‘If you’ll all take a seat, I’ll find someone who can help,’ the nurse said, disappearing behind two heavy swinging doors.
The women sat on a row of seats and waited. No one spoke as they all stared ahead at the green tiles on the lower portion of the wall in front of them. The top half of the wall was painted cream and upon it were pinned signs about two visitors per bed, and only relatives being allowed on the wards. Rose was wondering what happened in the case of people like Lily, who had no living relatives, when the nurse appeared, followed by a doctor in a white coat.
‘Are you all here for Lily Douglas?’ he asked, looking along the line of waiting women.
A resounding ‘yes’ answered his question, after which Flora said, ‘I’m her adopted mother and these are her two adopted sisters,’ pointing towards Rose and Katie.
The doctor smiled, looking at the poster the women had been eyeing warily. ‘I suppose you are the adopted grandmother and assorted adopted aunts?’
‘I am nothing to her,’ Anya said. ‘I am from Poland and just live in Mrs Neville’s house. I had no knowledge of them all being related,’ she said, looking confused. ‘But, I will not leave, so tell us what you have to say so we know if she is dead or alive if you please.’
‘Anya is our very good friend and we all work together . . .’ Rose started to explain until Anya interrupted.
‘For Mr Joe Lyons. They are all Nippies but I am a Sally. I sell the bread and cakes.’
‘I’m Dr Gregson, and having examined Mrs Douglas . . .’
‘It is Miss Douglas. She wears the wedding ring so people do not think she is the unmarried mother we all look down on . . .’ Anya explained.
‘I’m sorry,’ Rose said, embarrassed. ‘Mrs Polinski’s turn of phrase can be a little blunt at times. Lily is a good woman, so please don’t be shocked by her lack of husband.’
Dr Gregson gave her a reassuring smile. ‘Believe me, I’m not concerned by your friend’s marital status. I’m more worried about her health, and that of her child at this moment in time.’
‘Is she that ill?’ Rose asked.
‘She is very poorly, and we need to operate on her broken leg and arm,’ the doctor started to explain. ‘They were not straightforward breaks.’
‘Surely that could hurt the baby?’ Flora said, putting her arm around Rose, who stood looking shocked and not taking in what the doctor was saying.
‘It might. Miss Douglas is a strong, healthy woman and will survive, but we are not so sure about the baby.’
‘Oh, the poor little mite.’ Miss Tibbs started to cry.
‘Can you not do something to save the baby?’ Flora asked, as Katie tried to soothe Miss Tibbs.
‘We can perform a caesarean to deliver the baby before we operate on Miss Douglas. I can’t say this is something I’ve done before, but it should be straightforward. Individually the two operations are often successful, but it is whether Miss Douglas’s body can cope with both at the same time.’
Flora knew that it would be down to her to make the decision, as Rose and Katie seemed too upset. She looked to Mildred, as she respected the woman’s advice. ‘What do you think, Mildred?’
‘Lily has come to love the child she is carrying. If we were to ask the doctor to just repair her broken bones and let the baby take a chance on surviving the anaesthetic – and it died – would she forgive us?’
‘No, I don’t feel she would,’ Flora said.
‘Then it makes sense for the child to be delivered, followed by Lily’s broken bones being fixed. Tell me, Doctor, how long would this operation take?’
Dr Gregson thought carefully. ‘The team who will deliver the child and the team who will sort out your friend’s injuries are different people. It is imperative the baby is delivered as quickly as possible. Depending on what they find when they start to work on Miss Douglas, it could be several hours after the baby is born before the other operation is finished. I suggest we say three hours before you can expect any news,’ he said, looking at the row of women as they took in his words.
‘Thank you,’ Mildred said. ‘Do we have to sign anything?’
‘It is usual for the next of kin to sign a consent form.’
‘Her stepfather was killed when Lily was injured. As I said before, I feel I’m her next of kin,’ Flora said. ‘These are her two friends from childhood. They are like sisters. It is all we can offer,’ she said with pleading eyes.
‘You sign the forms, Mum,’ Rose said. ‘Lily would want that.’
The doctor nodded. He was far too busy to worry about the intricacies of next of kin. ‘I’ll have the paperwork prepared and notify the operating teams. I suggest just a couple of you stay, as it will be a long night.’
‘What if there is another air raid?’ Katie asked.
‘We have two underground operating theatres as well as shelters, so don’t fear for your friend on that count. Now, if you’ll excuse me . . .’
‘What a nice man,’ Miss Tibbs said as they watched him leave. ‘I’m not sure I shall wait here for long, as the seats are rather uncomfortable,’ she added, wriggling on the wooden bench to get her point across to the others.
‘I suggest Miss Tibbs goes back to Sea View while just a couple of us stay and wait for news,’ Flora said. ‘Rose and Katie, will you stay?’
Rose looked up at the large round clock on the wall of the waiting room. ‘I should really go in to work. I have no idea of the state of the teashop. However, Lily is more important than a teashop.’
Katie got to her feet. ‘I should make an appearance too, if only to see whether we have a shop left. I don’t like the thought of no one being here, though.’
Flora clapped her hands together as if making a decision. ‘The pair of you go to your teashops, then come back here when you can. I’m going nowhere. Now be off with you. Katie, you should go back to Sea View first as there is a letter for you from Jack. I put it inside my copper kettle on the dresser for safe-keeping. You can stop looking so worried. He wrote to me too, and may well be home on leave before too long,’ she said with a smile on her face for the young girl.
‘I’ll sit with you – it will help pass the time with someone to talk to,’ Joyce said.
‘I must also go to work, or Joe Lyons will not be pleased with me either,’ Anya said. ‘So I accompany you,’ she said to Rose.
‘Then I’ll drive you over to Margate. I can pop back to Captain’s Cottage and get on with a few repairs. What say I come down to the teashop in two hours and bring you back here to see what’s happening?’ Mildred offered to Rose.
‘That sounds like a plan,’ Rose said, standing up and beckoning to Anya to follow. ‘Will you walk Miss Tibbs back to Sea View before you go to work?’ she asked Katie.
‘I’ll do that and read my Jack’s letter at the same time,’ she said, her eyes now shining with happiness. If you see Lily, will you give her my love?’ she asked, biting her lip. ‘I just can’t bear to think of what she has to go through this afternoon. And that poor baby . . .’
‘Now don’t you start fretting,’ Miss Tibbs scolded as she took her arm. ‘We will take a brisk walk back to Sea View, and you can have a hot drink before you go to work. Remember to let me know what is happening.’ She glared at the two women who were to remain at the hospital. ‘No secrets, mind you!’
‘Could you not drop these two close to the house? It will be quite a walk,’ Flora asked Mildred.
‘I was just about to suggest the same. I’ll make sure we all know what is going on with Lily, even if it means driving back and forth for as long as is needed. I’ll find the fuel for the van by hook or by crook. Come along, ladies,’ she instructed, shepherding those that were leaving out of the room.
Rose held back for a moment to look at Flora. ‘Mum . . .’ was all she could say, searching Flora’s face for some sign that she knew how Rose felt.
‘I’ll ask to see Lily before she goes to theatre and tell her you send your love,’ Flora said, r
eaching out to squeeze her hand. ‘If you get the chance, please thank that young man of yours and his men for all their help in pulling our Lily out of that building. Katie told me he was there.’
‘Young man – you mean Ben? Mum, he is nothing to me. He’s been nothing since I found out he was married and had a family,’ she said, looking wretched. ‘I saw them together when he was injured,’ she said, explaining quickly about seeing Ben at Dreamland.
Flora was shocked. ‘He seemed such a nice young man. He still does,’ she faltered. ‘But let’s forget about that for now and concentrate on what’s going on through that door. There’s plenty of time for other things later. I do feel we need to talk, don’t you?’
Rose nodded, her head too full of emotion to say much more. With her eyes blurred with tears, she hurried away and through the hospital corridors, not seeing the man who was coming in the main entrance until she ran into him and started to apologize. ‘I’m so sorry . . . Oh – Ben.’
‘Rose – I need to speak with you,’ Ben said, reaching out to take her arm.
‘I’m sorry, Ben, I have nothing to say to you. Please don’t touch me. I need to go,’ she said, snatching her arm away and hurrying to catch up with her friends.
Ben watched as Rose ran away. He felt as though she was running from his life, and had no idea why. He racked his brain for something he’d missed, but couldn’t think beyond their few days together in London before he’d left for France. He’d written three letters declaring his love for her, but she hadn’t responded. There had been many times after that when he’d picked up a pen to write again, and then put it down again. What was the point, when she never replied?
He walked on, deep in thought. He wanted to see how the young woman was faring who they’d dug out from the rubble of the house. Regardless of his feelings for Rose, he still had to do his job. He found the waiting room and took a seat, knowing staff were busy after a day of air raids and would come to his assistance when they were able. Deep in thought, he took no notice of his surroundings.
‘It’s Ben, isn’t it – Captain Ben Hargreaves?’ a voice asked from across the room.
Looking up, he recognized the woman as Rose’s mother. ‘Hello, Mrs Neville,’ he said politely. ‘I take it you are here because of Lily Douglas?’
‘Yes, and this is my friend Joyce,’ she indicated to the woman sitting close by. ‘We are waiting for news, as Lily is going down for an operation on her arm and leg. They are going to deliver her baby as well. It’s most worrying. The poor girl’s had a terrible time, and she’s not out of the woods yet.’
‘The child is an added complication,’ Ben murmured as he moved to sit closer to Flora so they could talk.
‘Children are a problem all their lives. But then, you’d know that, wouldn’t you?’ she said pointedly.
Ben frowned. What was Flora getting at? ‘I wondered if you could tell me why Rose is acting as she is. I thought we had an understanding – but since I came back from France, she has changed and won’t speak to me.’
Flora looked at him and shook her head. ‘Would it have something to do with your wife and children, by any chance?’
‘But my wife is dead,’ he said.
‘Oh, my poor boy,’ Flora interrupted, placing a hand on his arm in sympathy. Whatever had happened between Ben and her daughter, she was shocked to learn he had been recently widowed. ‘Was it an air raid – did your children survive?’
Ben was confused. ‘No – my wife died in childbirth, years ago.’
‘But Rose saw her with your children when you came back injured from Dunkirk. You were in Dreamland at the time. This is so confusing; I just don’t understand.’
‘I think I’ll see if I can conjure up a cup of tea,’ Joyce said, not wishing to eavesdrop on what was becoming a private conversation.
‘I wrote to Rose after our few days together in London, telling her about my past life, that I’d been married and had children. Knowing I had fallen in love with her, I wanted to give her time to think about what she would be letting herself in for if we were to marry. I thought that when she didn’t reply, she had decided there was no future for us. But even so, I felt it wouldn’t be like Rose not to at least reply to me. I knew her that well, at least. After sending three letters without an answer, though, I stopped writing . . .’ he finished, looking sad.
‘From the little Rose has told me, she never received a letter from you. All she has is the memory of seeing you with two children and a woman she thought was their mother, in Dreamland.’
Ben slapped his hand on his forehead. ‘What a bloody mess! If only she’d received my letters. The first one explained my past life. I have nothing to hide.’ He looked Flora in the eye. ‘I truly love your daughter, and I want to be with her for the rest of my life. Do you believe me?’
Flora looked at the distress on his face and knew Ben was telling the truth. ‘Why not make yourself comfortable and tell me everything – then I’ll see what I can do to help you.’
Ben did as he was told. ‘I was married at a very young age to my childhood sweetheart. We had two daughters, but the second birth was tough on Mary, and she died not long afterwards from a weak heart. Please – no sympathy,’ Ben said, as Flora started to speak. ‘I found out not long before our second child was born that my wife had not been faithful to me. It was the pregnancy that caused her death; however, I would never turn away a child, as her lover did when he found out he was to be a father. To him, it had been a meaningless liaison. The child should not be blamed for what happened; I love her as much as if she were my own. I just hope that Rose understands? The woman she saw would have been my sister, Ruth. She lives near Canterbury and the children are with her. We thought it best they were evacuated to the countryside.’
‘Many men would turn a child away, while many others would support the ones they love even if they were not free to marry. I’ve learnt to my cost that keeping a secret is not good. It has caused a division between my daughter and me that I’m afraid may never be healed. However, my Rose is an understanding woman – and I know she has deep feelings for you. I would suggest biding your time, but in this war who is to know whether we have that precious thing called time?’
Ben looked crestfallen. ‘Rose won’t talk to me; believe me, I’ve tried. I never thought for one moment that my letters had never arrived, but that’s the price we pay in wartime. With my injury healed, I doubt I’ll be in the area for much longer. I just wish I could speak to her properly – even if only to hear that she no longer wishes to know me.’
Flora pondered what Ben had told her. ‘My daughter can be headstrong. Would you be able to come back in a couple of hours? Rose will be returning to see Lily once she has been to the Margate teashop. Now is not a good time to look for her there – she’s preoccupied about Lily, and will also have her work to do. Once we know the outcome with Lily and the baby, though, she might just be in a better frame of mind to listen to you.’
Ben took Flora’s hand and shook it. ‘Thank you, I’ll do that,’ he said as he bid her farewell.
Flora watched him leave, hoping fervently that her daughter would also listen to what she had to say. So much depended on Rose listening to her loved ones and making the right decisions.
‘I spotted you talking to your young man as you left the hospital,’ Mildred said as Rose climbed into the seat beside her after they’d dropped off Miss Tibbs and Katie at Sea View. ‘Do I take it you are stepping out with him once more?’
‘He’s not my young man. If you want to know, he has a wife and children,’ Rose said, staring straight ahead as Mildred drove towards Margate. They had to avoid roads that were shut off, as firefighters and the army worked on bomb-damaged roads and buildings.
Mildred shook her head in disbelief. ‘He doesn’t seem to be the kind of man to chase after women when he has a wife already. Are you sure?’
‘My eyes did not deceive me. I saw her, and his two daughters.’
Mildred b
raked hard and swore loudly as an army lorry shot out of a side road. ‘That’s hard to believe,’ she said. ‘Perhaps if you listened to what he has to say it would at least clear the air, and you wouldn’t appear to be so upset. From what I could see, he didn’t seem to be in a happy frame of mind either. And come to that, you still need to clear the air with your mother as well.’
‘She is like bear with sore head,’ Anya grumbled from where she sat in the back of the van. ‘Whereas I smell like a fish. Why do you not clean out this van, Mildred?’ she asked.
‘What’s the point? It would soon smell just as bad,’ Mildred grinned. They all liked Anya and her funny ways.
‘As long as Miss Neville does not mind her Sally smelling like fish, then I am happy,’ Anya called back, grabbing the side of the van to support herself as the van went over a hole in the road.
‘Mum and I will talk properly as soon as we get the chance,’ said Rose wearily. ‘But as for Ben, he is part of my past, and I’ll not go back there again.’ A dull pang of regret struck her heart as she spoke.
‘Thank you for the lift,’ Anya said, as Mildred helped her from the back of the van. ‘Do not worry about collecting me from work this evening. You have much to do helping those who are the friends of Lily. I will find my own way back to Sea View by bus.’
‘Don’t be daft, woman, there’s not likely to be a bus that can get through this evening. Besides, Flora would have my guts for garters if she didn’t know all her friends were safe where they should be. I’ll take you back to Ramsgate when I collect Rose. I’m sure, under the circumstances, Miss Neville will allow one of her staff members to leave early,’ Mildred said, using the name that Anya preferred to use at work when addressing Rose.
‘Miss Neville is fine with that,’ Rose smiled before kissing Mildred’s cheek. ‘What would we do without you, Mildred?’
Mildred gave a big grin and sounded the van horn loudly as she drove away.
The Teashop Girls Page 30
