Always in my Heart (Beach View Boarding House 5)
Page 39
With all my love,
Mother.
Sarah folded the letter as the tears ran down her cheeks. ‘At least she and the baby are safe,’ she whispered.
Jane was crying too as she picked up the second letter, which had been posted almost three weeks after the first. She blew her nose and calmed herself before opening it and reading it out loud.
My darlings,
I am still waiting to hear from you, and each day is torture as the mail arrives and there is no letter. I realise the mail is unreliable and that it could takes weeks to arrive – but now I’m fearful that you have not received my letter, or are unable for some reason to reply to it. Please, my darlings, send a telegram and put me out of my fear and misery, for I cannot sleep or eat with worry.
I have had no confirmed news about your father, or Philip, only rumours that have come to me through Jock’s contacts in the military – and I don’t wish to distress you, but you have a right to know as much as I do, for I am certain you have been worried sick about them.
According to these rumours they are both alive, for which I can only thank God. Jock is in Changi prison along with several other volunteers, and it is thought that Philip was one of several hundred troops who were captured during a skirmish shortly after the fall. These prisoners-of-war were put on ships and sent north to a prison camp somewhere in Siam – but no one has yet confirmed that Philip was amongst them – and of course the only witnesses to what really happened are still in Singapore, with no possibility of getting information to the outside world.
‘Oh, Sarah,’ sighed Jane through her tears as she gripped her sister’s hand. ‘Poor Philip, and poor Daddy. I can’t bear to think of them in prison.’
‘As prisoners of war they will come under the rules of the Geneva Conventions,’ said Sarah as she tried very hard to quell the awful fear that was threatening to overwhelm her. ‘They will come through this,’ she said fiercely. ‘I just know they will.’
Jane grasped her hand. ‘Of course they will,’ she murmured. ‘We must believe that, Sarah, we really must.’
Sarah clung to that belief, trying so very hard not to let it slip away from her. ‘Finish the letter, Jane,’ she urged.
Jane took a deep breath, but her hands were shaking, and her voice was unsteady as she returned to their mother’s letter.
We must all stay strong and optimistic, no matter what happens, my dearest, sweetest girls. The Americans and the other Allies will defeat the Japs and the Germans, and although it may take time, we have to believe that the end is now in sight and the enemy will be vanquished.
I will write again, and keep writing in the hope that I will hear from you very soon.
I love you both with all my heart,
Mother.
Sarah took a deep restorative breath, determined to remain positive. ‘We’ll write a long letter tonight, and then in the morning you must go to the Post Office and send a telegram so that Mother knows we’re safe. We can work out what to say when we’ve finished the letter.’
Jane rested her head on Sarah’s shoulder as they sat together on the bed. ‘I’ll do it the minute I finish my milk round,’ she promised, her voice thick with tears. ‘Daddy and Philip will be all right, won’t they, Sarah?’
Sarah heard the fear in her voice and held her close, finding comfort in their embrace. ‘We have to pray that they will,’ she replied softly.
They sat in silence, each with their own thoughts as Peggy’s old clock ticked away the seconds. Sarah drew back from the embrace eventually, and tenderly kissed her sister’s forehead.
‘Mummy wants us to stay positive, Jane, and we must try our best for her sake. After all, she and baby James have survived, and so have we. We’re safe here at Beach View – safe with Peggy and Cordelia, and it’s up to us to make the best of things until our family can be together again.’
As Jane lifted her head and looked into her eyes, Sarah knew that as long as they had each other they would stay strong. ‘Mummy and Daddy’s love has given us the strength to get this far, and we must not give in to fear or doubt,’ she said firmly. ‘We will come through this, Jane. We’re Fullers – and the Fullers never give up.’
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Published by Arrow Books 2013
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Copyright © Ellie Dean 2013
Ellie Dean has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This novel is a work of fiction. Apart from references to actual historical figures and places, all other names and characters are a product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
First published in Great Britain in 2013 by
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ISBN 9780099585275