caught but then she cleared her throat. ‘No, he was my brother. Is my brother. He’s missing in action, has been since November. He’s a pilot.’ She looked away quickly to the faint outlines of the buildings on the horizon. ‘He was only a year older than me, we did everything together – or at least we did until he was sent away to school and I had to stay at home and not bother my silly little head about serious subjects like maths and things like that. Still, we went everywhere together when he was home. He even taught me to drive.’
Kitty felt a bit awkward. She’d only known this woman a few hours, but they were going to be sharing a room and intimacy couldn’t be avoided. She desperately wanted to be a part of this new life and being shy wasn’t going to get her anywhere. She reached out her hand and took Laura’s shaking palm in her own. ‘Look, I realise it’s easy to say, but you mustn’t give up hope. I know. It happened to my brother Jack; his ship went down and we didn’t know where he was or what had happened to him. It was awful. It felt like a lifetime, but in the end we got news that he was alive and on the way home. He was shot but he says he’s better now and he’s back in active service. Don’t ever give up hope; it’s what keeps us going.’
‘Thanks.’ Laura seemed to give herself a mental shake and then smiled with determination. ‘Nothing I can do about it. Sitting around moping won’t help and Freddy wouldn’t stand for it, so I must buck up. Mummy’s furious with me for putting myself in danger but I told her not to be silly. They won’t actually let us fight, so I might as well go and make myself useful in whatever way I can. And if one of those ways is showing you around London, then all the better. Anyway, what about you – do you have a chap? With your looks you’re bound to have, hope you don’t mind me saying.’
Kitty furiously tried to stop herself from blushing. She’d got used to being called all sorts of things when behind the counter at the NAAFI, and fielding outrageously flirtatious remarks from many of the service-men, but to have her appearance commented on by this smart and very attractive young woman was an-other thing entirely. ‘Sort of,’ she admitted. ‘Well, nothing formal or anything, but I was walking out with a lovely man called Elliott.’ She could hardly believe she was going to say the next words. ‘He’s a doctor. He looked after my little brother Tommy when he was ill once.’
‘Oh, well done you!’ Laura beamed. ‘A doctor – that’s jolly nice. Oh God, I sound like Mummy. But you know what I mean. Doesn’t he mind you going away? Did he beg you to stay at his side?’
‘No, the very opposite. He said if it was what I wanted, I should leap at the chance,’ said Kitty, aware now that pride had crept into her voice. She knew she was lucky to have such support from him. ‘Also, he’s from London, so he wants to come and see me when he next has some leave.’ Her face fell as she remembered his workload. ‘That doesn’t happen very often though. And even when he thinks he’ll have time off, he’s often called back to the ward for an emergency. We really have been through a lot over the past few months. The bombing felt non-stop over Christmas.’
‘Oh, I know.’ Laura’s face was instantly sympathetic. ‘Even though they never give the name of the city on the radio, just say it’s in the northwest or wherever; we only heard about it afterwards, though word sort of gets around, doesn’t it?’
Kitty nodded sadly. ‘Should we even be talking about it now?’ She glanced around nervously. There was hardly anybody else in the room, as so many of the new recruits wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow, but all the same she was aware that the least said the better.
‘Well, it’s over and done with,’ said Laura pragmatically. ‘I don’t suppose it can do much more harm. But anyway, that’s wonderful that your chap might be down to visit. Maybe he can show us some places I don’t know about.’ Her eyes brightened. ‘He can take us out on the town. D’you think he’d like that?’
‘I’m sure he would. He’s very kind – and he’s a very good dancer.’ Kitty smiled but felt an odd prickling of something else – not pride, not anxiety but … could it be jealousy? Wouldn’t Elliott be far better off with a girl from his own background, someone exactly like Laura? No, she mustn’t think like that. Elliott had been surrounded by gorgeous young nurses from every walk of life and yet he had chosen her. She had nothing to worry about. And, furthermore, if she was prepared to feel jealous, then that must mean she was over Frank Feeny, mustn’t it? But, as she settled herself into the unfamiliar bed that night, it wasn’t just the strangeness and excitement of her new surroundings that gave her a fitful sleep, but the blue of Frank Feeny’s eyes that seemed to invade her dreams.
Rita stared at herself in the mirror in the bedroom she used to share with Charlie and thought how much weight she’d lost. It was no wonder: rushed off her feet all day, walking to and from work as often as not, serving in the shop when she wasn’t on duty, and all on less food than she was accustomed to. By the dim light of the overhead bulb she could see her clothes were beginning to hang loosely on her, but she couldn’t exactly go out and buy a whole new wardrobe in a smaller size. She had once been proud of her curvy figure, and Jack had loved it … now there wouldn’t be much left for him to catch hold of. That was if he ever came back. And anyway, she wasn’t going to go down that route again; there was no future in it but heartbreak. So really it didn’t matter what shape she was, as long as she could keep body and soul together. Shivering, she knew it meant that she felt the cold more keenly. Still, it was March now and the weather would soon turn warmer.
There was a gentle knock at the flimsy door. Rita started. It wouldn’t be Winnie, that was for sure. She would just barge in – or at least the old Winnie would have. Now she no longer bothered, which was a relief. ‘Come in,’ Rita called.
Ruby stepped into the room, as cautiously as a mouse peeping out of its hole to see if the cat had gone. ‘Rita? Um … can I come in?’
Rita wondered what this was about – Ruby usually kept herself to herself, and in fact she felt she knew the younger woman no better than when they’d first met, three months back. Even though they shared the same house, they barely saw one another, as Ruby kept to her attic room and Rita rarely had time to sit around downstairs. She sat down on the bed and patted the space beside her. ‘Come on in, Ruby. Make yourself comfortable.’
Shyly the young woman stepped forward and then sat where she’d been asked to, all without looking directly at Rita. Even though she was nearly twenty-one, she acted like a child, a timid one at that. Rita didn’t know if it was because there was something wrong with her, or because of how she’d been treated all her life. Being raised by that hard-faced Elsie Lowe would have been no picnic.
‘What’s wrong, Ruby?’ Rita could tell something was bothering her, and her naturally warm heart went out to her. ‘Take your time.’
Ruby jerked her head away and muttered something before she managed to say, ‘I’ve not done nothing wrong.’ She turned to face Rita and her huge blue eyes glittered with unshed tears. ‘Honest, I haven’t.’ She began to shake violently.
‘Ruby, of course you haven’t. Who said you did? Why are you saying this?’ Rita asked gently, wondering what could have frightened her. Everyone had been living with frayed nerves during the bombings, but those had tailed off recently. Was it the fear of the planes returning that had upset the young woman so much? ‘Don’t be scared, you can tell me.’
Ruby took a deep breath. ‘The police came.’ She looked away again. ‘I haven’t done nothing, really I haven’t.’
‘Police?’ Rita’s
