‘Daddy, was that telephone call you just took from Grandma?’

  He nodded. ‘It was, she was just telling me that your grandfather has perked up, knowing that we’re coming to see them in a few days. She said they’re going to pretend it won’t be Christmas until we get there.’

  ‘Lucky boys, if they’re going to get two Christmas lunches. Have you heard when the car’s coming?’

  ‘Actually, I got a call at work earlier today. Someone’s driving down with it on the 27th, which means we’ll be leaving the day after Boxing Day.’

  ‘Golly, so soon. Friday’s only four days away. We go back to school on 6 January – will you be back by then?’

  ‘Another phone call that I received was to say that the boys’ school took a direct hit from an incendiary and there’s been extensive fire damage. Nobody was hurt, but it’s unlikely the Royal Grammar will open on time even if your school does.’

  ‘I’m surprised that George and Sammy haven’t heard about it. The schools have returned from their relocation because the powers that be decided Colchester isn’t dangerous, and the very weekend they return the school goes up in flames.’

  ‘Hardly that, sweetheart, but I see the irony.’

  Over supper, the conversation was lively and mostly about the incendiary damage to the boys’ school. Emily preferred eating in the kitchen, there was ample room around the large table and it was much warmer and less formal than the dining room.

  ‘Do we need to start packing for Kent before Christmas, Mummy?’ George asked as Lucinda and Emily cleared the dinner plates and went to fetch the jam roly-poly and custard for dessert.

  ‘Goodness me, young man, you’re not going on a six-month sea voyage, just to see your grandparents for a few days. There’s no need to even think about packing anything until Boxing Day and that’s four days away.’

  ‘When I was evacuated we were only allowed to bring a change of clothes, one toy, and our pyjamas,’ Sammy said. ‘The War Office must have thought the families taking us in would give us what we didn’t have.’

  ‘I don’t suppose many of the children coming from the East End like you did, Sammy, had more than that to bring,’ George said.

  Emily glared at him, hoping to stop him before he made things worse. She needn’t have worried.

  ‘I’m so glad you came to us, Sammy, imagine if you hadn’t, you’d probably be back in London now and not my brother. This family wouldn’t be the same without you.’

  ‘It certainly wouldn’t, well said, George, we’re fortunate to have been able to adopt you, Sammy,’ Daddy said.

  ‘I’m the lucky one; I’m like a pig in clover living here. One day when I’m a bloke in a smart suit, driving a big black car, I’ll go back to where I came from just to show them how well I’ve done.’

  George grinned. ‘I’m going to have a green MG sports car; I’ll also have an apartment in Kensington.’

  Mummy looked at Emily. ‘What about you, darling girl, where do you see yourself in ten years?’

  ‘I’ll just be leaving university. I want to be an engineer but I don’t suppose a woman will be allowed to do that when the war’s over as the men will want those sorts of jobs so perhaps I’ll be an architect instead.’

  Lucinda reached across and squeezed her hand. ‘You can be anything you want to be, Emily, things have already changed for women. Do you want to be a civil engineer or a mechanical?’

  ‘Civil. I’d love to design big structures, roads, bridges, office buildings but probably being an architect might be more use as we’re going to need houses for those who have been bombed out.’

  George sniggered. ‘Crikey, in ten years’ time I hope the war will have been over for years and everybody will have a home. I’m going to be flying for a commercial airline when I’m grown up, what about you, Sammy?’

  ‘My best subject’s maths, Mr Ponsonby said I could be a chartered accountant. I’m not sure what that is but if it involves maths, I’ll give it a go. As long as it means I can have a big car and a smart suit then that’s what I’ll do.’

  Emily was sitting next to Lucinda and looked at her, eager to hear what she had in mind. She was already an adult, even if she wasn’t considered to be one until she was twenty-one.

  ‘I can’t really think any further than what I’m going to do next year. I’m hoping I’ll be called for a test flight to join the ATA but failing that I expect I’ll get an interview for the WAAF. I’m eager to be more involved than just patrolling lower Wivenhoe every night. I hate to say this, but I can’t see this beastly war being over for ages yet. I think whatever I’m doing in a couple of months is what I’ll be doing for the next few years.’

  13

  Ralph did everything expected of him over the next few days. He attended church on Christmas Day itself, built snowmen with his girls and made love to his wife every night.

  However, keeping up the pretence that he was a loving husband and father began to pall and he was relieved when he got a telephone call from the War Office asking him to come in.

  ‘I’m sorry, darling, I’ve had far longer at home than I expected. It’s been the most wonderful Christmas, but duty calls.’

  Leone’s smile was blinding and he felt a flicker of remorse that he was basically lying to her. Then he pushed this guilt aside, as it didn’t really matter that his feelings for her and the two girls weren’t genuine as long as they thought they were.

  Hugh and Beatrice and their two plain daughters had welcomed them into the ancestral home for Christmas lunch itself. Ralph had enjoyed this – there was nothing he liked better than to be waited on by footmen and a butler in a house three times the size of his own.

  ‘Come home when you can.’

  ‘I’ll come when I have permission to leave. I promise I’ll be working and staying at the flat on my own if I’m not at home with you.’

  ‘I believe you. I think you’ve learned your lesson, realised what you almost lost, and now we can be happy, especially if we have a boy next time.’

  ‘Next time? Are you so sure that we’ll have another child?’

  ‘I am, it might not be this month, but I have a good feeling about it.’

  He embraced her and kissed her fondly. Why had he been wasting his time chasing after other women when he had such a treasure at home? Maybe being a family man wouldn’t be quite as bad as he imagined.

  There’d been no massive raids over Christmas, just sporadic bombing, so at least the bad weather was beneficial in some ways. As he trudged through the snow to his underground office, his thoughts turned to the havoc he was going to wreak on the Somiton girl.

  Knowing how slowly things were likely to be dealt with after the Christmas break – even though few people actually had the time off since the war started – it was unlikely that her application would be dealt with until the New Year. This meant he’d got plenty of time to set things in motion.

  Emily had helped her brothers pack and had been there to wave them off when they’d left yesterday. Lily had been given the next few days free as there was absolutely no necessity to have a cook–housekeeper when there were only two people in the house.

  Lucinda would be asleep until mid-afternoon so as long as Emily was home to wake her she could do as she pleased. She decided to take a train into Colchester and visit Nancy. She was expecting a baby in a couple of months, and if her husband, captain of a Thames barge, was away, there’d be nobody to walk the dog.

  Even with two pairs of socks inside her rubber boots, thick scarf, woolly hat and gloves plus several layers underneath, Emily’s toes were frozen by the time she trudged around to the yard of Nancy’s haberdashery shop in Head Street.

  Fortunately, the back gate was unlocked and she slithered her way to the door. Boyd saw her through the kitchen window and began to bark. There was no need to knock as the door was opened by Mr Brooks.

  ‘Crikey, what are you doing here? No sensible person is out in this weather.’

  Emily smiled. ‘I’ll tell you if you let me in. How are Nancy and Annie?’

  ‘I’m absolutely tickety-boo, thanks, love, and so is Annie as her Richard’s got leave for a few days as his ship was damaged and is in dock for a while,’ Nancy called from a chair at the kitchen table.

  ‘I came to take the dogs out, I didn’t want you staggering about in your condition in this weather.’

  ‘That’s kind of you, love, but Dan’s already taken him. Get your things off and I’ll make you a nice cup of cocoa, I’ve got some lovely buns we can toast and have with jam.’

  ‘You stop where you are, Nancy, I’ll make the cocoa. You don’t want to overdo it, that’s what the midwife said when she came the other day.’

  ‘I’m having a baby, not ill, and the shop will be open on Saturday as usual.’

  ‘In which case, love, it’ll be me serving the ladies with knicker elastic. See how that goes down.’

  Emily giggled. She loved hearing the two of them talking. She didn’t want to get married as young as Nancy had but when she did she hoped it would be to someone she could love and laugh with like they did.

  ‘My family, apart from me and Lucinda, have gone to Kent. Daddy’s got a car from London so they’re driving. Grandpa’s fading away, they want to visit him for the last time.’

  ‘That’s sad, but he’s ever so old, let’s hope they get there and back in one piece, it’s not the weather for driving,’ Nancy said. Then she frowned. ‘You told me last time you came that Miss Somiton’s out all night – does that mean you’re going to be on your own?’

  Emily stared at her. ‘Golly, I don’t think any of us considered that. I don’t suppose it matters as I’ll be asleep most of the time and I’ve got Ginger to protect me.’ She nodded. ‘Anyway, it’s already been one night and I didn’t even notice and then tomorrow’s Sunday and she doesn’t work at the weekend.’

  ‘It’s not right, you might look older but you’re only twelve, you should have a grown-up there,’ Nancy said.

  ‘I’ve got a telephone, Mrs Cousins and the doctor live next door and if I opened the window and shouted, I think half a dozen people would hear and come running to help.’

  ‘Don’t fret, love, Mr Roby wouldn’t have gone if he thought Emily couldn’t manage. You could always go out on patrol with Miss Somiton. There’s no school for Emily until next week so she could sleep all day same as she does,’ Mr Brooks said.

  ‘Don’t be daft, Dan, she doesn’t want to be tramping about in the snow in the middle of the night if she doesn’t have to.’

  ‘You’re both right, I don’t have to be on my own if I don’t want to be. But on balance, I’d rather be alone in a warm bed than with Lucinda in the middle of the night in the snow.’

  Emily spent a happy hour with her friends and then volunteered to do some shopping before she returned home. She was known to the shopkeepers in Head Street so there was no problem buying what was needed using Nancy’s ration book.

  As she unlocked the back door of Harbour House, she heard the telephone jangling outside the sitting room and raced down the passageway to answer it without removing her boots. She didn’t want Lucinda to have to get up to answer it.

  ‘Harbour House, Miss Roby speaking, how can I help you?’

  ‘Emily, I thought I’d telephone and let you know how things are here. Your grandfather is overjoyed to see us and there isn’t nearly as much snow in Kent as there is in Essex.’

  ‘Daddy, how lovely to hear from you. I just went into Colchester to see if I could help Nancy by taking the dogs out, but I wasn’t needed. I just did some shopping instead.’

  ‘Good girl, we won’t be staying for more than a couple of nights. If Lucinda’s back on duty then you’ll be on your own⁠—’

  ‘Goodness, I’ll be asleep, there’s no need for you to worry about me. Mr Brooks suggested that I could go out with Lucinda if I was worried about being on my own, but I’d much rather be in my warm bed.’

  ‘I don’t know how we didn’t consider this before we left. I’m still not entirely happy about the situation, but if you change your mind then we’ll come back at once.’

  ‘George and Sammy would never forgive me. No, Daddy, you need to spend as much time as you can with Grandpa. Don’t worry about me.’

  ‘Your mother suggested that you could invite Doris to stay with you – she’s a year older than you. It means you would have to brave the elements and catch the ferry across the river, but it might be worth it if you think your friend would come.’

  ‘Thank you, I’m sure she’d love to. It’s too late to go today as it’ll be dark soon and I’ve got to get Lucinda up. I’ll go tomorrow morning when the shipyard workers are using the ferry as then I’ll be certain it’s running. Give everyone my love. Goodbye.’

  She was smiling as she replaced the receiver in the cradle. Doris would be absolutely perfect as a companion – she was more practical than either Penny or herself and it would be super fun being able to stay up late listening to the wireless like grown-ups every evening.

  Doris was thrilled to be invited to come and stay for a few nights and her grandparents were happy to give their permission.

  ‘You mind your Ps and Qs, don’t take no liberties, behave yourself,’ her nan said as they were about to leave.

  ‘Don’t worry, I know what’s what, I’m tickled pink to be asked. I’ve never been away from home before and it’ll be like a holiday.’

  On the way down the hill to catch the ferry, they both fell over twice but it didn’t matter, it was all part of the fun. They ran the short distance from the river to Harbour House and Emily’s hands were so cold it took several minutes to unlock the back door so they could get into the warm.

  ‘Crikey, I’m glad to be inside, my feet are like blocks of ice,’ Doris said as she hooked off her boots.

  ‘The slippers you use are right there waiting for you. We’re going to sleep in the boys’ room as it’s got two beds. We’re also going to light the fire – it’ll be such fun.’

  Lucinda was woken with an actual mug of tea, not just the usual knock on the door. Emily handed it to her.

  ‘Doris is staying here until everyone comes back. That means I won’t be on my own at night – not that I minded – but it’s much more fun having one of my best friends here.’

  Lucinda was surprised Emily had struck up such a strong friendship with someone so different from her. It just showed what a special girl she was.

  ‘Has it snowed any more?’

  ‘No, unfortunately the skies are fairly clear, not quite a bomber’s moon but almost as bad. I’m hoping it’s so many degrees below zero that the Luftwaffe can’t fly because of the ice – I think it forms on the wings, but I might be wrong.’

  ‘People are a bit on edge now after the incendiaries last week in Colchester. Have you checked that the shelter under the house is usable? Its previous life was just as a vegetable cellar, after all.’

  ‘We haven’t, and we’re certainly not going down there now as it’s far too cold. We’ll have a look tomorrow. I think there’s a paraffin stove and Doris will know how to light that safely as they’ve got one in their outhouse.’

  ‘Good show, thanks for the tea. I’ll be down for my sandwiches in ten minutes.’

  ‘Golly, I’d forgotten all about those. Don’t worry, they’ll be ready when you come.’

  Emily had been right and, half an hour after Lucinda had begun patrolling, the dreaded sound of German bombers approaching meant that London was going to get bombed again. She watched, her heart sinking, as wave after wave flew past. This was going to be a massive raid. Then they were surrounded by a squadron of fighters, the sky was ripped apart by machine-gun bullets. She was delighted to see two of the German planes had fire coming from various parts of their fuselage as they spiralled away into the darkness, hopefully to crash somewhere away from houses.

  Lucinda jumped up and down cheering and she saw a couple of curtains twitch in the nearby houses. The siren didn’t wail so whoever was in charge, no doubt somewhere in a headquarters underground, didn’t believe any bombs were going to be dropped in this area.

  As she passed the Black Buoy, someone opened the door and light flooded out onto the snow. ‘Shut that blooming door. Can’t you hear the bombers going over? Do you want a bomb dropped on your head?’

  A cheerful voice replied, ‘Sorry, love, tripped over the bleeding thing and it came down on me head.’

  The door had been slammed shut, leaving the speaker outside. She shone her torch in his direction and laughed. He was completely entangled in the blackout curtain, his arms and legs making bumps in the material but not emerging.

  ‘Stand still, I’ll extricate you before you break your neck. You’re standing on the hem, keep still and I’ll sort you out.’

  ‘Righto, ta, love, can’t tell me arse from me elbow.’

  A few minutes later, a tousle-haired, friendly young man emerged, grinning. ‘We can’t go in that way as there’s no blackout, I’m holding it.’

  ‘Go around to the back door and up the stairs. This needs to be put back before anyone else comes out. Good night, if I see any light here again tell the landlord he’ll be fined.’

  This small incident made her smile but it hadn’t made her any warmer. She could hear the ack-ack guns firing at Harwich, they would be protecting any naval ships docked there. The search lights arced through the blackness, searching for a target, but the Luftwaffe were gone, at least for the moment.

  Experience told her the first bombers wouldn’t linger in London as the longer they stayed the more likely they were to be shot down – not by the big guns, as they rarely hit anything, but by the fighters.