Chapter Fifty-Five
The following morning yet another telegram was delivered and this time they all eyed it with dread. Would it tell them that Giles had not survived his incarceration in Belsen? Or would it be good news?
‘Oh, give it to me, I’ll read it,’ Sunday said nervously when John stood staring at it as if it might bite him.
Taking the envelope from his limp hand she hastily opened it and then she started to cry. ‘He … he’s alive,’ she said croakily. ‘And even as we speak, he’s on his way to a hospital in Plymouth. It says they’ll send us an address where we can contact him in due course.’
John paled to the colour of lint and George rushed across to help him into a chair.
‘Cissie, make some tea and put plenty of sugar in it, he’s in shock,’ Sunday said urgently.
John’s breathing was shallow, and he was clutching his chest. ‘And, George, would you go and ring the doctor please?’ Sunday said as she knelt beside him chafing his hands and when he appeared to be a little calmer, she helped him into the drawing room and onto the sofa.
‘I … I can’t believe it,’ he gasped as tears slid unashamedly down his cheeks. ‘I prayed that he’d come home but I’d almost given up hope.’
‘Well, your prayers have been answered,’ she said softly. ‘And now you have to calm down or you’ll be ill and then you’ll be no good to him at all when he comes home, will you?’
He gave her a crooked smile and her heart sank as she saw the way one side of his lip had dropped. It was becoming increasingly clear that he had suffered another stroke.
The doctor confirmed it when he arrived shortly afterwards. ‘All you can do is get him up to bed and keep him quiet,’ he told them solemnly. Sunday nodded and as soon as the doctor had left with promises to come back the next day, she and George helped John up the stairs to his room.
As the day wore on John appeared to be calmer and they all hoped that he would come through the latest attack.
‘Poor chap has been living on his nerves,’ Edith said as they all sat together in the kitchen later that day. ‘But he’s a tough old bird, and he’ll come through it, you’ll see.’
They could only hope that she was right.
Two days later another telegram arrived informing them which hospital Giles was in and John became agitated again. ‘I should go and see him,’ he fretted, but Sunday shook her head. ‘You’re not well enough,’ she pointed out sensibly. ‘But I know someone who will go. We rang Livvy on the day we found out he was coming back, and she already has a forty-eight-hour pass on standby. I’ve no doubt that now we know where he is, she’ll be on a train to visit him like a shot.’
John was frustrated but could see the sense in what she said, so Sunday rang Livvy’s base.
‘Oh, I still have to keep pinching myself to make myself believe that he’s alive,’ Livvy said ecstatically after her mother had told her the good news. ‘I shall be on the train to see him this very afternoon. I’ve already cleared it with my boss. I should get into Plymouth this evening then I’ll find somewhere to stay, and I can be at the hospital first thing in the morning. And, Mum, be sure to tell John I’ll ring him just as soon as I come out of there to let him know how he is.’
‘All right, darling,’ Sunday said, and then hastily as an afterthought. ‘And oh, it might be best if you don’t tell Giles just yet that his grandfather is ill. He might not be in a very good state himself after all he’s been through and we don’t want to worry him and make him worse.’
‘Of course,’ Livvy agreed before hastily hanging up, eager to start her journey. It would be a trek from her base and would involve a number of train changes but thankfully they were running smoothly again now and even if they hadn’t been, Sunday knew that her daughter would have travelled twice the distance if necessary.
As the train sped across country, Livvy found herself sitting amongst many men who were being demobbed. They were easily recognisable as they were all wearing the standard demob suits that the army issued. Double-breasted, three-piece in either dark blue or grey. Almost all of them were returning home to their families and the atmosphere on the train was light.
‘Are you off home an’ all, love?’ One of the men in the carriage asked Livvy cheerily.
She grinned and shook her head as she stared down at her uniform. ‘Not yet. My unit should be dispersed within the next couple of months and I can’t tell you how nice it will be to wear my own clothes again. I’m actually going to visit my … er … a friend who is in a military hospital in Plymouth. He was in Belsen.’
The man’s smile faded as he glanced towards the man sitting next to him. ‘Well, in that case don’t get expectin’ too much, love,’ he said solemnly. ‘Them places were hell holes so he might not be in very fine fettle at the moment. Still, at least he survived it so I wish him all the best.’
‘Thank you.’ Livvy stared out of the window thinking on his words. She was half longing to see Giles but was also half dreading what state he might be in. But, she told herself, he’s alive and that’s the main thing. Whatever condition he was in she was sure he would recover once he was back at Treetops. Everyone would make sure of that.
It was early evening by the time she alighted at Plymouth and it took her some time to find somewhere to stay. She finally found a small room in a little bed and breakfast place just outside the city that was only a short bus ride from the hospital where Giles was being cared for. The room left a lot to be desired but seeing as she was only going to be staying there for one night, Livvy wasn’t concerned. She would have slept under a hedge if it meant being close to Giles, and despite the fact that she was exhausted after the journey she hardly slept a wink for excitement. She was up with the lark the next morning and after eating a fatty fried breakfast and getting directions from the slovenly landlady, she left.
The bus stopped outside the gateway of what had once been a rather stately manor. The enormous gates, which had once marked the entrance to the drive, were long gone, no doubt melted down to make ammunition for the war, but the drive was tree-lined and pleasant and reminded her a little of the drive at Treetops. As Livvy walked along she noted that the sweeping lawns on either side were well kept and when the house came into view, she paused to admire it. It was a huge place with many enormous windows sparkling in the early morning sunshine, and ivy and Virginia creeper climbing up the walls. On either side of the two stout oak doors in the centre of the house were flowerbeds that were a profusion of colour.
Now she was so close, Livvy’s heart began to hammer painfully and her mouth went dry. Giles was somewhere beyond those doors and very soon she would see him. It was the day she had prayed for and yet suddenly she felt apprehensive. What if he didn’t want to see her? She had treated him appallingly when they had both lived at Treetops. But then she had let him know that her feelings towards him had changed – if he had even got the letters, that was. Taking a deep breath, she decided in for a penny in for a pound. She had come too far to turn back now. So, after mounting the three carved marble steps, she rang the bell at the side of the doors. It was answered almost immediately by a young nurse wearing a crisp, white apron.
‘I’ve come to see Flight Officer Willerby,’ she informed the nurse and the young woman smiled and nodded, ushering her into an enormous foyer with a black-and-white-tiled floor and a sweeping staircase on one side leading up to the first floor. A desk stood against the opposite wall and the nurse hurried over to it and after checking a register that lay open on the desk she nodded.
‘Ah yes, here we are. He has a room on the first floor, would you like to follow me?’
Livvy’s mouth went dry as they climbed the stairs. At the top of them was a large room in which a number of patients were sitting, some in wheelchairs and others in the wing chairs that were dotted about. Two of them were playing a game of chess, another two a game of cards, but the majority of them just sat staring into space as nurses hovered between them.
&nb
sp; ‘That’s one of the day rooms,’ the young nurse told her as she saw Livvy looking in. ‘There’s another on the ground floor for the more able-bodied patients who are able to get about a little more easily.’
Livvy nodded as she followed her along a very long landing that still had an element of grandeur about it. Livvy could almost imagine women in beautiful ball gowns drifting along it in times gone by. But then her thoughts were brought back abruptly to the present when the young nurse stopped in front of one of the many doors that led off it.
‘He’s in here,’ she informed Livvy, her face solemn now. ‘But don’t expect too much. He only arrived a short while ago and I’m afraid he is still very weak and very traumatised.’ Seeing the distress on Livvy’s face she added hastily, ‘He will get better, of course. He’s severely malnourished but if we can get some good food inside him, he’ll start to improve in no time. Now, would you like me to tell him you’re here?’
Livvy shook her head as she stood straight and smoothed her skirt. ‘No … no thank you. I’d rather surprise him.’
‘As you wish. I’ll leave you to it then but do shout if there’s anything you need. The tea trolley should be round shortly.’ She tripped away and Livvy took a deep breath and tapped on the door before cautiously opening it and stepping into the room. This was it and she was painfully aware that her whole future could hinge on these next few minutes.
Her eyes quickly scanned the room and for a moment it was hard to believe she was in a hospital. A large rosewood wardrobe with a matching chest of drawers stood against one wall and heavy velvet curtains in a deep-rose colour hung at the window, which overlooked the sprawling lawns where she could now see patients being pushed about in wheelchairs. There was a small desk and chair in front of the window and on the other side of the room was the only evidence that this was indeed a hospital – a hospital bed. But surely that couldn’t be Giles lying in it? His once thick, dark hair was now completely grey and stood up in untidy tufts across his head and he was so thin that even after staring she couldn’t be at all sure that it really was him. He was truly unrecognisable from the handsome young man she remembered. She approached the bed cautiously, trying hard to stem the tears that were trembling on her lashes.
‘Giles,’ she said softly and suddenly his eyes blinked open and she knew that it was him! No one had eyes as blue as his.
But her pleasure was short-lived for almost instantly he turned his head away and growled, ‘Go away, Livvy … please!’
Chapter Fifty-Six
‘After the trek I’ve had to get here I most certainly will not!’ Livvy answered indignantly and, pulling up a chair, she plonked herself down on it.
For over ten minutes she sat there, obstinately mute until, still with his face turned away from her, he asked resignedly, ‘So just what do you want, Livvy?’
‘I want to see you, of course,’ she snapped. ‘And a right old hike I’ve had to get here, let me tell you, so I’ve no intention of leaving until you speak to me.’
‘But I don’t want you to see me like this. I don’t want anybody to see me,’ he muttered. ‘I’m just a shadow of the man I used to be.’
The tears she was holding back were choking her, but she kept them in check as she said angrily, ‘Don’t be so full of self-pity. It doesn’t suit you. Why, you’re damned lucky compared to most of the poor blighters in here! Some of them have no arms or legs, others are blind or horrifically burned, whereas you will make a full recovery given time.’
Silence hung heavy between them but eventually he slowly turned his head to look at her and the haunted look in his eyes almost broke her heart.
‘You always were an obstreperous little devil,’ he said with the ghost of a smile and suddenly she saw that somewhere in that bag of bones was still the man she loved.
‘Did you get the letters I wrote to you while you were in the prison camp?’ she asked with her chin in the air.
He nodded, his eyes on hers.
‘So, you know then that I love you and still you try to send me away?’
‘But I’m not the same man who used to show you off around Lincoln. Look at me … I’m a wreck.’
‘Huh!’ She sniffed disdainfully. ‘More of a mess than a wreck,’ she said frankly. ‘Your hair is a bloody disaster, but I suppose that will grow back in time, and now I’m getting used to it I quite like that grey colour, it makes you look distinguished. And all right, you’re not much more than a bag of bones at the minute but I’ve no doubt Edith, Cissie and Mum will fatten you back up in no time when you get home.’
Suddenly for the first time in a very long time he started to laugh, and tears began to roll down his cheeks.
‘Livvy, you don’t change at all,’ he told her with a shake of his head. ‘It would be a very brave man indeed who took you on.’
She tossed her head. ‘You’re quite right, so are you brave enough?’
‘I dare say I shall have to be. I’m too scared of you to say no,’ he answered with a twinkle in his eye and suddenly she was leaning over the bed and kissing every inch of his face.
‘Right, in that case you’d better hurry up and get yourself out of here so that we can be married,’ she told him bossily. ‘I shall be out of the WAAFs in a short time and I don’t like to be kept waiting when I’ve made my mind up about something.’
‘Yes, boss,’ he answered as he held her awkwardly and suddenly he had a future to look forward to again.
‘How is John?’ Livvy asked when she rang home that night.
‘The stroke was nowhere near as bad as last time, thank goodness,’ her mother told her, sounding relieved. ‘But what about Giles?’
Livvy smiled. She was standing in a telephone box not far from the hospital having spent the whole day with him. She had decided to stay another night in the grotty little B & B so that she could see him again briefly before she set off back to the base the next morning. ‘He’s very malnourished and weak. In fact, he looks like a skeleton with skin stretched across its bones,’ she admitted. ‘And his hair has gone completely grey, what’s left of it. But I’m sure once we get him home, he’ll soon be on the mend again. And, Mum … I ought to warn you, as soon as we’re both home we shall be getting married.’
‘Oh, darling! That’s wonderful news,’ Sunday cried delightedly. ‘I’m sure when I tell John this will perk him up no end! Am I allowed to?’
‘Of course you are,’ Livvy chuckled. ‘You can tell the whole world if you like!’ And then noticing someone was waiting to use the phone, she said hurriedly, ‘I have to go, there’s a queue for the phone here but I’ll call you when I get back to the base. Bye, Mum, I love you.’
Sunday smiled as she placed the phone back in its cradle. It seemed that both of her daughters were going to be settled before very much longer and she couldn’t have been happier about it.
‘How is he?’ John asked anxiously when she went into his room a short time later.
‘Hm … let’s put it this way.’ Sunday smiled as she straightened the covers on his bed. ‘You have to hurry up and get well because Livvy has just informed me we have another wedding to organise as soon as they’re both home.’
John beamed like a Cheshire cat. ‘Really? Well I’ll be, isn’t that great news?’
‘It is indeed but after the last wedding and organising the party I need some help with this one so just think on what I said.’
Three weeks later Livvy was home for good.
‘It feels strange wearing my own clothes again,’ she told her mother as Skippy danced around her feet.
‘Yes, I’m sure it does but I think we ought to start thinking about what you’re going to wear for the wedding now,’ Sunday answered. She hadn’t given up hope of seeing at least one of her daughters all in white, but that idea went out the window when Livvy snorted.
‘I’d be happy to wear a paper bag so long as I could marry Giles. And don’t go planning on a big posh wedding, Mum,’ she warned. ‘Because Giles won�
�t be up to it. It’s going to take some time before he’s completely well again, so we just want to keep it plain and simple with no fuss.’
‘But you will at least get married in church?’
Seeing the hopeful look on her mother’s face, Livvy sighed. ‘All right, if that’s what you really want, I’ll ask Giles how he feels about it. But then we’ll just come back here. We don’t want any great huge reception.’
It had already been agreed that Giles and Livvy would live at Treetops for the time being once they were married and then they would decide if they wanted to move elsewhere when he was fully recovered. Livvy had been to see him the week before and had been thrilled at how much better he looked already. Admittedly he was still painfully thin, but he had lost the skeletal look and with his hair growing and a little colour seeping back into his cheeks he was beginning to look like the man she had fallen in love with.
The following week she went to see him again but when she suggested a church wedding his face fell and he looked panicked.
‘Look, I hate to let your mum down, pet. But I don’t think I can face it. Can’t we just slip away and get married quietly on our own? I’m sure the oldies would forgive us eventually under the circumstances.’
‘Let me see what we can do,’ Livvy said and without another word she slipped away to have a word with the matron.
That evening she rang home to tell her mother that she would be staying in Plymouth for at least another week. Giles would hopefully be strong enough to be discharged by then and if that was the case, she would travel home with him on the train and there’d be an ambulance ready to pick them up from the station.
‘All right, darling, but just make sure you have somewhere nice to stay,’ Sunday told her. ‘And give him all our love. We’re all so looking forward to seeing him again.’
Time to Say Goodbye Page 33