A Time of Peace (39 page)

‘Yeah.' His tone brightened at that assurance. ‘He said he'd take me flying when the weather's better. In the spring, he said.'

‘That's something to look forward to, then.'

‘Yeah. When will it be spring?'

‘In about four months.'

‘That long?' Tom sighed but the excitement was soon back. ‘We can't go in a Spitfire, but he told me how to fly it and how they'd had to dive, roll and turn quick like, during the dogfights.'

Jon smiled. Tom knew all the flying expressions.

Smashing bloke. Paul and David are great too.'

‘Yes, they're nice boys and very proud of their dad.'

‘I should bloody well hope they are!'

‘Tom!'

‘Sorry.'

Well, that was a first. He couldn't remember a time when he'd heard Tom apologize.

‘Reid said I've got to do well at my lessons if I want to be a pilot.'

‘Good advice, Tom; I hope you're going to do that.'

‘Oh, I will.' The boy fell silent then.

Eddie, who'd been nearly asleep all this time, woke up. ‘Did you get another grown-up kiss?' he asked.

‘No, but I'll make up for it later.' He glanced at Ed clutching his precious football and fighting to keep his eyes open. Tom would go flying in the spring; he would marry Kate in the spring … and then they'd see about Eddie.

But he was jumping ahead too far. He had to win that beautiful woman first. And that was something he was determined to do.

It was warm for March, and Kate sang as she drove to Wilkins House. The sky was clear, the sun bright, and there was a feeling in the air of nature's impatience to burst forth into glowing, vibrant life. And that was a mirror of her feelings.

Since Christmas Jon had been by her side every spare moment he had. They'd been dancing, walking, to the cinema, and one evening he'd taken her to Covent Garden to hear
Tosca.
She'd loved every moment of the glorious opera. It had been a total surprise and not something she'd expected he would like, but over the last few weeks different facets of his character had shown themselves. Jon Devlin was a complex man, and, like her mother, his upbringing had made him tough. Fortunately it hadn't destroyed the vein of warmth, gentleness and compassion. Also, like her mother, that side of him was kept under control and hidden, but he was now relaxing in her company. She'd watched each quality surface and loved him more every day.

The sun glared through the windscreen, so she slipped on a pair of sunglasses and sighed with happiness. At one time she had wondered if she would ever feel like this again. Last year had been terrible. But, with hindsight, she could see how Jon had supported both her and her
mother. Without him, the journey back would have been longer and more difficult. She was so lucky to have found such a wonderful man, and he did love her, she was sure. Unless it was lust!

That made her laugh out loud as she pulled up at some traffic lights. If that had been true, he'd have persuaded her into his bed a long time ago. He was a passionate man but was the first one to back away when their loving became too heated. She sometimes cursed his iron self-control, for there had been many times when she wouldn't, or couldn't, have resisted.

The lights turned green and she took a left to Wilkins House. She was looking forward to this. The boys were putting on a show with the puppets. It was lovely to see how much enjoyment they were still getting from them.

As soon as she arrived, she went to the kitchen. Her mother was already there, helping Mrs Green to prepare the food – they were going to have a little party after the show as a treat for the boys.

‘Can I do anything?' she asked.

‘No, it's all under control.' Her mother piled sandwiches on another plate.

Kate's eyes opened wide when she saw the amount of food on the table. ‘How many are coming?'

‘Lots.' Mrs Green beamed. ‘Your family, the older children from Standish House, together with some of the staff and helpers.'

‘In that case you'll need another plate of sandwiches, because I've asked Pete, Susan, Terry and his family, Beth and Steve to come as well.'

‘Oh, lovely.' Mrs Green couldn't have looked more pleased. ‘We shall have a jolly time, shan't we?'

‘James is already here helping Jon with the stage.' Her mother looked up from slicing another loaf and smiled. ‘Why don't you see if they need any help?'

‘Okay.' It was bedlam in the front room, with all the boys being given jobs to do. The furniture had been cleared out of the way, with rows of chairs in front of the stage. A small wooden platform had been erected at the far end of the room. There were bright red curtains to pull across, a black sheet at the back for the boys to stand behind and work their puppets without being seen too clearly … She was impressed.

‘Kate!' Eddie rushed up, beside himself with excitement. ‘We're nearly ready. Jon wrote the story and it's smashing!'

‘I didn't know that.' She grinned as Jon came over.

‘I'm a man of many talents.' He leant down and kissed her. ‘Hmm, you look and smell delicious.'

‘Bring my sister over to give us a hand.' James laughed. ‘You can continue that later, because this whole bloody lot is going to collapse in a minute.'

They laughed and ran over to James, who was struggling with the frame to hold the curtain in place. Eddie came as well, still grinning. He thought it was great fun to see Jon kissing Kate.

It took them only ten minutes to put the finishing touches to the platform. As they were surveying their handiwork, the door opened and Tom erupted into the room, followed by Reid, Annie, Paul and David.

‘I've been flying!' He yelled at the top of his voice, not wanting anyone to miss this momentous news. ‘We went right out over the sea. We climbed, dived and did a somersault. Didn't we?' He tore back to Reid. ‘Didn't we?'

‘At least two somersaults,' Reid said in his clearest voice to the crowd of boys now clustered around Tom.

‘Yeah, two.' He gazed up at his idol. ‘You're a smashing pilot and I've had a smashing day!'

‘I enjoyed it too.'

Tom threw his arms around Reid's waist and then Annie's, looking rather pink and embarrassed about showing so much affection. He grabbed Paul and David. ‘Come on, let's go and tell Mrs Green. There'll be grub in the kitchen,' he added as an incentive.

Kate watched them leave and hugged Reid and Annie; then James and Jon came over.

‘Two somersaults?' Jon raised a brow in query, making Reid chuckle.

‘Not quite, but I threw the plane about a bit and he loved it. He squealed in delight and every time I levelled off he yelled at me to do it again.'

‘So you think he's got the makings of a pilot?' Jon asked.

Reid looked thoughtful, then nodded. ‘He could, and he certainly wants it enough. I'm going to keep my eye on him and see how he turns out.'

‘That's good of you, Reid.'

‘It will be a pleasure.' Reid smiled. ‘He's like me when I was about his age.'

Annie had disappeared into the kitchen, so Kate stood back a little and watched Reid and Jon together. They were both at least six foot tall, strong, powerful men. Now in his early fifties, Reid was still handsome, with a special aura about him that hadn't dimmed with age. It wasn't hard to recognize the calm determination that had made him an outstanding pilot during the war. Then
there was Jon, younger by more than twenty years, and yet with the same qualities. She drew in a deep breath. She hadn't noticed it before, but they were cast from the same mould, and she loved them both so much. Reid had always been like a second father to her, but her feelings for Jon were very different indeed. She prayed that he was her future.

The show was a riot as the audience screamed and hollered at the antics of the puppets. It was just as well the kids were making so much noise, because it muffled the helpless roars of laughter coming from the adults. Kate thought Pete was going to fall off his chair several times as he doubled over, and Reid was helpless with laughter.

It was impossible to tell what the story was as the boys got quite carried away in their enthusiasm to have their own particular puppet in the thick of the action. Audible whispered instructions were coming from behind the black curtain by Jon and James, but it was a hopeless task, and after a while they obviously gave up trying to control the show. No one minded. The children in the audience thought it was fabulous, and the grown-ups hadn't laughed so much for ages. Terry and his wife had brought their young son along; although too young to understand, he was wide-eyed and making as much noise as everyone else.

The curtain came down to thunderous applause, and the boys emerged from the back flushed and beaming. James made them all take a bow, then Kate yelled for the author. Jon stepped forward looking dishevelled from the struggle backstage, and gave an elaborate bow. James
was next as the stage manager. Then, after one more round of cheers for the puppet masters, it was a stampede for the food.

‘My God,' James said, mopping his brow, ‘that was a shambles. What was the plot supposed to be, Jon?'

‘Don't ask me. I only wrote it, but I lost track after about ten minutes.'

‘Well, don't bother next time, just let the kids make it up as they go along. Which is exactly what they did tonight.'

A look of absolute horror crossed Jon's face. ‘Good grief, you're not thinking of doing this again, are you?'

Kate exploded when she saw their expressions, laughing until the tears ran down her face. When she could speak again, she said, ‘Come on, let's get something to eat before it all goes.'

They stayed until the boys were in bed. Eddie was too tired to listen to a story, and was asleep almost before she pulled the covers over him. Tom received a kiss from Reid and Annie without a murmur of protest. Everyone agreed that it had been a highly successful, if exhausting, show.

Nearly everyone had gone when Jon touched Kate's arm. ‘Come back to the flat. I want to talk to you.'

They both had their own cars, so she followed him to Kensington. Once in the flat, he gathered her into his arms and kissed her, lingering as if he never wanted to let her go.

After a while he held her away from him and looked into her eyes, sighing deeply. ‘That's better; I've been longing to do that all evening. I know I don't say it often
enough, but you know I love you so much, don't you, Kate?'

‘I know.' She reached up and ran her fingers over his lips. ‘And I love you too, in fact, I do believe I adore you.'

‘Good.' He held her tightly for a while, not speaking, then said suddenly, ‘Would you like tea, coffee, or something stronger?'

‘Tea, please.' She watched him walk over to put the kettle on. The easy laughter of earlier had gone; now he was serious, as if he had something on his mind. Was he going to tell her that he was going away again? She always had the worry at the back of her mind that he would return to his former life as a war correspondent. If he was going she wouldn't try to stop him, but what would she do without him? He had become the love of her life over the last three months.

He returned with two mugs of tea, and they sat on the sofa. She sipped her drink and gazed at him over the rim of her mug, steeling herself for whatever he was going to tell her. ‘You said you wanted to talk?'

Reaching out, he took the mug from her, placed it on the floor, and took her hands in his, examining her delicate fingers, his head bowed. When he looked up, his serious gaze held hers for long silent seconds. Her heart raced. He
was
going away and didn't know how to tell her.

‘My darling Kate,' he murmured. ‘I can't bear to think of my life without you. Will you marry me?'

Relief was the first emotion to surge through her, and then joy. She tumbled into his arms laughing and crying at the same time. ‘I thought you were going to leave me. Yes, yes, I will marry you.'

It was quite a while before they were able to talk and, as always, it was Jon who put a rein on their overflowing passion. He held her away from him until their breathing returned to something like normal. ‘I'm never going to leave you. I'm not a rich man, my darling, but I'll make you happy.'

‘We'll make each other happy. Grandpa George left me an inheritance in trust until I reached twenty-five or married – whichever came first. I don't know exactly what it's worth now, but I'm sure it will be enough to buy a small house.'

‘Well, we'll see about that. We can always live here for a while.'

She guessed he wasn't too happy about having his wife provide for him, so she dropped the subject. ‘Of course we can. I don't care where it is as long as we're together.'

‘That's just how I feel. And stop trying to get close,' he laughed, ‘we've got decisions to make first.'

‘First?' she teased.

‘Yes, I can't promise I'll be able to control myself tonight. Now, how soon can we be married?'

‘As soon as possible.'

‘Four weeks, then. Church or register office?'

‘Church, the family will want …' Suddenly her eyes clouded and the familiar ache was back in her heart. ‘Dad should be here to give me away.'

‘I know, my love, he will be missed.' He gently caressed her cheek. ‘But you'll have Will, Charlie or Reid to choose from for that honour.'

‘Of course.' She was so lucky to have a family to share this day with. Jon didn't have anyone. If she couldn't have
her father by her side, then there was only one other man she would want. ‘I'll ask Reid.'

‘I'm sure he'd love to do it.'

She laughed then, her sadness disappearing. ‘Do you think we could get him to wear his old uniform? Tom would love that.'

‘I don't suppose he would for a moment and it might not fit him now.'

‘He's hardly changed over the years, but he'll look just as good in a morning suit.'

‘Heavens,' he exclaimed, ‘you're not expecting us to wear top hat and tails, are you?'

‘Not if you don't want to,' she teased, ‘but I might try to get Eddie and Tom into satin breeches.'

‘You'd be wasting your time with Tom.' He roared with laughter at the thought. ‘But Eddie might. He'd do anything for you.'

She looked down and chewed her bottom lip, remembering her promise to him. But did she have the right to expect Jon to take on a child so early in their marriage?