Above the Bright Blue Sky

by Margaret Thornton

‘Anyroad, I know he doesn’t mean it,’ Lily continued. ‘He’s told me to clear off, but he’s said that before then changed his mind. No; I’ll have to go back and face the music, as they say.’

  ‘You mustn’t hesitate to let us know, Lily, if things get too bad,’ said Patience. ‘Luke and I are concerned and we want to help you if we can.’ Patience knew, though, that it was not really right to interfere in other people’s marriages.

  ‘I’ll be OK, don’t worry,’ said Lily, relieved to have unburdened herself of some of her anxieties. ‘I’m worried about Edith, though, an’ all. Don’t say anything to Audrey – well, of course I know you wouldn’t – but she’s far from well, and it’s not just the cold that she’s got. She’s a funny colour, yellow like; I don’t like the look of her at all. She’s not picking up after that op she had.’

  ‘Poor Edith…’ Patience shook her head. ‘Yes, I know exactly what you mean; it was a serious operation. But we must hope for the best; hope…and pray. And you can be sure we will do that. Audrey is contented with us, bless her, and we must be thankful for that. She and Maisie are a great comfort to one another.’

  ‘And how’s that Miss Thomson going on?’ asked Lily. ‘Her maid was going to join the ATS, wasn’t she? Did she get another one, a maid, I mean?’

  Patience laughed, glad to change the subject to a less worrying one. ‘No, she didn’t; not a maid. But an extraordinary thing happened. Quite providential, so Luke and I thought. Miss Thomson now has a couple of land army girls staying with her.’

  ‘Well, I never!’ said Lily. ‘And what does she think about that?’

  ‘She wasn’t any too pleased at first, I can tell you. But she kept complaining about not having a maid, and so Muriel Hollins – she’s one of the bigwigs round here, in charge of the WVS and the WI – she suggested that the first two land girls should go there. They’re supposed to help with the chores, you see, wherever they are billeted, and as far as I know it’s working out quite well.’

  ‘Doesn’t she boss them around, like she did with that Daisy?’

  ‘She can’t insist that they are in by nine-thirty. They have to be allowed a certain amount of freedom when they’re not working. I think Miss Thomson has learned her lesson; well, we hope so. They seem to be nice friendly lasses; Priscilla and Jennifer, they are called.’

  ‘So they work on one of the farms round here, do they?’

  ‘Yes, right here, as it happens,’ said Patience. ‘Here on Mr Tremaine’s estate. They’re working for him and for Walter Nixon – that’s Doris’s father, the girl that Maisie and Audrey are friendly with. Walter is in charge of their initial training, I believe. He has two young sons as well, Joe and Ted, who work on the farm. But the other two young men who worked for the squire have both gone now; Andy, that’s Daisy’s boyfriend, the one she went to meet and caused all that trouble, and his mate, Tom. Yes, they’ve both joined the army, and so have a lot more of the young men from our parish. That’s why the land girls are coming; there’ll be quite a lot of them here soon to work on the outlying farms.’

  ‘There was some talk of them coming to the squire’s place, wasn’t there?’ said Lily. ‘What’s it called, Tremaine House? We met that young woman the last time we came and she was telling us she was going to be in charge of them.’

  ‘Yes, that’s right,’ replied Patience. ‘You mean Sally Booth. Plans are going ahead now and the land girls should be arriving soon after Christmas… Oh look, there’s Bruce. You haven’t met him, have you? He’s Archie Tremaine’s son. He’s a grand lad, is Bruce; he’s away at boarding school most of the time, just home for the hoidays.’

  Bruce, a few yards further along the lane, was talking to Maisie and Audrey, with Prince, the dog, lolloping around them. Patience was pleased to see that Audrey no longer seemed to be scared of the dog, although she was standing very still and eyeing him warily. Tentatively she stretched out a hand and patted his head, and he reciprocated by licking her hand. She turned to Patience and beamed. ‘I think he likes me,’ she said.

  ‘An’ he likes me an’ all,’ said Joanie, fearlessly stroking the dog’s back. Jimmy, by this time, was tired and he climbed back into his pushchair.

  Bruce shook hands with Lily and said ‘How do you do?’ very politely, and that he hoped she was enjoying her day. Lily decided at once that she liked him. There was an air of assurance about him, without being stuck-up or over-confident.

  ‘We’ve not seen Mrs Booth lately, or Billy and Brenda,’ said Maisie, remembering that the last time her mum had visited they had met the little family in the lane. ‘Are they all right? Or p’raps they’ve gone home for Christmas, have they?’

  ‘Yes…sort of,’ said Bruce. ‘Haven’t you heard about it, Mrs Fairchild?’ He turned to Patience. ‘No, perhaps you haven’t, because it only happened yesterday.’

  ‘What has happened, Bruce? No, I haven’t heard.’

  ‘Well, they’ve gone for good,’ said Bruce, ‘or so it seems. Sally – Mrs Booth, I mean – had a telegram yesterday to say that her mother had been taken ill and that she was to go home at once. So she went back to Leeds – my father ran her to the station and she got the first train she could – but when she got there her mother had died. She phoned last night to tell my mother and father. It seems that her own father is an invalid. He was badly injured in the last war and he has never fully recovered. His wife looked after him, and she had hardly ever had a day’s illnesss in her life. And then, well, it was a sudden heart attack and there was nothing they could do for her.’

  ‘Oh, how dreadful!’ said Patience. ‘Poor Sally; what a shock for her. So…she is staying to look after her father, is she?’

  ‘Yes, apparently she is the only daughter. I think she intends to stay and make her home with her father, for the time being, at any rate. It’s very sad; and my mother says she was looking forward so much to staying here and being in charge of the land girls that are coming. It will be a lot for my mother to manage on her own.’

  That young man has an old head on young shoulders, thought Lily, and what concern he was showing for his mother.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Patience. ‘You’re a good lad, Bruce, and I know you’re concerned about her. But I’m sure your mother will find someone to help her, if Sally can’t come back…’

  A thought had struck Patience. What a splendid idea it would be, if only… But she did not see how she could possibly suggest it, so she did not even look at Lily. Besides, the young woman knew that she had to go back to Leeds.

  But the selfsame thought had occurred to Lily, only to be dismissed as a hopeless dream.

  Chapter Seventeen

  It was after ten o’ clock when Lily and the children arrived back at Leeds City Station. The square and the surrounding streets were almost pitch black, with little light that night from the moon and stars, but she had her torch to help her to find her way to the bus stop. Jimmy was asleep, his head lolling sideways in his pushchair, but Joanie was trotting along stoically at her mother’s side, indefatigable, it seemed, on this exciting day.

  It was eerie to travel on a bus at night. There was only a tiny blue light to illuminate the interior and the headlamps were partially covered with masks. An unnecessary restriction, in fact it was a load of ‘red tape’, was the view of many people. Almost four months into the war there was still no sign of enemy planes or bombs falling from the skies. It was strange, too, to be given your ticket by a young woman conductress, doing the job of a man who had gone to serve in the war.

  ‘We’re nearly home now,’ said Lily to the children as they alighted from the bus. The conductress helped with the pram, as she had when they boarded, and Lily popped a still very drowsy Jimmy inside. ‘Not much further, just along this street and round the corner…’

  She was beginning to feel sick with dread at the thought of going into the house. Supposing Sid had meant what he said and he threw her out again? No; he couldn’t do that, not with the two kiddies. It was turned
half-past ten. He would, no doubt, have returned from the pub; they had closed earlier since the start of the war. But with a bit of luck he might have gone to bed.

  There was no way of telling from the outside of the house whether or not he was still downstairs, because the blackout curtains did not allow even a chink of light to escape. She took out her key and opened the door, humping the pram, with Jimmy still in it, over the step. Her heart sank when she saw there was a light on in the living room. Quickly she closed the front door and took a deep breath, steadying herself to face her husband in whatsoever mood she might find him. She lifted Jimmy from the pushchair and then, holding him by the hand and with Joanie hanging on to her coat, she entered the room.

  She blinked with amazement, then gave a gasp of shock and disbelief. A strange woman was sitting in one of the easy chairs, the one that Lily usually sat in when she had time to spare. A young woman, with brassy blonde hair in sausage curls all over her head, cherry red lips and pink cheeks like a painted doll, and wearing a bright blue jumper that clung tightly to the generous curves of her bosom. Lily was in little doubt as to who this person was, but she would not have imagined that even Sid would have had the nerve to invite her to his home. Nevertheless, the question came automatically to her lips.

  ‘And who are you?’ she asked. The woman met her questioning stare with a look that was unafraid, although she then looked across at Sid, seated in the other chair, for him to answer.

  He was grinning with malicious delight. ‘This young lady is Moira. She’s a friend of mine; a very good friend, an’ she’s come to spend Christmas with me, ’aven’t yer, luv? An’ she can stay a good while longer an’ all, for ever, if she’s a mind. An’ you don’t need to bother yerself about where she’s sleepin’, ’cause she’s sharin’ my bed, aren’t yer, Moira, me darlin’?’ Lily, for the moment, was too flabbergasted to speak. She just gaped at Sid as he went on speaking.

  ‘Oh, I’m forgetting me manners, aren’t I? This ’ere is me wife, Lily.’ He gave a sneering laugh. ‘An’ these two are me nippers. Say hello, you two, to the nice lady.’

  Joanie and Jimmy just stared uncomprehendingly, and Lily, still at a loss for words, noticed for the first time that Percy was at the back of the room, an evil grin on his podgy face as he watched her discomfiture. Moira had not spoken so far, but now she managed a few words.

  ‘Hello…’ she faltered. ‘Sid invited me… But he told me that you were…’

  ‘Aye, I told her that you’d buggered off to see yer darlin’ daughter and you wouldn’t be comin’ back. I told you this morning to sling yer hook, didn’t I?’

  ‘But…I didn’t think you meant it, Sid. You’ve said that before, but you always changed yer mind.’

  ‘Well, I meant it this time, didn’t I? I’ve got meself fixed up very nicely with Moira here. You and me’s finished. We ’ave been for ages, so I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing here.’

  ‘But…this is my home, and…and it’s where the children live…’

  ‘Not any more it ain’t. Bugger off and take ’em with yer. Get off back to yer precious Nellie…’

  ‘Sid, stop it!’ It was Moira who intervened. She was looking a little worried at the turn of events. ‘You can’t just turn ’er out in t’ middle o’ t’ night. Let her stay… There’s been a mistake…’

  At these words Lily at last saw red. She realised she was not dismayed or scared any longer by what had happened; she was just blazing mad, more furious than she had ever been in her life.

  ‘You’re damned right there’s been some mistake,’ she yelled at Sid, and ignoring the woman. ‘How dare you move yer fancy piece into my home. This is my home,’ she repeated, emphasising the last two words. ‘It was mine and my family’s long before it was yours. And this…lady…has the cheek to say “Let her stay”. Let me stay, indeed, in my own home! Well, I can tell you that I won’t be staying, not a minute longer than I have to… Come on, you two. It’s long past your bedtime…’ She hurried the children out of the room and up the stairs.

  ‘What’s wrong, Mummy?’ asked Joanie.

  ‘Who’s that lady?’ asked Jimmy.

  ‘Don’t worry yerselves about all that now,’ said Lily. Quickly she put them into their pyjamas and bundled them into bed. ‘Night night, sleep tight…’ She kissed them both, knowing they were both too tired to be worried by the trauma surrounding them.

  She still had her coat on, and when she had settled the children she hurried off to the house next door, the home of Fred and Kate Smedley. Luckily, they had still not gone to bed. Kate answered the door somewhat timorously at Lily’s frenzied knocking.

  ‘Good gracious, Lily; whatever’s up? There’s nowt wrong with your Maisie, is there?’

  ‘No, thank God,’ replied Lily. ‘No, it’s ’im, Sid. Youll never guess what he’s done. He’s only gone and moved his fancy piece in. Some painted hussy called Moira…’

  She saw Kate and Fred exchanging uneasy glances. ‘You knew, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘Sit yerself down, luv,’ said Fred, and Lily collapsed gratefully on to an easy chair. ‘Aye, I knew he had another woman, like. I told Kate about it. But I didn’t know as how he’d moved her in. What a bloody nerve! Moira Higginbottom, she’s called. She’s a barmaid at the Rose and Crown.’

  ‘I’m real sorry,’ said Kate. ‘Aye, I knew, but there didn’t seem to be much point in telling yer. But what a cheek he’s got! Of all the things!’

  ‘She was there when I got back from seeing our Maisie, sitting there as bold as brass,’ said Lily. ‘To be fair, I think he’d told her that I’d left and I wouldn’t be coming back…but he must have known that weren’t true.’

  ‘But the thing is, what are you going to do now?’ asked Kate. ‘You can stay here tonight if you like, can’t she, Fred? And what about the kiddies?’

  ‘They’re fast asleep in their own beds,’ said Lily, smiling a little. ‘And that’s where I shall sleep tonight, if I manage to sleep at all, in the bed in their room. Sid and me haven’t shared a bed for ages, but I think you know that. But I’m only staying there tonight. I’ll not stay where I’m not wanted, not for one minute longer than I have to. First thing in t’ morning the kids and me’ll be off back to Middlebeck.’

  ‘D’you think you’ll be able to find somewhere to stay up there?’ asked Kate.

  ‘I know I will,’ said Lily. ‘In fact…do you know…all this that has happened, it seems like an answer to a prayer.’ She had only just thought of it like that, but now it seemed as though it was meant to be. It was the miracle she had been waiting for. A rather strange one maybe, but it meant that, at last, she would be able to escape from her disastrous marriage.

  When she returned to the house next door – she could no longer think of it as home – the place was in darkness, Sid and his ‘floosie’ and Percy having retired for the night. She hoped it might be the last she would see of them for a very long time or, indeed, for ever, if everything worked out according to plan; a plan that she was desperately trying to formulate in her mind.

  She reached up to the top of the wardrobe and pulled down the large suitcase which had not been used for ages, and then, by the dim light from her torch, she began to pack hers and the children’s clothes inside it, as many as it would hold. She intended to set off in the early morning, before anyone else arose, if possible. She would make her way to the station and catch the earliest train she could, back to Middlebeck. But how would she manage, she wondered, with a huge suitcase, a pushchair and two young children? Don’t be so spineless, Lily! she admonished herself; there would surely be somone to help her, both on the bus and on the train. One good thing about these wartime days was the way that complete strangers were trying to help one another. And quickly upon that thought came another; ought she to let Patience know she was arriving, and what time? If she didn’t, then there would be no one to meet them when they arrived in Middlebeck. And what about Edith and Alf and t
he little presents that Audrey had sent for them? Audrey was relying on her and this was a trust she could not break, whatever the circumstances. She tossed and turned in her bed for ages, her mind in a turmoil; then at last, in the early hours, sleep overcame her.

  She had set her alarm clock for six o’ clock, and with the coming of the dawn her thoughts had assembled themselves into a more coherent pattern. Before waking the children she made a pile of sandwiches to eat on the journey. Fortunately there was a loaf that was not too stale and a remnant of cheese in the larder. She did not feel the slightest guilt in using the whole of it, then she spread the remainder of the bread she had sliced with margarine and strawberry jam. There would be no time to stop and eat breakfast; besides she did not want to set eyes on Sid and the others. Her idea was to get moving before anyone else was stirring; Sid and Percy were sluggards anyway, especially when it came to getting up in the morning.

  She quickly washed and dressed herself, then she roused the children, giving them both a quick wash – a lick and a promise – at the kitchen sink before dressing them and making sure they had used the lavatory at the end of the yard. Thank goodness Jimmy was no longer in nappies, she thought; that was one less problem she had to face.

  ‘Where’re we goin’, Mummy?’ asked Joanie, as Lily bundled them both into their coats. ‘Are we running away? Dad was mad at us, wasn’t he?’

  ‘Not with you, love; only with me…’

  ‘Who was that lady? What’s she doing in our ’ouse?’

  ‘She’s just a friend of Daddy’s…’

  ‘It’s dark,’ said Jimmy. ‘Why are we going out in t’ dark?’

  ‘Are we running away?’ asked Joanie again.

  ‘Not really,’ said Lily. ‘Hush now…Try to be real quiet.’ She put her finger to her lips. ‘We’re going on a train again – that’s exciting, isn’t it? – and then we’re going to stay with Maisie and that kind man and lady for a little while, perhaps longer…I hope so anyway. But first we’ve got to go and see Audrey’s mum and dad.’