‘I expect if you put the telephone down you will receive a call from her explaining what happened. Good heavens, Jack, until a few weeks ago she was flying bombers all over the country. I’m sure she can find her way back from Oxford without you worrying about her.’
‘I know, you’re right. Looking forward to seeing you and Nigel on Friday.’
Sure enough ten minutes later the strident tones of the telephone echoed through the house.
*
When Ellie got to the doctor’s house, she found a notice on the waiting room door saying that he had been called away on an emergency and wouldn’t be available today. How annoying, especially as she really wanted to see him. The notice didn’t suggest how you booked another appointment and she wasn’t the only one disgruntled.
A local lady in a smart blue hat tutted loudly. ‘The very least they could do is have the receptionist there to rebook our appointments, don’t you think, Mrs Reynolds?’
Ellie had no idea who this was and hoped that she hadn’t met this person at the one WRVS meeting she’d attended. ‘My appointment was urgent.’
‘Then, my dear, why don’t you go a doctor in Oxford? I don’t see the local chap every time you know; much prefer my own man. He is especially good with women’s problems.’
‘Can I just turn up at his door and expect to be seen? I would think if he’s good he will have a waiting list.’
‘You have just got time to ring his office before the bus comes. Do you have sufficient coins for the public telephone?’
It was getting embarrassing that she didn’t know this woman’s name when she was being so helpful. ‘If I give you the money would you be kind enough to call for me and ask if they have an appointment free today?’
Ten minutes later she was able to thank Mrs Forsyth for her help and had the address of the doctor and an appointment in an hour and a half. She had to run for the bus and only just got there in time.
It was already in motion whilst she was looking for a spare seat. She found one towards the back next to a pimply youth and sat down gratefully. All the lurching about made her feel quite queasy.
She had to ask twice for directions after she arrived which was ridiculous as she could fly across the countryside and never get lost.
The house was in a row of elegant Georgian buildings. On either side of the one she wanted was a solicitor and another medical person. She hurried up the steps and stepped into the small entrance hall.
‘Ah, you must be Mrs Reynolds. Would you come this way please so we can fill in your details?’ The matronly receptionist guided her into a pretty room which was presumably the waiting room although it was furnished like someone’s sitting room.
As soon as the form was completed, she was ushered through a second door into Dr Kelly’s surgery. The room was empty and she was left to her own devices whilst she waited. There was a large wooden desk with a chair behind it and one in front. There was also a curtained off examination bed.
Seeing this made her nervous. She really didn’t like the idea of being intimately examined by a stranger. This was a mistake and the sooner she left the better. She was heading for the door when a bespectacled man with slicked back hair burst in. He was closely followed by a nurse in crisp white apron and hat.
‘Mrs Reynolds, I apologise for keeping you waiting. Won’t you sit down and tell me why you’re here?’
Twenty-Five
Jack snatched up the telephone expecting to hear Ellie’s voice but it was a woman that he didn’t recognise. ‘Am I speaking to Mr Reynolds?’
‘Yes, who are you?’
‘I am Doctor Kelly’s secretary. He has asked me to inform you that your wife, Mrs Ellen Reynolds, is attending an appointment at the hospital and that she will not be able to catch the expected bus. There is nothing to worry about and she will be back on the next one.’
Before he could question her further the wretched woman hung up. Jesus H Christ. Why had Ellie gone to see this Dr Kelly in the first place? He snatched the receiver up again and asked the operator to connect him the doctor in the village.
The woman who answered after several minutes was the doctor’s wife. ‘My husband has been unavailable all day, Mr Reynolds, because of an emergency. I’m afraid that your wife and several others had their appointments cancelled. Doctor Kelly is an excellent physician and I imagine that Mrs Reynolds just preferred not to wait to rebook her appointment with my husband.’
The band that had gripped his chest began to slacken and his breathing returned to normal. They had been told they couldn’t make love until she had been given the all clear and she was obviously as eager as he to set things in motion again. He just wished that she’d told him what she intended to do.
Then what he’d just been told finally sunk in. She’d gone to see this Dr Kelly who had sent her to the hospital to see a specialist. His knees threatened to give way. Cold sweat trickled between his shoulder blades. There was nothing he could do except wait for the bus.
Why the hell hadn’t she made the call to him herself? He should have asked the woman who’d just called him more questions. Nobody went to hospital unless there was something seriously wrong. Yet Ellie had seemed well this morning? Had she had an accident?
Joan had been busy in the kitchen and came to see who had been on the phone. She took one look at him and took his arm and led him into the drawing room. ‘You sit down there, Jack, and I’ll fetch you a cup of hot sweet tea. No – don’t try and tell me what’s wrong. Sit quiet until you feel better.’
His stomach was churning. Tea was the last thing he wanted. He leant back on the sofa and closed his eyes. Why was he panicking? He’d never worried like this when she was flying.
‘Here, no arguments, drink this. You’ve gone the colour of an old sheet.’
The mug was thrust into his hand and he had no option but to take it. Joan was hovering over him and he took a tentative swallow. It was too sweet but his aunt was right, he began to feel less lightheaded and more in control.
‘That’s the ticket. Now, tell me what’s going on.’
When he’d finished she patted his arm. ‘Silly boy, to get so het up over that. The lady says she was catching the last bus? If there was anything seriously wrong, she wouldn’t be coming back at all, now would she?’
‘Sod me! I’m an idiot. Thank God you were here to put me straight. I need to go for a walk to clear my head…’
‘Not before you have something to eat. The bus won’t be here for hours so no excuse not to have a bit of lunch.’
He was about to say he wasn’t hungry but realised the opposite was true. He munched his way through a pile of scrambled eggs on toast followed by two slices of plum pie. By the time he’d finished he was beginning to feel a bit foolish but Joan smiled and patted him on the back every time she walked past.
‘I take it you left the things with the vicar?’
‘I did, but his housekeeper was a miserable old biddy who didn’t even say thank you. Ellie and I were saying yesterday that we don’t find this a very friendly place. Apart from Eliza and Stan, of course.’
She pulled out a chair and sat next to him nursing her mug of tea. ‘Now that you mention it, I haven’t exactly been made welcome at the WRVS or the WI. If it wasn’t for Liza no one would have talked to me at all. They don’t like outsiders.’
‘We love this house and garden especially now it’s been refurbished and modernised, but when the war’s over we thought we might move into Oxford. Would you mind if we did?’
Her fingers tightened on the mug and he realised she thought he was suggesting they moved without her. ‘No, Joan, you’re part of the family now and wherever we go, we hope you’ll come too.’
She looked up and he saw tears in her eyes. ‘That’s ever so kind of you. I love it here but only because I’m with you and your Ellie. I know I’ve got a sister up north but she’s a bit too grand for me.’
‘Joe was always good to me even though he was a villain.
The only family I’ve got I’m related to by marriage not blood, but that’s good enough for me.’
‘And me, love. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll come on that walk with you. I’ll be fidgeting and fussing all afternoon wondering why Ellie missed the bus and had to go to the hospital.’
He didn’t notice the aircraft landing and taking off at White Waltham but Joan flinched and looked nervously into the sky every time one went overhead. They walked to the village green and back and about half the people they saw paused to speak to them but the others walked past as if they didn’t exist.
‘I expect it’s because of Mary, Lady Mary I should say, who thought she was a witch when in fact she was a cut above everyone else and a true aristocrat with a title and everything.’
‘Probably right.’ He looked at his watch for the umpteenth time that afternoon.
‘If we go back now, Jack, I’ll lay the table get on with the tea. I don’t suppose Ellie would have eaten much today. There’s plenty of freshly dug potatoes, runner beans and salad. What about a lovely omelette?’
‘Sounds great to me. Are you sure you don’t mind cooking for us? That’s not why we invited you to live with us.’
‘I like to keep busy. Liza does the housework and ironing and I do the meals. Not every day, mind you, as your Ellie likes to cook as well.’
The only people who would be sad to see them go would be Stan and Eliza. Maybe if they rented the house instead of selling it the two of them could be made part of the deal. He had to keep reminding himself that Ellie had enough money to buy half a dozen houses like this if she wanted to.
He was waiting by the bus stop when it rattled to a halt. His heart was thudding uncomfortably. Where was she? Then, after three other passengers alighted, he saw his beloved girl.
*
Ellie had travelled back in a daze. Until she spoke to Jack it wouldn’t seem real. She still didn’t believe what she’d been told, what the elderly consultant had confirmed. How such a thing had happened she couldn’t understand.
He was standing by the exit and she fell into his arms. ‘Sweetheart, what’s been going on? I’ve been tearing my hair out all afternoon.’
She kissed him. ‘Let’s run home and I’ll tell you when we get there.’
He took her hand and with the dog bounding along beside them they hurtled down the pavement ignoring the dirty looks and shaking heads of the villagers who had to jump out of the way.
The front door was standing open and she took him straight into the drawing room. She needed to speak to him on his own.
‘Sit down, darling, you won’t believe what I’m going to tell you. We’re having a baby at Christmas. I’m almost four months along.’ He was staring at her as if she’d gone mad and exactly how she’d looked at the obstetrician when he’d told her.
‘I was expecting twins and miscarried one of them. The other baby is absolutely fine.’
‘Why didn’t you know that you were still pregnant?’
‘How could I? I felt pregnant but I thought that was normal which is why I was so determined to see a doctor today. It’s not as rare as you might think. Doctor Kelly, the man I saw first, said he has seen two other cases in his career. He only sent me to see the consultant just to be certain everything was as it should be.’
His cheeks were wet and she tumbled into his arms. ‘We’re going to have a baby after all. I’m sad about the one we lost, but this little one is our miracle.’
They cried together both overcome by the enormity of it. Eventually he found his handkerchief, wiped his face and blew his nose noisily. ‘Will you have to go and see this consultant again? Could we still lose this baby?’
‘No, I’m past the danger period now. I was really worried that my tummy was getting bigger when it should have been getting smaller. I’m going to ring my parents and give them the good news.’
‘Then I’ll tell Joan. We’re having a baby at Christmas. I just can’t believe it.’
Mabel answered the telephone. ‘Lovely to hear from you, Ellie. I can’t fetch your dad as he is having a lie down as he’s not been feeling too well lately.’
‘Has he had another stroke, do you think?’
‘No, love, the doctor said he’s got to take it easy but you know what your dad’s like. He always wants to be busy.’
‘Now Jack’s not working either we can come and stay for a bit. I’ve got the best possible news and this should cheer Dad up.’
She didn’t give the full details just that she’d had her pregnancy confirmed.
‘We had a bit of a scare a few weeks ago which is why we didn’t come but everything’s tickety-boo now.’
‘Another Christmas baby – my Fred will be ever so pleased. Don’t you worry about us, you come when you can.’
‘We’ll come next week. Give him my love and make sure that he follows the doctor’s orders.’
She decided she would write to Mum, George and Fiona as there was no urgency for them to know the good news. Then she reconsidered. Did George know that Dad was unwell?
Her brother answered the call. She quickly told him about the baby and then about their father’s health worries.
‘Mabel didn’t tell us. If you’re going to see them let me know how he is and if I need to come.’
There was no need for him to elaborate. George would only visit if their father was likely to die soon.
‘I’m sure there’s no rush. Give Fiona our love and I’ll let you know how things are at Glebe Farm.’
Joan rushed over and hugged her when she walked into the kitchen. ‘I did wonder if you were expecting, Ellie, but didn’t like to say. I’ll get knitting and sewing for you. You need your layette ready in good time.’
‘Thank you, that would be lovely. I’m hoping my friend Amanda might have a few things she can pass on. She’s already told me she doesn’t intend to have any more children.’
‘That’s a shame. I don’t hold with only children – I think parents should always have at least two.’
As Joan hadn’t had any at all she was hardly in a position to criticise but Ellie didn’t say this.
*
The weather was fine for once so walking to Amanda’s house would be a pleasure rather than a chore. Although it had only been a few days since she’d discovered she was still having a baby already things had changed. Joan was busy knitting and Stan and Jack were decorating the small room that they were going to use as a nursery.
Grey, as always, was padding along beside them. ‘It’s a pity that Elizabeth will already be in bed as she does love the dog,’ she said.
‘The nanny does all the hard work for them. Are we going to have one or are you going to look after our baby yourself?’
‘I’ll do it. Don’t forget we’ll have Joan living with us and I really don’t want anyone else. I’m sure she’ll be only too happy to help out if I need it.’
There was no need to knock on the front door as Amanda was in the garden. ‘I thought we could eat al fresco tonight. Not just because the weather’s nice but also because so much has already been packed and the house is a complete mess.’
‘That’s lovely. We eat outside as often as possible too. It’s been such a horrible wet, cold summer we need to enjoy every moment of sunshine that we get.’
They embraced and Nigel appeared and he and Jack shook hands. When they heard their good news they were overjoyed for them.
‘That’s so exciting. I was wondering what to do with all Elizabeth’s things as I didn’t really want to take them with me. Would you like the pram as well? Our daughter refuses to travel in it now so it’s quite redundant.’
‘I’d love it and anything else that you’ve got. I know we get extra points for buying the things we need but finding them’s the problem.’
Although Amanda had referred to the meal as dinner it wasn’t even a hot meal, just a ham salad followed by a plum crumble and custard. There was beer to drink as well as cordial but she preferred to stick to w
ater.
‘That was quite delicious and exactly what I like,’ she told Amanda as she finished the last mouthful of pudding. ‘When do you actually leave here?’
‘On Monday, so we’ve got three more nights here. The removal van will clear the house after we’ve gone. As we’ll be living in Nigel’s ancestral home we don’t really need to take anything but clothes and personal items.’
‘I keep telling you, Amanda, we shall have the entire west wing to ourselves and from what I recollect this is very sparsely furnished.’
Jack listened to the two of them bickering and was relieved that his own marriage wasn’t so acrimonious. Obviously, they couldn’t have candles or lanterns outside because of the blackout so they moved inside as it got dark.
‘I think we should go now, Ellie, I felt a few spots of rain and we didn’t bring our umbrellas.’
‘Thank you so much for inviting us. We’ll come tomorrow to collect the pram and so on so don’t need to say goodbye now,’ Ellie said.
‘You won’t need to use your torches tonight as there’s plenty of moonlight to light your way home,’ Amanda replied with a smile.
As they strolled back hand in hand the rain became more persistent. ‘Is it all right for you to run in your condition?’
‘Absolutely fine. After what we’ve been doing for the past few nights I hardly think that a bit of running will do me any harm.’
‘How long can we carry on making love?’
‘Only a man would ask a question like that. It’s not something I discussed with either doctor but feel free to ask him yourself if you want.’
‘That reminds me, when do you have to see the midwife or doctor again?’
‘I’ve no idea. I suppose I must make an appointment as I’m not sure the information will be passed on to him.’
The back door was unlocked but the house was quiet as Joan usually went to bed early. ‘Do you want a hot drink for anything before we go up?’
‘No, thank you, Jack. I’m going to bed now. You stay down and listen to the wireless if you want to.’
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