The Mersey Daughter (Empire Street #3)(104)

‘Wouldn’t have missed this for anything,’ she said lightly, and her voice was still as musical as ever, although maybe her accent wasn’t quite as strong. He realised he was staring and snapped out of his reverie.

‘Of course not. It’s good to see you,’ he replied, cursing himself for being so dull, but unable to come out with anything better. Just being next to her made him as tongue-tied as a schoolboy.

‘You too.’ She was just being polite, nothing else. He mustn’t monopolise her. So now he smiled again in acknowledgement of her presence, resisting the sensation that she was still so magnetic to him, and moved across to congratulate his sister and old friend, now his brother-in-law. Kitty, for all her beauty, could form no part of his future. He had to steel himself to accept it – although every cell in his body screamed against the idea.

Jack had chosen to get married in his Fleet Air Arm uniform, and had never looked more handsome as he stood with one arm around Rita, now that the children had run off to find more treats. Rita looked simply radiant. Utilising all her finest skills from when she had worked in George Henry Lee, Nancy had ensured that her big sister was as beautiful a bride as had been seen, war or no war. She’d found the dress in Lewis’s warehouse, a silk bias-cut with softly puffed sleeves, in a subtle but elegant pattern of corals, creams and greens, which suited Rita’s Titian-red hair and blue-green eyes to perfection. Everyone had pooled their coupons for it. She’d matched the coral shade exactly for Rita’s nail polish. Rita herself had one good pair of black shoes with heels that she rarely wore, as for nursing and working in the shop she needed flat, comfortable ones – and she had rarely done anything other than nursing or working in the shop for years. Nancy had given Rita a precious pair of nylons which one of the US engineers had given her, and Rita had wisely asked no questions about what exactly Nancy had done to receive such a valuable gift. There would be time enough after the wedding to quiz her wayward sister about her behaviour. Rita had taken off the fine new coat that Nancy had lent her, joking that with that, the dress and nylons, along with the shoes, she’d got the ‘something old’, ‘something new’, and ‘something borrowed’ – at which point Kitty had stepped forward and pressed a gold chain into her friend’s hand. Attached to it was a tiny locket with a blue stone.

‘There you are. Something blue. Wear it and you’ll have all the luck in the world.’

‘Really, Kitty? This is gorgeous. It’s so delicate.’ Rita held it up to the light to admire it.

‘It will suit you much better than me, I never have anywhere to wear it,’ Kitty assured her, bending the truth a little, as Elliott had given it to her, saying the stone echoed Kitty’s own dark-blue eyes. Part of her wanted to keep it as a memento of him, but in her heart she knew he had given her gifts far more precious than jewels: confidence, self-belief, a doorway to another world. It was utterly right that Rita should have the locket.

So now Rita wore it at her throat and it gleamed in the light from the parlour gas lamps. Frank noticed it as he made his way to the happy couple, and automatically registered its fine quality, but thought no more of it. He reached to shake Jack’s hand.

‘You’re a lucky man, Jack,’ he grinned, then his face grew more solemn. ‘Make her happy, won’t you—’

Rita interrupted before Jack could reply. ‘He’s going to, I’ll see to that. How could he do anything else?’ She gazed up at the man she loved more than any other, now her husband, and the proud expression on his face almost took her breath away.

Frank tore his thoughts away from Kitty and smiled at his sister, delighted and hugely relieved to see her so happy at last. He’d been worried for her, as had everyone in the family, and felt guilty that he couldn’t do more to help her, especially when Charlie upped and disappeared. Now things had finally come right for her. Impulsively he leant in and gave her a swift kiss on the cheek. ‘Congratulations, Rita.’ He could tell he was surplus to requirements and, having said what he’d wanted to say, he backed away again to talk to Danny.

Jack looked down at his bride, her face slightly flushed with the heat of the room and also with the excitement of the day. ‘Fancy stepping out for some fresh air?’ he asked quietly.

‘Good idea.’ Rita smiled apologetically as they edged their way through the scrum. She picked up Nancy’s lovely coat from the hook beside the front door and they slipped outside into the street, now nearly dark with the shortest day being so close. Seeking shelter from the biting westerly wind, they tucked themselves into the entrance to the alley that separated the Feeny household from the corner shop. Jack drew her to him and breathed in the scent of her beautiful hair, which shone in the remains of the twilight. They could hear the sounds of the party from the house and voices rising from the Feeny back yard.

‘So, Mrs Callaghan.’ Jack smiled as he said the name. ‘How did you like your wedding day?’

‘Oh, Jack.’ Rita hugged him close, almost unable to believe that it was true. ‘It was better than I’d ever hoped for. Standing there before the registrar, all our family and friends looking on, made me the proudest woman in the world. I have to keep pinching myself that it really happened. It was the best day of my life – well, that and when the children were born.’

‘I’ve never been so happy, Reet. I’ve wanted this for us since we were sixteen.’ He sighed in satisfaction. ‘I always knew we’d be together somehow, but I never guessed what you’d have to go through first.’ His voice changed, becoming charged with fierce emotion. ‘You’ll never suffer like that again, my darling. I’m going to make sure you’re safe and protect you for the rest of your life.’