‘Good. Hanna, would you ask Pat and Jean if they and their families would also join us. They can bring the children, of course.’ She gave an amused smile. ‘We are allowing the boys to stay up as a special treat, but if they would prefer the children to be in bed early they can have one of the spare rooms while they are here.’
‘I’ll tell them.’ Hanna stood up. ‘What time tonight?’
‘Ten o’clock. George, would you pick them up and drive them home again after? You might have to make two journeys, but I don’t think Hanna should drive that late at night.’
‘I’ll do that all right, Mrs Harcourt.’
The London families were delighted to accept the invitation when Hanna told them, and decided that the children could also stay up.
On the dot of ten they all gathered in the sitting room where Mildred had laid out enough snacks and drinks to feed twice as many people. Living on a farm did have its advantages, Hanna thought wryly, as did having a cook as inventive as George’s wife.
At first the three children from London seemed overawed by their surroundings, but David and Andrew soon drew them into play with them.
There was a huge grandfather clock in the corner of the room, and as midnight approached they held full glasses ready to make a toast. They watched the seconds tick away.
As it struck twelve they all raised their glasses, and Captain Harcourt said, ‘We don’t know what this year will bring, but I wish you all a safe and happy New Year.’
‘Hear, hear,’ everyone agreed, clinking glasses.
Looking round at the smiling faces, Hanna’s insides tightened. What would 1941 hold for each person here?
Eighteen
‘This is the biggest convoy we’ve been a part of,’ Jack remarked, scanning the sea with binoculars. ‘The ships are spread out over a large area and the escorts have their work cut out keeping this lot in order.’
Bill nodded. ‘And God help us all if the U-boats find us.’
‘Let’s pray they don’t.’ Jack lowered the glasses. ‘We’ve been lucky so far and survived the winter. There’s even a bit of warmth in the sun.’
‘Hmm, but the sea’s still mighty cold.’
Jack gazed down and then looked up, grinning. ‘Still pretty though.’
Laughing with amusement Bill gave Jack a playful shove. ‘Even with evil predators lurking beneath its depths you’re still in love with the sea.’
‘Of course. It isn’t the sea’s fault.’ Jack hung the binoculars around Bill’s neck. ‘Come on, it must be time for dinner. Did you hear we could have as much as seven days’ leave when we reach Liverpool? It will be good to see Hanna again. I’m glad she isn’t in London. They’ve been taking a real pasting, according to the reports.’
‘Yes, there was an all-night raid in April apparently. My wife and mother won’t leave London, though I’ve tried to make them.’ He gave a grim laugh. ‘They said I was a fine one to tell them what to do when I kept going back to sea, and anyway they were quite safe in the Underground stations. Much safer than I was. I do wonder though if my house will still be there when I get home this time.’
They reached the mess, sat down, and Jack looked at the men around the table, knowing that many of them were worried about their families, and probably cursing the delay they’d had in New York, waiting for this convoy to form up. Finally they had sailed two days ago, but the going was slow. Their ship had a respectable turn of speed if need be, but others were slow and they had to match their speed. If any dropped behind they were likely to be picked off by the subs.
‘Hey, Frank!’ one of the men, Tim, called, pointing to his plate. ‘What’s this?’
‘Spam fritters. What did you expect, steak?’
‘Would have been nice,’ he muttered. ‘Those steaks in America were huge and delicious.’
‘I’ll say,’ another one of the crew agreed. ‘They don’t seem to know there’s a war on.’
‘That’s because they are not at war, Harry. They’re doing what they can to help us out though. Our cargo hold is full of desperately needed food.’
‘Let’s hope we can get it home safely.’
‘Amen to that!’ Tim muttered, taking a bite of his fritters. ‘Hey, Frank, these aren’t bad. Quite tasty in fact.’
‘Praise indeed.’ Frank raised his eyebrows, and then winked at Bill and Jack. ‘I’ve got a blueberry crumble for afters. Now we don’t get those at home.’
That announcement brought murmurs of approval.
‘Bill, did I tell you my sister’s got a regular boyfriend?’ Jack said, as he tucked into his dinner. He was always so hungry he never questioned what was put in front of him.
‘No, you didn’t. What’s he like?’
‘Seems a nice bloke. He was a copper before he got called up. Now he’s in the army, but they seem really keen on each other. Hope it works out for them. Hanna deserves to be happy and have children of her own. She’d make an excellent mother. She loves kids.’
‘You think the world of her, don’t you?’
‘Of course. I was only five when our parents were killed, and I don’t know what would have happened to me without her. I want her to be happy now.’
‘I’m sure she will be.’ Frank put a large dish of crumble in front of Jack. ‘You eat that. Can’t have you going to bed hungry.’
Everyone laughed. Jack’s appetite was a standing joke with the crew.
Jack did sleep quite well that night, and after another quiet day he was preparing for bed again. Removing his shoes he began to unfasten his trousers – and stopped. He had a niggling feeling that he should keep his clothes on. Many of the men already did, but until now Jack had undressed at night. He stretched out on the bunk. Not tonight though. Silly, but he would follow his instinct and laugh about it in the morning.
At the first explosion his feet were on the floor and he was running before the sound had finished reverberating through the ship.
They were already listing badly by the time he reached the upper deck. A fire was raging at the stern and Jack ran to help crew members trying to launch lifeboats and rafts. Once they had managed to get two over the side he began to look around frantically for Bill and Frank. It was impossible to single out anyone in the chaos going on around him. The two friends had told Jack that if this happened he was to save himself and not worry about them, but he had hoped he would be able to find them. He wasn’t at all happy about the thought of leaving them behind.
The ship was now at a perilous angle and going down fast when the ‘Abandon Ship’ call came. There was nothing for it so Jack stood on the rail and jumped, then began to swim away from the sinking ship as fast as he could. The next thing he knew hands were plucking him out of the sea and dragging him on to a raft. Gasping, he muttered his thanks and sat up just in time to see the bow of the ship rise out of the water, shudder, and then sink out of sight.
‘That was bloody quick!’ one man cursed. ‘Wonder how many managed to get off in time?’
‘Let’s see who we can find.’
Jack spun round at the sound of the familiar voice. ‘Frank! Do you know where Bill is?’
‘Afraid not. We can only hope he got off before she went down.’
Turning his attention back to the sea Jack could see men everywhere, so he began to yell. ‘Bill . . . Bill!’
For an hour they dragged as many men on to the raft as it would take, but there was no sign of Bill. Jack was getting frantic. Dawn was just beginning to lighten the sky when he spotted two lifeboats, and they paddled towards them.
‘Bill . . . Bill!’ Jack was calling when they got close. ‘Are you there?’
When a figure waved back, he grabbed Frank’s arm. ‘He’s there. He’s all—’
‘Catch him! Hell, the boy’s bleeding. Why didn’t he say he was hurt? We need a bandage here. Have you got any in the lifeboat?’
‘Tie the raft to us and pass Jack over. We’ve got a medic with us.’
Jack felt himself bei
ng lifted up and wondered who was hurt. Bill and Frank were safe, and that was a relief. Wouldn’t like to lose his two friends. Lost his drawing though. Still, Andrew would do another one for him . . . Why did his leg hurt?
‘I’ve stopped the bleeding, but goodness knows how much blood he’s lost. Try and make him drink some water, Bill. And keep him awake.’
Someone’s in a poor way . . . so tired . . . must sleep . . .
‘Jack! Wake up!’
‘What?’ He opened his eyes and smiled at Bill. ‘Been looking for you.’
‘Well, you’ve found me. How did you hurt your leg? Talk to me.’
He frowned and peered at his legs. One trouser leg was ripped up to the thigh and a bandage wrapped around the lower part of his leg.
Bill shook him. ‘How did you do that?’
‘Don’t know. Only a scratch . . .’
‘Drink this and listen to me, Jack. You’ve lost a lot of blood and we must get some fluid into you. Come on, lad, do it for me and Frank.’
A couple of sips was all he could manage before he began to drift off again, conscious only of the murmur of voices around him, and the rocking of the lifeboat as someone else came and sat beside him.
‘Sit him up straight and prop that leg up.’
Who was that? Ah, it sounded like Harry. He’ll be busy looking after the men who have been injured.
‘Thank God it’s morning at last. Only hope it’s not too long before we’re picked up. I’m worried about the boy, Bill. He might not last long if we’re adrift for days. All you can do is try to keep him awake and give him as much water as we can spare.’
He was being told to wake up again. Why did they keep doing that? He only wanted a little doze . . .
‘Are you listening to me, lad? Open your eyes.’
With a mighty effort he dragged his eyes open and looked around him. He was in a lifeboat with Bill and Frank holding him up. He took a deep breath. ‘How did I get here? I was on a raft.’
‘You passed out, lad, and we lifted you over so Harry could see to you.’ Bill held a tin mug to his mouth. ‘Drink this.’
Jack peered at the scene around him, his mind clearing as he recalled the disaster and horror of seeing their ship sink below the waves. There were two lifeboats and three rafts lashed together with rope, and packed with men. This was by no means the entire crew and his heart ached with sadness for the loss they were all feeling, but not showing. He turned his head away from the mug. ‘No! We must be careful with water. The convoy’s long gone and it might be days before someone finds us.’
‘And if you don’t drink you could die,’ Bill said bluntly. ‘That gash on your leg is deep and should have been seen to immediately.’
‘I didn’t know I’d been hurt nor when it happened. You needn’t worry about me, I’m already feeling better.’ His eyes began to close and he forced them open again.
‘That’s a good thing,’ Frank said. ‘But you must try to stay awake, Jack.’
‘Why? I’m tired and there’s nothing to do but wait. Unless you’d like me to swim away and try and find help?’ he joked.
Bill shook his head, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. ‘Be serious, Jack. Harry said that if you go to sleep you might not wake up again, and we’re not going to let you drift away like that, lad. All three of us are going to come out of this alive. So drink the water. It’s been allocated to you.’
He was too tired to argue so he obediently took a few sips, and it did help a little . . . Just a little . . .
‘All right, let him sleep now, Bill. He’s over the worst, I hope.’
That was Harry’s voice. ‘Thanks, Harry . . .’
‘Jack!’ He was being shaken awake. ‘It’s breakfast.’
‘Ah.’ Pulling himself upright he shook his head to clear it, then asked, ‘What we got, Frank? Eggs and bacon, don’t forget the fried bread, will you?’
‘Sorry, but you’ll have to do with a hard biscuit this morning, but it will fill a corner.’ Frank began handing out the rations.
‘Not much of a one,’ he joked, munching on the hard tack. He flatly refused to take more than two small sips of water to help the biscuit down, and then made sure that the other men also had a little to drink. He knew very well that water was the most important thing. If that ran out then they really would be in danger of losing some of the weaker men. He sat up straight and took a deep breath, gritting his teeth in determination. He was young and strong . . .
‘How you feeling, lad?’ Bill asked, studying him carefully.
‘I’m fine, Bill. Can’t even feel any pain from the gash in my leg now.’
Bill looked worried at that remark. ‘Well, you hang in there, Jack. Think about your sister. You don’t want to die out here and leave her alone, do you?’
‘Mustn’t do that. Not going to do that.’
‘Hope it stops raining soon.’ Hanna stepped into the kitchen and shook the umbrella through the open door before putting it in the rack. ‘Our poor plants will get washed away if it doesn’t ease up soon. Oh, hello, Jane, I think the boys were glad to go to school today.’
When no one answered, she looked up. As well as Jane, Mildred, George and Pete were also there, all looking upset.
‘Sit down, Hanna.’ Jane guided her to a chair, and a hot cup of tea was placed in front of her. ‘This has just arrived for you.’
When she saw the telegram she went icy cold and just stared at it, hardly able to breathe. She was well aware what these things meant, but not her brother . . . Please God, not her darling little brother . . .
‘Would you like me to read it for you?’
She shook her head, took the telegram in her hands, and without hesitation she slit it open. A moan of agony escaped her lips as she read. ‘Jack’s missing – presumed dead.’
‘I’m so sorry, my dear.’ Jane held her as the silent tears ran down Hanna’s cheeks.
Hanna’s mind was a whirl as she read the dreaded words again. ‘Missing – presumed dead.’ She gulped down the tea and shook her head. ‘No! They don’t know if he’s dead. Until they tell me for sure then there’s still hope. I’d have known if he had died. I’d have known!’
The next week passed in a mist of pain for Hanna as she waited for definite news, refusing to let the glimmer of hope fade.
Nineteen
‘Your garden is a picture.’
Hanna looked up, her face ravaged with despair and sleepless nights after ten days with no news. ‘Thank you, Mrs Freeman. Pete is a very good teacher.’ She scrambled to her feet, brushing dirt from her hands. ‘I enjoy the work and it’s very satisfying to eat the things you’ve grown yourself, isn’t it, Jane?’
‘It certainly is.’ Jane smiled. ‘Rose has some news for you.’
‘Oh, about the orphanage?’
‘No. Let’s sit on the seat in the sun.’ When they were settled, Rose said, ‘I’ve received a message from my husband. He sent it from his ship and insisted that I be informed immediately. It was brief. “Survivors picked up. Jack Foster among them.”’
Hanna was laughing and crying at the same time. ‘Thank you! Is he all right? Where is he?’
‘I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for all the answers. Bill couldn’t send a detailed message, and as far as I know they are still at sea, but you can be sure they are being well looked after. My husband will see to that.’
Nodding, Hanna grasped Rose Freeman’s hand. ‘Thank you for coming to bring me this wonderful news. I’m very grateful. Thank your husband for me. I’m well aware how careful they have to be about sending messages while at sea.’
Rose gave a wry smile. ‘Bill knew you would be worried sick about your brother and the message was very brief. I’ll certainly thank him for you. Now, I think we can all do with a nice cup of tea.’
‘How is he?’
‘Doing fine, Captain. There’s no sign of infection to his injured leg, but they are all weak after days in the boats.’
Ja
ck opened his eyes and sat up suddenly, gazing at the captain, a tall impressive man with a kind face.
‘Ah, good, you’re awake. How are you feeling?’
‘Much better, thank you, sir. It was a wonderful sight when we saw your Royal Navy ship steaming towards us. We shouted until we were hoarse, frightened you would miss us. After so long we had begun to think we were invisible,’ he joked.
The captain smiled. ‘I’ve managed to get a message to my wife and she will tell your sister that you are all right.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ Jack was puzzled. ‘Er . . . does she know Hanna then, sir?’
‘I should have introduced myself, Jack. My name is Freeman.’
‘Rose Freeman’s husband!’ Jack couldn’t believe it. ‘I’m so pleased to meet you, sir. Your wife has done so much for Hanna and me. Thank you, thank you both.’
‘It’s been our pleasure. Now, you just relax and get your strength back. We’ll be in Portsmouth in a couple of days.’
Jack watched Captain Freeman stride away, marvelling at the strange turn of fate.
‘You’ve got friends in high places, lad.’
He grinned as his friends came and sat by his bunk. ‘He’s sent a message to let Hanna know I’m all right. And I am, so I think it’s time to get up and have a look at this ship.’
‘What do you think you’re doing, young man?’ a stern voice asked as Jack swung his legs over the edge of the bunk.
‘Need some exercise, Doc. I’ve been sitting around for days.’
The medic gave a dry laugh. ‘I suppose you have. All right, but I want you back here in one hour.’
‘Two.’
He bent down and checked Jack’s leg. ‘All right two, but no running up and down the deck. We don’t want that wound to open up again.’
‘We’ll see he doesn’t do anything daft,’ Frank said. ‘We haven’t kept him alive just so he can do himself an injury now.’
With the help of Bill and Frank they reached the upper deck, and Jack hobbled towards the rail, taking a deep breath as he gazed at the sea.
‘Still think she’s beautiful, lad?’
He nodded. ‘Nothing will make me change my mind about that, but I remember what you told me in the beginning, Bill. Love her, respect her, but never take her for granted.’
A New Day Page 14
