A Time of Peace (36 page)

‘Reid, you needn't stay any longer. I know you have a business to run, but I would like to have Annie with me for a few days, if that's all right with you.'

‘Of course, she can stay as long as you need her.'

‘Thank you.' Rose turned to Sam. ‘It's time you took your family home; Jacques mustn't miss any more of his education.'

He nodded agreement. ‘Maria is anxious to return to France. However, you must promise to phone me every week, Rose, or I shall be over here invading your kitchen again.'

‘I promise.' She smiled at everyone. ‘The worst is over, eh?'

Jon wondered if it was; he couldn't forget that glimpse of defeat he'd seen in her eyes a short time ago. But if
she was feeling like that now, it was being expertly hidden.

In the relaxed atmosphere the conversation flowed and laughter came more readily.

Feeling better about Rose, Jon left, and, as he drove to London, he hoped she would go back into business again. She was going to need something to fill the void in her life.

That afternoon Kate was in the shop mounting photographs in a wedding album when James arrived. ‘How's Mum?' she asked anxiously.

‘She's all right, and talking about going back to work.'

‘Oh, that would be wonderful.' She was so relieved; her mother was thinking about the future and that was a good sign.

‘How long are you going to stay with Mum?'

‘I'm moving back permanently.' Kate worried her bottom lip. ‘I don't want her to be alone in the house; it holds so many memories.'

‘I agree.' James squeezed her shoulder. ‘But they're all good ones, aren't they?'

She looked up at her brother and smiled gently. ‘We've been very lucky in life.'

‘Don't I know it.' He sat on the edge of the table. ‘What are you going to do with the flat?'

‘I'll take it over,' said a voice from the doorway.

Kate looked up to see Jon standing there, feeling a sense of pleasure, as she always did now when he was around. ‘Well, if you want it, but I thought you had a place near Wilkins House.'

‘I do. My digs are a dump, and as my rambling days are over I'd like something better.'

‘Go up and have a look at it, then, and see what you think.'

She watched him race up the stairs, taking them two at a time. It only took him five minutes and he was back.

‘Perfect. When can I move in?'

‘At once, and it comes with the furniture as well.'

Jon was already heading for the door. ‘I'll go and get my things – and thanks, Kate.'

Later that afternoon, Jon, with Pete's help, began moving his few possessions into the flat. It was a great improvement on his other dingy place. This was clean and tidy, and the furniture sparkled with polish that left a faint smell of lavender. He was just arranging some of his books in a tall bookcase when there was a knock on the door. He opened it to find Kate standing there.

‘Come in.'

‘Thanks.' She stepped over a box of books – the only thing Jon had in abundance – and smiled. ‘I had a five-year lease on the flat, and the agent was quite happy to transfer it over to you. Those are my spare keys.'

He didn't have time to thank her, as someone was thundering up the stairs calling her name.

‘Kate!' Jacques erupted into the room and gathered Kate to him in a bear hug.

Jon watched the scene. The love and affection was there for all to see. He was rocking Kate in his arms and raining kisses all over her face, and she was laughing while trying to duck out of the way. When they'd all been together in Paris, the rapport between them had been clear, but now he saw something else. Jacques knew every mood and thought of Kate's, and he was here now because she was hurting badly. She needed love, companionship and affection at this moment, and Jacques had come to give her those. Jon was deeply
curious about this friendship. He'd love to find out the whole story.

‘What are you doing here? I thought you were going home.'

‘I have a few days free from studying, so I thought I'd stay and spend them with you.'

Kate's expression said she understood. She hugged him again, her face serious this time. ‘Have you told Mum?'

‘I phoned her and she said I can stay with her.' He draped a protective arm around her shoulder and greeted Jon with a nod of his head.

Jon didn't miss the questioning look in Jacques's eyes as he saw him in what he believed to be Kate's private flat. ‘Kate is moving back with her mother and I'm taking over the flat.'

‘Jacques.' Kate took hold of his arm. ‘I can't pack up work for a couple of hours, but if you don't mind waiting we can go home together. It will be good for Mum to have lots of people around her for a while. It's hard for her. They loved each other so much.'

‘She's had plenty of practice at hiding her feelings, though, hasn't she?' Sadness flashed through Jacques's eyes for the woman he thought the world of. ‘Can I wait for you downstairs? I won't get in your way.'

‘Why don't you stay here?' Jon suggested, deciding that he mustn't be jealous of Jacques. He was a nice boy and meant a lot to the Freeman family. ‘You can help me unpack.'

‘Oh, thanks.' Jacques smiled at Kate. ‘Will you phone my beautiful Rose and ask her if I can have some of her suet treacle for dinner please?'

They both doubled over with laughter at the private joke.

The unpacking didn't take long and Jon produced two bottles of beer. Then they sat around the table talking, ignoring the boxes littering the floor. The atmosphere was relaxed, but Jacques appeared a little distracted.

‘Have you got time off from university?' Jon asked Jacques, as he poured them a glass of beer.

‘Not officially, but we are worried so I've taken a few days off.' He looked at Jon over the rim of his glass, his eyes showing the pain he was feeling. ‘You can't have any idea how much we love this wonderful family.'

‘I know there's something special between you, so why don't you tell me about it, and then perhaps I'll understand.'

Jacques looked into space for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts. ‘It started during the war. When the Germans invaded France, my father left our village to help destroy communication and transport lines in an effort to hamper the advance. He and my mother were about to be married, but when he finally made it back he was told that my mother had been killed, along with their unborn child. With the SS hunting him down, my father fled to England, where he joined the RAF and began working to recruit agents to be dropped into France. That's when he met Annie. She was a wireless operator who spoke French and German. They worked together for the rest of the war.'

When Jacques hesitated and sighed, Jon said, ‘Take your time. We've got a couple of hours.'

‘Well, Dad would only let Annie go into France once,
and that was because an agent was missing and she knew him. She found him and got him out, but he died soon after they arrived back in this country.'

Jon couldn't help picturing the lovely woman Reid was married to, and marvelled at her courage. ‘Go on.'

‘Then my father heard that a young child and his grandmother were with someone who sounded like his sister. He came for us.' Jacques emptied his glass and turned it round and round with his fingers. ‘I was put in a small aeroplane with my grandmother and a man I didn't know. I was terrified.'

‘How old were you?' Jon asked.

‘Only about three but I remember it as if it were yesterday. My grandmother died soon after we arrived. I couldn't understand a word anyone said, except Annie, and she kept going away with the man I'd been told was my father. I was frightened and bewildered. There were these three people with almost-black eyes who seemed to care about me – Rose, Kate and James. Rose would pop food into my mouth, wait for me to swallow, and do the same until I'd finished it all up.' Jacques gave a chuckle. ‘I wouldn't have dared refuse to eat.'

Jon grinned as he remembered how Rose had swept through all objections and sorted out the trouble at the children's home. Anyone who disobeyed her would have to be very brave indeed.

Jacques continued. ‘James played with me and gave me his toys, but Kate reached out with love and understanding. She has great sensitivity to others' suffering, and I believe she feels what they feel. So, surrounded by their love, I began to settle down.'

‘I can see why you think so much of them,' Jon said.
‘But I'm confused. You said your mother had been killed along with her unborn child.'

‘My father hadn't been told the truth. You must understand that the country was in turmoil, and many people never knew what had become of their loved ones. It seems that I had been born while my father was away, and given to my grandmother to look after. My mother was taken to Germany to a labour camp.'

Jon drew in a ragged breath at that piece of information, as he pictured the anguish this family must have gone through.

‘My God,' Jon murmured. ‘How you must hate the Germans.'

‘No, no,' Jacques hastily assured him. ‘Rose says that we shouldn't lump a whole nation together as being good or evil. Everyone is an individual, and most are decent people; only a few are beasts. It is those we hate, not an entire nation. Such evil is hard to comprehend and even harder to forgive, but some of those responsible were brought to justice at Nuremberg.'

Looking intently at the boy sitting opposite him, Jon saw past the youth who laughed and teased Kate. Jacques and his family had suffered a great deal, and, perhaps because of that, he understood what the death of Bill meant to the Freeman family.

‘You have a wise head on your shoulders.'

‘You can't live with Rose and not question what life is all about.' Jacques laughed quietly. ‘She is the wisest person I have ever met.'

‘I agree with that.' Their glasses were empty, so Jon said, ‘Do you want another beer?'

‘No, thanks.'

‘What happened then?' Jon prompted, eager to hear more.

‘As the allies began to move inland after D-Day, my father returned to France, and was told by someone who knew us that my mother was still alive. He took a great risk and crossed into Germany, found the camp, and managed to snatch my mother as she returned with a working party at the end of the day. She was emaciated and barely alive, so my father had to carry her most of the way. They moved at night and hid by day. When they reached the allies' lines again, they were shipped back to England. Rose and her family nursed my mother back to health.'

‘And do you intend to marry Kate?' Jon asked.

‘I have a very nice girl at university, but if that was what Kate wanted, then I would spend the rest of my life trying to make her happy.' Jacques gazed into his glass, then looked up, his expression earnest. ‘Kate, James and Rose mean the world to me, and we loved and admired Bill. He was such a gentle man. Kate and Rose have always been caring and unselfish in their desire to help other people, but they are the ones who need help now – '

‘Jacques.' Kate looked in the door. ‘I've finished now, we can go home. Mum's got the pudding on the boil.'

With a wave of his hand, Jacques followed Kate. ‘Thanks for the beer.'

‘Nice boy.' Pete came into the room as they left. ‘If you need help, I'll be free in an hour.'

‘Thanks, Pete, but I can manage.'

Laughter from Kate and Jacques echoed up the stairs as they left the shop.

‘Kate's pleased to see him,' Pete said.

‘Hmm.'

A smile tugged at the corners of Pete's mouth. ‘She won't marry him, you know.'

Jon looked up sharply. ‘Why are you so sure?'

‘I just am. I've listened to her talking about him. They're like brother and sister. If Jacques tried to make love to her, she'd collapse in helpless laughter. Marriage between them would never work.' Pete turned and left with a wave of his hand.

‘How long can you stay?' Kate asked Jacques, as they set off for Roehampton in her car.

‘Three days. Are you in love with Jon?' he asked bluntly.

Kate pressed her lips together as she thought about that. Her feelings for Jon went deep now, but she wasn't going to admit that to anyone just yet. ‘I like him; he was helpful when I was in Berlin. He's a bit bossy, though.'

‘Not a bad thing.' Jacques chuckled. ‘You need someone who will keep you in line. I'd marry you myself, but I'm not sure I'm up to the job.'

Kate took one hand off the steering wheel to hit him. He ducked just in time.

‘Hey! Keep your eyes on the road.'

‘We've stopped at red lights, you fool.' Kate glanced at his smiling face and felt her spirit lift. She was so pleased he'd stayed. It was going to be a real tonic having him around for a few days and just what she and her mother needed.

‘Well, they've turned green now,' he said, as the driver behind them tooted his horn.

‘Have you fallen in love yet?' Kate kept a straight face as she put the car into first gear and drove on, much to the relief of the impatient man behind them.

‘I've got a girl I met at university – Claudine. She's bright, intelligent and good fun.'

‘That's great. I'd like to see you marry a nice girl, but you make sure she's the right one.'

‘I wouldn't dream of asking her to marry me until I've run her past you.' His laughter rumbled through the car. ‘But don't think you're getting rid of me yet. She's just a friend. Nothing serious.'

She pulled into the driveway, and Rose was waiting at the door for them. Her mother had lost a little weight since her husband had died, but she was smiling with pleasure as she greeted Jacques. Kate knew that her mother had been prepared to adopt Jacques if anything had happened to Sam during the war. That hadn't been necessary, though. Nevertheless, she knew her mother loved him as her own.

Dinner was ready, and they were soon sitting around the kitchen table laughing as Jacques told about some of his escapades at university.

After the meal they went into the sitting room to continue their talk and enjoy the coffee. The evenings were chilly now, and there was a lovely coal fire burning, making the room warm and cosy.

‘I found myself a job today,' Rose announced as soon as they were settled. ‘It's only three days a week.'

Kate was thrilled by the news. She'd been so worried about her mother, and because of her concern, there had hardly been time for her to grieve properly for the loss
of her father. No doubt that would hit her some time when she wasn't expecting it.

‘That's marvellous, Mum. What are you going to do?'

‘I'm starting on Monday with a firm of solicitors. They've got offices on Richmond Green.'

‘Oh, posh,' Kate joked.

Her mother's smile was wry. ‘I expect the clients will be different from those I had at Garrett Street. But it will give me something useful to do. I also thought I'd like to get more involved with Standish House.'

‘That would be a great help to them.'

Rose nodded thoughtfully. ‘I've already had a word with them and they said I could come along any time I like. Bill wouldn't like it if we didn't get on with our lives, would he?'

‘No, he wouldn't.' Kate blinked away the film of moisture covering her eyes and smiled. ‘I can just hear him saying, “What do you think you're up to, Rosie?'”