Always in My Heart (39 page)

‘You know very well what she means,’ said Peggy. She turned to Sarah. ‘Don’t trust him an inch, love. His heart’s in the right place and his offer is genuine – but he’s been trying to find a way into the estate ever since they put up that fence.’

‘But why can’t he just go through the front gate?’ asked Sarah with a frown.

Peggy laughed. ‘Poachers never use the front entrance, not if there’s a convenient hole to crawl through.’

Sarah giggled. ‘Ron,’ she teased, ‘I never realised. You are naughty.’

‘Aye, well,’ he said as he shifted about in his chair, ‘you don’t want to be listening to these two. They have
a poor opinion of me, so they do – but they never refuse a nice bit of fish or a few birds for the pot.’

‘But wouldn’t you get into fearful trouble if you were caught?’

‘Yes, he would,’ said Peggy grimly, ‘and I’ve heard about the new gamekeeper up there. He’s sharp and unpleasant, and the sort who shoots first then asks questions.’ She turned to look at Ron. ‘You’re to promise me you won’t go spoiling things for Sarah,’ she said sternly.

‘Ach, Peggy,’ he protested, his hand over his heart. ‘You cut me to the quick, so you do, with your suspicions. To be sure I’m a reformed man.’ He winked broadly at all of them and returned to slurping his tea.

Sarah and Jane giggled as Peggy and Cordelia tried to keep straight faces. Ronan Reilly was a mischievous old rogue of long-standing. He simply didn’t know how to change the habits of a lifetime – and in truth, none of them wanted him to.

While Ron skinned the rabbits and prepared them for the stew, Peggy put Daisy in her playpen surrounded by her toys while she did some housework. The girls had all been very good about tidying their own bedrooms and keeping the bath clean, but the carpet on the landing needed hoovering, and it was about time the hall floor was scrubbed. The tiles were looking decidedly grubby with so many feet trampling over them every day.

She was humming quietly to herself as she ran
the vacuum cleaner over the carpet, and tried not to notice the cobwebs that were hanging from the ceiling and drifting along the picture rails and over the lampshade. The whole place needed spring-cleaning, but she just didn’t have the time – and with all the girls so busy, it seemed unfair to ask them to get up stepladders with brooms. At least there weren’t that many windows to wash any more, so that was a blessing, but she did wish everything didn’t look quite so shabby.

Having finished upstairs, she went into the kitchen, fetched the mop, and filled a bucket with hot water. Ron was outside in the back garden with Jane, showing her how to repair the flat tyre on the bicycle as Harvey dozed in the spring sunshine beside Cordelia’s deckchair. Sarah was examining the Anderson shelter and, by the look on her face, didn’t rate it very highly.

Daisy gurgled and rolled over onto her stomach, and as Peggy watched, managed to push herself up on her hands and kick her feet. She looked a bit like a floundering fish, but it was her first attempt at crawling, and Peggy swept her up and covered her face in kisses.

Daisy squirmed and wriggled and Peggy put her back in the playpen, where she immediately rolled onto her stomach and chuckled at her cleverness. Peggy blinked as tears pricked. They grew up so fast, and Jim was missing his daughter’s first attempt at crawling. He would also miss her first tooth, for it had come through only the other day, and she could feel
two more under her bottom gum. ‘Damn you, Hitler,’ she muttered. ‘Damn you and this bloody, bloody war for tearing my family apart.’

‘Oh, Peggy, what’s got you so upset?’

She hadn’t heard Suzy come in, and she turned to face her, feeling rather embarrassed at being caught feeling sorry for herself. ‘I’m just letting off a bit of steam,’ she said. ‘It’s been quite a day and we’re only halfway through it.’

Suzy took off the lovely blue woollen cape with its red lining, and hung it over the back of a chair before she sat down and eased off her sturdy rubber-soled shoes. ‘I know how you feel,’ she said as she rubbed her toes. ‘Matron’s been in a foul mood all night and I couldn’t wait to come home.’

Peggy quickly poured boiling water over the cooling tea leaves and placed the cup in front of her. ‘Are you still seeing Anthony this evening?’

‘Yes, though how long I’ll manage to stay awake, I don’t know. But at least I’ll get a lie-in tomorrow.’ She sipped her tea and closed her eyes as she gave a deep sigh of pleasure. ‘Heaven,’ she murmured. ‘Hot tea, a quiet kitchen and no one wanting anything from me.’

‘Actually,’ said Peggy awkwardly, ‘I was wondering if you could do me a bit of a favour?’

Suzy opened her eyes and sat up, her expression immediately concerned. ‘Of course, Peggy. How can I help?’

‘I understand that Anthony gave you the number for his direct line at work?’

‘Well, yes,’ she said with a frown. ‘But he’s told me not to telephone unless it’s important. His bosses don’t like personal calls during working hours.’

‘This is a bit important,’ said Peggy and went on to explain about Jane and her new job, and the possibility that she had skills which could open far more promising doors. ‘I know it’s an awful cheek,’ she finished in a rush, ‘but if he could rustle up a few tests for her to do, I’d feel I’d kept my promise to her.’

‘I’ll ring him now, and see what he says.’ Suzy smiled. ‘Then I’m going to bed to snatch a few hours’ sleep before supper.’ She finished her tea, grabbed her cape and headed for the hall.

Peggy tried not to listen in as she found the scrubbing brush and cloth from under the sink, but there was a lot of murmuring and cooing going on, and it reminded her too sharply of her own courting days. She blinked and sniffed and determinedly tugged the curtain back over the shelves of household cleaning materials.

Suzy stuck her head around the door. ‘He said that’s fine, and he’ll come over about seven. Now I’m off to get some beauty sleep.’

Peggy couldn’t help but smile as she gathered everything up and headed into the hall. There was nothing like a bit of romance to liven things up, even if it did bring back painful memories of her youth – and if Jane did prove to be as adept as she said, then who knew where it might lead? Anthony had lots of contacts, and although she had no idea what he
actually did for the MOD, she was sure it was terribly important. How marvellous if he could find Jane something really interesting to do.

Sarah had watched carefully as Peggy and Cordelia made the stew, for there would come a time when she would have to take her turn at cooking, and if she wasn’t going to poison everyone, she had to learn quickly.

She and Jane had prepared the vegetables and cored the cooking apples Ron had stored in the cellar since the previous summer, so they could be baked in the oven and then served with the cream from the top of the milk. It seemed that English food was plain and heavy, but then it was still very cold, and she supposed they needed all that weight to keep them warm. She missed the lightly baked fish and aromatic chicken that Wa Ling used to prepare – and the noodles and fragrant rice, and the exotic fruit that was always in abundance. This morning’s trip into town had been an eye-opener, for the shops were almost empty and there was no fruit on display at all.

Fran came back from the hospital just as everyone was sitting down for their evening meal at six o’clock. ‘Matron has been on my case all day,’ she said dramatically as she swept off her cape and flung her cap onto the sideboard. ‘I don’t know what’s eating her, but I wish it would gobble her up and get rid of her once and for all.’

‘She’s probably as tired and fed up with things as
everyone else,’ said Suzy, who was looking very pretty in a twinset of blue wool that matched her eyes and a short cream skirt she’d made out of an old dress. ‘I’m sure she’ll be on better form tomorrow.’

‘She needs a bit of romance to soften her up,’ said Fran with a glower. ‘Though no man in his right mind would go anywhere near the old dragon.’

‘Men aren’t the answer to everything, Fran,’ said Rita with her usual bluntness. ‘Honestly, if you had to work with them day in and day out, you’d soon wish you were back on the wards with Matron.’

‘Well, I’m going to be working with horses,’ said Jane, unable to keep her news to herself any longer, ‘and horses are nicer than people any day.’

Sarah smiled as Jane chattered on about her job. It was lovely to see how well all these girls got on, and it was clear that Jane was relishing these new friendships. She turned to Peggy. ‘Are they always this happy together?’ she asked quietly.

‘There have been a few minor spats over the years – one can’t expect a bunch of girls to live together without there being fits of pique or temper tantrums over make-up or belongings. But on the whole they rub along nicely, and I’m glad you and Jane are fitting in so well.’

Fran’s voice made them return to the conversation around the table. ‘Well, you can’t go working with horses with your hair hanging down your back like that,’ she said. ‘I’ll show you how to fix it in victory rolls if you like. It’ll be much neater, and you’ve got
such a pretty face, you shouldn’t hide it behind all that hair.’

Jane blushed. ‘Won’t it be a bit too grown-up? Mummy said I shouldn’t put my hair up until I’m eighteen.’

‘When’s your birthday?’ asked Rita.

‘July the ninth.’

‘That’s only four months away,’ said Rita, ‘and close enough not to make much difference. I’d give it a go, if I were you.’

‘I’ll show you after tea,’ said Fran, ‘and while I’m at it, I’ll do something about Rita’s mop. She’s looking more like a shaggy sheepdog every day.’

‘You should see to your own,’ muttered Rita as she eyed the amber and gold tangle of riotous curls which had escaped the pins. ‘It’s like a brush fire.’

Jane explained she might not be able to get her hair done immediately after supper because of Anthony and the tests.

Fran laughed. ‘To be sure, it seems we all want something from the poor wee man. It’s a good thing he’s so smitten with our Suzy – I swear to all the saints, we wouldn’t see him for dust otherwise.’

‘And I know how he must feel,’ grumbled Ron. ‘To be sure, ’tis the divil’s curse to be surrounded by demanding, chattering women every day. A man is never left in peace.’

‘We all know you love it really,’ teased Fran, ‘so don’t come the old soldier, Ron. It doesn’t wash.’

‘A martyr I am,’ he said woefully to Sarah. ‘With me
shrapnel on the move, and no one to care. You see how they treat me?’

Sarah smiled uncertainly. ‘I didn’t know you were injured,’ she murmured.

Ron brightened immediately. ‘I was wounded in the first war,’ he said. ‘Came home with a medal and a lump of metal in me back, and do you know—’

‘I don’t think this is a suitable topic of conversation for the tea table,’ interrupted Peggy quickly. She turned to Sarah and smiled. ‘Ron enjoys talking about his war wound, and we’ve heard about it too frequently to mention. But the tale gets longer and more heroic with every telling, so be warned.’

Ron grinned. ‘Now, Peggy, you wouldn’t be doubting me, would you?’

‘Not at all,’ she retorted, ‘but you have to admit, Ron, there’s more blarney in your tale than there is in the whole of Ireland.’

This was greeted with a chorus of giggles, and Sarah happily continued eating the baked apple. It was very sour, but clearly it was the only fruit available. She liked Ron, who was as entertaining as he was scruffy, and she wondered what her father would make of him. They’d probably get on like a house on fire, she realised, for they could both tell a fine tale.

Once supper was over, Peggy and Cordelia were ordered to sit down by the fire and relax while Sarah and the others cleared the table and did the washing-up. With that done, they made a pot of tea, and Fran ignored Rita’s protests and started trying to bring some
order to her dark mop of hair.

Sarah sat beside Jane and watched in amusement as the two girls battled to get their own way.

‘Will you be sitting still?’ hissed Fran as she wrestled hairpins through the thick roll of hair.

‘I would if you didn’t keep stabbing me.’ Rita winced. ‘That’s the third time.’

‘You have to suffer if you want to be beautiful,’ said Fran.

‘But I’m quite happy with the way I am,’ protested Rita. ‘How on earth am I supposed to get my fireman’s helmet over the top of all this?’

‘Don’t wear one,’ said Fran as she continued to stab and roll and stab again. ‘Bejesus, Rita, you’ve a head of hair, that’s to be sure.’

‘Have you seen yourself lately?’ Rita asked crossly. ‘Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.’

‘I think you’ve both got lovely hair,’ sighed Jane as she fingered the thick plait that hung over her shoulder. ‘Mine’s always been just straight, and hanging. I tried putting curlers in once, but they did no good at all.’

‘Count yourself lucky,’ said Fran. ‘It’s the very divil to get a comb through it in the mornings, and when it rains it frizzes up and looks a fright.’

‘Then you should understand how painful it is with you jabbing and pulling at me,’ said Rita, who was still in a bit of a huff.

The argument was interrupted by a knock on the front door, and Harvey barked as Suzy raced to answer
it. There was murmuring in the hall followed by a long silence, and Fran and Rita exchanged knowing looks. ‘It would seem Romeo has arrived,’ said Fran in a hoarse whisper.

‘Shhhh,’ admonished Peggy. ‘It’ll be your turn one day, and you wouldn’t like it if we all listened in and made comments.’

Sarah thought of Philip and the few moments they’d managed to snatch before they were torn apart. The ache for him was always there, just beneath the surface, waiting to emerge at moments like this. She looked at Peggy and wondered if she too felt that ache, and suspected that she did, for although she’d never met Jim, she’d learned enough about him from Peggy to suspect that he was the love of her life.

Anthony was quite a surprise, for Sarah had expected Suzy’s young man to be rather dashing after all she’d said about him. But he was very ordinary-looking, with dark hair and glasses, his tall, slender figure dressed conservatively in slacks and a tweed jacket which had leather patches on the elbows. But when he smiled she could see why Suzy was attracted to him, for it was a shy, gentle smile that lit up his face and made him handsome.