‘She’s the only one I’ve seen. I wonder if they dance around naked performing their spells.’
She giggled. ‘I shouldn’t think so, not at her age. I remember my bother Neil and I believed that an old lady in the village was one because she had a black cat and walked around muttering to herself.’
‘Mary doesn’t have a cat or mutter. Shouldn’t a witch be called Daphnia or something more exotic than Mary?’
‘Perhaps she uses a different name for her meetings.’ Elie sat back. ‘There, that should do it for now. We’ll have to do it properly once we’re living here.’
‘Fred told me there’s one way to keep the foxes away from the run.’
‘I know what that is – a man peeing all round it. I’ll leave you to it, if you don’t mind.’
She was still laughing as she ran away. He loved her so much it hurt. The thought of her flying the big guys filled him with dread. With any luck she would be carrying his baby soon and living safe here with Mary.
Eight
The bus that would take them to Amanda and Neil's house arrived on time and was remarkably empty. ‘It’s almost walking distance to Amanda’s from here, Jack. I can’t believe that we’ve found our perfect house so easily.’
‘I agree, it’s ideal, not sure about having a witch for a housekeeper.’
‘Shush – I’m sure Mary doesn’t want anyone to know her secret.’
‘I’m determined to arrive unexpectedly when one of these meetings is taking place. Do you think they do animal sacrifices?’
She turned to reprimand him then saw the glint in his eye. ‘Don’t be unkind. It’s strange I didn’t hear directly from Amanda about Elizabeth arriving. I know you told me that mother and baby were doing well but…’
‘Stop worrying, honey, we’ll be there in ten minutes and you can find out for yourself. I expect she’s too exhausted to think about anything but snatching some sleep between feeding the infant.’
‘Golly – when did you become so knowledgeable about babies?’
He grinned. ‘Just asked a few questions from blokes with kids. Doesn’t sound like a walk in the park for the parents.’
The bus rattled to a halt and they jumped out, thanking the ancient driver. ‘I know everyone has to work, but don’t you think that man’s a bit old to be in charge of the bus?’
‘If a one-armed guy can fly a fighter okay then I’m sure that decrepit old man is quite capable of doing his job without killing anyone.’
Ellie quickened her step as she saw the house they were looking for just ahead. ‘It’s not as old as ours, Edwardian I think, but that means it will also have lovely high ceilings and big rooms.’
Jack pushed open the gate and they headed down the weed free path that led to a freshly painted front door.
‘Everything’s immaculate. They must have a gardener as I doubt either of them have the time to keep it looking like this.’
‘Hang on a minute, sweetheart, I don’t think they’re up yet. The curtains are drawn everywhere.’
‘They must be at the back of the house. Babies don’t sleep in and it’s after ten o’clock now.’ Despite her words she’d felt a flicker of unease as well.
‘We have to knock on the front. They might not be dressed and wouldn’t thank us for appearing unexpectedly at the kitchen windows.’
‘Right. You knock. I’m a bit worried, aren’t you?’
He banged on the door before answering. ‘We’ll find out in a minute so no point in getting het up.’
No one came. They exchanged glances. ‘Do it again – it’s a big house they might not have heard.’
This time Jack banged the brass knocker so hard she was sure they couldn’t fail to hear it. Her heart was thudding uncomfortably. Why didn’t someone come?
Then there was a rattle of curtains being drawn back and the window above them was flung open. Nigel, looking remarkably dishevelled, poked his head out.
‘Good God! Sorry, forgotten you were coming. Having a lie in. Amanda’s sleeping at the back where it’s quiet. I’ll be right down to let you in.’
A few minutes later the door was unlocked. Nigel had hastily pulled on a dressing gown but his feet were bare. The house was quiet which meant both baby and Amanda were asleep.
‘Sorry about this, old thing, the kitchen’s down the passageway. Put the kettle on whilst I get dressed. I’m not waking Amanda or the baby – I’m sure you understand why.’
She wasn’t sure she did, and the fact that her friend was sleeping in a separate room made her initial concerns more real. But then, she wasn’t the maternal type and knew very little about infants and their care.
The house was untidy and obviously hadn’t been cleaned recently. ‘I don’t think they have a daily and Amanda’s not good at housework. Heaven knows how she’s going to manage running this house and looking after a baby without help.’
‘She can fly a bomber, so I’m sure she can do anything she cares to. I don’t suppose there are any local ladies around to help as they’ve all been called up to do war work of some sort.’
The kitchen was in chaos – the sink filled with dirty crockery and every surface covered with discarded items and general debris.
‘If you put the kettle on, Jack, I’ll get this room done. I don’t understand why Nigel hasn’t done it – after all he’s got a few days’ compassionate leave and he’s not just had a baby.’
‘Probably thinks it’s not his job to take care of domestic matters.’
She glared at him and he raised his hand as if in surrender. ‘Don’t look so fierce, Ellie, I’m not condoning it, just stating a fact. I couldn’t live in this mess and I don’t understand how someone as fastidious as Nigel is able to.’
The kitchen was pristine, the tea and toast made, and still there was no sign of Nigel. ‘One of us should go up and see what’s going on. It doesn’t take three quarters of an hour to get shaved and dressed. Do you think he’s hiding from us?’
‘Haven’t the foggiest. Why don’t you go and find Amanda whilst I look for him? I’m sure she’ll be pleased to see you and won’t mind being woken up.’
‘I’ll take her a tray. He can come downstairs to eat his breakfast.’
‘Do you think I should go around opening the blackouts?’
‘Good idea – I’m sure they won’t mind.’
Nigel had said that Amanda’s room was at the back of the house and she could work out roughly where his room was so there was little danger of her barging in on him. It was all very odd and not at all like either of them.
The baby had arrived only a week ago so really it was hardly surprising that her friend was still lying in. Then she remembered that Fiona had been on her feet a few hours after Neil had arrived but maybe it depended on the birth and the mother how soon things got back to normal.
She knocked on two doors before she found the one she wanted. Amanda was sitting by the window cradling the baby and looked remarkably well.
‘Ellie, is that breakfast you’re bringing me? You angel – I’m absolutely starving and the midwife told me I wasn’t to go downstairs until Elizabeth is more than a week old.’
‘Only tea and toast as I couldn’t find anything else. Why haven’t you got any help? If you rely on Nigel, I think you’re going to starve as he doesn’t seem to be coping very well.’
‘That’s the understatement of the year. Come and see my beautiful daughter – she’s good as gold and no trouble at all. Would you like to hold her?’
The baby smelt of milk and talcum powder. ‘Neil had a mass of fluffy hair but your baby has almost none. She’s absolutely adorable.’
Amanda was munching toast and drinking the tea. ‘To answer your earlier question, I did have someone coming in but Nigel offended her and she left in the huff. As you can imagine I’ve not had the opportunity to put matters right as I’ve been incarcerated up here.’
The baby had reached out and was clutching Ellie’s little finger. Her heart melted
and for the first time she began to understand what all the fuss was about.
‘What about the laundry? You must be running out of nappies and so on.’
‘We are and things can’t go on like this. Nigel is hiding from me and said it’s not right for him to sleep in here so soon after my delivery. If he doesn’t buck up his ideas, I’ll send him packing.’
Ellie’s arms tightened and the baby whimpered in protest. ‘Hush, sweetheart, I didn’t mean to frighten you.’ She looked around and saw an antique rocking cradle. ‘Shall I put her down as she’s sound asleep?’
‘Please, that will be wonderful. Would you mind remaining here whilst I have a quick bath and get dressed? I apologise for the state of the house as I can imagine what it’s like since Mrs Smith left.’
‘Doesn’t the midwife call in every day to check on you and the baby?’
‘She does indeed which is why I want to be up and down stairs when she arrives later. A fait accompli if you like. She can hardly tell me to stay in bed if I’m already up and about.’
*
Jack decided not only to open the blackout curtains but also to tidy as he went. He was returning to the kitchen when Nigel rushed in through the front door carrying a full shopping bag.
‘Sorry, old man, I made a quick dash to the local shop and the kind lady in there took pity on me. I also popped in and apologised to Mrs Smith, our cleaning lady, and she’s coming back and will be here in an hour.’
‘Ellie took Amanda some breakfast and we’ve tidied the kitchen for you.’
‘I’m hopeless at domestic duties, never had to be involved before. Always had a little woman of some sort to do that sort of thing. I’m finding this fatherhood malarkey much harder than I expected.’
‘I expect you’ll be relieved to get back to work. I can hear movement from upstairs…’
‘You certainly can, Jack, I’m re-emerging from purdah. Thank you both so much for helping out.’ Amanda looked her usual polished self and apart from being a little fuller around the waist one wouldn’t have known she’d just had a kid.
Nigel looked nervous and waved the bulging bag in front of his wife. ‘I’ve replenished the larder, my love, and our friends have removed the evidence of my uselessness from the kitchen, thank the good Lord for that.’
‘Our daughter’s almost run out of nappies – do you intend to do the laundry too?’
His look of horror made them all laugh and the atmosphere improved. ‘Mrs Smith is coming back and has promised to do it for us. I grovelled and she accepted my apology and a rise in pay.’
‘You shouldn’t have been so rude to her in the first place, Nigel. However, I think I might forgive you after all if she’s coming back.’
‘My only excuse, my dear, is that I had an appalling hangover and had had very little sleep that morning.’
‘Absolutely not acceptable. There will be no more drinking in this house until I can join in. The midwife said it’s not advisable to consume large quantities of alcohol when feeding an infant.’
‘We can share an occasional glass of something – at least we could if there was any to purchase.’
‘Thank goodness you’ve cleared the air as we couldn’t tell you our good news until you had.’ Ellie stopped midsentence as she remembered they hadn’t handed over the gifts for the baby. The silver christening set was admired and then put on the dresser and ignored.
‘I am all agog, what do you have to tell us?’ Amanda asked as she tucked into her fourth piece of toast.
‘We’re going to be living a couple of miles from you. We’ve agreed to buy Mrs Hatfield’s house.’
Nigel slapped his hand on the table making the mugs jump. ‘Good God! The local witch – are you sure you want to be mixed up with the occult?’
‘We thought it was probably a secret but obviously we’re wrong. We’d better tell you the rest,’ she said after exchanging a smile with Jack.
Amanda thought inviting Mary to live with them and act as housekeeper was an excellent idea but Nigel was adamant it would end in disaster.
‘These heathens meet several times a year. I can’t understand why you would want that sort of blasphemy under your roof with your blessing.’
Jack deliberately changed the subject before it became too heated. ‘I could do with another cuppa and if there’s any more toast going spare, I’d like some.’
Ellie nodded gratefully and jumped up. ‘I’ll make the tea, Amanda, you stay where you are. What else did you have in that shopping bag, Nigel? Anything tasty?’
This was enough to distract him from his tirade about the iniquities of pagans. ‘I managed to get a packet of biscuits – had to practically beg for them even though I had enough points in my ration book. Only the fact that I said they were for you, my dear, persuaded the shopkeeper to hand them over.’
‘Shall I unpack or do you want to do it, Nigel?’
*
The remainder of the visit was a bit tense as discussion about Ellie and his future home was taboo, and the only other topic of conversation was the baby. Jack supposed they couldn’t really object to that as this was the reason they’d come in the first place.
The midwife was annoyed to find her patient downstairs so soon after delivery but Amanda refused to be cowed. In the end she agreed to take an afternoon rest every day but refused to remain in bed. The missing daily lady appeared and stomped about the place making it obvious she didn’t want any of them in her domain – she also decided the precious biscuits had been brought as a peace offering and they vanished into her capacious shopping bag.
*
The next morning, Jack was relieved to leave and Ellie just made vague promises to call in again and attend the christening if she could get the time off. As soon as they were through the garden gate he asked her about the house.
‘Are you having second thoughts about Mary, honey?’
‘Absolutely not – I didn’t realise Nigel was so old-fashioned in his opinions. But then I suppose we’ve not spent more than an hour or two in his company before. I certainly don’t want to spend so long with Amanda again if he’s there.’
‘Also, we’ve all been in uniform not mufti. That makes a difference. The man’s an idiot to treat Amanda as if she’s a half-wit just because she’s no longer his equal at work. I can’t see that marriage lasting, can you?’
‘I hope you’re wrong but I’m afraid I agree with you. He was always a bit of a stuffed shirt, but they come from the same background and she really liked his parents. I remember the first time she went to visit his family home wasn’t because she loved him but because they had hunters she could ride.’
The bus, with the same ancient driver, rattled to a stop and they scrambled on. They’d left so early there were only a couple of passengers inside. This time the middle-aged lady collecting the fares had time to speak to them.
‘We get a lot of ATA people on this bus, but not many ladies. I suppose you work in the office, dear.’
He was about to explain that his wife flew four-engined bombers but Ellie touched his hand. She smiled at the conductress. ‘I’m a pilot. There are now almost two hundred of us doing the same job as the men.’
‘Well I never! I don’t envy that, dear. Wouldn’t get me up in an aeroplane for love or money.’
They got out at White Waltham and walked the short distance to the pool. ‘Are you sure you want to buy this house, Ellie? I doubt that Nigel’s the only one to hold such views.’
‘I do – it’s right for us. My solicitors are in London so why don’t you find someone in Oxford? I’ll get the money transferred. You can put the house in your name if you want.’
‘Absolutely not. It will go in both or just yours.’
They were just walking past the gate and both waved ID cards at the soldier. As they were in uniform the bloke didn’t bother to check.
They strolled to the admin building and went to find Frankie and set in motion her transfer to this ferry pool. This couldn�
��t take place until the Halifaxes had been cleared from the factory but they both wanted to get things in place.
Nine
The weeks passed and Ellie was kept busy along with the other four women qualified to fly the big bombers. The purchase of their future home was going smoothly and Margaret and Pauline had both reluctantly agreed that she could move to White Waltham by the end of the year.
The ATA were now training both men and women with no previous flying experience at all so soon there would be no shortage of qualified pilots. The RAF and USAAF continued to bomb Germany and Italy relentlessly and despite the fact that this would bring the conflict to a speedier conclusion she hated to think of how many civilians were being killed.
A month after visiting Amanda, Ellie got the telephone call from her brother that she’d been expecting. ‘Grandfather died last night. It was a relief for all of us. The funeral will be Friday the thirteenth – appropriate date I suppose.’
‘I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’ll speak to Alison immediately and also let Jack know. We’ve both held over our last leave so we were available. How’s Mum dealing with it?’
‘Remarkably well considering the circumstances. I’ve already arranged for the military to take over the house and it’s going to be converted into a recuperation centre for injured servicemen. There’s an excellent estate manager and he’ll continue to run the show until this bloody war is over.’
‘Is Fiona suffering from morning sickness this time?’
‘No, all tickety-boo on the sickness front. Ma takes her grandmotherly duties seriously and this means Fiona can rest when she wants to. There’ll be just over a year between them and I can assure you that we didn’t plan to have babies so close together.’
‘I think it’ll be hard to start with but easier later as they’ll grow up together. You didn’t say where the service is being held.’
‘The family church, and then the wake will be held at the house. That will be the last time any of us go in there as the builders move in to install extra bathrooms, heating et cetera the following day.’
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