A Time of Peace (32 page)

‘I think Dad might have something, though, Mum. I've noticed that Jon Devlin's name comes up quite a lot in the conversation.'

Rose was sceptical. He was a fine man, but when she had seen Jon and Kate together there had been an unmistakable tension in the air. They weren't easy in each other's company. Stranger things had happened, of course. Look at her and Bill. But she'd always thought that perhaps Jacques might be the one … Look at her! Now she was getting as bad as the men! She shook herself.

Bill's voice interrupted Rose's train of thought. ‘She mentioned someone else.'

‘Yes, Gerhard,' James said. ‘Now, she does seem to like him.'

‘Will you two leave the girl alone?' Rose laughed. ‘Kate's a grown woman, and she'll make her own decisions.'

‘Quite right, Mum.' James got to his feet. ‘You and Dad have brought us up to think for ourselves, and I've no right to interfere in Kate's life. Trouble is, I keep thinking of her as a little girl – loving, sensitive and damned stubborn.'

Bill chuckled. ‘She was a handful, wasn't she? I remember your telling me how stubborn she'd been when you'd tried to persuade her to go to Wales in the war. She flatly refused until George bribed her with a puppy, a cat and two donkeys, no less.'

Rose rolled her eyes as she remembered the incident. ‘She seethes and rages deep inside, whereas I used to shout and fight anyone who got in my way.'

‘I wish she'd do the same. At least then we'd know what she was thinking and feeling.' Bill sighed and shook his head. ‘I'm turning into an interfering old man.'

‘Never!' Rose said in mock horror.

James headed for the door, laughing.

When their son had gone, Rose and Bill made their way upstairs.

‘I think I'll pop along to the office tomorrow and see what needs doing with the foyer for the exhibition. Good idea, isn't it, Rosie?'

‘Very,' she agreed.

Rose didn't sleep until she heard Bill's steady breathing,
then she allowed herself to drift off, her mind still working. She'd had doubts about whether Kate was going to be strong enough to cope with the hard times in life. Her daughter had proved her wrong.

After a good night's sleep, Kate was eager to get going the next day. There was a lot to do today, and by seven thirty she was on her way to Wilkins House to have breakfast with the boys.

She was nearly knocked flying when Eddie threw himself at her with a squeal of delight.

‘You're home! You're home!'

She stooped down and hugged him, as the other boys crowded round, asking where she'd been.

Eddie swung on Kate's hand. ‘While you was away, your mum and dad took me to the big park and we had tea there – real cream cakes.' He sighed blissfully. ‘I was sorry you wasn't there too, but it was luverly.'

‘My goodness.' Kate smiled down at his upturned animated face. ‘You did have a good time, didn't you?'

‘Breakfast is ready, boys.' Mrs Green arrived and smiled at Kate. ‘Are you going to join us?'

‘Yes, please.'

Once the meal was over, they went back into the big room and everyone talked at the top of their voices. Kate settled back to listen to each one tell of the things they'd done.

Suddenly Eddie jumped up. ‘I nearly forget, I bought you a present.' He shot out of the room as fast as his little legs would carry him, thundering up the stairs.

There was much thumping and crashing coming from
the room above them and Tom giggled. ‘He's hidden it so we couldn't get at it. I expect he's forgotten where he put it.'

There was silence for a moment, then he was running down the stairs. Eddie burst into the room breathless but triumphant. He held his present out to her. ‘I bought that in the park tea place for you.'

‘Is that for me?' She looked suitably impressed and took the bright pink gobstopper from him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. ‘I am a lucky girl. Thank you, I love those.'

‘I knew you would.' His smile couldn't get any wider.

‘Time for your swim.' Mrs Green began herding the children out through the door.

Eddie looked downcast, although a visit to the baths was a great treat. ‘You've only just come and now I've got to go.'

‘I'll come back this evening to read you a story before you go to sleep.'

‘Oh, yes, please!' His face was wreathed in smiles again. ‘I haven't seen you for
such
a long time, and James gave us some new storybooks.'

She watched him run to catch up with the others. It sounded as if her brother were taking an interest in the boys, and that made her very happy.

‘A couple of weeks seems an age to them.' Mrs Green sat beside her.

‘I expect it does.' Kate put the gobstopper in her bag. ‘Is there anything you need, Mrs Green?'

‘No, thank you, my dear, Mr Devlin sees we have a few luxuries, and your mother keeps an eye on us.' She patted Kate's hand. ‘We have much to be thankful for.'

Kate glanced at her watch and surged to her feet, knowing that
she
had much to be grateful for as well. It had been a dreadful year, but she was through it now, thank goodness. Her heart went out to all those poor souls in Berlin; what anguish they were facing! ‘I must be going, Mrs Green. I'll come back before the boys go to bed.'

Pete was in the shop when Kate arrived, and she told him about the offer of using the foyer of Grant Phillips for the exhibition.

‘That's wonderful! I noticed how nice it was when we went there with Robert Sinclair. If I remember rightly, it's large with plenty of wall space.' He flicked through the appointments book. ‘I haven't got anything lined up for a couple of hours, so shall we have a look at it now?'

Leaving Susan in charge, they headed for Knightsbridge and Grant Phillips. When they entered the foyer. Kate was delighted to find her father and James already discussing the proposed exhibition.

‘Ah,' James said, ‘I thought it wouldn't be long before you two tumbled through the door.'

‘This is very good of you.' Pete shook hands with the men, and then spun around, examining the area. ‘This will be great! The lighting's good, and look at the lovely plain walls. We'll be able to get fifty or sixty people at a time in here.'

‘Fifty!' Kate exclaimed. ‘We'll never get that many turning up.'

‘ 'Course we will,' Pete said with his usual optimism.

‘We can move the reception desk,' James told him. ‘Where would you like it?'

Pete paced around making a rough map on a piece of paper he'd pulled out of his pocket. ‘Over by the far wall, I think. Would you mind if we used it for drinks and snacks?'

Kate watched them as they worked, and slipped her arm through her father's, smiling up at him. ‘I think it will be best if I leave everything to them and just do as I'm told. Pete is a marvellous organizer, so I expect he's already got it planned in his mind.'

‘Hmm, let them get all the mundane arrangements out of the way, and that will leave you free to deal with the artistic side of things.'

Kate chewed her lip. ‘Do you think anyone will come, Dad?'

‘Of course they will,' he declared. ‘They'll be flocking in.'

She sincerely hoped he was right. She still had her doubts that people would bother to come to see the work of an unknown photographer. But everyone else was enthusiastic about it, so it was worth a try.

‘Kate,' James said, striding over, ‘are you going to sell the pictures?'

‘Oh, no.' She was shocked at the idea. ‘They're not the kind of pictures someone would want in their homes.'

‘Well, why don't you use the alcove just inside the door for some of your other works and put those up for sale?'

Pete rushed over to inspect the area and came back nodding vigorously. ‘We could do that, Kate. It won't interfere with the main exhibition on Berlin.'

She considered this for a moment and decided that it would be an opportunity for Pete and Terry to show
some of their work. ‘All right, but only if you and Terry contribute.'

‘This is your exhibition,' Pete protested.

‘I won't agree unless you both put some of your best pictures up for sale.'

Pete didn't look too sure. ‘Terry, perhaps …'

Kate was adamant. ‘All three of us or none at all.'

‘It's a good idea,' her father said. ‘Try to choose prints with a lighter side to them. Kate, you could show that marvellous photo you have of Eddie laughing.'

The discussion became more animated, with much laughter as they decided on suitable photos.

‘Do it.' James was equally keen on the idea. ‘It will be a light-hearted contrast to the rest of the exhibition.'

‘Yes, you're right.' Pete agreed without further objections, obviously seeing the sense of the idea. ‘Now, we must fix a date; a Friday evening might be best. Say, two weeks' time?'

‘Pete!' Kate was horrified. ‘We'll never be ready that soon.'

‘I suppose that is pushing it a bit,' he agreed with reluctance. ‘We'll need to advertise it as well, so better make it three weeks.'

Kate pulled a face as she thought of what a rush even that would be. ‘He's a slave driver.'

It was agreed. James would have the foyer cleared the day before; they would get the pictures up the next morning; her parents would see to the food and drink, Annie to the invitations. And they would open to the public at seven o'clock.

‘Does Aunt Annie know you're volunteering her?' she asked her father.

He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. ‘She'll love to help. In fact, once the family hears about this, you'll probably have more help than you need.'

‘Right, now that's settled, are you all coming up for coffee?' James asked.

Kate glanced at her watch. ‘Sorry, James, we've got to get back now.'

‘I'll have one with you.' Bill kissed Kate and went upstairs with James.

Kate felt bemused as they drove back to the shop. This had been arranged so quickly, and she still wasn't sure anyone would come. There was one photo she knew had to be included, though.

Later that evening, in the quiet of her flat, she wrote a long letter to Gerhard, asking for permission to use his picture.

‘What's grabbing your attention so much?' Jon asked Gerhard, as they ate a hastily prepared lunch.

‘It's a letter from Kate, asking if she can use the photo of me in an exhibition she intends to put on showing the pictures she took here.' He put the letter down for a moment.

‘When?' Jon asked.

Gerhard continued reading and then exclaimed, ‘What date is it today?'

‘The 12th of September. Why?'

‘Oh, hell, this letter has taken an age to reach me. The exhibition is on Friday the 15th.'

‘I might go back for that,' Jon said thoughtfully. ‘I want to see the boys anyway.'

‘I think I'll come with you.' Gerhard flicked through
his diary. ‘I'll only be able to stay a couple of days, though. It would make a good story for my paper. The people of Berlin would like to think that somebody cares about them.'

Quite frankly Jon would rather have gone back alone in the hope of seeing Kate on her own, but he took Gerhard's point. There was a belief in Berlin that no one cared that the city had been cut in half. A very solid wall was being put up in place of the barbed wire. It was 2.4 metres high, ugly and depressing, topped with barbed wire. The border guards in the East had orders to shoot to kill. The chances of people escaping to the West were slim now, but some were still trying.

‘That's settled, then.' Gerhard stood up. ‘I'll go and see if we can get a flight.'

Jon watched Gerhard leave, and began pacing the room, stopping to gaze out of the window. The street was almost deserted except for a few people hurrying along, head down. The residents of Berlin now knew that this was not a temporary gesture of defiance by the Soviets; they were going to have to live with the wall for the foreseeable future.

Jon continued to stare outside with unseeing eyes. He'd been jealous when he'd found out that Kate had written to Gerhard and not to him. It was not an emotion he was familiar with, and it was then he realized that he was in love with Kate. He would stay in London for a week or two to be near her, and perhaps he would get a chance to tell her how he felt about her.

Friday, the 15th of September, was overcast. The evening had turned damp and drizzly, but that hadn't deterred
people from attending. The place was crowded when Jon and Gerhard arrived.

‘My goodness,' Gerhard said, as they pushed through the crush. ‘This is causing quite a stir.'

‘Jon.' Rose appeared, shook hands with him and then studied his companion. ‘And you must be Gerhard. I recognize you from Kate's photograph. It's very good, by the way, have you seen it?'

‘No, we've only just arrived and it isn't possible to get near the pictures. There must be nearly a hundred people crammed in here, Mrs Freeman.' Gerhard pulled a notebook out of his pocket and began to scribble in it. ‘It's wonderful to see so much interest.'

‘The poor bloody people of Berlin must be worried sick about their future.' Rose's dark eyes blazed. ‘I'd like to get my hands on some of these politicians!'

Gerhard looked up from his writing and smiled at Rose. ‘You and me both, Mrs Freeman!'

Jon chuckled, remembering how she had dealt with the officials when sorting out the trouble at Wilkins House.' I'd love to have seen you when you were younger, Rose.'

‘Oh, no, you wouldn't, Jon.' Rose grimaced. ‘I was a blasted menace. The politicians used to run and hide when I appeared!

‘Well, come and have a drink first, it will thin out later and you can see the photos in comfort.' Rose led the way, carving a passage through the people.

‘She's everything you told me, Jon,' Gerhard said quietly, ‘and she is still beautiful.'

‘I never said she wasn't.' They were nearly at the refreshments when Jon saw Kate for the first time. People
surrounded her. She was wearing the amber dress she'd bought in Paris, but he was not prepared for the impact the sight made on him. He wasn't the only one, though, because he heard Gerhard take in a deep breath.

He leant towards Jon. ‘I take back what I said in Berlin. If you want her, then you are going to have to get past me first!'

‘I've told you I'm not interested.' If there were such a thing as divine retribution for lying, then Jon Devlin would have been struck by a bolt of lightning at that moment. It was a real corker. He did want her! More than he'd ever wanted anything in his life. This wasn't merely a physical attraction, although that was potent enough; it was a deep, undying love. And that frightened the hell out of him!

It came to him with such shattering force that his instinct was to run out of there, and he knew this was the first time he'd ever shown cowardice in the face of danger. But this was a danger that could tear him apart mentally, and, if he couldn't make her his own, the pain would be intolerable.