A New Day (12 page)

‘Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. His wife will be upset.’

‘Upset is hardly the word I’d use.’ Jane Harcourt chuckled softly. ‘If the Germans dare to invade, Rose will take them on – and win.’

Remembering the strong, determined woman Hanna had met, she could well believe that. She also laughed at the picture that conjured up in her mind.

‘Hanna, I’ve lost Mary and don’t want you to leave as well, and I know you want to stay with us, but I’m sure that eventually everyone will be called upon to do war work of some kind. The farm is short-handed because all the young men have been called up. If you did some work around the farm that might be considered essential work.’ Jane Harcourt was hesitant. ‘Of course, I can’t tell you what to do, and please feel free to refuse if you don’t like the idea.’

‘I’ve never been out of London, but I’ll be happy to do anything I can. I desperately want to stay with you and the boys as well.’

‘Thank you, Hanna, that is a relief. I know it isn’t compulsory yet, but it could become so, and I wondered how you felt about it. Now, we’d better get some sleep.’

The twins were excited about going on the train, and Hanna had no trouble getting them ready. Carrying the luggage was harder, but two soldiers at the station took pity on them and stacked it all in a carriage for them.

After settling the boys so they each had a window seat, Hanna sat back. ‘Phew! Those men were very kind. I hope we find someone that helpful at the other end.’

‘We’ll be all right then. Someone from the farm is meeting us.’ Mrs Harcourt gave her sons a suspicious look. ‘I think a few more toys were slipped in the cases when we weren’t looking.’

Both boys glanced at their mother with expressions of pure innocence, then turned back to watch the passing scenery. Hanna chuckled quietly to herself. How many times had she seen that expression? It was a sure sign they had been up to something.

They had brought sandwiches and orange drinks with them, and these were welcome during the journey. No one was talking much, not even the boys, and Hanna was grateful for the silence. She was very apprehensive about leaving London, and wondered what it would be like living in the country.

‘We’re here.’ Jane Harcourt was on her feet as soon as the train stopped, throwing open the door and stepping out.

Hanna caught hold of the boys to make sure they didn’t try to get off the train by themselves. Their mother was already on the platform and talking to an elderly man and a young boy of around fourteen.

‘Hanna, this is George and his grandson, Pete,’ Mrs Harcourt said, bringing them over to her.

‘I’m pleased to meet you.’

‘And you, Hanna.’ George smiled down at the twins who were studying him very carefully. ‘My goodness, how you’ve grown. The last time I saw you was when you were babes in arms.’

David spoke first, as usual. ‘We’ve come because Daddy said the Germans might come to London.’

‘Ah, and that was very sensible. They’ll never get this far. Now, come on, Pete, let’s get this luggage into the cart. While we’re doing that, Mrs Harcourt, you make your way outside.’

The boys stopped in amazement when they saw what was waiting for them, and so did Hanna. ‘A horse and cart!’

She only just managed to hold on to Andrew, who was pulling to get away from her so he could get closer to the horse.

‘It’s a bit more than that,’ George told them as he stacked the cases under the seats in the back. ‘We brought this instead of the farm truck because it’s more comfortable and we knew you’d have a lot of luggage with you. In you get.’

Hanna couldn’t help smiling. There were steps which folded down to make it easy to climb into the back, two seats in the front for George and Pete, and two long padded leather seats in the back for passengers. It was like a coach of olden times, but without a roof, and everything was dark polished wood. ‘This is beautiful, Mrs Harcourt.’

‘Yes, my husband found it in a barn when we bought the farm and he restored it himself. It took him a long time because he could only work on it when he was on leave, but it was worth all the effort.’

‘Have we got far to go?’ David asked as the horse moved off at a gentle trot.

‘About five miles, and it’s a good job it isn’t raining.’

‘I’m glad. This is perfect.’ Hanna was enthralled as they made their way along country lanes. She had never been out of London before, and she could now understand how Jack felt when he travelled to all those different places.

The boys were talking to each other and pointing out things of interest to them. It wasn’t always easy to understand them when they were like this, for they seemed to have a language of their own.

Hanna was almost sorry when the journey was over, but when they pulled into the farm she studied the house with interest. It wasn’t as large as the house in Kensington, but certainly large enough for all of them.

Unloading and settling into bedrooms already prepared took some time, and by the time they were finished, the boys were very tired. They stayed awake long enough to drink milk, and then Hanna tucked them up for a nap. They were asleep as soon as their little heads touched the pillows.

Jane Harcourt smiled down at her children, and sighed. ‘This is all a huge adventure to them. At least they are too young to really understand the dangers of war.’

‘And we’ll try to keep it that way,’ Hanna said, as they tiptoed out of the room. ‘From what I’ve seen they will have plenty here to occupy their young minds.’

‘Yes, I didn’t want to leave London, but Sam was right. Their safety must come first. Now, Hanna, dinner won’t be for another hour, so why don’t you go and have a look round. I’ll listen for the boys.’

‘Thank you, I’d like to do that.’

Once outside Hanna took a deep breath of fresh air, tinged with all sorts of strange smells, none of them offensive. Looking round the first thing she saw was a high brick wall with an ornate iron gate and, curious, she opened the gate and went in. ‘Oh, my,’ she gasped, ‘I never expected anything like this on a farm.’

‘Lovely, isn’t it?’ Pete scrambled to his feet, brushing soil from his hands. ‘We grow everything here. Those are fruit trees and fruit bushes all along the wall, and the beds are full of every kind of vegetable you can think of. The small patch at the other side is for flowers. My gran says we must have flowers even if there is a war on. There’s a seat in the corner there if you ever want to have a quiet place to sit. Nice and warm in that spot it is because it catches the sun most of the day. The high wall protects the garden and everything grows well.’

‘It’s beautiful.’ She smiled at the boy. He was obviously so proud of the garden.

‘I love growing things. Do you?’

She shook her head. ‘I’ve never even tried. Mrs Harcourt said I could do some work around the farm, so would you show me how while I’m here?’

‘I’d love to. There’s a spare plot right down the end you can start on, and the kids might like to get their hands dirty as well.’

‘I’m sure they would,’ she laughed, ‘but you might not want them running around your lovely garden.’

He grinned. ‘I was out here as soon as I could toddle. I’ll see they don’t do any damage. You come along any time and I’ll get you started. I’m here most of the day.’

‘Thank you, Pete. We’ll be here some time tomorrow morning.’

She had only just begun to walk towards the gate when it swung open and the boys were running full pelt towards her, leaving their mother far behind. She always marvelled at how little sleep they needed before they recovered from their tiredness.

‘Keep to the path,’ Jane Harcourt called.

‘We will!’ they shouted, never slackening their pace as they shot past her to reach Pete. Their never-ending questions began to pour out.

‘Oh, dear, I’d better go and rescue Pete,’ she said dryly.

‘He seems to be coping well,’ Jane laughed. ‘This is my favourite spot on the farm. You soon found it.’

‘It’s lovely. I’ve been talking to Pete and he said we could have that spare plot at the end and he’ll teach us how to grow things. I thought the boys might enjoy having a little piece of garden each. What do you think?’

‘That’s a splendid idea. Let’s go and have a word with him.’

Pete grinned as they approached. ‘I think we could have a couple of budding gardeners here.’

‘Hanna’s been telling me you would be willing to teach them how to grow things, Pete.’

He nodded. ‘That’s if it’s all right with you, Mrs Harcourt?’

‘It certainly is.’ She gazed around the garden. ‘This place is a credit to you. We won’t be short of fresh vegetables.’

‘Ah, well, growing things has always been my passion.’

‘It shows.’ Hanna could see the pride in the young boy’s eyes after hearing Mrs Harcourt’s praise, and just managed to catch David before he stepped on to new plants just showing above the ground. ‘What are these?’

‘They’re cauliflowers. Be ready for the winter. Come with me and I’ll show you the plot you can have.’

As they walked to the end of the garden, Hanna smiled with pleasure as she noted the neat rows and rows of plants.

‘Here we are. You can take half, Miss, and I’ll divide the rest into two for the boys. It will need to be dug over first, and I’ll do that for you.’

‘Oh, no, you must let me do that,’ Hanna protested. ‘If this is going to be our plot then we must do everything ourselves, following your instructions, of course.’

He picked up a fork and began turning over the soil. Hanna watched for a while and then stopped him. ‘Let me try.’

The twins thought it was hilarious to see her digging the garden, and although it was hard work, she loved doing it. There was a kind of satisfaction in seeing the newly dug ground.

When she had a patch that looked almost as good as the piece done by the experienced gardener, she looked up. ‘What do you think, Pete?’

‘Very good, but you do a little at a time until you’re used to it. You will find it makes you ache at first.’

‘I will, and thank you.’ She stooped down to the boys who were obviously finding the whole thing fascinating. ‘We are all going to have our own piece of garden and grow food for the war effort. That will help all the sailors who have to bring in their precious cargo to keep everyone fed.’

They nodded, serious for a moment. ‘Can we choose what we grow?’

‘Of course you can, Andrew. When I’ve got the ground ready we’ll talk it over with Pete, and then he’ll show us what to do.’

‘Ah, there you all are!’ Mrs Green came into the garden. ‘Dinner’s ready, Mrs Harcourt. Pete, you find your grandfather and tell him.’

Every spare moment Hanna had she was in the garden digging. It took her three days to finish, and her muscles certainly knew about the unusual activity.

‘You’ve made a grand job of that,’ Pete said as he inspected the plot. ‘I’ll divide it up for you now. I’ve got some spare planks of wood. How do you feel?’

‘I ache in every joint,’ she laughed, ‘but I’ve really enjoyed doing it, and can’t wait to start planting things. The hard work has helped to ease my worries about my brother. He’s in the merchant navy, and I don’t know where he is, or what he’s doing.’

An enormous flash lit up the sky, and Jack remained rooted to the spot, knuckles showing white as they grasped the rail. ‘There goes another one, Bill. Looks like a tanker this time. Poor devils. I hope a ship near them will stop and pick them up?’

‘Everyone’s been told that they must not drop behind the escorts.’

‘I know that, but if we were closer do you think the captain would disobey that order?’

‘I wouldn’t be surprised. They are our men and I don’t believe he could just sail past and leave them in the water.’ Bill put the binoculars to his eyes. ‘One of the escort ships is there. He’ll pick up as many as he can, but he’s taking a hell of a risk.’

Jack took the glasses from Bill and focused on the burning ship. ‘You’re right. Good for him.’

‘Why don’t you try and get some sleep, lad? You’ve been on the go for hours.’

Jack snorted. ‘So have you and everyone else in this convoy, Bill. Do you really think anyone can sleep when at any moment a torpedo might hit you?’

‘You’re right.’ Frank joined them carrying mugs. ‘Thought you might like a cuppa. There must be more than one U-boat stalking this convoy. Since the fall of France it’s easy for them to gather in packs. Wish we could see the buggers!’

‘How many ships have we lost?’ Jack thirstily drained his mug and handed it back to Frank. ‘Is anyone keeping count?’

‘No, this is a sizeable convoy and is spread over a large area of ocean, but we’ve lost far too many,’ Bill replied. ‘We’ve got another two days before we reach Liverpool and we’ll be lucky if there’s half the convoy left.’

‘Hope the RAF comes out to meet us.’

‘They will, lad. Now, you really must get some rest. You’re exhausted.’

Giving a deep sigh, Jack nodded. ‘You’re right. Wake me if a torpedo hits us.’

‘You can be sure of that.’ Bill gave a grim smile at Jack’s feeble joke, and watched as Jack walked away.

‘That kid’s made of solid stuff, Bill. It’s bloody dangerous out here, and yet he can still joke. It makes you wonder if the kind of life he’s led so far has made him tougher.’

Bill nodded. ‘I’ve no doubt he’s learnt to bend with the blows. He’s scared, like all of us, but he’s kept his head and shown no sign of panic. He’s gaining a lot of respect from the crew, but this is a hell of a way for him to grow up.’

‘True, but he isn’t going to quit, however much we wish he wasn’t putting his young life at risk.’

Both men lapsed into silence, looking out at what remained of the convoy. The sky was getting lighter and another day dawning.

‘Hey!’ Jack waved frantically as the Hurricane roared overhead, followed by two more. ‘We’ve got our escort home, Bill!’

‘That’s a welcome sight.’ Bill glanced at the men crowding the deck, smiling now. Only about a third of the original convoy was steaming towards the coast. ‘A few hours and we’ll be home, lad. Battered and bruised, but some of us have got through, and I’ve got some good news. We’ve got five days before we join the next convoy.’