Always in My Heart (40 page)

Suzy introduced him to Sarah and Jane while Peggy hurried to pour him a cup of tea.

Anthony unwound his college scarf and stuffed it into the sagging pocket of his jacket as he smiled shyly at Jane. ‘Suzy said you enjoyed mathematics and puzzles, so I’ve brought some of my old
examination papers and a couple of out-of-date code books,’ he said as he reached into his rather battered briefcase. ‘Why don’t you make a start, and see how far you can get?’

‘Go into the dining room, Jane,’ said Peggy. ‘I’ve cleared a table in there and it’ll be quiet.’

‘How long do I have?’ she asked.

He pushed his glasses up his nose and glanced at the mantel clock. ‘Shall we say half an hour?’

Jane nodded and rushed off.

Sarah tried to concentrate on the chatter around her, but her mind was on Jane in the other room. She just hoped she wasn’t rushing things and therefore being careless, for it was important she showed Anthony how good she was so that she could find something more sensible to do than deliver the daily milk.

The half-hour seemed to drag as the others talked about their plans for the weekend, and tried to get her to join in the conversation and agree to go out with them. ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to,’ she said. ‘I might have a job by then, and as I’m not sure of the hours, it’s difficult to make plans.’

‘Well, all work and no play makes a girl very dull,’ said Fran as she finished doing Rita’s hair. ‘The offer’s there if you want it.’

‘What do you think?’ asked Rita, turning her head this way and that.

‘I think it’s lovely,’ said Sarah truthfully. ‘It makes you look very feminine and grown-up.’

‘It makes me feel as if my head’s been clamped in
a steel helmet,’ muttered Rita as she tried to see her reflection in the glass covering the picture of the King and Queen which hung above the mantelpiece.

‘You look very pretty,’ said Cordelia as she regarded her over her half-moon glasses. ‘It’s nice to see you as a girl again and not a tomboy. All you need now is a pretty frock and proper shoes, and you would be the belle of the ball.’

Rita pulled a face and tried to appear nonchalant, but Sarah suspected she liked her new appearance.

Jane came back into the room and handed Anthony a wad of examination papers and one of the code books. ‘I couldn’t do some of it, but I’d like to keep the books if I may. I love puzzles, and these are really good ones – they made me think very hard.’

Sarah watched closely as he took the papers and sifted through them quickly. She saw how his eyes widened and his carefully guarded expression sharpened as he examined page after page of neat figures. He was impressed, she could tell, and she felt a great swell of pride for her little sister’s amazing ability.

She continued to watch as he took the code book and read the pieces of paper on which she’d written the answers. When he’d finished he looked up at Jane, his expression unreadable. ‘That’s very good, Jane,’ he said, his voice sounding rather stiff. ‘I can see you have a real talent for both maths and puzzles, but I’ll be interested to see how you cope with something a little more advanced.’

‘Really? So I did all right then?’ she asked eagerly.

‘You did very well,’ he said, his tone non-committal as he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a sheaf of papers. ‘Take these into the other room. You have ten minutes to solve one of these.’

‘I thought we were going out?’ murmured Suzy as Jane dashed off.

He smiled at her. ‘We are, I promise. Just give me another ten minutes, and then I’m all yours.’

Suzy giggled and went off to powder her nose and fetch her coat, while Sarah wondered what sort of thing Anthony was testing her sister with now. But Anthony was deep in conversation with Cordelia, so there was no chance to ask him.

Jane returned exactly ten minutes later. ‘I did two,’ she said as she handed over the sheets of paper. ‘I hope you don’t mind.’

‘Well done,’ Anthony murmured as he quickly read through the pages. When he’d finished, he stuffed them back in his briefcase and fastened the lock, his expression inscrutable. ‘I’ll write you a reference with pleasure,’ he said, ‘and bring it round in a couple of days when I next have time off.’

‘Thank you,’ breathed Jane. ‘You’ve been very kind.’

‘Not at all.’ He turned to Peggy. ‘May I leave this here, Aunt Peg? I’ll fetch it before I go home.’

Peggy took the briefcase. ‘I’ll put it in my room,’ she said as she eyed him questioningly.

‘Oh, there’s nothing of any importance in there,’ he said lightly, ‘but I don’t want to be carrying it about all evening.’

Suzy fastened the buttons on her coat and tied the belt around her waist before slipping her hand into the crook of his arm. ‘I need that drink now,’ she said. ‘It’s been a long day.’

Anthony smiled down at her, his face radiant with love. ‘Your carriage awaits,’ he said. ‘I managed to borrow an Austin from the castle car-pool. We have it until eleven.’ They waved goodbye and were gone.

There were a lot of questions Sarah wanted to ask Jane, but she was chattering away to Fran, who’d started to brush her hair and roll it into shining coils away from her face.

‘So what sort of tests were they?’ she asked as soon as Jane stopped for breath.

Her sister shrugged. ‘Just mathematical problems and a few codes. Some of the codes were a bit tricky and I would have needed much longer than ten minutes to work them out, but I think he was pleased, don’t you?’

‘He wouldn’t have offered to write the reference if he hadn’t been,’ said Peggy.

‘Do you think he might find me a job as well?’ asked Jane breathlessly. ‘Only I really enjoyed doing those tests.’

‘I really don’t know,’ admitted Sarah, ‘but if you do get an office job, you’ll have to tell Mr Jenkins you won’t be able to deliver his milk.’

‘Oh, no,’ Jane retorted fiercely. ‘I’ll stay at the dairy and do something in an office as well if I get the chance.’

‘But I don’t like the thought of you—’

‘Don’t fuss, Sarah,’ she retorted. ‘I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself.’

Sarah suddenly realised that Jane had a new confidence about her, and that she was indeed quite capable of making her own decisions about things. The Japanese invasion of Malaya and their flight from Singapore had wrought a huge difference in her little sister. Without the smothering love of her parents and Amah, who’d protected her too well, she was blossoming into the young woman she was meant to be.

Sarah was woken at four in the morning by the deafening clamour of Peggy’s alarm clock. She quickly reached out and silenced it before it woke the whole house, and then stayed beneath the blankets as Jane raced around the room and got ready for her first day at work. ‘How are you feeling?’ she asked as her sister pulled on a sweater.

‘Nervous,’ she admitted, ‘but excited too. I hardly slept a wink last night.’

Sarah smiled as Jane tied the laces on her shoes and adjusted the waistband of the trousers Sarah had been given in Glasgow. They were a bit large for her, but she held them up with a belt Rita had lent her, and then reached for her hairbrush and tried to emulate the style Fran had created the previous evening. What a very different girl she was to the pampered and childish Jane who had left the plantation, for now she had a purpose, and she was beginning to make her own way.

‘I can’t get this right,’ Jane said in exasperation, ‘and if I spend any longer on it, I’ll be late.’ She put down the brush, twisted her hair into a knot on the top of her head and tethered it with pins. ‘That will
have to do, and no one will see it anyway once I’ve got my cap on.’

Sarah noticed the doubt suddenly cloud Jane’s excitement and hurried out of bed to give her a reassuring cuddle. ‘It will all feel very strange to begin with, but you’ll soon get the hang of things.’

Jane nodded. ‘I’ll have Mabel to help me,’ she said, ‘and she’s been doing that round for years. Mr Jenkins said she could probably do it on her own by now, but of course she can’t pick up the empties and put the new ones on the doorsteps.’ She giggled. ‘I’m babbling, aren’t I?’

Sarah smiled. ‘Just a bit. Do you want me to come down with you and see you off?’

Jane shook her head, her expression earnest. ‘I have to do this on my own, Sarah. You do understand, don’t you?’

‘Yes,’ she said softly, ‘and I’m very proud of you.’ She kissed her cheek and gave her a gentle nudge towards the door. ‘Don’t get lost on the way or fall off that bike – and don’t forget to take the wellington boots Ron dug out for you, and to make a flask of tea to take with you.’

Jane rolled her eyes. ‘Go back to bed, Sarah,’ she said firmly. ‘And good luck with your interview. I’ll see you later.’

Sarah climbed back into bed after she’d shut the door, and tried to imagine her sister in the kitchen making a thermos of tea the way Peggy had shown them, and then getting the bike out of the cellar
without disturbing Ron and his animals, before cycling through the silent twilight to the very northern border of Cliffehaven.

She snuggled down beneath the blankets and tried to relax, but there was a knot of anxiety in her stomach. Jane would be all right, and so would she – but if the job with the WTC had been taken, then she would have to find something else, and quickly before their money ran out. She was loath to dip into the bank account, for it might be needed in an emergency, and she had absolutely no intention of selling her mother’s earrings and bracelet, which she’d unpicked from the hems of her dresses and hidden, with her pearls, on top of the very tall wardrobe. With only five pounds in her purse to see them through until they were paid, it was imperative she got a job – and soon.

‘You’re up early,’ said Peggy, who was already bathing Daisy in the sink as the kettle sang on the hob. ‘Take that off and make us a pot of tea, dear. All that whistling is giving me earache.’

Sarah made the tea and, as Peggy told her where everything was kept, began to lay the table for breakfast. ‘What time does the recruitment place open?’ she asked as she stirred the porridge carefully.

‘Nine o’clock sharp, but you’ll need to get there at least half an hour earlier if you don’t want to stand about for ages in a queue.’ Peggy looked Sarah up and down, taking in the tartan kilt and dark green sweater, the neat hair pinned back in a shining blonde pleat,
and the hint of lipstick, powder and mascara to enliven her face. ‘You look very smart,’ she said. ‘I’m sure the WTC will snap you up.’

Sarah silently hoped so, for a lot was riding on today, and she had no intention of letting little Jane become the breadwinner.

Sarah didn’t have much appetite for breakfast; she was too nervous. She left Beach View almost an hour and a half too early, with everyone’s best wishes ringing in her ears, and started to walk down Camden Road.

Her mouth was dry and her pulse was racing, but she was determined not to show how much this interview meant to her. And yet it was a strange feeling to be so nervous. After all, it was just a job and, by the sound of it, one she could do very well – but then she’d never expected to be in this situation, and hadn’t realised how easy and privileged her life had been until now. It wasn’t only Jane who had to learn to adapt to this strange and rather frightening new way of things, and Sarah’s usual confidence wavered as she reached the High Street.

It was already busy, with Army lorries roaring back and forth and delivery boys on bicycles dodging the office workers, and the tram rattling past. A few hardy souls had already started queuing outside the Home and Colonial. There was a blue sky overhead, which boded well, but despite the early sunshine, it was still chilly, and Sarah pulled up the collar of her coat as she headed for the Town Hall.

The office wasn’t open, so she decided to find a table close to the door in the WVS canteen and have a cigarette while she kept an eye on any queue that might form outside the office.

‘Hello, dear, you’re an early bird.’ Vera Watkins was having a cup of tea and a cigarette, and she waved to Sarah. ‘Come and join me,’ she said pleasantly.

Sarah sat down and gave her a nervous smile. ‘I’ve come to tell you I’d like to apply for the WTC post,’ she said.

Vera’s welcoming smile faded. ‘Oh,’ she said. ‘I see.’

Sarah’s spirits tumbled. ‘Someone else has got it, haven’t they?’ she said unsteadily. ‘I knew I should have come back yesterday afternoon.’

‘It probably would have been wise,’ murmured Vera, ‘and I was going to telephone Peggy to get you back here, but you know how it is – the day just flew past, and what with one thing and another, I forgot.’ Her gaze was sympathetic. ‘I’m sorry, dear.’

‘It’s not your fault,’ said Sarah, trying hard not to show how bitterly disappointed she was. ‘I’m sure there must be something else I can do.’

Vera smiled as she stubbed out her cigarette. ‘All is not lost,’ she said cheerfully, ‘and as you’re here so early I’m sure I can persuade Mr Cruikshank to fit you in.’

Sarah frowned. ‘Mr Cruikshank?’

Vera checked her lipstick in her compact mirror and then smiled. ‘He’s the forester who’s been in charge up there for as long as I can remember. He’s holding the
interviews in the estate office today, so you see, you still have a chance.’

Sarah’s hope rose again. ‘How many girls are going for it?’

‘Six,’ said Vera, ‘all with secretarial and bookkeeping experience, but none with your knowledge of measuring and essaying.’ She cocked her head. ‘Still interested?’

‘Oh, yes please,’ breathed Sarah.

‘Then we’d better get on.’ Vera gathered up her gas-mask box, handbag and briefcase. ‘I’ll telephone Mr Cruikshank to warn him he has another candidate, then we can deal with all the paperwork and answer your questions before I have to open the office. That way you’ll get up to the estate in time for your interview – but it is quite a walk, and time is of the essence.’

‘This is very good of you, Vera.’ Sarah followed Vera into her office.

‘It’s my pleasure,’ said Vera simply as she settled behind the desk and reached for the telephone. ‘How did your sister get on at the dairy, by the way?’

Sarah grinned. ‘She started this morning and has fallen in love with Mabel the Shire.’