The Teashop Girls

by Elaine Everest

  ‘Stay where you are,’ Flora answered quickly before realizing that even in her weak state, Lily was joking. ‘You’ve given us a right old shock, young lady,’ she smiled. ‘All your friends are outside and worried stiff about you. Miss Tibbs is having to knit twice as fast now that the baby has arrived.’

  Lily’s face shone at the mention of her child. ‘She’s beautiful, and none the worse for being on the small side,’ she whispered. ‘I’m so grateful to you for talking me out of . . .’ She looked to Rose, who nodded her head, as she understood what her friend was trying to say.

  ‘It all turned out for the best,’ she reassured her.

  ‘Something strange happened while I was being rescued,’ Lily murmured, looking confused. ‘I could have sworn that nice Captain Hargreaves helped me. I must have been hallucinating, as you sent him packing, didn’t you?’

  Flora spoke before Rose could even open her mouth. ‘You weren’t hallucinating, as it was his team of soldiers who came to your rescue. I’ve spoken to him today. Of course, Rose here knows better, and still won’t have it out with him about what happened between them,’ she huffed.

  ‘Mum, please, now is not the time. We don’t want Lily upset,’ Rose begged.

  Lily did her best to laugh, but it came out as a weak cough. ‘You have to be nice to me as I nearly died, so will you please make your peace? Flora, what really made Rose leave Sea View so quickly? I don’t want to go to meet my maker without knowing . . .’

  She stopped speaking as the nurse came in carrying Lily’s baby. ‘I thought you’d like to see her,’ she said as Rose and Flora bent over to look at the sleeping child.

  ‘Oh my, she’s so tiny. Her face is like a little screwed-up rosebud,’ Flora sighed.

  Rose frowned, being careful not to let Lily see what she was thinking. There was something familiar about the baby’s face. Rose could swear there was a likeness to Tom White. The little angry face reminded her of Tom’s expression at the teashop earlier, and there was a similarity with the shape of the nose . . . Didn’t Lily go out dancing with the man the night she was out with Ben, and didn’t she seem upset the next day? She swore then to watch that man closely in future.

  The nurse took the baby close to Lily so she could give her daughter a kiss, and they all watched as the nurse took the baby from the room.

  ‘As I was saying about meeting my maker . . .?’

  Rose scoffed at Lily’s words. ‘Talk about milking it for all it’s worth. You are not going to die . . . are you?’ she added uncertainly.

  ‘Don’t argue. Just tell me – and no one’s to storm out,’ she said, as fiercely as her weak voice would allow.

  ‘Oh, well, if you insist,’ Rose sighed, thinking perhaps it was only fair to let her friend know what had happened. ‘As you know, I found some information in Mum’s attaché case under her bed that made me question who my parents are. Are you happy now?’

  Flora shook her head. ‘Oh, Rose, I am your mother, so please don’t ever think otherwise.’

  ‘But that letter – and the jewellery . . .’

  ‘I will explain from the beginning. That’s if Lily is strong enough to listen. I don’t want to tire you,’ Flora said, giving Lily’s good hand a squeeze.

  ‘Fire away,’ Lily said. ‘If I doze off, please wake me, as I don’t want to miss anything.’

  Flora took a deep breath. ‘Some of this you already know, but I will start from the beginning. It started when I was a young woman. Like our Katie, I grew up in an orphanage but dreamt of singing and dancing on the stage. Yes, just like you,’ she smiled at Rose’s astonished look. ‘You have seen some old pictures of what I said was a friend. It was me; I’m sorry I lied. I was quite good at what I did; and oh, how I love to perform,’ she said with a faraway look in her eyes. ‘It was a magical time for me. But like all good times, it would change. I too met a young army captain, and we fell in love. Unlike you, my love, I was so infatuated I did what all good girls shouldn’t do, and I ended up expecting his baby . . .’

  Rose caught Lily’s eye and knew they were both thinking the same thing. Rose’s liaison with Ben could have ended the same way.

  ‘. . . But he was a good man, and made provision to care for me.’

  ‘Why didn’t he marry you?’ Rose demanded, feeling uncomfortable that the story was too close to home.

  ‘He was already married, and his position meant he could never leave his wife and children. He wanted me to be thought of as a respectable woman, and purchased Sea View to give us a good home and a way of making a comfortable living. Moving to Ramsgate and a new life meant I’d never be thought of as a good-time girl who sold her favours.’

  ‘You never did, though. You simply fell in love,’ Lily said, enthralled by what Flora was saying.

  ‘You mean I have siblings?’ Rose gasped. ‘But what about Dad?’

  ‘Never think for one moment that the man I later married, who you knew as your dad, didn’t love you. He was devoted to you until the day he died.’

  Flashes of her young life kept rushing through her mind as Rose did her best to understand. Flora was right; the man she thought of as her dad had indeed been like a true father to her. ‘What happened with my real dad?’

  ‘He stayed in the army, but his wife and one of his children died in the influenza outbreak in 1918. The other child, your half-sister, went to live with her maternal grandparents. By then I was married and settled here, and was content with my life. I always cared for him, even when he became a grand general. We would correspond, so he knew all about you. Then he became ill, and with no one close to care for him, we brought him to Sea View . . .’, Flora said, watching to see if Rose had understood. ‘I never had any secrets from the man I married, and he became a good friend to the General.’

  ‘So my real father was truly General Sykes?’ Rose said. She’d adored the man, who had spent many hours teaching her to read and talking about his journeys. ‘I couldn’t believe what I’d seen in those papers, but now it makes sense . . . also how kind he always was towards me.’

  ‘Yes,’ Flora said, feeling a great weight fall from her shoulders. ‘The papers you only glimpsed, and the two pieces of jewellery, are from him. We both decided the house should go to you – and the jewellery is from his mother, who was the only person he told about you not long before she passed away. You see, he never wanted to have secrets, and he would have been greatly distressed by the mess I’ve made of all of this. We had such plans for you, Rose. We wanted you to have a good education and train for a decent job.’ She laughed as she thought of something. ‘Do you know that the day I went to London to see the solicitor, after the General died, I stopped at a Lyons Corner House. I remember thinking that at least my daughter would never have to be a waitress – but things didn’t go to plan.’

  Rose smiled and reached for Flora’s hand. ‘What happened, Mum?’

  ‘His investments came to nothing. But at least we had a roof over our head and could make a living from Sea View. We were luckier than most. You may not recall, but he died within months of your dad’s accident, and suddenly it was just me and you.’ Flora watched Rose’s face to see how she was taking the news.

  Rose felt confused with so much information buzzing round in her head. ‘Why did you never tell me?’

  ‘It was his wish that I inform you of the part he played in your life on your twenty-fifth birthday. He wanted me to say that Sea View was your house – your inheritance. I was supposed to give you the ring and the cameo brooch when you turned twenty-one, as gifts from him as a friend. I forgot about the jewellery – I’m sorry. He thought he was leaving you a rich young woman, and until the day he died I helped keep up that belief.’

  ‘You must have loved him very much,’ was all Rose could think to say.

  ‘Just as I love you – and I know you love Ben. Please, Rose, give him time to explain . . .’

  ‘It’s a beautiful story, and it shows how much everyone loved you to keep up the
pretence. You are lucky to have had two dads, when I only have that old bastard George Jacobs to remember,’ Lily sighed.

  Rose couldn’t have felt guiltier if she tried. ‘Lily, you know he didn’t survive, don’t you?’ she said gently.

  ‘He was a goner before the roof caved in,’ Lily said without an ounce of remorse. ‘It’s just me and my baby daughter now.’

  ‘And your friends. You have all of us, whether you like it or not,’ Rose said, getting up to lean over the bed and give Lily a kiss on the cheek before turning to do the same to Flora. ‘I’m sorry for acting as I did and not giving you chance to explain, Mum.’

  Flora nodded. ‘There’s no need to say sorry. I’ve not gone about things as I should have done.’

  ‘Will the two of you stop going on about yourselves. Don’t you realize I’m the sick one in this room and should be having all the attention?’ Lily said, making them all laugh.

  ‘I’ve been thinking about a name for the baby. I want her christened Rosemary Flora – that’s if they will christen her in church, what with . . .’

  ‘The vicar will have us to answer to if he objects,’ Flora said.

  ‘Rosemary was my mum’s name, so it is fitting she is remembered. But as you’ve been like a mum to me as well, her second name will be Flora, if that’s all right with you?’

  ‘It sounds delightful to me,’ Flora beamed.

  ‘I want her everyday name to be Mary, otherwise we will be confused with Roses popping up all over the place,’ Lily smiled.

  Rose and Flora broke into song simultaneously. ‘But it was Mary, Mary, long before the fashions came. And there is something there that sounds so square – it’s a grand old name . . .’

  They all started to laugh until Flora stopped to listen. ‘It’s Moaning Minnie. Hitler’s not letting up today, is he? Now what do we do?’

  The nurse burst into the room. ‘Ladies, you need to get to the shelter as fast as you can. Lily and the baby will be safe down here,’ she said, ushering them from the room.

  ‘Don’t forget to speak to Ben,’ Lily called as they kissed her before hurrying away.

  ‘I hate this place. It is cold and damp. I would rather be facing the Germans and fight them as we did in Poland than die down this hole in the ground,’ Anya said as she shivered against her husband.

  ‘Anya, living down these tunnels has saved many lives. Be thankful there was an entrance close by the hospital or we’d be out there right now, ducking the bombs and praying we survive the night,’ Miss Tibbs scolded her. ‘Besides, now your husband has found you he may be whisking you away from Ramsgate to somewhere new and safe.’

  Anya looked up at her husband in the flickering half-light of their part of the tunnel. ‘Will you be whisking me away, Henio?’

  ‘Not any time soon, my sweetness,’ he smiled down at her questioning face. ‘I am here to help the RAF fight the Luftwaffe. It needs every man we have to win this war. Would you like me to whisk you away?’

  ‘No, I too wish to fight and will do my bit, as they say, helping Mr Joe Lyons feed the public. I like Ramsgate and would like to live here forever,’ she said, bringing that conversation to an end. ‘Rose,’ she called out, ‘why don’t you sing to us and cheer everyone up. Tell that old sod down there on his piano to play something nice you can sing to.’

  Rose had been sitting with Flora, trying to catch up on all her mum could tell her about her real father. ‘I don’t want Sea View, Mum. I will always think of it as home, but with Mildred being so generous and giving us Captain’s Cottage to share, I don’t need to own another property. It will always be yours,’ she said as Flora gave her a loving hug.

  ‘We can talk about it when the time is right,’ Flora said. ‘What I’m more concerned about is that you speak with Ben and clear the air. He told me about his wife and children . . .’

  ‘So he does have a wife?’ Rose said sadly. ‘I wasn’t wrong after all.’

  ‘Oh, but you were wrong in so many ways – and you most definitely need to clear the air, even if you decide there’s no future for the pair of you. It’s not my place to tell you what he said.’

  Rose was thoughtful for a while. ‘I believe it’s too late for that. I rebuked him again earlier this afternoon, when I saw him at the hospital. He’s probably sick to death of me,’ she said as her voice broke with the emotion of pent-up tears. ‘It’s far too late to make amends now.’

  Flora pulled her daughter close and hugged her. ‘It’s never too late. You will find an opportunity to speak again. I can feel it in my bones – please believe me,’ she said as she rocked Rose back and forth, allowing her to cry while silently cursing the Luftwaffe for coming over when they did. She’d hoped Ben would keep his word and return to the hospital as she’d requested, but the best-laid plans . . . ‘Anya is right – why not wipe your eyes and give us all a song? I know I’d enjoy hearing you sing.’

  Rose wiped her eyes. ‘I promise that if I see Ben again, I’ll listen to what he has to say. What song would you like me to sing?’

  ‘Sing from your heart, Rose. You never know who is listening.’

  ‘I’ll do it now, or Anya will never stop shouting at me,’ she grinned, getting up from the wooden bench she was sharing with her mum and all her friends. She headed over to where, as strange as it seemed, a piano had been placed in the tunnel and an elderly gentleman was playing his heart out. There were crowds of people listening to him in that part of the myriad tunnels running under the streets of Ramsgate.

  Climbing around children playing on the floor, and stopping to say hello to people she knew, Rose finally reached the pianist. She leant in close to the man to discuss what she could sing, and he nodded enthusiastically before running his fingers over the keys to introduce the song.

  The people fell silent as familiar chords sounded out and echoed through the tunnel. Rose took a deep breath and started to sing. She thought only of Ben as the words came out clear and strong.

  Women who were waiting to hear news of husbands who were far from home reached for their handkerchiefs as Rose sang the opening bars of the well-known song ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’. She sang for them all as her words of lost love accompanied the old piano. As the clear notes reached the end of the song there was a break in her voice as she told of looking up to the moon and seeing the face of her loved one. There was not a dry eye in that part of the underground tunnels.

  Rose couldn’t speak as the friends and neighbours in their part of the tunnel cheered out and shouted for more. She wasn’t sure she could sing again, having poured her heart and soul into the first song, but she knew it would cheer up everyone deep underground in those tunnels while the war raged overhead. Bending close, she tried to listen to the pianist’s suggestions but was aware of someone standing close by. She could smell his cologne and shivered at his closeness. ‘Ben?’ she asked, half turning round, afraid in case her wishes were just dreams.

  ‘Rose . . . please . . .’ he all but begged as she turned fully to face him.

  ‘I was singing that song for you, Ben,’ she whispered, as they became the only couple in the world and everything around them dissolved.

  ‘We need to talk,’ he said, taking her hand and leading her a little way away from the crowded area.

  ‘I’m so sorry I didn’t give you time to explain. I feel a fool for running away from you all the time,’ she whispered as he held her close and told her of his life before they met. She listened without questioning his words until he fell silent and she reached up to brush his lips with her own.

  ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Rose Neville. That’s if you can accept my young family? We come as a package. Does that bother you?’

  ‘Nothing bothers me at all now I have you by my side,’ she said, and reached up to kiss him once more. ‘I trust you, and I’ll love you until the end of time. It took my mum and my friends to show me what an idiot I’ve been. We’ve wasted enough time, and I’ve been a fool. Please forgive me?
’

  ‘There’s nothing to forgive,’ he said as he swept her up in his arms, giving a jubilant thumbs up to Flora, who stood cheering along with their friends. ‘No more secrets,’ he said.

  Acknowledgements

  There are so many people to thank. First and foremost my agent, Caroline Sheldon, who is always at hand to advise and support me when I have my wobbles. What would I do without her? My publisher, Pan Macmillan, who has been so generous with contracts for further books and behind me as I write my sagas. My lovely editor, Caroline Hogg, and the equally lovely Louise Davies, who is standing in for Caroline during her maternity leave – it is great to be able to work with you both. I mustn’t forget Jayne Osborne, who is always there at the end of an email. I have the most wonderful publicists – ED PR Ltd, who do their utmost to let the world know about my books and Bethan James, who looks after me. I must mention Annie Aldington who does such a wonderful job narrating my audiobooks, bringing ‘the girls’ to life. The covers of my books are so true to the time of the stories. A big thank you to Mel Four and the team who are behind the production of all my books. Thank you all.

  Writing is never a solitary occupation, whatever our readers imagine. In this day and age we are only a password away from the many groups of readers and fellow writers. Thank you to the readers of The Saga Girls, Readers and Writers and Bloggers group for your continued support. A very special thank you goes to a very secret group of saga writers, The Strictly Saga Girls. We share secrets, cry on each other’s shoulders and cheer each other on, as well as share successes. I couldn’t do without any of you xx

  I must give a shout-out to my students at The Write Place creative writing school. I’ve known many of you for a good number of years and have cheered you on as you climb that ladder to writing successes. Long may your successes continue and long may the celebration cakes appear each week!

  Last but not least, my long-suffering husband, Michael. He is always there to put up with my moaning and to remind me of my deadlines and to stop watching Tipping Point and The Chase and to get on with my work.