A New Day (21 page)

‘I did, and she’s a beauty.’

‘Ah, tell us all about it.’ George pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘And how are your friends?’

As the three male heads bent together Jane touched Hanna’s arm. ‘We’d better leave them to it. We won’t get any sense out of them while they’re discussing ships.’

The twins practically ran all the way from the village in their eagerness to see Jack. When they tumbled into the kitchen he had to go through everything again for them, as they wanted to know every detail about the new ship.

‘Cor, she sounds smashing!’ David declared when Jack finished talking. ‘And I bet she’ll be fast.’

Jack nodded. ‘She’s faster than our other one, and she won’t be as easy to catch if we can keep up a good speed. But that depends on the rest of the convoy, because we have to go at the same speed as the slowest ship.’

Hanna held her breath for a moment. This was the first time that her brother had talked about the dangers at sea, and it was a good sign.

‘I want to ask you boys for a big favour.’ And when they gazed up at him expectantly, he said, ‘I’m sorry to say that the picture Andrew did for me went down with the ship, and I’d really love to have one from each of you to put up in my new ship. Would you do that for me?’

The boys didn’t need any further encouragement, and nodding and smiling, scrambled to get their drawing paper and pencils. Then clearing a space so they had plenty of room on the table, they sat with pencils poised. ‘What kind of a picture would you like?’ they asked together.

‘How about something to remind me of the farm, so I can think about you all while I’m at sea?’

Pursing their lips in concentration, they began on their works of art.

Seeing they were now completely absorbed, Jack stood up and beckoned to Hanna. They walked outside, and when well away from the house they leant on a fence and watched the sheep in the field.

‘That was kind of you to ask the boys to draw you something, Jack. They’ll be so proud to know you are taking their pictures with you. They’ve been so good not bombarding you with questions, although I know it’s been hard for them to keep off the subject.’

‘It’s been hard for all of you.’ Jack turned to look at her. ‘You’ve all been very good in allowing me to recover in peace and quiet, but I’m fit again and want to go back to sea. It’s absolutely essential that we keep the supplies coming. Hitler thought he could starve us into submission, and that isn’t working – neither did the bombing. Captain Freeman is sure we’ll get the upper hand on the U-boats eventually. They won’t always have their own way. The navy will find a way to hit back.’

‘I’m sure they will, and until then you make sure you stay safe.’

‘Harry said that lightning never strikes twice,’ Jack chuckled. ‘And Frank said he hoped the Germans knew that, and perhaps Harry ought to tell them, just to make sure.’

‘Your crew sound a lively crowd.’ She laughed, relieved her brother was talking freely about this.

‘They’re good men.’

And don’t forget to include yourself as one of them, she thought as she studied him carefully. The child she had cared for since she had been eight was no longer there. The person standing beside her was a man, and she was so proud of him. The kind of past they’d had could have coloured their lives and made them bitter, but that hadn’t happened to them. Perhaps she hadn’t done such a bad job of bringing him up. Thank goodness.

Three days later they waved Jack off at the station. The boys were there as well, having permission to miss school on this important day. They had been so pleased and excited when they’d watched Jack carefully pack their drawings.

He leant out of the carriage window, waving, and just for an instant Hanna caught a glimpse of the boy he still was – in age anyway.

‘Be safe, Jack,’ she said quietly to herself.

George heard her and murmured, ‘Amen to that.’

A week later Alan turned up unexpectedly, and that cheered Hanna, especially when he told her that he could spend three days with her. He had intended to get a room at the village pub, but Jane insisted that he have Jack’s room. He accepted gratefully, and easily settled in with everyone at the farm. He had an easy manner and the boys took to him straight away, including him in their lives as if he had always belonged.

When he saw how informal life on the farm was, he said to Hanna, ‘You’re all like one family here, and I would never have believed that Mrs Harcourt was your employer if I hadn’t already known.’

‘I know, and it’s hard for me to grasp sometimes. I was given the job as nanny for the children, but from the very first moment I have been treated more like a friend or member of the family. Jack feels the same, and we bless the day Jane came to the orphanage and offered me the job. It came at just the right time when we were desperate.’

They had been talking in the quiet of the garden when Jane came up to them. ‘Hanna, it’s a nice day so why don’t you show Alan round the village. While he is here I’ll see to the boys.’

‘Are you sure? I can still do my usual work. I’m sure Alan won’t mind.’

‘I didn’t come to disrupt your routine, Mrs Harcourt,’ Alan told her. ‘I just want to spend some time with Hanna in her free time.’

‘Of course you do, and understandably so. You go off and enjoy yourselves. It’s time Hanna had a few days to herself. She works much too hard, as I keep telling her.’

‘No more than anyone else on the farm,’ Hanna said. ‘But thank you.’

Alan added his thanks, and they left at once, looking forward to some time to themselves.

The village consisted of a pub, church, general store and post office, two schools and a police station. The police station was a converted house, and still had a pretty garden in the front.

Alan stood gazing at the small station, a smile of pleasure on his face. ‘That is lovely. What a pleasure it would be to come to work at a place like this every day instead of the crowded streets of London.’

At that moment the local policeman came along, wheeling his bike. ‘Hello, Hanna.’

‘Hello, Ted. This is Alan and he was admiring your station house. He used to be a policeman in London before the war.’

‘London, eh?’ Ted shook Alan’s hand. ‘I’m pleased to meet you, young man. Would you like to look inside?’

‘I would, very much.’

‘Come on in, then, and I’ll put the kettle on and we can have a nice chat. I’m the only one here now, and I should have retired some time ago, but when everyone got called up I agreed to come back for the duration.’ He smiled at Alan. ‘You all right to stay a while? I’ll be glad to tell you all about life as a country copper.’

‘Is that all right, Hanna?’ Alan asked.

‘We’ve got all day,’ she said in agreement. ‘I’ll make the tea while you two talk.’

Walking across the field glistening with frost, Hanna pulled the knitted hat down to cover her ears, and blew on her hands to warm them up. Where had the year gone? It had been summer when Jack and Alan had been here, and now it was less than three weeks to Christmas. Jack had been back just once, and she had managed to snatch a few hours with Alan in London when he had a forty-eight-hour pass. This war was a series of brief meetings and long separations, but that made the moments together all the more precious.

‘We’re going to have to get the sheep in if we have an early snow fall,’ George said as he trudged beside her.

She nodded. ‘It’s cold enough. The temperature hasn’t risen enough during the day to melt the frost, and there’s a feeling of snow in the air.’

George nodded as he smiled at her. ‘You’re turning into a real country girl, and you are so often right in your predictions about the weather. You’ve got a real feel for the country.’

‘Grandpa! Hanna!’ Pete was shouting at the top of his voice and waving for them to come to the house.

‘What on earth is the matter with the boy?’ George muttered. ‘He’s jumping up and down like a jack-in-the-box.’

‘We’d better find out.’ Hanna began to make her way back through the field, the ground crunching under her feet. Even when the weather was this cold it was still beautiful here, and she couldn’t imagine herself living back in London.

When they walked into the kitchen everyone was there, including the boys, and they were intent on listening to the wireless. Whatever they had been listening to ended as they came in.

‘Oh, you missed it!’ Pete was wide-eyed. ‘You’ll never guess what’s happened.’

‘Will someone tell us what’s going on?’ George asked.

‘The Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor and sunk most of the American fleet. There was no declaration of war before they attacked and the Americans were taken completely by surprise.’ Jane shook her head. ‘The casualties must be horrendous.’

George sat down with a thump. ‘That’s terrible!’

Hanna was speechless with shock. How could such a thing happen? Was the world going crazy?

‘Well, that’s a real turn up.’ Pat drew in a deep breath. ‘The Americans didn’t want to be dragged into the war, but they’ve got no choice now. The war has come to them, but to attack like that is despicable!’

The boys were looking anxiously at their mother. ‘Have ships been sunk? Was Daddy there?’

‘Oh, no, my darlings.’ Jane sat next to her children at the table. ‘The ships are American and a long way from here in a place called Hawaii. Your daddy’s on convoy duty in the Atlantic at the moment.’

They looked relieved, but were still curious. ‘Why were the American ships sunk?’

‘We don’t know the whole story yet, but I’ll tell you when we find out,’ Jane told them, just as the kitchen door opened and a tall man walked in.

‘Daddy!’ The boys threw themselves at him, both talking excitedly at the same time.

‘Whoa!’ He laughed, reaching over to kiss his wife. Then he noticed the serious faces around him. ‘What’s happened?’

‘Japan has sunk the American fleet in Pearl Harbor,’ George told him. ‘Took them completely by surprise.’

Sam Harcourt shook his head in disbelief and closed his eyes for a moment, then he opened them again, his expression unreadable. ‘I’m going to have to make a phone call. Will the post office still be open?’

George shook his head. ‘No, but you just knock on the door, Captain, and they’ll open up for you. I’ll take you in the truck.’

The two men left at once.

‘Oh dear,’ Mildred said. ‘And he’s only just arrived home. Let’s hope he doesn’t have to return to his ship at once.’

‘We’d better be getting home as well; the kids will be wanting their tea.’ Pat and Jean began to put on their coats.

Hanna stood up. ‘I’ll drive you. I think the old van has enough petrol in it.

She had to drive carefully because of the icy conditions, but she was back in less than an hour after spending a little time talking to the children about their gardens. They were quite disappointed that they couldn’t do much in the winter, but had big plans for the spring. Only George and his family were in the kitchen when she arrived back.

‘The captain’s back and he can stay,’ George told her, ‘but Doris at the post office will take a message and let him know if he is recalled urgently.’

Listening to the news over the next few days they could hardly believe what was happening. Britain and her allies declared war on Japan; Hitler declared war on America, and the Americans responded by declaring war on Germany and Italy. In a few days the whole face of the war had changed. Since Dunkirk, Britain had fought at sea, in the air, and endured the bombing of their cities in a determined effort to stop the Germans invading, and they had been successful. Now with the end of 1941 fast approaching there was a glimmer of hope that the tide would at last change in Britain’s favour.

Captain Harcourt stayed home for a week, and the boys were over the moon to have their father with them, but sad that he couldn’t stay for Christmas. Alan was home for the festive season, but naturally spent most of the time with his parents, but he did manage to come down to see the New Year in with Hanna. She was thrilled when Jack also arrived on New Year’s Eve for three days.

They had a huge party, filling the house with everyone from the farm and many from the village. At midnight they welcomed in 1942 with smiles and laughter.

‘Friends!’ George lifted his glass. ‘We don’t know what this year holds in store for us, but let us drink to the safety of all those we love, and a speedy end to the war.’

Everyone agreed, and when the glasses were empty, Alan touched Hanna’s arm, nodding towards the door.

He led her into a small room used as a library and study, closing the door behind them. ‘Hanna, I told myself it was foolish to make plans for the future while the war was on, but honestly, I believe it’s going to be a long time before this conflict ends. I can’t tell you anything, but there is a chance that I’ll be shipped out soon, and I don’t want to leave without knowing you will be waiting for me when I get back. I know I’m not a man who says much, but you must know how much I love you and want us to marry when we can. I still feel that should be after the war when we can do it properly and I won’t have to dash away again, but in the meantime I would love us to become engaged. Would you, darling? I do love you so much.’

That was a very long speech from Alan, and Hanna threw her arms around his neck, laughing with happiness. ‘Of course we can be engaged now. I’ve loved you from the moment we met.’

He kissed her, and then held her away so he could look into her eyes. ‘You’ve made me very happy. We’ll have a lovely wedding when the war is over. I want to see you walking down the aisle in a beautiful white dress, followed by bridesmaids and all the trimmings.’

‘That isn’t important,’ she told him gently.

‘Yes it is. You’ve been deprived of a lot of things in your life, and I’m determined that you should have a wedding day to remember. Hold out your left hand.’ He took a small box out of his pocket.

She watched as he slipped a diamond cluster ring on her finger.

‘That’s a relief, it fits perfectly. That belonged to my grandmother, but if you don’t like it we can get something else later. I just want to know you are wearing my ring.’