Authors: Ellie Dean
Stan was a bit startled by this, but he didn’t have time to think about it, for young Linda Grey needed help unloading her bicycle from the guard’s van, and there were four other passengers to deal with. He looked down the length of the train and was about to signal to the driver that all was clear when the door to the rearmost carriage opened and two men alighted.
Stan noted from their tickets that all three strangers had come from London, but they didn’t seem to be travelling together and none of them had any luggage. As it was unusual to see men of that age out of uniform these days, he blew his whistle so the train could leave, and then went outside to the forecourt.
The younger man was halfway down the High Street now, and lighting a cigarette for the simpering blonde floozy. ‘That was quick work, even for you,’ Stan muttered in disgust before he trawled the busy street for sight of the other two. They were standing outside the tobacconist and engrossed in the daily newspaper.
Stan watched them for a moment, for he was suspicious of strangers now there was a war on, and there were posters everywhere warning of Fifth Columnists – Nazi sympathisers and spies. Then he shrugged and turned away. They didn’t look like spies, and it was no business of his why they’d come to Cliffehaven – and besides, there was another train due in less than five minutes.
Ruby was feeling very much better after the walk along the promenade and the leisurely cup of tea and slice of home-made cake they’d eaten on Lucy’s lawn. It was lovely sitting here looking out to sea, and she could have stayed there quite happily for several more hours, but the sun was beginning to drop behind the hills and it was getting chilly.
‘I’d better go,’ she said regretfully as she looked at the cheap wristwatch she’d recently bought. ‘It’s nearly five and I promised Peggy I’d finish off the ironing before tea, and if I don’t get back she’ll do it herself.’
‘She’s got a son-in-law in the RAF, hasn’t she?’ asked Lucy as they headed for the front door. ‘I wonder if he took part in that raid last night?’
‘She thinks he probably did, and is hoping she’ll get news that he got back safely. It must be a terrible worry for her – and for her daughter down in Somerset.’
‘We worry about Daddy being out in the Atlantic, but it must be far worse having a loved one in Bomber Command – the odds on their making it through are narrowing with every day.’ Lucy gave a wan smile. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow. Get a good night’s sleep, Ruby, because we’ve got another early start.’
‘Don’t I know it,’ she said on a sigh. ‘I’ll be glad when this rota changes, and no mistake.’ She tramped across the weed-infested gravel driveway and turned to wave goodbye before going through the gate and along the tree-lined pavement.
Despite the gloomy talk of war and death, she was in a happy frame of mind as she crossed the bottom of the High Street and headed down Camden Road. Life in Cliffehaven might have been challenging at the start, but now she was living at Beach View, she felt she could finally embrace this little town and settle down here. The factory work paid well and she’d made new friends, and with Peggy and Ron to guide her, she knew she would blossom. If only she could divorce Ray and persuade her mother to come and live here, her life would be perfect.
The thought of Ray dimmed her happiness, for he’d never agree to a divorce, and as long as she was stuck with him, she could never really move on with her life.
The sudden roar of a motorbike engine made her jump and she realised she was outside the fire station and Rita was grinning at her. ‘You done that on purpose,’ she said with a giggle.
‘You were miles away and I thought you needed waking up,’ replied Rita. ‘Want a lift home?’
Ruby clambered onto the back of the motorbike and held on as Rita swerved off the fire station forecourt and raced down Camden Road.
Neither of them noticed the man in the fedora and tailored overcoat watching from the shadows of the nearby bomb site as they parked the motorbike outside Beach View Boarding House and then closed the front door behind them.
Peggy’s daughter, Cissy, had telephoned that morning from the airfield to reassure her mother that Martin Black had made it safely back from the raid. She’d refused to say anything more because it was against the rules, and so Peggy had to wait like everyone else for the late news on the wireless.
When the time came, they all gathered in the kitchen and listened intently as the newsreader informed them about the raid. The target had been Cologne. The force dispatched to fire-bomb the city – a thousand bombers – was more than two and a half times greater than any previous single night’s effort by Arthur Harris’s Bomber Command. In addition to the bombers there had been over forty Blenheims of 2 Group, reinforced by thirty-nine aircraft of Fighter Command and fifteen from the Army Co-operation Command, who had carried out intruder raids on the German night-fighter airfields near the route of the bomber stream. The raid had apparently been a great success, despite the loss of over forty aircraft.
Ruby woke at five the following morning, feeling much better after a long, deep sleep, and was looking forward to the day. She washed and dressed and hurried downstairs to find that Jane had finished preparing her flask and sandwiches and was already halfway out of the door on her way to the dairy.
‘Don’t you mind having to get up at this time every day?’ asked Ruby as she poured a cup of tea.
‘I love it,’ said Jane with a happy smile. ‘I get to talk to the horses while I muck them out, and it’s peaceful without lots of people about.’
‘You’ll probably change yer mind once winter comes, and it’s blowing a gale and tipping it down with rain.’
Jane’s smile remained sunny. ‘I don’t mind wind and rain,’ she said. ‘It’s lovely after the sticky heat of the tropics.’ She waved goodbye and was gone, trundling the old bicycle along the garden path and then freewheeling down the alleyway.
Ruby had just poured a second cup of tea to go with her porridge when Rita came clumping into the kitchen in her heavy boots. ‘I can give you a lift to work, if you like,’ she said as she helped herself to tea and porridge.
‘Won’t that be out of your way?’
‘Nah, I’m going out to the track this morning to put her through her paces. She’s misfiring a bit, and I want to make sure she’s tuned properly for the races next weekend.’
They finished their breakfast and were on their way out just as Peggy came into the kitchen with a grizzling Daisy. ‘She’s teething, bless her,’ she murmured. ‘Have a good day, girls, and I’ll see you both later.’
They left the house and Rita wiped the heavy dew from the motorbike seat. Within minutes they were roaring up the High Street, over the humpback bridge, then screeching to a halt outside the factory gates. Ruby clambered off and tried to bring some order to her hair as Rita turned the bike around and shot off back down the hill.
‘She’ll come a cropper on that thing one day,’ said Lucy as she approached. ‘Why does she have to go so fast?’
Ruby laughed. ‘Because she can – and because she knows what she’s doing.’
They clocked in and set to work neatly and swiftly, for they had quite a lot of catching up to do if they were to reach their daily target and make up for their lack of concentration the day before.
As the hooter went and they handed the machines over to the next shift, Ruby stepped out into the sunlight and breathed a sigh of relief. ‘I need a bath and hair-wash, and then I’m going to spend the rest of the afternoon helping Peggy with the mending. You wouldn’t believe how ’ard we all are on our clothes, and these overalls are coming apart at the seams.’
‘I don’t think you’ll be doing any such thing, actually,’ said Lucy and grinned. ‘Look who’s waiting at the gate.’
Ruby turned and her emotions went haywire as she saw Mike Taylor waving to her. ‘Oh, Gawd,’ she breathed. ‘I must look a right fright. What on earth is he doing turnin’ up ’ere without giving a girl any warning?’
‘I thought you weren’t interested?’ giggled Lucy.
‘I’m not,’ she retorted, ‘but it’s a matter of pride, gel. It ain’t no fun to have a bloke like that see me looking like this.’ She hitched up the strap of her filthy overalls and decided against taking off the scarf to reveal her tangled, sweaty hair.
‘Hi there, Ruby, Lucy,’ he greeted them with a broad smile. ‘Steve and I were wondering if we could buy you both a drink tonight?’
‘I ain’t going nowhere looking like this,’ replied Ruby, her face reddening with embarrassment.
‘Well, the pubs don’t open until six, so you’ve plenty of time to get changed,’ he said, his bright blue eyes twinkling with humour. ‘Come on, Ruby. We just want to apologise for letting you all down over the dance.’
Ruby glanced at Lucy, who was starry-eyed and obviously eager to meet Steve again. She gave a nonchalant shrug, not daring to look Mike in the eye. ‘All right. But our shift starts again at six tomorrow, so we can’t be too late.’
‘Where do you live? We could come and pick you up.’
‘We’ll meet you in the Anchor. That’s in Camden Road,’ she said quickly.
‘Six o’clock?’ He was smiling at her still, and there was a teasing light in his eyes.
‘Make it half-past,’ she replied, for no real reason.
‘That’s a date,’ he said.
‘It’s not a date. It’s meeting for a friendly drink.’ She bit her lip, afraid she would giggle and let him see how much he was affecting her.
‘Can I offer you both a lift home?’ He pointed at the car parked on the other side of the road. ‘Or is that off limits too?’ he teased.
Ruby relented, for he was being nice and she was close to the point of being far too starchy with him. ‘As long as you don’t mind getting grease and muck on the up’olstery, a lift ’ome would be nice.’ She peeked up at him through her lashes. ‘Thanks.’
He opened the car’s back door with a flourish and they climbed in. Slamming it shut, he got behind the steering wheel and started the engine. ‘Where to?’ he asked, his gaze finding her in the rear-view mirror.
‘You can drop us both off at the end of Camden Road,’ said Ruby. ‘Me and Lucy don’t live in the same place.’
‘Okay,’ he drawled. ‘But I don’t know why you’re being so cagey. It’s not as if I plan to climb the drainpipe in the middle of the night and break into your bedroom.’
Ruby went scarlet and Lucy giggled. ‘All right,’ Ruby conceded. ‘Lucy lives in Havelock Road and I’m at Beach View Terrace.’
He drove down the hill and over the humpback bridge, along the High Street and into Havelock Road. Parking outside Lucy’s house, he leaped out, opened the door, and waited until she’d waved goodbye to Ruby and gone inside before he climbed back behind the wheel. ‘I often wondered what it must be like to drive a taxi,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Are you okay in the back there?’
‘It’s ever so comfortable,’ she admitted, ‘and the leather smells lovely.’
His eyes smiled at her from the rear-view mirror, and all too soon they had reached Beach View Terrace.
Ruby rather liked the way he opened the door for her, and she clambered out feeling quite the lady despite her filthy working clothes and the muck smeared on her face. ‘Ta ever so,’ she said breathlessly as she backed away from him towards the front steps. ‘I’ll see you in the Anchor at half-six.’
He closed the car door and leaned against the bonnet, his expression serious. ‘Is that a promise, Ruby, or are you just saying it to get rid of me?’
She shot him a nervous smile. ‘Nah, I’ll be there. I promise.’ She turned away, unlocked the door and swiftly closed it behind her. ‘Blimey,’ she breathed, ‘I’m gunna ’ave to watch meself there.’
‘I saw the car – and the very handsome young man driving it,’ said Peggy as she came out of the dining room carrying a large glass vase. She grinned. ‘It looks as if you’ve made quite a conquest.’
‘Oh, Gawd, Peggy, I dunno what to do,’ she groaned. ‘He’s ever so nice, and I really like ’im, but I got an ’usband – and he . . . he . . .’ Ruby folded her arms tightly about her waist in an effort to keep her seething emotions under control. ‘He’s a wrong’un and I wish I never married ’im – now he’s on the run from the law, I’m hiding from him, and I can’t see no way out.’
‘There’s always a way out if you really want one,’ said Peggy quietly as she set the vase on the nearby chair.
‘Not for me there ain’t,’ said Ruby, hot tears running down her face. ‘He’ll kill me if he finds me – and there’s no way he’ll give me a divorce.’
‘Oh, Ruby, my dear,’ crooned Peggy as she drew her into a warm embrace.
Ruby clung to her, fighting the tears and the confusion – and the longing for her mother. She hadn’t meant to blurt it all out like that, but Peggy’s arms were so comforting, the tears a balm to all the hurt she’d been harbouring for too long.
‘Come, Ruby, let’s go into the dining room where we can talk in private. It seems to me you’ve been carrying a heavy burden on those narrow shoulders, and it will help you no end to share it.’
Ruby sniffed as she nodded. ‘Yeah, I need to talk to someone, and you’re the nearest person I got to me mum.’ She looked at Peggy, her green eyes awash with tears. ‘You don’t mind, do yer?’
‘That’s what I’m here for,’ murmured Peggy as she steered her towards the dining room and closed the door behind them.
Raymond Clark quietly settled back into the shadows of the bombed-out house at the corner of Camden Road, and pulled his camel-hair coat more tightly about him. He was cold and hungry after the long hours he’d spent watching the house, but his fury was white-hot, stoked by frustration at not being able to grab her earlier, and what he’d just witnessed.
He’d managed to give the law the slip but still, he’d taken a huge risk by coming here. And yet, once the little tart on the exchange had told him about the telephone call from Cliffehaven to the Tanner’s Arms, he knew he had to come. Ruby had his money – and he wasn’t about to let her get away with putting him in hospital and doing a bleedin’ runner like his feckless mother. He’d make her pay for that.
He bunched his fists as he leaned against the remains of the kitchen wall and thought about how good it would feel to smash her face in. ‘I’ll get you, Ruby,’ he whispered. ‘And when I do, I’m gunna teach you a lesson you ain’t never gunna forget.’