Watch for Me by Twilight

by Kirsty Ferry

  Cassie laughed. ‘What did Leo call her then?’

  Alex smiled. ‘Ezzy. He said it was all he could cope with. I think it stuck. There’s a letter from Leo’s son – our grandfather – sent when he was a boy to Helen and Leo. He was staying with, and I quote “Aunt Ezzy, whilst Uncle is working at the theatre. My Devonshire cousins are terribly annoying because two of them are very small indeed and squabble all the time. And I do not know why Uncle uses the name Jack Shelley for his work because that is not his name; his heroic brother was Jack, and it is all very complicated, but Uncle says he first used it at Cambridge and I shall understand when I am older.” I’ve left it on my desk for you to see next time you’re over, anyway. It might help your puzzle a little bit, if you want to find out what happened to her. I love Grandfather’s attitude. He sounds so indignant.’ He moved away from the ticket booth. ‘Oh, look, there’s Aidan. I’ll get off and let you thank him for his time. Alex leant over and kissed her on the cheek. ‘I just want to tell you how proud I am of you. We all appreciate it. Thanks, Cass.’

  There was absolutely no mistaking the cloud of dust and the roar of the T5 that burst into sight on the horizon at the far side of the makeshift car park, but Cassie grabbed Alex’s hand before he disappeared. ‘Ezzy? That was her nickname? And his uncle was known as Jack Shelley? After his heroic brother, and after Cambridge?’ Her heart was pounding, her mind shooting off in a million different directions.

  ‘Yes. Like I said, Dad had some notes. I wish I’d spent a bit more time looking at them when he was alive, but, well.’ He shrugged and looked over at the Hall. ‘I suspect I’ve got a bit of time to make up with Anne as well. She’s coming back tomorrow when it’s calmer and staying for dinner. I’ll give you a call when we know when to expect her. Nobody gets it right all the time, do they? And thanks for being there when she turned up. I would have been a mess without you.’

  ‘No, you wouldn’t. I would have been worse if I’d been on my own. I love you, Alex. I do.’

  ‘I love you too, Cass. Now you go and have fun with Aidan.’

  Cassie squeezed his hand, unable to formulate an answer that didn’t involve blubbing uncontrollably and he squeezed hers back. Then he loped off back to the Hall, to the rest of his family, whistling.

  Cassie raised her hand to shade her eyes as the T5 came closer and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Ezzy!

  Aidan pulled up next to her, just stopping far enough away so her dress didn’t get covered with dust and flying grass and she saw he wasn’t wearing his helmet.

  ‘You rebel,’ she said.

  ‘I know. Can I give you a lift at all?’

  ‘You can, but there’s one thing I need to tell you.’

  ‘Oh? What’s that?’

  ‘Stella. Estella. Her nickname was Ezzy!’ She stared at him, willing him to understand. ‘Ezzy! And she married someone who had something to do with the theatre – and he wrote under the name Jack Shelley, which was a name he first used at Cambridge! And his heroic brother was called Jack. Aidan, I really think that means Rob survived the War and went into playwriting afterwards, under a different name. You said your family thought Rob’s muse was called Ezzy, right? And we’ve got that scribbled note in the book about Jack Shelley, haven’t we?’

  ‘Yes! But seriously? She was nicknamed Ezzy?’ His face split into a grin. ‘Wow! So she was the one for him, all along. His muse, and the one he loved beyond everything. And he’s bloody Jack Shelley? God, that’s made my day! You know what we have to do now, don’t you? Dredge up a Jack Shelley play and try to get it performed somewhere. It has to be Rob, it just has to be.’

  ‘It’s made my day too! And what a wonderful idea!’ She thought her own face would split. It was absolutely a perfect end to the weekend. ‘I don’t think I could be any happier right now. It’s like a dream. Like the most perfect dream ever that’s come true!’

  ‘I can maybe try to improve on perfection – if you’ll let me?’ Aidan’s eyes were dark and hypnotic, and she thought she’d never seen anyone more gorgeous in her entire life. Her heart somersaulted and she flushed.

  ‘How? How can you improve on this? On this very moment? On Ezzy and Rob?’

  ‘I can give you that lift. And then you can decide.’

  ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘Hop on and see.’

  So she did.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  August 1942

  This was it – the day of Rosie and Oscar’s wedding. Oscar had been as good as his word and stood nervously at the end of the aisle, waiting for his bride.

  Stella, sitting at the front of the church with Catherine on her knee hid a smile as she heard Rosie say, quite incredulously, ‘I’d forgotten quite how tall you were, darling boy!’ when she arrived next to him.

  They were married in Hartsford church, and it was a bittersweet homecoming for Stella. Shortly after Rob had been discharged from hospital – and the RAF – they had decided to make a new start and move to Devon. Down there, they could be new parents with a new baby, and not have any fingers pointing at them or tongues wagging in the village. She could continue with her voluntary work, as there were heaps of little evacuees down there too and she quite fancied becoming a teacher eventually. There were lots of things to look forward to.

  Stella knew that the odd, curious looks she and Rob had started to receive in Hartsford were the result of people doing a little bit of maths, and a little bit of gossip-mongering and coming up with something not too far from the truth. Catherine’s hair was no longer as blonde as it had been, and, you could definitely see a hint of strawberry now. It would darken, Stella knew, and she’d be a redhead by the time her first birthday rolled around. Stella had also started to recognise more of her own features in the baby and, delicious as that was, she knew they’d soon have a miniature Stella on their hands.

  There was no need for the village to make up tales to fit the evidence. And although she didn’t really care what they said about her, she cared what they might say about Catherine. So it seemed sensible to remove themselves from the gossips. Rob had started writing again, as well as doing his own work for the war effort, and someone was quite interested in the outline of a play he had come up with, so they were going to pursue that when they were so close to London. After the wedding, and after the celebrations were over, though, because Leo and Helen were putting on a bit of a reception for the newlyweds at the Hall.

  And so it was that, after most of the guests had left, they were all sitting by the Spa area. Rosie, her beautiful dress, (Helen’s dress, made over once again), all ruched up, was dangling her toes in the water, and Oscar was sitting on the ground beside her. A half-empty bottle of champagne was between them and they were laughing at something, their heads close together. Someone had dragged the old gramophone out and they had cranked it up, and the notes of Glenn Miller’s Moonlight Serenade were filling the evening.

  ‘You see,’ Rob whispered to Stella, lazily playing with her hair as she lay with her head in his lap, ‘he doesn’t have a problem with rhyming “moonlight” and “June light”.’

  Stella giggled. ‘Yes, but he does it so much better than you did, darling.’

  Vronnie and Stephen were sharing a slice of wedding cake, Vronnie groaning that she was already so full from the feast that she was struggling somewhat. Stephen was laughing and waving a forkful of cake in front of her as she shook her head determinedly. Even though they’d begged milk and eggs from the local farmers and everyone had pooled all their own rations to make the cake, Vronnie swore she couldn’t quite do it justice, just yet. It was nice to see them tease one another again. Stephen had cried when Rob met him again, and the three boys had disappeared together and talked for quite some time. Stella hadn’t asked what passed between them, but Stephen seemed a lot happier nowadays, and Vronnie was much more relaxed as well.

  Mary and Lois would never change, as they all told one another. They had new beaux, new USAAF boys, and wer
e still enthusiastically working as nurses.

  Leo had joined the little group at the Spa, of course, no longer looking so stiff and awkward amongst Stella’s friends. He was part of their circle now.

  Her heart went out to him at one point: ‘I’d like to raise a glass,’ he said, quite seriously. ‘And I would like to raise it to our dear friend Anthony. He was part of this family for a long time, and I know that none of us will ever forget him. He was, and is, a true gentleman of honour. To Anthony.’

  ‘To Anthony,’ they all repeated.

  Stella glanced at Helen, but she remained as composed as ever and nodded in agreement. ‘He would have appreciated having his friends with him,’ she said quietly, looking at Stephen and Oscar. ‘I’d like to thank you on his behalf.’

  ‘I wish we could have done more,’ said Oscar.

  ‘You were there. That was enough,’ replied Helen. ‘Thank you.’ She looked at Leo and reached across to him, taking his hand and squeezing it. ‘And thank you, Leo, for taking something so very broken and making it whole again.’

  Stella bit her lip to stop the tears coming as she watched her best friend and her brother embrace.

  ‘Anyway.’ Helen suddenly sat up straighter and smiled around at them. ‘I’ve got some more news, if anyone’s interested.’

  ‘Oh?’ Rosie’s eyes were half-hooded, drunk on love and champagne. ‘Please. Do share.’

  ‘Willingly.’ She smiled up at Leo. ‘I can’t do it any better than Stella did, so here goes. I’m knocked up. Yes. Really and truly. Catherine will have a little cousin in about five months’ time. So there you go.’

  Stella shrieked and launched herself at Helen. ‘Oh, my God! Congratulations! Oh, Helen!’

  ‘Hey, I had something to do with it too!’ Leo laughed.

  Stella shouted with joy and turned her attention to him. ‘Of course you did, darling brother. Of course you did. Congratulations to you as well.’

  She gave him a huge, smacking kiss on the forehead and he laughed again, waving her away. ‘Thank you. Thank you, Ezzy.’

  Rob leaned over and shook his hand. Catherine was asleep on his shoulder, so it was quite an awkward movement, but they managed nevertheless. ‘Congratulations. And to you, Helen, of course.’

  He looked at Stella and she caught his glance. It still gave her pleasurable shivers, and she knew it would for as long as they lived.

  ‘Come on,’ she said, holding her hand out to him. ‘Shall we go for a little walk? Show Catherine some of the sights of the estate before we go home?’

  Home. Devon was home now.

  ‘Yes.’ Rob smiled and got to his feet. ‘Let’s go.’

  Rob balanced Catherine with one hand as he reached for his stick with the other, and they made their way across the Spa. He knew where she was taking him, and they went along the little path by the changing rooms, around the back of the building.

  The path was overgrown now, and would, he suspected remain that way for a while until the estate was fully staffed again. They pushed their way through the overhanging branches, and came to a halt at the back, near the doorway.

  Stella turned and looked up at him. ‘I’d like to go inside, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.’

  ‘Not today.’ He grinned. ‘We’ll have to take Catherine in one day, though.’

  ‘Yes. But when you walk a little better – I don’t want you squeezing through there and suffering.’

  He laughed. ‘Very true.’ Stella held her arms out for Catherine, and Rob passed the baby across, loving how Stella nuzzled into the fuzzy hair that was starting to curl into little ringlets.

  ‘It was good of you not to rain on their parade.’ There was a teasing note in his voice.

  Stella coloured. ‘I’ve no idea what you mean!’

  ‘You know jolly well.’ He moved closer to her and touched her still-flat stomach. ‘You could have easily told them.’

  ‘I could have done.’ She smiled up at him. ‘But I’d already made an announcement like that last year, and everything seemed very dark and dismal that day. Let Oscar and Rosie have their day, and my brother and Helen have their big announcement. Ours will keep.’

  ‘It won’t keep too long.’ He grinned. ‘But I’ll be here to share it all with you this time.’

  ‘What, to watch me grow fat and grumpy again, and waddle like a penguin?’

  ‘Maybe. But also to rub your poor back and bring you cups of tea when you want to put your feet up.’

  Stella laughed. ‘Well, thank you in advance for those offers. I shall look forward to taking you up on them. I’m really not looking forward to being fat again though.’

  She screwed up her face and he kissed her scrunched-up nose. ‘It’ll all be worth it. And we still need to factor in our own wedding, don’t forget.’

  ‘Hmmm,’ said Stella. ‘We do have one and a half children already. And I got quite used to being Mrs Edwards in Bath. Or I could be very daring and call myself Mrs Jack Shelley. Maybe even Ezzy Shelley. What do you think?’

  ‘Darling Stella – or Ezzy, or whatever you want to be known as. I shall leave it up to you to decide when we do it. I insist, however, that we do do it, and I eventually get to make an honest woman of you.’

  ‘I think it’s too late for that, don’t you?’ She looked up at him and grinned. ‘Part of me thinks we should get this little one out of the way first, but the bigger part of me wants to do it right now, and not waste any more time. What do you think?’

  ‘I like the second idea best,’ he said, amused by this funny, loveable girl he had fallen for so many years ago. ‘We’ll go for that one.’

  And, with a smile on his lips, he leaned down to kiss her, and knew nothing would ever drive them apart again.

  Chapter Thirty

  Present Day

  They sped off across the estate, her arms clinging to Aidan’s waist, her dress wrapping itself around her legs and her beautiful hairdo coming loose about her ears. The world whipped past her, hurtling along faster than she’d ever experienced before and she shouted with joy. This was it – this was that adrenalin rush, the speeding bike, the falling in love, all over again.

  She was still smiling when they pulled up outside the Art Deco changing rooms and Aidan switched the engine off.

  He twisted around and smiled at her. ‘Enjoy that?’

  ‘I did!’ She could feel how flushed her cheeks were. ‘That was amazing!’

  ‘Come on. I’ve got something to show you.’ He dismounted and stood beside her, then gave her his hand, helping her climb off the T5. He kept hold of her hand and led her around the back of the building, over the fence and through the bit of woodland they had wandered through so many weeks ago. Their track was still there, only it was a little overgrown now and Cassie knew it had to stay hidden like that a while longer. Only Alex and Elodie had seen the secret room, but just the once.

  Aidan opened the door and stepped inside, and Cassie followed, giggling – and like a couple of children they slipped through the wall and came out into the secret room.

  It was bathed with a golden light. There were some bulbs in the burner of the ParkRay that emulated a warm fire, and two 1930s style dressing gowns were hanging up on the hooks. There were two fluffy towels draped over the brass rail and in the middle of the room was the coal bucket filled with ice. A magnum of champagne was in the bucket and two crystal glasses stood next to it. Candles flickered in brass sconces around the room and threw shimmers into the darkest corners.

  ‘Aidan! This is all your doing?’

  ‘It is indeed.’ His eyes sparkled. ‘I thought you deserved a little treat after the weekend. Well done to you. And here’s to many more.’

  ‘Oh, no.’ Cassie laughed and shook her head. ‘One is quite enough, thanks. I’ll be passing the baton back to Elodie for the Christmas one. I think it was a team effort anyway – I couldn’t have done it alone.’

  ‘Well I think you did your bit marvellously.’ Aidan put his arms a
round her waist and pulled her towards him. ‘Wait a moment.’ He pulled his phone out of the jacket pocket and fiddled with something, and all of a sudden the room was filled with music from the very era they’d been living in this weekend.

  ‘Very good!’ Cassie was impressed, and fitted back into his arms as he took hold of her again. They’d made love before, but this time she knew it would be extra-special. Extra-special in this secret room, a room that had meant so much to two young people in a dreadfully uncertain time. A place where, she imagined, Rob and Stella had found solace and hope in one another and, eventually, found their forever love.

  She rested her head on his shoulder and they danced a few dreamy circuits around the little room to Novello’s I Can Give You the Starlight. She was imagining Stella and Robert here, doing the same sort of thing, and she closed her eyes. It was so real, it was as if they were in the room with them. Pictures played across the back of her eyelids, like an old film reel; snatches of conversation and images flitted in her memory:

  ‘Do you trust me?’

  ‘Always. But what can top this?’

  ‘Watch and learn.’

  ‘There’s a staircase!’

  ‘I don’t bring everyone down here, you know. You’re the first person ever to have come in here with me, apart from my brother …’

  Cassie opened her eyes and dragged herself back to the present. Whatever Rob and Stella – Ezzy – had done there, was not for her to spy on.

  ‘It was definitely another lost generation, wasn’t it?’ she whispered. She felt Aidan nod his head, then he kissed her on the top of her hair and she nuzzled closer into his neck.

  ‘I’m glad we’ve got Rob’s poems and his plays and all the things he did to remember him by.’ She was quiet for a moment, thinking of Rob and Stella again. ‘Maybe we could bring their books and their pictures here for a little while – let them be together in this room again. Maybe we could even track down some of their relatives, now we know they did end up together. We’re bound to be able to find something out, and then we can have a little party for them at Hartsford. Get one of his plays put on, like you say. Do you think?’