Some Lucky Day (34 page)

Cordelia shot her a beaming smile. ‘You must call me Grandma Finch. All the other girls do, the naughty, sweet things. Now, drink this tea and eat something. I’m sorry it’s only the horrid wheatmeal bread, but we need to put some flesh on those poor little bones, and no mistake.’

‘Cordelia, I don’t think you should say . . .’

‘It’s all right, Peggy,’ interrupted Kitty. ‘She’s right, I am far too thin, and those sandwiches look lovely.’

‘Then tuck in, Kitty, and make yourself at home. If there’s anything you need, you only have to ask.’ Peggy sipped her tea and sighed gratefully. ‘As Daisy seems to be asleep I think I’ll leave her for a few more minutes,’ she said as she took a sandwich from the heaped plate. ‘It’s nice to have a bit of peace and quiet for a change.’

Kitty ate her sandwich and drank her tea as Ron went back down to the cellar to try and quieten the dogs. Cordelia, she noted, was trying very hard not to keep looking at her empty trouser leg, but she could see the pity in her expression and momentarily cringed from it.

Then, realising she would have to get used to such things, she finished her lunch and dug into her vanity case for her ration book and cigarettes. Having handed over the book, she offered a cigarette to Peggy, then she lit them both and sat back to take in the room.

It was small and cramped and fairly dark with all the tape over the window, but although the furniture was well worn and the range was old-fashioned, they shone with the same loving care that had been applied to the linoleum. Pretty gingham curtains fluttered at the open window and masked whatever was under the stone sink, but it was the mantelpiece that held her attention. Below the large portrait of the King and Queen, the mantelpiece was covered with photographs of Peggy’s family, and as Kitty had heard all about them, she spent a moment trying to figure out who was who.

The handsome, dark-eyed man in uniform had to be her husband Jim, and of course she recognised Commander Black, so that had to be Anne and Rose Margaret with him. The pretty fair girl must be Cissy who was a driver with the WAAF, and the two grinning boys could only be Bob and Charlie. There was a lovely studio shot of a smiling, almost toothless Daisy, and another of three handsome young men that Kitty suspected must be Peggy’s nephews. A third studio portrait showed a radiant blonde girl with a rather studious-looking young man who was smiling shyly at the camera. They had to be Suzy and Anthony who’d just become engaged; and the small black-and-white snapshot of five girls in sunhats and pretty summer dresses could only be Peggy’s other lodgers.

With a sigh of longing for her own family, she absorbed the warm, friendly atmosphere of this homely room. It was clear that Peggy and her family weren’t well off, but they were rich in love, and now she too had been drawn into the warmth of its glow.

‘I expect you’re a bit tired after all that excitement,’ said Peggy as she folded the newspaper. ‘Would you like to go up for a little rest?’

Kitty was tired, achingly so after all that had happened this morning, but she didn’t want to leave this lovely room just yet, for these people and this place soothed her and eased her terrors for Freddy. ‘I’d like to see Daisy and the dogs first, if that’s all right,’ she said shyly.

‘Well, of course it is. But I warn you, Daisy’s teething and isn’t her usual sweet self at the moment and Harvey can get very boisterous. It might be an idea to keep your legs under the table, because he’s likely to try and sit in your lap.’

‘But I thought he was a big lurcher, not a lapdog?’

‘He is big, with great trampling feet, but it’s something he forgets when he gets overexcited,’ said Peggy with a wry smile. She went to the cellar steps. ‘Ron, let the dogs out, but keep a grip on Harvey, will you?’

Kitty heard the squeak of a door opening and then the scrabbling of paws on concrete, and seconds later she was bombarded by the lolloping puppy. She reached down and picked him up, holding his squirming little body tightly as she tried to avoid the licking tongue and wet nose. ‘Hello, Monty,’ she laughed. ‘My goodness, you’ve got some energy.’

‘To be sure, he’s nothing compared to Harvey,’ said Ron as he held tightly to the straining leash. ‘Sit down, ye heathen beast, and stop pulling.’

Harvey took absolutely no notice and shoved a large paw on Kitty’s thigh as he tried to lick her face and the puppy at the same time.

Kitty looked into bright, intelligent eyes, noting the expressive eyebrows, the floppy ears and wagging tail. He was the canine equivalent of his owner, and Kitty could now understand why Peggy was often at her wits’ end.

She patted Harvey’s head and ran her fingers over the silky ears as the pup squirmed in her arms and tried to lick him. ‘There’s no doubt they’re father and son,’ she murmured. ‘And Monty’s got enormous feet. He’s going to grow just as big.’

‘Aye, that’s what Peg’s afraid of,’ muttered Ron as he lifted Harvey’s paw from Kitty’s leg and pulled him away. ‘But to be sure I’ll be taking him out and training him soon, so I will.’

‘That won’t make any difference,’ sniffed Cordelia. ‘It didn’t work on Harvey.’

‘Before you two fall out, I’ll go and fetch Daisy. It’s time she had her lunch, and if she sleeps much more she’ll have me up all hours of the night.’

Kitty smiled as she petted the puppy. ‘We had lots of dogs in Argentina,’ she said clearly to Cordelia. ‘I could never resist the puppies. They’re so sweet, aren’t they?’

The puppy immediately let the side down by weeing all down Kitty’s blouse and trousers.

‘Oh, dear,’ laughed Kitty as Ron grabbed the pup and took him outside. ‘It seems I spoke too soon.’ She dabbed at the wetness with her handkerchief, remembered the precious letters and cards in her pocket and yanked them out. With a sigh of relief she saw they were unharmed, and quickly put them in her vanity case.

Peggy came into the room with a whining Daisy, noticed the damage to Kitty’s clothes immediately and gave a sigh of exasperation. ‘I’ll help you change once I’ve seen to Daisy,’ she said. ‘I’m so sorry, Kitty, but that’s the way things are in this house – and you’ve yet to meet the blasted ferrets.’

Kitty chuckled as she pulled the damp shirt from the waistband of her trousers and dried her midriff. ‘You’ve no idea how wonderful it is to be in a real home again,’ she said softly. ‘I’m so very glad to be here.’

PEGGY HAD ALREADY
changed Daisy’s nappy in her bedroom, so she swiftly poured some milk into her bottle and sat down to feed her. ‘Are you all right, dear?’ she asked Kitty, who was looking rather pale and weary.

‘I am a bit tired,’ she admitted, ‘but I so wanted to see Daisy again. Could I hold her, do you think?’

‘Here we are then.’ Peggy lugged Daisy from her lap and carefully placed her into Kitty’s, well away from the damp patches. ‘I swear she’s put on weight since this morning,’ she sighed. ‘You mind she doesn’t hurt your bad leg.’

‘Of course she won’t,’ said Kitty softly. ‘And it’s lovely to hold a baby again. There were always babies back home in Argentina – the gauchos are a virile race,’ she added with a smile.

Peggy would have loved to know a bit more about Kitty’s life in Argentina, but she had other things on her mind at the moment, so it would have to wait. She satisfied herself that Kitty seemed to be managing Daisy very well, and then turned to Cordelia.

‘Have you started that pie yet, dear? Only the others will be home by six and starving hungry as usual.’

‘Ron cleaned and gutted the fish and I’ve made a lovely sauce from the stock. Fred brought round a few prawns which are a terrific treat,’ she replied with a shrug of delight. ‘Everything is prepared, and there’s only the spuds to boil and mash before it all goes in the oven.’

‘Prawns,’ sighed Peggy. ‘My goodness, I can’t remember the last time we had those. Fred the Fish must be feeling very generous.’ Dark suspicion rose. ‘Either that,’ she said sharply, ‘or he’s got a guilty secret he thinks I might tell Lil.’

Cordelia went rather pink and avoided Peggy’s gaze. ‘I don’t think he mentioned his wife – but then I didn’t hear half of what he said, so I couldn’t possibly . . .’ Her voice tailed off as she finally met Peggy’s suspicious eyes.

‘What’s he been up to?’ Peggy folded her arms and tried to look stern but knew she’d failed, for a smile was tweaking her lips. Fred the Fish was a large Cockney who was terrified of his fierce, tiny wife finding out his secrets – and although they were never very serious, they were legion. ‘Is it something Lil should know about?’

Cordelia became quite flustered. ‘I think Lil has suspicions,’ she admitted hesitantly, ‘but really, Peggy, I didn’t . . .’ She gave a deep sigh and her shoulders slumped. ‘Oh, dear,’ she murmured. ‘I’ve never been able to keep a secret.’

Peggy reached out for her hand and smiled. ‘What is it, Cordelia?’

‘He said he’d got the prawns from a fisherman friend who goes out after the curfew on the other side of the headland. They’re a special treat for Lil to celebrate their wedding anniversary, and he thought we might like a few as Ron had told him we were having fish pie tonight,’ she finished in a rush.

Peggy breathed a sigh of relief. ‘That was very generous of him,’ she said. ‘I’ll be sure to thank him the next time I go to the shop.’

‘Please don’t say anything,’ pleaded Cordelia. ‘Fred made me promise not to tell you, and if Lil finds out he’s been dealing on the black market, he swears she’ll have his guts for garters.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Peggy reassured her. ‘Lil isn’t daft and usually knows everything he gets up to long before he confesses to it. But I won’t say anything, I promise.’

She turned back to Kitty, who had finished feeding Daisy her milk and was now keeping her amused by making shapes with her fingers. The girl looked exhausted, she realised, and it was time she had a snooze before everyone came home.

‘I’ll take her now,’ she said, gently plucking Daisy from her arms. ‘It’s time you had a rest, and I won’t take any arguments. Stay there, I won’t be a minute.’

She carried Daisy down the steps and into the garden where Ron was pottering about and trying to keep the puppy from digging up his winter seedlings.

‘Keep an eye on Daisy for a bit, will you, Ron?’ At his nod, she sat Daisy in the playpen and spent a moment or two handing her some toys before she went back indoors to find that Kitty was on her way into the hall. She picked up the vanity case from the table and joined her.

‘Is my room up those stairs?’ Kitty asked.

Peggy nodded, but the stairs looked suddenly daunting, and she was plagued with grave misgivings about Kitty getting up them. She couldn’t lift her and Ron wouldn’t always be here – and she didn’t like to think of her getting stranded, or worse, taking a tumble trying to do it on her own.

Peggy made a swift decision. ‘Perhaps it would be better if you had my room, dear,’ she said hastily. ‘It’s right here off the hall, and it wouldn’t take a moment to change things about and bring down the commode.’

‘I won’t hear of it,’ said Kitty firmly as she grabbed the newel post with one hand, thrust her crutches at Peggy and sat on the second stair. Before Peggy could react, she’d put her weight on her hands and foot and swung her bottom up onto the third stair.

‘Goodness, you’re much stronger than you look,’ Peggy said in admiration.

‘It comes from riding bad-tempered and very strong polo ponies and keeping them in check.’ Kitty went up two more stairs. ‘And I was quite the gymnast at school – could climb a rope faster than anyone in my year.’

Peggy clutched the crutches and vanity case as she slowly followed Kitty’s progress up the stairs. She was deeply concerned, for despite her undoubted agility and strength, Kitty was doing far too much. ‘I do wish you’d let me help,’ she said fretfully.

‘I can manage, Peggy, really,’ she panted. ‘And I need to do this on my own, because there won’t always be Ron to carry me.’ She finally reached the landing, grabbed the bannister and struggled to get her balance on her good leg. ‘There,’ she said with a triumphant smile. ‘And I bet it’s much easier and far more fun on the journey down.’

‘I think you’ve done enough for now,’ said Peggy swiftly, suspecting the girl was about to slide all the way back down again just to prove a point. ‘Here, take these crutches before I drop them, and I’ll show you where everything is.’

Kitty was still a little out of breath as she took the crutches and listened while Peggy told her about the need to be careful when lighting the boiler, because it had a nasty blow-back which could singe eyebrows and lashes. She then dutifully admired the lavatory and the airing cupboard and then followed her along the landing, past Cordelia’s room and the stairs leading to the next floor, to the door at the end.

‘Rita’s room is the one at the front behind the stairs,’ explained Peggy. ‘Suzy and the other girls are on the next floor up. They work different shifts and Jane leaves just before dawn every morning for the dairy, but they’re all very quiet, so you shouldn’t be disturbed.’

She pushed the door open. ‘This was Ruby’s room before she moved into the bungalow with her mother. I hope you like it.’

Kitty’s face lit up as she took in the pretty counterpane and matching curtains, and the vase of red roses Peggy had placed on the kidney-shaped dressing table. There was a Chinese rug by the bed, clean towels folded on the dressing stool, a small stack of paperback books on the bedside chest of drawers beside the little lamp, and a highly polished wardrobe waiting for her few clothes.

‘It’s perfect,’ breathed Kitty as she rested her head for a moment on Peggy’s shoulder. ‘I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate all the hard work you must have done to get this ready for me. Thank you so much, Peggy.’

Peggy carefully placed the vanity case on the dressing table. She was feeling a bit emotional and found she had to clear her throat before she could speak. ‘It was no work at all,’ she said, lightly dismissing three hours of hard labour in the middle of the night. ‘Now, do you need help to get undressed?’

Kitty shook her head. ‘Thank you, no. That’s one thing I really can do for myself.’