Unhappy at being ignored, Sheila turned on the radio and while the conversation continued sat, looking bored, occasionally increasing the volume. Regretfully Amy abandoned the attempt.
‘Go on then, Margaret, love, play something for us now, will you? I’ll make us a cup of tea and we’ll sit and listen to you. That’s my favourite way of spending my day off.’ She prepared a tray of tea and went back to sit on the couch. Freddy and Sheila stood up.
‘I have to go, Mrs Prichard, sorry to miss Margaret’s playing, but I have to see to food for Gran.’
‘Freddy, you’ll listen, won’t you? I’ve been practising this one for you,’ Margaret pleaded.
‘Sorry, Margaret, but I’ll be home again soon and we’ll have a concert, me playing the mouth organ, badly, right? Here,’ from his pocket he took out three parcels. ‘Will you put them under the Christmas tree when Mam gets it? One for you, one for Mam, and one for Victor.’ He winked at his mother. ‘Oh, and there’s a job for you, Margaret.’ He delved into his pocket. ‘Plant these seeds and look after them for me will you?’ After hugging them both, he and Sheila left.
* * *
On Sunday afternoon Tad and Dawn were sitting listening for a knock at the door. Tad’s anxiety showed in the way he sat, his back rigid and his face tense. What if Delina didn’t come? What if the moment when they admitted their love for each other had been a mistake on her part? She would still look after Dawn, he was certain of that. She wasn’t the sort to forget a promise, but Sundays was a separate thing, it had grown into a habit and now, watching the hands of the clock moving inexorably on, he began to feel more and more certain she wouldn’t come.
‘Will Delina come soon, Dad?’ Dawn asked. ‘I want to show her this drawing I’ve done. It’s the pond, or at least how it will look when it’s finished.’
‘Can I see?’ Tad avoided answering her question. He didn’t know the answer.
Dawn had drawn the pond surrounded with wild grasses and plants, and he smiled and asked, ‘How soon will it look like this?’
‘That’s why I hope Delina will come soon. Billie Brown said we could go down and take a few plants from around his pond, there’ll be grubs and small creatures hidden in the roots and the pond will soon come to life then. If she doesn’t come soon it’ll be dark.’
The knock at the door made them both stand up, Dawn to run to open the door, Tad to stand and glance at his appearance in the mirror on the wall. He was nervous. It seemed that his future happiness depended on these next few moments.
Delina came in wearing a blue coat with a fur-lined hood, a warm blue and grey checked skirt, and boots that reached to her knees.
‘Hello, Tad,’ she smiled. She hesitated as he made a slight move towards her then stopped. She stayed in the doorway, undecided whether to move closer or not. Both were smiling foolishly.
‘Go on,’ Dawn said with an impatient sigh, deep and exaggerated as only a child can. ‘Kiss each other if you’re going to!’
‘Dawn?’ Tad asked with a frown.
‘I was sitting on the stairs when you did it before,’ she admitted with a cheeky grin. ‘Then can we go to see Billie Brown and get some plants for Nelly and George’s pond, please?’
Chapter Eight
Delina was waiting for them when Tad and Dawn went up to talk to her father on the following day. Victor seemed startled by the announcement that they intended to marry.
‘But when did all this happen?’ he asked and the grin on his face puzzled Delina and Tad. Then he belatedly added, ‘Congratulations to you both, I hope it will be a good marriage, a happy one in which you can both be yourselves.’
The bitterness about his own marriage was hidden by the smile, but Delina knew he was remembering the wasted years of her mother’s silence and disapproval after Victor had been arrested for stealing. Her mother had not spoken to her father after the embarrassment of him being found guilty of stealing from Harry and Prue Beynon, for whom he then worked. She glanced at Tad and hoped she would be more sympathetic in his weaknesses, knowing that for them the path through life would not be easy. Tad was a complex man and would need all her understanding.
‘It won’t be for a long time, unfortunately,’ Tad said. ‘I have less than nothing and I won’t accept a marriage in which I have to depend on my wife for money.’
‘Why not?’ Victor asked. ‘It wouldn’t be for ever and why not be together while you make your way? That way the success belongs to both of you. Not that I want you to go, Delina,’ he added, ‘but there’s nothing you can’t tell me about wasting time!’
Delina saw Tad’s jaw tighten and knew he was not convinced.
‘We’ll think about it, Dad.’
‘Right then. And while you do, what about taking some of this furniture? There’s too much, and if I have to see to the cleaning, I don’t want more than half of it.’
‘I’ll buy when we’re ready,’ Tad said at once. ‘There’s no need for charity.’
‘Charity? Be doing me a favour you will, boy. It’ll have to go, so if there’s anything you want, just take it.’
‘Thank you, Dad, we’ll think about that, too,’ Delina said.
‘By the way, I knew, about you and Tad,’ Victor said winking at Dawn who had stood silently watching them.
‘How could you? We didn’t know ourselves until last night.’
‘Milly Nogood and the Pup, saw you making a fond farewell outside your door, Tad.’
‘What a place this is for gossip!’ Tad laughed when the nicknames of Milly Toogood and her friend Sybil had been explained.
‘And what a place for friends, too. Pleased for you they’ll be, in spite of you punching a few noses a while ago, including mine!’ He rubbed his nose and shared another smile with Dawn.
Milly Toogood spent a lot of her time just walking around the village. She chattered as she strode along with her friend, Sybil Tremain, trotting in her wake and puffing with the effort of keeping up. It was this habit of walking a few yards behind the other that gave them the nick-names of Milly Nogood and the Pup, a description coined by Johnny.
‘Are you going to announce your engagement or wait for Milly Nogood to do it for you?’ Victor asked.
‘We thought we’d make it public at Christmas,’ Tad smiled.
* * *
Victor called in to Amy’s shop the following morning and told her of Delina’s plans to marry Tad. She watched him drive off, wondering how the proposed marriage would affect her own plans. It seemed from what Victor told her that the wedding would be a long way into the future, so should she agree to marry Victor and get the boys settled into a new routine and life-style before they had to face the loss of their sister? She sighed. It had all seemed so simple when Victor’s wife was there to prevent their marrying. Since she had died everything was twisting into a tangle of if’s and but’s that threatened them with years of hanging on ‘until the time is right’.
Mavis was looking after the shop and Amy was taking an afternoon off. There were extra orders to complete with the fast approach of Christmas and she decided that home was the easiest place to deal with the paperwork. At one o’clock she set off down the road on her bicycle, wondering, not for the first time, if she dare afford a small car.
She had begun to list the extra ‘fancies’ for the following weeks – dates, figs, crackers, fancy biscuits, boxes of chocolates – when there was a knock at the door. Groaning her irritation, she was tempted not to answer it, but with the light on to dispel the gloom of the December afternoon, she knew that whoever it was would know she was at home.
It was Billie. She knew before she opened the door that it was Billie, no one else filled the opaque glass of the front door like Billie Brown.
‘Come in but take your boots off,’ she said in greeting, not able to hide the sharpness caused by resentment at the interruption.
‘I’ll put the kettle on, shall I?’ Billie didn’t wait for assent but lumbered into the kitchen and filled the kett
le.
‘I saw the light when I was walking up the drive to put a note in,’ he explained as he waited for the kettle to boil. ‘Come to see if you want a few Christmas trees.’
‘I’d love some, but where will I display them? Constable Harris gets mad enough with the vegetables I put outside the shop, what would he say if he saw trees out there?’
‘It’s Christmas, he’ll turn a blind eye.’
‘Worth a try I suppose. Thanks, Billie.’
‘What are you and Margaret doing at Christmas? Only Mary wondered if you’d like to come to us. Children love a farmhouse dinner and, well, we’d like you to come.’
‘Thank you, Billie, but I like to do my own Christmas. I know Freddy won’t be here, but Margaret and I will have a nice day. Thank Mary for me though, it was a kind thought.’
‘You’ll be seeing Victor I suppose.’ It wasn’t a question, more a thought spoken aloud.
‘I don’t know. There’s likely to be an engagement announced and when that will be I’m not sure.’
‘An engagement?’ Billie’s brown eyes widened with, shock. ‘Not you and—’
‘Delina and Tad have decided to marry.’ She felt sadness at the look of relief that passed over his serious features. ‘It won’t be for a while. Tad has to finish his studies, but they want to become engaged so Dawn can become accustomed to the idea of Delina as a mother.’
‘So he won’t need you as a housekeeper just yet then?’
‘If I marry Victor it won’t be because he needs a house-keeper, Billie.’
‘But that’s what you’d be doing, keeping house for him and his sons. Marry me and I’d employ a house-keeper to help you, and there’d only be Margaret to look after.’
‘Billie.’
‘I know. I’m sorry.’ He raised his arms in a ‘hands off’ gesture and smiled. ‘I know we promised not to say another word about it, but you can’t blame me for hoping, not while you’re still free.’
‘When will you bring the trees?’ she asked briskly, pouring them a second cup of tea.
‘Next Monday? I thought I’d give one to Nelly and George. And there’s one for you of course. Margaret can come and choose it on Saturday.’
‘Oliver can go with her and choose his, only we’ll make sure Evie pays for it. Right?’
As she rose to encourage Billie to leave and allow her to get on with her work there was an explosive bang and the sound of shattering glass. She clung to Billie and looked fearfully around. The window was smashed and a brick lay on the floor not far from where they stood.
‘Stay inside and well away from the windows,’ Billie shouted and he ran from the house and down the drive to see who had been responsible. His footsteps fading in the aftermath of the shocking noise made Amy tremble. She clung to the edge of the table unable to move.
It seemed like hours before footsteps returned, slower this time, and Billie reappeared in the doorway.
‘I couldn’t catch him, but I saw him clearly enough. It was that David Honeyman, Victor’s son.’
‘What shall we do?’
‘Nothing. I’ll go and talk to him, let him know I saw him, that should be enough to make sure it doesn’t happen again.’
‘Victor will have to be told.’
‘That’s up to you. Now, will you be all right if I go and get some glass and mend the window?’
‘Yes, thank you, Billie, I’m so glad you were here.’
‘So am I. Now, some paper, a pencil and a tape measure, please, love.’
Once more she listened to his footsteps fading as he walked down the road. She heard the engine of the Range Rover open up and it too faded away. She shivered in the chill wind coming through the broken pane and wondered why David had behaved in such an unlikely way towards her. Was he telling her she shouldn’t marry Victor? She went stiffly into the kitchen to make more tea. When Margaret came home from school Billie was fixing the putty around the replaced window pane and she shouted with delight at seeing him there.
‘Uncle Billie! Have you come for tea?’
‘Not today, Margaret, but I’ve come to ask if you’d like to come to the farm on Saturday morning and choose a Christmas tree.’ He held up the tape measure. ‘See, we can measure how high the ceiling is and get one to fit perfectly, right?’
Amy smiled as they began to chatter about their plans and about the various things happening on the farm. She was still shaking but managed to make some sandwiches and take out a few cakes which she arranged for when Billie had finished the repair. They were still talking when everything was swept up and back to normal.
She wondered if Margaret would be happier if neither Billie nor Victor became her step-father. She enjoyed them both so much that to lose either one would be a great disappointment. Victor wouldn’t welcome Billie as a regular visitor once Amy and he were married. But should duty to your children mean giving up a chance of happiness for yourself? Children were only with you for a short time, there had to be something left for when they moved away to begin a life of their own.
When Victor called that evening, she showed him the broken window and told him that his son had thrown the brick.
‘David? But why? No, Amy, Billie must have been mistaken. Not David.’
‘Kids get frightened at the prospect of a change,’ Amy said. ‘He’s still suffering from the death of his mother and with Delina talking about marrying I don’t think he can face you bringing a wife home. It’s too much too soon. He’ll need to talk it all out.’
‘I’ll talk to him when I get home. He’ll understand that he can’t get away with something like this!’
‘No, Victor, I think it would be best if I talked to him. If he believes I haven’t told you, well, it might be a small point in my favour. Billie thinks—’
‘Billie. Why did you ask him to mend the window? I’d have done it if I’d known about it.’
‘He was here when the brick came through.’ She looked at the place where it had landed. ‘Frightening it was, almost like an explosion. I was glad he was here and could fix it straight away. I didn’t want Margaret to see the damage. She’s only a child, too, and I don’t want her upset.’
‘Marrying me would upset her?’
‘A bit,’ Amy said in her forthright way. ‘She’s never had a father. And if you came here and tried to fill that role she’d be very pleased, but she’d miss Billie. She loves going to the farm and he’s a special friend.’
‘Sorry, I was stupid to be jealous of him. But I still realise how much he has to offer.’
‘Victor, can you come shopping on Saturday afternoon? I thought we’d go into town and you can help me carry all my parcels home. Your David and my Margaret as well. We could end up at the pictures if you like. James Stewart and Grace Kelly are at the Plaza in Rear Window, that’s supposed to be good.’
‘Sorry, love, I’ve promised to take the boys to the football.’
‘Shame. Never mind, I think I’ll still go. Margaret has been asking me to take her for ages, she has a list of presents to buy and her money is burning a hole in her pocket.’
‘Don’t forget I’m going to see Uncle Billie to choose a tree, Mam,’ a voice from upstairs called.
‘I’d never dreamt how impossible it would be to get everyone together at one time!’ Amy laughed. ‘I don’t think there’s any danger we wouldn’t all get on. We’d never see each other long enough to quarrel!’
* * *
Several people planned to go shopping on that particular Saturday. Nelly had been saving up each week by putting a few shillings aside in a small jug on her mantelpiece, as and when she could afford it. She opened it, counted it out and shared the money between the various people for whom she planned to buy.
Victor decided that after the football match had finished there would be time to go and get a tree and a few gifts.
Hilda had found herself a job in The Plough, locally called Tolly’s after a previous landlord, near Llan Gwyn. With the confidence of regu
lar money coming in she decided to go shopping with the remnants of Griff’s money. She smiled at the prospect. After years of not spending an extra shilling without careful consideration, having a roll of notes in her purse was as addictive as gambling was to many of Griff’s ex-clients. She was sorry it was almost gone.
* * *
When George and Nelly reached town the shops were heaving with people pushing and demanding to be served. Assistants were faced with a forest of hands waving tinsel and tree decorations, brightly wrapped gifts and occasionally a mundane item like a reel of cotton, a skein of wool, a packet of screws or a paintbrush. Children wore smiles on their rosy faces and mothers mostly managed to echo them although their patience and energy were weakening.
Inside the over-flowing shops they were easing woollen hoods from their heads, loosening collars and scarves, only to re-wrap themselves as the cold of the December day hit them when they pushed back outside. Nelly saw one little girl forced back inside by the enthusiasm of those entering and she and George went to rescue her.
‘Give over!’ she shouted to the unheeding customers. ‘This is supposed to be a time fer the kids, ain’t it?’ Leaving George to wait at the entrance she bent her head like a battling bull and charged in, unaware that she was as uncaring as the rest.
Having bought most of her gifts, she suggested that they stayed in town and went to the pictures. But George shook his head.
‘I think I’ve had enough of town, dear. Give me your parcels and I’ll take them home. You stay on for a while, I know how you love the bustle and insanity of Christmas shopping!’ He smiled, his mouth pink and clean in the white beard, but his eyes showed how tired he was.
‘Good idea, George. But I won’t stay fer the pictures. I’ll just go and look at a few more shops, I ain’t got nothin’ fer Amy an’ I fancy buyin’ a nice scarf.’ They walked to the bus stop where crowds waited to be taken home. Everyone was laden with packages and on each face was the expectation of the happy time to come. Hilda Evans was near the end of the queue and, like the rest, her arms were filled with bags and boxes.
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