The Mersey Daughter (Empire Street #3)(50)

Over the back wall, in the alley just beginning to be lit by moonlight, a quiet figure slunk away from where it had been standing, listening to the whole conversation and then watching the silhouette of Rita through the thin fabric of the bedroom curtains. How he hated her. How he’d make her pay for chatting up her fancy man. He could show her a few things she wouldn’t forget in a hurry. She might think her war hero was going to rescue her, but he’d remind her of what a real man could do first. Then she’d be very, very sorry.





PART TWO





CHAPTER NINETEEN


Late summer 1941

‘Blast, I’ve broken another nail.’ Gloomily Laura examined her hand. She’d managed to acquire a light tan and it suited her, making her still more glamorous, if that were possible. ‘Can’t think how I’ve done it as the wretched captain makes me wear white gloves every time I drive him anywhere. White gloves! In this heat! I notice that whenever he’s not in the public eye, he takes off as many layers as possible. I’ve even seen him in shirtsleeves in the back seat, when there’s absolutely no chance of anyone noticing he’s not in full regalia. But when I asked him if I could take off my gloves and my hat, which, as you can see, flattens my poor hair in a most unattractive way, he practically bit my head off. He’s really got it in for me, and I can’t think why. I wish I was back driving the lorries.’

The three Wrens were sitting in their canteen by an open window to try to catch the slightest breeze. North London was shimmering in a heat haze – it was even baking hot in their billet up on the hill – and they were all suffering as a result. What had once been the school gardens, or what was left of them under the numerous vehicles parked along the front and sides of the building, were parched and looking sorry for themselves. But it was better than the dormitory, which, being on a higher floor, caught the full force of the sun and was stifling as a consequence.

‘At least you manage to get out and about,’ Marjorie said. ‘I’m sick of being stuck in one room. As soon as I think I’m getting the hang of signals in one language, they switch to something more difficult. Now they’re talking about springing another language on those of us daft enough to show we were good at French and German. My money’s on Dutch. I can’t begin to think how I’ll get my teeth around those sounds.’

‘Dutch? Like those dishy men we met in Soho that time?’ Laura brightened up. ‘You could always practise on them. I could go along and show how useless I am at languages and make you look good in comparison. What do you say?’

‘Laura, you are impossible,’ groaned Marjorie.

‘Anyway, they’re probably back fighting by now,’ Kitty pointed out. ‘They were only in London for a long weekend. It was so brave of them to join up with foreign forces. I’m not sure about going to that club without Elliott though.’

Laura grinned mischievously. ‘And how is the lovely Elliott, the dashing doctor? Is he coming to see you again soon?’

Kitty sighed and pushed a curl back behind her ear. ‘I don’t know. I hope so. It was lucky he made it down a few times over the summer as the raids haven’t been anything like as bad back home as in May. But if it all starts up again, he can’t leave the hospital – you know that, he told us.’ Elliott had visited as often as he could and had willingly taken on the job of squiring Laura and Marjorie around town to all the places he knew of that were still open for business. They’d all enjoyed themselves enormously, and Kitty had finally got over her fear that someone like Laura would be far better suited to him. In a way she understood that Laura regarded him as a surrogate brother – someone to tease and have adventures with – but nothing more. They could all see that Elliott only had eyes for Kitty.

At one point over the summer he’d floated the idea of her coming back to visit her family and friends. Kitty had had to explain that she didn’t think she’d get enough leave to make the long journey, although she missed everyone badly. She was still grappling with the finer points of working the complex system of telephones, but Tommy was never far from her thoughts, even though they wrote to each other as often as they could. She guiltily wondered how Rita was managing; Elliott had reported the nurse was increasingly tired when they were on the same ward, and often short-tempered, which wasn’t in her character at all, although living with Winnie would try the patience of a saint.

‘That’s a shame,’ said Laura, digging around in her bag until she found a nail file. ‘He’s a proper tonic. Well, we shall have to find something else to do the next time we all have the same day off. That’s if I don’t get called back on duty like last Friday. Honestly, when I found out I was going to be a driver, this wasn’t what I thought I’d be doing.’ She pulled a face at the memory. They’d been getting ready for a visit to Lyons Corner House in the West End when the summons had come from Captain Cavendish for Laura to chauffeur him to a meeting near Whitehall. Laura had been obliged to go, but she did so with very bad grace.

‘That was an exception,’ Marjorie pointed out.

‘Was it?’ Laura filed the corner of her broken nail with furious energy. ‘I’m not so sure. He could have got anyone on duty to do it; it didn’t need special skill or detailed knowledge of that part of town. But no, he had to insist on it being me. I swear he knows when I’ve got a treat planned and goes all out to ruin it.’