Ruby's War (37 page)

‘What's the matter?' she asked.

Con bit his lip and smiled. Her beauty made him nervous. He'd grown used to the girls from the town who always took the lead. He wasn't used to making the first move, and he didn't want to scare her.

‘Mrs Bland was right,' he said. ‘You're just as pretty as the girl in her picture.'

She walked away, and for a moment he thought she was angry, but when she turned around, her face was the softest, delicate pink.

‘We could go away,' she said. ‘If Father O'Flynn takes you back, they might not let you out. If it's as they say,
all the black GIs are being kept in the camp, and there are guards at the gates. We could go to Liverpool. Bo told Sadie that there was a black man and his … He said people are used to seeing black people. Bo saw them …'

‘Ruby,' he said, ‘about Bo … I …'

When he tried to speak, to tell her, she reached up, solemnly drawing him to her, and kissed his mouth.

‘I'll keep you safe,' she said.

Sadie had been willing the shift to end and left her machine long before the hooter sounded.

‘If anyone asks, tell 'em I'm not feeling too good,' she said to the woman on the next lathe. The woman nodded; she could see that Sadie didn't look herself.

By the time the rest of the workers were trailing out into the late-afternoon sunshine, Sadie was already waiting for a bus.

‘Don't normally see you at this stop,' one of the men in the queue said.

‘I've to collect somebody from the dentist's,' she lied. ‘She's havin' a tooth out. She was bad last time. It was the gas.'

As the rest of the queue settled into telling stories of their own tooth extractions, Sadie stared down the empty road. She'd hoped that Bo would turn up at the cottage, but now she was sure that he must have been taken back to the camp. No one at the factory had seen a truck driven by any of the black GIs since the shooting, and the rumour was that they were all under guard. In the end Sadie decided that, instead of waiting for news, she'd go and see for herself. She'd have called at Lou's and they'd have gone
to the camp together, but Lou was still in Liverpool. If Con weren't hiding down by the river, Ruby might have gone with her, and if she'd told Ma she was going, she would have insisted on coming; she didn't want that.

When she got down from the bus, the road was quiet and there was no sign that anything had happened, but as she neared the camp she saw a group of six or seven women standing around a man in blue overalls.

‘You can see 'em clear as anything,' he said, pointing up at the wall of a small white cottage. ‘Bullets flying all night. See, there's two there. See, just by the window. My missus was that scared. Landlord at that pub just up there, they told him to get inside and stay put, said there was going to be a battle. One chap was shot here. See,' he said, pointing to a dark stain on the pavement. ‘Gunned down,' he said, taking a tobacco pouch from his pocket. ‘Their blood's a different colour to ours, more of a purple than a red.'

One of the women who'd been listening burst into tears. She was comforted by one of the other girls, who put an arm around her shoulder and led her away. Sadie and the rest of them followed, walking down the main street towards the camp. All of the women were about her age, but they were all smartly dressed. Sadie looked down at her own greasy overalls and wished that she'd gone home first and put on something nice. One of them, a tall girl of her own age, caught up with her.

‘Have you come looking for someone?' she asked.

‘Yes. I didn't think he was here that night. I thought he'd been out with his lorry, but I think he must have got back before the trouble, because I haven't heard from him since.'

‘They have them all inside; there's no passes,' the tall girl said. ‘We've all come to try and find out, but they'll not tell us anything.'

‘There are white MPs on the gate,' the woman who'd comforted the tearful girl said, ‘and you know what they're like. They'll not take notes or messages for us, or let us see anyone in charge.'

‘Have you come with your friend, or have you both got young men at the camp?' Sadie asked.

‘Oh, this is my sister, Lilly. She's been that worried I said I'd come with her. We didn't know what was wrong. It was her birthday …'

‘I couldn't understand it,' Lilly said, wiping her eyes. ‘I'd only seen him the night before. He took me to my bus stop and told me he'd be there by four. We waited tea for him. I knew there must be something; he wouldn't have missed my … Then last night, my dad heard this rumour in the pub, and I had to come and find out what had happened.'

‘Like that chap said, there's been some killed,' her sister added, ‘but they'll not admit it.'

The women stood on the corner of the street leading to the camp. About halfway down, a jeep was parked across the road; four white-helmeted MPs lolled inside. Sadie walked towards them. The man in the front passenger seat was resting his feet on the top of the door.

‘I want to go into the camp,' she said. ‘I want to see the commanding officer.'

The MP sneered and glanced over his shoulder at the two broad, well-fed men in the back of the jeep.

‘Git back up the road,' he said softly.

Sadie felt her heart begin to thud. The plump-cheeked
men were all about her age; she looked directly at the one who had spoken.

‘I want to find out if my young man is all right.'

‘Git back up the road, whore,' he said a little louder, swinging his feet down and leaning back in his seat. ‘Git back up that road.'

The young man's pale-lashed eyes held hers. The hatred in his voice made it hard for her to sound calm. ‘We heard … shooting … I want to find—'

‘Ain't none of them boys comin' out no more,' the MP said, spitting into the road by her feet and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. ‘Tramps like you will have to make your money somewhere else. No white GI will touch you, even for free. Now git,' he said, turning to look up the road, as though she'd already followed his orders.

Up in her room, Ruby put the bunch of meadowsweet and ox-eye daisies she had picked by the river in an old jug she'd found under the sink. When she'd left him, Con had smiled a sad smile and shook his head, but she was sure if they could get to Liverpool, they would be safe. She put the flowers on her windowsill and sat down on the bed. She knew that it might take her a couple of days to plan, get everything together, but when she'd done that, it would be easier to persuade Con they could do it. She imagined walking across country in the summer twilight; if they stuck to the small lanes – it might take some time – she was sure they could reach Liverpool before dawn. Then she thought it might be better to catch a train – if they could find a quiet, out-of-the-way station. When they got near the city, they would be safe: no one there would know
that Con had run away from the camp. She wondered if she should take some of Henry's clothes for Con to change into. Once they were in Liverpool, if they headed for the docks, he would probably be taken for a local – a dockworker or a seaman. Then … she tried to think what would happen next, but the excitement began to make the blood thrum in her ears, and she gave up trying to plan what would happen in Liverpool and picked up the dark cup-shaped bird's nest she kept on her windowsill, turning the thing slowly in her hands. Granddad had found it for her only a few weeks after she'd arrived at the cottage. It was a meticulous construction of moss and grass, finished with lichen and tiny flecks of bark and held together with spiders' webs. It was a perfect little house. Ruby was still gazing at the nest when Jenny pushed open the door.

‘How long are you going to be trimming your room up?' she asked, her sharp tone making Ruby almost drop her precious nest. ‘There's the table to be set and food to be made and goodness knows where our Sadie is. She should have been home an hour ago.'

No one ate much that evening; instead, they sat in silence, as Sadie told them the unsettling story of her visit to the camp. Then Jenny put Sadie to bed with a glass of milk and brandy, and Ruby cleared away the uneaten food. The evening was still warm, and after she'd washed the pots, she joined her granddad in the garden, gently teasing weeds from between the closely packed young vegetables, inhaling their new green scent mixed with the smell of rich, warm earth. A blackbird peeked at her, darting forward to grab a scurrying insect, before smartly stepping away again out of reach.

‘Just look at that cheeky fella,' Granddad said, resting on his hoe. ‘It's no good you lookin' at me like that. I know who's been pinchin' all my ripe raspberries. It's you, tha little bugger. It's thee. Grabbin' the lot, he's been. It's all right singing away in the hedge, I know what tha's up to me lad.'

They worked on in silence, until it was almost too dark to see the weeds. Then Granddad put away the hoe and sat down on the old seat. Ruby sat down next to him, her back against the warm, irregular stones of the cottage wall.

‘Poor lass,' he said. ‘It were a bad do were that. They'd no call to speak to her that way. No call at all. She should have let her mother or me go with her. I'll have a word with Father O'Flynn when I see him; I'll tell him what was said. He'll want to know. He'll take it up with the officers, I would think. A bad job that, and no mistake. No call for it. The black man, he's like us, like the working classes,' Granddad said, lighting a cigarette and covering its tip in the palm of his hand. ‘All right, we're not slaves, but not far off, if you ask me. We do have a vote …'

‘Not all of us don't,' Jenny said, settling on the bench beside him. ‘Youngsters don't, and they're fighting and doin' war work.'

‘It'll not be like after the last lot. It'll not just go back to normal. Nationalisation: common ownership of the railways and the mines …'

‘You're allus calling the miners.'

‘Well I'm not now. Railwaymen, blokes like me, we're like the miners, and we've had enough. How's lass?'

‘I've given her one of my pills and she's nodded off. Ruby, before you go to bed, will you look out any scraps
of cloth big enough to make some little dresses and such for Lou's nieces? Sadie's that upset; I was thinking she should stay at home tomorrow. She could start cutting out. It would give her something to occupy her mind. Then, if Father O'Flynn does happen to call, and he's going up to the camp about the lad, he might as well know what happened to Sadie. He might want to tackle them about that as well.'

‘Well, let her stay at home by all means,' Granddad said, ‘but I don't know about Father O'Flynn. Johnny's heard he's back tomorrow, but it's not certain. Young Con will be glad if he is. We're hoping he might be here tomorrow, but it might be the end of the week, and we didn't want to leave it that long. It's better for the lad to go back than for them to find him hiding.'

Ruby let out her breath slowly and decided that there wasn't any time left for planning. Then she looked out over the dusky garden and smiled. Plans, her father had always said, got in the way: they stopped you spotting the chances when they came.

It was late in the evening before they left the garden and went to bed. The blackout and the hot summer night made sleep almost impossible. Ruby lay on top of the thin sheet; tonight would be her last in the cottage. Once Con heard what had happened to Sadie, she guessed he'd definitely decide it was best that they leave for Liverpool. She'd set off for work as usual, hiding some clothes and food in the basket, together with the ten-shilling note Uncle Walt had given her and the money she'd managed to save from her wages. They'd have to wait, hide in the hut and set off in the twilight. Then they'd walk, keep on walking all night,
and be in Liverpool by morning. Once they were there, she would keep him safe for the whole war.

Ruby couldn't remember falling asleep, but when she woke the sun was beginning to warm her bedroom. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. There wasn't a clock in the room, but she was sure that it must be late morning. Granddad hadn't woken her and she would be late for work. When she scrambled out of bed and opened the door, she could hear Johnny's voice downstairs. She tried to listen, and although she couldn't make out his words, the tone made her tremble. She pulled on the lavender cotton dress she'd worn the day before and hurried down the stairs. Granddad was standing in the kitchen, his thin sinewy arms holding on to the sides of the sink. Ruby's throat dried. She willed him to stay there, telling herself that if he didn't turn around, it would mean nothing had happened to Con.

At the sound of her step he raised his head, first staring at her through his shaving mirror, before turning to speak to her. His eyes were red and his voice, hoarse with tears, was barely a whisper. She crept nearer to hear him.

‘It's Joe,' he said. ‘It's our poor, sweet little Joe. He's gone. Last night.'

Ruby's legs failed and she clung to her granddad. He patted her hair and comforted her, mistaking her relief for sorrow.

‘Na then, na then,' he said. ‘Don't take on so.'

She moved unsteadily into the living room. Jenny and Sadie were sitting on opposite sides of the fireplace with a pile of cloth between them on the floor.

‘Are you all right, Ruby, love?' Jenny asked. ‘I've got your sewing-box out. Are you sure Sadie can use anything
in here? You forgot to look yourself last night, but never mind that now. Johnny, pour her a cup of tea, will you.'

Johnny Fin, who was sitting at the table, patted her hand, poured her a cup of tea and began explaining how Joe had collapsed suddenly just before bedtime, but she wasn't listening. When Jenny told her she must eat and to get herself some bread and jam, she went willingly to the kitchen. She put on her shoes and walked out into the yard. The seat of the bench was damp with dew. It was a bright morning; a soft breeze rippled the leaves on the fruit trees, and across the lane, the grass in Bardley's meadow was a sea of shifting green. Ruby wandered to the gate and tried to clear her head. The number of people in the cottage was going to make it harder for her to slip her clothes and money in her basket without someone noticing. She wasn't sure how long they were all going to stay and if Jenny or Granddad would send her on messages. As she looked over at the quiet fields, she planned her escape: after breakfast, she'd go upstairs, change out of her crumpled lavender dress, put on her working clothes, pack her basket in her room and then leave by the back door, but instead of going to work, where she might be sent for or told to come home again, she would go to the hut and wait with Con until it was safe to leave. They would all think she was rushing off because she was late for work. Now it was decided she felt calm. She went back into the kitchen to cut a slice of bread and heard raised voices coming from the living room: Jenny and Granddad were arguing.