Monday Girl (30 page)

Should she ask him to visit her grandmother now? She recalled John Smith – the sick-berth attendant who had objected to meeting the mothers of the girls he picked up – and was thankful that Glynn already knew her mother, so that was no problem. But would he want to meet others of her family? Would he think she was putting pressure on him to declare himself? It would be better to wait until she was sure of him, before she issued Granny’s invitation.

Glynn was on duty the next night, Sunday, so Renee spent the evening in her bedroom, to leave her mother alone with Fred Schaper. She could see that Fred was in love with Anne, but she couldn’t make up her mind if her mother was in love with him, and knowing how she felt herself when other people tried to hustle on her relationships, she didn’t make the mistake of interfering.

When she went downstairs at ten o’clock, she saw by Anne’s pink confusion that Fred must have kissed her, and was very happy for her. On Monday, she was so glad to see Glynn again that she ran into his arms when he met her outside Brown and Company’s office at five thirty. He looked surprised, but held her closely.

‘I missed you yesterday,’ she told him.

‘I thought about you all day.’ He kissed her slowly. ‘I was remembering that it was exactly a week ago since I met you.’ He held her away from him. ‘When Fred asked me to go with him, I didn’t feel like meeting strangers, but I didn’t want to offend him by refusing.’

‘Oh, Glynn, I’m glad you didn’t refuse.’ Renee wished that he would hold her tightly again.

‘I thought he was a sentimental old fool, going on about this woman he’d met through taking her daughter home one night, and I imagined some brassy young tart picking him up with the intention of getting a man for her equally brassy mother.’ He laughed suddenly. ‘How wrong can a man be?’

Renee was indignant at first. ‘That was a horrible thing to think, anyway.’

‘I wasn’t in a particularly generous mood. Eiddwen, my girlfriend, had just written to tell me that she was in love with an Australian, and I thought my life was finished, but I took one look at you last Sunday, and came alive again. I loved you from the first minute I saw you, Renee. Could you learn to care for me?’ His blue, blue eyes pleaded with her to say yes.

‘I’ll give it a try,’ Renee said flippantly, to tease him, then relented. This wonderful moment was not the time for levity. ‘Oh, Glynn, it was the same for me, love at first sight.’

‘Duw!’
Glynn crushed her to him again, but suddenly became aware of the amused glances of the people passing by. ‘Come on, my lovely. Let’s get the bus to your house.’ Renee took Glynn to visit her grandmother the following Saturday, Anne obligingly declining to accompany them, and when she proudly introduced him, Maggie shook hands gravely. Peter stood up and followed suit, then they sat down, Renee being fully aware that her grandparents were reserving judgement until they found out for themselves what kind of man Glynn was. She wasn’t in the least worried about it, because she was certain that they would soon come to like him very much. He told them that he had been in the Territorial Army, and that he had been employed by a firm which sold agricultural machinery.

‘Will ye be goin’ back to that after the war?’ Maggie asked.

‘The same sort of thing, I suppose,’ he said, ‘but not necessarily in Porthcross – that’s in South Wales,’ he added.

After ten minutes or so, Renee knew, although he hadn’t consciously tried to make an impression on her grandmother and grandfather, they had indeed been impressed by his natural manner, so she sat back and let them talk. When Peter went to the door with Glynn, Maggie again detained the girl for a moment. She gripped Renee’s hand and said, softly, ‘He’ll dae for ye, lassie, if ye’re sure in yer ain he’rt.’

‘Yes, Granny, I’m sure he’ll do for me. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my whole life.’

The old lady smiled, a beautiful, sweet smile that touched Renee as much as the words which followed. ‘Ah, weel, ye’ve got my blessin’, the pair o’ ye.’

‘Thank you, Granny. That means a lot to me.’ Renee turned away quickly, before her brimming eyes overflowed.

‘They’re good people,’ Glynn remarked, when they were walking hand in hand along the street, ‘although I’d a problem understanding what they were saying sometimes, especially your grandfather.’

Renee giggled. ‘I sometimes don’t understand him myself.’ She wished she could tell him Granny’s last few words, but was afraid he’d think she was rushing him. He’d said he loved her, and that was all she needed meantime.

Very shy with the land girls when he first met them, Glynn, like Fred, could now fend for himself in the crosstalk that went on round the dining table. Kitty, Flora and Hilda were the main culprits, and Nora felt obliged, at times, to stop them, often causing hilarity by the way she did so.

‘What about putting bets on who’ll be hitched first?’ Kitty asked her three friends one evening. ‘Renee and Glynn, versus Mrs G. and Fred.’

‘Oh, that’s a great idea. I’ll keep the book.’ Flora whipped a small notebook out of her trouser pocket, and dug her hand in again to find a pencil.

‘Don’t be silly, girls.’ Anne’s face was scarlet with embarrassment, as was Renee’s, but Fred and Glynn seemed to lap it up.

‘Half a crown on Renee and Glynn,’ squealed Hilda, ignoring her landlady.

Flora scribbled quickly. ‘What do you think, Kitty?’ Kitty pretended to weigh up the situation, looking from Fred to Glynn, then from Anne to Renee. ‘I’ll put my half dollar on Mrs G. and Fred,’ she said at last.

‘Nora?’ Flora’s pencil hovered. ‘What about you?’

The other girl considered, then said, reprovingly, ‘I think it’s gone far enough. It’s very bad manners, for one thing, and you shouldn’t be making bets in front of the runners, for another.’

Fred let out a loud guffaw and everyone joined in, much to Nora’s mortification – she couldn’t see what was funny – but Anne and Renee were both relieved when Flora slipped her pencil and notebook back into her pocket. For a fraction of a second, Glynn’s knee touched Renee’s under the table, but it happened so quickly that she couldn’t be sure if he’d really meant to do it, or if it had been accidental. Was he trying to tell her that he didn’t mind the girls speculating about a forthcoming marriage?

‘They’re an awful bunch.’ Fred leaned back when the four girls left the room. ‘All good, clean fun, though, nothing malicious or nasty.’

Anne was glad that he could excuse the awkward incident, and she agreed with him that the girls had meant no harm.

The weekly visits to Maggie and Peter McIntosh continued, with Glynn escorting Anne and Renee if he was available, and accompanying the girl when she went into town to do the shopping for her grandparents.

When Peter was out of the room for a moment one day and Maggie was alone with her daughter, she said, ‘Glynn’s a good laddie, an’ Renee’ll be fine if she sticks to him, but what aboot yer ain lad? I’ve never met him, Annie.’

‘Oh.’ Anne felt somehow reluctant to take Fred to meet her mother. ‘I didn’t think . . . I don’t know . . .’

‘I’d like fine to see him.’

So it was a foursome which made the journey to the tenement the following Saturday, and Fred Schaper was accepted by Maggie and Peter just as warmly as Glynn had been. The two men became so deep in conversation that they hardly noticed the return of the shoppers. Maggie beamed at all her visitors when they rose to leave. ‘I wouldna ha’e believed that a Scotsman, an Englishman an’ a Welshman would get on so weel together.’ Her eyes were brightly mischievous, and she was pleased when they laughed at her reference to the jokes which were often told on the wireless.

‘We foreigners aren’t such a bad lot.’ Fred gripped the old lady’s hand.

She laid her other hand on top of his. ‘So I’ve found oot.’ Several hours later, when they were undressing for bed, Anne and Renee discussed their afternoon visit. ‘I must be getting better,’ the girl remarked. ‘Granda didn’t tell me once that he could have got anything cheaper if he’d been doing the shopping.’

Anne’s mind, however, was operating on an entirely different track. ‘Granny and Granda seemed to get on well with Fred. I think they liked him, don’t you?’

Her daughter smiled. ‘Yes, I’m sure they did. He’s quite likeable, for an old man.’ She chuckled at her mother’s indignant expression, then her manner grew serious. ‘And Granny told me, a week or so back, that Glynn and I had her blessing.’

Sighing happily, Anne pulled her nightdress over her head. ‘God’s in His heaven, and all’s right with the world.’

 
Chapter Twenty

The June evening was beautifully cool after the almost claustrophobic heat of the cinema, so Renee suggested that they should walk home. Glynn had met her from work, and had taken her for a snack before they went to the picture house, so it was just after nine o’clock. They strolled at an easy pace, arms round each other, discussing the ‘A’ and

‘B’ films they had just seen, then Glynn said, ‘What they showed on the newsreel makes you think, though. What a hammering some of our cities are getting . . . God, Renee, I wish I could be doing something constructive, something to get back at Hitler, instead of idling my time away.’

‘You’re not idling your time away. You’re training people and preparing them to . . .’

‘Preparing them to do something I want to do myself,’ he interrupted. ‘To fight the enemy. That’s what I was trained for, not to be a bloody instructor.’ He fell silent, brooding. Renee was surprised at his vehemence. She hadn’t realised that he felt like this, and hoped he would never have to leave Aberdeen. He shouldn’t want to go, not if he loved her.

‘But what about seeing those thousand bombers taking off to blast Cologne? It gives you a tight, satisfied feeling of revenge, doesn’t it?’ His voice sounded excited, with an air of triumph about it. This rather shocked her. She’d been sickened by the scenes of suffering in London, and it gave her no satisfaction to imagine the same thing happening in Cologne.

‘It’s innocent people that suffer,’ she murmured. ‘Women and children mostly, and they don’t deserve to be killed, whether they’re British or German.’

He squeezed her waist. ‘You’re a soft one, my lovely. Hitler’s tried to bomb us into submission, and we’re just doing the same to them. We can’t knuckle down and not retaliate.’

‘I suppose not,’ she said, sadly. ‘It all seems so cruel, that’s all.’

‘
Cariad
, I love you for your tender heart.’ Glynn turned his head to give her a light kiss on the cheek, then inhaled deeply. ‘It’s a lovely night. Why don’t we go into this park to have a seat for a few minutes?’

The Victoria Park! Panic struck at her heart. The thought of going through the gates and perhaps sitting in the same place as . . . It was more than three years since she’d come here first, but the memories came crowding back. Memories she didn’t want to revive. Shameful, repugnant memories.

‘No, Glynn,’ she whispered. ‘Not here. I used to come here before, years ago, with . . . someone else, and I don’t want to be reminded of it.’

He looked at her keenly. ‘All right, Renee, whatever you say, but won’t you tell me about it?’

She shook her head miserably. ‘I can’t.’

‘
Cariad
, I want to know everything about you. I’ve told you about Eiddwen, she was my only girlfriend before you, but I don’t know anything about your past loves.’

She sighed. ‘Not yet, Glynn. I will tell you some time, but not now, and there was only one with me, too.’

‘All right, my lovely.’ He didn’t appear to be upset or annoyed by her refusal to confide in him, and they walked on.

When they entered the house, they found that Anne wasn’t home. ‘Fred’s on early duty tomorrow,’ Renee said,

‘so Mum’s probably staying with him as long as she can.’ Glynn pulled her down on the settee beside him, and stroked her brow, her nose, her lips, but when his fingers reached her chin, he kept them there, holding her head firmly.

‘Renee, I love you.’ His eyes searched and his voice was low and throbbing. He had said it many times before, but this sounded different.

‘I love you, too,’ she whispered, hoping that he wouldn’t try to do what she suspected he wanted to do.

His grip on her face tightened. ‘Oh, darling, I love you so much it’s torture for me.’ He swivelled round and slid his leg between hers. ‘If you only knew how much I’ve wanted to . . .’ He sounded hoarse now, urgent, but she couldn’t respond.

‘No, Glynn, no! Mum’ll be home any minute and . . .’ She broke off, pushing his insinuating knee away from her.

But his mouth came down on hers fiercely and her senses reeled, though she struggled to free herself. She couldn’t give in to him, much as she wanted to – as much as he wanted her to – in case he lost interest in her once he possessed her. This relationship had to be kept pure until they were husband and wife . . . if he ever did ask her to marry him. He shifted his legs and dropped his hands, looking at her in hurt surprise. ‘What’s wrong,
cariad
?’ His voice was tender again, loving. ‘I’m sorry. Did I frighten you? I was too rough. I want you . . . oh, God, I want you, but I’m willing to wait until we’re married, if that’s what you’re trying to tell me. You
will
marry me, Renee?’

A sob caught in her throat. She wanted him so badly herself that it was agony to think of waiting, but she was determined to endure that agony so that he wouldn’t think badly of her later. ‘Yes, I’ll marry you, Glynn,’ she murmured. ‘I love you, and I want you, but we must wait.’

‘I’m not going to force you against your wishes, I love you too much for that. Will I arrange for a Registry wedding?’

‘Yes, please, Glynn, as soon as you can.’ She gave in to his kisses then, but they grew rather passionate for her peace of mind, and she was glad when she heard her mother coming in.

Anne was delighted when they told her. ‘Wasn’t it a good idea of Fred’s to take you here that Sunday, Glynn? You’d never have met each other if he hadn’t.’

The young man beamed with happiness. ‘Yes, indeed, Mrs Gordon. I’ll always be grateful to him for that. You’ve no objections to me marrying your daughter?’