She wouldn’t be able to see the fire glow from here but she could imagine the horror, the devastation in London at the moment, and sent up a quick prayer for those on the receiving end of this raid. One thing she was certain of was that no Londoner would panic – they’d just get on with it as they had been doing for the past three months. Hitler wasn’t going to demoralise Britain, however many bombs he dropped.

  Weary, fed up and frozen solid, Lucinda pushed her way into the house at five o’clock. Why were the lights on? Her pulse jumped. Had there been an emergency in her absence?

  ‘Lucinda, you must have had a dreadful night. We heard the bombers and listened to the wireless and it’s been shockingly bad night for them. Thousands of incendiaries, half the city is in flames. We found it hard to sleep knowing that so got up to make you a proper breakfast,’ Emily said and rushed forward and hugged her, despite the fact that she was still wearing her ice-encrusted outer garments.

  ‘I appreciate it, I was feeling a bit low as you might imagine. A large mug of tea is exactly what I want after I’ve taken off my coat and things.’

  She munched her way through a delicious plate of fried bread and baked beans, closely followed by several slices of toast and Marmite.

  ‘That was scrumptious, thank you so much both of you. It’s going to be at least another two hours before it’s fully light so why don’t you both go back to bed?’

  ‘It’s Saturday today – you don’t have to work. Have you got any plans for the weekend?’

  ‘I think I’ll spend it with you and Doris, if that’s all right. Don’t forget, we’re going to investigate your air-raid shelter to make sure it’s fully functioning. Why don’t we get fish and chips for tea?’

  The girls were delighted with her suggestion and an hour after arriving home Lucinda was snuggled up with her hot water bottle and her extremities were finally thawing out.

  She was woken by the two girls moving about next door. They weren’t noisy but Lucinda was eager to get up.

  Six months ago, the thought of spending even an hour with two girls of their age would have filled her with horror, now she couldn’t wait. She emerged from her room fully clothed about the same time as they did.

  They had a second breakfast, or a very early lunch, and the three of them were ready to venture down the steps to the shelter which so far hadn’t been used.

  ‘Golly, we forgot to bring in the milk, it’s frozen,’ Emily said. ‘Look, there’s ice poking out of the top.’

  Doris grabbed the small metal crate that the milk was in and grinned. ‘It’ll taste the same once it’s defrosted.’ The five pint bottles rattled as she carried them into the scullery.

  The wooden door of the shelter was iced shut and it took the combined efforts of the three of them to prise it open. Lucinda sniffed and was reassured.

  ‘It doesn’t smell awful, not damp as I expected. It seems you’re a dab hand at lighting lamps and paraffin stoves, Doris, so if we shine our torches in the right direction can you do that for us?’

  ‘My pleasure, I do it all the time at home, we ain’t got no electric nor gas in our cottage.’

  No wonder Doris was so happy to come to Harbour House, which was positively luxurious compared to her house. Not what Lucinda was accustomed to, but nevertheless this was her home, and she loved it, even if it didn’t have a proper bathroom and no garden to speak of.

  14

  Emily enjoyed sprucing up the underground shelter with Lucinda and Doris. ‘It’s cosy down here even if it does smell of paraffin,’ she said. ‘I bet the boys will want to make it their den when they get back.’

  ‘I don’t reckon it’d be safe down here with those two racketing about,’ Doris said. ‘What with oil lamps and paraffin stoves and everything.’

  ‘Yes, you’re right. We won’t mention it to them – it’ll be all right in the summer when they don’t need the paraffin stove. I think they’d be safe enough with an oil lamp.’

  ‘Only three days and we’re back to school. I leave at Easter and am going to work in munitions on Hythe Hill,’ Doris said.

  ‘Don’t do that, it’s so dangerous. Surely you can find something safer and more enjoyable?’

  There’d been some dreadful accidents in these dangerous places and she didn’t want her dear friend to be killed by exploding bombs or bullets.

  ‘I ain’t lucky like you, Emily, I can’t please myself. I need to get the job which pays the best money. Me nan and grandad are relying on me. Penny’s mum has put in a word for me and there’s a job if I want it where she works.’

  Emily thought of a way to keep Doris safe and blurted out her idea without really considering how Doris might react.

  ‘I’ve just had an idea – if Lily leaves then why don’t you be our housekeeper? You could get here easily enough on the ferry every day. I know she gets a good wage.’

  Instead of looking pleased by her suggestion, Doris scowled. ‘So you think of me as a skivvy then? I thought I was your friend.’

  ‘I’ve only got two friends: you and Penny. Nancy’s an older friend, and she used to work for us, and I count Annie as a friend and she worked here too. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, it’s who you are that counts. I’d love to have you here all the time, you’d still be my best friend, but I can see why you might find it a bit tricky.’

  ‘Well, that’s all right then. Why do you think that Lily’s going to leave? She seems happy here, like one of the family.’

  Emily grinned and affectionately pressed Doris’s shoulder. ‘There, you understand what I was saying. I heard Lily talking to her daughter and I think there might be a baby sometime in the future.’

  ‘Crikey, Daphne’s not even married yet.’

  ‘No, not Daphne, Lily. She and Mr Turner want another baby. She’s about the same age as my mother was when she had Grace so it’s perfectly possible.’

  ‘Good luck to them, I say, I wouldn’t want to bring a nipper into the world right now, but I suppose at their age they can’t afford to wait.’

  Emily regretted upsetting Doris but hoped she’d smoothed things over. She was so lucky that she could remain at school until she was eighteen when Doris had no option but to leave and start working.

  The next three days were equally enjoyable, even going to church where their breath steamed in front of them and the congregation shivered. It was colder in the old building than in the churchyard.

  Daddy had telephoned to say they would be home on Thursday. This meant the boys would miss the first day of term, if the school even opened then, but nothing much happened the first day so it wouldn’t really matter academically.

  Saying goodbye to Doris was going to be difficult as they’d had such a jolly time pretending to be grown-ups. The evenings had been especially good after Lucinda had gone to work as they relaxed in the sitting room listening to the wireless and even drank their night-time cocoa in there. Having the Christmas tree lights made the room magical and the evenings even better.

  On Wednesday, as she was waiting with Doris for the ferry to come back from the other side of the river, Doris asked a question that had also been bothering Emily.

  ‘Why didn’t Penny come over? You put a note through her door saying she was very welcome even if only for a day. I’m going straight there when I get back, if there’s anything going on then I’ll go to the telephone box and give you a ring to let you know.’

  ‘We should have gone to see her. I feel a bit guilty about that, but we were having such a good time and the weather’s been so frightful, I didn’t suggest it. Here, I’ve got some pennies, you take them in case you have to make that telephone call. It’s not fair if you have to pay.’

  Doris didn’t argue and dropped the pennies into her pocket. ‘I’ll give them back to you if I don’t use them. You’ll be coming across to mine on Saturday, won’t you?’

  ‘I suppose we could wait until Penny comes into school tomorrow, but I don’t want her to think that we forgot about her completely.’

  ‘Even if we did? We could easily have nipped across, she must think we’re rotten friends.’

  ‘I’m coming with you. It’s not even two o’clock so I can easily be back before dark,’ Emily said.

  ‘That’s the ticket. I never liked to suggest it but I wasn’t keen to go on me own.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I’ll have to have two of the pennies back as I only had those coppers with me,’ Emily said. It cost 1d each way.

  The water was high, the crossing choppy but fortunately Emily was sitting in the centre of the seat so it wasn’t her that got a wet backside.

  She usually ignored the youth who helped people disembark but this time she was grateful for his strong hand to guide her from the rocking ferry.

  ‘Blimey, my bum’s soaked. I’ll be frozen by the time I get home,’ Doris said with a grimace. ‘It’s blooming well gone right through my coat.’

  ‘Why don’t you go home and change and then join me over the lane at Penny’s house?’

  ‘I ain’t got another coat so might as well stay as I am. Imagine what it must be like rowing that blooming ferry backwards and forwards all day in this weather.’

  ‘I think there are two ferrymen, one from Rowhedge and one from Wivenhoe and they do half a day each.’

  It would have been better if they’d been able to run up the hill but it was too slippery as the snow underneath had frozen and then fresh snow had fallen overnight. Emily was concerned about her family coming home in a car tomorrow as the roads would be absolutely lethal.

  ‘Do you think the army clears the main roads so their lorries can get through?’

  ‘I reckon so, there’s thousands and thousands of squaddies hanging around idle since they was brought back from Dunkirk. The blighters have got to do something to keep fit and make themselves useful.’

  ‘Of course, how silly of me. I was just thinking about my family coming home if the roads hadn’t been cleared.’

  They’d now slithered their way up the hill and were outside the house where Penny lived.

  ‘Shall we go round the back, Doris? That will save someone having to walk through the house from the kitchen. That’s where they’ll be as it’s warmer than anywhere else.’

  They didn’t look at the front of the house on the way to the back gate as they were too busy trying not to slip.

  The gate was bolted on the inside but Doris was tall enough to reach over and slide it back. The twins couldn’t reach it without standing on something.

  The path hadn’t been cleared and there were no fresh footprints in the snow. Emily was now seriously concerned for her friend and her family.

  She pointed to the un-blemished snow in front of the back door and Doris nodded.

  ‘Something’s not right. The blackouts are still down.’

  Emily felt a rush of relief. ‘The only reason for that is because they’re not there. They must have gone away for Christmas.’

  ‘I hope so, otherwise we’ll find a row of dead bodies inside.’

  Emily snorted. ‘Don’t be so melodramatic, Doris, the obvious answer’s usually the correct one.’

  After hammering on the door for several minutes and getting no response they were both convinced the house was empty.

  ‘I reckon me nan will know what’s what. We should have gone there first.’

  Doris was right and Nan told them that Penny and her family had got a travel warrant to go and see Captain Simmons, who was with his regiment somewhere in Kent. Emily was relieved and happy that her friend had managed to see her father, after being apart from him for so many months.

  She hugged Doris and then trudged down to the ferry, wishing she’d thought of this explanation before making such an unpleasant excursion.

  Lucinda was looking forward to seeing the house full again when the remainder of the family returned from Kent today. Emily was back at school; Lily had the house sparkling and, in honour of the occasion, all the fires were being lit.

  London had been hit again by a massive raid, as had other cities throughout the country. The RAF were doing retaliation bombing but she’d not heard that they were being particularly successful. It was the fighters, the Hurricanes and Spitfires, that were key to keeping up British morale.

  She’d managed to buy an alarm clock from Mr Chaney on the corner of Queen’s Road so didn’t have to rely on someone waking her up to go on patrol. Doing her duty was all very well, but there was really no necessity for anybody to be wandering around the streets in the middle of the night as there’d been no further incidents of any sort. Even issuing a fine for showing a light would make her life more interesting.

  ‘Did you have a good sleep, Miss Somiton? There’re three letters for you, I put them in the box by the telephone,’ Lily said.

  ‘Thank you, I’ll read them whilst I drink my tea. Goodness, have I got actual cheese on toast today? How did you manage that?’

  ‘My chickens are still laying the occasional egg and I swapped half a dozen for a nice piece of cheese. It’s too dry to eat in a sandwich but it’ll be lovely toasted.’

  Lucinda collected her letters and saw that one was postmarked Hatfield. Did she dare open it? So much depended on at least getting a chance to show her skills as a pilot.

  She carefully slid her finger under the flap on the envelope and pulled out a single sheet. She had to read it twice. Lily came in with her tea on a tray and Lucinda looked at her, her eyes brimming.

  ‘I’ve got an interview to be an ATA pilot. I can’t believe it, I’m so excited.’

  ‘When is it?’

  ‘Golly, I didn’t take that in. Let me see – it’s next Wednesday, it says to come regardless of the weather and be prepared to stay until it’s safe to fly.’

  ‘Where’s Hatfield when it’s at home?’

  ‘I think it’s about twenty miles from London. I’ll catch the train from Paddington and then hope to cadge a lift to the airfield.’

  ‘What time do you have to be there?’

  ‘Good grief, it says by nine o’clock. That means I’ll have to leave Wivenhoe on the first train to make sure I’ve got enough time to walk the two miles if I have to.’

  ‘There’s one at five thirty – it wakes us up every morning. You might be a bit late if you have to walk but with any luck you’ll get a lift and arrive spot on.’

  Lucinda didn’t want her delicious cheese on toast to get cold so left the other letter until she’d finished. It was already dark and she’d expected the family to be home by now. Driving with barely any headlights, just a narrow pinpoint, in the blackout was something she thought Jonathan would have avoided.

  The thought of them driving in the dark made her worry and what had seemed delicious a few moments ago now no longer appealed. Ginger meowed and purred around her feet, looking hopeful.

  ‘All right, you can have it. Don’t tell Lily, she’ll be very upset I gave the precious cheese to you.’

  Despite being a veteran hunter, bringing home rabbits regularly whilst the bunnies were still to be seen out of their burrows, the huge cat had never stolen anything from someone’s plate. He had taken things left lying around in the pantry – but that was different.

  He’d just wolfed down the last crumb when Lucinda heard a car pulling up outside. Her heart skipped. She ran to the front door, slipped behind the blackout curtain and opened it.

  ‘Home at last, I was getting worried as I thought you’d be here earlier,’ Lucinda called loudly from the doorstep. She was wearing her slippers so couldn’t go down to meet them.

  Jonathan yelled back and she heard Elizabeth tutting and telling him to be quiet and the boys were laughing.

  ‘Had to do several detours because of the bombs last night in London. Grace’s asleep so Elizabeth will put her straight to bed.’

  The boys tore up the path and she hugged them both. ‘There’s cheese on toast for tea, Lily’s just been waiting for you to get back. We’ve missed you so much. Did you enjoy yourselves?’

  ‘We did, it was super fun, we played with the dogs, skated on the lake, made snowmen and have got loads of smashing things that used to be Daddy’s when he was a boy. Is Emily back from school yet, we’ve got something for her too?’

  ‘No, but she’ll be on the next train. Take your shoes off before you go into the kitchen – I’ve left your slippers there as I thought you would go in through the back door.’

  Elizabeth arrived next cradling the baby and Lucinda held back the curtain to allow her free entry. ‘Jonathan’s going to put the luggage by the gate and then park the car in Little Wick, Dr Cousins said we could do that as long as we don’t box him in.’

  Lucinda closed the door and hurried back to the kitchen where she changed into her outdoor shoes and pulled on her coat. She’d bring in the luggage then Jonathan could come straight in.

  The boys were rushing about the house, overexcited to be home and desperate to be able to show Emily what they’d brought with them.

  Lucinda was on her third journey when Jonathan appeared. ‘Thank you, you didn’t have to do this. I just heard the train steam in so Emily will be home in a minute.’

  She joined them at the table, even though she’d eaten her tea – or rather the cat had eaten most of it – and listened to the boys. George seemed like his old self, laughing and smiling, the trip had done him good. What bothered her was that none of them mentioned Major Roby and she rather thought that was because the news was too sad to talk about.

  Over the Christmas break, Mr Hatch had managed to persuade some workmen to build a small wooden open-fronted shelter. This had been stocked with a Primus stove, a wooden chair and a thick blanket so now they could both take a much-needed break every couple of hours.

  Tonight would be the first time Lucinda would be using it – the vicar’s permission had been forthcoming, so it had been put by the gate in the churchyard.

  Lily handed her the precious thermos flask filled with lovely hot tea. ‘There you are, Miss Somiton, you can put this in your little hut and drink it later.’