November arrived bringing gusty winds and frosty nights. Holly was working six days a week at the hospital now and although it was hard work, she enjoyed it. The one disappointment was that Richard wasn’t there. She missed seeing his cheerful face, but at least she had his letters to look forward to, as they were writing to each other on a weekly basis.
However, although Holly found she could cope during the week when she was busy, Sundays were proving to be very lonely indeed now. She knew that she could have gone to visit Ivy but didn’t like to intrude on her and Jeremy’s privacy, even though she was so worried about her dear friend, so most Sundays were spent visiting markets and writing letters home to her mother and Richard.
One Sunday she decided to visit Covent Garden market. She always loved the atmosphere there and enjoyed wondering amongst the flower stalls enjoying all the different scents. There were blooms in all the colours of the rainbow and many flowers that she had never even seen before. So early in the morning, she put on her warmest coat and a thick scarf and gloves and set off, walking briskly to try to keep warm. On the outskirts of the market were a number of stalls selling every sort of vegetable you could think of. She was just passing one such stall when someone caught her eye. The young woman was wearing a shabby coat and hat but when she turned after paying for a cabbage she realised with a little shock that it was Ivy. Her lip was split and swollen and when she saw Holly she blushed, quickly raising her hand to try and cover her lip.
‘Whatever have you done now?’ Holly gasped without even saying hello as she raced across to her.
‘I tripped goin’ up the stairs an’ smashed me mouth up the banister,’ Ivy muttered, looking uncomfortable.
‘You must be getting accident-prone,’ Holly teased, hoping to lighten the mood, but inwardly she felt sick to the core. Ivy looked upset and very down-at-heel. ‘Come on, we’ll find a café and go and get a cup of tea. That is if Jeremy isn’t waiting for you at home?’
‘No, he, er … he’s out on a job.’
Holly steered her through the market stalls and when they found a little café they hurried inside out of the cold.
As they sat down Holly thought that Ivy had lost weight, but surely if she was having a baby she should be putting it on?
She ordered sandwiches and a pot of tea and when she put the food in front of her, Ivy ate it as if she was afraid someone might snatch it away, which worried Holly even more. Something was clearly not right here and one way or another she was determined to find out what it was.
‘So how are the wedding plans coming along?’
Ivy almost choked on the food in her mouth and after hastily swallowing it she shrugged. ‘We ain’t really got round to plannin’ it yet, what wi’ Jeremy bein’ so busy all the time.’
‘Hmm, well, you’d best get a move on,’ Holly urged. ‘It’s only six months until the baby is due now, isn’t it?’
Ivy nodded, attacking the sandwich again. ‘Yes. The end of April to the beginnin’ o’ May it’s due to my reckonin’.’
‘And where is your warm coat?’ Holly asked and once again Ivy lowered her eyes.
‘Oh, I like to keep that fer best.’
Holly didn’t believe her for a minute. Since coming to live in London Ivy had started to take a pride in her appearance and her confidence had grown. But now she seemed to be going backwards and it troubled her. She was jumpy and there were dark shadows beneath her eyes. But what can I do to help her if she won’t admit something’s wrong? Holly thought desperately.
‘And have you had any luck finding a new house yet?’
Colour flared in Ivy’s cheeks. ‘What’s wi’ all these questions? When’s the weddin? Where’s yer warm coat? Have yer found a new house?’ she mimicked, then she stood so abruptly that she almost overturned her chair. ‘Why don’t yer just mind yer own bloody business and leave me to mind mine!’ she snapped and stormed away clutching her cabbage, leaving Holly sitting there feeling totally bereft. People were openly staring now so after hastily settling the bill she scuttled out of there. She looked this way and that but Ivy had already disappeared into the crowds and her heart sank. She hadn’t meant to upset her but she clearly had and now she didn’t know what to do about it. Should she go and find her? She decided that it might be best if she left her to cool down a little but the afternoon was ruined now so she turned miserably in the direction of home. Ivy was her best friend and she hated them not being on good terms.
I’ll go and see her on my way home from work tomorrow and apologise, she promised herself. She didn’t know what else she could do.
It was actually Ivy who was the first to apologise when Holly arrived the next day.
‘I’m sorry I blew me top at yer yesterday,’ she said the instant Holly stepped into the room. ‘I reckon it’s bein’ pregnant. Me moods are all over the place.’
Jeremy wasn’t in again and Holly was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to meet the elusive bridegroom-to-be.
‘I’m sorry too, I didn’t mean to sound like I was quizzing you,’ she apologised, giving Ivy a hug. ‘And look – I brought some milk in case you didn’t have any.’
Ivy grinned. ‘I don’t, as it happens, an’ you’ll have to excuse the room bein’ cold. I only just got in from the office an’ I ain’t had time to light the fire yet.’
‘Oh, you’re still working then?’ Holly glanced towards the empty coal scuttle and the pile of dead ashes in the grate wondering if Ivy actually had any coal, but she daren’t ask for fear of upsetting her again.
‘Hmm, I thought I’d stay on fer another couple o’ months until I start to show.’ Ivy put the kettle on the gas ring and struck a match to light it. ‘Though I’m not goin’ on the suffragette rallies any more. I’ve got to think o’ the little ’un here.’ Her hand dropped to her stomach and Holly nodded understandingly. At least that’s one good thing to come of all this, she thought. She had always feared Ivy would end up being arrested again and thrown into prison. Only the week before she had read in the newspaper of some of the suffragettes chaining themselves to railings and the thought of Ivy doing that terrified her.
She was about to say something else when the sound of footsteps sounded on the landing outside and the next minute the door opened and a tall, dark man appeared. This, then, is the elusive Jeremy, Holly thought. She had only ever glimpsed him through the window of the flat before and she had to admit that he was even more handsome up close and she could understand why Ivy was so taken with him.
His face was grim and he looked to be in a bad temper, and, Holly noticed, he was wearing a warm overcoat and smart suit, in marked contrast to Ivy’s threadbare clothes. When he caught sight of Holly in her Red Cross uniform, he guessed immediately who she was and suddenly he smiled and was all charm.
‘You must be Holly. I’ve heard so much about you from Ivy. It’s nice to meet you at last,’ he purred as he shook her hand.
In that instant, Holly’s dislike of him began. His smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes and although he was indeed very handsome, she thought he was smarmy but she forced a smile and inclined her head.
‘So, come to see Ivy have you?’ he boomed as he crossed to her and placed his arm possessively about her waist. ‘She’s looking well, isn’t she?’
Holly could have said that, in fact, she thought Ivy looked dreadful but again she held her tongue and merely nodded.
‘Actually I popped in to see if there was anything I could do to help with the wedding preparations,’ she said and watched as anger flickered momentarily across his face.
‘Ah, we haven’t quite got round to planning that yet,’ he simpered with a false smile. Holly noticed that Ivy never once took her eyes from his face. It was as if she was gauging his mood and Holly wondered if she was afraid of him.
‘Really?’ Holly raised her eyebrow and stared at him boldly. ‘I would have thought getting that organised was a priority with a baby on the way.’ She had the satisfaction of seeing Richard momentarily look uncomfortable, but she also saw the look of alarm that flitted across Ivy’s face and clamped her mouth shut. The last thing she wanted to do was make things worse for her friend. Ivy seemed to be a bag of nerves as it was.
‘Well, I really should be going.’ Suddenly she felt in the way so she rose from her seat and after giving Ivy another hug she nodded towards Jeremy and headed for the door. ‘Do pop round to see me when you have a spare minute,’ she told Ivy and left, closing the door quietly behind her.
‘So what did that nosy cow want?’ she heard Jeremy snap as she neared the top of the stairs. Didn’t he realise that the walls were paper-thin and she could hear every word? ‘I thought I’d told you to cut ties with her!’
Even more concerned for her friend now, she set off down the stairs as fast as her legs would take her and all the way home she worried. But what can I do? she asked herself. If Ivy was intent on staying with him she would have to accept that it was her choice. It wouldn’t stop her fretting about her though and she determined to try and see more of her, even if it meant risking upsetting Jeremy. She would have preferred Ivy to move back in with her, and she wondered if she could persuade her to leave Jeremy, but she rejected the idea. She doubted her friend would ever agree.
Unfortunately Holly didn’t see Ivy again for almost two weeks. There had been a sudden influx of patients at the hospital which meant that Holly had to work longer shifts and it was far too late to visit by the time she was finished each night. One cold evening in late November, she was just warming up some soup after another long shift – she was far too tired to cook – when there was a tap on the door. When she saw who it was, her face lit up.
‘Why, Ivy, this is a nice surprise. Why didn’t you just let yourself in with your key?’ Although Ivy no longer lived there she had insisted that she should keep her key in case she ever wished to pop round.
‘I didn’t like to,’ Ivy answered in a small voice and as Holly drew her into the light she gasped. The whole of one side of her poor face was covered in a purple bruise and her eye was closed again.
Something in Holly snapped. ‘Who did this to you?’ she growled. ‘And don’t tell me that you tripped into a door or fell over this time because I’m not an idiot!’
Ivy stared at her and suddenly burst into tears. ‘Me an’ Jeremy had a big fight,’ she admitted in a wobbly voice. ‘It were about the weddin’ an’ he lost his temper. He didn’t mean it though an’ he’s ever so sorry now. It were my fault for keepin’ on about it.’
‘Your fault!’ Holly was appalled. ‘But there is nothing in the world that should make a man hit a woman! One of the reasons you left home was because you couldn’t bear to see your father hitting your mother. And why shouldn’t you ask him about the wedding? You have a baby due in a few months’ time for goodness’ sake and it’s only natural that you should want a ring on your finger!’
‘Ah, but Jeremy’s so busy, you see.’
Holly couldn’t believe her friend was still rushing to his defence and sighed. She was clearly upset enough without her going on at her so gently she asked, ‘Where is he now?’
‘H-he’s away for a few days, followin’ a story.’
‘Hmm, and do you ever get to glimpse these stories in his notes or see his name in the newspaper?’
Ivy frowned. Now that she came to think of it, Holly had a point. She had never found any paperwork in their rooms but then perhaps he kept them at the newspaper office?
She swayed and Holly quickly pressed her into the nearest fireside chair. ‘Have you eaten?’
When Ivy shook her head she hurried across to the pan on the stove and ladled some of the soup into a dish then sawed off a thick wedge of bread from the loaf in the bread bin and placed them on a tray, which she carried over to Ivy.
She then went and fetched a bowl for herself but by the time she sat down Ivy had wolfed everything on the tray. Holly handed her her own portion and when Ivy went to protest she smiled. ‘Please eat it, I’m really not that hungry and I can have some bread and cheese.’ Within seconds that dish was empty too, so Holly cut her a large wedge of fruit cake. Ivy then swallowed two cups of steaming hot tea one after the other and when she had finished she rubbed her stomach and leaned back in the chair contentedly.
‘Cor, that hit the spot, all right.’ She grinned and added hurriedly, ‘I ain’t had time to have anythin’ yet today. I didn’t bother cookin’ fer meself seein’ as Jeremy’s away.’
‘Why don’t you stay here tonight?’ Holly suggested and when Ivy looked concerned she rushed on, ‘Just for tonight. You could have a nice bath and if Jeremy isn’t there he isn’t going to miss you, is he?’
‘I suppose not.’ Ivy had to admit to herself that the thought of sleeping in her comfy bed with crisp clean sheets was very tempting. ‘All right,’ she agreed. ‘But I’ll be getting meself back off home first thing in the mornin’.’
‘Well, there’s no rush. Tomorrow is Sunday so I’m not at work,’ Holly pointed out. ‘We could spend a leisurely day together and I could cook us a nice lunch. I got a small joint of beef from the butcher’s, your favourite, and I could do some crispy roast potatoes with it just the way you like them.’
Ivy grinned, making her wince. It was obvious that her swollen face was causing her pain.
‘All right,’ she agreed. ‘But I’ll have to go back tomorrow evenin’, just in case Jeremy comes home sooner than expected. I wouldn’t want him to think I’d left him.’
Holly sighed with relief. At least for that short time she would know Ivy was safe.