The Code Girls

by Daisy Styles

  ‘Granny’s old house?’ Bella asked, recalling her grandmother’s pretty cottage, hidden away on the edge of the estate.

  Lady Caroline nodded. ‘I’ll ask Ruby’s mother if she can take everything in hand.’

  ‘Thank you, Mummy, that would be lovely,’ Bella, still blushing, replied.

  ‘What’re you going to wear?’ Ava asked.

  Bella burst out laughing. ‘My black servant’s dress and my white lace cap and pinafore!’ she joked.

  Her mother shook her head. ‘I think I can find something a little more appropriate.’

  ‘I suppose we’ll have to invite Diana,’ Bella said glumly.

  Not wanting to take the shine off her daughter’s happiness, Lady Caroline quickly said, ‘I’ll phone her later. It’s probably too short notice for her to come, anyway.’

  ‘What with her being so busy with her war work!’ Bella couldn’t help but mock.

  Bella and the Brig couldn’t bear to say goodnight. It was gone midnight before they finally tore themselves away from each other.

  ‘Just think, my darling, tomorrow night, we’ll spend together, and after that, it’s for ever.’

  ‘Apart from you leaving me, a young bride abandoned,’ she groaned in mock-despair.

  ‘It will make our time together all the sweeter,’ he promised.

  With only a day to go to her wedding day, Bella began to panic about the wedding breakfast.

  ‘This is one meal you do not cook,’ Maudie said firmly, as she, Ava and Bella began to clear away yet another breakfast of tea, toast and rhubarb jam.

  ‘But …’ spluttered Bella.

  ‘I’m in charge!’ Ava teased.

  ‘We’ll sort something out,’ Maudie assured her. ‘And Ruby’s promised to cycle over this morning to lend a hand.’

  Ava shook her head and chuckled. ‘I swear to God, she’ll give birth on that blasted bicycle!’

  ‘The Brig’s given the trainees sixpence each to go and buy lunch from the fish-and-chip shop in Wells,’ Ava added. ‘So we’ll have plenty of time to prepare a small wedding breakfast.’

  ‘You have to spend the day pampering yourself ‒ book a hair appointment, buy a nightie,’ Maudie giggled. ‘You can’t hop into bed with the Brig wearing that drab winceyette number. It’s your wedding night – splash out!’

  Bella nodded. She had twenty-four hours to prepare for her wedding day – the wedding breakfast could go hang!

  ‘I’d start by visiting your mum,’ Maudie said, with a knowing wink. ‘She’s got something to show you.’

  Lady Caroline led Bella into her dressing room. Bella smiled as she recalled, as a little girl, hiding behind the heavy pink brocade curtains so she could watch her mother prepare for a glamorous night out. Her ladies maid, who allowed nobody in the boudoir but herself and her mistress, would towel-dry Lady Walsingham after she stepped out of her bubble bath, then dress her, starting with a silk suspender belt and French knickers and followed by a brassiere and a camisole in the same silk as the knickers. Over her expensive underwear the maid would drape her ladyship’s evening dress, exquisitely designed in silk, toile, satin or velvet. In her secret hiding place, Bella would listen out for the soft sound of the gown slithering in heavy folds to the carpeted floor. Once dressed, Lady Caroline would sit before her gilt-edged dressing-table mirror, and her ladies maid would sweep her dark hair into an elegant chignon before applying make-up to her face. The last thing the maid would do was dab Chanel No. 5, from a cut-glass crystal bottle that stood on the dressing table, behind her ladyship’s ears. After her mother had swanned out and the maid was busying emptying the bath, Bella would step out of her hiding place and inhale the heady perfume, which she forever after associated with her glamorous mother.

  Lady Caroline broke her nostalgic train of thought. ‘Have I ever shown you my wedding dress?’

  Bella shook her head.

  ‘It’s nearly forty years old, but it’s still rather beautiful,’ Lady Caroline said, as she took the gown from the wardrobe that ran the length of the entire room and held it out for Bella to see.

  Bella gazed in surprise at the dress, which was similar in design to the dress Queen Elizabeth ‒ formerly the Duchess of York ‒ had worn on her wedding day. A simple, straight-up-and-down flapper-style tunic made from deep ivory chiffon moiré, embroidered with pearls and silver thread, and with a strip of Brussels lace inserted into the bodice. Though old-fashioned, it was beautiful and it just about fitted Bella, who was a bit more fulsome around the hips and bust than her svelte mother.

  ‘This should keep you warm on a cold January morning in draughty King’s Lynn,’ her mother said, as she draped a white fur cape over her daughter’s shoulders, then offered her a pair of soft, white kid-leather gloves that reached beyond Bella’s elbows.

  Bella smiled in delight as she gazed at her radiant reflection in her mother’s full-length mirror. ‘It’s a lovely dress, Mummy. Thank you so much.’

  ‘I think a tiara would be a bit much,’ her mother commented.

  Bella nodded in agreement. ‘I’ll see what Peter has growing in his precious hot house.’

  ‘Flowers would do nicely,’ her mother said approvingly.

  ‘And what about you, Mummy? What will you wear on my wedding day?’ Bella asked excitedly.

  ‘I’m in mourning, so I’ll probably wear the black-and-grey outfit I wore for Raf’s funeral,’ she replied, then added, ‘I’ve asked Dodds to drive us to the registry office and back home again.’

  Twirling in front of the mirror, Bella laughed with happiness.

  ‘One more day, then I’ll be Mrs Charles Ryder!’

  Lady Caroline was quite right: Bella would need the cape and the gloves. King’s Lynn, the next day, was freezing cold, with showers of snow blowing in from the North Sea. But Bella was pretty and snug under her warm fur cape, and Peter had cut some hothouse white roses for the bride, which Maudie twisted around myrtle leaves to create a lovely winter coronet. It was a small but happy party inside the registry office: Lady Caroline, the Brig and Bella, Ava and Tom, Maudie and Ruby – and Peter and Dodds! Bella’s friends wore their best suits, apart from Ruby, who wore a vast, ballooning maternity dress.

  ‘I just hope my waters don’t break while they’re exchanging their vows,’ an irrepressible Ruby giggled as they stood up for the service, which was led by a strict middle-aged woman, who relaxed slightly when she recognized Lady Walsingham.

  Maudie was Bella’s chief witness, and Tom was the Brig’s best man. The service lasted under a quarter of an hour, then Dodds drove the newly married couple back home, followed by Tom, driving a packed Land Rover along the winding coastal road, which gave brief, tantalizing glimpses of the sand and the sea glittering steel bright and cold in the harsh January sunshine.

  The wedding breakfast served in Lady Caroline’s pretty drawing room simply wouldn’t have been complete without the Brig’s all-time favourite, game pie, which Maudie, copying Bella’s famous recipe, had made as a surprise. There were hot jacket potatoes and meat pies, too, and a small amount of winter salad that Peter had grown in his greenhouse. For dessert, Ava had dug out a bottle of black cherries from the back of the larder and used them to make a fruity tart served with a dried milk custard. Good red wine, courtesy of Lady Caroline, topped the wedding breakfast off.

  ‘Sorry there isn’t a cake,’ Ava said apologetically. ‘There just wasn’t enough time to cash in our ration coupons.’

  ‘I doubt there’s any dried fruit to be had in England at this stage of the war,’ Bella replied. ‘Anyway, who cares about cake? I’ve got everything I need,’ she said, gazing adoringly at her new husband, who was settling uncomfortable Ruby on to the sofa.

  ‘Do you think you should put your feet up?’ he asked.

  Ruby shook her head vehemently. ‘Don’t be daft, Brig,’ she protested. ‘I can’t go making myself at home in her ladyship’s posh drawing room.’

  Hearing her remark, Lady Caroline
went into professional ambulance-driver mode. Popping two pink silk cushions on to the sofa, she swung Ruby’s legs into an upright position.

  ‘There,’ she said, smoothing the cushions for Ruby. ‘We don’t want you with swollen ankles, do we?’

  Ruby blushed. ‘Thank you, Your Ladyship,’ she mumbled awkwardly.

  After the toasts and the speeches, the bride and groom picked up their small suitcases, which they’d left ready in the entrance hall, and walked hand in hand out into the softly falling snow.

  ‘Congratulations!’ their friends called, as they showered them in confetti. ‘Good luck!’

  ‘Bye!’ Bella laughed, blowing kisses in her wake.

  Ruby’s thoughts flew back to her own wedding night, when she and her young, gentle husband found ecstasy in each other’s bodies. Smothering her sadness, she put on a bright smile. ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!’ she teased.

  With his arm around his radiant bride, the Brig walked Bella through the snow to the Dower House. Fires crackled in the bedroom and the sitting room, Ava and Maudie had thoughtfully left food in the pantry, and, sitting chilling in an ice bucket, was another bottle of champagne, a gift from Lady Caroline from her swiftly depleting cellar. As Bella slipped out of her chiffon wedding gown, she held out her arms to her husband, who gently drew her down on to the bed. They didn’t leave it for twenty-four hours!

  36. Ruby’s Baby

  The Brig left Walsingham Hall on Sunday evening. After dragging themselves from their marriage bed, Bella helped her new husband pack a suitcase, which he loaded into the boot of his old Morris car, along with his obligatory gas mask. Standing in the still-falling snow, they clasped each other tightly. As she hugged her husband, Bella yet again marvelled at the selfless heroism of millions of women up and down the land, who, with a brave smile, a kiss and a cuddle, sent their men off to war. Thinking of them, Bella squared her shoulders and said with only a hint of emotion in her voice, ‘Drive safely, my darling. Phone me when you arrive back at the flat.’

  ‘My cold, lonely bachelor flat,’ the Brig teased. ‘Oh, how my life has changed for the better since I met you, Mrs Rydal!’

  Bella’s eyes twinkled as she recalled the rapture of their love-making, only hours ago.

  ‘I’ll have the Dower House ready and waiting for you as soon as you get leave.’

  After giving his wife a last, long kiss, the Brig climbed into the driver’s seat and started up the engine. ‘If you hit any problems with the trainees, get in touch right away, and don’t worry‒ they’re going to love you.’

  ‘Bye! Bye! Safe journey,’ Bella cried, as the car pulled away and the Brig drove off into the dark night, with no headlights to guide him on his way.

  Sighing, but smiling, Bella made her way into the hall, then to the bedroom she’d shared with Maudie for over three years. When the door opened, Maudie looked up from the book she was reading. ‘You all right?’ she asked, with a knowing smile.

  Bella fell on to her bed and rolled over on to her back.

  ‘Oh, Maudie!’ she laughed. ‘I’m sad the Brig’s had to go, of course. But even so, I’ve never been happier!’

  Maudie giggled, she threw her book on to the floor, then hopped into Bella’s bed.

  ‘Did the earth move?’ Maudie teased.

  Bella sighed as she rolled over to cuddle her friend. ‘It was pure bliss!’

  As Bella took on her new role, Maudie and Ava had the lion’s share of the work below stairs. Ruby, with less than a month to go till the birth of her baby, was essentially housebound, especially now, with the snow piled a foot high outside Angel Cottage. For all of Bella’s nerves, she took to teaching like a duck to water. The Brig had been right; she was more than able to do the job. The new code girls were roughly the same age as Bella and they enjoyed her energy and humour; she communicated well, was always positive about their work and generous with praise. They particularly loved her challenging decrypting and encrypting classes, and her suggestions on creating a cypher intrigued her trainees.

  ‘The cypher can be anything you and the person you’re working with agree on,’ Bella explained. ‘A poem, a street name, a song, a film star.’

  ‘Robert Mitchum!’ a cheeky girl suggested.

  ‘Don’t make it too obvious, though,’ Bella warned. ‘For example, virtually everybody in the world knows who Errol Flynn is, so that would be a really easy cypher to decrypt.’

  She would go on to explain carefully and patiently how to match up the letters of the cypher to the letters of the alphabet. Bella took great satisfaction in her trainees’ progress, and she was proud to pass on the knowledge that her darling Brig had so skilfully passed on to her. At the end of every working day Bella never failed to assist Maudie and Ava in serving supper to the hungry code girls, who smiled at their tutor wearing a big, striped pinafore as she dished up corn-beef fritters and potato hash. Bella also made time to prepare game pasties and rabbit casserole for the trainees’ table.

  ‘I don’t want Peter’s precious game wasted just because you’re too squeamish to skin a rabbit or pluck a duck!’ she teased Ava and Maudie.

  ‘All contributions gratefully accepted,’ Ava said, wearily lighting a Woodbine while Maudie boiled up milk for bedtime cocoa.

  ‘Any news from your husband?’ Maudie asked with a wink.

  ‘He’s really busy,’ Bella replied, then added with a giggle, ‘He says he needs me to warm up his bed at night!’

  Ava gave a heavy sigh. ‘I envy you being married, Bella. I only wish Tom would pop the question. I fancy him more and more with every passing day.’ Catching sight of Maudie’s wistful expression, Ava quickly apologized. ‘Sorry, Maudie, me and my big mouth.’

  ‘I envy you both being able to see your loved ones,’ Maudie freely admitted. ‘You’re very lucky.’

  ‘We are!’ Ava declared, then dropped her voice to a confidential whisper. ‘But how do you stay chaste when your love grows stronger by the day? At least Bella’s got a ring on her finger ‒ if she falls pregnant, she won’t be an outcast.’

  Bella burst out laughing at the thought of being pregnant. Maudie cocked her head and gave her friend a quizzical look. ‘Er, one thing does lead to the other,’ she pointed out. ‘You know … the birds and the bees?’

  Bella blushed. ‘Of course … I just can’t imagine me as a mother.’

  ‘The Brig would make a brilliant father,’ Ava joked. ‘He could teach your baby how to code-break in the cradle!’

  Bella’s eyes grew dreamy as she imagined the Brig holding their baby. ‘You’re right, Ava, he’d make a wonderful father.’

  On Valentine’s Day, as the Germans were preparing to counter-attack the Allies on the Anzio beachhead in Italy, Ruby went into labour, three weeks ahead of her due date. She’d gone outside to collect some logs for her woodburner, but she slipped on the icy path and fell flat on her back. As she struggled to her feet, her waters broke and amniotic fluid gushed between her legs. Frightened, Ruby started to cry; this wasn’t how it should be, lying on her back in the snow ‒ she should be upstairs, warm in bed with a confident, experienced midwife by her side. She managed to stagger to the back gate, where she waved to some children building a snowman on the village green.

  ‘Help! Help!’ she cried.

  The children took a message to the Lord Nelson pub and, five minutes later, the agitated landlord came knocking on Ruby’s door. Knowing that the pub was one of the few residencies that boasted a telephone, Ruby asked the landlord to phone Walsingham Hall and to notify her midwife in Wells, too. The call to the hall went straight through to Lady Caroline in the upstairs drawing room, who immediately ran down the back stairs to look for Bella, only to discover that her daughter was teaching. When she spotted Ava and Maudie clearing away the breakfast dishes, she hurried over to them to tell them the news.

  Ava glanced outside. The snow had finally stopped, but it was now piled up in high drifts. Looking panic-stricken, she murmured, ‘Peter
will never be able to drive us over there.’

  ‘It’s only three miles to Burnham Thorpe,’ Maudie said. ‘We’ll have to walk. Come on, let’s go now,’ she added urgently.

  As both girls set down the trays they were carrying, Lady Caroline exclaimed, ‘It’s freezing out there! You can borrow my winter coats,’ she added, and dashed back upstairs. ‘There are wellingtons in the garden room,’ she called over her shoulder.

  Five minutes later, wearing warm, and very expensive, fur coats and lined wellington boots that were used for shoots, Ava and Maudie set off through the snow.

  ‘Tell Bella as soon as she finishes teaching,’ Ava said, as they set off. ‘And please phone Tom in Wells – we might need his help.’

  ‘I will. Good luck!’ Lady Caroline said as she waved them off.

  As Maudie and Ava trudged the three miles through the snow, their anxiety for poor Ruby spurred them to run whenever they could. The drifts by the side of the tiny, narrow roads were high, but where the snow had been cleared, the lanes were slippery with sheet ice, which the girls skated along.

  The journey, which would normally have taken an hour at most, took nearly two because of the hazardous conditions. When they finally arrived at Ruby’s cottage, they found her leaning over the sofa, doubled up in pain.

  ‘Arghhhhh!’ she howled, and held up one finger, then another and another and another. ‘Every four minutes,’ she gasped, as the contraction subsided.

  Before another one kicked in, Ava said, ‘Did the landlord of the Lord Nelson phone your midwife?’

  Ruby nodded. ‘She’s on her way from Wells.’

  Ava looked at Maudie, who shook her head; there was no way the local midwife, who cycled everywhere, would ever make it all the way out to Burnham Thorpe. Seeing Ruby’s weary face, Maudie put a hand around her waist and helped her upstairs.

  ‘Come on, my darling. Let’s get you into bed, then I’ll make you a nice cup of tea.’

  As Maudie tended to Ruby, Ava dashed around the cottage, collecting up towels, sheets and newspaper, then she put the kettle on for tea. Upstairs, Ruby was in the grip of another contraction, which Maudie was monitoring.