by Nancy Revell
‘What? This little thing?’ She pouted and put her hands on her hips to show off her voluptuous figure before letting out a hoot of laughter and noisily pulling up a chair and sitting down to join the impromptu get-together. She caught sight of the bottle of Rémy and let out an audible gasp of surprise.
‘My!’ she said, at the same time pulling out a box of Sobranie Russian cigarettes she had acquired that afternoon on the black market. ‘What’s the occasion?’
George got up and went over to the cupboard for another crystal tumbler. He knew he didn’t need to ask Vivian if she wanted to partake of a drink.
‘Oh, George, thank you. I wasn’t expecting this when I got back. Quite the contrary.’ She lit her long black cigarette and blew a stream of smoke up towards the ceiling.
‘There’s good news,’ Lily said, shaking her head at Vivian’s offer of one of her cocktail cigarettes.
‘Please let it be what I think it might be!’ Vivian said, her Scouse accent suddenly strong.
‘It is,’ Lily said. ‘We’re off the hook! Normal services will be resumed on Monday!’
‘Ah, that’s bloody brilliant news!’ The sheer relief in Vivian’s voice was there for all to hear. She had done a good job, as they all had, of masking her worry. It had been a tough week and she had barely slept a wink.
Vivian looked over at Rosie, thinking she appeared a little peaky before realising that it was just because she didn’t have any make-up on and her mascara was smudged, making it look as though she had been crying – not that Rosie seemed at all sad.
‘You spoke to him then?’ she asked Rosie, who nodded in return.
‘Yes, he’s not going to say a word, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief. And,’ Rosie said, taking another sip of her drink, ‘I just wanted to say how truly sorry I am for putting everyone through all of this. I really am.’
Vivian downed the rest of her drink in one and took another long draw on her cigarette.
‘No worries, doll,’ she said in her best Brooklyn accent. ‘It’s a risk we take in our line of work.’
‘I’ll tell the rest of the girls tomorrow,’ Lily said.
‘Oh,’ Vivian said excitedly, ‘and I’ll send Maisie a telegram to tell her the coast’s all clear for her to come back.’
‘I thought she was having some kind of “bonding” trip with her mother?’ George asked.
Vivian looked across at George and then to Rosie and Lily. ‘Well, I think it was a bit of both, you know? Get away from here for a while and spend some time with Pearl.’
‘Vivian, ma chère,’ Lily asked, ‘can you be a sweetheart and go and get Kate, please. Drag her away from that bloomin’ sewing machine so we can tell her the good news.’
George picked up the bottle of Rémy and poured everyone another drink.
This had turned out to be a good day.
A very good day.
Chapter Eight
Tatham Street, Hendon, Sunderland
Sunday 23 November 1941
Bel was sat at the kitchen table, her cup of tea in one hand and her daughter Lucille sitting on her lap, gazing up at her mammy as she regaled Agnes, Arthur and Polly with a vivid description of the splendour of the town’s most exclusive hotel.
‘… the food, the room, the amazing decor.’ Bel sighed dramatically. ‘It was incredible! It was like staying the night at Buckingham Palace – not that I know what Buckingham Palace is like inside.’
‘Well,’ Agnes said, stirring a large pot of vegetables, potatoes and bacon bits gently simmering on the range, ‘they say they don’t call it “the Grand” for nothing.’
‘Grand by name, grand by nature, that’s for sure,’ Joe agreed as he added some coal he had just brought in from the backyard to the fire.
‘Well, as long as you don’t start getting used to this kind of highfalutin living.’ Agnes looked over her shoulder at her daughter-in-law.
Her son Joe and Bel had just got back from what they were calling their ‘second honeymoon’ at the Grand Hotel. Standing opposite St Mary’s Church on Bridge Street, the hotel was a well-known landmark. Not many had been inside, but everyone had seen its formidable five-storey Queen Anne-style frontage. Nothing, it was said, could touch it for its elegance and class.
Normally, it was the domain of the rich and famous, but last night Joe and Bel had been treated to a night’s stay in one of its fifty ornately decorated rooms. It had been a wedding gift from Maisie, the sister Bel had only just got to know. It had been a rather extravagant treat, a way of apologising to Bel for ruining her special day, for Maisie had tried to shame Pearl for giving her up for adoption as a baby by ‘introducing’ herself at Bel and Joe’s wedding reception.
Maisie’s retribution had not had the anticipated effect, however, for Pearl had gone on a massive bender and would have bedded down in a watery grave had Maisie and Bel not found her and stopped her wading out into the bitterly cold North Sea.
Afterwards, Maisie had learnt that the idealised image she’d had of her mother and Bel could not have been further from the truth. It became clear that Bel had been practically dragged up by Pearl and, had it not been for Agnes, would have more than likely ended up in the workhouse.
Yesterday morning, Bel, Joe and Lucille had gone to wave Maisie and Pearl off at the train station. The pair had gone to London to revisit the place where Maisie was born – at least that was the reason Maisie had given everyone.
‘I wonder how Maisie and Ma are getting on?’ Bel said to no one in particular.
‘God only knows!’ Polly laughed.
‘I dread to think,’ Joe chipped in.
Maisie’s appearance had made a massive impact on Bel, not just because she suddenly had a sister, but after hearing snippets of information about Maisie’s dad, it had brought thoughts of the father she had never known to the forefront of her mind – a father Pearl had always claimed was dead. Bel hadn’t believed her mother as a small child and was no more convinced now that she was an adult.
‘Right,’ Agnes said, bending over her pan and taking a sip of broth from the wooden spoon she had been using to stir their supper, ‘this is as good as it’s going to get. Let’s get the table set.’
‘So …’ Bel put Lucille down and she and Polly headed into the scullery to fetch the crockery and cutlery, ‘… how did it all go with Gloria and Jack yesterday?’
‘Oh, God,’ Polly said, ‘what a day!’ She looked back into the kitchen as Joe was putting Lucille onto her special chair stacked with cushions so that she could reach the table. ‘I’ll tell you when little flapper lugs has been put to bed.’
‘So, come on then, tell me what happened after we left?’ Bel asked, savouring another slurp of her tea and adding, ‘That’s one thing the Grand can’t compete with – there’s nothing like a cup of your own freshly brewed tea.’
Lucille had been put to bed clutching her raggedy toy rabbit and sucking her thumb, and Joe had read her half of her favourite story, The Lambton Worm, before she had fallen sound asleep. He’d then left to do his Home Guard duties, while Agnes and then Arthur had taken themselves off to their beds, leaving Polly and Bel on their own to have a good catch-up.
Polly took a drink of her tea and chuckled. ‘But I’ll bet you the teacup you were drinking out of was bone china and didn’t have chips in it!’
Polly was so glad Bel and Joe had come back happy and had clearly had a wonderful ‘second honeymoon’. She had been mad at Maisie – not just for spoiling Joe and Bel’s nuptials, but also because her shenanigans that day had thrown a great big vat of cold water on their first night together as man and wife. Finding out you had a sister you never knew about, and then seeing your mother leave your reception in a state and not come back, was enough to spoil anyone’s wedding night.
On top of everything, their first overnight stay at the Grand had cost Polly an arm and a leg. But when she heard Maisie had paid for another stay at the Grand, as well as an evening meal to show how sorry she w
as about causing so much trouble and upset, Polly’s resentment towards Bel’s new-found sister had been somewhat quelled.
‘So then, after the christening? After we left? What happened? How was Gloria?’ Bel asked.
‘Well,’ began Polly, ‘everyone had their tea and cake and left pretty sharpish. I think it was obvious Jack and Gloria needed time on their own.’
She took another drink of tea.
‘Oh, and George’s red MG caused a right commotion. I think every child within a quarter-mile radius was stood gawping at it by the time George, Lily and Kate left the party. George was a real sweetie and gave every single one of them a go sitting behind the wheel.’
Bel smiled. She thought George was a real gem and she liked Lily, even though she was well aware of how Lily made a living. She and Polly agreed that Lily was the most eccentric person they had ever met.
‘And Kate?’ Bel asked. ‘Was she all right?’ Bel had become close to Kate, which was inevitable after the number of hours she had spent in the Maison Nouvelle, having dress fittings and alterations and chatting about the design of her wedding dress over numerous cups of tea.
‘Yes,’ Polly said. ‘As usual she was as quiet as a mouse, but she seemed happy. And she’s so good with Hope. She managed to keep her entertained after you two left. No one stuck around for long, though, which was just as well. Jack looked in a total daze and Gloria didn’t look much better. I think they were both in shock.’ Polly paused. ‘No, Jack looked more confused and Gloria looked like you could have knocked her over with a feather, but she was happy. Really happy.’
‘I can’t even start to imagine what she must be feeling,’ Bel mused. ‘That poor woman has been through so much, I’m surprised she’s still sane.’
‘I know,’ Polly agreed. ‘She’s got Hope, though, hasn’t she? So I guess she has to keep it together.’
‘Mm,’ Bel agreed, ‘especially with a nutter like Vinnie always marauding around in the background … So, go on then, what happened after everyone left?’
‘Oh my God! How could I forget?’ Polly’s eyes widened. She had been so excited hearing about the Grand that she had temporarily forgotten about bumping into Helen.
‘What!’ Bel demanded, intrigued.
‘Well, when everyone was gone, I went to Crown’s to tell them that something had come up and Jack couldn’t make it back to work – and guess who I bumped into when I got there?’
‘No? You didn’t! Did you?’ Bel knew there was only one person who provoked this kind of reaction in her sister-in-law.
Polly nodded her head solemnly.
‘Oh, yes! I did!’
‘But I thought you said she wasn’t due back at work until Monday? Wasn’t she supposed to be in Scotland?’
‘Yes and yes!’ Polly said. ‘She was!’
‘And what was she doing in Crown’s? I thought Thompson’s was her domain?’ Bel asked, intrigued.
‘Well, that was just my luck,’ Polly said. ‘I was sauntering across the yard, thinking about the christening and about how Jack had told me to just keep it simple and tell them that “something had come up”, when all of a sudden I saw Helen coming out of the main office!’ Polly’s voice rose.
Bel took a dramatic intake of breath.
‘So you can imagine my complete and utter horror!’
Bel nodded. Her sister-in-law and Helen had never made any bones about how they felt about each other, even before Helen had connived and lied to try and break up Polly and Tommy.
‘So what did you do? What did you say?’ Bel asked, knowing full well that Polly was the worst liar ever. When the two had been growing up together Bel had often been exasperated by Polly’s total inability to tell even a convincing white lie.
‘Well,’ Polly said, ‘obviously I panicked. And obviously I must have had guilt scrawled across my face.’ She paused, before adding, ‘I’m loathe to say this, but I actually felt bad. I may hate Helen and all that, but I felt awful knowing that her dad is going to leave her mam and that she’s got a baby sister.’
Bel nodded sagely. This was Polly to a T. Agnes had always taught them to put themselves into other people’s shoes, but Polly had always gone one further and not only put on the shoes but walked in them for miles.
‘Mm,’ Bel agreed, ‘and let’s face it, she’s going to find out at some stage. It’s inevitable. So anyway, when you came face to face, what did you do?’
‘Well, to be honest,’ Polly admitted, ‘I nearly turned and ran!’
Bel spluttered on a mouthful of tea. ‘Honestly, Pol, you do make me laugh!’
‘Thankfully, I didn’t. I stayed put. Rooted to the spot, more like. Then I just asked her what she was doing at Crown’s. She said she was looking for her father and what was I doing at Crown’s? That’s when I just came out with what I had originally been going to say, which was “something had come up” and Jack wouldn’t be back.’
‘And what did Helen say?’ Bel asked, intrigued to know how the scene had played out.
‘Well, she didn’t get a chance. I just turned on my heels and left her standing there … The thing is, I started to panic then … knew I had to get back and tell Jack. Give him some warning, you know?’
Bel nodded.
‘But when I got back,’ Polly said, ‘he’d gone – as had Gloria and Hope. Arthur was the only one left in the house and he said I’d just missed them by minutes. God, I could have screamed in frustration. And I had on those stupid shoes I hate. It was hard to run in them and now I’ve got two great big blisters on my heels.’
Bel chuckled, knowing which ones Polly was referring to. She knew they were as uncomfortable as they were awful-looking.
‘Oh dear, Pol, what a state! Let’s just hope Jack was able to cover his tracks when he got home … So,’ she asked, ‘I’m guessing Jack and Gloria are going to keep quiet about things?’
Polly nodded. ‘For a while at least. Arthur says Jack just wanted to get it all out in the open, but Gloria’s managed to convince him to keep everything under wraps for the moment – until they work out what to do.’
Polly had become close to Arthur since she’d got engaged to his grandson, and even more so after the old man had moved in with them. Last night the pair had sat and chatted as Polly had bathed her sore feet in front of the stove.
‘Well, I would say they haven’t got much choice,’ Bel agreed.
Polly nodded. ‘God knows how Vinnie’s going to react when he finds out that Hope’s not his. Never mind what Miriam’ll do. I think she’d have him hanged, drawn and quartered if it was allowed.’
‘Goodness,’ Bel said in all seriousness, ‘they’re what you might call well and truly caught between a rock and a hard place.’
They were both silent for a moment, before Polly perked up.
‘Anyway, enough morbid talk,’ she said, ‘I’ve got something I’ve been dying to show you.’
Bel looked curious.
‘Follow me!’ Polly commanded.
Bel did as Polly requested and followed her out of the kitchen and to the bottom of the stairs. Polly turned around and put a finger to her lips, before quietly walking up the stairs.
Bel tiptoed behind her. When they reached the first floor, where Agnes, Arthur and Pearl had their bedrooms, much to Bel’s surprise Polly continued up the narrower, steeper staircase that led to the attic room that had been empty for as long as she could recall. In fact, she couldn’t remember anyone ever living up there, and Bel had been a part of the Elliot family since she was five years old.
‘What you doing?’ Bel whispered up at Polly, who had now reached the top of the staircase and had momentarily disappeared from view. She could hear Arthur snoring and didn’t want to wake either the old man or Agnes, who she was pretty sure would also be fast asleep.
When Bel reached the little landing at the top of the house, she saw Polly standing with one hand on the doorknob of the attic room.
‘Ta-da!’ Polly exclaimed in a loud whisper
, opening the door and then flicking on the light switch.
When Bel walked into the room she gasped in awe. The room where they had often snuck up to as children to play in had always been filled with a mixture of broken tables and chairs, as well as old wooden boxes, and had been covered with a heavy layer of dust and enough spider webs to carpet the entire ground floor of the house.
But as she stared at the room now, it was unrecognisable. All the junk had gone and the bare boards had been scrubbed clean, as had the walls and ceiling. A pair of old but pretty green floral curtains had been put up, as well as the regulation blackout blinds. In the middle of the room was a small wooden table with a few wild flowers in a white ceramic milk jug.
‘Is this what I think it is?’ Bel could barely contain her excitement.
Polly’s smile was wide as she nodded her head.
‘Not quite comparable to the Grand,’ she said, ‘but at least you’ll be together.’
Bel and Joe had been married for more than two weeks, but so far they had been sleeping in separate rooms downstairs.
‘Oh, Pol! You are the best sister-in-law – the best friend anyone could ever wish for.’ She flung her arms around Polly and gave her a bear hug.
‘Well, it wasn’t just me,’ Polly said, ‘it was a team effort. Even Beryl and the girls came round to help. Now we just need to get a bed up here and you’re sorted. And,’ she added, ‘we thought, as Arthur’s struggling with the stairs more nowadays, that he could move into Joe’s room and we could move Lucille’s cot into Ma’s room, so that she’s not quite so far away from you and Joe. Plus she’ll have Pearl right next door too.’
Bel looked round at the room that held so many happy memories of when she was a child. Of when she had been taken in by Agnes after Polly had found her crying on her own doorstep after her mother had gone off with some spiv and hadn’t come back. This house had more or less become her home and the attic had been her and Polly’s playroom when the weather was bad.
Now it was to be the room where she would properly start her married life with Joe. Her second chance at love.
