‘Really, Mr Willerby, there is no need to take this attitude,’ Miss Tyler stuttered. ‘We are only here in the best interests of the child.’
‘In that case leave her where she is,’ he retorted. ‘My housekeeper is a fine, upstanding woman who is longing to adopt the girl. I would myself but I realise that I’m a little old to be taking on a child of her age.’
‘I … I see.’ Miss Tyler had well and truly had the wind taken out of her sails. ‘Well, I would of course have to assess this woman to see if she was suitable.’
‘Of course,’ John conceded and then turning to the gentleman he said shortly, ‘And you, sir. Your establishment must be full of orphans at the moment? Would a generous donation help towards some of their keep?’
‘Well, er … yes, it certainly would,’ the man babbled, his greedy eyes lighting up. ‘Of course,’ he added hastily as Miss Tyler glared at him. ‘All donations go towards making a better life for our poor unfortunate orphans.’
Hm, and I bet some of them end up in your back pocket, John thought wryly.
However, his voice was calm as he asked Miss Tyler, ‘Would you like to meet Edith? She has been with me for many years and should she be allowed to adopt Peggy they will have a home here where Peggy is settled for as long as they like.’
‘Yes, very well,’ Miss Tyler answered doubtfully. ‘But you must understand the decision would not be up to me alone. I would have to take her details back to the department and there would have to be meetings to consider if it would be a suitable place for the child.’
‘Of course, I understand that,’ John agreed. ‘And once you have spoken to Edith you are welcome to speak to Peggy also. Surely what she wants should be taken into account as well? The child has suffered quite enough heartbreak and upheaval without her having to enter an institution where she knows no one. You are also quite welcome to see her bedroom, speak to the school she attends and inspect my home, if you so wish? So now, shall I send Edith in to you?’
The woman inclined her head and without another word John left the room.
Edith entered the room shortly after as if she was going into a boxing ring. She was prepared to do whatever was necessary to keep Peggy, as the two officials soon discovered. Just before the interview ended John appeared again with a sizeable cheque made out to the orphanage and Mr Parsons’s eyes lit up like light bulbs at the size of it.
‘Why, Mr Willerby … this is more than generous,’ he announced, pocketing the cheque quickly as if he were afraid the other man might change his mind. ‘And I have to say, I think Edith would make a wonderful mother, don’t you agree, Miss Tyler?’ he said ingratiatingly.
Once again, she glared at him as she rose from her seat. ‘It just remains for me to see Peggy now. Is she here?’
‘She’s in the kitchen, as it happens,’ Edith told her. ‘I’ll fetch her in to you.’
Minutes later the little girl appeared, looking from one to the other of the strangers fearfully.
‘I’s ain’t goin’ wiv you if you’ve come to try an’ take me away,’ she announced with a quiver in her voice. ‘I loves Edith an’ livin’ at Treetops an’ all me friends is ’ere now.’
‘I see.’ Miss Tyler noted the way the child clung to Edith’s skirts. ‘Well, before I can tell you what is going to happen, I have to contact your school to get their opinion of how you are doing and then it will be down to my superiors,’ she told her as if she were talking to an adult. ‘But now, before we catch the train back to London, perhaps you would like to show me your bedroom?’
Peggy led her from the room skipping up the stairs ahead of the visitors, and in truth they couldn’t find fault with what they saw. With John’s permission, Edith had painted the room in a pretty shade of pink and dolls and books were scattered all around it. Thick, velvet curtains lined with blackout material hung at the windows and a handmade patchwork quilt that had taken Edith many hours to lovingly make covered the bed.
‘I dare say this is quite satisfactory,’ Miss Tyler sniffed. Even she could not criticise it. ‘So, we will take our leave of you now and you will hear from us in due course with our decision. Good day to you.’ And with that she waltzed away with her nose in the air as if there was a bad smell beneath it.
‘Old witch,’ Edith muttered as she cuddled Peggy protectively. ‘Don’t you get worrying about her, sweetheart. I’m not going to let anybody take you away from me. But come on now, let’s go out into the sunshine for a while, shall we, and get some colour back into your cheeks?’
She smiled to herself as they made their way downstairs. Had it been anyone else she would have asked George to give them a lift back to the train station in the trap as it was a very long walk, but let them make their own way there. In fact, she heartily hoped they got blisters and got lost on the way.
Chapter Forty-One
‘So, how were they?’ Sunday stared at her daughter’s tear-stained face.
Kathy sniffed. It was clear that she had been crying although she would never have admitted it. ‘They walked in with their new teacher as right as rain and never even looked back.’ She grinned. ‘I don’t know if that made it better or worse, to be honest. I can’t believe that they’ve started school. They looked so little lining up with the other children in the playground. Of course, it would have been awful if they’d clung to me crying. But then it hurt that they went off without a tear as well.’
Sunday chuckled. She knew exactly how Kathy was feeling – she had felt exactly the same the day Kathy had started school.
‘I’m sure they’ll be absolutely fine,’ she assured her. ‘And Peggy will love having them there even if they are in different classes. She’ll look out for them, never you fear. But what will you do with your time now? Knowing you, you won’t want to be sitting about all day waiting for them to come home.’
‘You’re quite right,’ Kathy agreed. ‘So, I was wondering, if George were willing to pick them up after school each day, do you think you could manage them for a couple of hours if I went back to work? I know the hospital is screaming out for doctors and nurses and I’d like to feel that I’m doing my bit.’
‘Of course I could manage,’ Sunday assured her. She had been half expecting this. Kathy was an amazing mother, but now that the children were off her hands during the daytime, she’d guessed that she’d want to make herself useful again, and she’d always enjoyed working.
‘In that case I’ll go into town today and have a word with Matron.’ Anything would be better than sitting moping about the children, she’d decided, and so she hurried away upstairs to get ready before making her way to the hospital.
Once there, she made her way straight to the matron’s office, relieved to see that, despite the bomb damage, little had changed there.
‘Kathy, why how lovely it is to see you,’ Matron said with genuine pleasure as Kathy entered her room. ‘You’re looking very well. I hope those lovely children are too? But how can I help you?’
‘Actually, I was hoping that it was me that might be able to help you,’ Kathy told her as she returned her smile. ‘You see, the twins started school today, so I was thinking of coming back to work, if you’ll have me, of course. I could only do part-time as I’d need to get the children to school before I started each day, and I might be a little rusty now admittedly but …’
Matron held up her hand to silence her before she could go any further. ‘My dear young woman, nursing is a little like riding a bike, you never forget how it’s done, so rusty or not I’d be grateful of any hours you could do. I should warn you though – we have some very bad cases here that have filtered through from the military hospitals,’ she warned. ‘Do you think you could handle it?’
‘Of course – I’m a nurse,’ Kathy told her confidently.
After a little discussion it was agreed that Kathy would start back the following Monday and though she was delighted, Kathy found she was in a strange mood as she returned to Treetops after doing a little shop
ping for Cook. It felt funny to be going back to work and she would miss the children dreadfully, but it was also nice to think that she would have a measure of independence again and she found she was looking forward to it.
‘So, all decided, is it?’ Cissie asked when Kathy strolled into the kitchen shortly after lunchtime with her basket of shopping.
‘Yes, all sorted. I’m starting back next week.’ Kathy’s eyes were drawn to a letter on the mantelpiece and her heart lifted as she recognised David’s handwriting.
‘Postie brought it about an hour or so ago,’ Cissie told her as Kathy eagerly lifted it down.
‘Right, I’ll just go and read what he has to say then I’ll be back to help you and Cook prepare the dinner,’ Kathy promised as she scooted out of the kitchen and headed for the privacy of her room.
Once there, she tore the envelope open eagerly and settled on the bed to begin to read.
My Dear Kathy,
As always, I can’t begin to tell you how much I am missing you, Daisy and Thomas. I pray that you are all safe and well. It’s as hot as hell here, no pleasure at all, I’m afraid when I’m in the operating theatres all day …
The next few lines were heavily censored, and Kathy sighed with frustration as she read on.
Have the twins started school yet? I know sometimes the letters take a long time to reach you so I am surmising that they will have by now. At school! It’s hard to take in, they’re growing so quickly.
The next part of the letter had been deleted too but continued further down the page.
I can hardly wait for this war to be over now. It seems to be going on forever, but when at last it is over, we will be together for always and I cannot wait. It seems so long since I’ve seen you, but you are the first person I think of every morning when I wake and the last one I think of before I sleep – not that I get much of that. We are losing so many young men daily. It breaks my heart that although myself and the other doctors do our best some are beyond help. It’s the noise that is the worst, the constant sound of gunfire and …
Kathy sighed with frustration as she saw that the censor had been at work yet again. And then finally he ended:
Stay strong, my love, this war cannot go on forever. Take good care of yourself and the children. Thinking of coming home to you is all that is keeping me going now,
With all my love
David xxxx
As Kathy placed the letter back in the envelope there were tears in her eyes. David sounded tired, she thought worriedly, but then she supposed he would be. From previous letters he had written she knew that sometimes he had to stand in the operating theatre for up to eighteen hours a day and the terrible injuries he saw would be enough to get anyone down.
She shuddered to think of it and prayed David would stay strong enough to cope with all he had to deal with. In some ways she wished that she could have joined him, but then she would never be able to bring herself to leave the children so, for now, she would have to settle for doing what she could in the local hospital.
The children were in a happy mood when Kathy picked them up from school later that day.
‘We’s had great fun,’ Daisy told her animatedly. ‘An’ I’s done you a picture. It’s in my bag an’ I’ll give it you when we get home.’
‘And what about you?’ Kathy questioned Thomas, who was looking nowhere near as smart as he had when she’d left him at school that morning.
He beamed up at her as he picked his nose. Normally she would have told him off but just for today she decided she would let him get away with it. ‘Me an’ the other lads played football in the playground at break time.’ It was quite a novelty for Thomas to have boys his own age to play with and he intended to make the most of it.
‘Don’t worry, I kept my eye on ’em for you,’ Peggy informed her solemnly and Kathy gave her a grateful smile.
‘That was very kind of you, Peggy,’ she told her, and the child’s chest swelled with importance. As yet there had been nothing more from the welfare department but as Kathy had told Edith, ‘No news is good news!’ and now all they could do was keep their fingers crossed that Peggy would be allowed to stay. Somewhere along the line she had become very much a part of the family and they all adored her.
When they reached Treetops, Edith and Cissie were waiting for them with glasses of milk and little rock buns straight from the oven.
Sunday, who was sitting by the empty fireplace, watched them tuck in with a smile on her face, and said nostalgically to Kathy, ‘I don’t know, it doesn’t seem more than a minute since it was your first day at school. Make the most of every moment, darling, because before you know it, they’ll be grown and flown the nest.’
Kathy sighed as she thought of her mother’s words. As yet their true father had never even seen them and she doubted now that he ever would, so he would never know what he was missing. It was doubtful he even knew of their existence but suddenly it didn’t matter anymore. Had he intended to ever come back he surely would have long ago. She could accept the fact now because she realised that if only David could come through the war unscathed the twins would have the chance of growing up in a real family unit. Thoughts of David brought a smile to her face and she wished she had realised what a truly wonderful man he was years ago. Now all she could do was wait and pray that he would stay safe because she couldn’t picture her future without him.
Chapter Forty-Two
On the following Monday morning, after first dropping the children off at school, Kathy caught a bus into town and reported for duty at the hospital. It felt strange being back in her nurse’s uniform, but she was looking forward to working again.
Matron met her, delighted to have her back, and led her into her office where she warned her, ‘You will be working on the men’s ward today, Nurse Branning, but I should warn you there are some very bad cases in there. Truthfully, all we can do for some of them is offer them palliative care, poor souls. Others you will find have been horrifically injured. The military hospitals on the coast are full to bursting with new patients arriving daily so every bed we have is full. The patients are then transferred to whichever hospital has room for them. Every one of the nurses and doctors we have left without exception is exhausted, which is why I am so delighted to welcome you back, even if it is on shorter hours. But now, if you would like to report to the ward sister, I’m sure she will be happy to go through the patients’ charts with you.’
Kathy nodded and after hanging her cloak in the small nurses’ staff room she went straight to the ward where the sister was waiting for her.
She too greeted Kathy effusively before going through each patient’s notes with her.
‘The young man in the second bed on the left isn’t expected to last the day,’ she told her regretfully. ‘He suffered major burns to most of his body, so we are keeping him heavily sedated, so he won’t be in too much pain. There is nothing else we can do for him.’
Kathy glanced towards the young man but all she could see was a head swathed in bandages above the sheets, although thankfully he appeared to be sleeping and showed no signs of distress.
‘In the next bed is Mr Jakes. He has had both his legs and one arm amputated after standing on a land mine.’ The sister shook her head. ‘I have every reason to believe that he will pull through but the problem there is he doesn’t want to. He considers himself less of a man now and won’t even allow his wife to come and see him.’
She then briefly went through the rest of the names on the list and although Kathy had expected things to be bad, nothing could have prepared her for some of the injuries she was hearing about, and to think that David had to deal with this, and worse, on a daily basis! Even so she was determined to do her best for each and every one of them and soon she was back in her stride and it was as if she had never been away.
After a very short lunch break, Kathy returned to the ward to find the young man with burns had taken a turn for the worse and began to cry for his mother.
‘How awful,’ Kathy answered ‘Sister, would you mind if I sat with him to offer what little comfort I can? I would hate to think of anyone leaving this earth with no one holding their hand.’
‘How kind, of course.’
Kathy hurried over and pulled a chair up to the side of his bed and started to speak to him soothingly.
‘Your mum is on the way,’ she told him gently. ‘And I don’t mind betting she’s so proud of you. Where were you stationed before you became injured?’
‘Africa,’ he said throatily. ‘It were ’ot as ’ell out there but nowhere near as ’ot as these bloody burns.’ All that was visible were his lips and eyes, which stared up at her, full of pain and suffering. Every other inch of him was swathed in bandages making him look like an Egyptian mummy.
‘And do you have a girlfriend, Jimmy?’ she asked after checking his name on his chart.
His head moved just a fraction. ‘Yes, ’er name is Carol an’ she’s a right little sweet’eart. She’s in the WRENs so she can’t get to see me but I ’ad a letter off ’er while I were in the hospital in Portsmouth.’
As Kathy stared at the bandages, she wondered what he had looked like before the war. She could see by the notes on the end of his bed that he was just twenty-one years old but even as she was trying to picture him, he winced and tried to raise his arm.
Time to Say Goodbye Page 24