The Victory Garden(17)

“But I don’t want to be stuck in an office, filing and making tea. And they need farm workers, Daddy,” Emily said. “The country is liable to starve if they don’t find women to work in the fields. I’m able-bodied.”

“But you are a gentlewoman. They meant that they need lower-class girls. Girls who are used to that kind of drudgery,” Mrs Bryce said, as if she were talking to a simple child.

“They don’t care how nicely we speak, Mummy. They are desperate. Anyway, I’ve said yes. I start training on Monday.”

Mrs Bryce glared at her husband. “Say something, Harold. Tell her that we utterly forbid her.”

“You can’t forbid me. I’ve already signed up.”

“Your father will go to the office and tell them that you made a mistake. You didn’t realize what you were committing to. He’ll tell them that he’s found you a more appropriate situation for a girl of your class.”

“No, Mummy. You don’t understand. I have enlisted, just as if I were in the army or navy. I am officially part of our forces. I’m afraid there is no going back.”

“This was an extremely unwise move on your part, Emily,” Mr Bryce snapped. “Absolutely thoughtless, and as you can see, quite distressing for your mother.”

“You should be proud of me, Daddy. I’m finally serving my country, and out of concern for you, I elected to stay at home and not volunteer abroad like Clarissa.”

Her father had now risen to his feet. His face was beetroot red. “Be proud of you? My daughter, a field hand? A peasant girl? I don’t care what you signed. You can go right back tomorrow and tell them that you have changed your mind.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not doing that. In fact, I’m rather looking forward to it,” Emily said. “Besides, you can’t stop me. I’ve turned twenty-one. I can now make my own decisions.”

“May I remind you that you are still dependent on us for money?” Mr Bryce bellowed. “You don’t have a penny in the world or a roof over your head apart from this house.”

“Actually, I’ll be given room and board and paid a small wage each week,” she said. “Oh, and they provide a uniform.” She softened her tone. “I don’t want to hurt you, either of you, but you have to let me make my own way. I won’t be in any danger. I’ll be fed and looked after, and I’ll be doing a valuable service. And when the war is finally over, then we can talk about my finding a job that you consider more suitable.”

Mr Bryce ladled leek and potato soup into his bowl. “Well, you’ve made your bed, young lady. Now you lie in it. No calling for us to rescue you when you find you can’t face another day of back-breaking toil, or you’re out in freezing rain with chilblains.”

“Actually, Daddy,” Emily said, accepting the tureen when it was passed to her, “I think it might be a lot of fun.”

“And where will you be stationed? Did they tell you that?”

“I’m being trained near Tavistock and presumably sent to a farm in South Devon. I won’t be too far from home.”

After the meal, she heard her parents talking. Her mother was still inclined to be weepy, but her father said, “It could be worse, Marjorie. At least she’ll be safely away from men and well supervised. And it’s not as if she’s going to be in danger. And the war should be over soon, so you’ll have her home again.”

“I suppose you are right,” came her mother’s tearful reply.

Relations with her parents were frosty as Emily packed a bag and left on Monday morning. Her mother hardly said a word, and almost refused to lend her a suitcase to carry her things. Her father did agree to drive her to the station. For a while, they drove in silence, then he said, “You realize this is an act of pure selfishness on your part, and ingratitude after all we have done for you. We sacrificed to send you to a good school. We wanted the best for you. And now you have broken your mother’s heart.”

Emily swallowed hard to keep her temper in check. “What would you have me do, Daddy? Stay at home quietly until we all realize that there are no suitable men coming home from the front for me to marry? And you can watch me become a bitter and lonely spinster?”

Her father cleared his throat. “No, of course not. I understand you want to spread your wings a little, make your own way in the world. But a more fitting position could have been found for you. I’m sure one of the solicitors I work with could find work for you in his office, or one of the families we know would welcome you as a governess.”

“How is being a governess in any way superior to being a land girl?” Emily could hear her voice rising now. “A servant to a family we know? How could Mother hold her head up high knowing her daughter was a servant?”

“A governess is more than a servant, Emily.”

“Only by a little. She is a prisoner in the schoolroom. She takes her meals alone, shunned by the family. Besides, I have already made up my mind. I have volunteered, and there is nothing more to be said.”

“As you say, there is nothing more to be said.” Her father snapped the words. “Well, I’ll be interested in how long you can stick it.”

They pulled up outside the station. He hauled out her suitcase, put it on the ground and drove away without saying goodbye. Emily felt a fleeting moment of panic, watching him go, but then she took a deep breath and went to buy her ticket.