by Ellie Dean
She hadn’t heard Suzy come in, and she turned to face her, feeling rather embarrassed at being caught feeling sorry for herself. ‘I’m just letting off a bit of steam,’ she said. ‘It’s been quite a day and we’re only halfway through it.’
Suzy took off the lovely blue woollen cape with its red lining, and hung it over the back of a chair before she sat down and eased off her sturdy rubber-soled shoes. ‘I know how you feel,’ she said as she rubbed her toes. ‘Matron’s been in a foul mood all night and I couldn’t wait to come home.’
Peggy quickly poured boiling water over the cooling tea leaves and placed the cup in front of her. ‘Are you still seeing Anthony this evening?’
‘Yes, though how long I’ll manage to stay awake, I don’t know. But at least I’ll get a lie-in tomorrow.’ She sipped her tea and closed her eyes as she gave a deep sigh of pleasure. ‘Heaven,’ she murmured. ‘Hot tea, a quiet kitchen and no one wanting anything from me.’
‘Actually,’ said Peggy awkwardly, ‘I was wondering if you could do me a bit of a favour?’
Suzy opened her eyes and sat up, her expression immediately concerned. ‘Of course, Peggy. How can I help?’
‘I understand that Anthony gave you the number for his direct line at work?’
‘Well, yes,’ she said with a frown. ‘But he’s told me not to telephone unless it’s important. His bosses don’t like personal calls during working hours.’
‘This is a bit important,’ said Peggy and went on to explain about Jane and her new job, and the possibility that she had skills which could open far more promising doors. ‘I know it’s an awful cheek,’ she finished in a rush, ‘but if he could rustle up a few tests for her to do, I’d feel I’d kept my promise to her.’
‘I’ll ring him now, and see what he says.’ Suzy smiled. ‘Then I’m going to bed to snatch a few hours’ sleep before supper.’ She finished her tea, grabbed her cape and headed for the hall.
Peggy tried not to listen in as she found the scrubbing brush and cloth from under the sink, but there was a lot of murmuring and cooing going on, and it reminded her too sharply of her own courting days. She blinked and sniffed and determinedly tugged the curtain back over the shelves of household cleaning materials.
Suzy stuck her head around the door. ‘He said that’s fine, and he’ll come over about seven. Now I’m off to get some beauty sleep.’
Peggy couldn’t help but smile as she gathered everything up and headed into the hall. There was nothing like a bit of romance to liven things up, even if it did bring back painful memories of her youth – and if Jane did prove to be as adept as she said, then who knew where it might lead? Anthony had lots of contacts, and although she had no idea what he actually did for the MOD, she was sure it was terribly important. How marvellous if he could find Jane something really interesting to do.
Sarah had watched carefully as Peggy and Cordelia made the stew, for there would come a time when she would have to take her turn at cooking, and if she wasn’t going to poison everyone, she had to learn quickly.
She and Jane had prepared the vegetables and cored the cooking apples Ron had stored in the cellar since the previous summer, so they could be baked in the oven and then served with the cream from the top of the milk. It seemed that English food was plain and heavy, but then it was still very cold, and she supposed they needed all that weight to keep them warm. She missed the lightly baked fish and aromatic chicken that Wa Ling used to prepare – and the noodles and fragrant rice, and the exotic fruit that was always in abundance. This morning’s trip into town had been an eye-opener, for the shops were almost empty and there was no fruit on display at all.
Fran came back from the hospital just as everyone was sitting down for their evening meal at six o’clock. ‘Matron has been on my case all day,’ she said dramatically as she swept off her cape and flung her cap onto the sideboard. ‘I don’t know what’s eating her, but I wish it would gobble her up and get rid of her once and for all.’
‘She’s probably as tired and fed up with things as everyone else,’ said Suzy, who was looking very pretty in a twinset of blue wool that matched her eyes and a short cream skirt she’d made out of an old dress. ‘I’m sure she’ll be on better form tomorrow.’
‘She needs a bit of romance to soften her up,’ said Fran with a glower. ‘Though no man in his right mind would go anywhere near the old dragon.’
‘Men aren’t the answer to everything, Fran,’ said Rita with her usual bluntness. ‘Honestly, if you had to work with them day in and day out, you’d soon wish you were back on the wards with Matron.’
‘Well, I’m going to be working with horses,’ said Jane, unable to keep her news to herself any longer, ‘and horses are nicer than people any day.’
Sarah smiled as Jane chattered on about her job. It was lovely to see how well all these girls got on, and it was clear that Jane was relishing these new friendships. She turned to Peggy. ‘Are they always this happy together?’ she asked quietly.
‘There have been a few minor spats over the years – one can’t expect a bunch of girls to live together without there being fits of pique or temper tantrums over make-up or belongings. But on the whole they rub along nicely, and I’m glad you and Jane are fitting in so well.’
Fran’s voice made them return to the conversation around the table. ‘Well, you can’t go working with horses with your hair hanging down your back like that,’ she said. ‘I’ll show you how to fix it in victory rolls if you like. It’ll be much neater, and you’ve got such a pretty face, you shouldn’t hide it behind all that hair.’
Jane blushed. ‘Won’t it be a bit too grown-up? Mummy said I shouldn’t put my hair up until I’m eighteen.’
‘When’s your birthday?’ asked Rita.
‘July the ninth.’
‘That’s only four months away,’ said Rita, ‘and close enough not to make much difference. I’d give it a go, if I were you.’
‘I’ll show you after tea,’ said Fran, ‘and while I’m at it, I’ll do something about Rita’s mop. She’s looking more like a shaggy sheepdog every day.’
‘You should see to your own,’ muttered Rita as she eyed the amber and gold tangle of riotous curls which had escaped the pins. ‘It’s like a brush fire.’
Jane explained she might not be able to get her hair done immediately after supper because of Anthony and the tests.
Fran laughed. ‘To be sure, it seems we all want something from the poor wee man. It’s a good thing he’s so smitten with our Suzy – I swear to all the saints, we wouldn’t see him for dust otherwise.’
‘And I know how he must feel,’ grumbled Ron. ‘To be sure, ’tis the divil’s curse to be surrounded by demanding, chattering women every day. A man is never left in peace.’
‘We all know you love it really,’ teased Fran, ‘so don’t come the old soldier, Ron. It doesn’t wash.’
‘A martyr I am,’ he said woefully to Sarah. ‘With me shrapnel on the move, and no one to care. You see how they treat me?’
Sarah smiled uncertainly. ‘I didn’t know you were injured,’ she murmured.
Ron brightened immediately. ‘I was wounded in the first war,’ he said. ‘Came home with a medal and a lump of metal in me back, and do you know—’
‘I don’t think this is a suitable topic of conversation for the tea table,’ interrupted Peggy quickly. She turned to Sarah and smiled. ‘Ron enjoys talking about his war wound, and we’ve heard about it too frequently to mention. But the tale gets longer and more heroic with every telling, so be warned.’
Ron grinned. ‘Now, Peggy, you wouldn’t be doubting me, would you?’
‘Not at all,’ she retorted, ‘but you have to admit, Ron, there’s more blarney in your tale than there is in the whole of Ireland.’
This was greeted with a chorus of giggles, and Sarah happily continued eating the baked apple. It was very sour, but clearly it was the only fruit available. She liked Ron, who was as entertaining as he was scruffy, and she wondere
d what her father would make of him. They’d probably get on like a house on fire, she realised, for they could both tell a fine tale.
Once supper was over, Peggy and Cordelia were ordered to sit down by the fire and relax while Sarah and the others cleared the table and did the washing-up. With that done, they made a pot of tea, and Fran ignored Rita’s protests and started trying to bring some order to her dark mop of hair.
Sarah sat beside Jane and watched in amusement as the two girls battled to get their own way.
‘Will you be sitting still?’ hissed Fran as she wrestled hairpins through the thick roll of hair.
‘I would if you didn’t keep stabbing me.’ Rita winced. ‘That’s the third time.’
‘You have to suffer if you want to be beautiful,’ said Fran.
‘But I’m quite happy with the way I am,’ protested Rita. ‘How on earth am I supposed to get my fireman’s helmet over the top of all this?’
‘Don’t wear one,’ said Fran as she continued to stab and roll and stab again. ‘Bejesus, Rita, you’ve a head of hair, that’s to be sure.’
‘Have you seen yourself lately?’ Rita asked crossly. ‘Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.’
‘I think you’ve both got lovely hair,’ sighed Jane as she fingered the thick plait that hung over her shoulder. ‘Mine’s always been just straight, and hanging. I tried putting curlers in once, but they did no good at all.’
‘Count yourself lucky,’ said Fran. ‘It’s the very divil to get a comb through it in the mornings, and when it rains it frizzes up and looks a fright.’
‘Then you should understand how painful it is with you jabbing and pulling at me,’ said Rita, who was still in a bit of a huff.
The argument was interrupted by a knock on the front door, and Harvey barked as Suzy raced to answer it. There was murmuring in the hall followed by a long silence, and Fran and Rita exchanged knowing looks. ‘It would seem Romeo has arrived,’ said Fran in a hoarse whisper.
‘Shhhh,’ admonished Peggy. ‘It’ll be your turn one day, and you wouldn’t like it if we all listened in and made comments.’
Sarah thought of Philip and the few moments they’d managed to snatch before they were torn apart. The ache for him was always there, just beneath the surface, waiting to emerge at moments like this. She looked at Peggy and wondered if she too felt that ache, and suspected that she did, for although she’d never met Jim, she’d learned enough about him from Peggy to suspect that he was the love of her life.
Anthony was quite a surprise, for Sarah had expected Suzy’s young man to be rather dashing after all she’d said about him. But he was very ordinary-looking, with dark hair and glasses, his tall, slender figure dressed conservatively in slacks and a tweed jacket which had leather patches on the elbows. But when he smiled she could see why Suzy was attracted to him, for it was a shy, gentle smile that lit up his face and made him handsome.
Suzy introduced him to Sarah and Jane while Peggy hurried to pour him a cup of tea.
Anthony unwound his college scarf and stuffed it into the sagging pocket of his jacket as he smiled shyly at Jane. ‘Suzy said you enjoyed mathematics and puzzles, so I’ve brought some of my old examination papers and a couple of out-of-date code books,’ he said as he reached into his rather battered briefcase. ‘Why don’t you make a start, and see how far you can get?’
‘Go into the dining room, Jane,’ said Peggy. ‘I’ve cleared a table in there and it’ll be quiet.’
‘How long do I have?’ she asked.
He pushed his glasses up his nose and glanced at the mantel clock. ‘Shall we say half an hour?’
Jane nodded and rushed off.
Sarah tried to concentrate on the chatter around her, but her mind was on Jane in the other room. She just hoped she wasn’t rushing things and therefore being careless, for it was important she showed Anthony how good she was so that she could find something more sensible to do than deliver the daily milk.
The half-hour seemed to drag as the others talked about their plans for the weekend, and tried to get her to join in the conversation and agree to go out with them. ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to,’ she said. ‘I might have a job by then, and as I’m not sure of the hours, it’s difficult to make plans.’
‘Well, all work and no play makes a girl very dull,’ said Fran as she finished doing Rita’s hair. ‘The offer’s there if you want it.’
‘What do you think?’ asked Rita, turning her head this way and that.
‘I think it’s lovely,’ said Sarah truthfully. ‘It makes you look very feminine and grown-up.’
‘It makes me feel as if my head’s been clamped in a steel helmet,’ muttered Rita as she tried to see her reflection in the glass covering the picture of the King and Queen which hung above the mantelpiece.
‘You look very pretty,’ said Cordelia as she regarded her over her half-moon glasses. ‘It’s nice to see you as a girl again and not a tomboy. All you need now is a pretty frock and proper shoes, and you would be the belle of the ball.’
Rita pulled a face and tried to appear nonchalant, but Sarah suspected she liked her new appearance.
Jane came back into the room and handed Anthony a wad of examination papers and one of the code books. ‘I couldn’t do some of it, but I’d like to keep the books if I may. I love puzzles, and these are really good ones – they made me think very hard.’
Sarah watched closely as he took the papers and sifted through them quickly. She saw how his eyes widened and his carefully guarded expression sharpened as he examined page after page of neat figures. He was impressed, she could tell, and she felt a great swell of pride for her little sister’s amazing ability.
She continued to watch as he took the code book and read the pieces of paper on which she’d written the answers. When he’d finished he looked up at Jane, his expression unreadable. ‘That’s very good, Jane,’ he said, his voice sounding rather stiff. ‘I can see you have a real talent for both maths and puzzles, but I’ll be interested to see how you cope with something a little more advanced.’
‘Really? So I did all right then?’ she asked eagerly.
‘You did very well,’ he said, his tone non-committal as he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a sheaf of papers. ‘Take these into the other room. You have ten minutes to solve one of these.’
‘I thought we were going out?’ murmured Suzy as Jane dashed off.
He smiled at her. ‘We are, I promise. Just give me another ten minutes, and then I’m all yours.’
Suzy giggled and went off to powder her nose and fetch her coat, while Sarah wondered what sort of thing Anthony was testing her sister with now. But Anthony was deep in conversation with Cordelia, so there was no chance to ask him.
Jane returned exactly ten minutes later. ‘I did two,’ she said as she handed over the sheets of paper. ‘I hope you don’t mind.’
‘Well done,’ Anthony murmured as he quickly read through the pages. When he’d finished, he stuffed them back in his briefcase and fastened the lock, his expression inscrutable. ‘I’ll write you a reference with pleasure,’ he said, ‘and bring it round in a couple of days when I next have time off.’
‘Thank you,’ breathed Jane. ‘You’ve been very kind.’
‘Not at all.’ He turned to Peggy. ‘May I leave this here, Aunt Peg? I’ll fetch it before I go home.’
Peggy took the briefcase. ‘I’ll put it in my room,’ she said as she eyed him questioningly.
‘Oh, there’s nothing of any importance in there,’ he said lightly, ‘but I don’t want to be carrying it about all evening.’
Suzy fastened the buttons on her coat and tied the belt around her waist before slipping her hand into the crook of his arm. ‘I need that drink now,’ she said. ‘It’s been a long day.’
Anthony smiled down at her, his face radiant with love. ‘Your carriage awaits,’ he said. ‘I managed to borrow an Austin from the castle car-pool. We have it until eleven.’ They wave
d goodbye and were gone.
There were a lot of questions Sarah wanted to ask Jane, but she was chattering away to Fran, who’d started to brush her hair and roll it into shining coils away from her face.
‘So what sort of tests were they?’ she asked as soon as Jane stopped for breath.
Her sister shrugged. ‘Just mathematical problems and a few codes. Some of the codes were a bit tricky and I would have needed much longer than ten minutes to work them out, but I think he was pleased, don’t you?’
‘He wouldn’t have offered to write the reference if he hadn’t been,’ said Peggy.
‘Do you think he might find me a job as well?’ asked Jane breathlessly. ‘Only I really enjoyed doing those tests.’
‘I really don’t know,’ admitted Sarah, ‘but if you do get an office job, you’ll have to tell Mr Jenkins you won’t be able to deliver his milk.’
‘Oh, no,’ Jane retorted fiercely. ‘I’ll stay at the dairy and do something in an office as well if I get the chance.’
‘But I don’t like the thought of you—’
‘Don’t fuss, Sarah,’ she retorted. ‘I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself.’
Sarah suddenly realised that Jane had a new confidence about her, and that she was indeed quite capable of making her own decisions about things. The Japanese invasion of Malaya and their flight from Singapore had wrought a huge difference in her little sister. Without the smothering love of her parents and Amah, who’d protected her too well, she was blossoming into the young woman she was meant to be.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sarah was woken at four in the morning by the deafening clamour of Peggy’s alarm clock. She quickly reached out and silenced it before it woke the whole house, and then stayed beneath the blankets as Jane raced around the room and got ready for her first day at work. ‘How are you feeling?’ she asked as her sister pulled on a sweater.
‘Nervous,’ she admitted, ‘but excited too. I hardly slept a wink last night.’
Sarah smiled as Jane tied the laces on her shoes and adjusted the waistband of the trousers Sarah had been given in Glasgow. They were a bit large for her, but she held them up with a belt Rita had lent her, and then reached for her hairbrush and tried to emulate the style Fran had created the previous evening. What a very different girl she was to the pampered and childish Jane who had left the plantation, for now she had a purpose, and she was beginning to make her own way.