Poppy's War (36 page)

He pulled out a chair and took a seat at the table. ‘Just like that?’

‘What did you expect?’

‘I thought I might make you see sense, but obviously you know when you’re well off.’ He spread his hands in an expansive gesture. ‘I understand now why you were so eager to get back here.’

She picked up the teapot, resisting the temptation to throw it at him. ‘You’re being horrible, and I don’t deserve that. I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea, but
I
tried to tell you how I felt so many times I’ve lost count.’

He ran his hand through his hair. ‘So you want me to go back to London and forget all about you?’

‘Yes. I’m sorry, but that’s just about it. You’ve got to let me lead my own life.’

‘Next thing you’ll be telling me I’ll meet someone else.’

The hint of humour in his eyes made her respond with a sigh of relief and a smile. ‘Well, you will. You’re a great chap and I’m …’

He held up his hand as if to ward off a blow. ‘For God’s sake don’t tell me that you’re fond of me. I can’t think of anything worse.’

‘All right, I won’t, even though it’s true.’ She made the tea and set it to brew while she cut slices off a loaf.

Dennis sat back in his chair watching her every movement. ‘Don’t spoil me or I’ll never want to leave. If you change your mind, Poppy …’

‘Don’t, Dennis.’ She patted his shoulder as she walked past him to fetch the butter dish from the larder. ‘I don’t want a fight. I’d like us to part as friends, please.’

He had just finished his breakfast when Mrs Toon entered the kitchen with her hair still in curlers. She stared at Dennis open-mouthed before turning a fierce gaze on Poppy. ‘I thought better of you than this.’

Realising that she had jumped to the wrong
conclusion
, Poppy was torn between laughter and embarrassment. ‘You’ve got it all wrong, Mrs T. This is Dennis. He’s my brother’s best friend and he came all the way from London to make sure I was all right and to give me a letter from my sister-in-law.’

‘Best not let Mrs Pallister see him or she’ll think the same as I did. You know that gentlemen callers aren’t allowed.’

Dennis rose to his feet with a theatrical bow. ‘It was a pleasure to meet you, missis. But I’ve got a train to catch. Now I know that Poppy is in good hands, I’m going back to London.’

‘Well, I’m sure any friend of Poppy’s is a friend of mine,’ Mrs Toon said stiffly. ‘I’ll have a cup of tea if there’s any left in the pot.’

Poppy saw Dennis to the door. There was an awkward pause as he stood looking at her, apparently at a loss for words. She put her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. ‘I am truly sorry and I’ll miss you, Dennis.’

‘But not enough.’

‘No. If there was anything …’

He brushed her cheek with his fingertips. ‘Don’t say it, girl. I’ve always got Napoleon for company.’ Twisting his lips into a smile, he gave her a mock salute and turned to make his way down the steps.

She closed the door, gulping back a sudden rush of tears. She hated herself for hurting him, but she was relieved that he had left without any further attempts to influence her decision to remain in the country.
She
put her hand in her pocket feeling for her hanky and her fingers closed around Mabel’s letter. She had almost forgotten it in her attempts to deal with Dennis. She sat down on a Victorian hall chair and opened the envelope. The letter contained little news, apart from the fact that they were all well in South Road, and Joe was counting himself lucky not to have been sent abroad. With little enthusiasm, Mabel wrote that the Barkers and Auntie Dottie were unlikely to be moving out until the house in Leytonstone was rebuilt and no one knew when that would be. There were a couple of lines about how people at the hospital had reacted to Poppy’s sudden departure, and in particular Sister McNally, who had not taken the news at all well. In a postscript, Mabel apologised for Joe’s tactlessness in asking Dennis to travel to Dorset to make sure she was all right. She hoped that his impulsive action would not make things difficult and she signed off with a row of kisses.

Folding the letter and tucking it back in her pocket, Poppy rose from her seat. She felt sorry for Mabel having to put up with a house filled with carping relatives, but she was certain that Joe would stand up to them when he next came home on leave. At least she had the comfort of knowing that he was safe for now at least, and she knew she could trust Mabel to break the news gently to him about their mother’s affair with Harry Beecham. Joe was strong, like his dad. He would take it on the chin.

Resolutely putting the past behind her, Poppy went upstairs to the nursery to get Rupert up and dressed. She found him in the day nursery, still wearing his striped pyjamas and playing with some lead soldiers that had once belonged to Guy. Having helped him put on his day clothes she took him down to the kitchen where Mrs Toon had his breakfast set out on the table. Poppy left him in her care while she took a tray of tea to Marina’s room.

‘I’m sorry I’m a bit late …’ She ducked her head in order to dodge a missile thrown with considerable force. The glass whizzed past her left ear and hit the wall, splintering into tiny shards.

‘Where?’ Marina demanded, making an obvious effort to get the word out. ‘Where?’

Poppy had grown used to interpreting Marina’s monosyllabic attempts at conversation. ‘There was a stranger at the door – asking the way to the village. I had to give him directions and then I had to get Rupert up.’ She placed the tea tray on the bedside table.

Marina’s mouth worked but no sound came from her lips, only a drool of saliva from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears which slid silently down her cheeks. Poppy took a clean handkerchief from a pile on the rosewood side table and placed it in Marina’s hand. She pretended not to look as Marina dabbed ineffectually at her mouth and cheeks.

‘I’ll give you time to drink your tea,’ Poppy said
gently
. ‘And then I’ll help you get dressed. Miss Pamela will be down soon, and she’ll have breakfast with you, as usual.’

Marina lay back against her pillows, her face drained of colour. She raised her good hand feebly and closed her eyes. Poppy sighed. She had never had cause to like Mrs Carroll, but she would never have wished such an ignominious fate on anyone, and from what she had seen on the wards she could only guess that the prognosis was not good.

Later that morning Poppy went to the study to put the call through to the butcher for the weekly order, although even using the points from all their ration books combined, the amount of meat that would be delivered was barely enough for one decent meal. She sat behind Edwin’s desk but her mind was filled with thoughts of what had passed between her and Guy in this room just hours ago. She rested her head on her hands. Why did she have to be sixteen? She was not too young to fall in love and she was certainly old enough to know her own mind. A wave of sadness washed over her. She had said goodbye to Guy for what might possibly be the last time, and she had sent Dennis away. Even though he had put a brave face on it, she knew that she had hurt him. All that remained to her now was Squire’s Knapp. She would do her best to keep it in good heart for Guy when he returned from war.

She dialled the number and gave the butcher the order that Mrs Toon had written out for her. He had a couple of rabbits, he said, brought in that very morning and reserved for good customers like Squire’s Knapp. Poppy told him that Mrs Toon would be delighted and she was certain that Mrs Carroll would be very pleased. She had just replaced the receiver in its cradle when Pamela entered the room.

‘Poppy, I’ve been looking for you.’

‘I was just ordering the meat from the butcher.’

‘That’s not what I wanted to talk about.’ Pamela toyed with the silver inkstand on the desk. ‘I’ve decided to return to London. My husband has a very important job to do and he needs me at his side.’

Poppy nodded her head. ‘I suppose so.’

‘So I’m leaving this afternoon, but Rupert will remain here where I know that he’ll be safe from the air raids. I’ve spoken to the headmistress at the village school and she said he can start right away. He’ll remain there until he’s old enough to take his place at prep school.’

‘You’re leaving him here?’ Poppy could hardly believe her ears. Rupert would to all intents and purposes be an evacuee, as she had once been.

‘Yes, as I said. He’ll be happier here and I trust you to look after him. We’ll pay you a wage, of course, as well as the salary that Guy promised you. I wouldn’t expect you to take on the position of nanny without some remuneration. Hector will see to that, and we’ll
visit
him as often as we can. That goes without saying.’

‘Yes,’ Poppy murmured. ‘I understand.’ She did, after a fashion, although she knew that if Rupert were her child she would never leave him – not in a million years.

She hoped that he would not be too upset, but when his mother left Rupert seemed to take their parting in his stride. He clutched Poppy’s hand tightly as the big black limousine drove off through the tunnel of copper beeches. Pamela’s white-gloved hand could be seen waving gracefully through the rear window and Rupert raised his small hand in response.

‘She’ll come and see you often,’ Poppy said softly.

Rupert raised his face to smile up at her. ‘Can we go to the stables now? I’ve got an apple for Goliath.’

The hay harvest was helped by good weather and the Dutch barn was filled with enough fodder to keep the cattle fed all winter. Poppy’s daily routine fell into a pattern. She took Rupert to school, where he was apparently a model pupil. According to Miss Morris, he had mastered his alphabet and could write his name in block capitals, and the unfortunate incident with one of the Guppy children on his first day was all but forgotten. Rupert had proved surprisingly handy with his small fists and the Guppy boy had gone home with a bloody nose, but since that time they had become the best of friends.
Poppy
had felt like giving Rupert a medal, but she had given him the usual lecture about not fighting unless it was absolutely unavoidable, and turning the other cheek. She could have added that this did not apply to the Guppy family, but she managed to hold her tongue.

After a few weeks she felt that she had reached an understanding with her difficult patient. She refused to put up with tantrums, even though she knew that it was frustration that caused them. She borrowed books on stroke management from the village library and she did her best to initiate some kind of physiotherapy.

When she was not involved in caring for Mrs Carroll and Rupert, Poppy spent as much time as she could helping the girls with their work on the land, whether it was harvesting the wheat or ploughing the fields for the subsequent crops. She toiled in the vegetable garden and helped Edie with the milking. She gave herself little time to think about anything other than work. She was able to sympathise sincerely with Jean when she agonised about Algy’s safety, but she could not admit even to her close friends that she was equally concerned for Guy. Edie spent her free time helping Howard on his farm, and Mavis’s GI, Lester, would swoop into the drive on his motorbike to carry her off for romantic trysts whenever he could get away from the aerodrome.

Poppy had not heard from Dennis, although she did not expect to, and it was Mabel who kept her
informed
of his gradual return to his old self. By the beginning of December, Mavis was pleased to inform her that he was going out with the girl from the shop at Gants Hill that sold horse and whale meat. She was, Mabel said, a peroxide blonde with an ample figure but she was good-natured and made Dennis laugh. Who could ask for more? Poppy was glad for his sake and relieved that he had found someone who could make him happy. She just hoped that Napoleon had not ended up on the butcher’s slab.

By Christmas Marina was beginning to show definite signs of improvement. Her speech was still impaired but she was able to walk with the aid of a stick and had regained some use of her left arm. Pamela and Hector arrived on Christmas Eve. Rupert seemed mildly pleased to see his parents, but having greeted them dutifully he followed Poppy to the kitchen where she was helping Mrs Toon to prepare the festive meal for Christmas Day. The silver had been cleaned and the best dinner service washed and set out in readiness for the feast, although Mrs Toon shook her head over the two boiling fowls that were to replace turkey.

Atkins, the estate manager, had been busy sawing up logs and the whole house smelled delightfully of burning apple wood. He had felled a large pine tree. It was smaller than the ones Poppy remembered from the past, or perhaps she was taller, she was not certain which, but Rupert was delighted and had been eager to help decorate the tree.

Poppy could not help thinking of her first Christmas at Squire’s Knapp. She had been such a child then; impressed by the lavish food and drink and the glamorous lifestyle of the Carroll family. Everything was different now, although on Christmas morning Pamela still managed to look as though she had stepped off a Hollywood film set and Hector was immaculate as ever. Marina’s silk gown was two sizes too large for her now, but she insisted on wearing her triple row of pearls and matching earrings. As Poppy dressed her hair in a Victory roll she noticed that there were more strands of silver in Marina’s chestnut locks but she was still a handsome woman, and some of her old indomitable spirit was returning.

Edie, Mavis and Jean had been invited to join them for lunch. Dressed in their best clothes, they trooped into the dining room to sit rather awkwardly at the huge table with Marina at the head and Hector at the far end with Pamela at his side. Rupert had to sit on a pile of cushions in order to reach the table, but all he wanted to do was to play with the train set that his parents had given him for Christmas. He fidgeted throughout the meal until he was scolded by his father, which made him cry. Poppy had to restrain herself or she would have jumped up from her seat to comfort him. She glowered at Hector, but there was nothing she could do other than wait until the meal was over. When the family rose from the table, Pamela helped her mother to the drawing room, and
Poppy
gave Rupert a comforting hug and a whispered promise to play games after she had helped clear the table and wash the dishes. Jean gave him the bar of chocolate that Mavis’s boyfriend had sent for each of them as a small gift, and Rupert sat on a stool in the kitchen munching his treat while Edie washed the dishes and Poppy wiped them. Jean and Mavis put everything away and Mrs Toon sat with her feet up drinking a glass of the port that Hector had provided for the staff.