The Girls in Blue (22 page)

Isabel pushed Jack away as he attempted to put his arms around her. ‘That goes for you too, Jack Beddoes. You’re an absolute disgrace.’ She caught Miranda’s sceptical glance and had the grace to blush. ‘I mean, anyone can have a bit too much to drink, but you should have had more thought for your mother’s feelings.’ She walked off without giving him a chance to reply.

‘Come on, Jack.’ Miranda looped his arm around her shoulders. ‘I’m going to stick your head under the pump, because if Granny sees you like this your life won’t be worth living.’

Ten minutes later they were in the kitchen with Jack drying his hair on a towel and Tommy seated
at
the table drinking his second cup of Camp coffee. Miranda had made it as strong as possible and it seemed to be having the desired effect. Tommy had sobered up considerably, although that could have been due to the dressing down Rita had given him when she returned from tidying up the coach house. Isabel was clearly shaken but she had been given the job of making cocoa for the older ladies, who had very nearly been forgotten.

Miranda took the tray of hot drinks into the drawing room, leaving Isabel and Rita to cope with their respective partners. She was met by curious looks but it was Aunt Ivy who spoke first. ‘What’s happened to the young people, Miranda? Do they find us oldies too boring to associate with?’

Miranda set the tray down on an occasional table. ‘Jack and Tommy thought they heard a noise in the hen house and they went to investigate.’

‘Gypsies,’ Maggie said faintly. ‘I knew it. They’re just waiting for a chance to steal the rest of my hens.’

George shook his head. ‘Nonsense, Maggie. They moved on weeks ago. You can’t blame the travellers for everything. It was probably a fox.’

‘Yes.’ Miranda passed a cup of cocoa to Ivy. ‘It was a fox. They saw it slink away but luckily it hadn’t got into the hen house.’ She moved on to give Mrs Walters her hot drink. ‘I’m afraid there isn’t any sugar.’

‘That’s quite all right, my dear. I’m getting used to doing without. We must all do our bit for the war
effort
.’ Mrs Walters took a sip. ‘It’s quite delicious. Thank you.’

Maggie snatched hers from the tray. ‘Where is Jack now? Has he taken that girl home?’

‘She’s a perfectly nice young lady,’ Ivy said with a superior smile. ‘You should give her a chance to prove herself.’

‘She’s a Carstairs.’ Maggie slammed her cup and saucer down on the table. ‘That speaks for itself.’

Dr Hughes shifted uncomfortably in his chair. ‘I think perhaps we ought to be on our way, Gladys.’ He rose from his seat by the fire and his thin wisp of a wife leapt to her feet.

‘Thank you for the cocoa, Miranda. It was just what we needed after the air raid.’ She leaned over to kiss Maggie’s cheek. ‘I don’t like to be out too late these dark evenings and you never know whether the Germans will strike again. Poor Hattie Langton was bombed out last week, and I’m always afraid that we’ll go home and find just a pile of rubble where our house used to be.’

Mrs Walters sent a meaningful look at her husband who was nodding off over his brandy. ‘Perhaps we’d best be moving on, Edward. It is getting rather late, but we’ve had a lovely time, Maggie.’ She blushed and dropped her gaze. ‘I mean, it was good to be here to remember poor Ronnie. He was a delightful child and a charming man. We’ll all miss him terribly.’

Miranda abandoned the tray and left the room.
It
was blatantly obvious that most of the guests were feeling uncomfortable and eager to leave. She hurried back to the kitchen. ‘They’re all going,’ she said, looking round anxiously. ‘Are you sober, Jack?’

He smoothed his dark hair back from his forehead with a rueful grin. ‘More or less.’

‘I’d like to go home too,’ Isabel said stiffly. ‘This evening has been a disaster, Jack. I knew I shouldn’t have come.’

‘And we’d best make tracks.’ Rita prodded Tommy in the ribs. ‘If you can’t drive the blooming bike, then I will. It can’t be that difficult.’

He braced his shoulders. ‘Stop nagging, woman. I’m fine and I wasn’t drunk. I was just a bit merry.’

‘That stuff really is lethal,’ Jack said, pulling on his uniform jacket. ‘My shirt’s wet thanks to you, Miranda. I think you enjoyed half drowning me under the pump.’

‘Maybe I should have held you under for longer. Anyway, are you sure you’re okay to drive? Whose car did you come in anyway? Chloe is still laid up in the stables.’

‘I borrowed a staff car,’ Jack said casually.

‘You borrowed it?’

‘He took it without asking.’ Isabel sighed heavily. ‘I’m afraid he’ll be in terrible trouble if he’s caught.’

Jack met this with a casual shrug and he rose to his feet. ‘I have a perfectly valid pass and I know a back way into the aerodrome. No one will even realise it’s missing.’

Miranda exchanged worried glances with Isabel. ‘You shouldn’t take such risks, Jack.’

‘You’re talking to a chap who flies a Spitfire day in and day out. I’ll be lucky to survive another month.’ He moved swiftly to Isabel’s side and gave her a hug. ‘Just joking, darling.’

‘You shouldn’t say things like that. It’s tempting providence.’ Clearly unhappy, Isabel drew away from him. ‘Thank you for being so sweet, Miranda. I’ll get my things and we’ll be off. Please make my apologies to your grandparents.’ She left the kitchen and Jack hurried after her.

‘That goes for us too.’ Rita dragged Tommy towards the door. ‘You can go out the back way and get the bike started. I don’t want Major Beddoes to smell the drink on you. Serve you right if you go blind boozing on that rot-gut.’

‘Have a heart, Rita.’ Tommy shuffled out into the yard and she closed the door, turning the key in the lock.

‘The poor sod will have a bitch of a headache in the morning.’ She gave Miranda’s shoulders a squeeze as she walked past. ‘Chin up, girl. No one’s any the wiser.’

‘Thanks, Rita. You’re a pal.’

‘We’re good mates, Manda. Put in for a transfer to Warmwell. I’ve got good digs in the village. We could share a room and it’d be like old times.’

‘I’ll think about it, but it’s not that easy.’

‘I know, but try anyway.’ Rita linked arms and
led
her unprotesting to the hall where Maggie was waving off the last of the guests. ‘I’ll get my coat,’ she whispered. ‘You can sort your granny out. She doesn’t look too happy.’ She darted off, leaving Miranda to face her grandmother.

Maggie turned to her with an exasperated sigh. ‘Well, that was an unqualified disaster, and then we had gypsies or that wretched fox as well as the air raid. Are you sure that all my hens are safely locked up?’

‘Yes, Granny.’

‘Your grandfather’s gone to his study, and I’m going to bed. I’ve left Ivy in the drawing room finishing off a very large brandy. She’s going to stay the night and I’ve put her in Rita’s old room. I told her that I’ve got a splitting headache, so I’ll leave you to see that she gets upstairs safely. You know what she’s like when she’s been drinking.’

‘Don’t you want to say goodbye to Uncle Jack?’

‘I’m not speaking to that reprobate. When he comes to his senses and finds himself a girl from a respectable family, then I might forgive him for debasing the memory of poor Ronnie.’ She stalked off towards the staircase before Miranda had a chance to say anything.

Catching sight of Jack loitering outside the cloakroom, she beckoned to him. ‘The coast’s clear, although I think you should have made it up with Granny. She’s very upset.’

‘She’ll come round in the end. When she realises
what
a lovely girl Isabel is, she can’t fail to like her.’

‘You really are smitten this time, aren’t you, Jack?’

His serious expression melted into a smile. ‘Absolutely and completely. I’m going to marry her and if her parents won’t give their permission we’ll only have to wait until May and then she can do what she likes.’

Rita approached them, wrapping her scarf around her head and neck. ‘Your fiancée is bawling her eyes out in the cloakroom, Jack. I think you’d better go and sort her out.’

‘Oh, bloody hell.’ He crossed the floor in long strides, pausing to knock on the door before entering.

Rita pulled a face. ‘Blimey, he really is head over heels. Can’t see the attraction myself, but she must have something.’

‘She’s very nice really, and she adores Jack.’

‘Good luck to them, I say. Anyway, I’m off now. Cheerio and remember what I said about getting transferred. I’m sick of those la-di-dah girls who think they’re too posh to get their hands dirty.’

‘I promise. Now go, and take care of yourself, Rita.’

‘You bet. Same goes for you, ducks. Abyssinia.’ Rita opened the door, pausing at the top of the steps to turn to Miranda with a wry smile. ‘He’s got the damned thing ticking over. Here’s hoping we get back in one piece. Bye.’ With a wave of her hand she disappeared into the darkness.

Suddenly all was quiet except for the steady
ticking
of the grandfather clock. Miranda decided to leave Jack to sort out his personal affairs. She made her way to the drawing room where she found Ivy sprawled on the sofa with an empty glass in her hand. She looked up when she heard Miranda enter the room and gave her a bleary smile. ‘Is there any brandy left in the bottle, dear? A nightcap would go down very well.’

‘Of course.’ Miranda took the glass from her and poured a small measure of brandy with a generous splash of soda water. ‘Try this. I can add more soda if it’s too strong.’

Ivy sipped her drink. ‘No, that’s perfect.’

‘Granny’s gone to bed, and I’ll be going up soon.’

‘That’s all right, dear. I’ll be going up the little wooden hill to Bedfordshire myself when I’ve drunk this. It’s been a very trying evening, and I’m not surprised that Maggie has a headache.’

‘The party was her idea, Aunt Ivy.’

‘My dear girl, you can stop using that silly title. It might have been considered polite when you were a child, but you’re grown up now and I’m no relation, so you may call me Ivy.’

‘That’s funny. Jack hates being called uncle.’

‘It’s very ageing.’ Ivy sipped her drink, frowning. ‘He’s right there, but I’m not certain about his choice of soul mate.’

‘Isabel is a really nice person, and I think it’s high time the Beddoes and Carstairs buried the hatchet, so to speak, and preferably not in each other’s heads.
Perhaps
things will improve when Jack and Izzie are married.’

Ivy gave her a searching look. ‘You really don’t know the story, do you?’

‘I wish someone would enlighten me.’

‘Of course, I’m not one to gossip,’ Ivy said, lowering her voice, ‘but I think Maggie should have told Jack the truth long ago. She’ll have to eventually or it’s quite possible he’ll be marrying his own sister.’

‘What rubbish are you spouting now, Ivy?’ Jack’s voice from the doorway made them both turn with a start. He walked over to the sofa, standing above Ivy with a disbelieving look on his face. ‘It’s got to be the drink talking.’

She struggled to an upright position. ‘It’s high time you were told the truth, Jack. Since your mother is too scared to reveal her past, then it’s my duty as a friend of the family to …’

‘Friend?’ Isabel hurried to Jack’s side. ‘What sort of friend says such terrible things? You ought to be ashamed of yourself.’

Ivy flapped her hand, motioning them to take a seat. ‘Sit down, the pair of you. I won’t be bullied into silence. Half the town knew that Maggie was having an affair with Max Carstairs while George was serving overseas.’

‘I don’t believe a word of it,’ Jack said angrily. ‘You’re drunk, Ivy.’

‘I may not be entirely sober, but there’s nothing wrong with my memory. Someone had to put you
straight
before you made a terrible mistake and married the girl. Why do you think your mother was so upset?’

Miranda could stand it no longer. She leapt to her feet. ‘Stop this at once. You’re ruining everything. The ill feeling started when Mr Carstairs accidentally ran over Granny’s pet dog. It’s wicked of you to even suggest that Jack is related to Izzie.’

Isabel tugged at Jack’s arm. ‘Take me home, Jack. I won’t listen to these awful lies.’

He hesitated, glaring at Ivy. ‘You can’t prove any of this.’

‘I don’t have to. Just ask your mother. She might tell you that you were a seven-month baby, but I saw you the day after you were born and you were a bonny boy, unlike any premature baby I’ve ever seen, and I was a midwife for thirty years.’

Isabel clamped her hand to her mouth. ‘I feel sick.’ She ran from the room.

‘You’d better go after her, Jack,’ Miranda said anxiously. ‘She’s had enough upsets this evening.’

‘Best she knows now.’ Ivy drained her glass, holding it out hopefully. ‘I need a stiff one after all this, Miranda.’

Jack snatched the glass from her hand. ‘You’ve had quite enough, you evil old woman. I think you’d better leave here now, before I really lose my temper.’

Miranda caught him by the sleeve. ‘You can’t turn her out at this time of night, Jack. Why don’t you take Izzie home?’

‘I’m not leaving here until this woman admits that it’s just spiteful tittle-tattle.’

Ivy rose to her feet, breathing heavily. ‘I’m going to bed. My advice to you, Jack, is to speak to Maggie. It’s time it all came out in the open, and if your little girlfriend wants to know more detail, then she must ask her father. Max Carstairs was the Casanova of his day, and probably still is.’ She sailed out of the room, swaying from side to side.

Jack made to follow her but Miranda tightened her hold on his arm. ‘Let her go. You won’t get any sense out of her tonight. Izzie’s more important right now.’

‘What a bloody awful mess. Do you believe her, Miranda?’

‘I don’t know. It’s horrible, but I never really bought that story about poor old Houdini being the cause of the rift between the families. It was just an accident, and the dog survived.’

He shook his head. ‘I can’t believe that Mother would do something like that. I’ve always thought that she and Father are a devoted couple.’

‘And so they are, but it’s just possible Ivy could be telling the truth. Granny was young and lonely and she must have been very attractive in those days.’