by Rosie Clarke
‘She is and she’s adorable,’ Sally said proudly, glad to speak of happier things.
‘Of course, she is – she has you and Ben for parents,’ Jenni said and hugged her. At that moment, they heard a wail from Jenny’s bedroom and they both smiled. ‘Right on cue,’ Jenni said and smiled for the first time. ‘She knows her aunty is here – and I have lots of little gifts for her in my suitcase.’
‘Jenni was a bit subdued this evening,’ Ben remarked as they were undressing later in their bedroom. They’d taken his sister for a meal in one of Mick’s restaurants and Jenni had eaten little and said even less. ‘I know she is grieving – and losing a baby is a terrible loss – but I can’t help sensing that something is wrong between her and Henry…’
‘Perhaps it’s just losing their son,’ Sally said and shuddered at the thought. ‘I feel so sorry for them both – for Jenni most of all, of course, but the child was his too. We would have been devastated had I miscarried our little one.’
‘He doesn’t seem to be showing any sign of distress,’ Ben said. ‘We had a business meeting earlier this evening, before I came home, and he didn’t even mention it, bit odd that…’ He shook his head, clearly disapproving. ‘He was having supper with the Prime Minister and an interview with His Majesty tomorrow and seemed more interested in that than Jenni.’
‘Perhaps he thought it inappropriate to speak of personal things at a Government meeting?’
‘Perhaps,’ Ben agreed. ‘I’m not sure I could carry on if it happened to us – God forbid!’
‘Yes, I know,’ she agreed. ‘How does anyone lose a baby and carry on, Ben?’
‘Jenni is behaving as I’d expect her to,’ Ben said thoughtfully. ‘She’s hurting and she never smiles unless it’s at you – but Henry’s no different to how I remember him before they married. I always thought him cold.’ He frowned. ‘I did warn her against marrying him. I know she had a crush on him for years, but he was never worthy of her…’
‘I know,’ Sally replied. She looked thoughtful. ‘I’ve only seen him once, but I didn’t like him. Perhaps I shouldn’t judge, but if I’d met him before Jenni married him, I’d have told her to wait and think again…’
‘You think the same as me,’ Ben said and looked at her hard. ‘Don’t tell me if Jenni asked you not to – but she’s said something, hasn’t she?’
‘I can’t answer that, Ben.’ She hated not being able to be honest with him but she had given her word to Jenni.
He nodded. ‘I knew there was something wrong. Don’t break your word, Sally. I’ll talk to her myself and ask what the problem is – it stands out a mile.’
‘Jenni says you have business with Henry…’
‘I do and I shan’t let my personal feelings interfere with that,’ Ben said and then looked angry. ‘Damn it! She’s my sister. I knew there was something very wrong when she didn’t write for so long. If it hadn’t been for the war, I’d have got on a ship and gone over.’
‘I think Jenni may want to stay here with us for a while after Henry goes home. I said we’d be happy to have her here in the apartment – and she can help me at Harpers if she wants. I can find plenty for her to do…’
‘Will he leave the boy? Jenni felt responsible for what happened to Tom and his mother, because she gave her her own ticket for passage on the Titanic.’ Ben frowned.
‘That wasn’t her fault; it was just fate,’ Sally said. ‘I’d love to have her here, but I think Henry will force his son to go with him.’
Ben put his arms about her and kissed her. ‘I love you so much, Sally. You do know that, don’t you? I might be late home sometimes and I don’t give you half the attention I should these days, but I do love you.’
‘I know,’ Sally said and hugged him back. ‘I love you too – and Jenni loves you, Ben. She needs us now and we’ll be here for her, won’t we?’
‘We shall,’ he agreed. ‘I could kill that bastard…’
‘She wouldn’t want that,’ Sally said. ‘Get every last penny and concession out of him that you can – and after the war, you can tell him what you think of him.’
Ben gave a shout of laughter. ‘That’s my Sally! No wonder you had Harpers making a profit in its second year. I thought we might take twice as long to get out of the red, but my clever wife showed me the way it was done all by herself.’
‘Not quite by myself – I had all Harpers’ staff to help me,’ Sally said and gave him a teasing smile. ‘Be careful what you say to Henry, darling. If Jenni has something to do or say, it is up to her. We can give her advice and help if she needs us, but we can’t interfere or pass opinions unless she invites it.’
‘As usual, you give me wise advice,’ Ben said and looked rueful. ‘If I had my way, I’d give the cold fish a good kick up the backside or a bloody nose.’ He glared. ‘I think both.’
Sally laughed and started to tickle him. ‘You’re so fierce, Ben Harper. I think if they put you on the front line, the enemy would run away.’
‘Tickle me, would you?’ Ben grinned and pounced on her. ‘Two can play at that game, Mrs Harper…’ He found her ticklish spot and punished her until she begged for mercy and was scooped up in loving arms and carried to their bed.
After their lovemaking, Sally lay wakeful for a while, thinking how lucky she was. She would like Jenni to be as lucky and wished there was something she could do to make her sister-in-law happy. Sighing, she pushed the thought away. Jenni would have to make her own decisions about her husband and her life herself but both Sally and Ben would always be there for her.
‘It’s lovely having you here in the office with me,’ Sally said when she and Jenni were sitting with a stocklist and a book of contacts in front of them. ‘Are you sure Henry doesn’t mind?’
‘He has meetings the whole day,’ Jenni said. ‘I’ve promised Tom I will take him sightseeing this afternoon. Perhaps you could come too, Sally. I know he’d like to meet you and Jenny. He’s doing schoolwork his father set him this morning; it was a condition of his being allowed to come that he did his work each day.’
Sally nodded but made no remark, although it seemed harsh to her that a young lad of not quite ten years was being forced to work so hard when he was on holiday in another country. If he was at home in America, he would be out of school anyway for a couple of months, but his father wanted him to study hard and get a scholarship to Harvard. She supposed it was often like that in the kind of family he was born into. Traditions had to be followed and sons were expected to follow in their father’s footsteps, whether they liked it or not.
‘Is Tom the academic sort?’ Sally asked and Jenni shook her head. ‘What would he rather do?’
‘He says be a soldier like his father – but I think he would hate it. He loves art and music… his mother did too…’
‘Well, you can be a soldier and love art,’ Sally offered.
‘Not in Henry’s book,’ she said. ‘If you’re dedicated to the Army, it should be your life – it is certainly Henry’s.’ Jenni shook her head. ‘When Tom was younger, I could spoil him, give him the love his mother would have, had she lived – but now he is Henry’s son and I’m not allowed to fuss over him. He is expected to behave in a certain way and no excuses.’
‘That is a pity,’ Sally said but made no further comment. It was not for her to pass an opinion on Henry’s son.
Sally and Jenni spent the morning ringing up various suppliers and Jenni managed to find two new ones for Harpers. The managers were delighted to hear from the prestigious store and promised to send catalogues or travellers to show what was available. Most had some stock for immediate supply, though they were keeping orders to a certain size, because otherwise there wouldn’t be enough to go around.
‘I brought some samples of china, glass, textiles and jewellery over in my trunks,’ Jenni told Sally when they’d finished for the morning and were about to leave for lunch. ‘We’re still producing at full pelt back home, so I bought what I could. I reckoned th
at any new stock would be welcome.’ She laughed. ‘Henry would’ve had a fit if he’d seen how many trunks with my name on them went into the hold, but I knew that you could do with whatever I could bring over.’ She smiled and although still subdued it was more like the old Jenni. Working with Sally had done her good.
‘Yes, we can,’ Sally told her. ‘I didn’t expect you to bring anything, Jenni – this was a holiday…’
‘I couldn’t waste the opportunity. The trunks have to be vetted by your customs first and then I’ll send them to you so that you can have first look.’
‘It will be like a treasure cave,’ Sally said and laughed. ‘That’s an unexpected gift, Jenni.’
Jenni shrugged. ‘You know me, I can’t resist a bargain.’ She looked up as Ruth knocked the door and entered, looking doubtful.
‘Mrs Harper, Mr Alexander is here. He wanted to know if you were free for lunch or coffee.’
‘Ask him to come in.’ Sally looked at her sister-in-law. ‘This is the brilliant surgeon I told you about, Jenni.’ She smiled as the Northerner entered and gave her a quizzical look. ‘Mr Alexander – my sister-in-law, Jenni Richards.’
‘Ah, the American who was going to bring over a surgeon to show me a thing or two,’ Andrew murmured with a wicked twinkle in Sally’s direction.
‘I doubt I know anyone who could do that from what Sally tells me of your work, but I might have brought someone who would try,’ Jenni said and offered her hand. ‘I’m going to be in London for a while, Mr Alexander. I’d be glad to help your work in any way I can…’
‘Now that’s an offer I can’t refuse,’ he said and grinned broadly. ‘If you two beautiful ladies have nothing better to do, you can have lunch with me and discuss something I have in mind for my patients.’
‘We were about to leave for lunch,’ Jenni said. ‘I don’t know about you, Sally, but I’m hungry.’
Sally nodded. Jenni looked intrigued and more relaxed than she had for a while. She silently blessed Andrew Alexander. If he and his teasing helped Jenni to forget her grief even for a short time, she would be forever grateful.
That afternoon, after a pleasant lunch with Andrew Alexander, Sally and Jenni took Tom to see some of the sights of London. Sally had left her baby with Pearl, because she was a little grizzly and they were travelling on buses and trams with open decks on top to see things better. They ended up at the zoo, which Tom seemed to enjoy more than the educational tour of the Houses of Parliament and other famous landmarks they’d seen from the top of the bus.
They’d returned to the apartment for tea. Jenny had stopped crying and Tom played with her and some bricks on the floor for half an hour. He shook hands with Sally when he was ready to leave.
‘Thank you very much, Aunty Sally,’ he said. ‘I did enjoy myself very much.’
‘I’m glad.’ Sally bent down and put her arms around him, giving him a hug. ‘You must come again, Tom. I liked taking you to the zoo.’
He nodded and then suddenly hugged her back, a hint of tears in his eyes.
Jenni placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘We had better go, Tom. If your father gets back early, he’ll wonder where we are…’
‘Yes,’ he said and his bottom lip trembled. ‘Goodbye, Aunty Sally…’
Sally’s eyes stung as she watched them go. She’d seen the way his solemn face lit up when he saw the elephants, lions and the huge tiger. Obviously, his father didn’t allow many such treats.
It was half past five the next morning when the doorbell rang at Sally’s apartment, waking them from sleep.
Ben looked at Sally as he got out of bed and pulled on his dressing gown. ‘Who the hell might that be?’ he demanded.
Sally shook her head. She had no idea. Surely the War Office wouldn’t send anyone for Ben at this hour without prior warning?
He left her getting out of bed to pull on a silk robe but was back in a few minutes to fetch her before she’d brushed her hair.
‘You’d better come – it’s Jenni and she is in a terrible state.’ Ben didn’t look great himself, his hair on end as if he’d pushed his fingers through it in distress.
Sally ran through to the sitting room. Jenni was sitting on the sofa, her head bent. She looked up, her face drawn and wet with tears as Sally went to her.
‘I’ve told Henry I’m not going back to America ever,’ she said dramatically. ‘He was so cold – so uninterested in anything I wanted to talk about. I’ve told him our marriage is over…’
‘Oh, Jenni, I’m so sorry,’ Sally said. ‘I know you must be feeling awful…’
‘Don’t be sorry,’ Jenni told her and her look was determined. ‘It’s better to make the break now than go on in a miserable situation for years. We were never suited. I was just someone to fill the gap, a nanny and hostess to stand behind him and smile when he needed me to.’
‘Surely not?’ Sally said, but she could see that Jenni had made up her mind to leave her husband. ‘If it’s really what you want…’
‘Ben was right. I should’ve thought more before I rushed off and married him.’ Jenni looked rueful and her eyes were red-rimmed. ‘The worst bit is that I have to leave Tom – and I’m all he has between him and the strict regime his father sets.’ She blinked away her tears. ‘But since I’m not fit to have charge of Tom and Henry’s sending him away to boarding school, it won’t matter.’
‘Oh, Jenni, no.’ Sally looked at her in distress. ‘That poor child – it is so unfair…’
‘That’s what hurts. Henry is punishing me, but Tom will suffer for my failings as a wife and mother.’
‘That’s unfair! You’re wonderful with him and he loves you – I could see that yesterday afternoon.’
‘Well, I’m not to be allowed a say in his upbringing in future – because I can’t be trusted. I took him to the zoo instead of making him work…’
‘Henry couldn’t have been so cruel,’ Sally burst out, but she could see the truth in Jenni’s eyes. ‘No wonder you’re leaving him.’
‘I’m going to stay here, Sally. I can find work, at Harpers or elsewhere. I don’t want anything from Henry – except Tom and he won’t let me keep him…’ She sighed. ‘The row started over his son. He said Tom had to go home so he can work harder – he is sending him back alone, Sally, with just his nanny – and he doesn’t really like her. I suggested he have a nice holiday with me before he started cramming for his school exams and that was when he told me I wasn’t Tom’s mother and it wasn’t my choice.’ Something glinted in Jenni’s eyes. ‘That made me angry. I was Tom’s mother when he was crying all night, needing comfort – when the nightmares and the bed-wetting got on Henry’s nerves. Now my opinion isn’t important.’
‘The pompous so-and-so,’ Ben said from the doorway. ‘I made coffee, Jenni love, but you can have some brandy in it…’
‘Just the coffee,’ she told him and smiled. ‘I knew you would pick up that something wasn’t right. I’m so glad I came to you and Sally – you two, and Jenny, of course, are my home.’
‘Henry has no right to treat you like that – do you want me to talk to him for you, Jenni?’ Ben frowned. ‘However, he can take the boy; I can’t stop him and nor can you.’ Jenni shook her head at him.
‘I know. It hurts me to part from him, but I have no choice – and I’ve accepted it,’ Jenni replied sadly. ‘I’m sorry for Tom and I’ll miss him terribly – but even if I went back with Henry, I’d hardly ever see him.’
‘Tom will miss you and you’ll miss him,’ said Sally sympathetically.
‘Yes, that’s true and perhaps Henry will let me write to him. I shall anyway, though he could stop it if he chose. He’s angry at the moment, thinks I’m being emotional and foolish, but I’m not.’
‘You’re thinking straight,’ Ben told her. ‘Sally and I will stand by you, Jenni.’
‘Henry might want to sell those shares in Harpers… I doubt you could find thirty thousand pounds to pay him back?’
‘If he does, we�
��ll have to find a friend to purchase them,’ Ben said, but looked worried. ‘I don’t know if we’ve used the loan you raised on them, Sally…?’
‘No, we haven’t touched it,’ Sally said. ‘I thought about it and decided not to – and now I’m glad I didn’t. You can buy them back, Jenni.’
‘I suppose they’re still in my name. Henry just loaned me the money.’
‘Then give it back to him,’ Sally urged. ‘He won’t want interest, will he?’
‘He won’t get it if he does,’ Jenni said fiercely. ‘No, I’m sure he won’t – he isn’t that mean.’ Yet she looked anxious and Sally looked at Ben. When Jenni had given them the money, they’d kept it in case it was needed, never dreaming that something like this could happen. ‘No, he won’t ask. I’m his wife and it would cause a scandal. He can tell people I’m staying here for my health’s sake and no one will question it for years, but if he tried anything nasty, I’d kick up such a fuss, he would regret it. I have friends who would sympathise with me…’ She looked thoughtful, then, ‘Maybe he’ll let me keep it if he decides to divorce me.’
‘No,’ Ben said firmly. ‘Give Henry his money and if he wants interest, I’ll pay it somehow. I don’t want him holding it over you. You will be the one he sues for desertion and if he does let him. We’ll find a good lawyer to defend you. He hasn’t treated you well, love, and if I have anything to do with it, he won’t put it all on you, Jenni.’
‘I’ll find a job, you’ll see,’ Jenni said and smiled at him. ‘It’s being here with you that gave me the courage to make the break. I would’ve done it much sooner but I felt so alone…’
‘You’re never alone,’ Sally and Ben spoke together. ‘You’ve got us – and you always will have.’
Jenni smiled through her tears. ‘I’m sorry to get you up at this hour.’
A wail was heard from the bedroom and Sally made a wry face. ‘You beat her to it by half an hour, but she’s right on time.’
