a fancy do,’ Alice said with a grin. ‘You’ll get to wear a frilly frock and hat ‘n’ all that.’
Sarah scowled unhappily at the thought.
‘Don’t want to imagine how your Louisa’d suit a frilly frock and hat though.’ Alice began to chuckle as she imagined Sarah’s fat bruiser of a sister kitted out all dainty.
‘Bleedin’ hell! What a fright!’ Sarah gasped and joined in with Alice’s increasingly uproarious laughter.
‘Geoff’s on his way back with Herbert.’ Alice wiped her streaming eyes and grinned. ‘Looks like the boat’s home ‘n’ dry after all.’ She watched as the two boys jumped lithely onto dry land.
‘I reckon Geoff’s sweet on you.’ Sarah looked at Alice. ‘I reckon you ‘n’ ’im are going to be walking out together soon.’
‘Don’t be daft.’ Alice blushed. ‘He’s me friend … like you.’ She turned her head away from Sarah’s astute gaze and met Geoff’s eyes. A pleasant little sensation rippled through her as he smiled.
‘I reckon he’d like to be more’n yer friend. You’d best hope he ain’t like his brother with the girls, or you’ll be sorry, like your sister was.’
‘He’s nothing like Danny.’ A firm shake of Alice’s head stressed that. ‘He’s much nicer than Danny. Generous ‘n’ all, he is. Treated me ‘n’ Sophy to something to eat in Blackstock Road last Friday when me mum was on the warpath. She had every penny off us both to square her rents for Mr Keane. Cheek she’s got! She came looking for us after work before we could spend any. Said she’d give us a bit back in the week but she’s not.’
‘Well, he would do, wouldn’t he?’
‘Eh?’ Alice said.
‘Geoff was showing off ’cos he’s keen on you.’
‘Oh, shut up!’ Alice said irritably. The thought of her and Geoff as sweethearts … well, it was daft. As far as she was concerned, she was never marrying anyone tainted by The Bunk. Not even someone as nice as Geoff Lovat. She was going to work hard and save as much as she could and escape to clean air and flowers in the garden.
Besides, Alice impressed on herself, she didn’t have time to bother with romance. What occupied her thoughts was getting better work than she had at the toy factory. Not that she was unhappy there. Although the work was demanding and boring her colleagues were nice enough and she’d struck up quite a friendship with Annie Foster. Annie had helped her no end when she’d first started and had found keeping up with the production rate difficult and the machinery cumbersome to use.
Constantly in Alice’s thoughts was the interesting rumour she’d heard that a new factory was opening up in Isledon Road to make stuff to do with the war. She’d heard that there might be jobs going soldering hand-grenade cases. She’d also heard that the pay was likely to be about twelve shillings. That was more than she was getting in the toy factory. She might still be young but she knew she was an experienced factory hand now. If she needed a reference she was sure that Mr Wright would give her one. She’d worked hard and kept her nose clean. She’d seen a nice skirt and blouse down in Chapel Street market. She’d had enough of her mum buying her stuff second hand. If she was old enough to work full-time she was old enough to buy her own clothes.
‘Bleedin’ hot!’ Geoff exclaimed then flung himself down beside Alice on the grass.
Herbert sat down too before lying back and shielding his eyes with his arm. ‘We goin’ off to the flicks this afternoon?’ he mumbled against his sleeve to Geoff.
‘Nah,’ Geoff replied, squinting into the distance. ‘It’ll be sweltering in the fleapit on a day like this.’
‘We were just saying,’ Alice ribbed him, ‘hope you two ain’t about to apply for a job in the navy. You’d sink ships.’
‘Weren’t that bad,’ Geoff jovially protested. ‘Got back on dry land alright. Anyhow Dan can be skipper.’ He concentrated his narrowed gaze on the spot in the lake where his brother was smoothly rowing. ‘He looks like he’s got the hang of it alright.’
‘That ain’t all he’s got the ’ang of by the looks of it.’ Herbert smirked insinuatingly. He peered from under his arm at Alice. ‘Your sister don’t never learn, then.’
Alice jumped up. She didn’t like Herbert much at the best of times. She remembered him sticking his oar in on the day that Louisa had set about Sarah over her missing blouse. ‘You want to mind your own business, Banksie,’ she said. She looked at Sarah. ‘I’m going to walk down to the water and wait for Sophy. Coming?’
‘What for?’ Sarah sighed and used a hand to fan her warm face. ‘Be better off waiting here in the shade. We’ll get roasted by the sun.’
Alice knew that was true but she simply wanted to avoid any more hints or questions concerning her sister and Danny Lovat and what they thought they were playing at, considering all the trouble they’d caused.
‘See you later then,’ she said and started to walk off towards the water.
Geoff levered himself up. He fell into step beside Alice. Obliquely she was aware that Sarah had got up too and was following them, probably to avoid being left alone with Herbert.
‘Me mum’ll kill her if she finds out she’s knockin’ about with him again,’ Alice suddenly burst out in a low hiss and slanted Geoff an angry look. ‘She’s a bloody fool going off with him like that!’
‘He ain’t exactly using his head either,’ Geoff said quietly. ‘P’raps he’s just got something he wants to say to her and that’s why he’s took her off alone.’
‘What? Like sorry?’ Alice suggested sarcastically.
‘Yeah … like sorry,’ Geoff replied. ‘I know he is and I know ‘n’ all he wouldn’t have the guts to do it with all of us around.’
‘D’you think that’s it, then?’
Geoff nodded. ‘Yeah … I do. He says he’s going down the recruiting office to volunteer. Dunno if he was being serious or larkin’ about.’
‘He must be larkin’ about,’ Alice scoffed. ‘He’s not yet seventeen. They won’t take him till he’s nineteen.’
‘Well, he’s not going to say his right age, is he?’ Geoff gently pointed out. ‘He could pass for quite a bit older than he is. Peter Slater out of the Land who works down the market with Dan got took on. He’s sixteen and he’s already been over Woolwich Common on drill.’
‘You look as old as Danny.’ Alice glanced at Geoff, her expression solemn, an ache tightening beneath her ribs. ‘Are you going down the recruiting office too?’
‘Not sure yet. What I do know is that there’s not much in a shit hole like Campbell Bunk to stay put for, except me family ‘n’ friends … like you.’
‘You’ve got a good job,’ Alice said quickly, hoping to dissuade him from going to enlist. ‘You’ll get on and get out of The Bunk. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to get on and get out.’
‘Can’t
