Sons and Daughters (46 page)

Charlotte bit her lip, hesitating, unsure whether she should interfere. Perhaps Miles was doing a better job on his own. She walked slowly towards them. Then she saw Jenny turn swiftly away and begin to cross the road. Miles caught hold of the child’s arm and a high-pitched scream rent the air. Charlotte quickened her pace.

The girl was wriggling and kicking out at Miles’s shins, but he held her fast. ‘You’ll get run over, love. Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you. But you must look where you’re going.’

He glanced helplessly at Charlotte but still kept a firm grip on the squirming little body.

‘Jenny,’ Charlotte began. ‘If you’re going back to London, haven’t you forgotten a couple of things?’

For a moment, Jenny’s efforts to break free stopped and she stared up at Charlotte.

‘What?’

‘For one thing, you must take your gas mask and for another – what about Teddy? You surely weren’t going to leave him, were you?’

The young girl became perfectly still.

‘If you promise me not to run into the road without looking both ways,’ Miles said, ‘I’ll let go.’

Jenny nodded and Miles released his grip, though he remained standing close by – just in case.

‘His name’s Bert,’ Jenny muttered and took a step – albeit a reluctant one – back towards the cottage. ‘I’d better get him. And me gas mask.’

‘And what about the train fare? Have you any money?’

As the child blinked and looked up at her, Charlotte saw that she had the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

‘Don’t need no money. We come on the train an’ didn’t ’ave ter pay.’

‘I think that was special, because the train was bringing you all to the country. But if you choose to go back without the others, you’ll have to pay.’

The girl looked suddenly even smaller, lost and afraid. Her lower lip trembled and she ducked her head, but not before Charlotte had seen the tears welling in her lovely eyes. Now Charlotte squatted down in front of her. ‘Tell you what, how about you come home with us for a day or two? If you really don’t like it, then we’ll pay for your train fare back home.’

The girl’s head jerked up. ‘Promise?’

‘Well, I don’t think your mum’ll want you to go back to the city when she’s sent you here to be safe, but if you’re really so unhappy, then—’

‘Don’t think mi mum’d be bothered. She’s got a fancy man an’ I was in the way.’

‘Oh – oh, I see,’ Charlotte murmured, but she didn’t really. She knew nothing about this child’s background but it sounded as if she’d been sent to the country with the other evacuees more to get her out of the way than for her safety.

Charlotte stood up, smiled down at Jenny and held out her hand. ‘You come with us, Jenny. Give us a try, eh? Maybe you’d like to stay with us for a little while and then we’ll see, eh?’

The child looked up at her, staring straight into Charlotte’s eyes. Then she nodded. ‘All right, missis. I’ll give it a go, but if I don’t like it . . .’

‘Then I promise we’ll take you back to London ourselves and talk to your mum. All right?’

Again the little girl nodded and put her grubby paw into Charlotte’s outstretched hand.

Above her head Charlotte and Miles exchanged a smile.

Georgie arrived home on a seventy-two-hour pass. The first sounds he heard on entering the front door were high-pitched screams and a great deal of splashing water emanating from the first-floor bathroom.

‘What on earth’s going on?’ he laughed, dumping his kit bag in the hall and greeting his father, who emerged from the sanctuary of his study.

Miles smiled wryly. ‘It’s our new houseguest. An evacuee from London. She’s got nits or head lice or something. She’s not taking kindly to the treatment Charlotte is meting out. I’m keeping out of the way.’ He chuckled. ‘Playing the good guy when all the scream-ing’s over.’

‘You might be waiting a while, by the sound of it.’ Georgie began to take the stairs, two at a time with his long athletic legs. Miles called after him, ‘I’d change out of your uniform first, Georgie. It might be rather wet in there.’

‘I will.’

Minutes later, Georgie was knocking on the bathroom door and opening it to a wall of noise and a wave of water sloshing across the linoleum towards him.

‘Need any help, Charlotte?’ he shouted above the din.

‘Georgie! What a lovely surprise.’

At the sound of the man’s voice, the child, fighting Charlotte’s every attempt to wash her hair, was suddenly still and quiet. The silence was as deafening as the noise had been a moment before.

Georgie stepped through the water and squatted down in front of the girl and held out his hand. ‘Hello, I’m Georgie. I’m very pleased to meet you.’

The child stared at him with her brilliant blue eyes. ‘Would you like me to dry your hair for you, while Charlotte clears up all this mess?’

Jenny considered for a long moment, her face tear-streaked and sullen. Then, suddenly, she smiled and it was like the sun coming out from behind the darkest storm cloud. She nodded.

Charlotte wrapped the huge white towel round her skinny wet body and handed her over to Georgie with an inward sigh of relief.

‘Take her to the nursery. Kitty’s been busy all morning cleaning it and lighting a fire in there. It should be cosy by now.’

Georgie lifted the little girl up into his arms and carried her from the bathroom, leaving Charlotte to mop up the tidal wave and set the bathroom to rights. Not for the first time, Charlotte marvelled at how Georgie’s charm worked such wonders.

A little later, when order had been restored to a still rather damp bathroom, Charlotte went along to the nursery. Miles was hovering on the landing.

‘Do you think they’re all right? I can’t hear anything. The silence is almost worse than the noise.’

‘Oh Miles, you should have seen her smile at Georgie.’ She laughed and shook her head in wonderment. ‘That boy never ceases to amaze me. He can charm the birds out of the trees.’

Miles chuckled. ‘He always could.’

Charlotte smiled fondly. ‘I remember.’

They listened outside the door for a moment before opening it quietly and peering round it. Georgie was sitting on the hearthrug, with the child curled against him, her head on his chest, whilst he read to her one of his own favourite books from childhood –
The Wind in the Willows.

‘Just look at her hair,’ Miles whispered. ‘What pretty blond curls she’s got, now it’s clean.’ Charlotte glanced at him but his gaze was fastened on Jenny.

‘Blond hair and blue eyes – what a little stunner,’ he murmured.

‘And she has the prettiest dimples in her cheeks when she smiles,’ Charlotte whispered back.

He turned to her, dragging his gaze reluctantly away from the little girl for a moment. ‘She smiled? She actually smiled?’

Charlotte chuckled softly. ‘Oh yes – but only at Georgie.’

‘That figures!’

They watched for a few moments longer before Georgie became aware of their presence. He grinned and beckoned them in.

‘We’re reading,’ he informed them unnecessarily.

‘So we see,’ Miles murmured, his eyes still drinking in the sight of the clean, sweet-smelling child, leaning against Georgie and sucking her thumb. Her eyes drooped with tiredness.

‘I think it’s time she went to bed,’ Charlotte said quietly, torn between not wanting to spoil the tranquillity, but conscious of her duty as a surrogate mother.

‘Right, little one,’ Georgie said, moving her gently from his lap and standing up. ‘Time for beddibyes.’

Charlotte held her breath, expecting an outburst, but none came. When he picked her up, Jenny wound her arms round Georgie’s neck and laid her head against his shoulder. She was almost asleep already.

‘Poor little scrap,’ Miles murmured, touching her curls gently as Georgie carried her out of the nursery and into the bedroom next door to it. He tucked her into bed, promising, ‘Charlotte and Miles are right next door and I’m just down the corridor. If you want anything, you only have to shout and we’ll come running. All right?’

‘Mm.’ There was a pause before she murmured, ‘Bert?’

Georgie looked round at Charlotte and Miles standing in the doorway. ‘What’d she say?’

‘Of course. It’s her teddy. Now where – ?’ Charlotte hurried into the room and towards the bundle of Jenny’s few belongings, fishing out the shabby teddy bear.

‘Here he is – hiding amongst your clothes.’ She tucked him in beside the child and then bent to kiss her forehead. ‘Night, night, sleep tight, mind the—’ Then she stopped.

Any reference to bugs was not the most appropriate thing to say to the little girl, she realized just in time. She bit her lip and exchanged a rueful smile with Miles.

They left a night light burning on the mantelpiece in case Jenny should wake in the darkness and be frightened. And then, sure that she was already sound asleep, the three crept out of the room, leaving the door ajar.

Georgie led the way downstairs and into the dining room, where Wilkins hovered anxiously. Dinner had already been held back almost an hour.

‘Now,’ Georgie demanded. ‘I want to hear all about her and how she comes to be here.’

Over the three days Georgie was at home, Jenny never left his side. She followed him about the house like a little shadow, her teddy clutched in her arms, her thumb in her mouth. But there was one thing that even Georgie could not persuade her to do, which was to go outside.

‘Wouldn’t you like to see the animals? We’ve got pigs and chickens and one or two horses in the stables,’ Georgie coaxed her. ‘Maybe, my dad would get you a little pony and you could learn to ride.’

Jenny shook her curls vehemently. ‘Don’t like it.’

‘What? A pony?’

‘No, outside.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s too big.’

Georgie glanced helplessly at Charlotte and Miles, who shrugged, completely at a loss, too.

‘What’s too big, darling?’ Now Charlotte knelt in front of her. ‘A horse, d’you mean? We won’t make you go on one if you don’t want to.’

The girl blinked up at her. ‘It’s too big,’ she repeated.

‘What’s too big, Jenny?’ Miles asked gently. ‘Try to tell us.’

‘Outside. The sky. It’s – frightening. There’s no houses an’ buildings.’

The three adults exchanged mystified glances, then suddenly Georgie’s face cleared. ‘I think I understand. She’s used to living in the city with buildings all around her. The open flat land and the skies here must look huge to her, when you think about it. Is that it, Jenny love?’

The girl nodded, her shining curls bobbing. ‘It’s too big.’

‘We understand, but there’s nothing to be afraid of. Come.’ Miles held out his hand, realizing that somehow he and Charlotte must prise her away from Georgie. He had to return to camp the following day. Miles foresaw trouble when the young man had to leave Jenny. ‘We’ll take it in easy stages. Come to the window and look out. Georgie, you go outside and wave to her. In fact, get one of the lads to bring one of the smaller horses on to the lawn so she can see it.’

The rest of the morning was spent gently coaxing the child outside and by lunchtime she was happily kicking a football backwards and forwards to Georgie on the front lawn.

‘I bet she’d love the beach. Digging sandcastles and paddling.’

‘Oh, one step at a time, I think, Miles. Besides, aren’t they putting rolls and rolls of barbed wire along the beach now and building concrete pill boxes all along the coast?’

‘Yes,’ Miles said grimly. ‘Soon we won’t be able to go to the beach. What a shame!’

‘Perhaps they’ll leave a little space for holidaymakers in Lynthorpe. We could take her there.’

‘Holidaymakers?’ Miles’s tone was doubtful. ‘Do you think we’ll get any next summer?’

But that was a question Charlotte could not answer.

‘I’m not going without saying a proper goodbye to her.’ Georgie was adamant.

‘She’ll likely scream the place down,’ Charlotte warned.

‘That’d be better than me sneaking off without her knowing. I’ll explain it carefully. Tell her I’ll get home again as soon as I can and that she’s to let you or Miles carry on reading
The Wind in the Willows
.’

‘He’s right, darling.’ Miles put his arm round her shoulder. ‘We’ve got to be honest with her. I bet half these poor kids weren’t told what was happening to them. They were just shoved on a train and waved off by tearful mothers, not even knowing where they were going or how long for. Georgie’s right. We’ve got to be truthful with her.’

But Charlotte was right about one thing. There were tears – and plenty. A proper tantrum, where Jenny lay on the floor of the hall, screaming and kicking out at anyone who tried to get near her.

At last, the only thing Georgie could do was to say firmly above all the noise, ‘I’ve got to go now, Jen. Won’t you come and wave me off?’

But the screams only increased.