On Christmas Day

by Rosie James

  But what had really amazed – and briefly cheered – Reynard McCann was the totally unbelievable information from France which had been all over the papers for many days after Christmas.

  The soldiers on both sides had declared an unofficial truce.

  During a lull in fighting on Christmas Eve, a few men had apparently started singing carols. And it had taken no time for others to join in with the familiar tunes, Britons and Germans alike. n the bitterly cold weather, they’d come up from the trenches to call out to each other over the barbed wire, then crossing no man’s land to actually stand, side by side, and exchange messages of goodwill and to show photographs of loved ones at home. Not only that, but before long, and despite High Command on both sides objecting – because they feared the undermining of the fighting spirit – the troops began playing impromptu football matches.

  When he first heard of this Reynard refused to believe it. But it was true enough – for those three days of Christmas those young men had become friends. But although there had subsequently been a few small truces, it had all mostly stopped after Boxing Day. A short, but very sweet, interlude.

  Reynard had lapped up every word about this. He’d even gone to the War Office, as he had done once before in trying to find out about Alfred – and there was no doubt that the news was true enough. As a one-time soldier himself, he had been amazed that a temporary halt in battle could have taken place in such a way.

  And could it possibly be, Reynard asked himself over and over again, that Alfred had been part of that? For those few hours, had Alfred known peace and friendship and safety …?

  Alone in his study and deep in his own thoughts, as usual, Reynard prayed that Alfred had been there.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  February 1916

  Peering thoughtfully at the financial papers in front of him, Reynard drummed his fingers on the desk. His stockbroker had been insisting for some time that now could be the moment to buy shares in a small company which had recently come on to the market.

  Reynard sat back and stared up at the ceiling. The fact was, he didn’t feel like paying out at this particular time. Apart from the war, which was unsettling everyone and everything, including the economy, he was sure his workmen were diddling him, coming on site late and going home early and pinching stuff when no one was looking. Slacking whenever they got the chance. Even his site agent, a man he’d always trusted, seemed dilatory and preoccupied. All of which made Reynard reluctant to invest anymore just now. However … perhaps the girl might be interested in gambling again. He’d ask her when she came back with the rents on Friday. He knew that Lexi had had her sixteenth birthday last month, and he realized that he had begun treating her like an adult, rather than as a child. Someone he could have a sensible conversation with … and to his surprise, he was taking to Lexi Martin. She had a plain way of speaking, which pleased him, and more importantly, she was obviously ambitious and he admired that.

  Letting his thoughts run on, it was clear to Reynard McCann that his son and Lexi Martin had become very close friends. Well, of course they always had been, the girl a constant visitor here for years, but as they had both grown up, so had their relationship. Difficult to define, but it was something about Johnny’s possessive attitude towards her which told a certain story. And it was difficult not to notice the way he and the girl exchanged glances now and then.

  Well … it was quite natural for Johnny to like a pretty girl. He would be eighteen in April, after all. Reynard sighed briefly. There was far more on Reynard’s mind than his younger son’s emotional interests.

  Reynard glanced at the small clock ticking in front of him. It was only 10.30 but he was going to break one of his own golden rules and have a drink. He seldom took alcohol during working hours, but now he got up and went over to the cabinet. He picked up the bottle of brandy and was surprised to see that it was almost empty. Perhaps he’d been having one or two more shots than he should have lately. He did use the liquor to swallow down his tablets – prescribed to ease the intermittent black moods he’d suffered from for many years. Taking a glass, he filled it with what was left in the bottle, then sat back down at his desk, tormented by the latest unwelcome directive from the War Office.

  Since the beginning of the year, conscription of single males between the ages of 18 and 24 had been decreed, which meant that Johnny could soon be joining his brother on the battlefront.

  Reynard’s mouth twisted. Well … there were ways and means for moneyed people to buy their way out of tiresome problems. Money talked, it always had done, and he’d be quite prepared to shell out much of his fortune to safeguard his younger son. Reynard would have done the same for Alfred, but as usual, Alfred had gone his own sweet way, and there’d been no word since that Christmas card. Why had the boy volunteered to serve his country before it became compulsory? Had it been to get away from hearth and home, to get away from him, Reynard?

  He took another strong gulp. He would never understand his elder son.

  There was a discreet tap on the door and Anna appeared with his morning coffee. As she put the tray down in front of him, Reynard said –

  ‘I haven’t seen very much of Miss Martin lately, Anna.’

  Anna turned to go. ‘Well, that is no surprise, Mr McCann,’ she said. ‘Lexi has her hands full with all she has to do at home, because for the last couple of months Mrs Martin has been very unwell. The lingering effects from the bout of ‘flu she got before Christmas are still troubling her, so she’s had to give up some of her laundry shifts. She also suffers from a permanent headache … which of course makes any close work very difficult. So, Lexi is the main bread winner at the moment – and although she does not work at the sweet shop, which is still closed, she works at the laundry for four mornings, she sings at the Pump Room three afternoons, and does everything at home as well. There are two younger children, as I’m sure you are aware,’ Anna added.

  Reynard glanced up. ‘It’s just that a couple of months ago I suggested to Miss Martin that she might like to invest some more of her money, but she turned down my offer.’ He shrugged. ‘She might have been on the way to making a good profit by now, but still, that was up to her.’

  Anna narrowed her eyes. ‘The reason why Lexi would not have wanted to do what you suggested, is plainly obvious Mr McCann,’ she said tartly. ‘There is much less money coming into the cottage now, and I know that she is having to use some of her precious savings for their everyday needs.’

  Anna turned to go, and glanced back. ‘Gambling is either for the very rich, or the very stupid, Mr McCann – and I can assure you that Lexi Martin is neither of those things.’

  ‘I am so glad that it’s Easter again, Mama, aren’t you?’ Lexi said, coming into the sitting room with a tray of tea and biscuits before leaving for the Pump Room. ‘And I’m so pleased that you seem to have turned a corner at last. You are feeling better, Mama, aren’t you … really better, I mean?’

  Cecilia glanced up from her stitching. ‘Yes, I am, Lexi, so much better, and at least the weather is warmer now – which does help.’ She snapped off a thread of cotton with her teeth, before adding – ‘And as I’m returning to the laundry after the Easter break, you can stop your shifts, now, Lexi. You do quite enough as it is.’

  ‘Oh I don’t mind being there,’ Lexi began, and Cecilia interrupted.

  ‘No – there is no need for us both to do it and we’ll have enough to manage – especially as I’m making and mending again.’

  Lexi looked away. She and her mother were never going to agree on the subject of money. Having enough to get by was all very well, but everyone needed a little bit over for one or two luxuries. And the thing Lexi did not want to do was to use anymore of her precious savings, and if she continued working at the laundry she wouldn’t need to go to the bank to draw another cheque. And worse, the way things had been going lately had made Lexi consider the dreaded possibility that they were never going to be rich enough to own their own
house. She’d been stupid to think so.

  Presently, as Lexi was about to leave, Cecilia said – ‘The children break up from school today - and I suppose Johnny will still be home on holiday for his birthday this year?’

  Lexi nodded. ‘Yes, he has to go back to college the day after, but he said in his last letter that he’s really looking forward to coming home – Mr McCann is fetching him tomorrow.’ She paused, adding – ‘Johnny is a home bird, Mama, not like Alfred.’

  ‘Yes, but of course Johnny will go away one day – right away, I mean,’ Cecilia said, ‘because who wants to hang around in this town all their lives – even if Mr McCann wants both the boys to eventually take over the business. Alfred has already made himself scarce, and Johnny will, too, no doubt about it.’

  ‘We’ll see,’ Lexi said.

  ‘I mean, it’s only natural for families to break up when the young want to explore the world,’ Cecilia went on. ‘Though it’s obviously different for men. Women seldom get the chance to spread their wings, but men – when they want to go, they go,’ she added bluntly.

  Lexi glanced at her mother, knowing that they were both thinking the same thing. Cecilia had shouldered the family burden entirely alone, with very little help from her husband. It was all very well him turning up when he felt like it, yet when he did actually arrive they were all so happy to see him. And even from an early age, Lexi had seen the way they’d look at each other, their little secret glances …

  Well, that was no surprise, Lexi thought now, because her parents were a married couple, and that’s what marriage meant. And one day, she and Johnny would be married, and it was going to be the same for them, too.

  After Lexi had gone, Cecilia sat back and closed her eyes for a moment. She knew Lexi was anxious to fill the gap left by the sweet shop closing, and was totally unconvinced by her mother’s opinion that she was too young to worry about earning money. But Cecilia herself had worked so hard all her life, she liked to think that it could be different for Lexi who was still only sixteen. Still a child, and safe here at home where she belonged.

  On Good Friday evening Lexi and Johnny made their way slowly down to the café. It was the first time they’d been alone together since Johnny had come home, and with the children in bed and the rents collected, they were going to make the most of it.

  ‘Last term seemed the longest one in my whole life,’ Johnny said, ‘I never thought it was coming to an end.’ He gripped Lexi’s hand more tightly. ‘And I never thought we were going to be alone together again, either!’

  Lexi looked up at him. ‘Well, here we are,’ she said softly, ‘and I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you.’

  They stopped to kiss before walking on again, and Johnny said slowly – ‘It feels so weird, with Alfred not being at college, and not hearing anything from him …’

  ‘Does anyone know where he is?’ Lexi said, and Johnny shook his head.

  ‘My father has done his best to find out more, but with no luck. The only information he was given was that the regiment is somewhere on the western front.’

  ‘Poor Alfred, it must be terrible out there,’ Lexi said. ‘I heard someone say that the sound of guns can actually be heard on Hampstead Heath.’ She swallowed before going on. ‘If the noise is audible across the channel, just think what it must be like over there.’

  When they arrived at the café, the owner saw Lexi and Johnny and he came straight over to talk to them.

  ‘Is it to be two custard tarts or four?’ he said jovially. ‘There are always some reserved for favourite customers!’

  Lexi smiled up, thinking that Mr Bakewell was the perfect picture of an old sea salt, with his rugged complexion and those inquisitive, bright blue eyes that didn’t miss a trick. ‘I think we’ll start with two, thank you Mr Bakewell,’ she said.

  Presently, as they sat eating the cakes, with the owner sitting at the table with them, Bert Bakewell shot Johnny a glance. ‘Um … have you had any news of your brother yet?’ and Johnny shook his head.

  ‘Not yet,’ he said briefly.

  Bert pursed his lips. ‘I study the papers all the time,’ he said, ‘and I’d really like to be over there myself – not that I’m a fighting man – but I’d make sure our boys all got three hot meals a day.’

  Lexi bit into her tart. ‘How does everything you make always taste so special, Mr Bakewell?’ she said.

  ‘Well, it’s what I do, Lexi,’ the owner replied. ‘It’s what I’ve always done all my life, so I’ve had plenty of practice.’ He leaned back. ‘You see, in my opinion there’s nothing like good food to cheer everyone up, and I think it’s what I was put on this earth for. I’m not a clever man, say, like Mr McCann, and those like him, but I know that I can put a smile on faces where there wasn’t one before, so that must count for something, mustn’t it?’ He chuckled, adding – ‘When I throw off this mortal coil I shall be sent straight to the galley to provide meals for all the saints – and all the sinners – up there. I know I will!’

  ‘Well, before that happens, Mr Bakewell,’ Lexi said firmly, ‘you are needed here. Your café has been here for years, and there’s nothing quite like it for miles around.’

  Mr Bakewell smiled, pleased at that. ‘It was always my little dream when I was away all those years at sea,’ he said. The blue eyes twinkled. ‘So dreams do sometimes come true!’

  It had started getting dark but before they began the familiar walk home, and Johnny whispered something in Lexi’s ear before steering her towards the fields. ‘Let’s stay out for just a bit longer,’ he said, ‘because I’ve got something to give you.’

  Lexi looked up in surprise. Her birthday had come and gone, and it wasn’t Christmas …

  It didn’t take long for them to reach the secluded path towards the fields and the river, and presently they reached a favourite spot – the large tree trunk used by countless walkers to take a rest – and Johnny drew Lexi down towards him and they sat quietly, saying nothing in the silence as day began to turn into night.

  Then he reached into his pocket and took out a small black box, and opened it carefully.

  And as Lexi gazed down, her eyes wide, she saw an engagement ring nestling among the soft velvet, It was a gold band with a diamond solitaire in the centre. Then Johnny slipped it on to the third finger of her left hand and whispered –

  ‘Will you promise to marry me, one day, Lexi? Please?’

  For a few moments, Lexi was completely speechless. Then she looked up into Johnny’s eyes, and he went on quickly.

  ‘I’m sorry it’s rather small,’ he said, ‘but I’ve had to save up from my allowance to pay for it, and of course I will buy you a much bigger one when I’m earning my own money …’

  Lexi reached up to place her lips on his. ‘I would never want anything bigger than this, Johnny,’ she whispered. ‘It’s…..it’s beautiful…. and I can’t believe it’s really mine.’

  Now he held Lexi so close she could hardly breathe. ‘This is just an interim statement, Lexi Martin, that you belong to me. That we belong to each other. You will marry me one day, won’t you … promise?’

  ‘I promise,’ Lexi whispered, clinging to him. ‘But Johnny … it’s such a perfect fit – how did you know the size?’

  He grinned at that. ‘Well, do you remember us making daisy chains with Phoebe and Joe one day, and do you remember me winding one of the stems around your finger? Well, I took good care of that stem, and the jeweller found it very useful!’

  Lexi shook her head slowly. Johnny was the cleverest person she’d ever known. She smiled up at him. ‘Thank you for this lovely ring, Johnny … but … it must be our secret for now. I mean, Mama must not know about it, about us. I’m sorry, but it can’t be helped.’

  He frowned. ‘Does Mrs Martin still dislike me that much?’ he said.

  ‘No of course not,’ Lexi said at once, ‘but she just thinks I’m a child in need of her sole protection. She doesn’t think that anyone else could possibl
y look after me – or Phoebe and Joe for that matter. She just wants everything to stay exactly as it is now.’ Lexi hesitated. ‘Perhaps she’s afraid of being alone one day, without all of us around her.’

  With their arms around each other, they walked slowly back home. ‘Well, one day Mrs. Martin will have to accept that things must change,’ Johnny said. ‘But I don’t want you to be upset, Lexi, so for the moment we will keep this our secret.’

  Lexi leaned her head on his shoulder. ‘Would you have told your father, Johnny?’ she said, and he shrugged.

  ‘’Oh, of course he will know – eventually – but he doesn’t usually interest himself in such things. Anyway … first of all I’ve got to finish at college and, I suppose, work for the firm with Alfred. My father will certainly expect that. But whatever I do, I want to be able to support you forever, Lexi. To give you the best possible life I can, Lexi, so that you will never want for anything.’ Johnny paused before adding – ‘And whatever anyone else thinks, or wants, won’t matter. One day, it’s going to be just you and me.’

  But holding his hand tightly as they approached the cottages, Lexi thought – Before that can happen, I’ve got a house to buy! I made such a good start, and now I’ve stalled. But I won’t give up. I’ll never give up.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  August 1916

  ‘I love birthdays,’ Phoebe announced as she carefully painted the last flower on the card she’d made for Anna. ‘Because everyone is so happy and excited, aren’t they?’ She glanced up at her mother who’d been looking over Phoebe’s shoulder.

  ‘Well, they usually are, and you’ve made that card beautifully,’ Cecilia said. ‘Anna is going to love it, because receiving anything which has been hand-made is always extra special.’

  Phoebe dipped her paint brush into the jam jar of water. ‘I’ve only got to do this leaf, then it’s finished,’ she said.