Daughters of the Mersey (41 page)

Nick had been equally relieved to find Amy. She’d seen deep concern for the child on his face. She didn’t need to be told that Nick loved her and felt responsibility for her as her father. There was still more, she’d come face to face with Nick and found the pull of attraction to him was as strong as ever. It was over a decade since she’d sent him away and of course he’d changed. There was silver in the dark hair over his temples, the laughter lines round his eyes were deeper and he’d put on a little weight. But she would have aged too. She glanced in the mirror and decided she looked a complete mess, tired, dirty, unkempt and definitely older. She’d never had a bath in this flat but it was time to start.

She went to the bathroom and ran water into the small bath to rinse it out. There was an ancient gas appliance to heat the water that looked positively dangerous but thankfully a stained and dusty leaflet of advice on how to light it was tucked behind the
pipework. She found a box of matches and set about following the instructions.

Nick had known she had more work to do than she was likely to accomplish today. Yes, she would have liked to take Amy back to Wales but she’d always found the journey very tiring. Nick wanted to get to know Amy and what better than a long journey in which to do it. And he’d said he’d come back and see her. She mustn’t bank on him staying with her, though she hoped he would. They hadn’t had time to discuss anything.

‘You’ve nothing much to eat here and you’ll need a meal tonight,’ Ida said. ‘Shall I go out to see if I can find something that isn’t rationed, sausages or offal for something?’

‘Yes please.’ Leonie handed over her pages of ration points with some money. ‘Bring some biscuits if you see any.’

‘Shall I bring some fish and chips back with me? I’m getting hungry.’

Milo rang. ‘Have you been able to make any progress with the flat?’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘It’s all cleaned up and your bed is ready. I had no trouble ordering an air-raid shelter but it won’t be delivered for a day or two.’

He laughed. ‘A bit ambitious, wasn’t it, to think it could be by tonight? Are you going to spend the night there?’

‘I’m not sure. Nick’s taken Amy to Wales and he’ll be coming back here.’

‘If there’s a raid tonight, it’s my turn to fire-watch. I’ve left my sleeping bag in Elaine’s shelter and it would be nearer for me to go there.’

‘That’s fine. She said we must all feel free to use it if we wanted to. If you want to get into the
house, Elaine’s keys are under the flower pot by the back door.’

‘She told me. Mum, Alison is going to meet me from work with a picnic lunch and we’re going to take the bus to Eastham and have a walk through the woods. She says the bluebells are out now. Then she’s invited me to eat at her place tonight.’

‘Well, I won’t be seeing much of you today. Be sure to lock Elaine’s house up if you go in.’

‘Yes. Goodnight, Mum, see you tomorrow.’

At one o’clock, Leonie closed the shop and had a bath and washed her hair. She was in her dressing gown when Ida returned with packages that smelled delicious. ‘I’ve got us a pennyworth of chips each,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t get fish or fishcakes, they’d all gone, but these will keep us going, won’t they?’

She’d also brought two lamb’s hearts and a packet of stuffing mix, together with potatoes and a loaf. ‘Sorry, I queued for biscuits but they’d sold out before I reached the counter.’

‘Doesn’t matter.’ They ate their chips together and drank tea before Ida went home. ‘Thanks for everything,’ Leonie said. ‘You’ve worked overtime today.’

Leonie went to get dressed. The clothes she’d had in her wardrobe and her chest of drawers had not been harmed. She took out her newest white blouse and grey skirt, wanting to look her best when Nick returned. She was filled with hopeful anticipation but also apprehension. Would Nick see her just as Amy’s mother? He might not want to take up with her again. Why should he when she’d sent him away all those years ago? She was afraid he might not want what she wanted.

The afternoon seemed
to drag. She’d expected him back before four o’clock but that time came and went. She prepared the lamb’s hearts for the oven. Ida had intended the second one for Milo and she was glad he wouldn’t need it tonight. She’d do roast potatoes and there were good cabbages in the garden at Mersey Reach but she couldn’t face going down to fetch one now. She’d salvaged a few tins from the kitchen there, one of which contained peas. That would have to do.

Five o’clock and still no sign of Nick. She ought to finish off a dress Elaine had designed and make it ready for a valued customer to have a fitting on Monday morning, but her energy had gone, she was tired and her mind was still on Nick. Suddenly, the heart-stopping wail of an air-raid warning blared out, making her jump. She thought it would never stop. It was the last thing they needed now.

So far, few bombs had been dropped in daylight hours, but all the same it increased her tension. She listened anxiously. There was hardly anybody about and little traffic on the main road outside. She decided she’d shelter under the stairs if she heard enemy aircraft overhead and pulled the bedding intended for furnishing the Morrison shelter into what she hoped was the safest position. She tried to do a bit of sewing but she was too tired now to do anything more.

When Nick finally came, Leonie leapt to her feet to greet him. ‘Let me take your coat. How did you get on?’

‘All right, except I almost dozed off on the train and nearly missed one of the connections.’

He looked round a little self-consciously.

‘There’s nobody else here,’ she said.

‘Auntie Bessie seems fond of Amy
and she’s a very kind person.’

‘She is.’ She’d been looking forward to having his company all day and now she was stiff and awkward with him.

‘I take it Elaine and Tom went to my place for the weekend?’

‘Yes.’ She made herself ask, ‘Will you stay here with me?’

He smiled and nodded. ‘I was afraid you wouldn’t want me to.’

‘I do, of course I do.’

‘Let’s go upstairs. I want to hear how you got on.’

Seated on the opposite end of the sofa, he seemed more relaxed. ‘I’m glad you let me take Amy back. It gave me a chance to talk to her, to get to know her, and I wanted to see where she was living. I can picture her now in the coming weeks.’

‘The countryside there is beautiful.’

‘Yes, Amy was fascinated by the lambs. There were lots of them running about in the fields as we went along. We collected her bike from the lost property office at the station and she rode it round to the garage to order the taxi and they strapped it on the back.’

‘She wasn’t upset because I didn’t take her?’

‘She soon got over that. She knew she shouldn’t have come. I asked the taxi driver to wait half an hour for me so I could catch the next train back.’

Leonie nodded, how sensible he was.

‘Auntie Bessie wanted to make me a cup of tea and when I said I hadn’t time, she gave me a glass of milk and wrapped up a couple of slices of cake for me to take away with me.’

‘Were there refreshment carriages on the train?’

‘No, not on any of the trains we travelled
on so I was glad to have it. I was still hungry and managed to buy a bun in the station at Oswestry.’

‘Then you’ll be starving by now. I’ll start supper. I’ve done all the preparation, it’s just a matter of cooking it.’

He followed her into the kitchen and stood watching her light the gas. She felt his arms go round her. He turned her round and kissed her full on the mouth. ‘I’ve been aching to do that since the moment I set eyes on you last night,’ he whispered. ‘I want us to be married.’

‘So do I,’ Leonie said shyly.

‘Soon,’ he added. ‘We’ve already waited for over a decade.’

‘As soon as possible,’ she agreed. ‘We can’t have a big wedding and a lot of fuss and I had that the first time round anyway, I don’t need it.’

‘What about next month then?’

Leonie stretched up to return his kiss and knew he loved her as much as she loved him. Their daughter had brought them together again.

That Saturday June had her off-duty in the morning, which was when most of the other girls that were off went shopping. She’d had such a busy time the day before that she went back to the nurses’ home and curled up on the sofa to read, but it was quiet and she dozed off and slept until nearly midday.

At lunch, there was much talk about the terrible bomb damage in the town. June, still full of agony, told them her home had been so badly damaged it was no longer possible to live in it. As she worked on the ward she worried about how her mother was getting on sorting out the flat. It had been a chaotic mess when she’d last seen it
and they’d all been exhausted.

The evening were lighter now and when she came off duty at eight o’clock, she decided to collect her suitcase of personal belongings. In her haste yesterday she’d pushed it inside one of the garden sheds, but she was afraid to leave it there for long because there were so many rumours about looting. After that, she’d call in and see Mum and perhaps give her a hand with straightening things out.

The dusk was thickening when she reached the garden gate and as soon as it closed behind her she could see the glimmer of a shaded flashlight. She stopped in her tracks, her heart pounding; her first thought was that she’d caught looters red handed. Then she heard a cackle and the door to the henhouse close. Full of relief she called, ‘Milo, is that you?’

‘Hello, yes, I’m just shutting the chicks in for the night. You missed all the excitement yesterday.’

He was bursting to tell her the news about Amy coming home from Wales, and how worried they’d all been about her.

‘Amy’s here then?’

‘I’m not sure.’ He told her how kind Elaine and Tom had been and how their friend, Nicholas Bailey, had come from Chester and had found Amy bedded down in the clubhouse he’d made from the old summer house. ‘Mum wanted her to go back and Nick was planning to take her. I thought I’d look in on Mum now.’

‘So did I,’ June said.

‘Let’s get a move on then. If we get another raid, I’ll have to rush off to fire-watch again.’

June had to ring the shop doorbell twice before she heard
footsteps coming. Mum ushered them inside quickly. Once upstairs in the light, June could see that her mother’s cheeks were pink and she looked radiant. ‘Is Amy still here?’ June asked.

‘No, Nick took her back to Wales. He’s here. Come and say hello. This is Nicholas Bailey, I don’t think you know him, do you June?’

‘We have met,’ he said, coming towards her with his hand outstretched. ‘But you won’t remember me, it was a long time ago.’

‘I’ve heard Elaine mention your name,’ she told him, and was surprised when, as well as clasping her hand, he bent to kiss her cheek.

He grinned broadly at her. ‘Your mother has told me a great deal about you.’

June sensed his joyful mood and felt an air of pleasure and happiness sparking in the atmosphere, but it was Milo who asked, ‘Has something happened?’

‘Yes,’ her mother laughed. ‘I’m going to tell them, Nick. I want us to have everything out in the open from now on. Nick and I are going to be married.’

‘What?’ June couldn’t believe it.

‘And it’s going to be quite soon.’

‘A bit sudden, isn’t it Mum?’ Milo asked, looking from Nick to his mother.’

She sat down on the sofa and pulled June down on one side of her and Milo on the other. Clasping their hands, she said, ‘It isn’t at all sudden. Quite the opposite in fact. Nick is Amy’s father.’

It took June some time to digest this information. Her mother had had a love affair that she’d kept secret while she and Milo had
been growing up. She understood then why Mum had been so ready to help her and Ralph. It all made perfect sense.

‘I’m so happy for you,’ she breathed. ‘I wish both of you all the very best in the world. You deserve it.’

When Amy returned to Coed Cae Bach she found Auntie Bessie gently reproachful. Nick had reminded her to apologise for the trouble she’d caused her and Uncle Jack. She felt ashamed now of taking off as she had. She did that as soon as Nick left but she was unable to hold back her tears and Bessie ended up trying to comfort her.

On Sunday she did the homework she should have done on Thursday night, but she knew she’d have been given a good deal more to do over the weekend if she’d been at school. She was afraid Mrs Roberts would be cross with her and Mum really wanted her to do well in the exam.

As she’d missed school on Friday, Bessie said, ‘I’ll write a note for you to take to Mrs Roberts tomorrow.’

‘Could you say you kept me home because I had a cold?’ Amy asked. She didn’t want her to know she’d run home.

‘No,’ Uncle Jack said. ‘She’ll already know what happened and why. News travels fast in the country. Don’t you worry about it. Come on out now and help me with the afternoon milking.’

On Monday, Amy was surprised to find Mrs Roberts quite sympathetic. She received more homework but not as much as usual. ‘You’ve worked very hard, Amy, and I think you’ll do well. Perhaps you should do a little less homework this week. We don’t want you to be overtired on Thursday.’

Amy was to sit the examination in
the grammar school in town and she wasn’t looking forward to it. ‘You must be there in plenty of time,’ Mrs Roberts told her. ‘The exam starts at ten o’clock and you must be there at least fifteen minutes before that. Do you have a watch?’

‘Yes.’ Amy rolled up the cuff of her jersey to show her. ‘My mum gave it to me for Christmas.’

‘Good. Can you find your way to the grammar school?’

‘Yes, I met Glenys in town one Saturday. She was coming out from her piano lesson and I asked her to show me where it was. We walked down to see it. It’s a bit out of town.’

‘Yes, it is. You can take the school taxi back into town after it has dropped the children off here and you may be able to catch it to come back in the afternoon if you hurry to the garage as soon as the afternoon exam finishes. Shall I have a word with the driver?’

‘I’d rather go on my bike,’ Amy said. ‘They’ve got bike sheds there, I saw them.’