Spoils of War (41 page)

Tony looked up at Angelo. ‘What am I going to do?’

‘I haven’t a clue but I can understand why you considered going to sea.’

‘Be serious, Angelo. What would you do in my place?’

‘Go and see Gabrielle and tell her everything you’ve just told me. Then, if she still wants you, we’ll know for certain that she needs to be certified.’

‘William, if you’ve come here to tell me to go home, I’m not going. This is a good job and I’m staying –’

‘Tina, sweetheart.’ William planted a kiss on his wife’s mouth to stop her from talking. ‘I thought we settled the argument about your job days ago.’

‘Your idea of settling something is to crawl between the sheets.’

‘Can you think of a better way?’ He glanced around. ‘Ronnie here?’

‘No, and neither am I expecting him.’

‘I telephoned the garage and left a message for him to meet me here. Where’s Dino and David?’

‘God only knows where those two get to half the time. Somewhere up the Rhondda, I think. Why?’

‘I need to talk to them. If I leave a letter here, you’ll steam it open, won’t you?’

‘I would not. I’m a responsible secretary.’

‘That’s what I thought.’ He took an envelope out of his pocket and scribbled across the address panel.

‘I’ll see the colonel gets it as soon as he walks in. Where are you going?’ she asked as he walked away.

‘Down to the front desk to leave it at reception. And don’t try picking it up, it’s got
Strictly Personal
written across the top.’

‘Will, what’s this about?’

He stuck his head back round the door. ‘I don’t know how to tell you this, darling, but he’s got me pregnant.’

He shut the door just in time to avoid the brass paperweight she flung at his head.

Chapter Twenty-one

Angelo led Tony towards the window of the restaurant and pointed to the counter inside. Dressed in a neat black skirt and freshly ironed, pristine white blouse, her fair hair tied back, away from her face in a perfect, black bow, Gabrielle manned the till station. She smiled as a customer approached, greeting her with a polite bow of the head as she took the offered bill and money.

‘No one’s called her a Nazi?’

‘Not yet, but then we cater for the crache up here and they’re politer,’ Angelo reminded.

‘And the waitresses are prepared to work with her?’

‘I brought Gabrielle in early this morning. After all the waitresses had clocked in she gave a short speech. She began by apologising for German barbarity during the war, then went on to say how she hopes that given time the people of Pontypridd will accept her and allow her to make a new life with you in Wales. Maggie was the first to say she didn’t hold her personally responsible for Hitler’s actions.’

‘Maggie! After what she said to me?’

‘It takes a lot of guts to do what that girl is doing for you, Tony. And it’s not been plain sailing. She’s had a few snubs, one or two people wouldn’t let her serve them, but she passed them on to Chrissie. And,’ he eyed his brother sternly, ‘we all managed to keep our tempers.’

‘I’ll try.’

‘Trying might not be good enough. I suggest you do better. Gabrielle’s not stupid. She knows what she’s up against – the whispers – the people pretending she’s not there – and they will be the kind ones. For everyone in the town who’ll give her the time of day it’s my guess there’ll be at least one, if not two, Fred Joneses. But she’s prepared to work at it. She spent yesterday evening in Mama’s kitchen and she slept in the boxroom and if she can win Mama round, I’d take bets on her winning over anyone.’

‘Mama let her stay!’

‘Mama said she felt sorry for her because she’d been taken in by you. I’m afraid you’re right down there with the worms in Mama’s estimation right now.’

‘Am I in anyone’s good books?’

‘Gabrielle’s. I don’t know what you’ve got that’s made that girl fall in love with you but I wish I had an ounce or two of it to sprinkle in Liza’s eyes.’

‘Yesterday, Gabrielle told me to go to hell.’

‘And last night she was discussing wedding preparations with Mama. Now, are you going to go in there to tell her that you’re running away on the first ship, train or whatever out of here? Or are you going to sit down quietly with her upstairs and catalogue your sins before throwing yourself on her mercy in the hope that she might forgive you?’

‘She won’t.’

‘Not if she’s got any sense. But we agreed earlier she can’t have much of that because she got engaged to you in the first place.’

‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere,’ William charged into the garage to see Ronnie standing staring at the walls in the middle of the cabin they intended to transform into a reception area and office.

‘I had something to do in town.’

‘And I’ve found out who dumped all that American equipment in our scrap yard. They came looking for it today.’

Ronnie turned to him. ‘You sure you got the right ones?’

‘Put it this way, they were searching all the areas we found it in.’

‘Did they see you?’

‘No, I stayed in the hut.’

‘Did they find anything?’

‘No, because the boys and I finished moving the last of it yesterday. One of the Jeeps couldn’t have been more than a foot away from them at one point but I swear they didn’t see a thing. Aren’t you going to ask who came looking?’

Ronnie moved back from the centre of the room, sat on the edge of the table, crossed his arms and twisted his mouth into a thin, hard line. ‘Why have I got the feeling that I’m not going to like what you’re about to tell me?’

‘Because we’re related to one of them. I’m sorry, Ronnie, I wish it had been anyone else.’

‘Alfredo.’

‘You know!’

‘I suspected. That boy’s been like a fighting cock without a fight to go to ever since I came home. No wonder Angelo’s been complaining that he’s hard-pushed to cope with the café and restaurant. He’s been trying to do everything himself by the look of things. Why, oh why have I got so many downright stupid brothers?’

‘Angelo and Roberto are all right.’

‘And Tony and Alfredo are right pains in the arse.’

‘You’ve got some great sisters.’

‘Sticking up for your wife again?’

‘I’d stick up for her more if she didn’t have such a foul temper.’

‘If you wanted a sweet, compliant, submissive woman to soothe your brow and warm your slippers in front of the fire, you shouldn’t have married an Italian. Why do you think I bypassed my own kind and went after your sister?’ Ronnie looked around the room again. ‘The only paint I’ve been offered is institution green or grey. Both on the black market and both at an exorbitant price.’

‘We could try mixing it.’

‘Pay twice the price to get institution puke colour.’ Ronnie slid off the table. ‘I suppose I had better go into town and see what little brother has to say for himself. He should be running the café – that’s if he hasn’t skived off to do anything else illegal. What time did you see him in the yard?’

‘Around eight this morning.’

‘What’s the matter, you and Tina can’t sleep?’

‘We had a few words.’

‘I take it they weren’t good ones. Don’t tell me – I don’t want to know about your private ups and downs, or downs and downs. Eight o’clock – eight o’clock – the cook starts at half-past seven. Alfredo must have left him to run the café. Oh hell!’ He stopped and looked at Will. ‘If Dino and David Ford have already caught wind of this, what are they going to think of me – and you. After all, Dino’s your stepfather and I’m living in the same house …’

‘They’re going to think we’re honest citizens. I left a note for David Ford listing the time, place and names of everyone I saw in the yard this morning, including Alfredo. I figured it was too late to try and cover up his involvement,’ he apologised as Ronnie smashed his fist into the palm of his hand.

‘You’re right. The others would shop him the minute they saw the inside of a police station. Did you leave it with Tina?’

‘I’m not a complete idiot. I knew if I handed it to her we’d leave ourselves open to the charge that we gave it to her weeks ago to cover ourselves in case we were implicated in the thefts. Tina almost knocked my brains out in an attempt to get at it when I went to the office to look for David Ford, who needless to say wasn’t there. Nosy creature, your sister.’

‘Your wife.’

‘I left the note at the desk and I got the receptionist in the Park Hotel to stamp it with the date and write the exact time on the envelope. All we have to do is wait for David to contact us and arrange to have the whole lot cleared from the yard.’

‘Anyone else we know with Alfredo?’

‘Glan Richards.’

‘Why him? He went back to his job in the Graig Hospital.’

‘But he lost pay and seniority. He was as bitter as hell about it the last time I had a pint with him.’

‘And the others?’

‘Most of them just lads. I hate to say it but Alfredo, Glan and Ianto Myles’ son looked about the oldest.’

‘Great, so those three will carry the can. All I seem to be doing these days is trying to keep my brothers out of jail.’

‘Would you like me to come down to the café with you?’

‘You’re the one who saw them, not me.’ Ronnie stepped back from the door and held out his hand. ‘After you.’

‘I’m sorry about yesterday, Gabrielle. I shouldn’t have lost my temper.’

‘And I shouldn’t have said the things I did about the rooms and the lies you told me. If I hadn’t made you angry, you would never have hit that man.’

‘Angelo told me you stayed in my mother’s house last night.’

‘She is a wonderful woman, Tony, and so kind. We had a long talk. I am sorry I behaved so badly …’

‘You didn’t behave badly. Let’s face it, everything that went wrong was my fault.’ He led her to a table set in front of a window in the empty, second-floor function room, deliberately choosing one that was situated at the furthest possible point from the door so they wouldn’t be overheard even if someone did break in on them. Gabrielle sat on the chair he pulled out for her, and he sat opposite. They looked down over Taff Street. The thoroughfare was packed with shoppers buying provisions for the weekend ahead. The sun was shining and although there was still a nip in the air, Gabrielle could feel the warmth of its rays through the glass.

‘It’s almost spring,’ she smiled.

‘Almost,’ he echoed dolefully, dreading her reaction to what he was about to tell her.

‘We will begin our new life together at the beginning of summer. And it will be a wonderful summer, Tony. The best one of our lives.’

‘I don’t think so, Gabrielle, because I don’t think you’ll want to be starting anything with me after what I have to tell you.’

‘Oh no!’ She covered her mouth with her hands. ‘You are going to be sent to jail. Tony …’

‘I’m not going to jail but only because of a technicality. Mr Jones won’t make a formal complaint so nothing is going to happen about yesterday.’

‘He told the police he started the fight?’

‘No. He was caught fighting with someone else not so long ago so he won’t make a complaint because he’s afraid the magistrates will go hard on him.’

‘Then he is obviously a troublemaker and I am glad you hit him. And that is wonderful for us. We can start our life together without any problems.’ She covered his hand with both of hers. ‘Your mother will be pleased. She has already begun to organise our wedding. We talked about it last night. She wanted us to have a big one but I think I succeeded in convincing her that we would prefer a small one. I told her I have a smart costume but she said one of your sisters – Laura – has a white wedding dress that I can borrow …’

‘Please, Gabrielle.’ Extricating his hand from hers, he pushed his chair away from the table. ‘This is not just about what happened in the café yesterday. It’s about everything. Me deliberately leading you on to believe that my family was rich, that we had chains of hotels and restaurants and that you were coming to something so much better than you were.’

‘I am as much to blame for that as you, Tony. Have you ever considered that I wanted to be rich again enough not only to believe but also exaggerate what you told me?’

‘From that first day I saw you and sat next to you in the garden of the billet in Celle your mother made me feel that I wasn’t good enough for you.’

‘Tony –’

‘Please, Gabrielle, let me finish. Yesterday wasn’t the first time I’ve lost my temper since I’ve come home.’

‘Angelo told me last night.’

‘You know about Ronnie’s wife.’

‘I know that she is very ill in hospital.’

‘That’s why Ronnie isn’t speaking to me and why you haven’t met him and aren’t likely to. Diana’s badly hurt, no one knows how badly. And it’s my fault. I should never have gone to Ronnie’s house that night. If I hadn’t, she’d be fine.’

‘Have you tried to tell Ronnie how you feel?’

‘He wouldn’t listen.’

‘Then you must write to tell him how sorry you are. Even if he doesn’t read your letter you must still try.’

‘You haven’t heard the worst of it.’ He moved even further back until the empty table stretched between them like a barren no man’s land. ‘When I left Ronnie’s that night I telephoned for an ambulance. If I’d been thinking straight I wouldn’t have gone to the telephone box because there’s a telephone in the house. But afterwards, instead of returning to see if I could help, I went to the house of a woman I had picked up earlier in a pub.’ He forced himself to look at her. ‘I went to bed with her, had sex with her,’ he said harshly so there could be no mistake. ‘But I want you to know she meant nothing to me nothing. She was no different from any of the other loose women I picked up when I was in the army. Afterwards, we quarrelled; she threw me out of her house. She didn’t even give me time to pick my clothes up off the floor and I was too drunk to look for somewhere warm to sleep so I sat out in the freezing cold street. That’s how I got pneumonia.’

‘You went looking for a woman to have sex with on your first night home?’

‘I’m not proud of it.’

‘But all the time we were together in Germany, you never tried to do anything more than kiss me. If you couldn’t wait to make love, why didn’t you ask me?’

‘Because I wanted to marry you.’

‘Are you saying you preferred to make love to a stranger than me – the woman you had asked to be your wife?’

‘You’re a lady. I didn’t want to turn you into a prostitute. I wanted our wedding night to be perfect.’ The excuses sounded lame and pathetic, even as he came out with them.

‘But you never even asked me,’ she repeated in bewilderment.

‘You would have been horrified if I had.’

‘Perhaps, but we could have talked about it. Marriage means partnership. Being able to talk to one another about anything and everything, even embarrassing things.’

‘I’m sorry, Gabrielle. I’ve hurt you and that’s the last thing I wanted to do.’

‘But you intend to be honest with me from now on?’

‘This isn’t coming from honesty. I don’t know if I would have found the courage to say as much as I have if something worse hadn’t happened as the result of that night. The girl – the one I slept with – is Judy Crofter. You met her in the café.’

‘Your waitress, the girl with the dyed hair! Her! Are you still sleeping with her?’ She left her chair and backed towards the wall.

‘I only slept with her the once but that’s all it takes. She says – and she’s probably telling the truth –’ he added, refusing to make any more excuses for himself – ‘that she’s having my baby. She wants maintenance so she can bring it up. Ten shillings a week.’

‘Do you have enough money to pay her?’

‘No, but if I have to, I’ll find it.’

‘Do you …’ the question was choking her but it had to be asked, ‘do you want to marry her for the child’s sake?’

‘God, no! I could never marry Judy Crofter. You saw her: she’s a soldier’s mattress – a prostitute,’ he explained when he saw the puzzlement on her face.