A Mistletoe Kiss (24 page)

She was leaving this very day to honour her promise
to her grandparents and Uncle Matthew and spend a couple of weeks in the little house in Burscough, though she would not be with them for the entire fortnight. Gramps had already contacted an old friend of Hetty's, Sally Brimelow, who had also left the canal in order to live with relatives so that she might complete her education. When she had heard that Hetty would be staying with her grandparents and would be hoping for a few days aboard a barge, she had begged that Hetty might join the
Maid Marian
so that they could spend time together. Mr and Mrs Brimelow had now retired, leaving the
Maid Marian
to their sons, Nathaniel and Benjamin, so Hetty would be joining a young crew and, as Sally said, because Hetty was experienced it would make things easier for the boys, as well as more fun for Sally herself. She was to travel with the
Maid Marian
for a couple of days, able to give a hand through the multitude of locks around Wigan and return to Burscough by rail.

Also, she and Miss Preece meant to have what the older woman called ‘a little jolly' of their own during the month of August. Agatha said it would be to celebrate Hetty's obtaining her School Certificate, but Hetty told herself that if she failed it would be a consolation prize. Agatha had arranged for her mother's friend, Miss Milner, to stay at the house in Everton Terrace for a couple of days to keep her mother company, whilst she and Hetty went down to Llandudno. Agatha had booked them into a bed and breakfast house on North Parade and Hetty, who had never had a proper holiday, was looking forward to it with much excitement.

Her stay in Burscough, however, was to come first and now she had arrived to say her farewells, both to Miss Preece and to her assistant, for though Hetty helped out unofficially the powers that be had decided that the Everton library was too busy for Miss Preece to manage alone and had appointed Miss Maria Thorpe as assistant librarian.

Slipping behind the counter, Hetty began to collect the returned books, saying quietly as she passed Miss Preece: ‘Don't look so worried! I expect you saw the newspapers before you arrived at the library, but it may not be as bad as it sounds, and anyway, your professor might be miles away.'

Agatha smiled with difficulty. ‘I've been telling myself just that all morning,' she said quietly. ‘But if it's true that the Nationalists have managed to split the Republican territory in two … well, things were bad enough before, but now, from what the reporters are saying, it's just a matter of time before the Republicans are crushed and have to surrender. And incidentally, how many times have I told you that he's not
my
professor?'

‘About a hundred,' Hetty said. ‘And don't forget, your … I mean
the
professor isn't involved with either side …'

‘Of course he is,' Miss Preece snapped. ‘How can it be otherwise when his brother is a captain in the Republican army?' She sighed, stamped the books before her and pushed them across to her customer, then turned to smile at Hetty. ‘Oh, I'm sorry, my dear; I've no right to take my worries out on you. But I had
quite a long letter this morning – I'll let you read it whilst we have our sandwiches – and from what Max says, it's a hopeless cause. Still, once the Republicans have surrendered, at least our men will be coming home.'

‘Oh, Agatha, I only came in to say goodbye,' Hetty said, dismayed. ‘Have you forgotten? I'm off to Burscough on the eleven o'clock bus so I won't be here for lunch.'

‘Oh dear,' Miss Preece said. ‘The newspaper reports put it right out of my head. Well, have a lovely time with your grandparents and enjoy your trip on the canal.' She gave Hetty a smile, but it was a poor effort. ‘By the time you come home again, the news may be much better. After all, the Republicans still hold Barcelona and Madrid, and Franco has always sworn that he would never let anyone treat Madrid as his allies have treated other Spanish cities.'

Hetty swooped on a pile of returned books, then smiled brightly at her friend. ‘Well, aren't I daft; buses go from Liverpool to Burscough more than once a day! I'll catch one this afternoon; it's not as though I gave my grandparents my time of arrival, so that means I'll be here to read your …
the
professor's letter over lunch. Only I'll have to nip out now and buy myself some sandwiches …'

‘You will do nothing of the sort,' Miss Preece said firmly and Hetty was relieved to see a little colour return to her friend's cheeks. ‘I shall treat the pair of us to lunch at the Priory Tearooms and I won't take no for an answer.'

Hetty laughed. ‘You won't have to; I'm always hungry and the food at the Priory is delicious,' she said. ‘And now I'd better return these books to their correct places on the shelves since someone is bound to want to take them out if I don't. Do you know, I'm really going to miss the library whilst I'm with my grandparents.'

‘You're an official borrower now, don't forget,' Miss Preece said, date-stamping busily. ‘You can take two books provided you don't go dropping them into the canal, or feeding them to the ducks.'

‘I know; but two books will only last me a couple of days and I'm away for longer than that,' Hetty pointed out. ‘Oh, I do hope the news from Spain will be better by the time I get back.'

Over a delicious lunch, Hetty read Max Galera's latest letter and realised at once why Miss Preece was so worried. In his previous letters, the professor had written cautiously, seemingly reluctant to give much detail in case they might fall into the wrong hands, but now it seemed caution had been thrown to the winds.

He had begun the letter by saying that in future he would give a truthful account of what was happening, for he, and others fighting for the Republicans, were beginning to suspect that the outside world knew nothing of the terrible events taking place in Spain. The remark ‘I, and others fighting for the Republicans,' proved pretty conclusively that the professor was by no means simply an observer, but was taking an active part in the war. After that, he went on to describe the
bombings carried out by German aircraft and the horrendous killings of innocent civilians in a way which he had never done before. His penultimate paragraph said that he was sending the letter back to England with a trusted friend who would make sure that the letter reached Agatha safely.

Hetty noticed that her friend had folded the very end of the letter so that it was hidden, and did not attempt to read any further, merely handing the sheets back to the librarian. ‘No wonder you looked so pale and ill when I came in this morning,' she said quietly. ‘Oh, Agatha, I'm so sorry to be going off on a pleasure trip when you are in such distress. But it's not as though I could do anything to help …'

‘There's not much I can do to help either,' Agatha said ruefully, tucking the letter back into her handbag. ‘I wish to God I could write back to him and tell him that there are honest reporters who have returned to England with stories of Franco's wickedness and treachery, but I can't even do that. All I can do now is pray that Mr Galera – both the Galeras, I mean – will come home safely when it's all over.' She beckoned to the waitress for her bill, slipped a threepenny piece under her empty plate and went over to the cash desk.

When they parted outside the library, Agatha told Hetty to enjoy her holiday and begged her to write often. ‘It would cheer me up immensely to receive news of your doings, because I don't mind admitting that the professor's letter has cast me into gloom,' she said frankly. ‘I've decided to write a covering note and
then send a copy of the letter to the
Echo
, hoping that they will publish it on their letters page. The more people who know about what's going on in Spain the better, and it's the only way I can think of to help.'

Despite sharing Miss Preece's feelings of gloom after she had read the letter, Hetty had managed to dismiss it from her mind by the time she stepped down from the bus in Burscough and found her grandfather waiting for her. He beamed and gave her a big hug, then insisted on carrying her small suitcase, though she refused to let him take the rucksack which contained her sleeping bag and pillow.

‘Looking forward to your canal trip?' he said jovially as they strode along the pavement. ‘Sally popped in to arrange things and says they'll pick you up at the end of the week, which gives you some time with us before you go off. Is that all right?'

‘Oh, Gramps, you are good,' Hetty said gratefully, as her grandfather outlined the arrangements he had agreed with Sally. ‘This is going to be a wonderful holiday, honest to God it is.'

‘We thought you'd be pleased,' her grandfather said as he pushed open the back door and ushered Hetty into the kitchen. He shut the door and turned to his wife, who was stirring something over the stove. ‘Here's our guest, arrived just in time for a helping of rabbit stew and some of Matthew's home-grown potatoes. We've discussed the tentative arrangements I made with young Sally and it seems Hetty is in agreement with our plans.'

Gran turned from the stove as Hetty rushed across
the room, seized her in a warm embrace and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek, which Gran pretended to wipe off whilst beaming quite as broadly as her husband had done. ‘Go on, you foolish creature, you nearly made me drop my spoon,' she said. ‘And don't forget that it was me who met Sally and mentioned that you were coming to stay, which of course made her suggest that you might join them on their barge.'

‘Thank you, Gran; you're a wonderful woman,' Hetty said, laughing as her grandfather pulled a rueful face, telling his wife that she was a show-off. ‘I've brought my sleeping bag and pillow, but shouldn't I take some food aboard? I don't want to be a charge on Sally's brothers. I've been saving up …'

‘So have we,' her grandfather cut in. ‘You'll be coming back by rail so we shall give you your ticket money, and your grandmother has been baking for what seems like weeks, only whenever I try to have a taste she says: “Hands off; that's for my girl's canal trip!”'

Hetty joined in the laughter which followed and was about to protest again that she should make a contribution when the door opened and Uncle Matthew came in, bearing a large cabbage and a bunch of carrots. He waved the vegetables at Hetty, then came over and gave her a kiss. ‘I've been and gone and got meself an allotment,' he said proudly. ‘I growed these veggies meself. I would have give 'em to you to tek aboard the
Maid
, only if I did you'd have to run alongside, because your gran's already prepared enough food to
feed the crew for a month. Now sit yourself down, queen, and tell us all the news from the big city.'

By the time Hetty went to bed that night she had told her grandparents and Uncle Matthew all that had happened since her last visit, and had learned all their news in exchange. One particular item had been very welcome: Luke Daley, who had taken on the
Sprite
and the
Beetle
, was doing very well and now paid the Heskeths a weekly rent. Gramps assured Hetty that they had not expected the money to be paid over so quickly and added that he and Gran were downright rich compared with many other retired boaters.

This eased Hetty's mind considerably, since she knew that Gramps still paid Aunt Phoebe for taking care of her and had worried that the old people might be going short, but this was clearly not the case. And as soon as I'm earning I'll make it up to them, Hetty told herself, snuggling into her pillow. Of course, since I mean to go to university I shan't be able to have a full-time job for years, but friends have said that most students take jobs in the long vac, so I'll give all the money I earn to Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Alf, and Gran and Gramps.

When, later in the week, Sally beat a brief tattoo on the back door and then popped her head into the kitchen, Hetty, packed and ready, was waiting for her. She rushed towards the other girl, gave a hug and pointed to the table, which was covered with boxes and bags of food. ‘Can you get your brothers to come up and give us a hand?' she said breathlessly, struggling into her rucksack and trying to pick up one of
the biggest boxes. ‘If you and I try to carry it all, we won't have the strength left to climb aboard the barge, let alone do anything useful.'

Sally laughed even as Grandpa demanded: ‘What's wrong with me, young woman? I could carry this little lot with one hand tied behind me …'

‘Yes, of course you could, but I forbid you to try,' Hetty said, putting the box she had begun to lift back on to the table as Sally said that she'd fetch the boys, and disappeared once more. Hetty, who had never known the boys well, greeted them politely when they appeared, and thanked them for agreeing to take on a passenger.

Nathaniel, the eldest, grinned at her but shook his head. ‘You ain't a passenger, young Hetty, you're what I might call the cabin girl,' he said breezily. ‘And that means you get to do all the dirty work.' He eyed the groaning kitchen table and whistled beneath his breath. ‘On second thoughts, seeing as how your gran seems to be provisioning the barge for the next six months, maybe you
are
a passenger!'

He laughed, and Hetty laughed with him. She thought the two boys were very alike, though neither resembled Sally in the slightest, for her friend was blonde, fair-skinned and blue-eyed, whilst both young men were dark. ‘Don't forget I'm no stranger to the work of the
Sprite,
' she told him. ‘I mean to be useful, honest to God I do.'

Presently, fully laden, having thanked the Heskeths profusely for their generous contribution, Nathaniel – only he had told Hetty to call him Nat – gave the order
to cast off, whilst his brother started the engine and Sally took the tiller. As she felt the steady thrum of the engine, Hetty felt excitement begin to course through her. They were off! It was a brilliant sunny day, with only the gentlest of breezes stirring the leaves on the trees, and she was in good company, for both young men seemed pleased to have her aboard and Sally admitted she was downright delighted. ‘My brothers are grand fellers but it'll be good to have another girl,' she assured Hetty. ‘When we moor up of an evening, we play cards or read or do jigsaws, but sometimes the boys go off to the pub with the other fellers and leave me behind. Most of the boat women are middleaged with families, and all they want to talk about is cooking or kids. It'll be a real treat to have someone me own age who'll discuss the things which interest me.'