Prue was waiting for them at the door, looking younger and prettier than Edie had ever seen her. Her hair had come down while they’d been on nursing duty, and she seemed unconscious of the way it hung becomingly loose over her shoulders, or of the fresh pinkness in her cheeks. How different she was from the Prue of a few hours earlier, who’d so angrily demanded Coco be sent away and made little Aggie cry. Jack stood at her side with a sort of possessive pride, for all the world as if they were new grandparents.
Edie was worried Prue might demand to know what she and Sam had been doing outside, but her thoughts were occupied elsewhere.
‘We just took the children to meet the baby,’ she told Edie. ‘They were so excited, the loves. They’re back in bed in their room now, but I don’t suppose there’ll be much sleeping done tonight, especially not with the puppy running around. Tilly and Luca have asked for the two of you to go up. They’ve chosen a name.’
‘What is it?’ Edie asked.
‘Don’t tell them, Cheggy,’ Jack said, laughing. ‘We promised we’d keep it a secret.’
Prue smiled. ‘Not a word.’
They found the new mother sitting serenely up in bed with her baby in her arms. Luca was in a chair by his wife, glowing with pride.
‘Sam, my dear, dear friend!’ He leaped from the chair to kiss Sam enthusiastically on each cheek in the continental fashion, then began pumping his hand vigorously. ‘Now, come and look at my little girl, and try not to swoon at how beautiful she is. I am only sorry I have no cigars to give you.’
Sam laughed as he tried to flex some feeling back into his fingers.
‘She’s a real bobby-dazzler, Luca,’ he said as he leaned over Tilly to look at the sleeping infant. ‘We’ll wet her head at the farmhouse tomorrow, if you promise not to tell your commandant I let you have a booze-up.’
Edie approached Tilly. She didn’t say anything, but she gave her friend’s shoulder a squeeze that she tried to fill with everything she was feeling. Tilly looked up with an expression of such joy that Edie felt tears pricking her eyes once again.
‘Thank you,’ Tilly mouthed, and Edie nodded.
‘What’s her name then, Luca?’ Sam asked.
‘For her middle names, we have chosen Edith and Prudence, after my two tireless nurses.’ He slapped Sam on the back. ‘And her first name shall be Samantha, after the kind friend who has done so much to help us. Samantha Edith Prudence Bianchi.’
‘Or Liddell for now,’ Tilly said. ‘We still have a secret to keep, darling.’
‘Ah, but not for long.’ Luca snatched up her hand and pressed it to his lips. ‘Soon, bella, the war will be over and we shall be married in law as we are in spirit.’
Sam had turned away when Luca had told him the baby’s name, and Edie was sure his eyes were damp when he faced them again.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I only hope she grows up to be a better person than her namesake.’
‘Well, we know that if she grows up to be even half as kind, selfless and humane as her namesake, she’ll be a daughter we can be proud of,’ Tilly said earnestly.
Sam laughed. ‘I wish you wouldn’t talk about me like that in front of Edie. You know how proud I am of my reputation as a miserable bastard.’
‘Tsk. Such language,’ Luca whispered to the baby. ‘Now, Samantha, I hope you will not let your Uncle Sammy teach you any bad words.’
‘I asked Prue and Jack to be godparents,’ Tilly told them. ‘We want Marco to make a third, but that will have to be unofficial. He won’t be able to attend the christening.’
Sam had gravitated towards the bed again, and Edie smiled at the expression of curious wonderment on his face as he looked at the baby. Tentatively he ran his big, rough fingers over her head, and Samantha wriggled in her sleep.
‘She’s got your hair, Luca,’ he said softly. The child did indeed have a thick mop of black hair, much like her father’s dark curls.
‘And my big mouth,’ Tilly said, smiling. ‘You should have heard her yell, Sam. We could use her as an air-raid siren.’
There was a knock at the door, and Prue popped her head around it.
‘Sam, I’ve made up a bed for Luca in one of the empty rooms, if that’s acceptable to you. You’re welcome to stay as well.’
‘No.’ Reluctantly Sam turned away from the baby. ‘I ought to go back. Marco and Davy will be worrying.’ He clapped Luca on the back. ‘You stay, old son, keep an eye on this little one. I can fetch you and Edie for work in the morning.’
‘Thank you, boss. I do not deserve your kindness.’
‘All right, that’s enough of that. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He cast a look at Edie. ‘Both of you.’
Chapter 26
Baby Samantha acted as Edie’s alarm clock the next morning, her shrill wails piercing the air a full half-hour before it was really time to get up. But, realising it was useless to go back to sleep, Edie got up anyway.
When she’d washed and dressed in her Land Girl uniform – now the summer costume of light fawn dungarees and linen shirt, far more becoming than the bloomer-like breeches she had worn in the colder weather – Edie knocked softly at the door of Tilly’s room. When she entered, Tilly was sitting up with a now quiet Samantha snuggled against her.
‘Morning, Mummy,’ Edie said with a broad smile. ‘I thought I’d see if you wanted any breakfast bringing up before I go to work.’
‘A cuppa certainly wouldn’t go amiss,’ Tilly said. ‘But sit down first, Aunty Edie, and have a cuddle.’
Edie took Luca’s seat by the bed and Tilly put the little wriggling parcel into her arms. From the folds of towelling a tiny pink face looked up at her, the baby’s expression a mixture of curiosity about this new creature who was holding her and resentment at being parted from her mother.
‘Aww.’ Edie touched her fingertip to Samantha’s nose. ‘Till, she’s just … I don’t have the words. Glorious. Well done, you clever lady.’
‘Well, I can’t say I’d recommend childbirth but the results make it worth it.’ Tilly winced as she shifted her position. ‘Oof. It’s going to be a few weeks until I’m back on my feet, Luca tells me. I’m sorry to leave you fending for yourselves, but I’m sure between Prue and Aggie you’ll be well provided for.’
‘How are you feeling this morning? Are you very sore?’
‘Horrendously. Every inch of me hurts.’ She winced again. ‘Some inches a lot more than others.’
‘What did it feel like?’
‘Well … have you ever sneezed up a football?’
Edie laughed. ‘No, funnily enough.’
‘Your time will come, young Edie.’ Tilly smiled as Samantha shoved her chubby little fist into Edie’s cheek. ‘She’s a madam, isn’t she? I was really hoping she might take after her father rather than me but no such luck.’
Edie arrested the exploring baby fingers and pressed them to her lips.
‘Why didn’t you tell me, Till?’ she said quietly.
Tilly sighed. ‘I wanted to. Gosh, I’ve longed for someone to talk to – a friend my own age, not just Prue, although she’s been lovely.’
‘And yet you didn’t tell me.’
‘It was what you said that first week you worked at the farm,’ Tilly murmured. ‘About him being the enemy; that suspicion in your voice. You seemed so sort of … idealistic, Edie, about the importance of the war effort and all that stuff on the posters. You were such a new friend then, and I … I suppose I’m a coward really. I couldn’t bear the idea you might think less of me.’
‘Of course I wouldn’t.’ Edie reached out to take her hand. ‘What I said about Luca, then … I was naive. Really, I was such a little girl when I came here. I didn’t realise that things are always more complicated than just black and white.’
‘Well, I’m glad you know finally. I think the worst thing was how unfair it felt on poor Sam, having you think he was the sort of bounder who’d do that to a girl. I know his manners can be abrupt, but he’s really a lovel
y man.’
‘I know,’ Edie said, flushing slightly. ‘We had a talk last night and he explained it all to me.’
Tilly smiled. ‘Did he now?’
‘So what do you and Luca have planned for after the war?’ Edie asked, deciding that a swift change of subject was in order. ‘Will he stay here with you, or will you go to live in Naples?’
‘We haven’t decided,’ Tilly said. ‘I do want to make a new start, but I expect where we eventually settle will depend on who wins the war.’
A few months ago, Edie might have been shocked at such an unorthodox statement. In London, none of her set had dared to question that anyone but the Allies would ultimately triumph – out loud, at any rate. But the older, wiser Edie of today only nodded.
‘Where is Luca now?’ she asked.
‘He’s been up all night, watching over us. The bed Prue made up for him never even got slept in. He only went out an hour ago, saying he had something he wanted to do before work.’ Tilly sighed. ‘You know, I used to dream of falling in love with a man in uniform. I must say, those horrible grey things the prisoners wear wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I couldn’t help it, Ede. Isn’t he wonderful?’
Edie smiled. ‘After last night, I’m not going to argue. He’s certainly a wonderful doctor, and I already knew he was a wonderful man. A born father too, it seems to me.’
Samantha was starting to get restless now, and Tilly reached out to take her back.
‘She wants her breakfast,’ she said as the baby made greedy sucking noises at her mother’s chest. ‘I’d better give her a feed. Don’t worry about that cup of tea, Edie. I can do without until Prue’s awake.’
‘No, I’ll bring it. Sam won’t be here to fetch us to work for a little while yet.’
She left Tilly unbuttoning her nightdress and was about to head downstairs when she noticed a little face peeping at her from behind the door of the children’s room.
‘Aggie. It’s very early, dear. What are you doing awake?’
‘The baby woke me up,’ Aggie said in a low, reverent voice. ‘Jimmy fell back to sleep but I couldn’t. Edie, please may I help make them breakfast? Tilly and Baby Samantha?’
‘Well, Samantha is having her breakfast now but you can help me make Tilly a cup of tea if you like.’
Aggie beamed and closed the door gently behind her. Tiny Coco, her new partner in crime, was bouncing at her feet.
‘Oh, no,’ Edie said, smiling as she picked the little dog up. ‘Sorry, Aggie, but Coco will have to stay here with Jimmy. He’s pushed his luck far enough without us letting him run riot in the kitchen.’
Luca’s whereabouts were soon accounted for when Edie heard an Italian air ringing out in his familiar baritone from the direction of the kitchen.
‘Who is it singing?’ Aggie whispered.
‘It’s Luca – you remember him?’
She nodded. ‘That prisoner. I seen him last night. Is he allowed to sleep here then?’
‘Well, not usually, but this was a special circumstance. The doctor in the village couldn’t come to bring the baby because of the bombs, so I went to fetch Luca from the farm. He’s a doctor too.’
‘So he brung the baby, the Italian man?’
‘That’s right. He’s been up all night, taking care of Tilly and Samantha, so we must be very nice to him.’
That seemed to satisfy Aggie’s curiosity, and Edie was relieved that she didn’t ask any further questions about Luca’s overnight stay.
Luca stopped his song when they entered the kitchen and looked up to smile at them. For a man who’d not slept a wink, he looked very fresh – buoyed up, perhaps, by the joy of new fatherhood.
‘Ah, assistants. Just what I need.’ He was putting rolled dough circles on to baking sheets while a pan of sieved tomatoes simmered on the cooker. ‘Aggie, now you shall learn how to make real Italian food.’
‘What are you making, Luca?’ Edie asked.
‘Lunch. I thought it would be helpful to Mrs Hewitt if I were to prepare it, now the house will be without its cook for a little while. I hope Mr Graham will not mind me purloining a few things from his gardens.’
‘But what is it?’
‘Pizza, a Neapolitan dish – a little like your Welsh rabbit, only a hundred times more delicious. Risen with yeast is best, but I lacked the time, sadly, so you must have your pizze unleavened today.’
‘May I help make them please, Miss?’ Aggie asked, looking hopefully up at Edie. Baking with Tilly was her favourite hobby, although the little girl always managed to mysteriously vanish when it came time to do the washing-up.
Edie smiled, noting how much improved the child’s manners were. ‘Yes, you may. Let Luca show you what to do while I make Tilly’s tea.’
‘The patient is awake then?’ Luca said as he took the simmering mixture of tomatoes and herbs from the hotplate.
Edie nodded. ‘Giving the baby her breakfast.’
‘Ah, good. Samantha will soon grow big and strong with an appetite like she has.’ He spooned a little of the tomato mixture on to one of the dough discs and spread it thin using the back of the spoon. ‘This is how we do it, Aggie, and then we add sliced cheese. Do you think you can do that?’
Aggie nodded vigorously and started slopping the mixture on to one of the circles. Luca stood by, giving her instructions.
‘No, not too much. A spoonful or so in the centre, then spread outwards. Be sure to leave half an inch for a crust – yes, so. Good, patatina! Aggie, you shall be a master chef one day.’
Aggie giggled, and Edie smiled to herself. She’d been right in what she’d said earlier: Luca was going to make a wonderful father. What a cruel business the war was, to keep the young family apart.
She was detained by Tilly for a few minutes when she took up the tea, and when she re-entered the kitchen she found that Luca and Aggie’s conversation had moved on.
‘No, Aggie, I do not believe there is anything I could do to help,’ Luca was saying.
‘Not with medicine or anything?’
Luca looked sober as the little girl blinked up at him with wide, trusting eyes.
‘What’s the matter, Ag?’ Edie asked.
Aggie looked uncertain, as if she’d been caught talking about something she shouldn’t, but Luca filled the silence.
‘Aggie wonders if there is anything I can do to help your Mr Graham,’ he said. ‘I believe she greatly overestimates my skill as a doctor.’
‘I didn’t mean anything wrong, Miss,’ Aggie said. ‘I didn’t like to think of Uncle Jack having them bad nightmares you said about. I wanted to help him.’
‘That’s OK,’ Edie said gently. ‘You won’t ever get in trouble for trying to do a good deed, Aggie.’
‘Doctors can help with nightmares sometimes, can’t they?’ Aggie said to Luca. ‘Our dad used to get stuff to help him sleep better.’
‘A sleeping powder can bring heavier sleep but it does not fix the problem.’ Luca’s eyes were far away, filled with a pain of their own. ‘The nightmare is still there. It is only pushed deeper inside.’
‘So there’s not nothing you could do for Uncle Jack?’ Aggie asked. ‘I thought it’d be much more easy to fix bad dreams than bring a baby and you done that.’
‘To bring a baby is a simple task compared to healing someone’s memories.’ Luca sounded as though he was talking to himself. ‘That is not medicine. That is exorcism.’
The child looked puzzled, and Luca, remembering who he was talking to, summoned a smile.
‘Well, I know one thing that can help with bad memories: lots of new, fresh good memories. The best thing you can do for your Uncle Jack, Aggie, is to help him make happy memories. You could do that better than any doctor, could you not?’
Aggie brightened. ‘Oh, I reckon I can do that all right.’
‘Then from now on he shall be your patient, my little nurse. Mind you give your report to Edie every week so she can tell me how he gets along.’
&nbs
p; ‘I will.’
‘You are going to be needed a lot here now, Aggie. Matilda will be in bed for some weeks, and there is a new baby to take care of. Can Edie and Mrs Hewitt count on you to help them?’
Aggie nodded, her eyes sparkling. Coming from a home where she had been both unwanted and ignored, the idea of being needed – important – acted on the child like a tonic.
‘I can do all the cooking,’ she announced, puffing out her chest. ‘I’m good at cooking, ain’t I, Edie?’
Edie smiled. ‘She is a brilliant cook,’ she told Luca. ‘Still, Ag, I think all the cooking will be a bit much with school too. We’ll work together until Tilly feels well enough to go back to work.’
There was the sound of heavy tyres rolling up the gravel drive.
‘Sam’s truck.’ Luca looked worried. ‘I wonder what we will find at the farm today, Edie.’
So much had happened last night, Edie had almost forgotten about the bombing raid. How many of the ewes and their lambs had suffered? And what of the village: had it been badly damaged? With an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach, she followed Luca outside.
Chapter 27
‘Get in,’ Sam said with his usual lack of ceremony when they reached the battered truck. Luca jumped in the back and Edie climbed awkwardly into the front beside Sam. After what had happened – or at any rate, nearly happened – by the fountain, she was feeling oddly shy of him this morning. She wondered if they’d be working together today, and if so, what he might say … what he might do.
‘How’s the bairn?’ he asked as he manoeuvred the vehicle out of the gates.
‘As beautiful as her mother and as greedy as her father,’ Luca said, smiling. ‘She had the whole household awake at the break of morning, running around after her like the lady of the manor. She will become quite spoiled among the residents of Applefield Manor, I think.’
‘And how are you, London?’ Sam asked Edie quietly. He’d avoided looking at her so far, but he cast a quick glance in her direction before fixing his eyes back on the road.
Edie's Home for Orphans Page 23