23. Frank Exchanges

Though heavily pregnant, Zelda was filled with an amazing amount of energy and spent as many hours as she could in her garden shed, which was now almost like her second home. Though it was frosty and cold, Zelda, muffled up in a thick cardigan with a long, hand-knitted scarf wrapped around her neck and a woolly hat on top of her mass of thick red curls, was warm enough. Every morning, before she began work on her remedies, Zelda stoked up the little wood-burning stove that threw out a surprising amount of heat.

Apart from brewing up another batch of salve for Frank (which Ada had told her he continued to use with some success), Zelda was on a mission to improve Diana’s herbal tonic. Teddy’s long, arduous birth had left Diana anaemic, and, combined with breast-feeding, her hungry son reduced her energy levels to virtually zero. Zelda hoped to produce a stronger herbal brew that would strengthen Diana’s blood and hopefully stimulate her appetite too. Zelda’s interest and curiosity in herbals had led her to buy even more old, dog-eared, leather-bound Herbals, which now sat in a neat row on one of the shelves over her workbench.

On one particular chilly December morning, with the heavy grey sky threatening snow, Zelda heaped logs into the wood-burner and set to work on boiling up pungent herbs for Frank’s skin salve. Concentrating hard on her task, Zelda was completely unaware of the shed door swinging open; it was only when she felt a draught whipping around the back of her calves that she stopped and looked up to see if the door had been blown open by the wind. When she saw Frank Arkwright towering over her, his big bulky body almost blocking out the light that streamed in from the garden, Zelda almost fainted with terror. Clutching the bench for support, Zelda turned a deadly white. Thinking she would fall to the floor in a faint, Frank dashed forward to catch her before she hit the ground. Holding her firmly in his arms, he led her to the battered old armchair by the wood-burner and gently lowered her down.

‘Rest yourself,’ he said softly.

Gazing into his face dominated by the large black patch over his left eye, Zelda couldn’t help but notice (even in the midst of her panic) that Ada had spoken the truth: the salve had indeed helped to heal and reduce the scar tissue on Frank’s face.

‘What are you doing here?’ she finally managed to ask the intruder.

‘I was tending the sheep over yonder wall,’ Frank replied in his deep rolling Lancashire accent. ‘All of a sudden I smelt summat right powerfully sweet and strong like, I was curious as to where it were coming from, so I popped o’er wall to find out.’

Zelda closed her eyes as she anticipated the worst. ‘Oh, God. He’s going to find out the truth about the salve.’

‘This might sound daft, but whatever it is you’re brewing up in here smells exactly the same as the ointment that Sister Ada gives me every week.’ He inhaled deeply and with obvious pleasure. ‘Lavender … and some herbs.’

As he spoke, Frank turned around to stare at Zelda’s workbench, on which were ranged the row of little pots that she had been in the process of filling before Frank had walked in and interrupted her.

Turning back to Zelda, who he seemed to have forgotten he had briefly met after she had collided with him in the hospital corridor some time ago, Frank said incredulously. ‘Them’s the very same pots as I get from Sister Ada.’

Knowing that she was cornered, Zelda didn’t even try to lie. ‘It is the same stuff,’ she admitted. ‘I make it for you.’

‘YOU make it!’ he spluttered.

Unable to respond, Zelda could only stare into Frank’s mystified face. ‘Why would you do that?’ he demanded.

Beyond lying, Zelda shrugged. ‘Because I can, and I wanted to help you. I studied botany and the benefits of herbal remedies when I was at university in Munich –’ She stopped as she caught her breath. Why in God’s name had she mentioned Munich to this man who hated Germany?

Frank took a step backwards. ‘So you’re the German lass Sister Ada told me about. The one whose husband was shot by the Nazis?’ he asked bluntly.

Just hearing the words fall from his lips made Zelda’s eyes well up. ‘Yes, I am German, and, yes, my husband was killed by the Nazis,’ she said with as much dignity as she could muster. ‘I apologize for the cruelty my fellow countrymen have inflicted on you, sir,’ she added tremulously.

The air around them seemed to spark with the intensity of their joint emotions. Mercifully Frank defused the atmosphere by picking up and reading one of the herbal remedy books he spotted lying on the bench. He seemed genuinely curious.

‘So … what is this brew that you make for me?’

Feeling heavy and uncomfortable, Zelda supported her burgeoning tummy as she struggled to rise from the armchair and approach her workbench.

‘I use natural products,’ she started cautiously. ‘Herbs which I grew in the summer and dried for later use.’ She pointed at the numerous bunches hanging from the shed rafters. ‘Thyme, basil, dill, marjoram, oregano. I also pick herbs from the local woods and meadows.’ She pointed at the bunches of mint, horseradish, bay leaf and stinging nettle lying on the bench. ‘I follow remedies that have been tried and tested over centuries.’

Frank continued with his questions. ‘But how do you mix all these herbs into a cream?’

‘Well,’ she smiled patiently, ‘I distil some in boiling water, then reduce them to a liquor; others I grind.’ She nodded towards the heavy mortar on the bench. ‘To extract their essential oils, it takes a lot of pounding,’ she explained. ‘Then I blend the two components together with a carrier ingredient like beeswax.’

Frank shook his head as if he couldn’t believe that he was hearing correctly.

‘I consult with the chemist in his shop in Kendal if I can’t find the right herbs and spices,’ Zelda went on. ‘Fortunately, Mr Marsden has a well-stocked pharmacy, as he mixes tonics and cough syrups for some of his customers.’

Picking up a blob of beeswax that was lying on the bench, Frank rolled it between his thumb and fingers. ‘Where do you find this stuff?’

‘The convent,’ Zelda told him, as she dipped her finger into one of the little pots, then gently rubbed the salve into her hands. ‘One of the Sisters keeps bees and kindly gives me surplus wax from her hives.’

‘To think, all this time you’ve been making ointment for me,’ he marvelled. ‘If I hadn’t got a whiff of it this morning I’d never have known.’

‘I didn’t want you to know,’ she confessed. ‘I asked Ada to keep it a secret between me and her.’

Frank gave her a hard look. ‘If you trust the remedies you make, why would you want to keep it a secret?’

Zelda blushed. ‘I am from the country you are at war with. I was sure you would distrust my motives.’

Frank considered her words. ‘To be honest I might have done,’ he answered. ‘But now, after seeing what you do and how good your stuff is, I don’t. In fact, missis, I’d say I was in your debt, and I thank you for your troubles.’

Turning on his heel, Frank headed towards the door. ‘Good-day to you,’ he barked over his shoulder.

Zelda gazed in astonishment at Frank, who walked out of the shed, scaled the old drystone wall and dropped completely out of sight.

Covering her face with her hands, she gasped in astonishment. ‘Oh, my God!’

Not bothering to put on any of her warm woollies, Zelda rushed across the frozen lawn into the hospital wing, where she tracked down Ada cleaning the delivery room.

‘You’ll never believe this!’ Zelda cried.

Ada couldn’t help but laugh out loud when Zelda finished her breathless story.

‘Thanks heavens!’ she exclaimed. ‘I never liked lying to Frank.’

Completely overcome, Zelda shook her head. ‘I never for a minute imagined he would be grateful to me,’ she exclaimed. ‘When he walked in and stood over me like a dark giant, I almost collapsed with fear. He actually had to support me,’ she confessed.

‘He can be quite the gentleman,’ Ada said diplomatically.

‘I’m glad you think so. I’ve just never seen that side to him before,’ Zelda reminded her.

‘Whatever Frank was ranting on about the day you overheard him wasn’t meant for your ears, Zelda,’ Ada said in Frank’s defence. ‘I’m quite sure he would never do something as cruel as that on purpose.’

Zelda shrugged. ‘Well, it’s all out in the open now.’ Her cheeks flushed with pleasure as she recalled his words. ‘He actually thanked me for my salve.’

‘Of course he did,’ Ada cried. ‘You’ve thoroughly researched the product and gone to a lot of trouble to get it right – and it works!’ She burst out laughing, as she had a sudden amusing thought. ‘You know what, Zelda? You could bottle the stuff and make a small fortune.’

Now it was Zelda’s turn to laugh out loud. ‘Don’t be silly, Ada! I do this work for you and your patients; nobody else would be interested.’

Ada gave a wise smile. ‘I wouldn’t be too sure about that, dear.’

While Zelda was busy mixing her salves and tinctures, Gracie, now hugely pregnant, spent a lot of time with Diana, who was slowly regaining her strength if not her spirits after the birth of her son. Worried Ava regularly found Diana feeding Teddy with silent tears streaming down her face. Taking Gracie into her confidence, Ada asked a favour.

‘Keep an eye on Diana, will you? I’m concerned about her spending too much time on her own and getting full-blown post-natal depression.’

Gracie looked anxious. ‘I’m good at telling jokes and making people laugh, Ada, but this is serious. What should I talk to Diana about that won’t upset her? Should I mention her boyfriend, or should I avoid the subject altogether?’ she blurted out.

‘If Harry naturally comes into the conversation, you should pursue it,’ Ada advised. ‘Don’t avoid it, or blank it: it would do Diana good to talk about him.’

‘I see her brooding all the time,’ Gracie said sadly. ‘I just don’t know what to do for the best.’

‘Spend some time with her and you’ll find out,’ Ada predicted.

One bright, clear December afternoon, while Teddy was sleeping in the nursery alongside George, Gracie suggested that she and Diana went for a walk on the marsh. To her surprise Diana eagerly accepted her invitation.

‘A brisk walk will blow the cobwebs away,’ she said with a smile.

Out on the vast marsh the wind whipped in from the Irish Sea, buffeting the two women, who walked somewhat unsteadily along the sandy path left by the outgoing tide. At first it took all their breath just to stand up straight in the face of the wind, but, as it dropped, they were able to hear each other speak.

‘I can’t believe I’m ever going to have this baby,’ Gracie groaned as she held on tightly to her tummy. ‘I sometimes think I’ll look like a barrage balloon for the rest of my life.’

‘You’ve not long to go now, Gracie,’ Diana assured her. ‘You’ve been so fit and lively throughout your pregnancy – just a few more weeks and it will all be over.’

‘I know I’ve been lucky compared with some of the girls who’ve been sick and weak –’ Gracie stopped short and blushed. ‘Heck! I’ve gone and put my foot in it,’ she muttered with a self-conscious blush.

Diana laughed. ‘If you’re talking about me, don’t apologize. I know I didn’t handle pregnancy very well.’

‘You had a nightmare time, Di,’ Gracie said sympathetically. ‘I thought when your fella was reported missing, then dead, you would give up the will to live.’

‘It’s true, I wanted to die,’ Diana confessed. ‘I have no idea how I’m going to face the future without Harry, but my son has given me a reason to get up every morning. For his sake I put a smile on my face and eat enough food to feed him and help him grow big and strong. It’s one day at a time for me, Gracie. If I can do that, hopefully Teddy and I will both survive.’

Gracie gulped in a breath of fresh air before she had the nerve to ask, ‘What was he like, your young man?’

‘Harry.’ Diana smiled as she said his name out loud. ‘Tall, handsome, clever, brave, the strong, silent type. I never knew where he was or what he was doing when he was alive.’ Staring out at the churning grey sea where roaring waves seem to vie with the raging wind to create the loudest noise, she murmured, ‘Now he’s dead, and I don’t even know where he’s buried.’

Feelingly achingly sorry for her friend, Gracie laid a hand across her shoulders. ‘You’re such a brave woman, Di. I don’t know how you bear it.’

Diana turned her cornflower-blue eyes on Gracie. ‘There’s nothing brave about me; I bear it because there is absolutely nothing else I can do,’ she explained in a voice that was hollowed out with grief.

Walking back as the sun began to slide like a flaming ball of fire over the dark horizon, the two women stopped to watch the brilliant colours of the setting sun blaze dark crimson and purple on the crashing waves. As the winter light faded, the northerly wind seemed to be even colder.

‘Let’s get back to Mary Vale,’ Gracie urged.

Turning towards the big old building standing on a promontory overlooking the sea, Diana smiled. Teddy would be waiting for her, and so would George, both with smiles on their dear little faces, both desperate for her return.

‘Yes,’ she said, as she quickened her pace. ‘Let’s go home.’