Harpers Heroes Page 5

‘Sausages and fried onions with mash and a little cabbage.’

  Marion gave Reggie a wry smile and put her apron on.

  Kathy filled the kettle and Marion began to peel the onions, tears streaming, even though she did them underwater to mitigate the effect, and then the potatoes. Soon the saucepans were boiling merrily and the sausages were in the pan sizzling away. The tempting aroma began to fill the kitchen, making everyone hungry.

  ‘I’ve got enough sausages if you’d like some tea?’ Marion offered Reggie, because he was sniffing the onions frying appreciatively, but he shook his head.

  ‘Ma cooks enough for the Army,’ he said. ‘Do you need any wood chopping?’ When Marion shook her head, he nodded. ‘I’ll pop back home and leave you all to enjoy your food – and I’ll come over later. I’d like to take you to a dance, but by the time you’ve had tea it will be late…’ He paused as she offered him a forkful of soft delicious fried onions straight from the pan, then took them into his mouth and chewed, rolling his eyes in appreciation and making a sign of excellence with his fingers. ‘You’ll make a lovely wife. You’ll come down the pub later for a little while?’

  ‘Yes, I’d like that,’ Marion said and gave him a loving smile. Dancing or the Music Hall was for weekends when she had plenty of time to get ready and could stay up later. A walk to the pub and back was all they could manage on a working day, but it was enough for her.

  Reggie was a kind, generous man and she wanted to be his wife more than anything, but she already had her brother and sisters to look after, as well as Robbie, who could come home for a visit at any time. If she and Reggie married, she might have a baby and with Reggie away all the time, she wasn’t sure she could cope with the extra responsibility. It would also mean the end of her job at Harpers. Marion had recently received another rise in wages and was now getting twenty-five shillings a week. She could manage nicely on her wage, especially with the extra Dan had given her when he was home last. She’d refused to take any of Robbie’s pay, telling him he should keep it and save it, but he’d promised he would give her some of his savings when he came home on leave – only he hadn’t been allowed leave yet, because he was training intensively.

  Marion worried about her brothers more than she’d let on to Mrs Jackson. She loved them both and the terrible fighting going on all over the world scared the life out of her when she thought of anyone she loved being hurt. She didn’t think Robbie was out there at the Front yet, but it wouldn’t be long before he was posted overseas, and Dan was on the ships. The enemy were shelling the British merchant ships mercilessly and her brother might well be in danger, but he’d lived away from home before the war so she didn’t expect to hear from him much. Robbie was a different matter and he’d sent cards at first, so it was a bit odd that he’d stopped a few weeks back, though perhaps the training for the cadets was just too non-stop for him to make time.

  From the letters that Maggie Gibbs sent her now and then, Marion knew how hard it could be training to do a new job. Maggie had found her nursing training very tough for a long time, though when she visited the department at Harpers, she’d been excited to be leaving for her duty overseas. Sometimes, Marion wondered what it would be like to be a nurse and help injured men. She didn’t think she could do it, even though she’d enjoyed the first-aid classes she’d attended for a while. It had upset her too much to see her mother and Milly when they were sick. Marion thought she might be a bit too soft to be a nurse. Although, you never knew what you could do until you were faced with a crisis.

  Bringing her thoughts back to the present, she turned the sausages just in time to stop them burning. Dickon didn’t like his sausages burned, though Robbie had always said he liked them a bit black on one side. It was amazing how different two brothers could be…

  Smiling, Marion served up heaped plates of buttered mash, cabbage, fried onions and the perfectly cooked bangers. Kathy and Dickon attacked their plates with gusto and Marion started to eat hers. Milly sidled up to her and asked if she could have a piece of sausage, so she cut it off and gave it to her.

  ‘What did Mrs Jackson give you for tea?’

  ‘Corned beef sandwiches,’ Milly said, ‘and custard with plums, cos the apple pie wasn’t ready, but she says I’ll have a bit tomorrow.’

  ‘That was nice then. Did you eat it all?’

  Milly nodded and smiled. ‘I like your sausages, Marion…’

  ‘Eat it up then – oh, you have – do you want another bit?’

  ‘Yes please.’

  Marion gave her the rest of the sausage, leaving just the one for herself. She took the little girl on her lap and fed her a forkful of onions and mash. Milly licked her lips and smiled, then said she’d had enough and wriggled to get down.

  ‘You spoil her,’ Kathy said. ‘Do you want me to cook you another one?’

  ‘No. If I’m hungry I’ll make a bit of toast later.’ Marion smiled. ‘You used to sit on Mum’s lap and ask for treats from her plate when you were Milly’s age, Kathy.’

  Kathy nodded and wiped a hand across her nose, on the verge of tears. She still wouldn’t talk about her mother, even to Marion. ‘We learned how to cook a chicken casserole in cookery class today. There are lots of variations you can do, and you can use all sorts of meat, fresh and leftovers. I think we could have a casserole more often, Marion, and it would be cheaper than what we’re havin’ every night – save you some money.’

  ‘Is that what your teacher says?’

  ‘Yes. They teach us economy and cooking.’

  Marion smiled at her serious sister. ‘You’ll make someone a good wife.’

  Kathy looked at her for a moment. ‘I’m not sure I’ll ever marry,’ she said and got up to clear her plate, her back to Marion. Her shoulders were hunched as if she was tense and they shook as a sob left her.

  ‘What’s wrong, love?’ Marion followed her, turning her to look into her face. The misery in her sister’s face shocked her. ‘What did I say – I thought it was all you wanted, a family to cook for…?’

  ‘A family,’ Kathy said, and the tears welled in her eyes. ‘But men are pigs. I don’t mean your Reggie; he’s nice – but lots of them are…’ The tears welled over as a big sob shook her small frame. ‘How do you know, Marion? How do you know they won’t be like him?’

  ‘You mean like our father?’ she asked and Kathy nodded, another deep sob leaving her though she struggled to hold it in. Their father was a bully, who had beaten their mother so severely that she died of her injuries. If he ever returned the police would arrest him.

  ‘You just have to be careful,’ Marion replied. ‘Pa drinks too much – and he was angry with Ma…’

  ‘She didn’t do anything to deserve what he did,’ Dickon said and stood up. ‘I’m going to the club to play darts wiv me mates.’ He grinned at her and she nodded, knowing it was his habit to go out with friends now.

  ‘Don’t be later than nine o’clock,’ Marion said. ‘We have to be up early for work, Dickon.’

  ‘Yeah, I know,’ he grunted. ‘I shan’t let yer down, Marion. I ain’t like him…’

  ‘I know.’

  Marion struggled against the tears. Kathy had held her grief inside for months, but Dickon was sullen and angry over what had happened that night. It had upset him when Robbie went off to join the Army cadets and she thought he resented being the only male in the house, felt that he was trapped by responsibility to her.

  Marion took her sister’s hand and led her to the battered old sofa. They sat down, arms around each other. ‘I know it was terrible for you, Kathy. You heard it all – Ma’s cries and his excuses – but don’t let what he did sour your life, don’t let it change you, love.’

  ‘I hate him. I don’t want him here ever again.’ She would certainly report him to the police if he returned and tried to threaten them.

  ‘Nor do I,’ Marion agreed. ‘The police want to talk to him, Kathy. He could be arrested if he comes here – if they find him, they’ll put
him inside for a long time for what he did.’

  ‘No, they won’t,’ Kathy said. ‘He’ll get away wiv it. My friend Vera’s mother said so. She said men are all rotten sods and they get away wiv murder…’

  ‘That’s just a figure of speech,’ Marion told her with a smile. ‘If he comes near us again, I’ll go straight to the police I promise you.’ She touched Kathy’s cheek. ‘Ma wouldn’t want you to be upset, love. She loved you – she loved us all. The reason she stopped with him was to keep us all together.’

  ‘Yeah, I know.’ Kathy offered a watery smile. ‘I’m sorry. It’s just… I always wanted a home and family to cook for, but now I think I’ll just be a cook in a café or somethin’…’

  Marion put her arms around her, holding her close. Pa, what have you done? she thought. Damn him! He was entirely to blame. If he’d put his head around the door then Marion would have gone for him with the poker. His wicked acts had almost destroyed her family and it was taking all her strength to hold it together.

  ‘I’ll tell Reggie I can’t go to the pub and stay here with you…’

  ‘No!’ Kathy looked up sharply. ‘You must go, Marion. He’s only got a few hours. I’ll be all right with Milly. I’ll make a nice vegetable casserole for tomorrow – and I’ll use those extra sausages to give it some flavour. You’ll see, it will be lovely.’

  Marion had thought they would have them cold with tomatoes and bread to take to school and work, but she nodded and smiled. ‘Yes, you do that, Kathy love, and I’ll bring some crisps home to go in your lunch packet tomorrow.’ Tomato sandwiches and crisps would have to do, though Dickon wouldn’t think much to that. She too would have preferred her sausage cold for lunch, but she couldn’t deny Kathy the chance to cook when her sister was so upset. ‘Put plenty of onions in, because that will make it tasty and they’re cheap…’

  Kathy smiled and got up, happier now that she had a purpose.

  Marion followed her to the sink and did the washing up. The shadow of her mother’s death still hung over the family, even though Marion had done all she could to cheer them up at Christmas. Perhaps they ought to move house, and yet she liked being next to Reggie’s mother. No, she couldn’t move, because it would cause too many complications and yet she knew that none of them would ever truly be happy in this house again.

  Perhaps when Milly was a bit older, she could look for another home for them all – perhaps when she and Reggie decided to get married, things would be better…

  5

  That weekend, Sally hugged Ben as if he’d been away for months, though it was only five weeks or so, and then stood back to look at him. It had shocked her when he’d just walked in the door without a word of notice, but she’d been too happy to see him so hadn’t complained that he might have let her know. He looked so smart in his Captain’s uniform, but older and more serious. She thought that he had a lot of responsibility in his job for the Government, perhaps more than he’d expected.

  ‘How was it?’ she asked. ‘Did you miss me?’

  ‘Every minute of every day and night,’ Ben said and smiled down at her, his eyes filled with love. ‘How have you been, my darling – and our little princess?’

  ‘She has another tooth through,’ Sally said proudly. ‘She is very well – sleeps most nights, but sometimes she’s a bit fretful. I think she misses her daddy.’

  ‘I certainly missed her,’ Ben said and went through to Jenny’s bedroom to pick her out of her cot.

  Jenny gurgled and kicked, clearly delighted to have her doting father back.

  ‘You’ve grown so much, my baby; I shall soon need help to pick you up,’ Ben joked and turned to look at Sally. ‘I’m afraid I shall be off again sooner than I thought, love.’

  ‘Oh, that’s disappointing,’ she said calmly, though her heart had fallen to her smart black button boots. ‘Where are you being sent and when?’

  ‘I can’t tell you the first, but I may not be able to ring you as often and I may not be here for several weeks, even longer than this trip, which means you’ll have all the responsibility of the store alone.’

  ‘That is no trouble.’ Sally nodded thoughtfully. ‘Mr Marco’s apprentice and Marion worked hard on the windows for Easter.’ That had been the previous week and it was now Saturday the tenth of April, Good Friday being on the second of that month. ‘We’ve had a fairground scene and a group playing cricket, as well as one dedicated to our boys over there, and we’ve been collecting money for the troops, too. All the staff have put in and we contributed fifty pounds – we shall send tobacco and sweets.’

  ‘That’s a great idea, Sally,’ Ben said and looked at her with love. ‘Trust you to think of it.’

  ‘Well, it wasn’t my idea really,’ Sally replied. ‘I read that the Queen herself had sent a Christmas tin to the soldiers, so I decided we would do something of the kind at Easter. I contacted the wife of an officer who shops at Harpers and we adopted her husband’s troop – so we’ll send them parcels whenever we get the funds. ’

  ‘My lovely Sally. Always thinking of others.’ He smiled at her. ‘Meanwhile, I have one week at home.’

  ‘We’ll make the most of it then.’

  Sally told Ben about her visit to the hospital and the difficulties in finding enough surgeons with the right skill to help them as they lay in bed that night, having made love and talking first of their child and Harpers. He lay stroking her back and kissing her naked shoulder, listening and making a few pertinent remarks here and there.

  ‘There is a man named Mr Alexander in Newcastle. I’m told he’s excellent, but he’s very busy and he won’t spare the time to come down.’ Sally sighed. ‘I’ve visited the hospital a few times now, just to take fruit, magazines and write a few letters. I don’t have the time to do much, of course – but there’s one man in particular, Captain Maclean, I’d like to help.’

  ‘Is he a friend?’ Ben asked and kissed her earlobe.

  ‘No, I don’t know him, but he has a sad story. His face has been terribly burned and his girlfriend took one look and ran out. The nurses say he is very bitter.’ She pushed closer to Ben. ‘I don’t know why, but his story has been playing on my mind. He seemed to have no hope of anything beyond an existence in hospital. If he had something to make him fight for his life…’ She sighed and shook her head.

  ‘Poor chap.’ Ben sat up and sipped a glass of water from beside the bed. ‘I can understand why you’d want to help him, Sally. Have you tried ringing this Mr Alexander?’

  ‘I’ve rung about twenty times and I always get this same woman, who tells me he doesn’t have time to speak to me – or to visit.’ She sighed and sat up against the pillows, clasping her knees. ‘I was wondering – do you think we could bring someone over from America? Do you know anyone – or does Jenni?’

  ‘Jenni most certainly does,’ Ben said. ‘There is a very good man – Thornton, I believe his name is…’ He wrinkled his brow. ‘But do you think anyone would risk running the gauntlet of the German U-boats to come over?’

  ‘He might – if Jenni got to work on him.’ Sally looked thoughtful. ‘If I went up to see this consultant in Newcastle and asked him to come down, I could drop a hint about bringing an American over…’

  Ben looked at her and laughed out loud. ‘Prick his vanity, you mean? It might work as a bluff. Why don’t you contact Jenni first? Ask her if she knows Thornton well enough to twist his arm a little?’

  ‘Do you think he might – if we paid his expenses and for his time?’

  ‘A sea trip takes days – could he afford the time and would he want to risk it?’ Ben was thoughtful. Since the Germans had declared that all ships bound for Britain were fair game, it had made travelling to the United Kingdom hazardous for visitors.

  ‘Yes – but Americans are still coming over – not as many or as often as they used to, but some are risking it.’

  Ben nodded and smiled. ‘They don’t have a war over there yet and the Germans threaten and bluster, but they
haven’t actually attacked an American passenger ship yet, as far as I know. It would be expensive to bring him over – but use some of our contingency fund if you need to, Sally. Men like this Captain Maclean deserve the best.’

  ‘I’m going to try Mr Alexander first,’ Sally said in a determined way. ‘I can’t bring your American surgeon over for every man in London who needs him. I have to persuade Mr Alexander to give us some of his precious time on a regular basis.’

  ‘Well, good luck with that,’ Ben said and caressed her silken smooth rump with his hands as his passion stirred once more.

  ‘I’m going to try,’ Sally said as she sat astride him and bent down to kiss him deeply, her hands caressing his bare shoulders. ‘But it will have to wait until you go off wherever you’re going, because while you’re here I want to be with you as much as I can…’ She kissed him again as he stroked the arch of her back. ‘I love you so much, Ben, so much…’

  Her laughter rang out as he pulled her down to him and began to kiss her passionately once more.

  Some nights later, Ben stood looking out of the window at the passing traffic. It was true that London was a city that never slept and nor could he. He had been thinking about her determination to help the badly injured men she’d seen in the hospital. It was just like his Sally to go out on a limb for someone she didn’t even know, who had aroused her sympathy. She surely had enough to do with Harpers and being a mother, but that was his Sally. It was a part of her – a part of what had drawn him to her in the first place. He smiled, because he wouldn’t mind betting this Mr Alexander would bend if he met the irresistible force that was Ben’s wife.

  He hadn’t told Sally that he’d spent part of the past few weeks flying over France and Belgium looking for suitable routes for the convoy of the medical supplies the field hospitals desperately needed. His tiny plane had been shot at the last time they had been on a reconnaissance flight and he’d ruled out making drops that way. It could work a couple of times, but they couldn’t deliver anywhere near what was needed, which was why Ben had been searching for alternatives.