Holidays at Home Omnibus

by Wait Till Summer; Swingboats On the Sand; Waiting for Yesterday; Day Trippers; Unwise Promises; Street Parties (retail) (epub)

  In a lull in the fighting, Eynon Castle too was writing letters. As always his first was to his wife, Alice. His letter was loving and reassuring, telling her nothing of the fearsome fighting that had taken place in the battle for Sicily or how many friends he had lost. The Americans were strong and with the rest of the British allies, progress was being made, and that was what was important. No looking back was the unwritten law of the exhausted men.

  German cities were being devastated by bombing raids both day and night. Italy was slowly giving way to the efforts of the combined forces. The brave Norwegians were refusing to obey orders given by their German invaders, and in Denmark the number of cases of sabotage was rising, demonstrating an increased defiance against their aggressors. There was, running through the armies and those at home, an air of cautious optimism.

  For the serving soldiers these hopeful signs were fused with fears that with the tide beginning to turn, fate might be whimsical in her choice of whose life would be forfeited. To have survived four years was making their chances thinner.

  None of these morbid thoughts appeared in letters home. Eynon and thousands like them wrote home to their various countries telling the people waiting for them there was nothing to worry about and they were fine.

  A few miles away from Eynon Castle another man sat also writing a letter to St David’s Well. Freddy Clements wrote the usual brief duty letter to his parents, then he settled to write to singer and one-time dancer, Shirley Downs.

  He knew about her accident and made light of it, presuming that she would have to face plenty of negative sympathy and didn’t want more from him. He joked about her inability to dance, and insisted that he would put up with her poor performances when he took her on to the dance floor when he got home. He reminded her, very lightly, that she could still sing and hinted that there were other things that weren’t limited by a damaged leg. He knew she would chuckle as she read his words. Not one to be sorry for herself for long, was Shirley Downs. He signed it, ‘with all my love’, but apart from that, any hope of a more than casual friendship when war ended he kept to himself.

  Both men placed their fountain pens at the side of their writing pads and sat to dream about their girls, imagining them as they read the words they had penned and hoped they would know how much they had left out, and how much they were loved.

  For Beth, there was never the comfort of letters from Peter. She would know nothing about what was happening to him until he walked in, smiling and weary, for a brief respite before returning to his dangerous work.

  * * *

  Maude didn’t visit Mr Gregory’s cottage when, on Marged’s insistence, she finished work at two o’clock the day after the midnight tea party. For one thing, she was too tired after the disturbed night. For another, she felt it was Reginald’s place to come to her and explain what was going on.

  It was very warm, the sun shone harshly and, following a mainly sleepless night, was making her even more tired. She thought she might sit in the garden for an hour or two. She turned her key in the door and stepped inside the cool hallway, calling to see whether either Audrey or Wilf were home. Silence greeted her and she sighed with relief.

  She threw down her handbag and the lightweight jacket she wore, and went into the kitchen to search for food. While the kettle boiled she washed her face and started to prepare a sandwich. A knock at the door surprised her. People rarely called during the day as most of the Castle family were at the beach until the evening. It was Reginald.

  ‘Can I come in, Maude?’ he asked politely.

  ‘I was just going to eat my lunch,’ she told him.

  He smiled and showed her a package tucked into his jacket pocket. ‘That’s all right, I’ve brought mine with me.’ He tilted his head towards the corner. ‘The horse is tied to the lamp post and tucking into his,’ he added.

  She stepped back to allow him to enter and followed him through to the living room. He watched as she took a second cup and saucer from the dresser and placed it next to her own on the table beside the teapot, sugar and milk.

  ‘Well?’ she demanded as they sat down. ‘You have an explanation about being so well known to the police that they call you Reggie?’

  ‘If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone else?’

  ‘How can I promise until I know what it is? If it’s against the law or something—’

  ‘It isn’t against the law, I promise you that. It involves my family.’

  She waited, chewing on a mouthful of food that threatened to choke her.

  Reginald looked equally incapable of eating the food he had brought. After hesitating as though deciding whether or not to trust her, he said, ‘The man who took the things from your Auntie Audrey is Andy Probert. He’s my brother.’

  ‘He said his name was Derek Hanbury,’ she said, unable to think of anything more original.

  ‘I know. He’s been in trouble a few times and my parents don’t know how to stop him. He won’t work, he prefers to steal and insists it’s for the fun of it, the risks making life less boring than keeping to the straight and narrow. The truth is, he’s terrified of going to war. That’s the reason he’s always running. The police are looking for him and so are the military police. He was called up and he ran away. He’s been on the move ever since, taking a job, finding somewhere to live but moving on before someone realizes he’s a draft-dodger and gives him away.’

  ‘Is that why the police wanted to speak to you, because of your brother?’

  ‘Partly, but I’ve been in prison, too.’

  ‘You’ve been in prison?’

  ‘He left a trail that led to me and I couldn’t convince the police I was innocent without telling them it was Andy. He’d have gone down for a good stretch and I got off lightly as it was a first offence.’

  ‘You must have been crazy to do that! It hasn’t stopped him thieving, has it? So what was the point? Now you have a criminal record and he’s carrying on as before.’

  ‘I suppose this means you won’t come out with me again,’ he said sadly.

  ‘Where’s your brother now?’

  He shrugged. ‘A long way off, I hope.’

  ‘Are the police satisfied that you weren’t involved?’

  ‘They thought I might have acted as lookout or was perhaps involved in another way — transport or helping him to choose the victims. I don’t know whether I convinced them, but if they believe me and my words are backed up by Mr Gregory, I should be all right.’ He pushed his long hair back using his fingers like a comb. ‘It’s so unfair. I left home hoping to stay clear of him and he found me. Of all the towns to choose, he managed to come here and mess everything up for me.’

  ‘Not everything. Reginald. I’m still here, and Mr Gregory and most of your friends will give you their support.’

  Sandwiches forgotten, he stood and pulled her gently to her feet and kissed her. They stayed for a long time, holding each other tightly, exchanging words of love.

  Until the door opened and Audrey shouted. ‘Anyone home?’

  Separating hastily, Maude shouted a reply, adding that Reginald had just called and they were going to eat their sandwiches together.

  ‘Call me Reg.’ he whispered. ‘Reggie was accused of theft and Reginald sounds as though I’m fifty!’

  ‘I like Reggie best.‘ Maude whispered back.

  ‘You haven’t started on your sandwiches then,‘ Audrey remarked pointedly. ‘And this full pot of tea’s gone cold.’

  Reggie left and Maude watched him untie the horse before she went back inside. As she was about to tell Audrey that he was not suspected of the theft, Audrey interrupted her by handing her a letter.

  Opening it, Maude danced with excitement. She was told that there was no need for a medical in a few months time when the season ended, as she was permanently excused from factory work to help on the beach.

  ‘You won’t earn as much money, mind,’ Audrey warned her.

  ‘I don’t care
. It’s good news all the way today. Reggie came to tell me he isn’t suspected of being involved in the theft of household goods.’

  ‘That’s good. Do they know who did it?’

  Maude shook her head. She hated lying to Audrey but in this instance her loyalty had to be with Reggie. She repeated the name several times in her head. Reggie Probert. It sounded fine to her. As she lifted the dishes from the table, she thought Maude Probert sounded good too.

  Six

  ‘You were up early yesterday morning, Marged,’ Huw commented as they prepared and ate the breakfast of toast and a scraping of butter. ‘What kept you awake? Thinking about our Eynon and Johnny?’

  ‘Partly, they’re never really out of our thoughts, are they? So far away and us not knowing what’s happening to them. I came down and made a cup of tea and, well, you’d hardly believe it, but Audrey was awake too and we sat here drinking tea and talking.’

  ‘Talking? Not quarrelling?’

  ‘No, no quarrel. I tried to get her to open up and tell me about Wilf’s heart trouble but she wouldn’t. Young Maude came, too. Funny night all round it was.’

  ‘Maude as well? That explains why you and Audrey didn’t come to blows,’ he said teasingly. ‘What did you discuss? It must have been something unlikely for you two to avoid having a row!’ He looked at Marged but she didn’t answer. Her face had a closed look he knew well. She would tell him when she was ready, unless she had angered her sister with her unfeeling manner. Marged was not one to dwell on sympathy, her way of helping was on a practical level and she was often misunderstood, and people considered her to be hard.

  He watched her, wondering if she and Audrey would ever get back to the closeness they had once had. Marrying Wilf had been good for Audrey, but not for the relationship with her sister.

  Marged packed up the boxes with the clean laundry, the cakes and pasties, which once again her sister had helped her to make, and the other items needed for the day. ‘Come on. Huw,’ she chivvied, ‘we’ll be late.’

  Huw continued to wonder about Marged and Audrey’s midnight conversation throughout the busy morning. Marged had been remarkably cheerful. There was no sign of the usual solemn disapproval she showed, always looking for some imperfection in the way the customers were dealt with or the food was prepared. She even sang at times, while she served customers, and allowed herself time to ask them about their plans and wish them well.

  When Wilf arrived mid-morning with three letters, two bearing the army’s stamp, she almost hugged her startled brother-in-law. Something strange was happening, Huw thought, as they left Myrtle to serve and went into the kitchen to read the news from their soldier son.

  The letters were read and re-read before Marged put them in her pocket, ready to show Eynon’s wife, Alice. Now her cheerfulness had a reason. At least when he had written them, Eynon was safe and well, although Huw feared he was in the thick of the fighting in Italy. Being happy at the receipt of a letter was a false mood. Anything might have happened in the time it had taken to reach them, but they pretended and tried not to think any further than holding the letter in their hand and imagining him sitting and writing another. Huw said nothing about his fears to Marged. He didn’t want to ruin her happy mood.

  The weather was very warm and people came into the café with red, sunburned faces, their clothes patched with perspiration, the women bedecked in pretty dresses which looked crumpled and in many cases very worn. The men wore handkerchiefs on their head, the corners knotted to form a simple hat, their shirts wet with sweat, sleeves rolled up. The men’s trousers were as crumpled as the women’s dresses where they too had been rolled up to the knees to allow the men the simple pleasure of paddling at the edge of the waves. Most of the children still wore their bathing costumes, and it made Maude and Myrtle envious seeing them tripping in with their bathers still wet and sandy.

  Maude and Myrtle made faces to each other, miming their wish to go into the sea and cool off. At four o’clock, Myrtle could stand it no longer.

  ‘Auntie Marged, can we have a half hour break to flop in the sea? I’m about to burst into flames, I’m so hot. Just me and Maude, can we?’

  ‘Ask Uncle Huw to leave the swingboats to one of the boys and come and help me here and you can have twenty minutes, no more, right?’

  They had worn their dippers under their clothes, which was one reason they were feeling so uncomfortably hot, and running down to the edge of the waves, Maude asked. ‘What made you so sure she’d agree, our Myrtle?’

  ‘I knew she was in a good mood when she called to pick us up for work, and it’s lasted all day. What did you talk about in your midnight meeting that made her forget to be miserable, our Maude? She and Auntie Audrey are speaking like they’re the best of friends.’

  ‘Perhaps she thinks Auntie Audrey’s going back to doing the housekeeping. She helped again this morning.‘

  ‘I don’t think so, she…’

  There was no time for more as they ran into the sparkling water and dived headlong into an approaching wave.

  Although St David’s Well Bay had been kept open throughout the threat of invasion and since, there were limits to its use. Inside a line between the two headlands was a barrier which prevented boats entering or leaving the bay and a further line closer to the beach warned bathers to stay clear. Maude and Myrtle swam out as far as they dared and circled lazily around, the constant hum of shouting and laughing a summer melody around them. A sound that lived on in memory from one summer to the next, the sound of happy days spent in innocent fun.

  At the end of the day, while they were collecting the things they had to take home, which included the usual tea towels and tablecloths for laundering, Marged relaxed and suggested they went to Bleddyn’s café for fish and chips instead of rushing home.

  ‘But I thought you had to get straight on with the laundry?‘ Huw queried.

  ‘Not anymore, Huw. Audrey has come to her senses and she’ll be doing the washing and the cooking again from now on. It’s only right. Castles is a family business and we each have to do our share.’

  ‘Damn me, no wonder you’re happy today. It’s been a lot of extra work for you since Audrey told you she was finished.’

  Leaving the van outside the house, the four of them went to Castle’s Fish and Chip restaurant and enjoyed a leisurely meal, and when they walked back to the house it was past eight o’clock. Opening the back of the van, Marged picked up the bundle of washing and took it to Audrey’s door. As usual, she knocked then opened the door to walk in, but the door was locked. She knocked again, and called out, politely at first but with increasing irritation. There was no reply.

  ‘It’s all right, Auntie Marged,’ Maude called. ‘I’ve got the key. They must be out.’

  Maude and Myrtle, who had been unloading the van came up, and Maude thrust the key into the lock. They went in, but it was soon apparent there was no one at home. On the table, propped against the teapot was a note: ‘We are spending a few days in Tenby. Look out for a postcard. Love from Auntie Audrey and Uncle Wilf.’

  ‘But they can’t! Audrey said everything was all right. When she helped with the baking yesterday morning and today, and helped fold the tablecloths, I thought she was going back to doing the housekeeping,’ Marged said, throwing down the washing.

  ‘Seems you were wrong,’ Maude pointed out.

  ‘Seems I’ll be up half the night trying to catch up!’ Marged snapped, bending down and retrieving the tablecloths. ‘How could she do this? Why is she being so spiteful? She more or less promised.‘

  ‘Perhaps you misunderstood,’ Myrtle said.

  ‘Perhaps that was what she wanted me to do! This was deliberate and you won’t tell me no different!’

  In her anger, she seemed unaware of Maude getting ready to go out. Then as Maude picked up her shoulder bag, she demanded, ‘Where d’you think you’re going at this time of night? You have to stay in with your sister.’

  ‘I’ll be all right, I’m
almost sixteen, remember,’ Myrtle protested.

  ‘I promised to see Reggie,’ Maude said. ‘Only half an hour, I’ll be.’

  In her disappointment, hurt by what she saw as Audrey’s deliberately misleading friendliness, followed by her unexplained absence, she turned on Maude. ‘You’re going nowhere with that criminal. He’s been in prison for thieving and he was questioned about the stuff that was stolen from your Auntie Audrey. How can you think of meeting a boy like that?’

  ‘He was innocent, Auntie Marged, and the police only wanted to talk to him because his brother’s a suspect and… I mean…’ Too late she remembered Reggie’s plea to keep his brother’s involvement a secret.

  ‘His brother! So the whole family are bad and you want to go and meet him after he stole from Audrey? A woman who’s been a second mother to you and Myrtle?’

  ‘Please forget I said that. I promised Reggie I wouldn’t tell anyone.’ Maude was tearful and she reached for Myrtle’s hand as she had done when they were children.

  ‘You stay in this house, and if this Reggie knocks on the door, you don’t answer it. Right?’

  Maude put away the coat she was about to put on and nodded. She couldn’t speak, she was too afraid of collapsing into tears.

  Marged took the washing and stormed out. When she went into her kitchen and lit the large boiler to heat water for washing, banging things about, muttering about her selfish sister. Huw sighed. Her happy mood hadn’t lasted very long.

  Marged was calm and easy-going once the season ended, but when life was so busy, she was edgy and nothing he did was right. Without giving her the chance to disagree, he put on a coat and went out, calling from the door seconds before he closed it. Better to drink a pint of beer with friends than sit listening to her going on and on about Audrey.

  In Audrey and Wilf’s house, Myrtle was saying to her sister, ‘Go on, Maude, go and meet Reggie and tell him what happened. You don’t want him to think you just forgot, do you? I’ll listen to the wireless for a while. I’m quite all right on my own. Ronnie and Olive are up in the flat if I set fire to the house or anything,’ she added with a grin. ‘Go on, you know you want to. If Auntie Marged comes back. I’ll say you’re in bed with a headache.’