Red Sky in the Morning (32 page)

At that moment, Anna and Buster were out in the fields with Luke’s flock of thirty ewes and their twenty-four lambs.

Anna stood with her hand on Buster’s head. ‘The lambs’ll have to go in a month or two,’ she told the dog sadly. ‘Most of them. But I think Grandpa is going to keep
three female lambs to build up his flock. That’s nice, isn’t it?’

Beside her the dog looked up at her adoringly, his long pink tongue lolling. He gave a little bark, as if he understood her every word. ‘Come on, boy, we’d better go home.
We’ve got those two little lambs to feed that lost their mother.’

Minutes later, Betty stood watching as Anna prepared a bottle to feed the lambs. ‘You really love the silly creatures, don’t you, pet?’ she teased the young girl, shaking her
head and pretending to be mystified. ‘Can’t understand why. They never do what you want ’em to do. If you want ’em to go to the right, they’ll go left, sure as
eggs.’

Anna only grinned as she held a motherless lamb firmly under her arm to feed it with a bottle.

‘Take no notice of her,’ she pretended to whisper to the lamb, but making sure that Betty heard. ‘She dun’t know what she’s talking about.’

Betty laughed. ‘You could be right there, pet. But give me a tractor to drive any day. Least I can steer it where I want it to go.’

Anna looked up and grinned saucily. ‘’Cept when you nearly drove it into the river last week. When you first came here, Rita said you’d done the same thing in
Derbyshire.’

Betty pulled a face. ‘Well, yeah, I did that time, but I didn’t with your grandpa’s tractor. I only got a bit too close. And don’t you go telling Pops, else he’ll
not let me drive it again.’

Anna giggled. ‘As long as you are nice to my sheep.’

Betty laughed. ‘Little minx!’ she said fondly and then winked. ‘It’s a deal.’

They heard the noise of Betty’s feller’s car even before it turned into the yard gate. The roar of an engine being driven at full speed coming closer and closer
down the lane, the skid of tyres as it swung in through the gate and the squeal of brakes as it came to a stop. Luke came out of the barn and stood frowning at the sleek, open-topped sports car
standing in the middle of his yard.

The driver hoisted himself up and agilely swung his legs over the low door without opening it. He came towards Luke, his hand outstretched. He was dressed in a checked suit and a trilby and
sported a neat moustache.

‘Douglas Whittaker, sir. How do?’

Luke took the proffered hand, but glanced down at the man’s brown and white shoes. ‘Not the place for those, young feller. You’ll get ’em messed up.’

Douglas laughed. Although he was young compared with Luke, he was in his late thirties. He gave off the appearance of being a man of the world. Luke’s knowing eyes narrowed as he took in
Douglas Whittaker’s appearance. So this was Betty’s feller. He hoped it wasn’t serious. Luke was becoming fond of the two Land Army girls and this wasn’t the sort of man he
would like to see courting anyone belonging to him. He gave a grunt. It was nowt to do with him, he told himself sharply. ‘Come along in while you wait for the lasses. ’Spect
they’re still titivating.’

Douglas guffawed. ‘Making themselves beautiful for me, eh? That’s what I like to hear.’ He pulled a gold cigarette case from his pocket, snapped it open and held it out towards
Luke. ‘Do you smoke, sir?’

Luke eyed the long, slim cigarettes. American, by the look of them. ‘Only a pipe,’ he murmured. And then, remembering his manners, added, ‘Thanks all the same.’

‘What brand of baccy do you smoke? I can get you some.’ Douglas tapped the side of his nose and winked. ‘Know what I mean?’

Oh yes, Luke knew what he meant. He was a black marketeer by the sound of it. Luke had heard about the goings on, but he’d never been approached directly before.

He turned his back on Douglas as he replied shortly, ‘I don’t smoke a lot. I’ve plenty for what I need.’

This time he added no word of thanks.

As he ushered the visitor into the farmhouse kitchen, May hurried forward, wiping her floury hands on her apron. ‘You must be Betty’s young man. Do come in. I don’t think
they’ll be long.’

In the corner by the range, Anna was feeding a lamb with a bottle.

‘Hello, young lady.’ Douglas knelt beside her and touched the animal’s fine, woolly coat. Buster, sitting close by on the hearth, gave a deep-throated growl. Hearing it, Luke
almost laughed aloud.
You and me both, boy
, he thought, but he said nothing.

Anna, however, spoke sternly to the dog. ‘Stop it, Buster. This is Betty’s friend. Naughty dog.’

Buster lay down, his nose on his paws, but he continued to eye the stranger with suspicion.

There was the sound of clattering high heels on the stairs and Betty and Rita, dressed in pretty cotton dresses, swept into the kitchen.

Douglas held his arms wide. ‘Well, well. Now if that isn’t worth waiting for.’ His gaze swept them up and down and then his grin widened. ‘But if I’m not much
mistaken, you’re not quite dressed yet, are you?’

Betty and Rita exchanged a glance. ‘Cheek of the devil,’ Betty said, fluffing her hair.

Douglas laughed, holding out his hands in supplication. ‘No offence, ladies.’ He fished in his pocket and pulled out two packages. ‘I just thought perhaps you could make use of
these.’

Tearing open their gifts, the girls exclaimed over the nylon stockings, whilst May watched enviously and glanced down at her own thick lisle ones. Betty threw her arms round Douglas. ‘Oh,
you darling. I might have known. There’s nothing you can’t get, if you’ve a mind, is there?’ She drew back and glanced at Luke and then at May. She prodded Douglas in the
chest. ‘So if there’s anything you want, he’s your man.’

‘If I’d known there was another lovely young lady, I’d have brought another pair.’ Douglas gave a little bow towards May and murmured, ‘Maybe next time,
eh?’

May smiled uncertainly but Luke’s only response was to turn on his heel and leave the house.

Douglas became a regular visitor to the farm, along with other ‘followers’ of the two girls. One was a very good-looking RAF pilot with wavy black hair.

‘He looks like a film star,’ Anna breathed, watching him with wide eyes.

‘Aye aye,’ Betty said, winking mischievously. ‘Our Anna might only be thirteen but she knows a good-looking feller when she sees one. I’ll have to keep me eye on you,
pet, else you’ll be stealing them from under my nose with those lovely eyes of yours.’

‘Oh I reckon you’re safe, our Betty,’ Rita chirped up. ‘Anna’s got a boyfriend.’

Anna turned wide eyes on the grinning girl. ‘What do you mean? I haven’t got a boyfriend.’

‘Haven’t you? You could have fooled me. Well, I know a very nice young feller who’d like to fill the part.’

‘Who?’

‘Jed, of course.’

‘
Jed?
But he works here. And he’s heaps older than me.’

‘Yeah, course he is. All of five years, but it doesn’t stop him making sheep’s eyes at you. Oops, sorry for the pun.’

‘He doesn’t,’ Anna denied, but could not help blushing.

‘You know Charlie, the pilot officer,’ Betty said one evening, only a week later.

‘That handsome one with black hair?’ Anna asked as May looked up enquiringly.

Betty nodded, biting her lip. ‘His plane never came back. Went down somewhere over the Channel, they say. The whole crew are missing.’

‘That’s terrible,’ May said, her hand to her mouth to still its trembling. ‘Oh the poor boy. He was only nineteen, wasn’t he?’

Anna bent her head over the rug she was learning to make from scraps of material so that the others would not see the tears in her eyes. To think that that lovely-looking young man was now dead
brought back vividly all the sadness about her own daddy.

Betty nodded. ‘Yeah.’ She sat for a moment as if lost in thought, then she stood up quickly, ‘Still, life has to go on, pet, hasn’t it? At least there’s no chance
of that happening to good old Douglas.’

In his chair in the corner, Luke shook his newspaper and sniffed.

‘What was that, Pops?’ Betty said.

‘Nothing,’ came the short reply. ‘Nothing at all.’

‘Are you serious about this Douglas?’ Luke asked after supper the following evening.

‘Me?’ Betty laughed. ‘I’m not serious about any feller, Pops.’ She beamed at him. ‘Only you, mebbe.’

They all laughed, but no one had missed the underlying message of Luke’s question. Betty put her head on one side. ‘You don’t like him.’ It was a statement rather than a
question.

Luke shrugged but said nothing.

Betty laughed again. ‘I’ll take that as a “no” then, shall I?’

Now Luke muttered, ‘Seems a bit of a flash type to me. What I’d call a spiv.’

‘Dad!’ May exclaimed, scandalized at her father’s blunt remark, but Betty only grinned. ‘You could say that, Pops, yes.’ She winked at Luke, as if sharing a secret.
‘But he’s good for a pair of stockings now and again, chocolates and even a new dress when my clothing coupons run out, to say nothing of keeping me well supplied with knicker
elastic.’

Luke grunted and bit hard on the end of his pipe. He tried to look disapproving, drawing his shaggy white eyebrows together, but even Anna could see that he was having difficulty hiding the
amused twinkle in his eyes. He removed his pipe from his mouth and jabbed the end of it towards Betty. ‘Just be careful, lass, that’s all.’

‘I will, Pops, don’t you worry,’ Betty said merrily in her lilting accent, yet there was an underlying seriousness to her tone. ‘He’d have to get up early to get
one over on us Geordie lasses.’

May pursed her lips and said primly, ‘It sounds to me as if it’s you that’s taking advantage of Douglas’s generosity.’

Betty’s eyebrows rose and she glanced at Luke and then back to May. Betty opened her mouth to make some retort but evidently thought better of it and closed it again, but suddenly there
was a pink tinge to her cheeks and her eyes sparkled with anger.

‘How’s he come to be in these parts?’ Luke put in, trying to smooth over the awkwardness. ‘He’s a Londoner by the sound of him, ain’t he?’

‘Yes. He worked in the West End theatres, but when the war started the audience figures dropped off and then the government closed all the theatres throughout the country. Course they
opened up again after a few months, but even then what with the evacuation of a lot of people, the blackout and a lot of restrictions the government imposed, Dougie said it was hardly worthwhile
opening. Anyway,’ she went on, ‘he’d got this mate in the Midlands, so he came up this way and now he’s got a cinema in Lincoln and reckons he’s doing very nicely,
thank you.’

‘You mean he owns it?’ Luke asked.

Betty stared at him and blinked. ‘Well, I never really asked him outright. But – well – he acts as if he does.’

Luke only reply was a disbelieving grunt.

‘I think he seems rather nice,’ May ventured, though she cast a nervous glance at her father. ‘He’s taking us all to the pictures on Friday night. He’s asked me to
go too.’ She glanced at Betty. ‘I – I hope you don’t mind.’

‘Course I don’t, pet,’ Betty said, her good humour restored. ‘The more the merrier.’

It was certainly a merry outing on the following Friday evening. Douglas arrived with his usual flurry.

‘I’m so sorry I can’t fit you all into my car,’ Douglas said. ‘Maybe Anna could squeeze in the back seat, but it won’t take all three of you
ladies.’

‘That’s all right,’ May said. ‘We’ll take the bus into town and meet you and Betty somewhere.’

‘Nonsense,’ Douglas retorted. ‘You’re our guests. You and Anna must come with me.’ He turned to Betty. ‘Sweetheart, you and Rita won’t mind catching the
bus just this once, eh?’

Betty glared at him but then, seeing the disappointment on Anna’s face as if she feared the whole outing was suddenly in jeopardy, she shrugged her plump shoulders and smiled. Wagging her
finger playfully at him, she said, ‘Just this once then, mind.’

Douglas was a charming and attentive host. He took them for tea in a small cafe before the film. As they left, he crooked both his arms and offered one to Betty and the other
to May. Rita and Anna fell into step behind them and, laughing, they walked towards the cinema.

As they stepped into the foyer a youth of seventeen or so was waiting for them.

‘Here he is,’ Douglas boomed, obviously expecting the boy to be there. ‘Ladies, may I introduce my son, Bruce. Bruce, this is Betty, Rita and May. And this . . .’ he
gestured with a flourish, ‘is May’s daughter, Anna. Now I’ll get the tickets. Front row circle and you two young ones can sit together.’

Bruce was thin, gangly some might have said. He had dark brown eyes and carrot-coloured hair. As often happened with his colouring, his face was covered with freckles. He grinned a welcome and
nodded. ‘Hello.’

Betty pulled her hand from Douglas’s arm. ‘I didn’t know you had a son,’ she said tartly. ‘Got a wife hidden away somewhere an’ all?’

For a moment Douglas’s mask of jollity slipped. His mouth tightened and his eyes were resentful. ‘For your information,’ he snapped, ‘I’m a widower. My wife died
giving birth to our son.’

Betty, red in the face, was immediately contrite. ‘I’m sorry.’ She turned to the boy too. ‘Oh pet, I am sorry.’

Anna’s glance had gone at once to the boy. He had an odd expression on his face. He was looking at his father, Anna thought, as if he were surprised at what Douglas had said.
But
surely
, she thought,
he must know how his mother died?
Feeling for him, she moved to his side and, trying to change the subject, whispered, ‘It looks like you’re lumbered
with me. I – I hope you don’t mind.’

The boy dragged his gaze away from his father, who had gone to the box office and was now leaning forward to talk to the girl behind the glass. Bruce looked at her for a moment and then grinned
suddenly. ‘Course not. Pretty girl like you.’ He leant closer. ‘You’ve got lovely eyes. Almost violet, aren’t they? Anybody ever told you that?’

Anna blushed and glanced down. Unused to compliments from strangers, she did not know how to handle it.
He’s like his dad
, she thought, envying the boy his confident manner.
He’s very different to Jed.
Jed was kind and always ready to help her but he was quiet and shy. This youth was outgoing, ready to take the lead and anything but shy.