A Rose and a Promise, page 6
‘Of course they did, but this is Annie we’re talking about, so they all turned a blind eye. Besides, it wasn’t long before we put it back.’
She rested her head against his shoulder. ‘Do you see Aled much?’
‘Nigh on every day,’ said Jez, ‘because I’m part of the team who service the Ulysses.’
Cadi grimaced. ‘It can’t be easy for you, knowing what happened to its predecessor.’
‘It’s all part and parcel of being in the RAF – Aled knows the score, same as the rest of us.’
She slid her hand into Jez’s. ‘At least you’ve got both feet safely on the ground. And as long as you keep Annie firmly leashed, there’s not much to stop you getting through this blessed war.’
It was much later the same day when they finally arrived at the Belmont. Maria and Bill welcomed their guests with open arms, and Annie proved to be the star of the evening with the pub customers.
‘She’s such a sweetheart,’ Maria cooed as she fed Annie a few scraps. ‘If they ever change their minds at Finningley, she’s more than welcome here.’
Raquel – who’d arrived well before the others – pushed her arm through Jez’s. ‘I reckon she’s good enough to win at Crufts.’
Jez slid his hand over Annie’s smooth head. ‘She’d win best in show, I’d lay money on it.’
Watching Annie in a thoughtful manner, Cadi pursed her lips to one side. ‘Where’s she going to sleep?’
‘Bagsie she sleeps in the girls’ room!’ cried Poppy, before anyone else had a chance. ‘Please, Maria? I swear we won’t let her on the beds.’
Maria laughed. ‘I think she’ll have to, as I can’t leave her down here unattended, so as long as it’s all right with Jez …?’
Jez placed his arms around Cadi’s waist. ‘Fine by me, because I don’t intend sharing my bed with anyone other than my beautiful wife.’
Poppy clapped her hands together excitedly. ‘Now that we’ve got that settled, can I take her for a walk?’
Jez looked doubtfully from Annie to Poppy. ‘She can be quite strong, especially if summat scares her …’
Geoffrey placed his arm around Poppy’s shoulders. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nowt happens to either of them.’
Instructing Annie to ‘be a good girl’, Jez handed the lead to Poppy who was grinning like the cat that got the cream as she attached it to Annie’s collar.
Maria jerked her head in the direction of the stairs. ‘If everyone would like to follow me, I’ll show you your rooms so that you can get yourselves settled in.’
They followed Maria up the stairs, and she showed the girls to the room which used to be Poppy and Cadi’s before taking Mike to the room that he would be sharing with Geoffrey. Leaving everyone to put their belongings away, she led Cadi and Jez to the back of the building.
Beaming proudly, she stopped outside the last door. ‘I’ve put you in the honeymoon suite.’
Jez looked surprised. ‘Honeymoon suite?’
‘It was your wedding that gave me the idea,’ said Maria, her voice full of enthusiasm. ‘When we got back to the Belmont the regulars were eager to hear how things went, and it was as I was telling everyone how fabulous the wedding breakfast was that it suddenly dawned on me that we could do the exact same thing here, especially with us being so close to the register office in Brougham Terrace. Anyway, Bill got his paintbrushes out, and …’ she waved her arm in a sweeping motion as she opened the door to the honeymoon suite, ‘ta-dah!’
‘A four-poster bed,’ breathed Cadi. ‘Oh Maria, it’s beautiful.’
Maria smiled proudly. ‘I’m glad you like it – believe it or not, Bill made it.’
‘Like it? I love it!’
Jez blew a low whistle as he took in the beautifully decorated room. ‘Bill’s got a real talent when it comes to carpentry.’ He turned to Maria. ‘It’s very good of you, Maria, but are you sure it’s all right for us to take your best room?’
‘It’s our pleasure.’ Turning to leave, she called out to them over her shoulder, ‘Supper will be ready in half an hour.’
‘Sounds perfect,’ said Jez, closing the door behind her.
Cadi sank on to the bed. ‘I feel like a princess.’
Jez took her hand in his as he sat down beside her. ‘When we get a home of our own, I shall make us our very own four-poster bed.’
‘A home of our own,’ Cadi cooed. ‘It makes us sound so grown up, but I don’t feel it, do you?’
Jez laughed. ‘According to Maria, men never grow up.’
Remembering her father and brothers, Cadi smiled. ‘I think she might have a point.’
Holding her hand up, he kissed the back of her knuckles. ‘You always worried that you’d end up like your mam if you got married. How do you feel about it now?’
‘Silly,’ admitted Cadi, ‘because I’m not living in a poky terraced house with a gaggle of kiddies. I’m the same as I always was, only with a husband.’
‘Do you think marriage changed your mam?’
Cadi shrugged. ‘I always assumed that Mam had left behind an exciting life in Liverpool in order to marry my dad. Now that I’m older, I realise that Mam left Liverpool because it wasn’t for her. Just because you’re born in the city doesn’t mean to say that city life’s for you. And on the contrary, I was born in a little village, but I didn’t want to be a villager.’
‘Different strokes for different folks,’ said Jez. ‘And as I’ve not kicked the bucket, I’m guessing you’ve also scrapped your view of war weddings being a bad omen?’
‘Please don’t tempt fate,’ said Cadi quietly. ‘It still worries me – it’s silly, I know, but I can’t help the way I feel.’
Jez chucked her under the chin before kissing her softly. ‘Well stop your worrying, because I’m not going anywhere.’
They were two days into their four-day break, and Maria and Bill had closed the pub so that they could spend the day together as one big family.
With everyone having different ideas as to where they should go, Kitty had put her thoughts to the group.
‘I know the Greyhound’s not there any more, but I’ve heard so much about it that I think it would be nice to see where it used to be?’
Cadi nodded slowly. ‘It was a huge part of our lives, and I must admit, I’d quite like to see what it looks like now.’
Maria threaded her arm through the crook of Bill’s elbow. ‘Then that’s where we shall go.’
They had been walking for quite some time, buried in mutual conversations about life and war in general, when Raquel stopped dead in her tracks.
Izzy put her hand on her mother’s forearm. ‘Mam?’
Raquel was staring glassy-eyed at a street which ran off to one side. She put her hand on top of her daughter’s. ‘I’ve not been round these parts since Eric threw me out.’
Jez placed his arm around his mother’s shoulders. ‘Do you want to turn back?’
Raquel shook her head. ‘It’s about time I faced up to my past.’ Gazing at the house she had once called home, she voiced her thoughts. ‘When I married your father, I was the happiest woman in Liverpool.’
Izzy was staring aghast at her mother. ‘Why? Surely you must’ve realised what he was like?’
Raquel shot her daughter a wry glance. ‘Do you think I’d have married him if I knew the truth? Of course not. When we were courting, your father was the perfect gent. Only after he put a ring on my finger did he show his true colours.’ She glanced down to where her wedding band used to be. ‘Things went downhill from that moment on.’
Jez eyed her inquisitively. ‘What difference did your wedding ring make?’
‘When Eric’s parents abandoned him as a baby, he was taken first to the orphanage, then to the workhouse. When he broke free of the workhouse, he vowed that if he ever got married he would see to it that his children lived in a grand house with fine pieces of furniture, and his family would want for nothing. He had a good paying job when we first married, but he was accused of skimming money, and got fired as a result. The only work open to him was down the docks, and as you know, a docker’s pay doesn’t go far, so we had to move into a small house with barely any furniture. He spiralled into debt, and that’s when he became bad-tempered and violent. I told him I was happy the way we were, but he was convinced that I would leave him, just as his parents had done.’
Jez gave a low whistle. ‘I guess that kind of explains why he went for your friend Colin – he must have thought him a threat, a man with his own business.’
‘Do you suppose that’s why he didn’t put me in the orphanage?’ said Izzy thoughtfully. ‘He was always saying he should have, and I often wondered why he didn’t.’
‘He probably couldn’t bring himself to hand you over, knowing what it was like himself. He didn’t go into too much detail, but I know he had scars from where the governor caned him.’
Izzy stared at her mother in disbelief. ‘So why on earth did he do the same to me?’
‘Because he didn’t know any different,’ said Raquel. ‘To Eric, that’s how you discipline a child.’
Izzy blew her cheeks out. ‘I wish I’d known all this when I lived at home. It wouldn’t have changed anything, but at least I’d have understood why he was the way he was.’ She glanced up at the underside of Mike’s chin. ‘Not that I’d dream of treating my own children that way.’
‘And that’s the difference between you and him,’ said Mike. ‘He might have had a reason, but it was no excuse.’
Cadi slid her arm through Raquel’s. ‘Out of curiosity, what made you go to Portsmouth? Surely you could’ve gone just about anywhere?’
Raquel gave a short, joyless laugh. ‘It was the destination of the first train leaving Lime Street Station.’
Cadi gaped at her. ‘And that’s the only reason?’
Raquel nodded. ‘Once I’d made my mind up, I didn’t want to hang about. Something I bitterly regret, because had I been better prepared, with a bit of money behind me, I wouldn’t have ended up in such dire straits.’
‘As it was, you jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire,’ said Kitty.
‘Hindsight’s a wonderful thing,’ agreed Raquel.
‘Talking of hindsight, I wonder what’s happened to the Finnegans?’ Poppy mused.
Raquel smiled happily. ‘They’ve not set foot in Portsmouth since Dolly threatened to spill the beans.’
Geoffrey, who had been quiet until now, spoke up. ‘Spill what beans?’
Also feeling confused, Mike added, ‘And who’s Dolly when she’s at home?’
Poppy brought him up to speed. ‘Dolly used to work for the Finnegans, the same as Raquel, but when everything went up in smoke Dolly stayed in Portsmouth so that she could help the rest of the girls to get proper jobs and accommodation.
‘And the chief of police was one of Dolly’s clients,’ said Raquel.
Mike shook his head. ‘No wonder he didn’t want people finding out. What a world we live in, eh?’
‘But if the Finnegans aren’t in Portsmouth, where are they?’ asked Kitty. She was looking around her as though expecting to see them walk round the corner at any minute.
‘I don’t care as long as it’s a long way from us,’ said Cadi.
Raquel straightened her back. ‘Let’s leave this place behind us and get to the Greyhound. It’s time for me to move on, in more ways than one.’
The small group sauntered off in the direction of the old pub, all thoughts turning to what they expected to see when they arrived. But when they rounded the corner to Burlington Street, Cadi stared in dismay at the rubble that was once their beloved pub. ‘Why haven’t they rebuilt it?’
Bill nudged a brick with the toe of his boot. ‘It’s not worth them starting until the war’s over. No sense in building them up for Jerry to knock ’em down again. All you can do is make it safe.’
Cadi peered at something which glinted in the sunlight. Bending down, she fished the object from between some pieces of mortar. Holding it up for closer examination, tears pricked her eyes. ‘I don’t believe it. It’s the key to the pub.’ She held the key, which was slightly bent, out to Maria. ‘You should have this.’
Maria closed Cadi’s fingers over the key. ‘You take it. The Belmont’s my home now.’
Cadi looked at Jez, who was staring solemnly at the pile of rubble. ‘How about a trip to the park?’
There was a general murmur of agreement, and as they headed to the park Cadi hung back with Jez. She pushed her hand into his. ‘Your nan would’ve been ever so pleased to know we’d got married.’
A faint smile crossed his lips as he turned his head to look back at the spot where his grandmother had met her maker. ‘I wish she could’ve been at the wedding. She loved a good knees-up.’
‘She’d have had a whale of a time,’ said Cadi, ‘and probably drunk most of the guests under the table.’
A laugh escaped Jez’s lips. ‘She certainly knew how to have a good time.’
‘The life and soul,’ agreed Cadi. Slipping the key into her pocket, she gave his hand a cajoling jiggle. ‘C’mon, let’s go show the rest of them how to skim stones.’
‘Considering Nan never had any children of her own, she made a brilliant grandmother,’ remarked Jez, as they followed after the others. ‘I reckon you’re going to make a great mum.’
Cadi’s brow shot towards her hairline. ‘Where did that come from?’
He shrugged. ‘We’re bound to have them one day.’
‘That’s as maybe, but I really think we should wait until the war ends before we start planning a family, don’t you?’
‘I do, but I’m hopeful that the war will end sooner rather than later. Besides, it doesn’t hurt to think about it.’
Cadi relented slightly. ‘I suppose not,’ she said, ‘but you do know that I’d still want to open a tea room, whether we have children or not.’
‘Of course! I think that’s a splendid idea, and when we do have children, they can be part of the business.’ He placed his hands in the air as though indicating a banner. ‘Thomas’s Tea Rooms.’
‘A family business?’
He smiled. ‘We could even have our own pub. I know you used to be against the idea, but that was before we got married. Now we’re official, we could run it together – just like Maria and Bill.’
Cadi imagined them living somewhere like the Belmont. It might be a grand pub, but it was too close to the city for her liking. ‘If I were to run a pub, I’d rather it was on the outskirts of the city.’
‘A country pub?’ mused Jez.
She nodded. ‘The Greyhound will always hold my heart, but it got bombed because of its location. I know we won’t have to fear that kind of thing once peace is declared, but I’ve stayed in a wide variety of places since joining the WAAF, and I reckon something like the Bull and Heifer would be ideal if it were closer to Liverpool.’ She tucked her arm into the crook of Jez’s elbow. ‘It would be a wonderful place to bring up a family.’
Jez chuckled softly. ‘Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out.’
‘A boy and a girl,’ said Cadi promptly. ‘One of each.’
‘I’m not sure it works that way,’ said Jez, ‘but I don’t mind trying until we get it right.’
She slapped his bicep in a playful manner. ‘Cheeky!’
‘Can’t blame a feller for wanting to give his wife her heart’s desire,’ said Jez, ‘and if you want to keep going until we have one of each, then I’m prepared to give it my all until we do.’
She shook a chiding finger. ‘Hold your horses. The war’s not over yet.’
But Jez wasn’t giving up. ‘So, what about names – for our children, I mean? Have you thought of any?’
‘Carrie Anne, if it’s a girl …’
Jez smiled. ‘Carrie after my nan, I assume, but Anne?’
‘After my grandmother,’ said Cadi.
He nodded. ‘And for a boy?’
‘Oscar Dewi,’ said Carrie promptly.
His smile broadened. ‘Oscar because it’s my middle name, as well as being Carrie’s husband’s – God rest his soul – and Dewi after your dad, because it’d be a cold day in hell before we named him Eric?’
She laughed. ‘Precisely!’
Once in the park they walked round to the lake, where they found the others gathering stones.
‘I ain’t done this since I were a young lad,’ said Bill as he bent to pick up a particularly flat one.
Jez weighed his stones in his hand. ‘How about a competition to see who can skim their stone the farthest?’
Izzy stood up. ‘I think that’s a fabulous idea.’
They spent the remainder of the morning skimming stones across the surface of the lake, with Cadi being crowned the overall winner. As lunchtime approached, they bought fish and chips which they ate down by the floating road, and after that they headed back to the Belmont where they got themselves ready for an evening’s dancing in the Grafton.
As Jez led Cadi on to the dance floor, he reminded her of the time they had shared their first kiss.
‘You made me the happiest man alive,’ confessed Jez. ‘I felt as though I could’ve won the war single-handed that night.’
She laughed as she gazed up into the deep brown eyes shining down at her. ‘Was I worth the wait?’
‘A million times over,’ said Jez. ‘They say that all good things come to those who wait, which is why I’m happy to hang on until the war is over before we have children. We’re going to make brilliant parents, Cadi, I just know it. And we’ll have no shortage of babysitters, with our extended family.’
Cadi imagined herself, Jez, their two children and Annie living in a pub with a thatched roof and beamed ceilings, only a bus ride away from the city. Sighing happily, she closed her eyes as Jez guided her with ease around the floor. She had married the man of her dreams, and they had the most wonderful future planned. Life couldn’t be any more perfect!
Chapter Three
The short break had come to an end and they were currently waiting for their train to arrive at Central Station.
‘Four days isn’t long enough,’ said Maria as she rested her cheek against Bill’s shoulder.
