Winter on the Mersey(47)

Tommy’s face fell.

‘But don’t mind me,’ she said hurriedly, not wanting to spoil his triumph. ‘You go on in and tell Danny about the new job. I expect he’ll get you a bike, won’t he?’

‘Oh, yes, he said he would,’ said Tommy, brightening again. ‘Right, see you then, Sarah.’

‘Bye, Tommy.’ Sarah watched as he ran to his own front door and burst through. She was delighted and relieved to hear he’d passed his interview, as she knew how worried Danny had been about his young brother. He was a hothead – but so was Danny, even if he’d mellowed over the years, especially with the heavy responsibility of his work. Perhaps the same would be true for Tommy. She hoped so. Still, she couldn’t shake the chill that had come over her at the mention of Alfie Delaney’s name. She wondered if Danny knew he was back; he hadn’t said anything. Then again, perhaps he wouldn’t have told her even if he’d seen the odious man recently. Sarah was aware that Alfie had some kind of hold over Danny but she didn’t know what it was. She only knew that his return could mean nothing good – and might well portend something very bad indeed.

‘That seems to be all. Thank you, gentlemen – I do beg your pardon, ladies and gentlemen.’ The senior officer rose, and everyone crowded around the table in the meeting room rose as he headed out of the door. The others filed out behind him, but Frank put out a hand to detain Kitty. The only other Wren, Moira Butcher, turned to catch her eye, but Kitty shook her head. ‘I’ll catch up with you in a moment,’ she said, slightly annoyed as she was very busy, and yet conscious that the slightest touch of Frank’s hand had burnt through her uniform jacket like fire. That annoyed her too – she still couldn’t prevent it happening, couldn’t break that circuit.

‘I won’t keep you long,’ he said, his warm eyes gazing into hers.

‘Thank you, I have a lot to do this morning as I’m sure you will appreciate,’ she said in her most firm and professional manner.

‘Of course.’ Her heavy workload seemed to amuse him, and she felt like saying he could offer to share it if he found it so funny. ‘I must get back to my desk soon as well. No, I just wanted to say that I might have found your Tommy a bike.’

‘Oh, really?’ That stopped her in her tracks. Danny had all but promised one to Tommy, but they were hard to come by, and he’d been asking around everyone he knew these past few days. So far the only lead had come from Tommy himself, claiming that Alfie Delaney, no less, had offered to get him one. She and Danny were determined to avoid that at all costs. Nothing Alfie did was ever out of the goodness of his heart – that was if he even had one.

‘Yes, you know Commander Stephens has a young family? Maybe not; he doesn’t say much about them, as they’re over in Cheshire most of the time now and he misses them.’

‘He must do,’ said Kitty, remembering that the superior officer was a kind man, although he didn’t suffer fools gladly. But then Frank was no fool, and would only have seen the good side of him, she suspected.

‘His younger son was given a bike for his birthday, but it’s far too big for him,’ Frank went on. ‘They’ve found him a better one, one that’s the right size, and he’ll sell the first one at a bargain price as they don’t have room to keep it until the lad’s grown into it. How about that?’

Kitty felt a rush of happiness, knowing how much it would mean to Tommy. She felt she owed it to him to get this right, as he’d been so desperate to join the Merchant Navy and she didn’t want him to feel that his new situation was second best in any way. ‘Frank, that would be wonderful,’ she said.

‘I’ll let him know you’d like it, shall I?’ Frank offered, trying not to be distracted by the sudden gleam of delight in Kitty’s eyes and the way her cheeks blushed rosy pink at the idea of giving a present to her little brother. He knew how responsible she felt for him.

‘Oh, yes, please do that. I’m so grateful,’ she said, all her previous annoyance gone.

‘Right, I’ll see him later today. Come, let me hold the door for you, you have so many files in that stack you’re holding,’ he said.

Kitty expertly balanced the manila files on her hip as she manoeuvred through the door, relieved Frank was holding it open, knowing it would have been tricky on her own. The idea of dropping them all and their contents spilling out was mortifying. She brushed past him, but the narrowness of the doorframe meant that for one brief moment his arm was around her shoulder. She tried not to notice, but wondered if he had spotted it too. She took a quick breath and moved along the corridor.

Frank let the door swing closed behind him, relieved that for a moment he was behind Kitty and she couldn’t see his face. Just for a second there it was as if he’d had her in his arms. He told himself not to be silly. Why was he allowing himself to think like this? He had a date with Sylvia to look forward to this evening, and he had no business letting such thoughts enter his head. He took a longer stride to catch up with her.

The corridor was far from wide and he found himself holding back a little so he didn’t come into contact with her again, not wanting to cause her embarrassment. But he couldn’t come to a complete halt either; what if she thought his leg was bothering him? His pride wouldn’t allow that. So he carefully kept a respectable distance, while being ever more aware of how neatly her uniform fitted her. From this slight distance he could appreciate her curves, although he was trying hard not to notice. She was no longer the slim girl over the road he’d grown up with, that was for sure. Wartime diet or not, she had filled out in all the right places.