Our Chief of Staff, Major Nathan, was up and down the hillsides on a motor bike encouraging us, driven, I’m proud to say, by a Liverpool man, Alan Galloway.
By the way, if anyone tells you this is a Holy War by Franco, tell them that Spanish Moroccan Muslims were among the troops fighting for him, and villages have been bombed from the air and innocent people and children killed by them.
I’ve met several Liverpool lads here, and two brothers named Bibby from Birkenhead. I’m giving this letter to a chap who is being invalided home as he has lost four fingers of his right hand.
Fond love to all. I thought of everyone and particularly of Grandma on Grandad’s anniversary. I feel very close to him here with men who believe in what he did, and suffered as he did, which I’ve never done. I’ve found a lot to think about here, believe me, and I look forward to a talk with Dad.
Your loving son,
John
‘So some men are being invalided home,’ Cathy exclaimed. ‘Why not John?’
‘It can’t be a very bad wound,’ Greg said.
‘I wish it was,’ said Cathy, then put her hand to her mouth. ‘Oh, Greg, it’s like the war when we hoped our men would be wounded badly enough to be out of it.’
‘A blighty one,’ he said. ‘But it had to be bad for that, Cathy, very bad. We don’t want anything like that for John.’
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sarah was pleased to have the details about the Moors in Franco’s Army to use in any argument about John, although her spirited defence of him had made people wary of challenging her.
‘I didn’t know you were such a firebrand,’ one of the boys she went out with remarked. ‘I can see I’ll have to watch my step.’
Sarah and Anne were still making dates with various boys after the dances, without becoming serious about any of them. As the summer approached they went out nearly every Sunday to North Wales, on the pillions of motor cycles owned by two brothers from Allerton. They usually went fairly early and arrived back in time to get ready for the dance, but Cathy was nervous about Sarah riding on a motor cycle.
‘Hold on tight to him,’ she begged Sarah one Sunday when Jimmie had called for her and she was sitting on the pillion with her arms round his waist.
‘I will, Mum,’ Sarah said, laughing and winking at her. Josie was at her door and laughed heartily.
‘Your Sarah hasn’t half come out of her shell these last few years,’ she said as the motor bike roared away.
On the day of the Corpus Christi procession in June, Kate had been chosen for a special part in the Procession. She wore a red dress and carried a sheaf of wheat and a bunch of grapes to signify the bread and wine of the Eucharist, and walked beneath an arch held by two other girls.
Greg had tried to impress on Kate the religious significance of the event, but she could only see it as an occasion when she would be in the public eye.
Anne came to the Procession and afterwards to tea with Sarah. Later they went for a walk until it was time to prepare for the dance being held afterwards, and they strolled along arm in arm, deep in conversation. There was a narrow alleyway beside a warehouse and they walked through it as a short cut to the main road.
They heard loud laughter and saw a group of boys there but, deep in conversation, paid no attention to them until, as they grew nearer, they saw that the boys were surrounding a girl who was pinned against the warehouse wall by them.
Two of the biggest boys seemed to be fighting over her, each holding one of her arms and trying to pull her towards him.
‘Meg!’ Sarah suddenly screamed, and plunged into the group. Anne followed her, laying about her with her handbag, but the boys scattered and ran away, even the two louts who had been pulling at Meg’s arms.
Meg stood looking from Sarah to Anne and smiling uncertainly, and Sarah saw with horror that her knickers were around her ankles.
‘Meg, are you all right, love?’ Sarah said breathlessly.
She nodded. ‘It was a game,’ she said tremulously. ‘They were going to show me a new game.’
‘Oh, poor kid,’ Anne said, putting her arm around the girl.
Sarah said firmly, ‘Pull your knickers up, Meg.’ As Meg bent obediently, Sarah whispered over her bent head, ‘Don’t fuss her, Anne.’
Meg stood up and Sarah stood in front of her. ‘Did those boys do anything to you?’ she asked.
Meg shook her head. ‘They pulled my knickers down,’ she said. ‘It was going to be a new game. Was I naughty, Sarah?’
Anne was about to speak but Sarah said firmly, ‘Yes you were, Meg. You know your grandma has told you not to play with big boys. Come on now, we’ll go home.’
Meg hung her head and Anne scrabbled in her handbag. ‘I’ll get her an ice cream,’ she whispered to Sarah.
Sarah said, ‘Don’t, Anne, please.’ Her friend looked indignant but walked along in silence.
‘Do you mind going in our house, Anne, and I’ll take Meg home?’ Sarah said.
But Anne said shortly, ‘I think I’ll go home and get ready. I’ll see you at the dance.’ She kissed Meg and walked away, and Sarah went with the girl into the Burns’ house.
‘There you are!’ Peggy exclaimed with relief. ‘I’ve been out of my mind worrying about you. Uncle Michael’s out looking for you.’ She glanced from Meg’s downcast face to Sarah. ‘What did she do?’ she said fearfully.
‘Nothing, Mrs Burns,’ Sarah hastened to say. ‘She’s all right.’
‘Go and get a cup of water in the back kitchen and close the door,’ Peggy said to Meg.
When she had gone, Sarah said quickly, ‘There was a gang of lads round her in an entry but they hadn’t done anything, only got her to pull her knickers down.’
Peggy collapsed into a chair and put her hand to her mouth. ‘I knew it, I knew,’ she gasped. ‘I was frantic when she went missing.’
‘She’s all right, honestly,’ Sarah assured her. ‘The lads ran away when they saw us. They’d told Meg they’d show her a new game, but nothing happened so don’t worry, Mrs Burns.’
‘Thank God you were there,’ Peggy said.
Her face was white and Sarah said gently, ‘Do you want Grandma?’
‘No, it’s all right, love. I’ll go in to her after,’ said Peggy.
‘Meg was frightened, I think, and Anne wanted to buy her an ice cream but I wouldn’t let her,’ Sarah said. ‘Meg asked if she’d been naughty and I said yes, because you’d told her not to play with big boys.’
‘You did right, girl,’ Peggy said. They could hear Meg blundering about in the back kitchen and she opened the door.
‘I’ll go,’ Sarah said. ‘Ta, ra Meg. Ta, ra, Mrs Burns.’ She went down the lobby and only as she let herself out of the front door did she realize that she was trembling.
‘Where’s Anne?’ her mother asked when she went home.
‘She’s gone home. We saw a gang of lads round Meg Burns and chased them. Meg was a bit frightened and I think Anne was a bit huffy because I wouldn’t let her buy an ice cream for Meg.’
‘Worst thing she could have done,’ said Cathy. ‘Was Meg all right?
‘Yes. They’d told her to pull her knickers down but nothing had happened to her.’
‘Poor Peggy. She’s out of her mind trying to keep that poor child safe,’ Cathy sighed.
‘That’s the trouble though, Mum, isn’t it?’ Sarah said. ‘Meg’s not a child now, except in her mind. Those damn lads – they must have known she was backward.’
‘God forgive them,’ Cathy said. ‘Thank God you and Anne walked up there.’
‘I think Anne thought I was hard. She was annoyed with me,’ Sarah said.
‘You’ll have to explain to her. Tell her Meg would do it again if she got ice cream and you hissed over her. It’s the only way she knows right from wrong if people are cross with her over something like this. Are you going to the dance?’
‘Yes, I’m calling for her,’ Sarah said, but her face was still troubled
. ‘Do you think I should have told Peggy, Mum? I didn’t want to worry her but I thought she should know, but she seemed so upset.’
‘She’d have been more upset if she got half the story from Meg. You did right to tell her, love. Now Peggy can talk to Meg and try to warn her, and she knows exactly what happened so she’s not imagining all sorts of things.’
Sarah gave a sigh of relief. ‘I’m glad you think that Mum. Can I take this hot water for a wash?’
‘Yes, but don’t forget to bring the kettle down again,’ Cathy said. She shook her head at Sarah and called after her, ‘And don’t be such a worrier.’ Sarah laughed and ran upstairs.
When Sarah reached Anne’s house, Maureen opened the door and ushered her into the hall. Anne came running downstairs, smiling. ‘Hello, Sar,’ she said. ‘How’s Meg?’
‘She’s OK,’ Sarah said rather stiffly.
‘That’s good. I was wrong to want to buy her ice cream,’ Anne said. ‘I told our Maureen and she told me off, didn’t you, Mo?’
‘I said you were foolish,’ Maureen said. ‘The girl herself felt that she was wrong and wanted some guidance when she asked if she’d been naughty. You’d have upset the apple cart if you gave her ice cream. She’d think it as a reward for doing something good.’
The parlour door was open and Terry called, ‘Here endeth the first lesson by Professor Jung.’
Maureen blushed and Anne shouted, ‘Shut up, Terry, and mind your own business.’
She took her coat from the hallstand. ‘We won’t bother going in to that lot,’ she said. ‘Mum and Dad are at church. Should we try a different place tonight?’
‘Yes, I’d rather dodge Jimmie and Dan,’ Sarah said. ‘Jimmie was quite narky because I wouldn’t go out on the bike today.’
‘So was Dan. We’ll have to nip that in the bud. We could try West Derby or Green Lane – there’s a few dances on there tonight.’
Eventually they decided to take the tram to West Derby, but as soon as they walked in the Hall they found several people whom they knew there.
‘So much for a change of scene,’ Anne whispered to Sarah, but as usual they were asked for every dance.
They were escorted home by two of the young men who had partnered them in the dance, and arranged to see them later in the week.
Mabel was disapproving when Anne and Sarah talked about their various young men, but a new girl who had been engaged to help in the shop listened to them with shining eyes.
‘Look at her. It’s like a serial story to her,’ Mabel exclaimed. ‘Don’t you be modelling yourself on them now, Rosie. They’ll be getting a bad name the number of lads they go out with.’
‘You know that’s not true, Mabel,’ Sarah protested. ‘The lads we go out with are as harmless as us. I’ve never come across a bad lot yet.’
‘It’s all like one big family anyway,’ Anne said. ‘The fellow I came home with last night was Johnny Carroll’s cousin.’
‘And mine – his father used to work with Dad,’ Sarah laughed.
Cathy felt no worry about Sarah, only pleasure that she was enjoying life and not fretting about Michael. Time enough for her to settle down, she thought, when she met the man she really loved.
She was less confident about Kate. Although she was only eleven years old, Kate’s figure was beginning to mature, and she cast flirtatious glances at every man in sight. An uneasy memory stirred in Cathy of her sister Mary’s behaviour but she told herself that Kate was only a little precocious because of her stage appearances.
No more letters had arrived from John and Cathy was getting steadily more and more worried about him. Greg had been again to the Old Haymarket office but this time he had been treated with suspicion and given no information. ‘I believe there have been men going there who they think were detectives or spies. It’s illegal to volunteer for the International Brigade because of the Non-Intervention Pact, you see.’
‘What’s that?’ Cathy asked.
‘Countries have agreed not to send aid to either side,’ Greg explained.
‘But John said Germany and Italy are sending troops and guns to Franco.’
‘It’s like all these pacts,’ he said. ‘Honoured more in the breach than in the observance. The net result is that I can’t get any information about John. But don’t worry, love, I’m sure he’s all right.’
If only John could come home, Cathy felt that she could be happy and without any worries. For the first time for many years she had no money worries at all.
Stan Johnson, owner of the woodyard where Greg worked, had become more and more prosperous, extending the yard to twice the original size, and also buying property and a share in a car repair business. He was negotiating to buy a small engineering business too but paying a price for his success. He had developed a stomach ulcer and been told by his doctor that he must take life more easily. He realized that he had been overworking for years.
Keeping the books for all these interests had meant a lot of hard work for Greg, although he now had two assistants, but Stan had been generous with wage rises and bonus payments to him. ‘An honest man is worth his weight in gold to any business,’ Stan told Greg. ‘You’re worth every penny I pay you.’
As usual, as soon as Stan realized the position with his health he acted swiftly. He booked a lengthy cruise for himself and his wife, and appointed a manager for the woodyard and another man to collect rents and arrange repairs to his property. He withdrew from the negotiations for the engineering works, but still kept his half share in the car repair works and made Greg General Manager in charge of all his business affairs.
All decisions on expenditure had to be passed by Greg, but Stan told him that it was only for three months.
‘By then I’ll come back a new man,’ he said. ‘I know it’s going to mean a hell of a lot of work for you. Don’t think I’m trying to save my own life by killing you. I’ll be back in three months to take the weight off you.’
‘I’m glad you’ve seen sense,’ Greg said frankly. ‘You’ve been doing three men’s work for years, but the cruise won’t cure you unless you forget all this while you’re away. I look after things as well as I’m able, I promise you.’
‘I know you will,’ Stan said. ‘And I appreciate it. A step up like this would mean a rise usually, but as this is only temporary I think a bonus would fit the bill better. We’ll sort that out when I get back.’
Cathy was excited when Greg told her that evening, but a little apprehensive. ‘If so much hard work has given him an ulcer, I think you should be careful, Greg. And you’re bound to worry more than him because it’s not your own money.’
‘Yes, but the point is, Cathy, it’s only temporary. Only for three months. That’s why he won’t give me a rise but will arrange a bonus when he comes home.’
‘You’d think he’d give it to you while you were doing the job,’ she said. ‘It seems to me he doesn’t trust you.’
‘He does,’ said Greg. ‘But he’s a businessman. He’ll want to see what’s been happening before he decides what to give me, I suppose. He hasn’t got on as much as he has by being soft, although he’s been very good to us, Cath.’
Greg was now working until very late every evening and most of the weekend, and was rarely able to spend any time on the allotment. Michael Burns had been helping him for some time, as Mick showed no aptitude for gardening or interest in it, and Sarah, though she had always loved working on the allotment, had too little spare time for it now.
Michael suggested that his nephew, son of his brother Ben, should help him and the boy proved to have “green fingers” just as Lawrie had. Sally and Peggy sometimes went to the allotment on Saturday afternoons, taking Meg who always wanted to help the boys but annoyed them by pulling up freshly planted seedlings, thinking that they were weeds.
A widower who worked the next allotment was endlessly patient with her, giving her simple jobs to do and showing her how to plant cuttings. He even gave her a small plot of ground and l
et her plant seeds there, and patiently explained that she must not dig them up to see if they were growing.
‘My girl would have been about her age,’ he told Sally and Peggy. ‘Her and me wife died when she was born.’
‘He must have been married young,’ Sally said when he moved away. ‘He’s still only a young man, but grief like that has made him more patient than most.’
It was a relief to Peggy to have Meg happily occupied where she could see her. She had watched Meg even more closely since the incident with the boys, but as she told Sally it was hard to watch her grandchild constantly and keep her happily occupied.
Sally knew that Peggy’s greatest worry was about what would happen to Meg when she was no longer there to look after her. ‘The girls say they won’t let her go in a Home but they’ve got husbands and families to think about, and the husbands might get fed up with them spending so much time looking after her.’
‘Don’t worry, Peg,’ Sally said. ‘She’s a very lovable girl, and so affectionate. I’m sure she’d fit in with any family and all the children love her, don’t they? And you’ve trained her well, so even if she stayed here with Michael she could do some cooking and cleaning and look after her own clothes.’
‘I’ve done my best,’ Peggy said, but she still worried. Sarah and Anne took an interest in Meg after the incident and often took her with them for a ride on the ferry or a walk when they would buy her ice cream as a treat.
Anne was very excited at this time because one of her brothers was coming home from sea after a long voyage.
‘What’s he like?’ Sarah asked. ‘Is he like you?’
‘More like our Maureen although we’re all fairly alike, aren’t we?’ Anne said. She laughed. ‘I don’t think he’s as devout as our Maureen but he’s quiet like her. That’s if he hasn’t changed, but he’s been away for two years, don’t forget.’
‘I wish our John was coming home,’ Sarah said, and Anne looked abashed.
‘I shouldn’t be going on like this when you don’t know about your brother,’ she said, but Sarah told her not to be daft.
There is a Season Page 37
