THE WAR BRIDE CLUB (29 page)

      She didn’t want to move on.
Never
. Especially not with Charlie’s brother. But had the thought of it disturbed him that much? Did he think she was that unattractive? Not good enough for him?

      She shouldn’t have let it worry her, but it did. On the way here, they’d seemed to develop a friendship. Now it was like the first day when they’d met. And she didn’t like it one bit.
 

      “Well? How was it?”

      Betty flopped down in the chair, holding William out for Ivy to take. She could see the woman was itching to get her hands on the baby.
 

      “Dreadful. I need a cup of tea.”

      “Funny you should ask for a cup of tay.”      

      Betty glared at her. She wasn’t in the mood for being teased.
 

      “Enough of the sour face, miss. Just so happens I finally managed to get a container of tea in for you. I went to the shop while you were out and it had arrived.”

      “Really?” She felt energy slowly drip back into her bones. “You mean proper English tea?”

      “Come see for yourself.”

      She jumped to her feet and danced into the kitchen. The package stood proudly on the counter.
English breakfast tea
. Oh, yes! After the day she’d had it was exactly what she needed.
 

      “We need a tea pot.”

      “Check.” Ivy pointed toward the far cupboard.
 

      Betty opened it and found the most pretty tea pot she’d even seen. Made from china, it was the palest cream, with a fine spout, as if to be used for high tea.
 

      “Ivy, it’s gorgeous!”

      “Just a little something I wanted to get for you.”

      She moved around to hug Ivy, kissed her cheek, then set the kettle to boil.
 

      “Now you’re going to have a real cuppa with me, Ivy. We can pretend we’re in London.”

      “Did something happen today, Betty? Luke looked mighty cross when he came in.”

      Ivy was leaning back, William lying still in her arms, gurgling up at her, fist in his mouth.

      Betty spooned tea into the pot, filled it with water, and placed it on the table. Then she found two cups and saucers and popped them down too, before sitting herself.

      “Betty?”

      “We really need some scones with jam, or white bread sandwiches with butter and sliced cucumber.”

      “Betty, there’s something you’re not telling me.”

      She sighed and poured the tea, pushing one cup toward Ivy.
 

      “That woman is awful.”

      Ivy raised her eyebrows in question.
 

      “Here, you need a spoon of sugar,” Betty told her.

      Ivy did as she was told and stirred it in.

      “How so?” Ivy asked.

      “Well, first of all she couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to let anyone else look after my baby, or that he didn’t eat the same meal as we did. Then she wanted me to stay, she had a go at Luke, his father hardly said a word, and then she…”

      “What?” 
       
“I still can’t believe she let someone else bring up her children,” Betty admitted.

      “I can.”

      “You can?” Did Ivy not believe in caring for her own babies either? Surely not?

      “I can believe it because it was me who brought those babies up. It was me they called for when they were hurt, or if they were upset. I took them from little babies into boys ready for college. She wasn’t interested until they were able to attend her parties and hold their own in an adult conversation.”

      Betty just stared at her, her tea cup suspended mid-air.
 

      “You looked after them all those years?”

      “Why else do you think it was me Charlie wrote to? I knew he’d married you before his own parents did. It’s why Luke wanted me here. I love those boys like I love my own daughter.”

      Betty went back to sipping her own tea.
 

      “So what was it you were going to say before?” Ivy asked her.
 

      “When?”

      Ivy gave her a look that she took as serious. Her
don’t pull the wool over my eyes
look.
 

      She sighed. “When we left, she didn’t think I could hear…” 
      “By
she
you mean Mrs. Olliver?”

      Betty nodded. “It was just that she said Luke and I made an attractive couple and asked if he’d considered the idea. Or something like that.” She tried not to mumble. “She didn’t know I could hear, but I did, and then Luke wouldn’t talk to me the entire drive home.”

      Ivy made a noise in her throat, but didn’t say anything. She sipped at her tea. Thoughtfully.
 

      “Not bad, you know. I could get used to this,” Ivy said.

      “Ivy?”

      Now it was the other woman doing the avoiding.
 

      “Betty, one thing you need to know about Luke is that he’s a sensitive type. Comes across all brave and strong, but his mother messed him up. Made him cautious of women.” She paused. “He could have his pick, you know, but it was Charlie who we always knew would marry. His mother didn’t affect him quite the same. Luke, well, maybe.”

      “So you think he’ll talk to me again?” Betty asked.
 

      “Of course he will. Don’t be daft. He’s just annoyed with his mother. And maybe he’s embarrassed because he’s already thought the same thing himself.”

      “Ivy!”

      Betty felt her cheeks flood with burning hot color.
 

      “You’re a pretty girl, Betty. Just because you were married to his brother doesn’t mean he can’t look at you that way. He’s a man after all. It wasn’t like he knew you two as a couple.”

      Betty poured herself another cup of tea.
 

      “He did say that he’d help me find my friends. The girls from the ship I told you about. You don’t think he’d go back on his word, do you? I’m so desperate to find them.”

      “What Luke says he’ll do, he does. Now stop fussing about him and enjoy your tea. All this sitting around and talking means I’m running behind. Fancy helping me with dinner?”

      “Love to.”

      “Maybe another cup first, though,” Ivy said.
 

      “I knew you’d love it. Who couldn’t like a cuppa, huh?”
 

      They both laughed.
 

      Betty was a mix of emotions. Excited, worried, sad, stressed, happy. She switched from one to the other so darn fast she didn’t know what she was, but right now, with Ivy, it was the latter. Hands down.
 

      “Let’s put this boy down so he can crawl. He’s getting far too heavy for us to keep lugging around,” suggested Ivy. “Maybe he just needs some time on his stomach for encouragement.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

IT was like she’d suddenly emerged from a dark and disastrous nightmare. Every time Alice raised her head, looked at her husband, walked into her house… her life seemed to have no resemblance to the past months since she’d arrived. The home that had once felt small, cold and unloved, now had an energy about it she relished. She rose early to fling the drapes wide open, letting sun fill the rooms with warmth. She was gathering flowers from their tiny garden for the table, baking for the joy of the aroma it sent through the house.
 

      And Ralph. Oh, Ralph! Her man was back and she loved him so much that it made her heart melt.
 

      There were so many things that still needed to be said, things they needed to do to set things right, but they would make it. She just knew they would.
 

      And he was due home any moment. She checked the oven and set the timer to alert her in a few more minutes. She was making Ralph a savory pie, chicken and vegetable, like he used to love in London but couldn’t get here.

      “Honey, you home?”

      Alice felt her heart thud as she heard Ralph’s voice. In a week she’d gone from resenting his every movement to aching to hold him near.
 

      “In the kitchen,” she called back.
 

      She turned the timer off and took the pie from the oven. If she didn’t take it out now she’d have to interrupt her husband, and she wanted to hear everything about his day.
 

      He hadn’t touched alcohol since the morning they’d lain in bed together talking, but it had been hard, so hard on him to not touch the bottle again. Which meant she wanted to give him all her love and undivided attention to help him through.
 

      “Hello, sweetheart.”

      Ralph reached for her face and kissed her on the lips. She closed her eyes and just breathed in the smell of him. When he released her they just watched one another, before she stepped back, face flushed.
 

      “How was your day?” she asked.
 

      He grinned before flopping down in a chair at their tiny kitchen table.

      “He’s going to let me know by the end of the week.”

      Alice nodded. “Well, that sounds promising, right?”

      Ralph smiled back at her. “He knew my father, so I think that’ll help.”

      She didn’t say anything. After what he’d told her about his family, she wasn’t sure what to say.
 

      “I know I said I wanted to make it on my own, but if my family name helps me to get a foot in the door, I’d be a fool to turn it down.” He undid his tie and put his feet up on the other chair. “His son had a similar posting to mine in Europe during the war, so who knows? That might help more that anything.”

      Alice held her tongue. She could see he was trying to be brave but was worried about getting it, and they needed the money so badly. But he was doing his best, and she knew it was going to happen for him. It just had to.
 

      “Darling, I’m not sure if this is good news for you or not, but there was a message from our neighbors that your mother phoned. She’s coming to stay in a month’s time.”

      Ralph’s face crumpled. “Oh.”

      Alice walked around the table to him and touched his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

      He grabbed her waist and made her fall into his lap.
 

      She sighed happily at the smile on his face.
 

      “I know you want everything to be perfect, that you’re worried about me, but I’m fine, Alice. You don’t have to act like I’m broken, not anymore.”

      She braved a look into his eyes. That’s exactly what she thought,
that he could break if she said the wrong thing
. That this perfect little bubble could shatter as fast as it had formed.
 

      “I’m not going back, Alice. I was in a bad place.”

      “I know, Ralph, I know, it’s just…”

      “What?” he asked.
 

      Ralph watched her and she didn’t say a thing.
 

      “What, Alice?”

      “I know you’ve been through hard times, but I don’t understand how a man like you, the man I know you to be, could have fallen like that. I mean, I just don’t understand.”

      There, she’d said it. It was like a gust of wind had been expelled from her lungs, relieving her of keeping it captive.
 

      He looked down at her, took a deep breath, then kissed her forehead.
 

      “Why don’t you serve dinner up while I get changed, then I’ll explain.”

      Alice felt numb. She nodded and rose, walking over on stiff legs to cut the pie.
 

      When she looked back he’d already disappeared. He’d sounded genuine enough, like he didn’t mind what she’d said, but it was the glass theory again. Had she pushed too hard and made it crack?

      “Honey, this pie is fantastic.”

      Alice smiled up at Ralph and placed a forkful in her mouth. It was good, but the pie wasn’t what she wanted to be talking about.
 

      Maybe she needed to start things, talk about what she’d decided today. It might help him open up. Besides, if she didn’t address the fact that she’d called in sick every day over the past week to work, he was going to start to wonder.
 

      “Ralph, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the past few days and…”

      “No!” He dropped his fork with a clatter. “I know I’ve been difficult Alice, but I’ll get a job soon. We’re going to be okay – please don’t go back. Not yet.” 
      What? “Go back where, to work?”

      Now he looked confused. “Home, Alice. I don’t want you to leave me to go back home.”