Opposite Sides (24 page)

“
Are you?”
Anne was beginning to enjoy this attention, even if it had come
from a person who was dressed in a most unusual garb.

“
Yes, all of us.
We’re all crazy about you. You’re so modern. Fun. You look ahead,
never back. You’ve not pre-judged me. Just taken me as I am, well,
most of the time. I think you’re fantastic!”

Anne was taken aback. She
had never heard Hans talk like that before.

“
I’m not so
sure about that. I’m not the only one in the world.”

“
You are one
of a kind!”

“
Thanks,
awfully but now I’ll have to warn Gerald that he’s got
competition.” She laughed and patted his cheek lightly with her
hand. “But why
are
you being so extra nice? What is it you want? You boys are
always so nice when you want something.”

“
I want
nothing. Just to tell you how fantastic you look.”

Anne laughed again and
stroked her auburn hair. She arched her back, cat-like and smiled
at him with her green-blue eyes.

“
You do look
flushed, Hans. I think you boys have had an alcohol tickle again. I
wasn’t sure at first, but Gerald, then Bertie and now you. You’ve
all been the same. Don’t let Miss Turner notice.”

“
It isn’t
that noticeable, is it?” he asked dropping the volume of his voice
somewhat. He glanced around to see if Jan was still watching him
but she had moved away and that was a relief in itself. If Jan even
suspected . . . his life would never be the same.

“
No,” Anne
answered peering closely as if inspecting his soul. “How are the
others?”

“
We only had
half a glass each. Well, maybe almost a glass. Gerald’s stash
wasn’t enough for any more.”

“
Do be
careful, Hans,” she warned quietly forcing the words between her
teeth in case Jan was able to lip-read, for the girl had moved in
far closer than either of them had at first noticed. “You’re not
men yet, you know and especially as you’re boarding at Miss
Turner’s.”

“
I needed it
for . . . for some Danish courage,” he mumbled.

“
Dutch
courage.” The idea amused her.

“
To stand up
against Jan.”

“
Be careful,
Hans.” Anne nudged him with her elbow as Jan passed a few feet
away. He shrugged her warning off and grinned at her like a little
boy. Anne laughed. “You know what you need, my lad?” she lightly
asked.

“
No?”

“
A good
English girlfriend.”

Hans could not help
looking across at Jan who was pouring out tea for two of the boys
standing on the edge of the steps six feet away.

“
That’s one
girlfriend I’ll never have!” Hans inclined his head towards
Jan.

Anne shook
her head as some women were apt to do when there was a
tut
,
tut
or when they did not really
believe what had been said. She turned her head away from him and
at the same time she caught sight of Gerald. With a flick of the
hand Anne had waved her goodbye and left Hans to watch them
together while they talked in hushed tones and by the sudden laugh
that Gerald let out, Hans guessed that Anne had let him know that
she knew all about the secret sherry tasting.

Outside, coloured
lanterns had been hung around on the branches of the garden trees.
They shed a soft, warm glow over the lawn and spring flowers just
staring to flower. Someone had brought along some extra records and
after a short while, his ears began to pick up the strains of a
floating waltz. Anne danced the Charleston several times, first
with Gerald, then with Loppy and Robert and then with Gerald again.
When that was over, she went and sat with Hans. She leaned forward
and whispered to Hans that she was so exhausted, she was definitely
sitting the next dance out.

“
Look, don’t
let me stop you,” she whispered to him. “I think Loppy mentioned
that it’s a Strauss waltz this time. Isn’t that your
favourite?”

She had no
sooner said that when the first few bars of
The Blue Danube
waltz sounded out of
the gramophone trumpet.

Hans leapt to his feet
and Anne knew he was up to something by the wide grin that had
covered his face.

“
I have an
idea.” A strange smirk curled his top lip. “See you later,
Anne.”

Her eyes followed him as
scrambled across the courtyard, pushing his way between the joining
couples to head towards Jan Turner and her aunt who were in
conversation with a small group of students. He clicked his heels
and then gave a stiff bow with his right hand held behind
him.

“
Excuse me,
but may I have the pleasure?”

He stood upright and held
out his hand, not to Miss Jan Turner, but to the Matron, herself.
He could see she had been taken aback but she graciously accepted
his invitation to dance.

Hans was
surprised, and honoured. With the grace of a knight, he led
his
lady out on to the
lawn. He bowed slightly, straightened again and brought his heels
together with a faint click. He held out his arm for her to
take.

“
Miss
Turner.”

Swinging, swaying waltz
music filled the air. The young man led his older partner with
charm and panache until the last bars of the wonderful music faded
away.

“
Mr Resmel, I
don’t think your attire is exactly appropriate for such dancing but
you proved yourself to be a most charming partner. I thoroughly
enjoyed myself.”

“
Thank you,
Miss Turner.” He clicked his heels once more, bowed slightly and
quickly took his leave.

He’s up to
something
, Miss Turner thought as she saw
Hans do the disappearing act in through the French doors. But she
could not think what he had in mind. She walked over to the nearby
table, still well-covered with tasty morsels of food.

“
Where’s that
niece of mine?” she asked Bertie Williams. “I thought she was
keeping an eye on the teapot.”

As Hans was often seen
walking with Bertie and Robert around the school grounds and Miss
Turner thought Hans may have said something to him.

“
If you mean
Miss Janine, Miss Turner, she returned to the house a minute or so
ago. Sorry, Miss Turner, but I promised not to spill the beans.
Gentleman’s agreement.”

Jan suddenly appeared
through the open French doors. She had changed her clothes and was
now wearing a dark navy wide-skirted dress partly covered by a
lighter blue smock together with soft, white puffed out sleeves
that were pulled into a frill just above her elbows. A colourful
breast patteren, criss-crossed with red ribbon added interest to
the darker dress bodice.

The pair walked over the
patio and on to the centre of the lawn. Everyone moved to the edge
of the lawn to give them space. Hans took off his small hat with
its feather and began speaking, almost shouting, so that the
students at the back could hear what he had to say.

“
Before Miss
Friedl left, she had wanted to share with you a folk dance from our
home town in Austria. Unfortunately, before she could do this, she
had to return home but you will still have the pleasure of seeing
one short folk dance. You say practise makes it perfect. I think it
will be so. I introduce now none other than Miss Janine Turner. She
has agreed to take Miss Friedl’s place.” He replaced his hat and
bowed to his audience. “And now . . . a folk dance straight from my
home in Austria. I hope you enjoy watching.”

A gasp of surprise
escaped from everyone’s lips. Hans Resmel and Janine Turner?
Whoever would have thought it possible!

“
So, that’s
why he is dressed like that!” exclaimed one of the female students
in a loud, surprised exclamation which caused Anne Sutherland to
turned round and speak.

“
Even I
hadn’t guessed. Isn’t that topper!”

Bertie Williams laughed
slightly at her comment but no one seemed to notice. Someone began
winding up the gramophone again and instead of playing one of the
modern 20’s popular songs or any of the previous century’s swinging
waltzes, a different kind of music poured out from the grammophone
trumpet and filled the air with a vivacious folk tune from the
Austrian alps.

Hans and Jan stood face
to face. Soft white lights from the lanterns hung like dewdrops in
the trees. The music played a few bars and paused. Jan dropped a
deep curtsey and her multi-layered petticoated skirt spread around
her like the petals of a flower.

Hans doffed his feathered
hat and bowed. He held out his hand for his partner and they
waited, like two porcellain figures, for the resuming bars of the
music to spill into the evening air.

Anne pulled Gerald close
to her so she could speak directly into his ear.,

“
They do look
great, don’t they Gerald?”

“
Never
thought I would see Hans Resmel and Jan Turner doing anything
together,” he replied shaking his head in disbelief. “Dancing
together? And not having Miss Turner make them do it!”

“
Have no
idea,”Anne replied. “Hans must have found out something to get
Jan's co-operation.” She pulled Gerald by the arm, for the rest of
the spectators to had begun to step back to form a large
semi-circle around the dancing pair.

The crowd was hushed, the
music loud. The dance was animated and lively and it was wonderful
how well Jan was able to keep in step as she twisted and skipped
around her partner. They made a handsome pair. Hans bowed. Jan
dropped down on one knee and the music stopped. The silence was one
of hushed surprise.

Someone clapped, a single
clap which immediately grew until the clapping waved and surged
around the circle almost drowning out the calls and whistles which
were being let loose. Finally the applause grew weaker and then it
ceased. The audience was left with admiration and disbelief. Miss
Turner had the look of a stunned boxer and for one of the few
occasions in her teaching life, she was lost for words. She had no
idea that the two had even been doing something together . . .
especially rehersing for this under her own roof.

After several deep
breaths, all she managed to say was a thank you. Nothing
more.

Students clapped
politely. No one moved. That was until Ellen turned the handle on
the gramophone again which broke the spell. Students paired up and
made their way down on to the lawn for the Charleston - knees
swinging, heads bobbing and youthful bodies jiving in time to the
beat of the music.

“
Not to my
liking.” Miss Turner passed comment to one of the masters who had
been kind enough to forgo a quiet evening with his family and
support the matron. “I can’t see what these young ones see in such
music It’s hardly what one would even call music.”

“
I wonder if
they will be saying the same when they have children of their own,”
was the reply.

“
Possibly. By
then everything will have sunk into degradation if the young
continue to undermine values with shocking living standards we have
been seeing lately.” Miss Turner stretched her neck to see if she
could pick out her niece again but Jan was lost in among the waving
sea of arms and legs. “I would like to find out how Resmel ever got
Janine to participate.”

But this time no-one was
listening to her. As for Jan, it was one of the rare times she was
enjoying the wildness and freedom the music was offering her. Her
aunt watched the young ones for a minute or two and then withdrew
into the relative peace of the house.

Finally, the evening drew
to a close. The soft evening light had given way to shadows and
darkness. Slowly people began to disperse until. In half an hour,
the garden was quiet and empty. Hans wandered over towards Ellen
and Mary. They were gathering up the remaining food and putting it
back into boxes. Nothing was thrown away. The food could be used up
over the next few days, for supper or put out for high tea. And
after that, anything else could be delivered to the local workhouse
for the underprivileged and poor.

“
That was
very nice, that dance you did.” Ellen carefully folded down the lid
on the sandwich box. “I’m still puzzled as to how you talked Miss
Janine into doing that dance or when you found the time to
practice?”

Hans laughed.

“
It was not
that difficult, Ellen because someone gave Jan one of those new
cigarettes to try and said they would be good for her
health.”

“
I don’t know
about tha’.” Ellen stacked the empty plates within
reach.

“
I heard this
coughing coming from the cupboard under the stairs and there she
was. Almost as ashen as the ash itself.”

“
Oh dear,
Mister Hans.” Ellen’s hand holding the last plate started to shake
and she quickly put it down before she dropped it. “I never thought
Miss Janine would ever do something like that. What did you do
about it?” she asked.

Hans shrugged and
replied,

“
I told her
I’d split on her if she didn’t co-operate. The rest was
easy.”