The bombing campaign over Germany was still very much ongoing, and although everyone at Beach View had become inured to the sound of the planes taking off from Cliffe and mostly ignored them, they still reacted swiftly when the sirens went off.
April was fast asleep when the high-pitched whine alerted her to an enemy raid, and she quickly pulled on her dressing gown, grabbed her ID papers and the precious photographs and hurried downstairs to the kitchen where Harvey was howling at the shrieks of the sirens that were now going off all over town.
There was clearly a smooth routine for such events. April was handed the box of essentials and Cordelia was escorted by Ron down the garden path, while Peggy wrapped Daisy against the cold night.
They all trooped out as the sirens reached their ear-splitting pitch and the searchlights began to quarter the sky in search of enemy aircraft. Ron closed the door of the Anderson shelter, plunging them into darkness, and April shivered at the memories of her incarceration in the hotel cellar on the night Paula and seven of her colleagues had been killed.
Peggy lit the lamp that hung from the ceiling and as the pale glow illuminated the dank, cramped space, April forced herself to relax. She was as safe here as anywhere and actually it was a relief to know that she was above ground, for the thought of being buried alive again was enough to give her nightmares.
As Ron cradled Daisy in his arms, Sarah made sure that a sleepy Cordelia was secure in the deckchair that had been wedged into a corner. Surrounded by pillows to keep her from sliding out, Cordelia promptly went back to sleep, undeterred by the awful noise of the aircraft because she’d turned off her hearing aid.
Peggy took the box from April and made tea on the small camping stove. Harvey had stopped howling now that the sirens had gone silent, but the sound of the dogfights continued overhead. Rita tried to snatch a bit of sleep, even so, huddled in her fleece-lined First World War flying jacket and thick trousers. She would have to go to the fire station once the raid was over to check if she was needed. Sarah was wrapped in a thick dressing gown, with trousers pulled over her pyjamas; Ivy was bundled in a blanket and woolly hat; and Ron was in his poacher’s coat, the kitten tucked in one of the pockets while Harvey snored at his feet.
April sipped her tea, aware that Ron was watching her, his expression more puzzled than hostile, but it made her feel uneasy all the same, for she suspected that he didn’t really approve of her or her situation, and so she was relieved when he closed his eyes and tried to settle down to sleep. She’d heard from Peggy that Ron and Stan were very close friends, and she accepted that Ron was of an older generation who frowned on girls like her. Would her Uncle Stan feel the same way?
The sound of heavy-bellied bombers made the walls vibrate and the ground shudder beneath their feet, and April looked up, wondering fearfully if Cliffehaven was to be tonight’s target.
‘They’ll probably be targeting the airfield,’ shouted Sarah above the thunder of engines and the boom and clatter of Cliffehaven’s guns. ‘Let’s just hope to goodness all our planes are in the air by now.’
The distant thuds and crumps seemed to bear this out, but April was still finding it difficult not to remember that awful night back in Portsmouth.
‘It ain’t nice, is it?’ asked Ivy, pulling the blanket more tightly over her shoulders. ‘We ’ad a bomb hit our factory, and I were trapped for bleedin’ hours down there. Lost one of me mates that night,’ she added sadly, ‘and it’s still ’ard to forget how frightened I were every time Jerry comes over.’
‘I’m sorry you’re both finding it all such an ordeal,’ said Peggy. ‘It can’t be easy after what happened to you.’ She reached out and took the girls’ hands. ‘Perhaps you’d find it would help if you talked about it?’
‘Nah, you’re all right,’ said Ivy stoically. ‘Your Doreen made it easier, and I’ve done all the talking I want.’
‘And you, April? How do you feel?’
‘Jumpy,’ she admitted with a ragged smile. ‘But I’d like to talk about Paula. She was my best friend, and like Ivy, this brings it all back.’
Hesitantly, April began to tell the others about Paula and how they’d met. She remembered the funny things that had happened to them both at school and during their time in the WRNS, and as the memories crowded in, she felt a wave of sadness wash over her. It was when she told them about the bombing raid that had killed her best friend, that April realised she was crying. ‘I miss her so much,’ she said, wiping away the tears. ‘She was such a good friend, and I still can hardly believe I’ll never see her again.’
A gnarled, warm hand momentarily covered her fingers. ‘She’ll always be with you, wee girl,’ said Ron gruffly. ‘The dead stay with us in our hearts and minds for as long as we still draw breath, and although I’m not a religious man, I like to think we’ll be together again at the last trumpet call.’
April nodded, grateful for his kind words, and suspecting he’d lost loved ones during both wars. ‘Thank you, Ron. That thought is comforting.’
‘Aye, well, for now we have to concentrate on the living and do all we can to see this damned war at an end,’ he said fiercely. ‘This is no world to bring a new life into.’
April placed her hand protectively over the mound of her stomach as a particularly loud explosion shook the ground beneath her. It certainly wasn’t, but her baby would be born, war or not, and there wasn’t much she could do about it.
Tactfully, Peggy changed the subject, and began to discuss what everyone would be wearing to Stan’s wedding, which was now only a matter of weeks away.
‘Are you all going?’ asked April in surprise.
‘Stan has been Ron’s friend since the Stone Age,’ said Rita with a teasing light in her eyes as she glanced across at Ron, ‘and I’ve known him since I was a kid. He’s helped all of us girls at one time or another, and as far as we’re concerned, he’s part of the family.’
‘I’m sure he’ll invite you too,’ said Peggy comfortably. ‘He wouldn’t want to leave you out now he and Ethel have taken such a shine to you.’ She smiled with affection. ‘Stan’s like that – a good man with a big heart.’
April smiled back, hoping this proved to be true.
The all-clear didn’t go for another hour, and when they emerged from the Anderson shelter they discovered it was dawn. Yawning and stretching to ease the aches and pains of sitting on a hard bench all night, they trooped indoors, eager to get some warmth into their stiff muscles and frozen toes and fingers.
Cordelia was feeling quite sprightly, for she’d slept through the whole thing and was looking forward to her breakfast. Peggy bathed and dressed Daisy, while Ron checked on his ferrets and fed the dog and cat. Rita shot off to the fire station and the others got dressed for the day before they started to prepare breakfast.
Rita returned within half an hour to report that although the airfield had suffered a lot of damage, Cliffehaven itself seemed to have escaped. ‘My boss said that by the sound of it most of the planes were airborne by the time Jerry arrived, but the admin buildings, machine shops and some of the Nissen huts have been wiped out.’ Her little face was pinched with anxiety. ‘I just hope to goodness Matt and the others are all right.’
Peggy put her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with fear as she thought of her daughter Cissy and her son-in-law Martin. ‘Did John Hicks have any idea of the number of casualties?’
Rita shook her head, her eyes dull with anxiety. ‘Sorry, Aunt Peg, the fireman up at the airfield just told him there were some casualties amongst the mechanics when the repair shop was hit. There was nothing about the rest of the personnel.’
‘Oh, Lord,’ Peggy groaned tearfully. ‘It could be hours before anyone can get through to me. This damned war is driving me mad with all its uncertainties and the endless wait to hear anything.’
‘I’m sure Martin or Cissy will ring you as soon as they can,’ soothed Sarah. ‘But if I hear anything up at the Cliffe estate, I’ll ring you immediately.’
‘You are a dear,’ sniffed Peggy. ‘Thank you.’
Sarah pulled on her coat and beret. ‘I’d better get a move on, or I’ll be late,’ she said. ‘Try not to worry, both of you. I’m sure everyone is fine.’
Peggy watched her run down the steps, as lithe and graceful as a dancer despite the unflattering jodhpurs, dark green coat and heavy walking shoes. She had almost an hour’s walk over the hills to get to the estate, and she did it cheerfully each day no matter what the weather.
‘I’d better be off an’ all,’ said Ivy, hoisting the straps of her overalls over her shoulders and pulling on the coat she’d made out of a picnic blanket. She gave Rita a consoling hug and then shot a grin at April. ‘Good luck for today, and I’m looking forward to ’earing ’ow you got on with that smelly dog.’
‘I expect you’re feeling a bit nervous about your first day, aren’t you?’ asked Rita, who was now shovelling down the hot, welcome porridge as if her life depended upon it.
April nodded. ‘Miss Gardener makes me nervous when she watches me, so I’m hoping she’ll mostly just leave me to it.’
‘I’ll make you some sandwiches and a flask of tea for your lunch,’ said Peggy as she spooned porridge into Daisy’s mouth. She was trying hard to concentrate on the present and stifle her fears over Cissy and the others. ‘I doubt Vera will provide anything, and it will save you having to go into the other room with Winston.’
April smiled at her gratefully and glanced at the clock. ‘I have to go too,’ she said apologetically. ‘It would be very bad form to turn up late on my first day.’ She washed up her breakfast things and shot upstairs to clean her teeth and prepare for the day. On her return to the kitchen she found it deserted but for Peggy, Cordelia and Daisy.
‘They’ve all left for work and Ron’s taken Harvey for his morning walk,’ explained Peggy. ‘I’m hoping he’ll go as far as the airfield today to see if he can get any word about my daughter and son-in-law. Though I doubt he’ll be let anywhere near the place. Security is very tight up there.’
She handed April a string bag containing a packet of sandwiches and a thermos. ‘You have a good day, dear, and don’t mind me. I’m a bit inclined to fret about everything and it usually comes to nothing.’
‘I might hear something over the telephone line,’ said April. ‘And although I’m not allowed to repeat anything I hear, I’m sure that if it’s relevant, I can get word to you somehow.’
‘That is sweet of you, but I don’t want you getting into trouble – especially on your very first day.’
April smiled at her and patted her arm. ‘I won’t,’ she assured her.
‘Now you’re not to worry about your little friend Shirley. I’ll see she gets your note one way or another.’
‘April’s hair isn’t curly,’ protested Cordelia from the other end of the table where she’d spread out the morning paper. ‘And I can’t see how you could possibly know that she looks like her mother. You’ve never set eyes on the woman.’
Peggy and April exchanged amused glances. Cordelia had forgotten to turn her hearing aid back on after her night in the shelter.
April kissed Peggy’s cheek and then, armed with the string bag and gas-mask box, hurried down the steps and out of the back door. It was still early, but the sky was pearly with streaks of blue appearing between the small white fluffy clouds, promising a fine day. She took a deep breath of the lovely clean air. She was looking forward to getting stuck in on her new job, and she set off quickly for the telephone exchange building.
Peggy watched her go from the kitchen window and then, trying to take her mind off Cissy and Martin, she got on with her day. First she saw to Daisy, cleaning her face of porridge before sitting her on the floor with a colouring book and her dolls. Then she put a few drops of milk in a saucer for Queenie, who was winding herself around her legs and mewing. Queenie was getting very demanding, but her fur was sleek, her eyes bright and her curiosity and energy unbounding, so Peggy didn’t begrudge her a bit of milk now and again.
She tackled the last of the washing-up and then scrubbed the table and the kitchen floor, repeatedly looking at the clock, urging the telephone to ring. But it stayed stubbornly silent, and in the end she couldn’t resist going into the hall to check that the receiver hadn’t been left off the hook or the line disconnected for some reason.
‘Number, please.’
‘Sorry, April. I was just making sure the telephone line was in order.’
‘I’ve heard nothing this end either,’ she said quietly.
‘No news is good news, I suppose,’ sighed Peggy and hung up.
She went back into the kitchen to tackle the nappies that were soaking in a bucket under the sink. Thankfully, Daisy was almost potty trained, although she still couldn’t get through the night without a nappy, and there was the occasional accident, but it did make life easier not to have so much washing to do every day.
With the nappies flapping on the washing line and the hall floor washed down, it was time to head off for the town hall and her session with the WVS. She made sure Cordelia had everything she needed, then dragged on her coat, glancing once again at the clock and cursing the new rules which forbade her to ring Martin’s office up at the airfield. It was all so frustrating she could scream.
The raucous shrill made her jump and then she was racing into the hall and snatching up the receiver. ‘Hello?’ she said breathlessly.
‘Mum? It’s Cissy. We’re all fine up here, so you’re not to worry. I’m sorry I haven’t called before this, but it’s been chaotic.’
‘Oh, darling, I’m so relieved. I’ve been going through agonies not knowing what’s going on.’
‘We were hit quite badly,’ said Cissy, ‘and we lost a couple of mechanics in the first wave.’ She paused and her voice wavered as she spoke again. ‘Tragically, we also lost two bomber crews when their planes were hit as they tried to take off – and a Polish pilot bought it when his Spitfire crash-landed right on top of the admin block. But Martin, Matt and all the boys you’ve met are all right, and Martin says he’ll try to come over to see you when time allows.’
‘That would be wonderful,’ sighed Peggy. ‘And Rita will be very relieved to hear that Matt has come through. Oh, Cissy, I can’t begin to tell you how worried we’ve all been.’
‘I know, Mum,’ she said solemnly. ‘It’s a horrid business all round, especially when we lose our boys like this. Look, I have to go. I’ll try and come for a visit, but you know how things are . . .’
‘Of course I do, and thank you, darling, for ringing.’ Peggy put down the receiver and sank into the hall chair, the tears streaming down her face. The relief was immense, but the fear went on day after day, and she didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to bear living with it. Damn Hitler, damn the Luftwaffe and damn, damn, damn this bloody war to hell and back.
She eventually got her emotions under control and lifted the receiver. ‘April, could you put me through to the fire station, dear? Everyone’s safe up at Cliffe, and I have to tell Rita so she doesn’t worry all day.’
‘I’m so glad,’ said April. ‘Putting you through.’
Peggy had spent the rest of the morning in the large main room of the town hall helping to pack the comfort boxes for the troops. In her rare spare moments, she glanced towards the window that overlooked the telephone exchange building, wondering if April was coping all right, and whether she was enjoying the work. She’d sounded very competent earlier, her well-modulated voice so much more pleasant than Bertha’s strangled vowels, so she was hopeful that Vera Gardener might keep her on should Lucinda Downes decide not to return to Cliffehaven, but to stay with her widowed mother in Devon.
It was almost midday and Peggy was counting the minutes until she could leave the confines of the noisy, busy hall for the fresh air of the seafront and a refreshing cup of tea. She was busy taping up a box when she was nudged by her neighbour’s sharp elbow. ‘Stand by your beds,’ she murmured. ‘Your sister’s just arrived.’
Peggy’s spirits plummeted. Doris was the last person she wanted to see this morning, but as there was no way of avoiding her, she plastered on a smile and prepared for battle.
‘Margaret, there you are,’ Doris said, striding towards her in her immaculately tailored dark green uniform, looking as if she’d just stepped out of a beauty parlour. ‘I’m going to need you to stay on for an extra hour today. I have a meeting with the WVS committee.’
Being called Margaret always set her teeth on edge, and Doris’s bossy attitude merely made it worse. ‘No can do, Doris,’ she replied. ‘I have to be somewhere at twelve.’
‘I’m sure it’s not as important as my meeting with the committee,’ Doris said dismissively, ‘and I need someone to take charge during my absence.’
‘I’m sure Edna would be delighted to fill in for you,’ said Peggy, glancing across to another table. Edna was always keen to volunteer for things in the faint hope she’d be elevated to the committee.
‘I’m sure she would,’ said Doris coldly, ‘but I’m not asking her, I’m asking you.’
‘And I’ve already said I can’t do it,’ she replied firmly.
‘I can’t imagine what could possibly be more important than holding the fort here. Really, Margaret, it’s a pretty poor show when I can’t rely on my sister in my hour of need.’
‘If you’d asked me yesterday, then I would have agreed to do it,’ said Peggy, starting to fill another box. ‘But I’ve made arrangements which I’m not willing to cancel. Ask Edna.’
Doris glared at her and took a deep breath, clearly trying hard to contain her impatience. ‘You do very little towards the war effort, Margaret,’ she hissed, ‘other than a few hours helping out here. I really do think it’s time you got your priorities right.’
Peggy’s hand stilled. She dropped the socks into the box and glared back at her sister, seething at her accusation. ‘How dare you accuse me of doing nothing,’ she said furiously, ‘when you swan about in your car needlessly using petrol, turn up here when you feel like it to do nothing but boss people about, and resent having evacuees move in with you? It’s you who’s got their priorities wrong.’
Becoming aware that they had an interested audience, she leaned forward and lowered her voice. ‘I’m not doing it, Doris, and if you were more organised, you would have sorted this out earlier.’
‘It’s a last-minute meeting,’ Doris retorted. ‘I only learned about it an hour ago.’
Peggy wondered if that was because Doris was being excluded by the snooty clique of women that made up the committees in Cliffehaven. Hearing about her impending divorce and the scandal over her husband Ted’s affair with the woman on the fish counter, they had probably closed ranks. ‘That’s hardly my problem,’ she replied. ‘And I’m not willing to change my plans just to suit you. It isn’t as if you’d do the same for me, is it?’
‘Of course I would,’ Doris blustered.
And pigs might fly, thought Peggy sourly. ‘Then perhaps you’d like to babysit Daisy for the afternoon of Stan’s wedding? That would be a terrific help.’
Doris went pink and fumbled in her lovely leather handbag for her diary. She flicked through the pages. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said without a hint of real chagrin, ‘but I have a Women’s Institute meeting to address that afternoon.’
Peggy knew for a fact it was the day before the wedding, but didn’t even bother to argue. ‘What a shame,’ she murmured.
‘Another time, perhaps,’ said Doris, tucking the diary away and fastening her handbag. She looked round the room, her glare making their audience suddenly concentrate harder on their various tasks. She gave an exasperated sigh and turned on her heel. ‘Edna,’ she called across to another table. ‘Edna, my dear, I need to have a quiet word.’
Peggy shot an amused glance at the women on either side of her and finished packing the box. Doris was a pain in the neck and wound her up like a clock, but she could certainly liven up a tedious morning.
Her shift was finally over, and she collected Daisy from the playroom where she and the other small children had been kept amused by a retired Norland Nanny who never seemed to lose her patience or her cheerful smile. Peggy didn’t know how she managed it, for the noise was awful, the place was in chaos, and it seemed there was always a baby crying or an argument to settle.
She bumped the pram down the steps past the young Home Guardsman who stood watch by the high piles of sandbags, and set off down the High Street towards the promenade. She could do with a nice cup of tea, a cigarette and a sit-down after spending the morning on her feet without much chance of catching her breath.
The wooden kiosk was three times the size of Ron’s garden shed, and it had been fitted out with a basic kitchen and a couple of tables and chairs, and outside, beneath a blue and white striped awning, were more tables and chairs so that Mabel’s customers could enjoy the fresh air and sea views while they drank their tea. The place was deserted, so Peggy parked the pram and went in to order a pot of tea and some cordial for Daisy.
Mabel was a chatty woman in her early fifties who liked to be kept up with the local gossip as she doled out tea and sympathy as well as dubious homespun advice to anyone who would listen. Her husband and two sons were in the army, while her daughter worked as an observer up at the Fort where Peggy’s nephew Anthony was involved in some highly secret carry-on for the MOD.
Peggy knew better than to gossip about anything with Mabel, for although she was pleasant enough to your face, she liked nothing better than to spread salacious rumours and stick the knife in if someone upset her.
‘It’s a nice surprise seeing you, Peggy,’ she said as she filled the pot from the huge urn behind the counter. ‘I can’t remember the last time you popped in. Meeting someone, are you?’
Peggy saw the inquisitiveness in those grey eyes and shook her head. ‘I need a cuppa before I walk home and start all over again,’ she said.
‘How’s life at Beach View these days? I hear you’ve got a new girl.’
‘That’s right. She started at the telephone exchange this morning.’ Before Mabel could ply her with endless questions, Peggy took the laden tray and carried it outside. She set it down on a table, plucked Daisy from her pram and let her toddle about for a moment, ever mindful of the rolls of barbed wire that were strung between the promenade and the mined beach.
She took off her headscarf and shook out her dark curls, enjoying the sun on her face after the hours spent in the gloom of the town hall. Daisy staggered towards her and gripped her knees, so she lifted her up and sat her on her lap so she could orchestrate the delivery of cordial straight into her mouth and not down her clean clothes.
The manoeuvre wasn’t entirely successful and Peggy was dabbing at the splashes on Daisy’s coat when a girl arrived pushing a pram. Her interest was sparked immediately, for she fitted April’s description of Shirley. Aware that Mabel’s ears were probably flapping, she smiled at her and said nothing as she parked the pram to one side of the kiosk and ordered a pot of tea and a Spam sandwich.
As the girl emerged from the kiosk with her tray, Peggy smiled again. ‘Lovely day, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘Perfect for sitting out with a nice cuppa.’
The girl gave her an uncertain smile.
‘Why don’t you join me, dear?’ said Peggy. ‘There’s plenty of room and it seems silly not to share a table when there’s only the two of us.’
She hesitated, glancing quickly over her shoulder at Mabel before putting the tray down and checking on the baby which was hidden deep within the pram. Without drawing the pram to the table, she left it in the lee of the kiosk and sat down with a shy smile. ‘Shirley Ryan,’ she said, shaking Peggy’s hand.
Peggy thought it was a bit odd that Shirley seemed reluctant to draw the pram closer, but she smiled and introduced herself and Daisy.
Shirley smiled at Daisy and then poured out the tea. She glanced down the promenade, and then turned back to Peggy. ‘I’m supposed to be meeting someone,’ she said, ‘but it looks as if she isn’t coming.’
‘April asked me to give you this,’ Peggy said quietly as she handed over the note. ‘She’s got a job at the telephone exchange and couldn’t make it this morning. But I know she’d love to meet you another time.’ She gestured towards the note. ‘Our address and telephone number will be in there.’
‘Oh, how kind. Thank you.’ The note was swiftly read and then tucked carefully away in the depths of a cheap handbag. ‘I don’t know if she told you, but we met at the labour exchange.’
Peggy nodded and smiled. ‘Did you manage to get a job at Goldman’s?’
‘Yes. I start as a machinist at the end of the week. They couldn’t take James Elroy before then, you see.’
It was an unusual name, and Peggy suspected it might be American. When she noted the lack of a wedding ring, her natural curiosity was roused. ‘Don’t you have anyone else to look after him while you work?’
The girl blushed and avoided her gaze. ‘Not really.’ She bit into the sandwich as if to preclude any further discussion on the matter, and although she shot Peggy a tentative smile now and again, Peggy could tell she was uneasy.
‘April’s on her own too,’ she said, hoping to draw her out a little. ‘And I think she’s feeling a little lost being so far from home, so it’s lovely that you’ve met.’
‘Yes. She seems very nice,’ Shirley murmured.
‘Have you been in Cliffehaven long?’ Peggy persisted.
‘Just over a year.’
It was clear to Peggy that Shirley Ryan was not a talker, but perhaps that was because she was shy and unwed. She was also very young, and probably reluctant to say much to Peggy who was, after all, a complete stranger.
A grizzle came from the pram which soon turned into loud protest, and Shirley shot to her feet to see to her baby. Lifting him out of the pram, she laid him over her shoulder and rubbed his back before reaching into a bag and pulling out a bottle of thin juice.
‘My goodness, he’s got a good pair of lungs,’ said Peggy. ‘Bless him. Is he teething?’
Shirley nodded and drew the baby from her shoulder to her lap, her gaze constantly darting towards a watchful Mabel.
‘What a lot of lovely dark hair,’ Peggy said in delight. ‘He is a bonny baby. How old is he?’
‘Six months and three weeks,’ said Shirley proudly. ‘He’s usually very good when I take him out, but he’s suffering with his teeth, poor little love.’
Daisy climbed off Peggy’s lap to get a closer look at the baby, and Peggy felt a tug of remorse for her initial disapproval. Shirley clearly adored him, so what did it matter if there was no ring on his mother’s finger?
She watched as Daisy took the baby’s hand and tried in her babyish way to soothe him, but he was having none of it. ‘Would you like me to try and quieten him?’ she offered. ‘I find that sometimes a stranger’s face can soothe.’
Shirley was about to hand him over when Mabel came out of the kiosk, arms folded beneath her large bosom, her expression hostile as she looked at the girl and her baby. ‘I thought I recognised you,’ she said flatly. ‘I’ve told you before that I won’t have your sort here, so sling your hook.’
Peggy gasped, appalled that Mabel could be so rude and unkind. ‘She’s not doing any harm,’ she retorted, ‘and I don’t like your attitude, Mabel.’
‘Like it or lump it,’ said Mabel, who was clearly out of sorts. ‘I don’t want her kind in here frightening off my customers with her illegitimate brat.’
‘There’s only me and I’m enjoying her company,’ snapped Peggy. ‘And what proof have you that the baby’s illegitimate? You need to hold your tongue, Mabel.’
‘Really, Mrs Reilly, it’s all right. We’ll go.’
‘Not until you’ve finished what you’ve paid for,’ said Peggy firmly. ‘As for you, Mabel Wilkins, you should be ashamed of yourself.’
Mabel folded her arms and glared. ‘It’s my kiosk and I have the right to say who I serve. Unmarried girls with babies have no business here. They should be locked away out of sight of decent people.’
Peggy felt like smacking that smug fat face, but just managed to resist. ‘In that case you can refund the cost of her sandwich and tea and we’ll be on our way.’
Mabel looked for a moment as if she was going to argue, but something in Peggy’s expression must have warned her not to dare. She stomped back into the kiosk, opened the till and then stomped back, slamming the money on the table in front of Shirley. ‘You’re nothing but a slut and I don’t want to see you or that brat again.’
Peggy gathered up Daisy, thoroughly riled by Mabel’s disgusting behaviour. ‘I’m sure you’ll see neither of us again,’ she snapped. ‘And I can promise you, Mabel, that I’ll make sure that all the right-thinking people in this town will give your kiosk a wide berth from now on.’
She turned to a distressed Shirley. ‘Come on, dear, we’ll have our cup of tea at my place and leave this sour-faced, vicious old trout to her own devices.’
Shirley gathered up the money and, with shaking hands, strapped the baby back in the pram. ‘Please don’t feel you have to, Mrs Reilly,’ she stammered as they turned their backs on Mabel and her kiosk. ‘I should be used to this by now, and really, I shall be fine in a minute.’
‘I’m sure you will, but the offer was a genuine one, and I really think it would be better all round if we went to Beach View and you had time to catch your breath.’
Shirley hesitated momentarily and then shook her head. ‘It’s really kind of you, and I do appreciate your support, but I have things to do back home.’ Her tears were close to falling as she looked at Peggy. ‘Do you think April will still want to be my friend?’
Peggy’s soft heart went out to her. She was so young and vulnerable, and she wished she could just give her a cuddle and reassure her that not everyone thought like Mabel. She resisted and squeezed her hand instead. ‘I’m sure she will,’ she said softly. ‘And you must come and see me at Beach View. You’ll be made welcome there, I assure you.’
Shirley nodded, blinking away her tears, then hurried off.
Peggy watched until she was out of sight, wondering how often she’d had to put up with such disgusting abuse. It made her feel ashamed that such vile prejudice should rear its ugly head in her beloved town, but she was unfortunately all too aware that behind the closed doors and among the gossiping busybodies, it had always been there – just less blatant.
She finished strapping Daisy into the pram and began the long walk home, her natural tendency to protect and nurture battling with the moral influences that had moulded and shaped her since childhood.
It was only as she arrived back at Beach View that her heart won the battle. The world had changed, the morality of that bygone age had shifted and blurred, and although she couldn’t wholeheartedly approve of girls like Shirley, she knew what it was to be young – to need someone to cling to in times of war – and how easy it was to let things go too far. She was certainly in no position to judge or condemn, for Anne had been born seven months after her marriage to Jim. At the end of the day, they were all sinners, and in these perilous times surely the true way to peace was to open one’s heart and learn to be more tolerant and forgiving?