down,’ Jenny said. ‘She knows the full extent of the tragedy now.’
‘Has she any family to see to her?’ Jan asked.
Jenny shook her head, ‘No one.’
‘Ah, poor soul.’
Jenny blessed Jan for her sympathetic nature. ‘Yes it’s a shame isn’t it? She has got an aunt and an uncle, but he’s in Australia, and the aunt hasn’t got the room with a big family of her own.’
‘Be an orphanage for her then,’ Norah said.
‘Not necessarily,’ Jenny said. Everyone stopped and looked at her. Jenny paused for a moment or two, and then said, ‘She could come here.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’
‘I’m not,’ Jenny protested. ‘She could sleep in my room in my bed; neither of us is very big.’
‘Jenny, my dear,’ Eileen said, in her most patronising voice. ‘It would not be at all suitable. We don’t know anything about the child’s background.’
‘Sod her background,’ Jenny said, so intensely angry she didn’t care what she said.
‘Jenny!’ the exclamation came simultaneously from Eileen and Norah.
‘Don’t “Jenny” me, and treat me like an idiot,’ she said, rage boiling inside her. ‘The child I spent hours with is virtually alone in the world. She has no one. They were wiped out in the raid that left you unscathed!’
‘I understand you are upset over the child and a little overwrought yourself perhaps,’ said Eileen. Jenny had the desire to swipe the smug expression off her face. ‘So, despite the way you’ve spoken to us, and the language used, we shall make allowances. You’ll find she’ll soon settle down, dear. The orphanages today are marvellous places, I believe.’
‘How d’you know? You’ve never been inside one.’
‘Jenny, don’t be so rude and argumentative,’ Norah said, siding as usual with Eileen. ‘Mother’s only expressing an opinion. Now, we have no objection to your being friends with the girl and visiting her if you feel you must, but that’s as far as it is to go.’
The only way she could maybe change their minds was to appeal to their puffed-up pride. They’d enjoyed having their pictures in the paper and their account of Jenny, who they described as a ‘wonderful daughter and granddaughter’, had raised their esteem within the neighbour-hood. So Jenny said, ‘If you were to agree to take Linda on, it would look good for you.’
‘How, pray, do you work that one out?’
‘Well think of the headlines,’ Jenny said. ‘Selfless widow offers home to orphan. The newspaper would be interested. In these days of bad war news, human interest stories are sought after.’
She saw the two women were thinking about what she said, and so she went on, ‘I don’t care how it’s done. You two can take all the credit, as long as Linda is allowed to come here to live.’ She paused and then went on, bravely determined. ‘But if you don’t agree to this, I will go to the papers myself and tell them Linda’s story. I will tell them I wanted to offer her a home here with me, but you would not hear of it.’
‘Don’t you dare threaten me, miss,’ Norah snapped.
‘I’m not threatening you Mother. I’m just telling you what I intend to do,’ Jenny said, marvelling at how calm she felt. She knew she’d won the fight; she saw it on their faces as they glanced at each other. But before they were able to make a reply, the sirens sent up their unearthly wail. The adults looked at each other almost in disbelief. ‘Oh God,’ Geraldine breathed. ‘Today of all days. Oh God!’
‘It may go over,’ Jenny said, seeing her sister’s terror mirrored in the faces of her children.
But it didn’t go over. It was far too dangerous for Jan to walk home, and Jenny insisted Jan and Geraldine and their children use the shelter, as she knew neither her mother nor grandmother would go into it. It would be cramped with them all inside, and probably damp and cold too, and she was glad she had taken the loan of Mr Patterson’s oil heater, even though it smelt to high heaven.
Seeing how frightened the children were of the planes droning over their head, and the crashes of explosions, and remembering what Linda had done to calm her brothers, Jenny began to sing every song she could think of, in an effort to still their panic.
Jan realized what she was doing immediately and began a rendering of the silly songs Eddie and Rosemarie would know from school. Geraldine didn’t join in, but she did stop shivering quite so much and the children grew enthusiastic, especially when none of the bombs fell terribly close.
Eventually, the heavy air and late hour got to Jamie and Declan and they were put down in the bunks to sleep. Even Rosemarie and Eddie were drowsy and lying back on their mothers’ knees, Eddie with his thumb in his mouth for comfort.
Too tired to sing any more, the women fell to talking in low voices so as not to disturb the children. At first they didn’t discuss the subject Jenny had broached at tea, but skated around it. Eventually, Jan said, ‘Were you serious about having that wee girl to live with you?’
‘Yes,’ Jenny said. ‘Never more so.’
‘Do you dislike Mother so much?’ Geraldine asked.
‘I dislike her attitude,’ Jenny said. ‘What is so wrong with her and grandmother that they can’t extend the hand of human friendship to another person in need?’
‘Well,’ said Geraldine, ‘they do know nothing about her.’
‘She’s young and orphaned,’ Jenny snapped. ‘What else is there to know?’
She glanced at the children and saw they had their eyes closed. She lowered her voice to a whisper as she said, ‘Linda’s little brother George was about the same age as young Declan and Harry was a baby, younger even than Jamie. Think on that.’
Geraldine and Jan did think of it and instinctively shuddered: Jenny, seeing she had their sympathy, went on, ‘Linda was like a little mother to them, the next-door neighbour, Beattie, told me. There was just her and her mother, you see – her own father died when she was small, and then her stepfather was one of those left behind on the beaches of Dunkirk.’
No need for them to know what sort of man Ted Prosser really was: Jenny wanted them both to feel sympathetic towards the young orphaned girl.
‘Oh, the poor wee thing,’ the kind-hearted Jan said. ‘And then to suffer like she did, being buried like that.’
‘I can see how you feel somewhat responsible, Jenny,’ Geraldine said. ‘And if she has no one else …’
‘She hasn’t,’ Jenny said. ‘The only one that would have taken her has eight boys of her own already and lives in a two-bedroom terrace house in Basingstoke. Beattie would have her like a shot, but she’s been bombed out herself and is lodging with her sister.’
‘So, you think it’s up to you?’ Jan said.
‘Yes.
