politely declined, shrugged and finished it off. Within minutes he was snoring.
Polly envied him. She was longing to sleep, longing to lie down in a proper bed away from the stench of railways and the sounds of war. Determined to quell her fear and accept the situation, she rested her head back against the rather violent-green tiles and closed her eyes. If she could just shut out the noise from above and the sight of those looming ceilings, she just might be able to relax.
Chapter Four
MRS FINCH’S PARTRIDGE stew had been a triumph. The three birds had been plucked and marinated in the pint of beer Ron had fetched from the pub, before being slowly stewed with the vegetables until the meat fell from the bones. The thick, delicious gravy had been very satisfying, each precious drop mopped up with bread and potato until the plates were clean.
‘I thought I’d do a fish pie tomorrow,’ she trilled, as she and Peggy sat over their teacups much later on. ‘Ron’s promised to take me to the fishing station tomorrow morning.’
‘It’s quite a walk,’ murmured Peggy. ‘Why don’t I nip down there for you?’
Mrs Finch’s faded blue eyes became steely. ‘That’s not the point of the exercise,’ she said firmly. ‘You’ve far too much to do already, and I’m quite enjoying having the kitchen to myself. I’d forgotten how much I liked cooking – of course there was little point once the boys left for Canada and I was alone. But with such a houseful to feed, I’m feeling quite excited about digging out my old recipe books.’
Peggy lit a cigarette and leant back in her favourite kitchen chair. The washing-up was done and the house was quiet. Ron was at the pub, Jim at work, and the nurses were having an early night to prepare for their morning shift at the hospital. Cissy was performing with her dance troupe at the Apollo Theatre, and poor little Danuta had scurried back to her room, no doubt finding the other nurses’ hospital gossip too hard to take after the crushing rejection by the matron.
Peggy’s soft heart went out to her, and she wished she could do something about her predicament. But rules were rules, and although she didn’t like the way the woman had treated Danuta, she could understand why she’d had to refuse to employ her as a nurse. Laundry work was tough, though, and she wondered if the frail-looking girl would be able to manage without doing herself an injury.
‘Oh,’ exclaimed Mrs Finch, ‘I almost forgot. Nurse Brown telephoned this afternoon.’
‘Is she still coming?’
Mrs Finch frowned. ‘I’m not at all sure,’ she replied. ‘She wasn’t making much sense and the line was very crackly.’
Peggy suspected it was the hearing aid that was at fault, but let it pass. ‘What did she say exactly?’ she coaxed.
‘She said something about falling at the hospital, and then went on to tell me she was waiting in the rain.’ She shook her grey head, her frown deepening. ‘Why she felt it necessary to talk about the weather, I don’t know.’
Peggy smiled. ‘I think you’ll find she was waiting for a train,’ she said, ‘and no doubt wanted me to call the hospital to let them know she was on her way.’ She smiled fondly at the old woman’s confused expression and decided it was definitely time to persuade her to get a new hearing aid. ‘I’ll phone the hospital in the morning to let them know. Poor girl, she’s awfully late in getting down here. I hope that matron doesn’t treat her too harshly.’
‘Let’s hope not,’ muttered Mrs Finch. ‘That woman sounds a fright, and I’m glad
I
don’t have to face her.’
‘I’ll have to warn Danuta, too,’ murmured Peggy. ‘I know she doesn’t really want to share her room, but it’s better to have the two latest arrivals together. The other three are very settled, and Suzy’s room’s a bit small for two beds.’
‘Another shed? Why do we need two? Ron has enough clutter as it is.’
‘No, dear,’ said
Polly envied him. She was longing to sleep, longing to lie down in a proper bed away from the stench of railways and the sounds of war. Determined to quell her fear and accept the situation, she rested her head back against the rather violent-green tiles and closed her eyes. If she could just shut out the noise from above and the sight of those looming ceilings, she just might be able to relax.
Chapter Four
MRS FINCH’S PARTRIDGE stew had been a triumph. The three birds had been plucked and marinated in the pint of beer Ron had fetched from the pub, before being slowly stewed with the vegetables until the meat fell from the bones. The thick, delicious gravy had been very satisfying, each precious drop mopped up with bread and potato until the plates were clean.
‘I thought I’d do a fish pie tomorrow,’ she trilled, as she and Peggy sat over their teacups much later on. ‘Ron’s promised to take me to the fishing station tomorrow morning.’
‘It’s quite a walk,’ murmured Peggy. ‘Why don’t I nip down there for you?’
Mrs Finch’s faded blue eyes became steely. ‘That’s not the point of the exercise,’ she said firmly. ‘You’ve far too much to do already, and I’m quite enjoying having the kitchen to myself. I’d forgotten how much I liked cooking – of course there was little point once the boys left for Canada and I was alone. But with such a houseful to feed, I’m feeling quite excited about digging out my old recipe books.’
Peggy lit a cigarette and leant back in her favourite kitchen chair. The washing-up was done and the house was quiet. Ron was at the pub, Jim at work, and the nurses were having an early night to prepare for their morning shift at the hospital. Cissy was performing with her dance troupe at the Apollo Theatre, and poor little Danuta had scurried back to her room, no doubt finding the other nurses’ hospital gossip too hard to take after the crushing rejection by the matron.
Peggy’s soft heart went out to her, and she wished she could do something about her predicament. But rules were rules, and although she didn’t like the way the woman had treated Danuta, she could understand why she’d had to refuse to employ her as a nurse. Laundry work was tough, though, and she wondered if the frail-looking girl would be able to manage without doing herself an injury.
‘Oh,’ exclaimed Mrs Finch, ‘I almost forgot. Nurse Brown telephoned this afternoon.’
‘Is she still coming?’
Mrs Finch frowned. ‘I’m not at all sure,’ she replied. ‘She wasn’t making much sense and the line was very crackly.’
Peggy suspected it was the hearing aid that was at fault, but let it pass. ‘What did she say exactly?’ she coaxed.
‘She said something about falling at the hospital, and then went on to tell me she was waiting in the rain.’ She shook her grey head, her frown deepening. ‘Why she felt it necessary to talk about the weather, I don’t know.’
Peggy smiled. ‘I think you’ll find she was waiting for a train,’ she said, ‘and no doubt wanted me to call the hospital to let them know she was on her way.’ She smiled fondly at the old woman’s confused expression and decided it was definitely time to persuade her to get a new hearing aid. ‘I’ll phone the hospital in the morning to let them know. Poor girl, she’s awfully late in getting down here. I hope that matron doesn’t treat her too harshly.’
‘Let’s hope not,’ muttered Mrs Finch. ‘That woman sounds a fright, and I’m glad
I
don’t have to face her.’
‘I’ll have to warn Danuta, too,’ murmured Peggy. ‘I know she doesn’t really want to share her room, but it’s better to have the two latest arrivals together. The other three are very settled, and Suzy’s room’s a bit small for two beds.’
‘Another shed? Why do we need two? Ron has enough clutter as it is.’
‘No, dear,’ said
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