The Hills and the Valley (15 page)

There were all the usual stocking fillers too – the handkerchiefs and bath cubes and socks, all exclaimed over with delight.

With the present opening completed they toasted one another with sherry and tucked into the lunch of cold ham and pickles which Mrs Milsom had left for them, followed by the inevitable mince pies and chunks of delicious iced Christmas cake. Mrs Milsom had gone to have lunch with her sister but would be back during the afternoon in time to cook their Christmas dinner.

After lunch it was time to visit Charlotte and the rest of the family who had gathered at Greenslade Terrace. Warm, comfortable and full of sherry and lunch as they were they did not feel in the least like moving, but not to pay a visit ‘home'would have been unthinkable on Christmas Day and Amy knew Charlotte would never forgive them if they failed to arrive. Ralph was to take the big saloon car which he used on the occasions when more room was needed than his Morgan could offer, but at the last moment Huw decided to drive his own Riley Imp.

‘Who wants to come with me?' he asked and Barbara felt that his eyes were on her.

‘I will,' she said, but Maureen answered just as quickly:

‘Me!'

‘You'll have to share it then,' Amy said. ‘One there, the other back.'

‘Maureen can go with Huw then and I'll come back,' Barbara said, preferring to save her ride and savour it rather than have it over and done with in the next few minutes.

She was glowing today, a picture that no one, not even Maureen, could fail to notice and appreciate, her face slightly rosy from the sherry, her eyes very blue, her hair shining fair in the light from the Christmas tree candles, and there was a dreamy quality about her mouth.

They piled into the cars and drove the mile or so to Greenslade Terrace. Half the Hall clan were there already, it seemed, replete and a little sleepy from having eaten their Christmas dinner at midday. Jim and Sarah were there, May and her husband and baby, and Alec and Joan, his fiancée. Dolly was in the kitchen brewing yet more tea, Bob and Fred, her sons, there under protest, sat in a corner discussing football, while Victor, her husband, his fog horn voice silent for once, was snoozing in a chair, and young Noel, whose birthday it was, played happily with a clown acrobat that had been meant for a child half his age. All their worst fears for Noel had been fulfilled; big and shambling he was a baby who would never grow up, but his moonlike face was good-natured and everyone adored him. Only the boys were missing – Jack and Stella had not come from Minehead this year and Harry and Margaret were spending the day with Gussie and the evacuee girls. And Ted and Rosa were half a world away in Australia …

‘I had a card from our Ted,' Charlotte said when they had all found somewhere to sit. ‘I expect you did too. I only wish he could be here, though. It doesn't seem right, Christmas and our Ted not here to give us a song.'

They were silent for a moment. It seemed so long since Ted had been there and they were remembering other Christmases when they had all gathered round the piano to sing carols, especially that memorable Christmas at the beginning of the Great War when the boys had all lined up to do a comic drill with broomsticks for rifles. How lighthearted they had been then! Now they knew all too well that war was no joking matter. And there had been the Christmas when Noel was born too, another one to stand out in the memory. All that day they had tried to enjoy themselves while knowing Dolly was in labour and in the end Amy had rung Ralph to ask him to take her mother up to South Hill where Dolly lived to find out what was going on, something which had shocked the family who had then regarded Ralph as totally out of their class.

‘You never know maybe one year Ted
will
be here,' James said stoically from his bed on the sofa. ‘He's doing very well for himself by the sound of it.'

‘Let's have a carol anyway,' Charlotte suggested. ‘How about While Shepherds Watched? Who's going to start it off?'

Without waiting for them she started herself, her voice still good though she had trouble remembering the words, and they all joined in, even Victor waking up enough to add his loud voice to theirs. Victor was a little deaf as a result of gunfire in the trenches and he could scarcely hear his own rather tuneless voice.

‘Can't somebody shut him up?' Amy, who had always found Victor irritating, whispered to Ralph.

After the carols Charlotte insisted on everyone having some tea although half of them were already full and others anxious to leave room for dinner. Much to Amy's concern she cut a plate of ham sandwiches and Christmas cake and they knew she would be offended if they did not eat at least a little. But the men at least seemed to have insatiable appetites.

‘It's a pity the baby isn't big enough to have Father Christmas call,' Charlotte said to May. ‘Do you remember when your Uncle Ted used to dress up for you? Never mind, maybe next year …'

Eventually, Amy said she thought they should be making a move.

‘Mrs Milsom will be very upset if we let dinner spoil,' she explained.

Charlotte sniffed. She couldn't understand why Amy and Ralph did not have their dinner at dinner time like everyone else. It wasn't good for the digestion, eating so late at night. But she knew better than to say so.

They got their coats and while Charlotte stood talking to Amy, Ralph and Maureen for a few minutes longer, Barbara and Huw went outside to Huw's car.

It was a perfect December evening, the stars bright in a sky that was ink black and clear. Barbara shivered and knew it was partly from excitement. This was the moment she had been waiting for – when she would be alone with Huw. She sat beside him in the Imp and the sweet roar of the engine when he started it added to the feeling of excitement.

‘It's been a lovely Christmas,' she said inadequately. ‘I'm so glad you could come home.'

‘If this war blows up big it could be a long time before I can come home again,' Huw said.

‘Do you think it's going to?' Barbara asked anxiously. ‘Nothing much seems to be happening at the moment.'

‘Not here yet maybe,' Huw admitted, remembering how thoroughly frustrated by the lack of action he and his friends were. Four Hurricane squadrons had been sent to France to back up the British Expeditionary Force but his own, with its full contingent of Spitfires, was still based in Kent and had little to do but the sporadic patrol of the shipping lanes. What was more, reports filtering back suggested that even those ‘in the thick of it'had little enough to do for the cold hard winter in Europe had put a stop to most activity in the air.

‘You think it will blow up, though?' Barbara persisted.

Huw executed a neat gear change at the end of Greenslade Terrace and turned out into Conygre Hill.

‘I don't think Hitler will give up in a hurry. But give us a chance to get at him and he'll change his tune – him and his precious Luftwaffe.'

Barbara shivered, the night air cold on her flushed face.

‘Just as long as the Luftwaffe don't get at you.'

‘Let'em try! Our Spits are better than anything they've got.'

Brave talk. She cheered a little. Then another thought occurred to her.

‘Are there any girls at your base?' she asked, shouting to make herself heard above the roar of the engine.

‘Some WAAFs.' He accelerated over the first of the level crossings and turned left.

‘What do they do?'

‘Plotting. Typing. That sort of thing. And some are batwomen.'

‘Batwomen?'

‘Glorified domestics. You'd hate that, Barbara, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking.'

‘Too right! I've no intention of spending my life clearing up after a lot of messy men.' But it had only been part of the reason why she had asked. She was thinking of pretty girls in flattering uniforms all too readily available … Still, he hadn't said, as he had the last time they had talked of her joining the services, that she was too young.

They were almost home now, rattling along the lane past Amy's yard where the lorries were parked up neatly for the holiday. Barbara did not want to go home. She wanted to go on riding for ever, just her and Huw …

He turned through the gates and steered the car into its garage. It was a big garage for a fairly small car with plenty of room on each side. She sat for a moment while he turned off the engine and the dimmed lights and suddenly they were in total darkness.

‘Come on then,' he said.

‘I can't see where I'm going.'

He got out and came around to the passenger side.

‘Here – take my hand.'

She reached out blindly and her hand brushed his jacket. There in the dark she was very aware of his nearness. The garage seemed to be full of him – the smell of the leather jacket and the faint aroma of the smear of Brylcream he used to tame his thick dark hair mingling with the oil and petrol smell of the car. His hand found hers and held it firmly and the touch of his fingers, strong and safe, started a thrill of excitement deep inside her.

‘OK?' he asked.

‘Yes, OK.' Her voice was slightly breathless. She took a step, stumbled against him, and for a brief wonderful moment felt sure that he was feeling as she was. It was there between them, an electricity that sparked like the touch of bare wires, so potent, so primitive, that it almost took her breath away. She stood motionless wanting to catch the moment and hold it, never let it go. Then they heard Ralph's car on the drive and the fragile spell was shattered.

‘Come on, this way.' There was a rough note in his voice and he turned, leading her by the hand towards the glimmer of moonlight. To all intents and purposes they were once more the boy and girl who had been brought up together, but Barbara knew with an instinct as old as time that for a moment back there in the darkness they had been more, much more.

‘Here we are then!' Amy called gaily. ‘Let's go and have our dinner. Christmas isn't over yet, you know!'

Laughing, still holding hands, they followed the others into the house.

I'll never forget, thought Barbara. ‘Never, ever, as long as I live will I forget this Christmas Day.'

She was lying in bed in her room, the moonlight slanting in through the open curtains, making patterns on the wall and throwing deep shadows on the shiny linoleum beyond the patterned rug. It was late; the grandfather clock in the hall had long since chimed midnight, but Barbara had no thought of sleep. She wanted to savour and go on savouring every moment of this wonderful day – and especially the evening, imbued as it had been by the aura of those few stolen moments in the dark garage.

They had dined by candlelight, somehow finding room to do justice to Mrs Milsom's excellent meal in spite of all they had already eaten, and each time she had looked up from her plate she had found Huw's eyes on her. The first time she had blushed and looked away hastily, the second she had held his gaze, her lips curving slightly. Nothing had been said, beyond the usual family conversation, yet she had felt the pull of that electric attraction between them once more and thrilled to it. There had been crackers and Huw had pulled his with her, insisting on putting the paper hat it contained onto her honey coloured curls in spite of the fact that he had been the winner and she had a cracker of her own. There were indoor fireworks in the crackers too – little miniature cascades and glows which they lit on a saucer – but it was the tiny sparkler which Barbara liked best for Huw lit it from the candle and held it up to her chin so that its crackling incandescence was reflected in her eyes.

Afterwards, they sat around the roaring fire reading out the jokes and mottos, and playing that old favourite game Lexicon. There had been a magic moment then, too, for Huw had surreptitiously slipped her the cards she needed to make a word, though Ralph had noticed and accused them both of cheating. Then, at Maureen's insistence, a half-hearted attempt had been made at playing ‘Man and his object'.

‘We'll be
it
, Huw,' Maureen had insisted and though Huw had complied Barbara had felt that he really wished it was
her
who was going outside the door with him to decide what characters they should assume. In the event their charade had been easy to guess: ‘Mr Chamberlain and his umbrella – I'm the umbrella!' Maureen had admitted amidst giggles, but they were all too tired to play another round for the warmth, the food and the drink were making them all sleepy.

They had sat for a while longer in the dying firelight unwilling to end what had been a lovely day, but eventually Ralph had said: ‘Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to bed!'

Now Barbara lay with the covers up to her chin, cuddling her stone hot water bottle in the crook of her arm and the warmth from it seemed to spread through to every corner of her body.

Oh Huw, Huw, today you noticed me – really noticed me! she thought happily. I wasn't just a little girl today. It was different – special. Oh, as long as I live, I'll never forget.

Barbara, thought Huw, and there was a new ring to her name as if over all the years he had spoken it he had never really listened to it before.

She had been a little girl to him for so long; at first a prissy little madam with clean ankle socks and bows in her hair whom he had despised and yet envied because she had what he did not a home and a mother. Then, as he had settled down and come to accept her family as his own, she had endeared herself to him with her bold mischievous ways and her unstinted adoration and he had teased and spoiled her, watching her grow into an enchanting tomboy and then into a convent schoolgirl who knew how to make people forgive her even when she was doing the unforgivable. Funny, determined and wilful, yet far more vulnerable than she would ever have admitted, Barbara was the person he supposed he cared for more than anyone in the world – except of course Amy, who had given him a home and love and taught him to love in return. Only now, since reaching manhood, could he fully appreciate just what she had done for him and what it had cost her. But Amy had filled the gap left in his heart when his mother had died. (Oh God, the horror of that night could make him break out in a cold sweat even now!) And Barbara – Barbara was just a child.