Always in my Heart (Beach View Boarding House 5)

by Ellie Dean

  She adjusted the blanket over Daisy, tipped the hood so the sun didn’t fall directly onto her face and adjusted the fly netting. It was time to get back in harness, she decided; time to stop moping about feeling sorry for herself when so many other women were rolling up their sleeves and getting on with things.

  She picked up the laundry basket, hung it back on the hook in the scullery and was about to go up the stairs to the kitchen when she saw Ron at the back gate. He was looking decidedly furtive, his gaze darting towards the back door and the kitchen window as Harvey whined at his heels.

  Peggy drew back into the shadows of the scullery and watched, intrigued, as he closed the gate behind him and almost tiptoed down the path with his hand firmly grasping Harvey’s collar.

  ‘What are you up to?’ she asked as he stepped over the threshold.

  His eyes widened and he tried very hard to cover his surprise and guilt at having been caught out. ‘Hello, Peg,’ he blustered as he let Harvey free and eased past her. ‘Nice day for the washing.’

  Peggy folded her arms, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. ‘A nice day for mischief too,’ she said wryly. ‘Why so furtive, Ron?’

  ‘Me?’ he asked in wide-eyed innocence. ‘Furtive? To be sure, Peggy girl, ’tis suspicious you are.’

  Peggy laughed for the first time in a week. ‘I think I have a right to be, you old scallywag.’ She saw how Harvey was whining and sniffing at the pockets of his old poacher’s coat. ‘What have you got hidden in there this time? One of Lord Cliffe’s game birds? Or is it a fresh salmon from his lake?’

  ‘I’ve not been poaching,’ he protested stoutly. ‘To be sure, Peg, that estate is too well guarded now and a man would be a fool to even try.’

  ‘I’m sure that hasn’t deterred you one bit.’ She plucked at the coat and Harvey barked and wagged his tail.

  ‘A fat lot of good y’are at keepin’ secrets,’ he muttered to the dog. His gaze didn’t quite reach Peggy’s as he shuffled from one foot to the other. ‘Now you’re to promise not to fly off the handle, Peg,’ he said hastily. ‘Only it was Bob’s idea and as they were going spare for the price of a bit of pipe tobacco, I thought … Well, I thought it would do no harm,’ he finished in a rush.

  She couldn’t be cross with him. He’d been so lovely to her over the past week, even though it was clear he too was feeling the emptiness of the house. ‘You’d better show me what you’ve got then,’ she said with a smile.

  He reached into one of the deepest pockets and very gently drew out two young ferrets which looked at Peggy with bright inquisitive eyes and twitching whiskers.

  Peggy stepped back, remembering how sharp ferret teeth could be.

  ‘This is Flora,’ said Ron as he held up the chocolate-brown one which had tan-coloured ears and face markings. ‘And this is Dora.’ Dora was black all over except for a ring of white round each eye which made her look a bit like a small panda.

  Peggy eyed them both as they squirmed in Ron’s large hands. She didn’t like ferrets; they were too much like weasels – and therefore, to her mind, no better than vermin. She certainly didn’t appreciate them in the house, and Ron’s previous ferrets had been banished to the cellar.

  But as they looked back at her with their big brown eyes, she could see how appealing they were, and as she tentatively reached out to stroke them, she discovered their fur was beautifully soft. ‘They look very young,’ she murmured. ‘Are you sure they’ve been weaned?’

  ‘They’re seven weeks old,’ he replied, ‘and the jill stopped feeding them over a week ago.’ He dangled them over his arm and slowly stroked their furry bellies. ‘I’ve had them neutered and de-scented, so you’ve no worries about the smell this time.’

  He looked at her with such hope that she could only relent. ‘All right,’ she said, ‘but they don’t come upstairs and they are to go nowhere near Daisy. Is that understood, Ron?’

  ‘Aye,’ he said cheerfully. ‘You’ll not have a moment’s worry over them, Peg.’

  She doubted that very much, but kept her thoughts to herself. ‘And what exactly will you feed them with? There is a war on, you know, and eggs and milk are too precious to give to ferrets.’

  ‘You’ll not be worrying your head about a thing,’ he said hastily. ‘Ferrets don’t eat much and I’ve made an arrangement with a pal of mine to get cheap cat food. They can have a drop of my milk and cheese ration and the odd scrap from the table.’

  Peggy didn’t like the sound of this at all, but Ron had missed having ferrets about ever since he’d set his last two free at the beginning of the war, so she couldn’t deny him this little pleasure. ‘As long as you remember it comes out of your ration and not anyone else’s,’ she murmured.

  ‘Thanks, Peg,’ he said and grinned at her as he tucked them back into his pocket. ‘I’ve missed not having Cleo and Delilah about, and when Bob and I got to talking the other week …’ He gave a shrug. ‘They’ll keep me mind off Rosie, and perhaps help to bring in more rabbits for the dinner table.’

  Peggy patted his arm. ‘I’ll leave you to settle them in then,’ she said softly.

  She climbed the steps to the kitchen and found Cordelia at the sink scraping carrots. ‘They look nice,’ she said as she put the kettle on the hob. ‘Did you have to queue very long to get them?’

  ‘No dear, I couldn’t get any rice,’ she replied rather distractedly. ‘But then I didn’t realise you wanted any.’

  Peggy smiled as she set out the mismatched cups and saucers. Cordelia really did need a new hearing aid, but after forking out for the last one only to have it trampled on days later, she was loath to risk it again.

  She watched Cordelia continue to scrape the carrots, realising suddenly that the elderly woman had been distracted ever since Jim had left. She hadn’t really taken much notice until today, and she felt awful about how selfish and uncaring she’d been.

  ‘Is something the matter?’ she asked.

  ‘I can’t do them in batter, dear,’ she replied. ‘They wouldn’t taste nice at all – and besides, we don’t have any flour.’

  Peggy signed to her to turn up her hearing aid, for this conversation was going nowhere and she needed to get to the bottom of whatever it was that Cordelia was fretting over.

  Cordelia dried her hands on her wrap-round apron, fiddled with her hearing aid and smiled rather sheepishly. ‘I forgot that I’d turned it right down,’ she admitted.

  ‘Is something worrying you, Cordelia?’ asked Peggy clearly. ‘You seem a bit distracted of late.’

  The elderly woman patted Peggy’s arm and shook her head. ‘I’ve just been feeling my age a bit,’ she said, ‘and of course I miss Jim about the place – but really, Peggy dear, there’s nothing for you to worry about.’

  Peggy wanted to believe her, but she had the feeling Cordelia wasn’t being entirely truthful. However, she let it pass in the hope that the older woman would confide in her when she felt ready to do so. ‘We must get those rooms ready again for your family,’ she said in the hope of cheering her up. ‘They must be about due to arrive in Scotland.’

  Cordelia turned her back and fished a carrot out of the bowl of water and began to slice it on the breadboard. ‘I’m sure they’ll send us a telegram when they get here,’ she replied, ‘there’s no need to rush.’

  Peggy frowned. Cordelia had been so eager for them to come to Beach View, and had happily tried to follow their long journey on one of Bob’s old atlases and discussed all the things she could do with them once they’d arrived.

  She touched Cordelia’s shoulder. ‘You don’t seem as excited at the prospect of having them here,’ she said clearly. ‘Are you beginning to have doubts?’

  The paring knife flashed dangerously close to the little fingers as the carrots were chopped. ‘Of course I’m not, dear,’ she said firmly, ‘but with everything else that’s going on, one can’t depend on anything any more. I’d prefer to wait and see if they make it safely here before you go to all
the trouble of preparing rooms again.’

  Peggy could see her logic, but didn’t really understand her reticence after her initial joy at discovering she had two great-nieces to fuss over. She made the tea and called down to Ron, who seemed to be shifting things about in the cellar – no doubt unearthing the old ferret cages that had become buried beneath all the rubbish he kept down there.

  Once the three of them were seated at the table and Harvey had had his dog biscuit and saucer of tea, she told them of her own plans. ‘I’ve decided to go back and work part-time with the WVS,’ she said. ‘They need every spare pair of hands they can get, and I feel I’ve rather let the side down by not going back after Daisy was born.’

  ‘Aye,’ muttered Ron around the stem of his pipe. ‘You’ll enjoy getting out of the house for a wee while. D’ye want me to look out for Daisy?’

  Peggy shook her head. ‘She can come with me. There’s always a spare corner at the Town Hall. But I might need you to babysit if I have to go and man a tea wagon or attend some emergency.’

  Ron and Cordelia nodded. ‘We’ll both keep an eye on her,’ said Cordelia. ‘It will do you good to have some time to yourself for a change.’

  Peggy smiled at her naïvety. There would be precious little time to be had once she was back to sorting through old clothes, making up parcels to send to the troops abroad, or packets of sandwiches for the servicemen who were passing through on their way to the docks further along the coast, or dealing with the homeless and dispossessed. The work of the WVS was constant and time-consuming, but very satisfying, and what she was really looking forward to was being so tired at the end of each day that she didn’t have the chance to think about things.

  Cordelia was an honest, straightforward woman, and she’d found it extremely hard to keep acting as if nothing had happened when all the time her thoughts were with all those poor women and children on that ship. But Peggy and the rest of the family had their own sorrows, and the last thing they needed was for her to lose control and spill out her anguish.

  She’d lain in bed night after night thinking about the sinking of the Monarch of the Glen, and had trawled every newspaper since in search of further news, but there had been nothing – not even a hint that it might have just been a cruel hoax by the Japanese. Yet there had been tales of terrible atrocities in Hong Kong, and Cordelia suspected that targeting a ship full of women and children was not something this particular enemy would deem reprehensible.

  They had eaten a sandwich for lunch and then Peggy had taken Daisy down to the Town Hall so she could sign up for duty again and get back into the swing of things. Cordelia had waited until she was out of sight before she carefully made her way down the cellar steps.

  Harvey greeted her by thumping his tail on the cellar floor, but his attention was fixed on Ron, who was fiddling about with straw and bits of newspaper.

  Ron finished layering the straw and paper-strips on the floor of the large wire-fronted box which he’d set up beneath the scullery sink, and looked up in surprise as Cordelia reached the bottom step.

  ‘Hello,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Do you want me to get one of the deckchairs out? It’s a lovely afternoon, so it is, and quite sheltered in the corner next to the fence.’

  ‘Not at the moment, but thank you,’ she said as she eyed the box. ‘Isn’t that where you used to keep Cleo and Delilah?’

  ‘Aye, it is that,’ he said with a gleeful grin. ‘And soon there will be new residents.’

  ‘Oh, Ron,’ she sighed as she sat down on the bottom step. ‘You know how Peggy feels about ferrets. She’s not going to like it.’

  Ron laughed. ‘She’s agreed to let me have them as long as they stay down here. Would you like to see them?’

  She wasn’t at all sure she would, but as Ron was looking so eager, and she needed his advice, she decided to be brave. ‘As long as they don’t bite,’ she murmured. ‘I still remember Cleo sinking her teeth into my thumb. It was painful for weeks.’

  ‘These ones are just babies,’ he replied as he reached into his coat. ‘As long as you keep your hands away from their mouths, you’ll be fine.’ He drew the two kits out and held them against his chest for her inspection. ‘Flora and Dora,’ he said by way of introduction.

  ‘They’re very sweet,’ she said and smiled. ‘Can I stroke them?’ At his nod, she reached out and touched the soft fur, remembering how Cleo and Delilah would go into an almost ecstatic trance when they had their tummies rubbed.

  ‘They seem to like you,’ said Ron, ‘but I think that’s enough for now. It’s time we put them into their box so they can settle in and get used to their new home.’

  Cordelia saw how tenderly he placed them on the fresh straw and newspaper, and how he’d hooked the water and food bowls to the wire mesh so they wouldn’t spill over their bedding. She continued to watch as they completely ignored a whining, curious Harvey who had his nose pressed to the wiring, and sniffed every corner, exploring their surroundings before tucking into their food and water. ‘They look as if they’ll settle nicely,’ she murmured.

  ‘Aye, they will that,’ he said as he pulled Harvey away, got off the floor and brushed his hands down his disreputable trousers. He eyed her keenly as she continued to sit on the cold stone step. ‘Were you wanting to talk to me about something, Cordelia?’ he asked.

  ‘I do need to talk to someone,’ she admitted, ‘but I’m not sure if even you can help me with this particular and rather worrying dilemma.’

  ‘You can tell me all about it once you’re off that step and all nice and comfy in the sunshine.’ He took her hand and steadied her as she got to her feet. ‘I’ll get the deckchairs out of the shed, and we can sit and put the world to rights in the garden.’

  Minutes later the deckchairs had been cleaned of cobwebs and dead spiders, and they were sitting in the sheltered corner by the neighbouring fence, Harvey happily snoring at their feet.

  Cordelia told him about the piece in the newspaper, the sleepless nights she’d had ever since, and her unwillingness to burden Peggy or the family when they had their own worries over Jim and Frank. ‘I know it’s not really fair to lay it at your door,’ she admitted, ‘but I so badly needed to tell someone, and I trust you to give me an honest opinion.’

  Ron puffed on his pipe for a while and then gave a deep sigh. ‘There’s no doubt that some of those refugee ships were attacked – especially in the last hours before Singapore fell – but from what I understand, the survivors were picked up by other ships in their convoy.’

  ‘That’s what I’ve been hoping,’ she replied, ‘but the newspaper report didn’t say anything about the Monarch of the Glen being in a convoy – only that she was late arriving at her first port of call.’ She wrung her hands in her lap. ‘It’s simply too awful to think of all those women and innocent children being lost at sea.’

  ‘And there’s no further news in the papers? No follow-up to the story?’

  Cordelia shook her head. ‘I’ve looked through both the papers we have here every morning, and even gone through all the ones at the tobacconist’s each day – he wasn’t too happy about it, but let me look as long as I didn’t crease the pages.’

  ‘There’s probably a news blackout on it,’ said Ron. ‘That sort of thing is bad for morale, and I’m surprised it got past the censors in the first place. There again, it could just be a vicious bit of propaganda.’

  ‘Do you really think so?’

  He chuckled. ‘The Germans claimed they’d sunk HMS Firle Park a few weeks ago – turns out she wasn’t a ship at all, but a military headquarters somewhere in the middle of the Sussex countryside.’

  ‘But the Monarch is a real ship,’ she said tremulously. ‘Is there any way we could find out if she made that first port of call – or if she’s been spotted since? Do you think Anthony might know someone we could talk to?’

  Ron chewed the stem of his pipe as he considered this and then, realising it had gone out, took a while to relight it. On
ce he’d got a good burn going, he leaned back and stared into the distance. ‘He might,’ he said thoughtfully, ‘but what we need is someone with contacts in the Navy.’

  Cordelia felt a spark of hope, for Ron knew just about everyone in Cliffehaven and, she suspected, an even wider circle of acquaintances much further afield.

  He tamped down on the tobacco in his pipe with a grubby thumb. ‘I’ll have a word with Rear Admiral Price. He’s a nice chap, still has contacts at Admiralty House – and he owes me a couple of favours.’

  ‘Oh, Ron, thank you,’ she breathed. ‘I knew you’d be able to help.’

  He patted her hand. ‘Don’t get your hopes up too high, Cordelia,’ he said gruffly. ‘He might only have bad news.’

  Cordelia blinked away the tears. ‘At least I’ll know,’ she murmured. ‘It’s the uncertainty of everything that’s so hard to bear.’

  Peggy had been welcomed back with open arms, and had got stuck into packing parcels for the boys abroad immediately. She was thoroughly enjoying herself as she stood in line behind one of the long trestle tables and packed socks, cigarettes, packets of biscuits, small tins of golden syrup and a dozen and one little things to make life a bit more cheerful for the servicemen who were stuck in some inhospitable corner of the world.

  She glanced across the room frequently to keep an eye on Daisy, whose pram was parked alongside eight others. It seemed that she wasn’t the only woman who needed to escape the kitchen and nursery, and it was fun to catch up on the scandal, and to exchange ideas of how to dress up a scrag-end to make it edible.

  ‘Stand by your beds,’ muttered her friend Gladys. ‘Officer approaching.’

  ‘Oh Gawd,’ breathed Peggy as her sister entered the hall. She ducked her head in the hope she wouldn’t be spotted. ‘Tell me when she’s gone,’ she whispered.