by Ellie Dean
Carol sat tensely between the two men as the ambulance raced along the lanes which had been filled in to hedgerow height to accommodate the heavy machinery and weapons the Americans had brought in. She couldn’t tell what was happening in the back with Betty, and could only pray that she’d come to no serious harm. The thought of the wining, craven Ken made her clench her fists, and although she wasn’t usually of a violent nature, she wanted to spit in his blackened eyes and beat him to a pulp.
They arrived in the vast paved area surrounding the hospital and were greeted by nurses and doctors racing towards them as they screeched to a halt. Felix handed her down as Betty was stretchered onto a gurney and rushed through the doors. She was still out cold and looked very small and vulnerable beneath that pile of blankets.
Carol and Felix were ordered to wait in a side room while she was being examined. Although the chairs looked comfortable and it was a pleasant room, neither of them could relax, but spent the ensuing long minutes pacing the floor.
At the arrival of the doctor, they both came to a fearful halt. ‘She’s come round, but is suffering from concussion,’ he said in his Southern drawl. ‘There are compound fractures to her right leg and arm, and her shoulder is dislocated.’
‘But she will be all right, won’t she?’ asked Carol tearfully.
‘There’s no reason why she shouldn’t recover. But it would help if we could get her medical records. Y’all don’t happen to know who her doctor is?’
‘It’s Brian Ferguson, who’s been moved out to Swannaton,’ Carol replied. ‘But why do you need her records? What else do you think might be wrong with her?’
‘Well, ma’am, I’m just concerned there might be underlying problems connected to the polio. I’ll be keeping her in to reset the fractures and monitor the progress of the concussion, so y’all might as well go home.’
‘I’m staying,’ said Carol firmly.
‘So am I,’ said Felix.
The doctor eyed the stars on Felix’s epaulettes and gave a sigh. ‘There’s fresh coffee and doughnuts through that other door to keep y’all going, but it could be a long night.’
31
Once the doctor had left, Felix went to find the coffee while Carol continued to pace fretfully back and forth. Betty was the sweetest, most gentle of girls, and for Ken to have attacked her like that … She had no words to describe her feelings, but knew that if ever she saw him again, she’d punch him on the nose.
Felix returned and she gratefully wrapped her hands around the steaming mug and breathed in the fragrant aroma of freshly ground coffee beans. ‘Your lot don’t stint on the luxuries, do you?’ she said with a wan smile. ‘I can’t remember the last time I had real coffee.’
‘The American army marches on good coffee and nutritious food these days,’ he replied, settling into one of the comfortable chairs beside her. ‘It was a mite different during the first war when the supplies couldn’t get through, and those that did were riddled with weevils and mould.’
‘My sister’s father-in-law tells the same story, so it was obviously the same for all the troops, not just the Americans.’
She deliberately turned her thoughts away from what might be happening to Betty beyond that closed door. ‘Thank you for making it possible for Betty to be admitted here so quickly,’ she said. ‘I dread to think how long we would have had to wait for the other ambulance.’
‘It was the very least I could do,’ he murmured. ‘Betty’s a sweet girl, and she didn’t deserve what that brute did to her.’
Carol decided the time had come for some straight talking, for if nothing else, it would take her mind off Betty’s plight and perhaps clear the air between them. ‘We’ve been friends for a while now, and yet you never talk about your home, your family, or your army career – and although I’ve come to like you very much, Felix, I feel I don’t really know you at all.’
He returned her gaze. ‘The same could be said of you,’ he replied softly. ‘I know about your tragic loss, but nothing of your family, or your life before you came to Devon.’
This was the opening she wanted, and despite her concern over Betty, she knew she had to grab it. ‘I was born in December 1915, in a small seaside town on the south coast, close to a place called Cliffehaven,’ she began. ‘My mother’s name is Dorothy Cardew, but she prefers to be called Dolly.’ She watched him carefully for any reaction, which disappointingly didn’t come.
‘She’s been wonderful to me and my older sister, Pauline, and we accepted long ago that she wasn’t cut out to be like other mothers.’
‘How so?’
Carol blew on the hot coffee before taking a cautious sip. ‘She’s not at all domesticated, and is far too inquisitive and adventurous to be stuck at home; but when she does return from her latest exploit, she’s the most loving, sweetest mother any girl could want, and we both adore her.’
‘Growing up without her around must have been hard for you and your sister,’ he murmured.
‘Not at all. Our grandparents were marvellous, giving us all we could ever need in the way of love, guidance and time.’
‘But what about your father? Why wasn’t he there to take care of you both?’
Carol smiled. ‘Pauline and I are actually half-sisters. Pauline’s father married Mother, but didn’t stick around for long after she was born – and mine was killed in an accident before Mother had the chance to tell him she was expecting me.’ She gave a small shrug. ‘Pauline and I don’t know much about either of them, which is a bit frustrating at times, but as it upsets Mother to talk about her past, we’ve just had to accept the way things are, and get on with our lives.’
Felix lit a cigar and sat back in the chair. ‘I recall you saying that your family’s complicated,’ he drawled. ‘And I’m guessing Pauline is a good deal older than you to have had a son of your age.’
Carol nodded. ‘There are fifteen years between us, and Brendon is five years younger than me. His size makes him appear older,’ she said distractedly. ‘I’ll have to find some way of telling him what’s happened to Betty before he hears it through the gossip-mill.’
‘I happen to know he’s over in Dartmouth this evening, catching up with some naval buddies. Morning will be soon enough, and I’ll make sure I’m at his billet to tell him the minute he gets back.’
‘He’ll be furious,’ Carol muttered. ‘I hope they keep Ken locked up, because I dread to think what Brendon might do to him.’
Felix smiled at that. ‘You can be quite fierce, can’t you?’
She blushed and looked away. ‘Only when someone I love gets hurt.’ She took a faltering breath. ‘When David was killed and I lost my baby, I wanted to strike out, raging against the unfairness of it all, but I soon learned that anger isn’t the solution and doesn’t help to heal. Not when others in our family have suffered their own tragedies because of this war.’
She gave a soft sigh. ‘But there are times when I feel very alone,’ she admitted, ‘and wish my family were nearby – and that my father was still alive. I like to think of him as being strong and protective – the sort of father who could somehow fill the awful void left by David and my baby.’ She smiled and blinked away her tears. ‘It’s silly to think like that, I know, but in the darkest moments it does help.’
He gravely nodded his understanding. ‘You mentioned other tragedies,’ he prompted gently.
Carol told him about her two nephews, and how her sister had never really come to terms with their loss, which made Brendon the focus of his mother’s almost smothering attention. ‘I can’t blame her,’ she said. ‘I’d feel the same way – but I know Brendon finds it very hard to cope with.’
Silence fell between them and all Felix could hear was the ticking clock and the distant sounds of the vast hospital as he puffed on his cigar. He wanted to take this brave young woman in his arms and comfort her, for he could understand the loneliness and pain she tried so hard to overcome. But it wouldn’t be at all appropriate, so he aw
kwardly patted her hand. It didn’t feel right to continue questioning her about her childhood, the dead father and clearly wayward mother; but there were still so many things he needed to learn before he allowed his burgeoning suspicions to take real form.
Dolly was an enigma, that was for sure – flirty, gay and passionate one minute; secretive and cool the next – with a private life that was chaotic and filled with drama. And yet her daughters clearly loved her, so she must have done something right.
He contemplated the discreet enquiries he’d made about what she’d been doing coming out of that building with Sir Hugh. He’d learnt nothing – which only confirmed his suspicions that she was working with the secret services.
Did Carol and Pauline know about her other life in London? He didn’t think so, for Carol had mentioned she’d retired as an interpreter and was now living in Bournemouth, and Dolly would have had to sign the Official Secrets Act which bound her to a lifetime of silence.
He smothered a deep sigh as he remembered their passionate kiss on Christmas Day. He’d known instantly that the flame was still there, that she loved and wanted him as much as ever – and in his delight, he’d gotten carried away, begging her to marry him, certain she would now accept.
Her cold, adamant rejection had stunned him – but running that little scene repeatedly through his head in the long, pain-filled hours that had followed, he’d come to realise there was a deeper reason behind that rejection than a lack of love, or fear that he’d let her down again. Dolly was keeping something from him – something which had put wariness in her eyes and given her the strength to ignore her feelings and push him away.
He glanced up at the clock, surprised that only an hour had passed since the attack on Betty. ‘Would you like some more coffee?’
Carol shook her head, placing the empty mug on the low table next to the plate of untouched doughnuts. ‘Now I’ve told you a bit about myself, I’d appreciate a few straight answers to all the questions I have,’ she replied firmly.
Felix’s pulse rate picked up. ‘That sounds ominous,’ he said lightly.
‘I don’t mean it to,’ she said, ‘but we’ve been dodging around things, and I think it’s time you were honest with me.’ She held his gaze. ‘You already knew Dolly before you came down here, didn’t you?’
He nodded warily.
‘Then why haven’t you said anything these past weeks when you couldn’t have failed to realise I was her daughter?’
He chewed on his cigar, trapped into silence by the vow he’d made to Dolly.
Her gaze seemed to penetrate to his core. ‘Were you lovers?’
Felix tried desperately to think how to answer her. ‘We met in London in 1913,’ he admitted. ‘I’m sorry, Carol, but I promised your mother I would say nothing of what happened between us, and I have no intention of breaking that promise.’
‘That’s fine,’ she said calmly. ‘I’d already guessed how things were between you when I saw you both talking on my doorstep after Edith’s funeral.’ She leaned towards him. ‘It ended badly, didn’t it? Was it because she’d met my father and threw you over? He was an American too, you know.’
He somehow managed to hide his shock and the great tidal wave of doubt and disappointment that suddenly consumed him. ‘No, I didn’t know,’ he said gruffly. ‘What was his name? Perhaps we met.’
‘He was Major Frederick Adams of the Intelligence Corps, and from the photograph I have, it appears he was very dashing. Mother told me he’d been orphaned at an early age, had no siblings and joined the army straight out of college. They met in London just as war was about to be declared and fell in love.’ Carol gave a deep sigh. ‘I rather think that was all she actually knew about him, for they weren’t married, and I suspect he was just one of her flings.’
She looked at him keenly. ‘Does the name sound familiar? Could you have met him?’
Felix made a sterling effort to steady his racing pulse and dismiss the clamouring thoughts that whirled in his head. He could see how much it mattered to her that he might have met the major, and he hated to disappoint her. ‘I’m sorry, Carol. I have no recollection of the man, or the name,’ he replied truthfully.
‘That’s all right,’ she said on a sigh. ‘It was just a faint hope anyway.’
Felix really did want to help, and it would be interesting to see what Adams looked like. ‘Perhaps if you showed me his photograph it might stir some memory,’ he said, ‘but of course I can’t promise it will.’
‘I’ll try and remember to bring it with me next time we meet,’ she replied, glancing at the clock in impatience. ‘How long does it take to fix a few bones and a dislocated shoulder?’
‘I have no idea,’ he murmured, studying her closely, seeing her mother in her eyes and in the dimple that appeared fleetingly in her creamy cheek. He wanted so badly to really talk to this girl about her father and Dolly – but the situation meant it was impossible.
‘I suppose we were warned it was going to be a long night – but at least it will give us the chance to find out more about each other.’ Her smile was fleeting. ‘And don’t worry, Felix, I’m not asking you to break any promises. I’m just interested in the man behind the uniform.’
Felix thought hard before he gave her a halting account of his childhood as an army brat, never staying long enough in one place to make real friends beyond the boundaries of the military camps, or catch up on his schooling, which had led him to enlisting straight out of college into the only life he knew.
He skimmed over the harsh facts of living with Olivia by telling her the marriage had not been happy, and that they’d spent the last twenty years of her life apart – whereas, in reality, it had become a nightmarish battle over her drinking and increasingly erratic behaviour which had culminated in her being admitted into a special clinic for the mentally disturbed.
‘But something good came out of it, for we had a son,’ he said proudly. ‘Felix Addington Junior. A fine boy, who my mother helped to raise when my duties took me abroad. He was army too, but retired early to help me run my orange groves in California.’
She looked more disapproving than impressed. ‘So, you were married when you met mother?’
‘I’m not proud of the fact,’ he admitted. ‘I’m sorry, Carol, but I’m just an ordinary man with feet of clay who fell in love and had to live the rest of my life with the awful hurt I caused as a consequence.’
‘I’m sorry too,’ she said, taking his hand. ‘I shouldn’t have pried.’
He gently squeezed her fingers. ‘You had every right to, but could we change the subject now?’
Carol nodded, but before either of them could think of anything else to say, the doctor returned.
‘Miss Wellings has come through surgery, and will spend the next few days on one of our wards before she can be transferred to a civilian hospital,’ he said. ‘I’m a little concerned by her very low blood pressure and erratic heart rate, so I want to keep a close eye on her.’
‘Can we see her?’
He shook his head. ‘Not tonight, ma’am. Y’all go home and come back tomorrow afternoon when we should have a clearer idea of what’s going on.’
‘But she will pull through, won’t she?’ persisted Carol.
‘Yes, ma’am, I have every hope that she will make a full recovery.’ He saluted Felix, nodded to Carol and left the room.
‘I’ll see about commandeering us a ride home,’ said Felix, relieved to be on the move again and free from any more of Carol’s probing questions.
It was way past midnight as he helped her with her coat and they went out into the pitch black of the very early morning to find Herbert wrapped in his great-coat and asleep behind the wheel of the jeep.
‘Thanks, Herby,’ said Felix as the young man smothered a yawn. ‘You shouldn’t have disregarded my orders, but I have to say, you’re a life-saver.’
They drove in silence along the deserted lanes and past the sleeping camps until they reached the far
m. Felix got out of the jeep and escorted Carol right to the door of her billet. ‘I hope we can still be friends,’ he said earnestly.
‘Of course we can. And thank you for all you’ve done to help Betty. I’m sure it saved her life.’
He nodded and waited until she’d closed the door on him before returning to the jeep to tell Herby that Betty was expected to pull through, and to ask what had happened to the thug who had put her in hospital.
‘We all had to give statements, and then he was carted off,’ said Herbert. ‘He’ll be up before the magistrate later this morning and hopefully in a cell again by tonight to wait for a date in court. The copper said he’d need to speak to you and Mrs Porter as well.’
‘Let’s get back to base, Herby,’ he said through a vast yawn. ‘It’s been one hell of a long day, and I need to get to Brendon’s billet in less than five hours to inform him of what’s been going on.’
Despite his weariness, Felix found it impossible to sleep, for his mind kept returning to the past and the two women he’d failed so badly. He’d done his best for Olivia, and he’d hated seeing her in that clinic, so heavily sedated that she’d barely recognised him. Hoping familiar surroundings and the sight of her little son might help her heal, he’d brought her home and paid for a series of private nurses to look after her.
But her fragile hold on reality was such that she’d taken no interest in anything and had spent her days lying in bed, gazing out of the window, her thoughts and feelings closed to everyone. When he’d been posted to London as adjutant to the American ambassador in June 1913, he’d regretfully re-admitted her into the clinic and sent his son to live with his parents in Nebraska.
As for Dolly, she’d become a beacon of light in those dark, dark days. He hadn’t meant to fall in love with her, or make promises he knew he had no right to give, but Dolly was the woman he should have met and married years before – the woman who returned his passion and loved him without question, until he’d destroyed it all.