piece of sponge cake if I like…’

  ‘Run to Gran then,’ Maureen said. ‘You’ll be good for her while we’re away, won’t you?’

  ‘Yes,’ Shirley said, then, ‘Will you bring me some sweets when you come home?’

  ‘I might if you’re good,’ her father said and smiled as she ran off. ‘I shall feel so much better about her when I go back, Maureen. I never was quite happy about that woman on the farm.’

  ‘She’s quite safe with us,’ Maureen assured him. ‘I think you should give your speech now, Gordon, just to thank our friends for comin’ – and for the lovely gifts they’ve given us.’

  Peggy had given them a six-part tea service and the reception. She’d insisted that she wouldn’t accept a penny for the reception, because Maureen was like a sister to her, and the tea service wasn’t new.

  ‘We found it in the attic wh
en Tom Barton cleared it out,’ she’d told Maureen. ‘It’s perfect but not new – but I think you will like it.’

  Maureen thought it was lovely, as were the gifts of two cotton towels from Mrs Tandy and the glass vase from Alice; that too wasn’t new, because she’d bought it down the Portobello, but it was crystal and better than anything in the shops at the moment. Anne had given her a silver-plated teapot that had belonged to her aunt and a pretty wooden tray. Quite a few of Maureen’s old customers had bought small gifts; things like a quirky corkscrew, some beautiful silver coffee spoons in an old leather case, also probably bought in the Portobello, and tea towels, a breadknife and board, a china jam dish, two slightly yellowed lace hankies and a lavender-scented case to keep them in.

  The gifts, so thoughtfully and lovingly given, were all accepted gratefully. In wartime it was difficult to find anything worth buying for wedding gifts and most people had chosen to give something from their dresser drawer or from a second-hand stall. However, everything had been well meant and Maureen accepted the gifts with smiles and hugs and thanked the people who showed their feelings for her in kind acts.

  She didn’t think she would have changed anything even if she could, and when the car came to take them up West, she kissed her friends goodbye with tears in her eyes.

  ‘Happy tears,’ she said as Peggy wiped them from her cheeks. ‘It has all been so lovely and everyone is so kind – I really didn’t expect so many people to come or so many gifts.’

  ‘Well, you know the Mulberry Lane crowd,’ Peggy said and laughed wickedly. ‘Anythin’ for a free drink…’

  Maureen smiled but shook her head. ‘It was the best wedding ever – thanks to you. I don’t know how you managed it, Peggy.’

  ‘Nellie gave me some of her coupons and she helped me scour the markets for anything we could use. When the war is over I’ll bake you a two-tier iced cake for your anniversary, Maureen.’