Authors: Ellie Dean
‘And you’d be right,’ she retorted. ‘I’ve told you before, I will
not
have my baby put in danger like that. What if a gamekeeper shot at you – or you got arrested?’
‘Agatha Fullerton doesn’t have a gamekeeper,’ he said as he calmly poured himself a cup of tea and added three sugars. ‘And to be sure, I always check there are never any coppers about.’
Peggy removed the sugar bowl before he could take any more. ‘You really know how to wind me up, don’t you, Ronan Reilly?’ she said crossly. ‘First you take my daughter poaching, then you eat my cake – and now you’re helping yourself to double your ration of sugar.’
His blue eyes were twinkling as he tickled Daisy’s tummy and made her giggle. ‘To be sure, someone’s mammy got out of bed the wrong side this morning,’ he said to her.
Daisy burbled and slapped her hands on the high-chair tray, and Peggy wondered how she’d suddenly gone from a miserable, screaming baby to this angelic little girl. But then she shouldn’t be surprised – Daisy was a Reilly, after all, and imbued with the same charm and contrary temperament as her father and grandfather.
‘Wrong side or not,’ Peggy snapped, ‘you will never do that again. My cooking and the safety of my baby are the two things I will not compromise on. There will be no more defying me, Ron. Is that clear?’
‘Aye,’ he replied, his mouth twitching with humour. ‘I’m thinking ’tis clear enough, and I’m sure the neighbours would agree, for they must be hearing you on this quiet Sunday morning.’
Peggy couldn’t continue to be cross with him – not when his eyes twinkled like that, and his brows wiggled. ‘You really
do
have an answer for everything, don’t you?’ she said in weary defeat.
‘Aye,’ he replied with a wink. ‘I’ve not kissed the Blarney Stone for nothing, wee Peggy. You should know that by now.’
‘Oh, I do, Ron,’ she giggled. ‘You and Jim certainly share a gift for the gab, and no mistake.’
They were interrupted by the persistent banging of the front door knocker. ‘Who the divil is calling here at this time of a Sunday morning?’ muttered Ron as Harvey shot past him into the hall and started barking furiously.
‘That’s not like Harvey,’ said Peggy with a stab of alarm. ‘What on earth is going on?’
‘Whoever it is, it sounds like trouble,’ said Cordelia.
Ron grabbed Harvey and held tightly to his collar as he reached for the door handle. ‘Will ye be patient,’ he yelled, ‘and stop banging on me door like a . . .’
Agatha Fullerton stood on the doorstep, resplendent in her Sunday best of feathered hat and matching coat and dress, the effect of which was rather spoiled by her furious expression. ‘I’ve a good mind to sue you,’ she stormed. ‘Do you realise that that creature,’ she jabbed a gloved finger at Harvey, ‘has ruined any chance my Princess might have had to breed prize-winning puppies?’
Peggy knew all about Harvey’s commando tactics to get to Princess and certainly was in no mood to face a volcanic Agatha, so she stayed in the shadows of the kitchen doorway to watch the fun. Agatha was clearly not a woman to be easily placated, and Peggy was most interested to see how Ron’s blarney could get him out of this latest confrontation.
‘Now then, Mrs Fullerton,’ Ron soothed. ‘There’s no need to be coming round here with your accusations on such a beautiful morning. Will ye not come in for a wee cup of tea?’
‘I don’t want your tea,’ she boomed. ‘Neither do I wish to be anywhere near you or your unruly dog.’
‘Ach to be sure, Harvey’s a well-behaved dog, so he is, and is quite the hero at helping to rescue folk after the bombing raids, as I’m sure you’ve heard. I can assure you he wouldn’t be dreaming of ruining your Princess.’
‘And I can assure you, Ronan Reilly, that he has.’ Agatha was now very red in the face and fairly pulsating with fury.
‘To be sure, you’ve no proof, Mrs Fullerton,’ he said with his most winning smile. ‘Your wee bitch could have got out and been mated by any one of the dogs in this town.’
Peggy watched in amusement as Mrs Fullerton picked up a box from the step that neither she nor Ron had noticed until now.
The angry woman shoved it against Ron’s chest, giving him no alternative but to let go of Harvey to grab it. ‘The proof is in there,’ she stormed, ‘and if one word of this gets out to the Kennel Club, I will sue you and see your dog is not only impounded, but castrated.’
Harvey went stiff-legged and bristling as he barked at her, but before Ron could reply, she’d turned on her heel and was marching down Beach View Road.
‘Well, your blarney certainly deserted you that time, Ron,’ Peggy said wryly. ‘Agatha ran circles round you.’ She eyed the box. ‘And I can guess what’s in there, so you’d better open it.’
Harvey was dancing on his toes and sniffing the box eagerly, making small whining noises in his throat as his tail whipped back and forth.
Ron put the box on the floor, and as he drew back the folded cardboard, a narrow grey muzzle and small pink tongue was swiftly followed by two bright button eyes, a pair of brindled paws, a neat head and two tiny, floppy brindled ears.
Harvey was in raptures as he whined and licked the small head, before gently grasping the little creature’s scruff in his soft mouth and lifting it out of the box to present it to Ron.
‘To be sure, there’s no doubt about it,’ Ron muttered as he cradled the puppy and let it lick and nibble his chin. ‘Harvey,’ he said to the delighted dog that was whining at his feet, ‘you’re the proud father of a wee son. What about that then?’
Harvey barked, rested his paws against Ron’s stomach and nuzzled his offspring.
Peggy cleared her throat. ‘Before you both get carried away in your celebrations, don’t you think I’ve got enough to cope with, without a puppy getting under my feet?’
‘Ach, Peggy, I’ll be looking after him, so I will. You can’t be turning away a poor wee orphan pup just because you’re busy.’
Before Peggy could reply, he’d placed the puppy in her arms where it nestled sweetly against her chest and promptly fell asleep. Peggy’s heart melted as she stroked the tiny soft head, the silky ears and dear little paws that rested so trustingly in her hand. He was the spitting image of Harvey, but in miniature – of course she couldn’t refuse to keep him.
‘You’ll have to get him house-trained quickly,’ she said rather gruffly. ‘And if there are any puddles left about the place, then you’ll clean them up.’
Ron beamed at her, and Harvey ran round in circles as if he knew what had just happened. ‘Ach, to be sure, Peggy me darlin’, he’ll not be a bother to you at all.’
She kissed the sleeping puppy’s head and gave Ron a knowing glare. ‘That’s what you said about your blasted ferrets,’ she reminded him before taking the puppy into the kitchen to show Cordelia.
Kitty was sitting in the shade of an umbrella on the terrace, happily dozing away the afternoon while Doreen and her friends played a raucous game of croquet that didn’t seem to follow any of the rules, but looked great fun.
She watched idly through half-closed lids as a group of men on crutches attempted a game of football at the far end of the garden, and was about to drift off back to sleep when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
‘Sorry to disturb you, Kitty, but you’ve got visitors,’ said Nurse Hopkins.
Hoping it was Freddy, she looked beyond the nurse and saw only a small, dark-haired woman in her early forties who looked a bit ruffled and unsure of herself, clasping a handbag and small tin to her chest.
Then she saw the girl standing next to her and recognised her instantly as the one who’d organised the motorcycle races. Feeling suddenly shy and defensive, Kitty checked that the blanket covered her stump.
‘Hello, Kitty. Remember me? I’m Rita from the motorcycle track, and this is Auntie Peggy – Mrs Reilly. She’s my landlady really, but I’ve always called her Auntie,’ she said all in a rush. ‘We heard from Commander Black that you were up here and thought you might like a visit.’
Kitty still felt very shy, but she remembered her manners and greeted them both, urging them to pull up chairs so they could sit down. ‘It’s nice to see you again, Rita,’ she said with brittle brightness, ‘though the circumstances are unfortunately rather different.’
Rita smiled. ‘Yes, this place is utterly lovely, and a world away from the track.’ She took off her coat and looked over the sweeping lawns and bright flower beds. ‘It’s so much prettier, and quieter too,’ she added with a giggle. ‘You can actually hear the birds all the way out here.’
Kitty liked this girl for her gentle tact and friendly smile. ‘You can also hear Doreen trying to play croquet,’ she said wryly, as a great screech of laughter drifted to them across the lawn. ‘She can be louder than any motorbike, believe me.’
‘She seems to be having fun, though,’ said Peggy. She ran her fingers over her dishevelled hair and adjusted her cardigan over her blouse and slacks. ‘You’ll have to excuse me, dear, but Rita brought me up here on the back of her motorbike and I’m all at sixes and sevens.’
Kitty eyed her with surprise and admiration. ‘That was brave,’ she replied.
Peggy grinned. ‘Well, I do have to confess I was very nervous to begin with. Rita does go very fast, and it’s a bit scary round the bends. But once I got used to it, I rather enjoyed it – and it certainly beats sitting in my back garden with my knitting.’
Kitty laughed and began to relax. ‘I’m glad you both came. It gets a bit boring not being able to read or get about until my plasters are taken off.’
‘When will that happen?’ asked Peggy.
‘At the end of this coming week, thank goodness. I’m really looking forward to starting my new Agatha Christie, and to being able to feed myself. And once the plaster is off my leg, I’ll be able to get about on crutches and join in a bit more.’
‘Well, you be careful,’ said Peggy. ‘That leg will feel very weak for a bit, so you mustn’t go rushing about like a mad thing.’ She tutted and shook her head. ‘There I go again. Telling people what to do and fussing.’
‘But that’s why we all love you, Auntie Peg,’ said Rita. ‘It wouldn’t be the same at Beach View without you fretting over one of us.’ She turned to Kitty. ‘Peggy’s like a mum to all of us, and although we moan a bit, we like it really and couldn’t do without her.’
‘Tell me about Beach View,’ said Kitty. ‘How many of you are there?’
As Peggy and Rita took it in turns to tell her about the girls, Daisy, Grandma Finch, Ron and his dog Harvey, Kitty could just imagine the warmth and love that must flow in that house. She laughed at Ron and Harvey’s antics with the eels and the cake, and the strange conversations they’d both had with the lovely little deaf lady, and was quite melted by Peggy’s description of the sweet puppy that had been dumped on her.
‘It all sounds such fun,’ she said wistfully. ‘You clearly run a very happy home, Mrs Reilly.’
‘Good heavens,’ said Peggy. ‘I quite forgot to give you the cake.’ She opened the tin to reveal a buttered scone and a large slice of Victoria sponge.
‘It’s been ages since I had cake and it looks absolutely scrummy,’ breathed Kitty. ‘But I’m afraid one of you is going to have to help me with it.’
‘I’ll do that,’ said Peggy. ‘Rita, go and see if you can round up a cup of tea for us all.’
Kitty smiled with pleasure as Peggy delicately popped a morsel of cake into her mouth. ‘You can come again,’ she said. ‘This cake is delicious.’
‘Thank you, dear. I’d like that.’ Peggy gave her some more cake. ‘By the way, I telephoned my son-in-law Martin Black this morning at Cliffe. Everyone got back safely last night, and I managed to talk briefly to your brother.’ Peggy grinned. ‘He’s quite the charmer, isn’t he?’
‘To a fault, I’m afraid,’ Kitty replied with a rueful smile. ‘He’s got all the nurses in a lather, and most of the women patients too.’
Peggy put another bit of cake into Kitty’s mouth and gently brushed away a loose crumb from her chin. ‘Well, Freddy said to tell you he’ll try and come next weekend. If not, he may send his friend Roger, or come up one evening when he’s not on stand-by.’
‘That would be nice,’ Kitty murmured. ‘I don’t see him nearly enough, and it’s very frustrating that he’s so close by.’
‘I feel the same about our Martin,’ sighed Peggy as she fed Kitty the last of the cake. ‘He’s very good and telephones quite regularly, but he rarely has the time to come to Beach View.’
‘Tell me about the rest of your family, Mrs Reilly.’
‘Please call me Peggy,’ she replied as she brushed away the last of the crumbs from Kitty’s dressing gown. ‘Everyone does, and it’s nice to be a little less formal when amongst friends, isn’t it?’
Kitty nodded, and then sat back to listen to her talk about her children and granddaughter. Peggy was friendly and kind and clearly the sort of woman who was a born mother with an endless supply of love to give. Her family and the rest of the girls at Beach View were very lucky, and Kitty felt a sudden pang of longing for her own mother. As she hastily blinked back the tears, she felt a warm hand on her fingers.
‘We are all separated by this war, Kitty,’ said Peggy softly. ‘My two sons and my daughter and granddaughter are down in Somerset, and my husband is God knows where with the army up north. With Cissy and Martin so busy at Cliffe aerodrome, I rarely see them either. So I can understand how isolated you must feel, being so far from home, especially now. So I thought I would give you this.’
She placed a folded slip of paper into the pocket of Kitty’s dressing gown. ‘It’s my telephone number, and I want you to promise that if you’re feeling down, or need a friend or a cuddle, or even a bit more cake, you will ring me.’
Peggy’s sweet words brought the tears back. ‘That’s very kind, Peggy, but I don’t want to be a bother – and besides, you hardly know me.’
‘I know you better than you think,’ she replied softly. ‘I know you’re fighting the biggest battle of your life, and I also know you must be missing your home and your mother terribly. You’re brave, because you’ve been doing a job that only very few girls would dare to do.’
She leaned back and regarded Kitty with a smile. ‘And you’re certainly not a bother, my dear. Far from it, and if you’ll let me, I’d like to be your supporter and comforter, and to share in your struggle so you won’t feel quite so alone.’