by Mary Arden
‘Let’s not talk about that now, my tummy is rumbling, and I want to find the biggest Yorkshire pudding in Harrogate!’ Duncan said, quickening his pace.
The Yorkshire air had made us both very hungry and it didn’t take us long to find a pub claiming to serve the best puddings in Yorkshire. As it was wartime, the pudding was filled with sausage, rather than beef, and served with a handful of chips.
After lunch we slowly made our way back to the hotel, and when we got there I was delighted to see that my father was sitting in the lounge having a cup of tea on his own. I ran to him and gave him a hug and then introduced him to Duncan. As the men shook hands I went to order some tea for us, and on my return, I was relieved to see that they were laughing and obviously getting on well together.
After tea, I told the men that I wanted to have a bath and get changed, and would meet them at six for a drink in the bar. Just as I was leaving, I overheard my father say to Duncan, ‘Feel like a turn around the garden?’
When I got to my room, Aunt Beth had already moved into my room and was sitting with her legs up on the spare bed manicuring her nails. She asked me what we had been doing all day, and then she told me about the lovely massage followed by a mud bath that she and my mother had enjoyed that day.
After a long soak, I changed into the new dress that I had bought in Perth and then we both went down to the lounge bar to join my parents, who appeared to be happily chatting away to Duncan. When he saw me he came straight over and took my hand in his. I could see that all the tension had now gone from his face and he looked several years younger than he had that morning. The big smile on his face alone told me that my father must have agreed for us to marry.
‘Can I presume that Daddy approves of my choice of future husband?’ I asked.
‘Yes he does thank goodness,’ Duncan replied, ‘now all I have to do is ask you if you will be my wife.’
‘Oh Duncan, yes please,’ I sighed.
‘This isn’t how or where I wanted to propose to you at all,’ Duncan said softly looking deeply into my eyes, ‘so please know that I will do it properly when we are on our own and back in Scotland.’
My father had arranged for us to sit at a quiet table together for dinner and when the wine waiter came over to show him a bottle of what I suspected was very expensive champagne, I knew all was well. I immediately flung my arms around my father’s neck and announced, ‘Daddy I am so happy. Does this mean you have given us your blessing to get married?’
‘Whatever gave you that idea young lady? I drink champagne every night, don’t I, darling?’ my father joked, looking at my mother. Everybody laughed, and then Aunt Beth asked whether we had decided on a date for the wedding yet.
There was a moment’s silence until Duncan replied apprehensively, ‘Ah, well now, that could be a slight problem as my next leave is at the end of next month, and I won’t get any more leave after that for at least another six months, so we will either have to get married by special licence, as soon as we can arrange it or, if we want a church wedding, we will have to wait until sometime next year which I don’t really want to do because of the war.’
My father then said that although he would have preferred us to wait until the following year, he could understand why we might like to get married straightaway, and he had no real objection. My mother then pulled out her diary and told us that she would talk to the vicar and ask him if he would be willing to call the bans at once, as she really wanted me to have a church wedding if it was at all possible. We agreed to wait until my mother had spoken to the vicar before making any further plans.
When it was time for bed, I kissed Duncan goodnight and then made my way to my parent’s room. My mother tactfully removed herself, saying she needed to have a word with Aunt Beth for a moment, leaving me alone with my father. He told me to sit down, as he needed to talk to me seriously.
‘I don’t want to frighten you, my darling, but what happened to me could possibly happen to Duncan. He could be badly wounded, although hopefully he will never be gassed, but have you ever thought that he could end up as one of McIndoe’s guinea pigs and that he could be so badly burned that you won’t recognise him?’
I told him that Duncan and I had already discussed the possibility, and had promised one another to be absolutely honest if and when that time came, ‘If it is that terrible he will need me even more,’ I whispered. ‘He will always be Duncan to me, no matter what he looks like.’
‘He might also become a Prisoner of War and then you might be on your own for years; are you quite sure you could be faithful and wait for him? I am ashamed to ask you this, Mary, but in the last war many wives took lovers when their husbands were away, and some husbands had mistresses, and there is no doubt that if you did that, you would break Duncan’s heart.’
I must have looked horrified. ‘Such a thing would never enter my thoughts, Daddy,’ I protested.
‘It might not enter your thoughts, my dear, but there are men who would do their best to seduce a married woman when the husband is away.’ I assured my father that I would never be interested in any other man than Duncan.
‘Now, about finance,’ he went on, changing the subject suddenly. ‘It doesn’t concern me that Duncan has very little capital at the moment, as he seems set for a good career once the war is over. I know that he feels nervous about his financial situation. I went through similar fears when I proposed to your mother. Anyway, my dear, I know you will make a lovely wife, and one day, a very good mother too.’
‘Thank you, Daddy,’ I said as I flung my arms around my father’s neck.
‘There is one more thing,’ my father said very solemnly, now holding me tight. ‘Horrible though it sounds, it is wartime and I wonder have you faced up to the fact that you could find yourself a widow?’ Poor Daddy, I thought, he had obviously forced himself to say this to me even though it was hard for him to do so.
‘Yes, Daddy, I have thought about it and I expect I will make an awful fuss if Duncan is killed, as it would be agony, but I know you, Mummy and Aunt Beth will always be there for me, just as you were before, when Henry and then Charles died. And I know Duncan’s family would all support me too,’ I added solemnly, ‘so I hope that if I lost my life in an air raid you would be there for Duncan too.’
On that sombre note, I kissed my father goodnight and went to my room. Aunt Beth was already in bed, but she was sitting up waiting for me.
‘Now, Mary, I have been giving your wedding dress some thought and have decided that I should try to find you something suitable in London when I get home,’ and then she added, ‘I am going to hunt around the theatrical shops to look for something that doesn’t require coupons.’
As I started putting on my hideous Wren pyjamas, Aunt Beth looked horrified and said, ‘You can’t possibly go on your honeymoon in those, or you will never have any babies!’
‘Aunt Beth!’ I shrieked, a bit shocked, and we both giggled helplessly.
The following day we all had breakfast together, and then after saying our goodbyes to my family, Duncan and I headed back to Scotland.
When we arrived back in Perth, ‘Bumble and Father John’ greeted us both warmly and were pleased to hear that my father approved of their son, and, although they were initially a bit concerned about our decision to get married so quickly, they agreed to fit in with whatever my parents could arrange.
The next morning Duncan decided to take me to Dunkeld, as he wanted to show me the hotel where he thought we could spend our honeymoon. He said that it was the most beautiful place on earth, as it was surrounded by many trees, and the leaves would all turn magnificent colours in the Autumn, which is when we would be there. He told me that he had helped plant many of the trees there when he had done his early forestry training, so he had a real affinity with the place. He then explained how important trees were for the wellbeing of our world and that he wanted to join the Forestry Commission after the war to help protect our forests for the future.
When we arri
ved in Dunkeld, we made our way straight to the hotel, and Duncan told the manager that we were getting married soon, so we wanted to look at the rooms to choose one for our honeymoon. The manager showed us the honeymoon suite, which had its own bathroom, but was rather expensive, and then showed us another very pretty bedroom, which although was a lot less expensive, the bathroom was down a long corridor. Duncan told him we would wait until our wedding date was confirmed before letting him know which room we would like to take.
After lunch, Duncan suggested that we go for a walk in the nearby forest, and on the way back, we could look at the ruins of Old Dunkeld Cathedral. As we walked through the forest, he told me the names of the various trees and pointed out the different shapes of the leaves, bark and cones. He then explained how the trees regenerated themselves, which I found fascinating, but when he then began to talk about the various mosses and fungi in the forest, I started yawning, which he rightly took as a sign to stop talking and start kissing.
At the ruined Cathedral, we entered through the original entrance and walked up to where Duncan said he thought the altar must have been. He then took my hand in his and with a huge grin on his face he said, ‘There is something I have been meaning to ask you, Mary.’
‘Oh is there, Duncan? What’s that?’ I said. He then went down on one knee and said, ‘Mary Arden, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’
‘Most men ask that question before they go with their intended to look at rooms for their honeymoon!’ I said laughing.
‘I was waiting until I could bring you here to propose to you, as I think this is a very spiritual place and I want this moment to be special: So, Mary, will you marry me?
‘Yes, I will,’ I said kneeling down next to him, so that I could kiss him.
Just then the sun appeared from behind a cloud and shone on the exact spot where we were kneeling, and for a moment, it felt as if we had been blessed from above. It was very romantic, but as we began walking back to the hotel for lunch, the spell was soon broken when Duncan squeezed my hand and said, ‘I don’t know why I agreed to us getting married in a church, it would have been much quicker if we’d had a special licence and then we could go straight to bed now!’
I hit him playfully on his arm and told him that he would have to wait, as I was intending to wear white at our wedding.
Over lunch we discussed our wedding plans and both agreed that we would prefer a quiet ceremony with just family and a few friends. Duncan was concerned that my mother might want a big reception to make up for the small village wedding, but I assured him that this wouldn’t happen because my father would consider it inappropriate to hold anything too lavish during wartime.
That evening Father John produced a good bottle of wine to celebrate our engagement, and then inevitably the conversation turned back to our wedding. My future father-in-law suggested that, to save the risk of any of their family getting caught up in the bombing, perhaps it would be wise if only their immediate family attended the wedding in England, and then we could have a second reception in Scotland after our honeymoon. We all agreed that was a good idea.
Later that evening Duncan rang his elder sister Janet to tell her about the wedding plans. She announced that she had only just found out she was pregnant, and hoped that we would understand if they didn’t travel to England for the wedding, but they would love to attend the Scottish reception, and that she would be happy to help organise it. Duncan then handed the phone to his mother, who shrieked with delight at the news that she was going to become a grandmother.
Both Duncan’s parents were overjoyed by the happy news, but I noticed that Celia, after congratulating her sister on the phone, looked rather sad. I thought that perhaps she was still grieving for her fiancé, and that this news might be making her think about the children she would never be able to have with him. I felt very sad for her and hoped that one day she would find someone else.
The following day, Bumble showed me a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring that had been in the family a long time, and asked me if I would prefer this one as an engagement ring to the opal ring they had showed me previously. I told her that I really loved it, and although it was a little loose when I tried it on, I felt sure that it could be made a bit smaller to fit my finger. Later that day Duncan took me to the jeweller to arranged to have the ring re-sized, and while we were there, he asked whether he had any wedding rings to match the gold setting of the sapphire ring. The jeweller explained that it would have to be a second-hand ring, because a new one would be a different shade of gold. He then pulled out a tray of gold rings and Duncan picked one up that had little decorative scrolls all around the edge and was a perfect colour match. The jeweller measured my finger and told us that he would clean both rings and put them in a special box for us. Duncan then explained that we had to leave the next day, but that his father would come and collect them when they were ready.
Duncan took my hand in his and confessed that he was a bit concerned that, as I would be returning to work without an engagement ring, nobody would believe that I was engaged, so he asked me if I would wear the opal ring as my engagement ring until we were married.
‘Is that to ward off all the other men?’ I teased.
‘Absolutely!’ he chuckled, ‘I can’t risk another chap kneeling down on the runway to propose to you!’ He then slipped the ring onto my finger and I was so happy that I burst into tears. Poor Duncan thought that he had pushed the ring on too hard and had hurt me, so asked me if I was all right.
‘Yes, I am fine, but I always cry when I am happy,’ I warned him.
‘Make note to self, bring clean handkerchief to wedding!’ Duncan joked, so I reminded him that it was only because he had been carrying a clean handkerchief that we met in the first place.
‘I could hardly forget that night, Mary, because that was when I first fell in love with you,’ Duncan confessed.
‘Love at first sight?’ I asked incredulously, ‘You haven’t told me that before.’
‘That’s because I have been too busy falling in love with you every day since.’
‘Oh Duncan, you romantic fool!’ I sighed, and we both began to laugh.
Later that evening when Celia and I were laying the table for supper she lowered her voice and confided that she had recently met an army officer called Anthony at a dance in Perth; he had asked her out for dinner the following week. She admitted that she was a bit nervous, but also rather excited, as it was the first man she had felt drawn too since her fiancé had been killed. I asked her whether she still missed him.
‘I always will, but it’s lonely on my own, and I must admit that I had rather given up hope of meeting someone else, but now, perhaps—,’ she then put her fingers to her lips and whispered, ‘please don’t say anything about it yet.’ I instinctively put my arm around, her and gave her a hug.
Early the following day, Duncan’s father took us back to the station to get the train to Glasgow, which was the first-leg of our journey back to Machrihanish. When I kissed Father John goodbye, he made me promise that I would call him as soon as the date was confirmed.
On the long journey back we discussed the wedding plans again and Duncan told me that he was going to ask his cousin Ian to be his best man, and I told him that I wanted my cousin Jane as my Maid of Honour.
When we boarded the ferry for Campbeltown we had to act like strangers, because we were both wearing our naval uniforms and Officers and Other Ranks were not allowed to be too familiar with each other, even if they were now engaged. When we disembarked, Duncan saluted formally instead of kissing me goodbye. I nearly started laughing before remembering that as he was my superior in rank I had to salute him back. The next minute a car pulled up beside Duncan and the driver got out and opened the back door for him; Duncan got into the back seat like Lord Muck while the driver put his suitcase in the boot and then they drove off leaving me on my own. In contrast, my transport was an old naval lorry and I had struggle with my own luggage.
Welcome back to the real world Mary, I thought.
As soon as I went into my bedroom, Hazel noticed my left hand and screamed, ‘Wow! That’s a beautiful ring, Mary, congratulations.’
‘This is just temporary, you wait until you see the ring that Duncan is having re-sized for me,’ I told her excitedly.
‘Tell me all about your engagement? Did Duncan get down on one knee; was he romantic and did you… well you know?’ Hazel asked.
‘Certainly not! I have told you before I am waiting until I am married,’ I said rather primly.
Hazel just laughed and told me that she was really happy for me even if I was determined to remain the last virgin left in Britain.
At lunchtime the following day, Duncan left a message for me at the Sick Bay to say that I should meet him by the wooden gate leading to the dunes at six o’clock that evening. He was already waiting for me when I arrived and he told me that we could only have an hour together before he had to return for a briefing, as his squadron were leaving first thing in the morning. We sat on a clump of grass and cuddled each other while we worked out the best way to keep in touch, which was via his parents, who would act as go-betweens as we had done before.
‘I will telephone them whenever it’s possible,’ Duncan promised, ‘and you must call them regularly to keep them updated with the plans for our wedding, particularly the day your mother is able to book the church for us,’ Duncan said, ‘that way I can ask for special leave around that date.’
The hour went by far too quickly, but at least we were alone and had the chance to kiss each other goodbye.
After Duncan’s squadron had flown out, I sat down and wrote to Daddy-T to explain that I was getting married in about a month’s time to a Fleet Air Arm pilot, so wanted some more leave, even though I had just taken some. Before signing off I asked him if he would be able to put in a good word for me with Commander Tapps, so that he would allow me to have enough time off to have a honeymoon.
Three days later I was summoned to Commander Tapps’ office and informed by his Writer that Surgeon Captain Timpston was on the phone asking for me.