The East End Girl in Blue

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The East End Girl in Blue Page 20

by Fenella J Miller


  ‘There’s plenty of spuds – I’ll do something with those.’ She smiled at his expression. ‘It won’t be a pile of mash. Don’t worry. Which reminds me, Fred was saying the pigs will be slaughtered at the end of the month. The children have become friends with both of them. I don’t reckon they’ll be very happy.’

  ‘They’ll stop complaining when they’ve got bacon and roast pork to eat.’ He thanked her politely for his breakfast, as he did for every meal, and then wandered off to the surgery.

  She’d intended to write to Ma, Jane and Charlotte today and had already half written a letter to David. When she’d read his she’d finish hers and then take all four to the post office. Mary took the dog out with the children for their morning walk, rain or shine, and she did the same in the afternoon. In the evening Polly made do with the garden, which was more than good enough.

  The morning dragged as she was desperate to read his letter but eventually lunch was over and she could escape upstairs. She wasn’t going to mention that she was getting married in just over three weeks in any of the letters. Time enough to tell them when the knot was tied.

  20

  David was lucky to get a few hours’ sleep each night and on several occasions he’d just flaked out at the hospital on the nearest chair, too tired to walk the short distance to his digs. The letters he received from Nancy were the only glimmer of light in the human misery he was wading through every day.

  He managed to grab a few words with Billings about restarting his surgical training. His boss was delighted to discover he had a potential surgeon in his team already.

  ‘You completed the first year and now you’re dealing with emergency surgery every day in casualty with bloody good results. Scrub in with me this afternoon and we’ll see how much you know.’

  ‘That’s good of you, sir. I thought you might think I was too old to continue my training.’

  ‘Bugger that – your general practice experience and the work you’ve been doing in casualty these past months will just make you a better surgeon. We surgeons tend to treat each operation as if the patient was anonymous. You have a different focus, which might well be useful.’

  ‘Thank you for the opportunity. I’ll accompany the next patient who needs your attention.’

  *

  His life changed dramatically from that moment. The hospital was desperately short of surgeons, even those with as little experience as himself. Billings was a great believer in learning on the job and was an excellent teacher.

  Initially David spent half the time in the operating theatre and the rest in casualty setting bones, sewing wounds and just generally patching up the walking wounded. Three weeks after he’d been given the opportunity to assist Billings things changed again.

  ‘Good work, Denny. You’re wasted in casualty. From now on you join my team. You can take the simple cases from my hands.’

  ‘Are you quite sure?’

  ‘I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t. There’s a war on – in case you haven’t noticed – the fact that you’re not fully qualified doesn’t matter. You worked alongside me for dozens of operations and I’ve seen for myself how good you are.’

  ‘In which case, thank you. I won’t let you down.’

  ‘You bloody well better not. I’m staking my reputation on you. By the way, I’ve spoken to the board and they’ve agreed to allow you to take the necessary exams in a couple of months but as far as they’re concerned, you’re qualified. The exams will be a piece of cake for you. Then you’ll have the necessary paperwork – no need to do any more book work, just learn on the job.’

  David was stunned that a short conversation three weeks ago had been enough to catapult him into a different league of medicine. Surgeons were top dogs in any hospital and the chief surgeon, which Billings was, could do no wrong.

  He remembered a joke someone had told him when in medical school. “What’s the difference between God and a surgeon?” The answer to this being: “God knows he isn’t a surgeon.”

  He wished Nancy was there to share his excitement. Things were moving faster on his career front than he’d ever dreamt was possible. To add to his joy, he would be marrying the most incredible young woman in three days’ time. Five months ago, he’d been wallowing in self-pity, letting life pass him by and then Nancy had literally fallen at his feet. Things had been different from that moment.

  There had not been time to answer her last two letters but she would be his wife in a few days and they’d have twenty-four hours together. The fact that he’d booked into the Saracens hotel in Chelmsford for the night he’d kept to himself.

  Nancy thought they wouldn’t have even one night’s honeymoon so this was his surprise. Until he’d made love to her he’d not been bothered about sex. Being totally in love with a person made all the difference.

  This time his marriage was his choice. He was marrying someone from a different stratum of society, someone Billings would disapprove of. She would soon adapt to their different circumstances although he wouldn’t be moving her to London until this bloody war was over. However hard it was for both of them to be apart, he wasn’t going to risk her safety.

  The day before his wedding – the Sunday – he was just about to leave for the day after spending several hours in the theatre patching up a variety of injured civilians – when Billings pounced on him.

  ‘There you are. I need you. Come with me.’

  You didn’t argue with Mr Billings even if you had been on your feet for twelve hours. David thought they were going back to theatre but instead they headed outside. There was an ambulance and a large Daimler waiting both with engines running.

  ‘Very important patient with what sounds like a blocked bowel. We’re going to him. Got the nurses and everything we need in the bus.’

  A uniformed chauffeur doffed his cap and held open the car door. Billings got in. David knew the drill and waited at the other passenger door for the man to come round and do the same for him.

  How the hell did this man have petrol to run such a big car? His Riley was on blocks in the garage for the duration. He’d neglected to ask exactly where this patient lived. Hopefully he’d get half an hour’s kip before they arrived.

  The whole thing was quite unnecessary in his opinion, as whoever it was would have been better served coming to the hospital and not having the hospital come to him. In which case why was the ambulance with them?

  He supposed he should be flattered at being asked to accompany Billings on such a prestigious job. It was a damned nuisance as right about now he should be getting some sleep so he’d be tickety-boo for his wedding tomorrow.

  Although the king and queen had remained at Buckingham Palace most of the rich people had moved to their country estates to avoid the bombing. Surrey or Hertfordshire was probably their destination as that’s where a lot of the top people lived.

  Billings was already asleep so he might as well do the same. He jerked awake later and to his horror saw they’d been driving for three hours. God knows where they were but it certainly wasn’t close to London. How the hell was he going to get to Chelmsford for midday?

  *

  Nancy caught the early bus as she wanted to be sure she’d be there on time. Whenever she went into the nearby market town to visit the bank and so on, she put on her Sunday best. This meant no one thought it odd that she’d done so today.

  She was hoping to find a few bits and pieces to add to her sewing box as the wonderful collection Mrs Stanton had given her was already half gone. These items weren’t yet rationed but the difficulty was finding the things you wanted.

  This morning she’d been too excited to eat breakfast and the baby had been turning somersaults all night so she was already tired. When she got married the registrar would think David was marrying her because she was carrying his baby. If he didn’t mind people thinking he’d got her into trouble then why should she care?

  She discovered a small haberdasher’s in a backstreet with exactl
y the items she was looking for. The fact that the embroidery thread was a bit faded, the reels of cotton grubby, didn’t bother her at all. To her delight the young woman behind the counter also had some bolts of material – equally old and faded – and was more than happy to sell her whatever she wanted.

  ‘My mum ran this shop and her mum before her. She passed just before Christmas and now I’ve got to try and sell the stock so I can get back to my job in the munitions factory.’

  ‘I’m sorry for your loss. I only found your shop by accident. Why don’t you box all this up and sell it on the market? I’m sure it would be snapped up.’

  The young woman looked around the dusty, uncared for shelves and shook her head. ‘I can’t see why anyone would want to buy stuff like this – it’s years old.’

  ‘The factories that used to turn out sewing materials for home use are now manufacturing what’s needed to make uniforms. What you’ve got in here is now in desperately short supply.’

  ‘I’ve never been interested in dressmaking or sewing. I was going to join one of the services or become a land girl but the money’s so much better in the factory even if the hours are long and the work’s horrible and dangerous.’

  ‘I’m surprised they’ve given you the time off to be in here.’

  ‘They haven’t. I had to hand in my notice. The foreman said he’d take me back otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered. My fiancé’s in the Merchant Navy and we’re getting married next time he’s home on leave. We want the shop cleared so we can live here.’

  Nancy was about to blurt out that she was getting married in a couple of hours but just stopped herself in time. ‘My husband’s a doctor in London. His eyesight’s too poor for him to be conscripted.’ It didn’t really matter if she lied to a complete stranger and just calling David her husband made her feel wonderful.

  ‘When’s the baby due?’

  ‘The beginning of May.’ Again, she had to stop herself from telling this friendly young woman that she already had two other children at home.

  Half an hour later she left the little shop laden with exciting brown paper parcels. With what she’d managed to buy she’d be able to finish the layette for the baby, make some new clothes for Billy and Betty, as well as having several lengths of cotton to add to her stock.

  The price she’d paid had been a bit less than it would have been for undamaged things and she was really pleased with what she’d found. Some folk bought things on the black market. She’d not had any dealings with anyone who could be called a black marketeer as they sold luxury items – things the posh people were prepared to pay over the odds for.

  The government had just issued a law that stopped shopkeepers from putting up the prices of the things that were available. Rich, unscrupulous people would always get what they wanted; it was the poor folk who went without.

  The clock on the town hall told her she had another hour to wait. She didn’t want to hang about on the steps outside so went into a small café to get out of the biting wind and sleet that had started falling. From here she would be able to see him arrive and hurry out to join him. It was too cold to be outside any longer than necessary.

  After two mugs of tea and a sticky bun her stomach stopped grumbling and the baby went to sleep. It was hard to credit that she had a real live human being growing inside her. Now she could read properly and had been given her very own Bible by the vicar, she was slowly working her way through the New Testament. Being unmarried and pregnant herself had made Mary’s plight seem more real somehow.

  It was now fifteen minutes to twelve and there was no sign of David. Belatedly it occurred to her that he might already be waiting inside having arrived early as she had. Hastily she pulled on her coat, collected her parcels, and made away across the road.

  She realised there’d been no need for her to wait on the steps as there was a grand foyer and there were several couples waiting to be called through when it was their turn. All the men were in uniform and one of the girls was in the distinctive blue of the WAAF. David wasn’t there.

  Her winter coat was loose-fitting but her pregnancy was sufficiently advanced for the bump to be noticeable. She was aware that she got sympathetic looks from a couple of the girls but two of them looked down their noses and turned their backs on her.

  It was none of their blinking business. As far as everyone at Chalfont Major was concerned she was a war widow, but even so to be marrying David so soon after supposedly losing her beloved husband was definitely going to cause a stir and a lot of gossip. That horrible Ava would really go to town when she got the news.

  Where was he? Their names would be called in a few minutes and there obviously wouldn’t be another slot today judging by the number of people here. A happy couple emerged from the door hand in hand and rushed to the exit.

  ‘Doctor David Denny?’

  Where there’d been disapproval or sympathy, she now saw pity. Nancy turned and ran blindly from the town hall and straight for the bus station. He’d changed his mind. That’s why he hadn’t answered any of her last letters. She’d thought better of him – how could he let her down so publicly? All he’d had to do was write and tell her he no longer wanted to marry her.

  With her collar turned up, her scarf around her face, no one could see how distraught she was. She just looked like someone protecting herself from the cold. She was numb all over. Breathing was difficult but she wasn’t going to make a scene in public.

  She hugged her parcels to her chest as if somehow they could protect her from the pain that was waiting to engulf her if she allowed it to. Thank God she hadn’t told anyone the real reason for going into Chelmsford today.

  She’d get through this, carry on as if nothing untoward had happened. As if the man she loved hadn’t just broken her heart and humiliated her in the most heartless way. The bus arrived and she scrambled on, praying no one sat next to her who wanted to talk.

  Her eyes were dry, her throat so tight swallowing was difficult and there was something that felt like an iron band gripping her around her chest. She still had a roof over her head, somewhere safe to bring up her child, therefore nothing had changed as far as anyone else was concerned.

  As long as he stayed away then she’d be able to put on a brave face and pretend that losing him wasn’t even worse than losing Tommy.

  *

  David slammed back the dividing glass barrier. ‘Pull over. Do it now,’ he snarled.

  The terrified man screeched to a halt and the noise woke Billings.

  ‘Where the hell are we? I’m supposed to be getting married at midday today in Chelmsford – I’d booked a day off three weeks ago. You selfish bastard, you…’

  ‘Good God, man, why didn’t you say so?’

  ‘Because you didn’t give me the chance.’ He was so angry he no longer cared if he offended his superior and lost the chance of becoming a surgeon. ‘It didn’t occur to me we’d be going any further than an hour from Town. If I hadn’t bloody well fallen asleep then I’d have stopped the car sooner. You didn’t answer my question, Billings; where are we exactly?’

  ‘I’ve no idea. No point shouting at me, Denny, ask the driver.’

  ‘We’re about five miles from Northampton, sir.’

  ‘Take me to the station. I just pray there’s a train I can catch and by some miracle get there in time. If I’d known you were dragging me hundreds of miles I’d not have got in the car.’

  ‘Hill, you’ll do no such thing. Drive on – it’s only another ten miles.’

  David was tempted to jump out of the car but it was the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere and he’d be worse off if he did so. It wasn’t the bloody driver’s fault; it was the man sitting next to him.

  ‘Look here, Denny, you can patch things up with your fiancée but my patient might die if we don’t operate on him as soon as we arrive. Hill will take you wherever you want to go when it’s over. Your young lady will be upset but I’m certain she’ll understand when you e
xplain that it was literally a matter of life and death.’

  His hands slowly unclenched. Punching Billings would not have been a good idea. He was too angry to talk and leaned against the seat imagining how Nancy would feel when he failed to show. It was all very well for Billings to talk blithely about life and death, about her understanding when she knew why he’d jilted her, but he didn’t know their particular circumstances.

  Why hadn’t he taken the time to answer her letters? To ring her before he’d got in the car regardless of the time? She was already convinced he was marrying beneath him and would now take a lot of persuading to forgive him.

  He was in control of his temper. ‘I want more than the car; I want a week off. Otherwise you can do the bloody operation on your own and I don’t care who dies.’ Hardly conciliatory but he really didn’t care what the arrogant man sitting beside him thought.

  ‘Take as long as you need to marry the girl and then come back and introduce her to me. She must be someone very special for you to risk your career over.’ This was a veiled reference to David’s appalling rudeness and he knew in that moment his job was safe.

  ‘I apologise for…’

  ‘No, old man, no apologies needed. You are quite rightly incensed at my thoughtlessness. I’m going to enjoy working with you. It will make a refreshing change having someone who is prepared to speak frankly when necessary and not pussyfoot around me.’

  ‘What an absolute shambles! Being so bloody tired all the time, not having time to think, doesn’t help.’

  ‘All the staff at the Royal Free do a splendid job and they’re all on their knees. If the Germans carry on bombing cities every night for much longer the war will be lost.’

  ‘Are you suggesting that we’ll have jackboots marching down Whitehall this time next year? I disagree. As long as we’ve got the RAF, we might not be winning but we certainly won’t lose. What we need is for the Yanks to come on board. Letting us have weapons without having to pay first is a godsend but it’s not the same as having them actually fighting alongside us like they did in the last war.’ David truly believed this and Billings didn’t argue.

 

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