Always in my Heart (Beach View Boarding House 5)

by Ellie Dean

  ‘Ignore them,’ ordered Jock. ‘Put your foot down and keep your hand on the horn. There isn’t a moment to waste.’

  Sarah kept one hand on the horn, gripped the steering wheel and pressed her foot almost to the floor. Her way was now hampered by people rushing for shelter, but after a few hair-raising near misses, she managed to get to the huge hospital complex. She brought the car to a screeching halt outside the front entrance, and Jock was halfway out of the door before she could switch off the engine.

  The bombers screamed overhead as she reached for Jane and Amah’s hands and they raced towards the front door. A hail of bullets spat across the hospital driveway, missing them by inches, and they almost fell through the doors and into the reception area.

  There was no sign of Jock, and Sarah was shaking so much she could barely speak as she haltingly asked the cowering receptionist where he’d gone. The girl pointed and ducked down behind her desk as a bomb exploded in the distance, and Sarah grabbed the others and began to run.

  Having never been inside the hospital, Sarah soon discovered that the place was built like a maze, with endless corridors and confusing twists and turns. Amah was struggling to keep up, and she waved them on, but as they turned yet another corner and stumbled into the European wing, they saw Jock pacing back and forth in front of a closed door.

  They were all out of breath and Sarah had a stitch in her side, but the look on her father’s face squeezed her heart. ‘How is she?’ she panted. ‘What’s the matter with her?’

  Jock didn’t stop pacing. ‘The doctor’s with her now,’ he muttered. ‘He thinks she’s got dengue fever.’

  Sarah held Jane’s hand tightly as she tried to digest this awful news. Dengue fever could be fatal if it was one of the stronger strains of the virus – and with her mother’s pregnancy it would only complicate things. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but with Jane and Amah there, she didn’t dare.

  They all turned as Dr Cook came through the screens, and he gave them a reassuring smile. ‘It is as I suspected,’ he said, ‘but there’s no cause for alarm. Mrs Fuller has one of the milder forms of the virus and it will not harm the baby. We’ve set up intravenous drips to rehydrate her and combat the effects of the fever.’

  Jock plumped down into a nearby chair and covered his face with his hands. ‘Thank God,’ he breathed. ‘I thought I was going to lose her.’

  Dr Cook patted his shoulder. ‘She needs to rest and sleep now, but I’m hopeful that in three or four days she will be quite well again and ready to go home.’

  ‘But she and our daughters are booked on the Monarch of the Glen, which leaves early tomorrow,’ said Jock as he ran his hands distractedly through his hair. ‘Can’t you get her well enough to travel before then?’

  Dr Cook shook his head. ‘That is a terrible dilemma, Mr Fuller, but it would be most unwise to move her until the fever has run its course. The medical facilities on board a troopship will be basic to say the least – and the risk to mother and baby would simply be too great.’

  Jock got to his feet and turned to his anxious daughters, his face lined with anguish. ‘You will have to go without her,’ he said hoarsely. ‘But I promise I will stay with her until I can get her on another ship.’ He gathered them to him and looked once again at the doctor. ‘May they see her for a moment to say goodbye?’

  ‘Of course. But don’t expect too much from her. The fever is making her a little confused.’

  Sarah was trembling as she led Jane through the screens. Sybil looked very vulnerable and small in the hospital bed, and her hand felt dry and hot as Sarah gently held it.

  ‘We’ve come to tell you we love you, Mummy,’ said Jane with admirable calm as she sat on the other side of the bed. ‘But Daddy says we have to go on the ship to England in the morning, so we want you to get better quickly so you can come later.’

  ‘Darling girls,’ murmured Sybil. ‘So sweet of you to come. Has Amah made the tea yet? I must dress for dinner.’ Her eyelids fluttered and she sank into oblivion.

  Sarah was close to tears and so was Jane, but they sat holding their mother’s hands as she slept, each treasuring these last few moments until they could all be together again.

  There was very little sleep for any of them that night, for not only were they worried about Sybil, they had yet another enemy air raid to contend with – and the terrifying news that Kuala Lumpur had been taken by the Japanese. Jock had given Sarah a piece of paper with the addresses of the two great aunts, and she had tucked it carefully into her handbag. The sudden new responsibility for making sure that she and Jane reached their destination safely made it even harder for her to settle to sleep.

  Bleary-eyed at three in the morning, they dragged on their layers of clothing in the darkness, picked up their cases and headed for the car. They stilled as they heard a series of deep booms in the distance. ‘What was that?’ asked Sarah sharply. ‘I didn’t hear the air-raid warning.’

  Jock shook his head. ‘The military are blowing up the causeway to stop the Jap advance into Singapore,’ he said. ‘Now get in the car. We can’t afford to miss the ship.’

  Amah sat between Sarah and Jane, patting their hands, kissing their fingers, and murmuring to them as she’d done when they were babies. It was a small comfort, but it simply emphasised the reality of their leaving, and by the time they reached the port, both Sarah and her sister were fighting back the tears.

  The quayside was in chaos, for the night’s bombing had hit a warehouse, the Nee Soon Barracks, and two of the oil refinery towers. Black smoke was drifting in the humid air as fire and ambulance bells jangled and sergeant majors bellowed out orders to their men. Women and children in their hundreds were milling about clutching their permitted single suitcase, while husbands and fathers tried to quell their fears and remain stoic in the face of this enforced parting.

  Native porters carried great bundles of supplies from the ships as the stevedores orchestrated the unloading of armoured cars and tanks, their voices ringing out above the roar of engines and the general mayhem. And as Sarah and the others climbed out of the car they saw troops of young, fresh-faced soldiers pouring down the gangplanks of a nearby merchant ship to be marched off to the nearest assembly point.

  As the sampans and Chinese junks bustled back and forth between the many inlets and estuaries, they were dwarfed by the huge ships that lay at anchor in the harbour or were tethered to the wharfs. The Monarch of the Glen had once been a luxury cruise liner, but it had been stripped of all the refinements when it had been seconded to the Royal Navy to carry troops and supplies to the Far East. Standing tall at the pier, its three funnels belched smoke into the already sulphurous air as the seamen swarmed over the decks like ants.

  Sarah and Jane kept their hands tucked firmly round Jock’s arms as they headed out of the administration shed and slowly pushed their way through the jostling, milling crowd towards the iron gangway that led to the ship’s lower deck. Amah was waiting for them, her sweet face shadowed with sorrow.

  ‘I will say goodbye now,’ she said. ‘And wait for Tuan in the car.’

  As Sarah hugged her she felt the slender frailty of her, and breathed in the familiar and much loved scent of the oils she used on her skin and hair. ‘We’ll come back soon,’ she promised. ‘Just please take care of Mummy for us.’

  Amah nodded and cupped her cheek. ‘Of course,’ she murmured, ‘and when this war is over you will all come home to Amah again.’

  Sarah couldn’t watch as Jane tearfully said her own goodbyes, and she felt the knot of fear tighten in her stomach as the reality of what was happening began to sink in. She blinked away the tears, determined not to weaken – but she didn’t want to leave the only home she’d ever known – didn’t want to abandon her sick mother in the hospital, or Philip, wherever he might be – or Amah, who’d loved and cherished her all her life.

  She watched the tiny figure walk away and become lost in the milling crowd, and then turned to
her father and buried her face in his jacket. ‘I’m frightened, Daddy,’ she admitted.

  He drew her head into his hands. ‘I’m frightened too,’ he said, ‘but the Fullers are made of strong stuff, and we’ll see this thing through.’ He kissed her forehead. ‘Be brave, my beautiful girl – and remember that your mother and I love you very much.’

  ‘I don’t want to go,’ sobbed Jane as she flung herself against Jock. ‘Please don’t make me go, Daddy.’

  He gave a groan of despair and held Jane close. ‘You’ll be safe with Sarah,’ he crooned. ‘Please don’t cry, Jane. I hate to see you cry.’

  The shrill command of the ship’s siren stilled them all, and beneath that screaming warning they could hear the distant hum that could only mean the impending arrival of enemy aircraft.

  ‘Get on board quickly,’ said Jock, wresting Jane’s clutching hands from around his neck and nudging them both forward.

  As Sarah grabbed Jane’s hand, she was almost knocked flying by a distraught woman carrying a young baby. Managing to just about keep on her feet, but losing her hat in the process, she took a tight hold on Jane and her suitcase as the crowd surged in panic towards the gangway.

  The Japanese planes screamed overhead, dropping bombs which exploded in the sea, missing the ships by a hair’s breadth. The guns from the anchored ships and the batteries in the port blasted out, and the quayside shuddered beneath their feet.

  People were screaming now, pushing, shoving, fighting to get on board the ship. Some fell in the murky water of the harbour while others attempted to scramble up the ropes which tethered the Monarch to the pier. Hats and suitcases fell into the water, and sailors reached to help the terrified women who stumbled up the iron steps with their children clinging to their skirts. And on the dockside, the military policemen wrestled several men away who’d been trying to get on board.

  ‘The planes are turning,’ someone shouted. ‘They’re coming back.’

  Sarah didn’t need to urge Jane to hurry, for they were being swept along in the mad rush to get on deck. And as they gained the top of the gangway, they felt the shudder of the ship’s guns reverberate in the deck beneath them as salvo after salvo was fired at the enemy. Crouching on the deck in terror, they huddled together as the bullets zipped past them and the roar of the planes competed with the thud and boom of the big guns.

  More guns continued to blaze around the harbour and from the other ships that were anchored nearby, and a great cheer went up as one of the fleeing enemy planes took a direct hit and plummeted into the water in a ball of flames.

  Once the enemy planes had gone, and it was deemed safe, everyone slowly got to their feet and stood in dazed silence, seemingly incapable of doing anything in the aftermath of that surprise attack.

  Sarah finally pulled herself together and led the way to the next deck and found a gap for her and Jane by the railings. They were high above the quay and the people below swarmed like insects as yet more women and children came on board – and in the distance she could see the remains of the oil refinery tanks that were still burning, and the skeletons of ruined buildings.

  ‘I can’t see Daddy,’ said Jane, her voice high-pitched with fear. ‘Where is he?’

  Sarah couldn’t see him either. There were too many people moving about and the smoke from all the fires was too thick. And then she spotted the lone figure waving at the end of the pier where the stevedores were already untying the ropes from the capstans and flinging them towards the sailors on board several decks below.

  ‘There!’ she said excitedly. ‘Down there!’

  They waved to him, the tears streaming down their faces as they called down to him, and he waved back. But they couldn’t hear what he was saying, for the three sharp blasts from the ship’s hooter drowned out everything.

  The ship gave an almighty lurch and began to pull away from the wharf.

  Sarah and Jane leaned precariously over the rails to keep him in sight for as long as they could – and then Sarah saw a truck come hurtling down the pier, scattering dock workers and sailors before screeching to a halt beside Jock.

  The driver leaped out and stared up, following Jock’s pointing finger until his gaze found Sarah’s.

  ‘Philip,’ she screamed as the tears flowed and she waved frantically. ‘Oh, Philip, thank God you’re safe. I love you, darling,’ she sobbed. ‘I love you so much.’

  She watched through her tears as he shouted something back, but it was impossible to hear anything, and the ship was moving further and further from the dock. She kept waving until the Monarch of the Glen swung towards the harbour entrance and they were both lost from sight.

  God keep you all safe, Sarah prayed silently as she and Jane clung to one another tearfully and watched the shores of their homeland slip out of sight. It could be months, maybe years, before she saw Philip or her parents again, but they would always be in her heart, no matter how far apart they were.

  Chapter Ten

  Cliffehaven

  Almost two weeks had passed since Peggy had spoken to Anthony, and so far they hadn’t heard back from him. Peggy kept a close eye on Cordelia, for as the situation in the Far East worsened, she seemed to lose her spirits, and it was important to keep her busy and uplifted while they waited for news from Anthony.

  It wasn’t quite six in the morning and Jim was still snoring in bed, enjoying the luxury of his one day off from the hated factory. Peggy had dressed in the dark as the north wind howled around the house and rattled the windows, and then quickly bathed and fed Daisy in the kitchen before tucking her warmly into the pram. It was far too cold to put her outside, but perhaps if the wind dropped and the sun came out, she could take her for a bit of a walk later so they could both get some fresh air.

  The house was quiet and she tiptoed across the hall to fetch the newspaper from the letter box and the milk from the doorstep. It was bitterly cold still, and she shivered as she closed the door and went back to the warmth of the kitchen to drink a cup of very weak tea and scan the newspaper headlines. Apart from the Russian victory over the Germans, there was very little to be cheerful about.

  Soap was to be rationed, dried fruit would be in very short supply now that Greece had fallen, and North Africa was in turmoil. Australia was bracing itself for invasion as the Japanese continued their onslaught in Malaya, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Several British ships had been sunk in the Channel, Hitler was still threatening to invade, and the heroes of Bomber Command were suffering even heavier losses than their comrades in the other squadrons.

  Peggy reached into her apron pocket for her packet of Park Drive and lit one. The sooner the Americans managed to replace the ships and planes they’d lost at Pearl Harbor, the sooner they could help the beleaguered Allies in the Pacific. It was all very distressing.

  ‘To be sure you’ll not be wanting to read all that,’ said Ron as he stumped up the steps with Harvey at his heels. ‘’Tis depressing, so it is, and there’s nothing you can do about it but carry on as usual.’ He carefully placed the little basket of eggs on the table beside her and reached into the pocket of his coat. ‘Alf sends his regards,’ he said with a wink as he laid the package next to the eggs.

  Peggy carefully unfolded the newspaper and gasped. ‘Bacon?’ she breathed. ‘And so much of it! How on earth—?’

  ‘Ask no questions, and I’ll tell ye no lies,’ he interrupted, tapping the side of his nose.

  She eyed him sharply as she puffed on her cigarette. ‘Have you been poaching again?’

  He took off his coat and slung it over the back of a chair. ‘Now, Peg,’ he replied, ‘how on earth would I be doing such a thing when the Cliffe estate has a fence around it the height of a mountain?’

  ‘Wire-cutters,’ she replied dryly. ‘I saw you put them in your pocket the other day and wondered what you were up to.’

  His blue eyes twinkled. ‘To be sure, Peggy girl, it is suspicious you are. Can you not trust a poor auld man who only has the welfare of h
is family at heart?’

  Peggy giggled. ‘You’re a rogue, and I would trust you with my life, Ronan Reilly, but you and Alf will get caught one day and end up in prison.’

  Breakfast was a banquet that morning, the smell of sizzling bacon wafting through the house to lure everyone out of their beds and into the kitchen. Harvey left his post by the side of the pram and sat hopefully at Ron’s knee – but there were no scraps this morning.

  They ate the freshly laid eggs with their dark yellow yolks and the crisp bacon and fried bread in an almost reverent silence, mopping up the remains with fingers of more bread and finally pushing their plates away with sighs of pleasure and regret that the meal was over.

  Peggy took pity on Harvey and gave him some extra dog biscuits. Then she and the three girls washed the dishes and tidied the kitchen while Cordelia made a fresh pot of tea, and the men went off to prepare for a bitterly cold day at sea. They were meeting Frank in Tamarisk Bay, which was just around the headland to the east of Cliffehaven, and were taking one of the fishing boats out to try and catch their supper.

  ‘You be careful out there,’ said Peggy as she wrapped a thick woollen scarf round Jim’s neck and pulled a woolly hat over his ears.

  ‘Ach, will you stop fussing,’ he said before sweeping her into his arms and giving her a resounding kiss. ‘We’ll be back before you know it with enough fish for Mrs Finch to make one of her special pies.’

  Peggy became flustered as she always did when Jim kissed her like that. ‘Be off with you,’ she said, playfully swiping him with the tea towel, ‘and send my love to Pauline. Tell her I’ll try and get over there as soon as the weather takes a turn for the better.’

  Jim rolled his eyes and pulled on his gloves. ‘To be sure Frank’s wife could always come here,’ he muttered as he peeked into the pram and adjusted the blanket under his daughter’s chin. ‘It isn’t as if you don’t have enough to do without traipsing all the way to Tamarisk Bay.’