With Hope and Love

by Ellie Dean

  ‘I’ve fed the chickens,’ said Cissy as she stirred the porridge. ‘And there are enough eggs for everyone, so I thought I’d boil them and do toast soldiers. Daisy tells me it’s her favourite breakfast.’ Cissy looked around the kitchen with a frown. ‘Where is Daisy?’

  ‘Upstairs, waiting for Cordelia. Since we lost Queenie, she’s taken to sitting on Cordy’s lap for the ride down the stairs each morning – although I fear she’s getting a little too heavy for such delicate knees.’

  ‘I’m sure Grandma Cordy will say something if that’s the case. She’s never been one to stay quiet when something doesn’t suit her,’ said Cissy with laughter in her voice. ‘But the stairlift has certainly given her a new lease of life,’ she added. ‘It’s a marvellous thing. Rita and her chap must be very clever to come up with something like that.’

  ‘Indeed they are,’ replied Peggy. ‘But then Rita was always good with machinery – she got it from her father.’

  Further conversation was halted by the arrival of Sarah, Jane and Danuta, who were swiftly followed by Rita, Jack, Cordelia and Daisy. Harvey rushed from one to the other, whining with pleasure, his tail windmilling in delight as he was patted and petted, and a laughing Daisy was almost knocked over in his enthusiasm.

  Peggy lifted Daisy out of harm’s way and onto a chair, tying a bib around her neck so she didn’t dirty her clean clothes. The others sat down, poured out the tea and tucked into the porridge as they discussed their plans for the day.

  Danuta was on duty this evening, so she was going to St Cuthbert’s Church to attend morning Mass and put flowers on the graves of her brother and stillborn baby. Sarah and Jane were going to visit the horses at the dairy and then have lunch at the Officers’ Club, and Cordelia’s friend and loyal companion, Bertie Double-Barrelled, was taking her out for afternoon tea at the golf club. Cissy would be walking Harvey for the last time as Ron and Rosie were due back later this morning, and she told Peggy she might also go to the golf club in the afternoon to see what the game involved and if she might enjoy it. Clarissa and Philippa played golf, and Cissy thought it all sounded very jolly.

  ‘Dad and I will be going to visit Pete,’ said Rita, ‘but first I need to pop over to the Crown and make sure Ivy’s coping.’

  ‘There’s no need for that,’ said Ivy, appearing in the doorway to the basement. ‘I’m fine, really I am.’

  Rita shot out of her chair and hugged her. ‘I would have come the minute I heard,’ she said, ‘but Peggy told me you were being looked after by Andy and Gloria.’

  Ivy returned her hug and nodded, her little face drawn and shadowed by the tears she’d shed. ‘I know you would have,’ she murmured, ‘but I just needed to be with Andy for a while to take it all in and plan what to do next.’

  She drew from the embrace and went to kiss Peggy’s cheek. ‘Thanks for dropping off my stuff, Auntie Peg, and for being there when Andy got back.’

  ‘Do you want some breakfast?’ Cissy gave Ivy a sympathetic squeeze on her arm.

  Ivy shook her head and gave a wan smile. ‘Thanks, but I ’ad something at Gloria’s.’ She turned back to Peggy. ‘I ain’t staying fer long, Auntie Peg. I’m just ’ere to pack a few things, ’cos me and Andy are going to London to sort stuff out and thank Mrs De Vries for all she done, and then I’m going on to Salisbury to see Georgie and Elsie, and make sure they ain’t too upset.’

  ‘But you can’t go all that way alone,’ protested Peggy. ‘Andy should be with you.’

  ‘He’s got shifts to do at the fire station, and although John Hicks offered to give him some time off, we can’t afford to lose out on the money, especially now I’ve got the kids to think about.’

  ‘As I said before, you can bring them back here,’ said Peggy. ‘It will mean a bit of shifting about with the rooms, but it’s no bother, really it isn’t.’

  Ivy was tearful as she gave Peggy a hug. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without yer,’ she said gruffly. ‘But don’t go to any trouble just yet, Auntie Peg. I could be away for a while, and I need to see how the land lies down there before I bring ’em home. They might be too upset to travel straight away – and then of course, me brothers could turn up and ’ave different ideas about what to do.’ With that she hurried out of the kitchen and ran upstairs, Rita following closely behind her.

  The mood in the kitchen had changed with Ivy’s arrival, and once the food had been eaten, the table was quietly cleared, and the crockery washed and dried almost in silence until Cordelia suggested they should have a whip-round to help Ivy with the train fares.

  Everyone had been touched by Ivy’s plight and chipped in generously before drifting off to get on with their day. Cissy took Harvey for his walk, Danuta left for church, and Sarah went with her sister for a stroll up to the dairy while Jack made his excuses and went into the back garden to inspect the Norton motorbike that he and Rita had restored before the war.

  Peggy and Cordelia sat in the kitchen, deep in their own thoughts, as Daisy built towers of wooden bricks and knocked them over. The past week had brought so much tragedy and sadness that it was hard to believe the war was over in Europe, for the consequences were still being revealed in all their horror. Charlotte would be raising Freddy’s twins without their father; the youngsters in Salisbury would never see their parents again, and Ivy had been thrust into the role of caring for them instead of being free to enjoy her new married life with Andy.

  Cordelia’s thoughts seemed to be in line with Peggy’s, for she looked over her half-moon glasses and asked, ‘Do you think he’ll stick by her now she’ll have the children to look after?’

  ‘I hope he proves to be the man I believe he is,’ said Peggy. ‘But it will be hard for both of them, and only time will tell.’

  Ruby had woken to the delicious aroma of coffee and sizzling bacon and wondered if she was still dreaming. Throwing on her tatty old dressing gown and digging her feet into her slippers, she’d shuffled into the kitchen to find Mike busy at the range.

  He’d greeted her with a kiss and then explained that he’d used his initiative and followed the aroma of cooking to the factory estate canteen where the lady in charge had been delighted to sell him the makings of what Ruby called a Full English breakfast.

  They’d tucked in hungrily, and Ruby listened in amazement as he’d outlined the plans for the morning. While Ruby went to see Stan at the station and Peggy at Beach View, he would go to the Officers’ Club and try to arrange their wedding reception. Being a Sunday it would be impossible to order a cake or flowers, or shop for a dress, as everything was shut, but first thing Monday morning, Ruby was to go into town on a spending spree.

  Ruby had smiled to herself as he’d excitedly rattled on, for he made it all sound so easy, and yet she knew it wouldn’t be – not at such short notice and with rationing tighter than ever. As for the shopping spree, it would have to wait until she’d given in her notice at the factory and done her final shift so she got her full week’s pay. Mike seemed flush with money at the moment, but he’d soon find that weddings were expensive if carried out on such a lavish scale, and Ruby certainly didn’t want them landing in Canada with little or nothing in their pockets to pay their way.

  Having eaten her fill and cleared away the dishes, Ruby brought the curtains in from the line and as it was still early, ran an iron over them, and then got Mike to help her hang them back up so the neighbours didn’t get an eyeful of what they were up to. Taking this as a hint, Mike tumbled her into bed and they made slow, sweet love until the sound of the church bells reminded them they had other, rather pressing things to do.

  Ruby was positively glowing with happiness as she watched Mike stride up the hill towards the Officers’ Club. She had never felt so loved, or content with life, and she almost had to pinch herself to believe it was real, and that within days she would be Mike’s wife.

  She snapped out of her thoughts and hurried into the station to find Stan just as the London train pulled out. Stan had been t
he first person she’d met when she’d arrived in Cliffehaven, cold and hungry, and still bearing the bruises from her husband’s latest beating. He and Ron Reilly had rescued her from the assigned billet where her husband had tried to rape her, and taken her to Beach View. Peggy’s loving care had given her strength and courage to face the man who’d made her life such a misery, and when he’d been killed in an accident shortly after the confrontation, she hadn’t shed a tear.

  Her mother, Ethel, had followed her down to Cliffehaven and made a beeline for the widowed Stan who had a nice railway cottage and a steady income. Against all advice, Stan had married her, but Ethel soon revealed her true nature by being arrested for stealing food from the Red Cross and selling it on the black market. Poor Stan had been devastated to realise how well he’d been fooled, but with the love and support of Ruby and all his friends, he’d slowly recovered and was back to his ebullient self. Ethel was still in prison, and as far as Ruby was concerned, she could stay there.

  Ruby saw that April was up in the signal box switching the levers so the departing train ran along the right track. Stan turned and saw Ruby, and with a huge grin, opened his arms in welcome. ‘My dear girl. I hear Mike’s home at last.’

  Ruby stepped into his soft, all-encompassing embrace. ‘Nothing gets past you, does it?’ she teased.

  ‘It comes with the job. I hear everything on this platform.’ He held her away from him and regarded her with affection. ‘I don’t need to ask how things are with you and Mike,’ he rumbled. ‘There are stars in your eyes and you’re glowing.’ He hugged her again and kissed the top of her head. ‘So different to the waif that arrived here in the middle of the night half-starved and covered in bruises,’ he murmured. ‘And thank God for it.’

  ‘Let the dog see the rabbit, Uncle Stan,’ said April, pushing in to grab Ruby. ‘So when’s the wedding?’ she breathed.

  ‘On Wednesday,’ Ruby replied and then laughed at their shocked expressions before explaining the reason. ‘I want you both there, and Paula, of course.’ She looked around, but the child was nowhere to be seen. ‘What you done with ’er, April?’

  ‘She’s with Vera at the telephone exchange being spoilt rotten with biscuits and milky tea, I suspect. I’m picking her up after I’ve seen off the next train.’ April grinned and gave her a swift hug. ‘I’m so pleased for you, Ruby.’

  ‘So am I,’ said Stan who was quite flushed with pleasure. ‘Mike’s a good man. He’ll look after you.’ He grinned down at her. ‘Have you told Peggy and Cordelia yet? There’s nothing they like more than a wedding and happily crying all the way through it. But we’ll all be sad to see you go. You’ve become part of the Beach View family.’

  ‘I’m going there next,’ she replied. ‘I’m hoping Ivy will agree to come shopping with me for me dress tomorrow, and to be me bridesmaid.’

  Stan’s happy smile vanished and he glanced anxiously across at April as if unsure of what to say.

  Ruby experienced a stab of alarm. ‘What is it? What’s happened to Ivy? She ain’t been ’urt, has she?’

  Stan took her hand and quietly told her all he knew of Ivy’s circumstances. ‘You missed her by seconds,’ he said finally. ‘She and Andy were on that train.’

  He saw the tears in her eyes and put his arm round her to hold her close. ‘I’m sorry to spoil your day, Ruby, but you had to be told before you went to Beach View.’

  Ruby’s tears dampened his railway uniform jacket as the sadness for Ivy’s situation twisted her heart. ‘So I probably won’t ever see ’er again if she’s going to Salisbury,’ she managed.

  ‘It’s unlikely. The journey there is long and she’ll probably stay a while before coming back.’ Stan gently held her away from him, giving her a clean handkerchief to dry her tears. ‘Ivy’s strong like you, Ruby,’ he said softly. ‘She’ll come through this as she’s come through everything else – and she has a good man by her side in Andy.’

  Ruby nodded, knowing Stan was right, but the sadness for her friend lingered and the thought of not seeing her again hit hard. She would miss Ivy’s raucous laughter, her sense of mischief and fun, and the quiet moments in which they’d shared their dreams about their wedding day when each attended the other as bridesmaid.

  She gave a deep sigh, finished drying her eyes and plastered on a smile. ‘I hope things turn out all right for her,’ she said. ‘I’ll write a letter with me forwarding address and leave it with you to give to ’er when she gets back. I’d love to ’ear from her and all of you, ’cos I expect I’ll get a bit ’omesick all the way over there.’

  ‘I’ll make sure she gets it,’ he assured her. ‘Do you want a cuppa before you go to Peggy’s?’

  Ruby shook her head. ‘Thanks, Stan, but I’d better get on. I’m meeting Mike at one, and don’t want to be late.’ She hugged and kissed both of them, and as the next train slowly emerged around the bend, she took her leave.

  Peggy had finally managed to have a long chat with her younger sister, Doreen, and was delighted to hear that she and the girls were very happy and settled, and that Doreen was being courted by one of the masters at the school in Wales where she worked as a secretary. Doreen was hoping to visit Cliffehaven in the summer holidays so she could see the new and improved Doris for herself and meet the man who’d brought about the miraculous change in her.

  Peggy’s spirits had been lifted no end after that call, and she was on the point of getting Daisy ready to go out for an hour in the recreation playground when Doris turned up asking after Ivy.

  On hearing the news that she’d already left for London, Doris gave a deep sigh and settled into a kitchen chair, so Peggy abandoned her plans, told her Doreen’s news, and put the kettle on for tea.

  Doris listened, but her mind was clearly still on Ivy for she made no comment about Doreen. ‘I was hoping to offer Ivy some help – although I don’t really know what I could have done in the circumstances, except to pay some of her train fare. The pair of them don’t have much money, and travelling all the way to Salisbury will eat into their savings.’

  ‘Don’t fret, Doris,’ Peggy soothed. ‘We all chipped in with enough to cover her journey to Salisbury and back – although it was the devil’s own job making her accept it,’ she added with a rueful smile.

  ‘I do worry about her,’ said Doris. ‘It seems she plunges from one disaster to another, and none of it is her fault.’

  ‘I know what you mean, but there is some good news. Thanks to John Hicks, Andy’s got a full-time, well-paid job with Walthamstow Fire Brigade, and a nice flat goes with it. He’s due to start there at the beginning of June.’ Peggy poured the tea and changed the subject. ‘How did it go yesterday? And what’s Michael like?’

  Doris shot her a beaming smile. ‘It was a bit awkward at first, naturally, but once the food was on the table, things improved. Michael’s a quiet man, but I sense he’s in possession of an inner steel which I suspect is what saw him through his imprisonment. He’s far too thin, of course, but with some good square meals inside him, he’ll soon fill out.’

  Doris sipped the tea before carrying on. ‘He made it clear he didn’t want to talk about his experiences as a POW and John and I respected that and kept the conversation focused on how we met, our work on the factory estate, and some of the funny incidents we’ve had to deal with. He seemed to accept his father’s relationship with me, and told us he was looking forward to rejoining his regiment in a month’s time.’ Her smile was wry. ‘He feels that his promotion to Major went some way towards paying for the years he’d spent in prison.’

  She took a breath and hurried on. ‘I told him about Anthony and Susan and darling little Teddy, and how proud I am that Anthony has been promoted to a very important position within the MOD.’

  ‘It’s going to be a wrench to have to move to Cambridge after settling so well where they are,’ said Peggy.

  ‘I’m sure Anthony will see that everything is organised with the least disruption, and of course the MOD is payin
g their removal costs and providing accommodation until they find a suitable house in Cambridge.’ Doris offered her packet of cigarettes to Peggy and once they were alight, she continued.

  ‘Susan will have to give up her nursing, of course, but that’s no bad thing. Anthony’s rise in salary means there’s no need for her to work, and she can be at home where she should be, looking after Teddy. These formative years are so important, and I’m sure Teddy would much prefer to be at home with his mother than being left in a nursery all day.’

  Peggy very much disagreed with her sister, but knew better than to say so. The younger generation of women were no longer satisfied with sitting at home and depending on their husband for every last penny. The war had opened many doors previously closed to them, and those with ambition had leapt at the chance to use their talents, earn their own money and cut through the restrictions that had kept their mothers tied to the kitchen sink. And it seemed men like Anthony and Fran’s Robert fully encouraged it. Her Jim, of course, was an entirely different kettle of fish, and there would probably be ructions when he finally made it home.

  She smoked the cigarette and watched as her sister helped Daisy with her jigsaw puzzle. Daisy certainly hadn’t been harmed by being in the crèche every weekday; in fact she was much more advanced than her other children had been at that age – and she’d been at home all the time with them.

  Daisy would be four at the end of the year, and because of Nanny Pringle’s excellent programme, could already count to ten, recite nursery rhymes, and recognise certain letters of the alphabet. The child was sociable, had learnt to share her toys, be polite to adults and sit quietly when being read to – and although there were temper tantrums, they were becoming fewer, as she’d realised that big eyes and a bigger smile got her much further than a scowl.

  Doris broke into her thoughts. ‘I know you go to work and leave Daisy in that crèche, so I hope you don’t think I was criticising you. After all, you’re much older than Susan, and Daisy has been brought up amongst strangers, so she’s bound to be more worldly-wise. But it’s different with Susan, and Teddy is that much younger.’