The Mersey Daughter (Empire Street #3)(103)

Violet smiled at the appreciation of all the work she’d put in; she knew that the fruit they’d grown in the victory garden had been turned into jams and chutneys which were being served alongside the rest of the food. She had good reason to feel satisfied. If only Eddy were here to share this moment with her. She would not cry or even give a little sigh – she couldn’t show her sadness in front of this, her new family, who had welcomed her so warmly and made her feel part of them. But how she missed Eddy, his quiet humour, his acceptance of her for who she was and not who she’d tried to make herself out to be. Gazing at Rita, who had one arm around Michael and the other around Megan, both of whom were dressed up in their very best, Violet wondered for the thousandth time if she would ever have a family of her own, the children that she longed for so keenly. Eddy would be such a good father, anyone could see that. He’d be patient and loving, firm when he needed to be, and fiercely protective, just as he was of her. There was no sense in dwelling on it though; she’d just have to look forward to his next leave, whenever that might be. He’d tried to come home for the wedding but had been turned down, much to his disappointment. They’d just have to wait to be together again, like so many couples all across the country.

Sarah came carefully through the crowd, carrying a tray laden with a collection of mismatched glasses full of sherry. She offered one to her sister-in-law but Violet declined, pulling a face.

‘Kitty, how about you?’ Sarah cautiously turned round. ‘Some of Winnie’s ill-gotten sherry? We might as well make the most of it.’

Kitty shook her head. ‘I know what you mean, but even the thought of Winnie cursing us from wherever she is now can’t persuade me to like the stuff.’ She gave a mock shudder as Danny came up behind them.

‘Here, Sar, I’ll take that. You don’t want “Winnie’s ruin” down your best frock,’ he grinned.

Pop, passing by, made a tutting noise. ‘Now let’s not speak ill of the dead.’ But he smiled to take the sting out of his remark, before moving off to open more beer.

Sarah turned gratefully to Danny. ‘Thanks. They’re heavier than they look and you’re right, I don’t want to spoil this on its first outing.’ She was wearing a beautifully soft wool dress in a yellow so pale it was almost cream, with delicate crocheted collar and cuffs in white. It suited her slender figure and set off her colouring, but it would no doubt show every mark. Kitty smiled at her brother’s chivalry. His manners had improved since she’d left home. Not for the first time she noticed how close he seemed to Sarah, but more likely than not there was nothing in it – Sarah was still very young, and from what everyone said was following in her big sister’s footsteps and devoting herself to nursing.

‘Frank should be here at any minute,’ he went on. ‘He couldn’t get the afternoon off, they were expecting something through that only he could deal with.’ He stopped, knowing that he shouldn’t have said even that much – but Sarah had a pretty good idea of what he and Frank did, and Kitty would be utterly trustworthy. As a Wren she must have to deal with complex levels of security all the time.

‘Is he bringing Sylvia?’ Sarah asked.

‘Don’t think so, she’s on late shifts this week,’ Danny said, failing to notice the expression on his sister’s face.

Immediately Kitty forced her smile to remain in place, so that her flicker of emotion would remain unseen. So Frank had a girlfriend – that should come as no surprise. He was handsome and clever, and had always been popular with the opposite sex; of course he would have someone by now. He’d been back on Merseyside for as long as she’d been away. The only surprise was that she hadn’t heard about it before. Of course there had been a time when such news would have caused her distress, but she reminded herself that she was a different person now, after everything Elliott had taught her, and also after the experience of living and training away from home. She wasn’t a silly kid longing for the gorgeous boynext-door to notice her. So when, a moment later, she caught sight of Frank’s head of molasses-coloured wavy hair above the crowd, she simply told herself it was the excitement of the day that made her heart beat a little faster, and that standing near the fire had caused her face to flush. She looked calmly at him as he made his way steadily over to them and wondered if anyone had tipped him off that she was here.

‘Kitty. You made it, then,’ he said, and she still wasn’t sure if he’d been caught off-guard or not, but he appeared pleased to see her. The atmosphere seemed to change imperceptibly around them, but she told herself she was imagining it. She reminded herself that she was done with all of that, and that there was no room to think of any future attachments; she needed to be free to go wherever she was posted. But, much as she tried, Kitty couldn’t stop the tremble that had crept into her legs, or fail to be conscious of Frank’s larger-than-life presence as they stood so near to each other. Frank was so close she could touch him if she wanted to …

Frank schooled himself not to react to Kitty’s unexpected presence. Of course he knew she’d been asked to come, but when nobody had heard from her he, like everyone else, assumed she would be unable to make it. Now here she was, as beautiful as ever, but with something else behind those lustrous eyes: a sorrow and maturity that was new. The loss of her doctor boyfriend must have hit her hard. It had only been a couple of months ago, so she must be deep in grief still. His heart went out to her and for a moment he almost said something that would give away how he felt – but then he reminded himself that she would be unlikely to welcome it when she was so recently bereaved. Besides which, he was now seeing Sylvia as often as they could manage, and if he wasn’t quite head over heels in love, he was most definitely ‘in like’. All their lives had changed and he had to accept that.