The Secret Orphan

by Glynis Peters

  ‘I know, she’s trouble. I’m not sure how much longer I can cope with her. I’ll speak to the Crops Officer on the next visit.’

  Around the supper table Dottie asked Rose why she’d climbed so high. Elenor had forgotten she wasn’t in on the earlier conversation.

  ‘It was a mishap, Dottie. Rose tried to …’

  Titch slammed down her fork and made the rest around the table jump.

  ‘The kid copied me. I climbed to the top and dared her. I was wrong. I was bored growing veggies, and I ’ate animals, so let’s stop going on about it. Bleedin’ rabbitin’ on about it all the darn time.’

  Before Elenor could say a word, Dottie responded and not in a quiet voice.

  ‘Hold your tongue. You wear a uniform and work for your government. We have a duty to our country. You disrespect someone who has given you billeted quarters which would make others green with envy. Elenor doesn’t deserve this kind of stupidity. Rose is part of the farm, we care for her when asked. There is nothing boring about this place. And you will leave my man alone, or be bored somewhere else.’

  Her face was red and Elenor sensed the anger towards Titch would heighten if not calmed sooner rather than later.

  Elenor looked over at Rose whose mouth was wide open in amazement and looked at the angry faces of the others before standing up.

  ‘I’m going to say this once. We live under the same roof and work as a family. Families have upsets and arguments. This is one of them. Rose did wrong copying Titch, and Titch did wrong leading her astray. Titch, you need to heed Dottie’s words. We had a scare today, and I need to trust you with Rose, so please Titch, make an effort or leave. Apple pie anyone?’

  Elenor’s hand shook as she cut the pie but when Susie gave her a thumbs up, she calmed down. February was not her favourite month.

  Chapter 39

  Life wasn’t any easier by springtime with enemy air raids causing chaos and sleepless nights, but everyone rose each day, thankful they still had the gift of another.

  April showers had fallen for a week, and so had the temperatures, but slowly something changed. The blackbirds sang louder and blue-tits dotted from shrub to tree. Each day the sun grew stronger.

  The first stage of working on the tithe barn had begun and a group of ten POW residents worked diligently removing the stonework. With school finished for the Easter holidays, Rose checked upon the pregnant ewes with Tom every day and relayed their progress to the household, impatient for the lambs to arrive. Today was no different, and Elenor felt it time she spoke about the lambs’ future and duty to become food for the British people. Through sobbing tears, Rose declared she understood, but once peace came she wanted a pet lamb, just like Mary in her nursery rhyme book. Elenor made no promises.

  ‘We cannot predict our future, Rose, nor those of the lambs. In the meantime, we have cheese and butter to make.’

  Whenever her bones ached, and the pressures of running the farm and caring for Rose got her down, Elenor reminded herself she would not be able to provide so much for Rose in Coventry.

  ‘Are you coming to the dance on Saturday, Elenor? Dottie and Tom are going. I’ll be surprised if Titch doesn’t,’ Susie asked as she squeezed the liquid from rennet.

  ‘I don’t go to dances anymore, and besides, how can I?’ Elenor said and lifted her chin towards Rose.

  ‘She can sleep at ours, Mum suggested it. She gets on with our Brian’s girl, and she’s sleeping over. Let your hair down for once, goodness knows you deserve it, and I know you love music.’

  Rose stopped beating the cream in her bowl.

  ‘Sleep at your house? Can I Elenor, please, can I?’ she pleaded.

  Susie stood with her hands on her hips and stared at Elenor.

  ‘I give in. Goodness, you two are an army to deal with. Yes, you can, and yes, I’d like to go to the dance with you Susie. It will make a change, thank you.’

  Elenor was grateful to Susie, there was no age difference when it came to their likes and dislikes, and Susie behaved like a blood relative rather than paid help. The more Rose chattered on about it, the more excited about Saturday evening Elenor became. It would be her first dance since leaving Coventry.

  ‘All done,’ Elenor declared and looked at the filled bowls set aside on the dresser. ‘I’m off to do my fence checks, and then join the others with the muck spreading, Rose. You have the choice of joining me or helping Susie with clearing up here. You can peel potatoes and help her feed the pigs. What’s it to be?’ Elenor said and placed her hands on Rose’s shoulders.

  ‘Yuk, I’ll help Susie.’

  Elenor pulled a light cardigan across her shoulders and tied it at the front. The shady areas in the woods still held a chill. She pulled on her boots, stepped outside into the sunshine and lifted her face to the sky to let the warmth of the sun touch her skin. Seth ran to her side, and they tugged and pulled on a piece of rope until they reached the edge of the woods.

  Turning around, Elenor looked over at a neglected piece of arable land and pulled out her notepad, making a note to turn it over to clover crops for more cattle feed.

  ‘Writing to me?’

  A male voice startled her, but without lifting her head she licked the end of the pencil and carried on writing. Just those few words stirred a storm inside her, his silky tone stroked every fibre in her body, the hairs on her neck tingled, and behind her breastbone her heart beat so fast she feared for her life.

  ‘Why on earth would I want to write to you about clover fields?’ she said without raising her head from her writing.

  ‘Fair point.’

  As she wrote, Elenor’s hand shook. Jackson was here, in front of her and she dared not look for fear he would disappear if she did. When she could resist it no longer, she gave a coy smile. With his jacket slung over his left shoulder, and his sleeves rolled up showing off his muscular arms he looked every bit the film star she’d admired on the cinema screen. Her eyes strayed to his chest, a broad platform screaming out for her to touch the firm flesh beneath.

  Control Elenor. Control.

  ‘Why, if it isn’t Jackson St John from Canada. Passing by, are you?’ she joked.

  Her mind fired up with so many thoughts. Why was he here? What on earth did she look like? Why did he come here with her looking the way she did?

  ‘Yeah, took a stroll from Canada to Cornwall, and dropped by Summercourt for a cup of British tea.’

  Elenor raised her eyes higher and looked straight at him and knew it was her downfall. His deep brown eyes stared back at her, and his white teeth offered such a smile she could not help but smile back. Smart in his uniform, he was certain to have turned heads when he walked through the village. He’d matured since she met him last, he’d gone from boy to man. He was more than handsome, more than a good looker, to Elenor he was a fine specimen of a man. He was her temptation.

  ‘I assume you’re lost then, Airman St John. Ever thought of investing in a decent compass?’ she teased.

  ‘I don’t need one,’ he said.

  ‘Really? You could have fooled me, you are a long way from home.’

  ‘Oh, I knew where I was headed Miss, and my internal compass got me here.’

  With a nervous giggle, and completely floored by his sudden appearance and the effect it was having on her, Elenor made a pretend note in her pad.

  ‘Forgive me, I was just busy with planning the farm for next season. Not all of us have the luxury of wandering the countryside on a whim. Some of us have to cultivate it to stop starvation, it’s our fight against the enemy, especially when we are given the freedom to do so,’ she said and regretted the sarcasm in her voice. Although she delighted in the fact he stood in front of her, she could not forget he’d let her down.

  ‘Can you ever forgive me, Elenor?’ he asked. ‘I was wrong to let you go. I handled it badly.’

  ‘A Valentine’s card of all things,’ Elenor whispered.

  ‘Forgive me. Please forgive me.’

  Eleno
r looked up at him again. His eyes smiled into hers, and her feelings confused her; she wanted the world to stop and the moment to never end. She wanted him to say he loved her and to run with her through the fields, to stroke her hair during the bombing raids and to hold her hands on a dark night under the stars. All the things she’d read in the romance novels Susie lent her. She wanted Jackson to give her those things. She wanted to forgive him, and yet, something held her back.

  Seth interrupted her thoughts when he raced back from inside the woods. He yipped at Jackson and received a scratch behind the ears in return.

  ‘So, you’ll not refuse a cup of tea then?’ she said, all thoughts of muck spreading gone from her mind.

  ‘Lead the way, Farmer Cardew, lead the way.’

  When they reached the yard, Rose greeted Seth, and looked to Elenor and Jackson walking through the bottom vegetable plots. She shielded her eyes from the sun.

  ‘Oh, you found a pilot in the woods, Elenor. Where’s your aeroplane?’

  Her question brought about a burst of laughter from the two adults.

  ‘In a way, yes, I did Rose, and he left his plane at home. You remember Jackson, the man your daddy and I wrote to in Canada?’

  Jackson knelt down in front of Rose. ‘You sent me a picture once, it was inside your daddy’s letter. Apparently, you asked about the type of plane I wanted to fly, and it was a lovely drawing.’

  Elenor saw the frown flit across Rose’s face. Then she thought of George.

  ‘Sadly, George is no longer with us, Jackson. I’m so sorry, I wrote to your grandfather to let him know, but he obviously hasn’t told you.’

  ‘Post takes weeks to get here, and often gets sent to the wrong base. I move around a lot, he’d let me know for sure.’

  Jackson stooped down and took one of Rose’s hands and held it in his, Elenor was touched by the gesture.

  ‘Rose, I am sorry for your loss. It is a dreadful thing for you to have to live through. Are you on your Easter holidays with Elenor?’

  Shaking her head and pulling away her hand, Rose picked up the rope and threw it for Seth who’d taken to jumping around them both.

  ‘No, I live here. My family are dead. No one else wants me. I’m a norphan. That’s right isn’t it, Elenor?’

  Elenor smiled at her, ‘Orphan, darling. An orphan. Anyway, it is rude to keep our visitor waiting, run on and let Susie know we’ve a guest.’

  She waited until Rose had gone inside before she spoke.

  ‘I’m afraid Victoria was killed, too. All traces of her family have disappeared. Any paperwork on her or her parents have been destroyed in a fire. I try to give her hope, but alas, I think she is stuck with me as her guardian.’

  Turning his hat round and round in his hands, Jackson stood quiet. When he spoke she heard the concern in his voice.

  ‘You have a lot on your shoulders, Elenor. My goodness, most girls would have run a mile at the thought of running a farm alone, without taking on the added responsibility of an orphaned child. You have a lifetime obligation.’

  Shrugging her shoulders Elenor made a move towards the house. For some reason his words niggled her. Maybe it was because they flagged up her future. One she’d once dreamed might have been with Jackson. When she saw him in her field today, it gave her hope, but the realisation of her present life reared up in her face with his statement.

  ‘What was I to do, leave her alone and bereaved? I’m her named next of kin. What was I supposed to say, thanks but no thanks, I have my own life to lead?’

  ‘Calm down, I didn’t mean what you think. I simply said you have taken on a lot, and I’m sure you’ll cope. You’re one heck of a girl. It’s just sad your life has been mapped out this way. Fate didn’t deal a kind hand.’

  Brushing away his hand from her shoulder, Elenor tugged her turbaned scarf from her head and shook down her hair. She’d grown hot and irritated and her temper flared. Her emotions raged through her body like a storm at sea, swirling everything around. Any thoughts of life with Jackson were farcical, it was never going to happen. What made her think they ever would? He was right, she was a girl trapped in a woman’s world. But what irked her more, was the fact he could not understand why she took on Rose. Anyone entering her life had to understand, had to accept, Rose and Elenor came as a pair.

  ‘No, I’m not a heck of a girl, I’m me. Fate hasn’t dealt me an unkind hand, it’s given me a child to care for thanks to an enemy bomb. I’m someone whose life is as it is meant to be. Rose is like my daughter and we will get through this together.’

  Her throat constricted with fighting off tears and she gulped down her disappointment.

  ‘I’m afraid I need to go inside, please, don’t follow. Your words have reminded me of my priorities. Our pen-pal days have been over for some time now, and you made that choice Jackson. I think it is best you leave.’

  Fighting back tears of sadness, Elenor gave Jackson no time to respond. She couldn’t cope with having her heartbroken again. They had a different future.

  ‘I don’t confess to understand what just happened, Elenor, but I will do as you ask. I’ve not come here to cause you distress. Take care of yourself.’

  She heard his metal tipped boots clip across the yard but did not to look his way for fear of changing her mind. Once inside she explained to Rose and Susie that Jackson had to leave for duty. She pleaded a headache and went to her room and sobbed silently into her pillow. After an hour she composed herself and went downstairs. Giving into the demands of Susie, she told her their story and why she’d sent Jackson away. They debated romance and duty during wartime, and concluded Elenor had done the right thing in putting Rose first. Something confirmed when Rose placed a damp kiss on Elenor’s cheek.

  ‘This is to make you happy again,’ she said.

  Elenor scooped her into her arms and swung her around.

  ‘Right young Rose, about Saturday, I need a few things before I show my face at a dance. I suggest tomorrow we take a trip into St Austell. It is time we had a day out together.’

  Her reward was a squealed response from Rose.

  Snuggled on the sofa that evening, they made plans for their trip the following day. When instructed to go to bed, Rose stood in front of Elenor and put her hands on her hips. She looked comical but Elenor had learned never to laugh when Rose was in her serious mode.

  ‘Jackson was silly,’ she said, her voice indignant and matched her stance.

  ‘Pardon me?’ Elenor said.

  ‘He said I drew him a picture, I didn’t. I can’t draw planes. I didn’t ask about his silly plane. He’s a muddle brain.’

  ‘Maybe it was another little girl whose daddy wrote to him. Now off to bed.’

  Elenor sat back and wondered how many other young females had fallen for Jackson St John’s charms.

  Chapter 40

  Saturday morning arrived and Elenor raced through her farming chores. With her hair in pin curls under her turban, Elenor pounded the ground with her hoe and fork. Each time her mind drifted to thoughts of Jackson, she plunged into a bout of soil turning and sweated them away. She’d thought over his brief visit and wondered if she had handled the situation badly, but when she recalled him saying fate had given her a rough deal the ground received another bashing.

  After they’d eaten their evening meal, Rose was sent to pack her overnight bag whilst Elenor got ready.

  The sun had bleached a few layers and her chestnut curls shone. They sat around a neat plaited roll swept to one side. She teased a few rogue strands into place and stood back to see the end result and was relieved the no-fringe style suited her heart-shaped face.

  In St Austell she’d found a pretty flame-red short-sleeved dress with pearl buttons. When she’d stepped out from the changing room, it gained instant approval of Rose and the shop assistant.

  Upon arrival at Susie’s house, an excited Rose ran off with her nine-year-old hostess, sharing her excitement by showing off a new nightdress. Elenor accepte
d and gave compliments. More friends of Susie’s arrived and a happy group of females linked arms and chatted their way to the village hall.

  Once they’d arrived Elenor heard the music and laughter coming from inside.

  ‘Oh Susie, I’ve missed this, thank you for asking me along.’

  Susie squeezed her arm in affection.

  ‘You’ve dedicated your life to others, but you deserve a bit of happiness yourself, my lovely. Come on, let’s see who’s got two left feet.’

  A group of people moved around the room, all in a clockwise path and enjoying a cheerful waltz together. Elenor and Susie fetched a lemonade and joined Dottie, Tom and Titch at a table near the stage.

  Service men and women mingled around the room, and Elenor accepted offers of a dance once in a while, but always only one dance with each man. Some needed to be reminded where their hands sat during the dance, and others politely reprimanded when manoeuvring for a kiss. It was during one of those moments when Elenor swiftly moved her head to one side and saw a group of uniformed men walk through the door. She recognised their blue serge uniforms as that of the Canadian Air Force, and her heart skipped a beat; they wore the same as Jackson.

  Her dance partner moved her around the room with the grace of a donkey hauling a load, and after treading on her toes for the third time, he staggered off to join his friends at the bar. As she went to walk away, she spotted Jackson talking to a colleague. Not wanting him to see her she moved into the crowd and headed back to her table.

  Susie and Titch joined her when the dance finished.

  ‘How did you last another dance? They’re a ham-fisted lot, no idea of how to treat a lady. I see you ditched yours pretty quickly at the end, Susie,’ she said.

  Titch laughed. ‘She did. Mine was not a bad dancer,’ she said and pointed across the room. ‘Oh, isn’t that your visitor from the other afternoon? The chappie I saw you walking with on the farm? If you don’t, I will.’

  Susie giggled. ‘It is. It’s your man, Elenor.’ She stood up and staggered. Elenor grabbed her arm.