Tom looked at Arthur through weary eyes. ‘Thank you for bringing my daughter home.’ He shook his head. ‘I should be angry with you but can’t believe you’re here. Plus, I don’t have the heart for it.’ He stood up to fill the kettle up. ‘Do you want tea?’
Arthur stood up. ‘Let me, if it’s not too presumptuous. Let me do something to help at this difficult time.’
Tom slumped back down again, too tired to argue with the friend he hadn’t seen in years.
‘Where are the girls and your father?’
‘My father’s having a lie down, I don’t think he can believe it.’ Tom sighed. ‘The girls are in their bedroom looking after each other, and no doubt catching up. It’s been a tough time that’s caught us all unprepared.’
Arthur nodded. ‘They’ll be all right, once they’ve got over the shock of it. It’ll take time but you have a good family around you. Tom. You’re a good man and they’ll listen to you. Annie’s a lovely girl, you should be proud of her.’ Arthur clattered around as he set about making a pot of tea. ‘This may not be drinkable, I don’t exactly know my way around the kitchen, that’s normally Joyce’s domain.’
Tom frowned. ‘Joyce? What, Annie’s friend Joyce?’
Arthur nodded.
‘But I thought she was living with her grandmother in London. I don’t understand.’ Tom scowled. ‘You’re not taking advantage of a young girl, are you? Because you might have been my friend at one time but I’ll report you all the same.’
Arthur turned and faced him. ‘Calm down, I know you haven’t seen me for years but you should know me better than that, and I like to think I’m still your friend.’ He paused and turned back to spooning the tea leaves into the pot. ‘What is it our mas used to say? One for each person and one for the pot, is that right?’
‘Don’t ask me.’
Arthur turned and gave a faint smile. ‘Well, we’ll soon find out.’ The teaspoon chinked against the stoneware of the teapot. ‘Joyce and her father came to stay with me when he had an argument with his mother. She has always called me uncle and her father and I decided to leave it at that. When he died, I didn’t have the heart to send her away.’
‘So are you saying Annie and Rose have been living with you since they went to London?’
Arthur carried the tea things over to the kitchen table. ‘I’m afraid so, and I have to admit I haven’t been a very good role model for them but it’s a long story.’
Tom frowned. ‘I’m sure it is, everything is always a long story with you.’
‘I know you’re upset with me and I deserve it. I didn’t write or come back when I said I was only going for a few weeks or whatever it was, but if nothing else, I’ve learnt life is too short to hold grudges and be angry.’ He paused. ‘I have to confess it took me years to learn that and then it’s thanks to your children who showed me the way.’
Tom sat in silence, watching Arthur pour the tea. He wanted to ask whether Dorothy had visited him in London or not, but he didn’t know if he could cope if she’d passed away as well. ‘Well, you can stay here. David’s room is empty at the moment.’ Tom sighed. ‘I can’t decide whether to let him know about his mother or not. He’ll be angry with me if I don’t, but on the other hand if they don’t let him home for the funeral, he might get his head blown off through lack of concentration.’
Arthur looked up. ‘It’s not for me to offer advice—’
‘But I get a feeling you will anyway.’
Arthur chuckled. ‘You don’t have to take it. I won’t be offended and was only going to say the trouble is until you’ve told him you won’t know whether he can come home or not, so, in my humble opinion, it’s better that he’s angry with you than you feel responsible for your son’s death.’
Tom nodded. ‘I’ll sleep on it.’ He picked up his tea and took a gulp. It burnt the inside of his mouth and his throat as he swallowed it. He put the cup back on its matching saucer. ‘So, why didn’t you come back?’
Arthur frowned and aimlessly stirred his tea. ‘I was never coming back but I was a coward and so was your sister.’
Tom tightened his lips. ‘Leave my sister out of this. She also disappeared years ago with no contact. I don’t know whether she’s dead or alive.’
Arthur took a deep breath. ‘I think it’s time to come clean. It’s all been eating away at me anyway so I should just let you do your worst.’ He paused, staring into his tea, not actually knowing what he was going to say. He took another deep breath. ‘I didn’t come back because I thought you might have worked it out.’ He tightened his lips. ‘When I left for the bright lights of London I wasn’t on my own. Dorothy came with me. She pleaded with me for us to leave the village.’
Tom sucked in his breath. ‘What, and none of you thought to write and tell us? My father has spent years not knowing where his daughter is or whether she was alive or not. Can you imagine what that has been like for him?’ Red spots appeared on his cheeks. ‘I don’t believe you two. How selfish can you be?’
Arthur shrugged. ‘You’re right but time passed and it felt an impossible thing to do.’ He paused. ‘And, we were dealing with our own stuff.’
Tom’s eyes narrowed. ‘Like what?’
A tense silence sat between them.
‘Well.’
Arthur shook his head, blinking quickly to stop the tears from falling yet again.
‘What is it? Tell me.’
‘Dorothy was pregnant when we left. She… we… were too scared to tell anybody so we felt there was no option but to leave. We didn’t want her to be shunned or for the village gossips to have a field day at her expense.’
Tom looked stunned. ‘What? Are you saying I have a nephew or a niece?’
Arthur stood up and paced around the kitchen, getting more agitated with every step.
Tom stood up. ‘Will you stop pacing? Whatever it is, just let it out.’
Arthur stopped and stared at Tom. ‘We had a son, William.’
‘After my father.’ Tom smiled. ‘That’s good, isn’t it?’
Arthur pushed back his shoulders. ‘It was more than good, it was wonderful, and I never knew I could love someone so much.’
‘Children do that to you.’ Tom smiled. ‘I can’t wait to meet him.’
Arthur lowered his eyes and stared hard at the floor tiles. ‘That won’t be possible, Tom.’ He took another deep breath. ‘He died when he was seven years old. He got diphtheria.’
‘I don’t know what to say.’ Tom shook his head. His voice was barely a whisper when he spoke. ‘I’m so sorry, I really am, and I can’t begin to imagine the pain you both went through.’
‘Well, it hasn’t been easy and I was no use to anyone.’ Arthur sat back down again. Pain was etched in the lines of his face. ‘I threw myself into work. I now own a couple of properties that are rented out, but it didn’t fill the void William left behind. I then took to the bottle to try to drown the pain I was feeling, but that just made matters worse.’
Tom sat in silence, listening to the rawness of Arthur’s words.
‘Anyway, the bottom line is we were both stuck, grief had a firm hold on us and we spent more time apart. I’m ashamed to say I found solace in another’s arms.’ Tom opened his mouth to speak but Arthur held up his hand. ‘Let me finish.’ He clenched his hands together. ‘I’m truly ashamed. It was only a kiss but it was a betrayal all the same. Anyway, Dorothy found out and it was the last straw. She left me in the middle of the night, and I haven’t seen her since.’ He looked at Tom. ‘Have you heard from her at all?’
Tom shook his head.
‘I miss her so much. I have never stopped loving her but we lost each other, we let go.’ Arthur cleared his throat. ‘I wish I knew where she was so I could tell her how sorry I am. I let her down. She didn’t want all the money I was earning but I wasn’t listening, I wanted to be well off but it has cost me everything and now, without her, all that money is no longer important.’ He stared at Tom before lowering his eyes. ‘You asked if I had taken advantage of Joyce and I have—’
‘What?!’
‘Just not in the way you think.’ Arthur shook his head as his shame took hold. ‘I have been a miserable drunk and Joyce has done her best to look after me over the years, but I’ve treated her like a servant and I’m not proud of it.’
Tom moved to reach out to his friend but something held him back. ‘It’s obviously very sad but you now know all your drinking doesn’t change anything.’ He paused. ‘You know Ivy taught me lots of things but one was to face things head on. Don’t try to run away because it all just follows you.’
Arthur nodded. ‘I know that now but I think it’s too late for Dorothy and me.’
Tom nodded. ‘It may well be, but it isn’t for Joyce. It sounds like you have some making up to do, and to do that you have to face your demons.’
*
Rose and Dot had caught the first train out of Paddington they could get. It was dark, the streetlights were no longer lit for fear of helping the Germans, and there were no stars in the sky. The train journey had gone quickly, thanks to Dot revealing her secret. Rose’s heart ached with grief the family would all be feeling at losing David. She just hoped when they finally knocked on the front door, it wouldn’t turn to anger at seeing Dot, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
The evening held an eerie silence after London. There was no traffic noise or people chatting loudly in the street; it had been replaced by the rustling of the grass as the breeze blew its way through and animals hid in them. An owl could be heard hooting in the distance. The trees stood tall, shadowy figures in the darkness.
Dot breathed in deeply. ‘You can’t beat the fresh air and the smells of the countryside. I’ve missed all this so much.’
Rose gave a faint smile. ‘I can’t get to grips with the fact you are Annie’s aunt. It’s madness.’
Dot frowned. ‘I hope Tom and Ivy are pleased to see me. It has been quite a few years since I left.’
Rose tucked her arm through Dot’s. ‘I’m sure they will, they are good people and family is everything to them.’
Dot sighed. ‘I know, but I should have written to them, at least to tell them I was alive and well. The trouble was I was ashamed, and I didn’t want to face them telling me not to come back. It sounds a strange thing to say but all the time they didn’t know why I left, I thought I could go back.’
‘I’m sure you couldn’t have done anything that bad. Mind you, everyone knows everyone else’s business here, you are certainly not invisible to the villagers.’
Dot smiled. ‘That sounds like a voice of experience but trust me, it can be a good thing because when things go wrong everyone does rally round to help.’
Rose couldn’t resist delving a little further. ‘When you left your husband, were you not tempted to come home then?’
‘Of course, it was the obvious place to run to but I’d spent all my life running away from difficult situations and I thought it was time I stood on my own two feet, or at least try. Also, I had already run away from home, so it was a scary thought to come back again on my own and face everyone’s wrath.’
Rose and Dot’s footsteps grated on the gravel path to Annie’s house. There was no chatter or laughter coming from the fields. Rose gave a slight shiver and pulled at the collar of her coat. The house seemed silent; no light came from the windows. The curtains were shut. Had she done the right thing bringing Dot with her? Was this really the time for a family reunion when emotions would be running high? ‘Do you think we should go to my house and come back in the morning?’
Dot stopped in her tracks and looked up at the house as though seeing it for the first time. ‘That would be the sensible thing to do, but now I’m here I just need to get this over and done with. Otherwise I’ll change my mind and take the next train back to London and I’ve come too far to do that.’
Rose sucked in the cold air and nodded. ‘We’d best get it over and done with then.’
*
Annie swung her legs out of bed and threw back her bedcovers. She peered over at Margaret, whose steady breathing confirmed that exhaustion had finally caught up with her. The cat lay still snuggled up on the bed. She opened her eyes and watched Annie’s every movement but didn’t move away from Margaret. Annie shivered and quickly grabbed her dressing gown to cover her long-sleeved nightdress. She bent down and put on her slippers before tiptoeing over to the door. She held her breath as she slowly turned the handle, hoping and praying it wouldn’t squeak like it normally did. Not wanting to wake her sister, she squeezed through a small opening. Standing at the top of the stairs, she could hear muffled voices. Annie gasped; she covered her mouth with her hand as she suddenly remembered Arthur. Her father didn’t even know him and now he had to sit and chat with him when he should be left alone to grieve. Annie ran down the stairs, not thinking about the noise her footsteps caused as each step creaked in her wake.
‘Pa, Mr Bradshaw, I’m so sorry, it was rude of me to not introduce you to each other but with… anyway, I’m sorry.’
Tom and Arthur both looked up at Annie at the same time. Her hair was fluffed out where she had just got out of bed and hadn’t brushed it. Her eyes were red and her skin blotchy from the hours spent crying.
Tom stood up and reached out for her. ‘Come here.’
Panic gripped Annie. Her throat tightened as she took small steps to her father, expecting his wrath for bringing a stranger to the house at this time. ‘Mr Bradshaw got me here, Pa. I don’t remember much about anything after reading your telegram but he—’
‘Stop worrying, Arthur is an old friend – one I haven’t seen for years, mind.’ Tom glanced at Arthur who nodded. ‘But maybe that’s a story for another time. Come sit down and I’ll make you a cup of tea.’
Arthur stood up. ‘Let me, especially as the first one wasn’t too bad.’
Tom nodded. ‘Thank you.’ He turned to Annie as he pulled out a chair for her to sit on. ‘Is Margaret asleep?’
‘Yes, she’s not in a good way. Well, I suppose none of us are, it’s been such a shock.’ Annie shook her head as she slowly lowered herself on to the chair. ‘Did Ma see a doctor? Do we know what was wrong with her?’ She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘I’m sorry I shouldn’t be asking so many questions.’
Tom studied his eldest daughter; his eyes started to well up. ‘I wish I had the answers for you but I don’t. The doctor thinks her heart just gave out.’
A spoon clattered on to the stone flooring. Arthur turned to the two of them sitting at the kitchen table. ‘Sorry, I’ll try to be quieter.’ He turned back and dropped the spoon into the sink; finding a clean one he carried on spooning tea leaves into a teapot.
Annie could feel the tears pricking at her eyes, her chest felt squeezed of air and her throat tight. She tried to take a deep breath but it hurt to breathe. Annie shook her head, she had to be strong for everyone, and her father would need both her and Margaret now. ‘What about David?’
Tom sighed. ‘I was just saying to Arthur I don’t know whether to tell him or not.’
‘Surely you have to, I would certainly want to know.’
Tom nodded. ‘I know.’
A light knock at the door caused them all to stop and stare at it.
Annie’s chair broke the silence as it scraped across the floor tiles. ‘Who can that be?’ She stood up to walk over to the door.
Tom reached out and grabbed her arm. ‘Let me get it.’
Annie shook her head and patted his hand. ‘No, Pa, it’s my job to protect you from people you don’t need to see right now.’ She stepped forward as he let his arm drop away from her. She stood in front of the closed front door and took a deep breath. She could feel Arthur’s and her father’s eyes boring into her back. She had to be brave for her father. Without another thought she opened the door. Her eyes widened with shock. ‘Rose, what are you doing here? Come in.’ Annie stepped aside to let her friend inside.
Rose stared hard at her friend before throwing her arms around her. ‘I’m so sorry, Annie, I truly am.’ She took a small step back. ‘I’ve brought someone with me.’ She stepped aside.
Annie’s mouth dropped open. ‘Dot?’
‘Dorothy?’ The two men spoke in time with Annie.
Annie looked round at the two men, who had both taken a step forward towards the door.
Dot paled as she looked in through the doorway. ‘Arthur?’
Tom took another step forward. ‘Come in, Dorothy. Shut the door, Annie, you’re letting all the heat out.’
Dot slowly stepped through the doorway. Her red, cold skin had suddenly drained of colour.
The thud of the front door shutting seemed to galvanise everyone into action.
Tom moved forward and wrapped his arms around his sister. ‘I don’t understand but I don’t care, you’re here and that’s all that matters right now.’ He squeezed her tight.
Dorothy held on to her brother tight as tears streamed down her face. ‘I’m sorry to come now but I had to. I’m so sorry about David, how is Ivy doing?’
Annie’s head jerked round to Rose. ‘You didn’t see the telegram?’
Rose shook her head. ‘No, only the note Mr Bradshaw wrote for Joyce, which said you’d received a telegram and he was bringing you home.’
The room was silent; the tension grew with each second that passed.
Rose lifted her hands in the air. ‘I can’t stand it. What is it? What’s happened?’
Annie took a deep breath. ‘It wasn’t about David. It’s Ma, she’s gone.’
Dorothy pulled back from her brother.
Rose shook her head. ‘What, gone left?’ She looked over at Tom. ‘I can’t believe she’s left you.’
Annie grabbed Rose’s hand. A tear trickled down her cheek. ‘No, Rose, she’s passed away.’
Rose threw her arms around her friend and squeezed her tight. She could feel Annie’s shoulders moving up and down as she quietly sobbed.
Dorothy gasped. ‘I’m so sorry, I had no idea she was ill.’
Tom shook his head, his eyes weary and flat. ‘None of us did, Dorothy. None of us did.’
Arthur kept his eyes fixed on his beloved wife. How he hoped she would forgive him. He cleared his throat. ‘I’ll put the kettle on, I think I’ll be an expert in tea making by the time this night is over. Joyce will be proud of me.’
‘Dorothy, is that really you?’
All eyes turned to stare at the stairs.
‘Pa.’ Tom and Dorothy spoke as one.
William’s eyes glistened in the candlelight. He held out his arms and Dorothy ran into them.
‘Pa, I’m so sorry.’
William squeezed her tight as the tears rolled down his cheeks. ‘It doesn’t matter, none of it matters. You are here, which is a dream come true.’