by Dilly Court
‘I understand, but of course I’ll stand by Shirley and the boy. You mustn’t worry about that. Won’t you stay a while longer?’
She sat down again. ‘There is something else,’ she said cautiously. ‘Shirley shouldn’t have done it, but to stop people gossiping she pretended that she was married, and the first name that came into her head was yours.’
‘I’m flattered.’
‘And she registered the baby with your surname, but she didn’t cite you as the father.’
‘So the boy is Colin Mallory.’
‘You don’t mind?’
‘I daresay the birth certificate can be amended to show that I am the father.’
‘You don’t have to do that, Laurence. Shirley doesn’t expect anything from you. I’m running the shop now and she’s working with me. We’re doing quite well.’
‘You don’t understand, Ginnie. I won’t renege on my responsibilities. Whether Charlie was his biological father or not is purely academic as the poor chap is dead. I’m very much alive and I won’t allow Shirley to struggle on alone. I’ll marry her and make the whole thing legal.’
‘You’d do that, even knowing that Colin might be another man’s child?’
‘Of course. There’s no question about it.’
‘Do you love Shirley?’
His blue eyes darkened to the colour of slate and he turned his head away to gaze out of the window. ‘I like and admire your sister. I’ll do the right thing by her, Ginnie.’
‘You could ruin both your lives by marrying someone you don’t love.’
‘And what about the boy? He might well be mine and he deserves to be brought up in a family with a mother and a father. Money doesn’t come into it and Livvie was wrong to spread such an unkind rumour.’
‘Shirley might have other ideas, Laurence. I haven’t told you the full story yet.’
He shot her a puzzled glance. ‘What else could there be?’
She had been endeavouring to keep the memories of their months in Shropshire filed in a secret place, wrapped in tissue paper like precious mementoes to be stored and taken out occasionally for a brief dusting and then stowed away for safe keeping. It was impossible to mention Tony without involving Nick and Danny. The happy times were deeply enmeshed in the net created by pain and separation, but she felt that Laurence deserved to know the whole story before committing his life to Shirley and her child.
She related the incidents leading up to the fatal accident and Colin’s birth as succinctly and unemotionally as possible, but her voice broke when she mentioned Nick’s name and Laurence reached out to give her hand a comforting squeeze.
‘Thank you,’ he said softly when she finishing speaking. ‘That must have been hard for you, Ginnie. It’s obvious that you cared deeply for Nick.’
‘I never said so.’
‘You didn’t have to. It was written all over your face, and I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you both.’
‘It’s all over,’ Ginnie said hastily. ‘He went back to the States and he’ll marry his fiancée and I’ll never see him again. But that’s my problem, not yours. I’m only telling you all this because I don’t want you to marry my sister out of misguided loyalty, only to find out later that it was a huge mistake.’
‘You’re a great girl.’ Laurence released her hand with a wry smile. ‘If things had been different, maybe . . .’ He shook his head. ‘Tell Shirley that I’ll come and see her as soon as I’m fit enough to leave hospital, although I think I’m being sent to a convalescent home for a week or two after this.’
‘I’ll tell her, but you’d better sort things out with your family, Laurence. I don’t think they’re going to be too pleased with your decision.’
‘Father will understand; he’s an honourable man. As to Mother and Livvie, they’ll get used to the idea.’
The door opened before Ginnie had time to think of a suitable answer, and the ward sister marched purposefully into the room. ‘That’s quite enough excitement for one day, Lieutenant Mallory. Visiting time is over.’
‘I was just going,’ Ginnie said, rising to her feet. ‘Goodbye, Laurence.’
‘Wait a second.’ He attempted to sit up straight but fell back against the pillow with an exclamation of annoyance.
‘You’ve overdone it, lieutenant,’ the sister said severely. ‘No visitors for you this evening.’
‘Send me a photo of Colin,’ Laurence said urgently. ‘Will you do that for me, Ginnie?’
She nodded and blew him a kiss. ‘Of course I will.’
It was late that evening when Ginnie got off the bus at the bottom of Cherry Lane. She was exhausted physically and mentally. She had had plenty of time to mull things over during the train journey to Waterloo and the subsequent ride on the tube, but she was tired and perhaps she was not thinking straight. Laurence had said all the right things and he had behaved like a perfect gentleman, promising to stand by Shirley and her baby, but she had a nagging feeling that he was driven more by his sense of honour and duty than by any deep emotional attachment to her sister. She walked slowly, burdened by the knowledge that Shirley might be making a huge mistake if she married Laurence in order to gain respectability. The garden gate swung open at a touch, screeching on rusty hinges, and the front room curtains twitched. A sliver of light illuminated the concrete path and just as she was about to open her handbag to look for her key the door was wrenched open.
‘Well? Did you see him? What did he say?’ Shirley stepped aside to let her into the hall. ‘Don’t keep me in suspense.’ She closed the door. ‘Go into the lounge. Mum’s kept some supper for you.’
‘Give her a moment to catch her breath, love.’ Mildred emerged from the room resplendent in a cherry-red candlewick dressing gown, with her hair in curlers and Sid’s old carpet slippers on her feet. ‘I’ll make the cocoa.’ She hurried along the hallway, waddling like a duck in footwear that was several sizes too large for her but which she insisted on wearing because they had been her beloved husband’s favourites. She flicked on the kitchen light. ‘Don’t tell her anything until I bring in the hot drinks.’
‘Tell me now,’ Shirley hissed, taking Ginnie by the arm and dragging her into the living room. ‘I’ve been going crazy all day.’
Ginnie shook off her restraining hand. ‘Stop being an idiot. I’ll tell you everything when Mum comes in because I’m not going through it twice.’ She tossed her bag and gloves onto the sofa and sat down, kicking off her shoes. ‘I’m absolutely whacked, so don’t expect me to go into too much detail.’
‘But did you see Laurence?’ Shirley perched on the arm of the settee.
‘Yes, I saw him.’
‘And you told him about Colin.’
Ginnie bent down to rub her sore feet. ‘Yes.’
‘And how did he react? If you don’t tell me I’m going to scream.’
‘He’s an out and out gentleman, Shirley. If you’ve got any sense you’ll grab him with both hands and hang on.’
‘He wasn’t furious? Olivia hadn’t told him?’
‘No, she hadn’t said a word. And this will surprise you, because it astounded me – he wants to marry you and bring Colin up as his son.’
Mildred had come into the room unnoticed and she almost dropped the tray she was carrying. She slammed it down on the coffee table, spilling some of the hot cocoa. ‘No! Really?’
Shirley leapt to her feet and danced her mother round the room. ‘He’s going to make an honest woman of me, Mum. What have you got to say to that?’
‘Laurence Mallory wants to marry you?’ Mildred slumped down on the nearest chair, fanning herself vigorously. ‘You’re the luckiest girl alive, Shirley Travis. Not many men would be so willing to do the right thing.’
Ginnie stared at the plate of Spam sandwiches with curling edges that had been kept for her supper and her appetite deserted her. ‘Thanks, Mum, but I bought a pie from the station buffet. I’ll wrap these up and take them to the shop for my lunch.’
> ‘You should come home at dinner time,’ Mildred said, frowning. ‘Your dad always made a point of shutting up the shop from one until two. He said it was more important to have a good meal than to stay open.’
‘Yes, Mum.’ Ginnie picked up a mug and took a sip of cocoa, but she put it down again as she heard the sound of a car pulling up in the street outside. She rose from the sofa and went to peer out of the window. ‘There’s someone coming up the path.’
‘No.’ Mildred’s lips formed a circle of surprise. ‘Who do we know who’s got enough petrol to go visiting, especially at this time of night?’
‘I’ll go,’ Shirley said eagerly. ‘Perhaps Laurence has discharged himself from hospital and come to see me and the baby.’
Ginnie made for the door. ‘I can’t see who it is but I’d better go. You’re in your dressing gown, Shirley.’
‘It’s a negligee,’ Shirley said sulkily. ‘I made it from parachute silk and it’s a copy of one that Carole Lombard wore in My Man Godfrey.’
‘Sit down, you silly girl,’ Mildred said peevishly. ‘Let your sister answer the door. It can’t be good news. No one uses their precious petrol ration unless it’s a dire emergency, and nobody makes social calls at eleven o’clock at night. It can’t be the ARP warden because all that’s finished now.’ She jumped visibly as someone hammered on the door knocker. ‘For goodness’ sake go and see who it is, Ginnie. And tell them to go away.’
Chapter Nine
Ginnie opened the front door to find Colin Mallory standing in the porch. He took off his Homburg hat. ‘I realise that it’s rather late to call on you, Miss Travis, but my wife had a very disturbing telephone call from the hospital in Gosport. May I come in?’
Ginnie was too astonished to refuse. ‘Please do.’
He crossed the threshold, gazing round the narrow hallway with the stairs rising directly opposite the front door, and she had the feeling that he was comparing it unfavourably with his own house in Monk Avenue. She had only been there once and that was when she was ten and Shirley was supposed to have been keeping an eye on her while their mother went up to the West End to buy a new dress.
Shirley had wanted to go out with Olivia and had threatened Ginnie on pain of death not to tell their parents that she had disobeyed instructions to stay at home. Shirley and Olivia had gone into town, abandoning Ginnie. She had been left on her own in the imposing entrance hall with its highly polished parquet floor and a sweeping staircase leading to a galleried landing. The furniture had been equally grand, its surfaces glowing with the sheen of ripe conkers and its brass handles gleaming like pirate gold. She remembered large flower arrangements, their heady perfume vying with the cloying smell of Mansion Polish and Brasso, and there had been a cream Bakelite telephone on a half-moon table, above which was a framed print of a duelling scene. Standing in front of a waiting carriage, the wounded victor was being supported by his seconds. She had stared at the picture for so long that the horses in between the shafts had begun to move their legs, and she had huddled on the bottom step of the Turkey carpeted staircase, hiding her eyes.
She had been found an hour later by the maid who had come from the nether regions of the house to answer the doorbell, and having sent the caller round to the tradesmen’s entrance the maid had marched Ginnie to the drawing room to be interrogated by Mrs Mallory. Olivia’s mother had not been pleased to learn that her daughter and Shirley had gone to meet their friends at the ice cream parlour, and she had telephoned Mildred that evening, telling her what she thought about the lax discipline in the Travis household. Shirley had been punished and Ginnie had had her pocket money stopped for a month for being party to her sister’s escapade. She sighed. It had not seemed fair then and did not seem fair now.
‘Where is your sister?’ Mr Mallory said angrily. ‘I want to see her and I’m not leaving here until I’ve had words with that young woman.’
Ginnie was no longer a frightened ten-year-old and she stood her ground. ‘As you said yourself, it is very late. Can’t this wait until morning?’
He drew back his head so that his chin rested on his starched Gladstone collar and his eyes narrowed to slits. ‘No, it can’t. Not only have we had a telephone call from our son, but Olivia has told me about a conversation she had with your sister not so long ago.’
‘Your daughter has got it wrong, Mr Mallory. I’ve been to see Laurence today.’
‘So it was you who went to the hospital. I thought it was your sister, but that’s neither here nor there.’ His dark eyebrows snapped together over the bridge of his nose. ‘My wife said he sounded feverish on the telephone and all because of you. He’s been seriously ill and he needs rest and quiet. You took a lot on yourself, young lady.’
The sitting-room door opened and Mildred emerged, curlers bristling. ‘Who are you, sir? And why are you calling on us at this time of night?’
‘This is Mr Mallory, Mum. Laurence’s father,’ Ginnie said hastily.
‘It’s Councillor Mallory actually, and I’m here on a very personal matter, Mrs Travis.’
Mildred folded her arms across her chest. ‘This is a fine time of night to come calling.’
‘It’s not from choice, madam. My daughter tells me that . . .’ He broke off as Shirley wafted out of the front room. The creation in parachute silk clung to her voluptuous figure, leaving little to the imagination.
‘I’m Shirley,’ she said, holding out her hand. ‘We’ve met before, Mr Mallory, but it was a long time ago. I was at school with Livvie.’
He barely touched the tips of her fingers before dropping his hand to his side as if an electric shock had passed between them. ‘My daughter told me that you were a trollop,’ he said, glowering. ‘You won’t get a penny out of me for your little bastard.’
Mildred utter a gasp of horror, but Shirley appeared to be unmoved by the insult. ‘Livvie was lying,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m sorry to say it, but Livvie made it all up. She’s always been a troublemaker.’
Mallory took a step towards her. ‘Are you denying that you have a child?’
As if on cue, Colin began to cry and Shirley’s lips curved in a proud smile. ‘I have a son and he’s ready for his feed, if you’ll excuse me.’ She ascended the stairs, leaving them staring after her in an awkward silence.
‘I blame you for this, madam,’ Mallory said in a voice that throbbed with suppressed anger. ‘Your daughter is trying to blackmail my son into marriage.’
Mildred shook her head. ‘It’s nothing of the kind. This is a matter between Shirley and her young man. We should leave them to sort it out.’
‘My son has been accused of fathering your daughter’s illegitimate brat, and your daughter is after maintenance for her little mistake.’
‘Indeed she is not.’ Mildred’s tone was icy. ‘My daughter is the one who has been wronged. It’s always the man who gets off scot free. I thought you were a respectable man, Councillor Mallory. I thought you were a fair man, but I can see that it’s all a front. You’re just as bad as the rest of them.’
Ginnie stared at her mother, seeing her suddenly in a new light. She had not expected her to take on someone as important and overbearing as Mr Mallory and it was obvious that he too was taken by surprise, but he was also angry. He clenched his hands at his sides and she stepped in between them. ‘Livvie is mistaken, Mr Mallory. Shirley hasn’t asked for maintenance. She hasn’t asked Laurence for anything, and that’s what I told him when I saw him today.’
‘You had no right to poke your nose into matters that don’t concern you, young lady.’
‘It does concern me when my sister is accused of something she hasn’t done. That’s why I went to see Laurence and told him that he may or may not be Colin’s father.’
‘She named the brat after me? How dare she do a thing like that?’
‘There’s no law against it.’ Mildred padded over to the front door and opened it. ‘I think we’ve said all we have to say for now, Mr Mallory. Go home and tell tha
t meddling daughter of yours to watch her tongue in future or we might have to see our solicitor and have her up for slander.’
Mallory’s face darkened to a dangerous shade of purple. ‘How dare you!’
‘You’ll burst a blood vessel if you’re not careful,’ Mildred said smugly. ‘Goodnight, Mr Mallory.’ She held the door open.
Ginnie moved to her mother’s side. ‘You’d better go, Mr Mallory. Laurence was absolutely fine with the news. In fact he was delighted to think that Colin might be his and he genuinely wants to marry Shirley.’ She had the satisfaction of seeing Mallory at a loss for words as he stormed out of the house.
Mildred slammed the door. ‘That put him in his place, Ginnie. Let’s go and finish our cocoa and you can tell me exactly what Laurence said.’
Laurence telephoned Shirley next day and told her that he was to be transferred to a convalescent home in Surrey, which was considerably nearer home than the hospital in Gosport. Despite opposition from his family, he was adamant that he wanted to marry her and to raise Colin as his own child. Shirley was radiant and Ginnie was pleased for her sister’s sake, but she was worried that his decision had been made too quickly, and that he might live to regret his chivalrous action.
After a week of indecision Shirley finally plucked up the courage to accept Laurence’s invitation to spend a weekend at a small hotel near the convalescent home. ‘He might change his mind when he sees me again,’ she said, gazing critically at her reflection in the dressing-table mirror as she secured the perky little pillbox hat she had bought in a jumble sale with a pearl hatpin. ‘He might have been under the influence of drugs when you saw him in the hospital and now he’s afraid to tell me the truth.’
Ginnie took the pin from Shirley’s trembling fingers. ‘Here, let me. You’ll do yourself a mischief if you stab yourself in the head.’ She slipped it through the soft felt, feeding it carefully through a lock of hair. ‘Stop talking nonsense and get a move on. You’ve been speaking to him on the phone almost every day, so you know he’s sincere.’
