Holly got home from the hospital later in May to find Ivy poring over the newspaper. She was so engrossed and indignant about what she was reading that she didn’t even give Holly a welcome.
‘Would you just look at this!’ She stabbed her finger angrily at the page. ‘It says that fifty-seven suffragettes were arrested yesterday as they tried to reach Buckingham Palace to present a “Votes for Women” petition to the King! Emmeline Pankhurst, who has not been well, was amongst ’em!’
Holly leaned over her shoulder and commented, ‘Yes but it also says that some of them were brandishing Indian clubs and that they were trying to break through a thousand-strong police cordon around the palace.’
‘Well, what else are they supposed to do?’ Ivy snapped as angry colour rose in her cheeks. ‘Their right to vote was turned down again earlier this month but I’ll tell you now they won’t stop until they get it. Why should they?’
‘All right, calm down, you’ll frighten Alice,’ Holly warned and Ivy was instantly repentant for her outburst.
‘Sorry, it just makes me so bloody mad! I’ll tell you now if I didn’t have Alice I’d still be there, backin’ ’em all the way.’
‘Yes, but you do have Alice,’ Holly pointed out as she removed the white cuffs from the sleeves of her dress. ‘So now you have to concentrate on her and not on what the suffragettes are doing.’
‘I s’ppose yer right,’ Ivy grumbled as she lifted her daughter on to her lap. Then in a slightly happier mood she confided, ‘Marcus is takin’ me out this evenin’. We’re goin’ to the Picturedrome again then he’s takin’ me fer a fish-an’-chip supper.’
‘How lovely.’ Ivy and Marcus’s relationship really seemed to be blossoming now, and Holly hoped that it would work out for them. Ivy certainly deserved to have a decent man in her life after the way Jeremy had treated her. Strangely enough, Ivy hadn’t mentioned Jeremy for weeks now and Holly hoped that this was a sign she was getting over him.
‘An’ when are you seein’ Harry again?’
Holly blushed. ‘On Saturday; we’ve both got an afternoon off, but I don’t know what we’re doing yet.’
When Ivy nodded her approval she hurried away upstairs to get changed out of her uniform ready for dinner.
On Saturday Holly and Harry went to listen to the Stockingford Brass Band playing in the old bandstand in a recreation ground off Pool Bank Street in the town and soon their feet were tapping in time to the music.
‘They’re good, aren’t they?’ Harry shouted above the noise and Holly nodded in agreement.
‘Excellent.’ She had always wished that she’d been musically inclined but had never managed to master a musical instrument.
‘So what would you like to do now?’ Harry asked when the band began to pack up.
Holly could see that he was tired, he had been working double shifts at the hospital for most of the week, so she suggested, ‘Why don’t you come back to the house to have dinner with the family? It’s time they met you.’
He stared at her intently for a moment, hoping that this meant she was ready to take their courtship another stage further. Harry had never met a girl like Holly and knew now that he had fallen deeply in love with her.
‘But surely they won’t be expecting me?’
Holly laughed. ‘Oh, don’t worry about that. Cook always makes far too much food so there’ll be more than enough to go round and I’d like you to meet my mother and my grandfather properly.’
‘In that case I’d be delighted to accept your kind invitation,’ he answered and lifting her hand he kissed it gently before tucking it into his arm. It was turning out to be a good day, even if he was so tired he could have slept standing up!
Even though his visit was unexpected, the family greeted him warmly and over dinner Harry got on like a house on fire with Holly’s grandfather as they discussed the ever-increasing unrest abroad.
‘It’ll lead to a war, you just mark my words,’ Gilbert said as he bit into a juicy pork chop covered in apple sauce, just the way he liked it.
‘Father, please!’ Emma glanced at Harry apologetically. ‘This is really no topic for the dinner table.’
‘Hmph! I suppose you’d rather talk about the plans for the wedding,’ he grunted with a wicked wink at Harry. ‘You don’t know what I have to suffer,’ he confided with a martyred sigh. ‘The women are runnin’ about like headless chickens getting everything organised. This should turn out to be the weddin’ of the century! An’ she said she didn’t want a fuss when they first got engaged an’ all. Women, eh?’
Harry smiled good-naturedly. ‘I do believe it’s supposed to be one of the happiest days of a woman’s life, or so my mother tells me. She’s always dropping hints about when it will be my turn,’ he added with a twinkle in his eye as he glanced towards Holly who blushed furiously. Suddenly she wondered if inviting him to meet the family had been such a good idea after all.
As soon as he left, her mother told her, ‘What a delightful young man. And a doctor too!’
‘Now don’t go reading too much into it,’ Holly scolded. ‘Harry and I are merely good friends.’
‘Hmm … merely good friends,’ her mother teased but then thankfully she had to dash away to get ready for Walter to call for her.
Ivy had more than a word to say about the situation too when she caught Holly alone in the dining room. ‘You’re a dark horse.’ She grinned. ‘Why didn’t you tell me it had got to the stage where you wanted him to meet the family?’
Holly groaned. ‘Oh, not you as well. I invite a friend to dinner and the next thing you lot are marrying me off!’
‘Well, from what I saw of him yer could do a lot worse,’ Ivy remarked as she loaded the dirty pots onto a large wooden tray, then she sailed from the room with an amused gleam in her eye.
Over the next few weeks there didn’t seem to be a spare minute in the day. Holly was either at work, helping her mother with her wedding plans or helping with the various fund-raising activities Emma and Sunday Branning had planned to raise money to get the workhouse children to the seaside. On one particular Saturday the women held a second-hand clothes sale in the parish hall and as soon as they opened the door, they were nearly trampled by the local women as they pushed and shoved their way in to get first pickings.
One woman grabbed a cardigan just as another woman was reaching for it and Sunday had to intervene to stop a fight from breaking out.
‘Now, ladies, I’m sure there will be something for both of you,’ she panted as she tried to hold them apart.
‘I bleedin’ seen it first,’ one of the women protested loudly. ‘Give it ’ere else I’ll black yer bleedin’ eye!’
Holly and Ivy, who were standing beside one of the stalls, watched with amusement as Sunday hastily handed the garment over.
‘Don’t blame her,’ Ivy whispered. ‘That’s Mrs Davis. She’s from the courtyards an’ she’d knock yer down soon as look at yer!’ Thankfully the rest of the women were a little better behaved although some of the foul language they used as they snatched at various items of clothing was enough to turn the air blue.
By the time everything was sold and the women had left, Emma felt as if she had been on a battlefield and her nerves were in shreds but when they counted the money, they were delighted to find that they’d raised almost ten pounds.
‘We’ll have those children to the seaside in no time at this rate,’ Verity Lockett chirped happily.
On 28 June a tidal wave of horror swept through the country as word reached the people that the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, had been assassinated as the car carrying the royal couple through the streets of Sarajevo was attacked by a young man who ran from the crowd and fired a gun at them. The first bullet got the duke in the neck, the second got his wife in the stomach and she died almost instantly, the duke ten minutes later.
‘I fear this will have serious repercussions on all of us,’ Gilbert said gravely.
‘Surely not, Father,’ Emma said. ‘How could something that has happened so far away possibly affect us?’
Not wishing to spoil the lead-up to her wedding, which was only two weeks away, the old man held his tongue but in the weeks to come they would all think back on his prediction.
Emma’s wedding day dawned bright and clear and as they set off for the church everyone was in a happy mood. Emma was wearing a sky-blue satin dress with a little matching hat and she carried a small posy of sweet-smelling freesias. Those watching as she walked down the aisle on the arm of her proud father all agreed that they had never seen a more radiant bride. She kept her eyes fixed on Walter, who was waiting for her at the front of the church before the altar, and at the sight of his bride his face lit up with love for her. Holly, Florence and Katie looked stunning in their matching bridesmaids’ dresses, which were in a lighter shade of blue to the bride’s. The service, conducted by Verity Lockett’s husband, was touching and as her mother made her vows, Holly prayed that she would at last find happiness.
When the happy couple eventually emerged from the church to the joyous peal of bells they were showered with rose petals and rice and the mood was light. Emma turned her back and tossed her posy into the air and when it landed in Holly’s hands everyone cheered.
‘Looks like you’ll be the next bride,’ little Katie declared delightedly and they all laughed as Holly blushed to the roots of her hair.
The reception that followed was equally as joyful and when Walter made a very touching speech and toasted his bride there was hardly a dry eye in the house. No expense had been spared and the meal was delicious as was the three-tier cake that the happy couple eventually sliced into. Then the tables were cleared and the serious business of everyone enjoying themselves began in earnest. Walter had booked a four-piece band and soon they were all dancing as the wine flowed freely. Holly was happily watching everyone have a good time when she suddenly became aware that her grandfather had come to stand beside her.
‘She looks happy, doesn’t she?’ he said softly as his eyes followed his daughter around the room in Walter’s arms.
Holly smiled. ‘Yes, she does.’
He looked at her then and she was surprised when he took her hand and gently squeezed it. ‘I owe you an apology, my dear.’
She shook her head and opened her mouth to deny it, but he held his hand up. ‘Please, let me say it. I realise now that I was wrong when I first tried to get you married off to Walter. I’ve known him for a long time and I knew he was struggling without his wife so I thought he would make a suitable match for you. Ridiculous, I know. He was far too old for you for a start and to give him credit he was very reluctant to even come and meet you when I first suggested it. I don’t blame you for leaving home. It wasn’t my place to say who you should or shouldn’t marry. But at least all’s well that ends well. I think Walter and your mother are a true love match, don’t you?’
‘Oh definitely,’ Holly agreed.
‘So … do you think you can ever forgive me? My reasons for doing what I did were not entirely selfish. I’d had to stand by and watch the appalling way your father treated your mother and I couldn’t bear to think that that might happen to you too. After she came home when she was carrying you, I shut myself off from the pair of you and that was my loss. But perhaps it’s not too late to put things right, eh?’
Holly smiled up at him and gently returned the pressure on her hand before standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. ‘It’s never too late,’ she told him softly and she had never felt closer to him.
Emma had tried to talk her into inviting Harry to the wedding but Holly had declined. She continued to feel uncertain about him and the memory of Richard was still far too painful, but she had invited him to join them at the reception that evening and when he arrived he found the dance floor full of people dancing and singing along to Al Jolsen’s, ‘You Made Me Love You’, and he grinned as he spotted Holly.
‘Crikey,’ he shouted to make himself heard above the din. ‘Looks like everyone’s having a good time.’
‘It’s been a lovely day,’ she agreed as she took his hand and led him to the bar. ‘Now, what would you like to drink. Oh, and there’s a buffet laid on in the next room if you’re hungry.’
He looked her up and down approvingly. ‘You look beautiful,’ he told her. ‘That colour really suits you.’
Holly grinned as she glanced down at her dress. ‘I dare say it is an improvement on my uniform.’
They got him a drink and soon after they joined in the dancing and the evening seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Finally somebody shouted, ‘The car’s here!’ and the guests trooped outside to watch the newly-weds leave, laughing as they saw the trail of tin cans someone had tied to the back of the car.
Walter shook the men’s hands as Emma hugged her daughter and there were tears in her eyes.
‘I shall miss you so much,’ she said in a choked voice.
Holly was feeling tearful too. ‘But it isn’t as if you’re going to be a million miles away,’ she pointed out bravely. ‘And we’ll still see each other often.’
‘Of course we will but look after yourself, darling.’ And then Walter was there helping her into the car and as it drew away taking the couple to a hotel for the night everyone cheered and waved. They would be leaving for their honeymoon in Venice in August.
‘Goodbye … goodbye …’ Holly’s voice trailed away and a comforting arm came about her shoulders and she looked up into Harry’s sympathetic eyes.
‘Don’t take any notice of me, I’m just being silly and sentimental,’ Holly sniffed as she mopped at her eyes with the large white handkerchief he handed to her.
‘There’s nothing wrong with having feelings.’ She was still looking up at him and he bent towards her and kissed her softly on the lips, and for the very first time she found herself responding. He could never take the place of Richard but perhaps there was a future ahead for them after all.