by Ellie Dean
Ruby laughed, gave her a hug and hurried down Mafeking Terrace towards the bungalow she rented from Cordelia.
Ivy watched her go and heaved a sigh. She really didn’t have much choice about the sort of job she could do, for she’d worked in factories since she’d left school at thirteen, and knew little else. But she had learnt to make bullets and rockets, and mines, so she might be able to turn her hand to something new.
‘Beggars can’t be choosers,’ she muttered, heading down the hill towards the town. ‘I’ll see if Peggy can get me some sort of work at Solly’s.’ The fact that she didn’t know one end of a sewing machine from another was neither here nor there – she’d damn well learn.
5
Peggy had just about managed to get through the day, but the weight of her bitter disappointment lingered, and there had been moments when she’d had to fight back the almost overwhelming urge to give in to her pain and cry. And as she left her office she knew that, for the first time in her life, she couldn’t yet face going home.
Having collected Daisy from the crèche, she decided to walk along the promenade, in the hope that some brisk exercise in the salty air might bring calm to her troubled heart and restore the strength of purpose she so badly needed to keep her going.
Cliffehaven seafront had always been the main attraction of the town. It was where the holidaymakers had come to frolic in the water, sit in deckchairs, and to enjoy the evening variety shows and dances on the pier and the music at the bandstand on Sunday afternoons. The sight of it now was really depressing, for although the barbed wire, gun emplacements and tank traps had been removed, and the beach cleared of mines, the bandstand was a pile of rubble and the poor old pier still had the rusting remains of a German plane stuck into its fire-blackened ribs.
Peggy let Daisy run free to chase seagulls and throw pebbles into the water as she walked along with the pushchair. According to Sarah, who worked in the council offices, there were already plans to rebuild the bandstand and repair the Victorian shelters that were strung along the promenade, and to bring back the tram which used to run along the seafront and up the High Street to the station. But it would cost a great deal of money to resurrect the pier, which the council simply didn’t have, so it would probably be left as it was – just without the German plane.
Peggy took a deep lungful of the fresh air that was so reviving after the dusty atmosphere of the factory and paused for a moment to gaze the length of the promenade which stretched from the steeply sloping hills to the west, where the remains of the Havelock Road houses and park were an ugly testament to the destruction of war – to the white cliffs in the east, which had stood sentinel over the horseshoe bay since time immemorial.
Peggy could see there was a lot to do before the summer season got into full swing, which she was sure it would, for although the Far East was still engaged in war, people would want to forget what they’d just been through and have a seaside, bucket and spade holiday with their families like they used to. There were enormous bomb sites to be cleared before urgently needed new housing could be built; hotels and guest houses would need to be repaired to accommodate the visitors, and the High Street and station buildings could certainly do with an overhaul.
She shivered as a sudden gust of wind chilled her, for although it was early May, it still got cold once the sun dipped low in the sky. ‘Come on, Daisy,’ she called. ‘It’s time for tea.’
The little girl threw a handful of pebbles into the water and then ran towards her, her dark curls flying, her cheeks rosy from the cold. ‘Have ice-cream now, Mum?’
‘Not today, Daisy. It’s too close to teatime.’
Daisy slumped into the pushchair, arms folded and pouting. ‘Want ice-cream.’
‘The shop’s shut,’ said Peggy firmly, strapping her in. ‘We’ll have it another day, but only if you’re a really good girl.’
Daisy continued to pout and squirm, but Peggy took no notice as she strode along the seafront and then up the steep hill towards home. The bomb site where so many had been killed during the last V-2 attack was a dark reminder of how close they’d all come to death on that terrifying night, and the sight of the missing houses at the back of Beach View merely reinforced the fact that luck had most definitely been on their side.
Out of breath from the climb, Peggy pushed through the scullery door and freed Daisy from her restraints before following her, rather reluctantly, up the concrete steps into the kitchen. They must all have heard about the telephone conversation with Anne by now, and she could only hope they knew her well enough not to say anything, for any sign of sympathy would crack through her defences, and she’d be lost.
Everyone but Danuta was home, sitting around the kitchen table and discussing their day as Rita and Sarah dished up the shepherd’s pie. They all looked up and greeted her with smiles as Robert helped her off with her coat, and Cordelia attended to Daisy, but Peggy could see in their eyes that they understood how she felt, and was grateful for their silence on the matter.
‘How lovely and warm it is in here after that cold walk,’ she said. ‘And my goodness, that pie smells delicious.’ She noticed the glow in Rita’s face and assumed she’d had a lovely visit with Peter, and then realised that Ivy was unusually quiet. Surely she couldn’t still be suffering from a hangover? Or had something happened at work today to bring her low? Peggy had heard rumours of the factories closing down, and her heart went out to the girl, for she and Andy were saving hard to get married, and if she had lost her job, it would be an awful blow.
Knowing she’d hear about it all sooner rather than later, Peggy went into her bedroom to change out of her suit into comfortable slacks, slippers and sweater. Her feet were killing her after being in high heels all day, and it was utter bliss to get them off.
Sitting on the bed for a moment, she gazed at the photograph of her darling Jim, and wondered fleetingly what he’d have made of that conversation with Anne, and the ensuing row she’d overheard between the two sisters. Jim had always been very protective of her, and regarded his role of husband and father as one to be respected and obeyed. He would probably have given Cissy a hug for defending her mother, and then ordered the rest of them home – or gone down there and brought them all back whether they liked it or not.
Peggy smiled at the thought, even though such actions would definitely have caused even more trouble. But her Jim had always been a man to react swiftly to situations he didn’t approve of without first stopping to think before charging in like a bull in a china shop. Whereas, after that initial bitter blow, she’d had the day to think about Anne’s reasons for staying on, and had been forced to admit they were reasonable, and that she’d had no business flying off into hysterics. Perhaps she should try and telephone her after tea to smooth things over between them.
Feeling a little lighter in spirit, she returned to the kitchen to find that Daisy was already hungrily tucking into her meal, so collected her own plate from Rita and sat next to Cissy. It was quite a squash around the kitchen table, and had been for a while, but it felt cosier in here than in the dining room, and it meant she didn’t have to have two fires going – which with the current shortage of coal would have been almost impossible.
‘Where’s Danuta?’ she asked once she’d staved off her initial hunger.
‘She’s still doing her district rounds, so I’m keeping her tea warm in the slow oven,’ said Rita. ‘She’s on call tonight, so if the phone goes, don’t be alarmed.’
‘It’s supper, not tea,’ reproved Cissy coolly. ‘Tea is a drink or something you have mid-afternoon.’
‘Well thanks for educating me, Cissy,’ the girl replied with an impish glint in her dark eyes. ‘But the evening meal has always been tea in this house, as you very well know.’
‘Yes,’ said Peggy. ‘They might have supper in the mess at Cliffe, but we don’t stand on ceremony here. Just eat your tea, Cissy, and be grateful there’s any food on the table at all.’
Cissy reddened beneath the heav
y make-up, moved the food about on her plate with a fork and then abandoned it. ‘I’m really not that hungry,’ she said.
‘I’ll ’ave it then,’ said Ivy, and before Cissy could react, she’d scraped the lot onto her own plate, and tucked in. ‘Waste not, want not,’ she said through a mouthful of meat and mash.
Cissy looked at her askance, saw her mother’s warning frown and knew better than to say anything.
Fran broke into the awkward silence, her green eyes alight with pride as the last rays of the sun glinted in her copper curls. ‘I’ve been waiting until you were home, Aunt Peggy, to tell everyone our news.’
Peggy’s spirits soared in delight. ‘You’re having a baby,’ she squeaked.
Fran giggled. ‘You’re jumping the gun a bit, Auntie Peg – but the news is just as exciting.’ She saw she had everyone’s attention and hurried on. ‘Robert had a really important meeting in London today,’ she declared before nudging her husband. ‘Go on, you tell them.’
Robert had always been rather shy, and went pink as all eyes turned to him. He pushed his horn-rimmed glasses back onto the bridge of his nose and had to clear his throat before he could speak. ‘Well, you see,’ he began, ‘when it was clear the war in Europe was soon to be won, Anthony and I realised we should start planning for the future. So we applied for more senior posts within the Ministry of Defence, and were called up to London today to be interviewed.’
‘Anthony was with you?’ gasped Peggy. ‘Doris’s son?’
He nodded, took off his glasses and polished them with his handkerchief. ‘It seems we’re just the sort of men they’re looking for,’ he said, going a deeper scarlet, ‘and so, on the first of June, Anthony will be going to the Cambridge office, and I’ll be off to Whitehall. It’s a plum posting, and I’m sure I only got it because of my grandfather’s long and distinguished career in the Diplomatic Corps.’
‘You did not,’ Fran furiously protested. ‘It was because you’ve earnt it.’ She turned to Peggy. ‘To be sure, Aunt Peg, he’s too modest by half.’
A chorus of congratulations drowned her out, and although Peggy was delighted for the young couple, and joined in with the congratulations for the new and exciting venture they were about to embark upon, she couldn’t imagine Beach View without Fran, who’d been with her for years and was as loved as a daughter.
She smiled across the table at Robert. ‘Very well done, Robert. I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful career – but what exactly will you be doing in Whitehall?’
‘I’m afraid I’m unable to tell you, Peggy,’ he said regretfully. ‘The Secrets Act I signed at the beginning of the war still holds, you see – for both me and Anthony,’ he added with a twinkle in his eye. ‘So there’s no point in trying to pump him about his work either.’
Peggy chuckled. ‘You know me too well, Robert, but you’ve both been so mysterious about what you do for the MOD that you can hardly blame me for being curious.’
She turned to Fran. ‘I shall be so sorry to see you go, my dear. Beach View won’t be at all the same without you, but it sounds as if you have exciting times ahead in London. I suppose you’ll have to put in your notice at the General pretty soon if you’re leaving at the end of the month?’
‘I handed it in the minute Robert got home and told me his news,’ she replied, grasping Peggy’s hand. ‘To be sure I’ll miss you, Peg, for you’ve been a mother to me all these years, especially when mine disowned me. I’ll not be forgetting you, I promise, and will come for a visit as often as I can.’
‘But where will you live in London?’ asked Peggy. ‘By all accounts the city is little more than an enormous bomb site.’
‘The MOD will provide us with furnished accommodation until we can get a place of our own, so you’re not to be worrying, Aunt Peg,’ Fran soothed.
‘Will you carry on nursing, Fran?’ asked Danuta who’d slipped into the kitchen without anyone noticing.
‘Aye, that I will,’ Fran replied. ‘Even though I’m now an old married lady,’ she giggled, hugging Robert’s arm. ‘I’m hoping to get a place at St Thomas’s, or St George’s, but I’ll not be applying just yet.’
‘You’ll want to settle in London first and find your way around, I expect,’ said Rita.
Fran bit her lip and shared a glance with Robert. ‘There is that,’ she conceded, ‘but first we’re going to Ireland to see my family.’
‘Oh, Fran, no,’ groaned Peggy. ‘You know very well how it will be over there, so why put yourself through the unnecessary heartache of being rejected again?’
‘Because if I don’t, I’ll always wonder if going there and facing up to them might have changed things.’ She gripped Robert’s hand. ‘To be sure me heart is already aching, Peggy, but if there’s the slightest chance of turning things round, then I must risk hurting it some more.’
‘Well, I think you’re very brave,’ said Peggy, ‘and if things don’t work out, you know where I am. I’ll never close the door on you, Fran, I promise.’
‘To be sure, I know that,’ Fran said softly.
‘So, Fran, when will you be leaving?’ asked Danuta, bringing her hot plate to the table.
‘Robert will book our ferry and train tickets tomorrow, and we hope to leave on Sunday morning.’
‘So soon?’ gasped Peggy.
Fran’s green eyes glittered with regret. ‘I’m sorry, but there’s so little time left before the end of the month, and the journey to Ireland will take two days from here. We plan to be in Ireland for a week, and then travel straight to London, leaving us only four days to settle in before Robert has to be in his office. So you see, Aunt Peg, we have no other option but to leave as soon as possible.’
Peggy wished wholeheartedly that she could go with her, but merely nodded, forced to accept that Fran now had Robert by her side to support and guide her through this journey that would undoubtedly be an extremely difficult and emotional one.
‘Then we must make the most of you while we can,’ she said. ‘I’ll see if Alf has got a joint of beef or something under the counter so we can have a proper roast on your last night.’
‘It’s already in hand and paid for, Peggy,’ said Robert. ‘I’m picking it up on Saturday morning.’
‘Bless you, dear,’ managed Peggy. ‘You didn’t have to do that.’
‘Oh, but I did,’ said Robert stoutly. ‘You’ve loved and cared for my girl ever since she came to Cliffehaven, given us a home to start our married life in, and seen Fran through her darkest days. A joint of meat is nothing in comparison.’
To avoid further protest, and clearly feeling a bit embarrassed by his unusually long and emotional speech, he pushed away from the table. ‘We’re off to the Anchor to celebrate my promotion, so if any of you feel like joining us, the first drink is on me.’
Cissy, Rita, Sarah and Cordelia immediately set about fetching coats and outdoor shoes whilst Danuta swiftly finished her meal so she could join them, but Peggy was tired and really not in the mood for celebration. ‘I’ll stay here with Daisy and put her to bed if you don’t mind,’ she said. ‘It’s been a long day for both of us, and we have another early start tomorrow.’
Cissy and Cordelia understood her reluctance and chivvied the others out. ‘We won’t be back late, Mum,’ said Cissy. ‘And I’ll bring you something as a nightcap.’
‘Come on, Ivy,’ said Rita impatiently. ‘I’ve only got an hour before I’m due at the fire station.’
‘I’ll catch up with you,’ Ivy replied.
‘It’s not like you to lag behind when there’s a free drink on offer,’ teased Peggy as Rita crashed the back door shut behind her.
‘Yeah, I know, but it don’t feel right taking free drinks when I ain’t got the money to pay for a round.’
‘What is it, Ivy?’ asked Peggy gently. ‘You’ve been very quiet all evening.’
‘The factory’s shutting tomorrow night, so I’m out of a job.’ Her hazel eyes were pleading as she looked at Peggy. ‘I don’t supp
ose you got anything at Solly’s, ’ave yer? I could learn to use them machines, or ’elp with the packing and stores, or even sweep up and clean the lavs if that’s all what’s going. But I ’ave to find something, Auntie Peg.’
Peggy could see how desperate she was, and hated having to disappoint her. ‘Oh, Ivy, I’m so sorry, but I can’t help. We’ve got a long list of returning service people who want their old jobs back, and I have to take them on first. I’ll add you to the list,’ she hurried on, ‘but it could be a long wait.’
‘Oh, Gawd,’ Ivy groaned. ‘I were afraid you’d say that, but I got to find something quick. It ain’t fair on Andy if I keep dipping into our savings.’
Peggy wanted to help, but knew the job situation in Cliffehaven wasn’t good. It would be extremely tough to find anything that an unskilled girl could do. Then, as Cissy returned with a bottle of beer for her, she had a spark of inspiration.
‘Have you ever done bar work, Ivy? Ron and Rosie might need help at the Anchor – or you could ask your Andy’s Aunt Gloria if she could give you something at the Crown?’
‘You’re engaged to Gloria Stevens’s nephew?’ gasped Cissy. ‘Good grief.’
‘You can wipe that snooty expression off yer face,’ snapped Ivy. ‘She’s a diamond, is Gloria, and worth two of you.’
‘Pound for pound, she probably is,’ sniffed Cissy. ‘I’ve never seen so much blubber on display.’
‘That’s enough, Cissy,’ snapped Peggy. ‘This is a private conversation, and I’d appreciate it if you’d go back to the Anchor and leave us to it.’
Cissy shrugged nonchalantly and sashayed off back to the pub.
‘Has she always been like that, Auntie Peg?’ Ivy asked, still bristling.
‘Thankfully, no, but I suspect her time at Cliffe with all those toffs has unfortunately made her see things in a different light. I’ll have a quiet word with her over the weekend, and trust you not to say anything to her to make the situation more difficult. We don’t want a repeat of what happened with my sister, do we?’
