Blue Moon (4 page)

‘Lucky girl,’ said Ruby. ‘What’s his name?’

‘Hubert Periwinkle,’ said Lily. She glanced round as Ruby and her mother struggled not to laugh. ‘I know, I know,’ said Lily. ‘It’s a ghastly name, isn’t it? Mrs Lily Periwinkle … ugh!’ She held her hand up to the light. ‘Nice ring, though.’

‘So when is the wedding?’ said Bea pointedly.

‘I haven’t decided yet,’ said Lily firmly.

It was pleasant driving around the Sussex lanes. After Bury Hill they took in the villages of Fittleworth and Storrington, before returning to Findon and High Salvington mill. Ruby was always interested in her surroundings. She hadn’t been far in her life – to Eastbourne once when she was a small child, and to Chichester on the bus a few times – but she longed to travel and see something of the world. Her passion was kindled when she found a magazine in the rubbish bin in one of the rooms she cleaned. Ruby smuggled it home (she felt sure if she’d asked Mrs Fosdyke if she could have it, the woman would have said no) and, curling up beside the fire in the late evening, devoured its pages. Under a picture of a boy with several huge bunches of green bananas on his bicycle
there was an article about Uganda. It made Ruby long to see the Bujagali Falls and to eat beans, rice and vegetables with the locals.

As the coach climbed the hill away from the Gallops, Ruby made her way down to the front to see Dr Palmer. Happily, he was looking a lot better and was sitting up talking to Albert and her father.

‘We’re about to stop at the mill, sir,’ she said. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Much better, thank you, Miss Bateman,’ the doctor smiled. ‘In fact I’ve had a wonderful afternoon.’ He patted the seat beside him and Ruby lowered herself down.

‘We shall be having tea when we get there,’ she said. ‘You are welcome to join us, sir.’

‘And would I be right in guessing that, if I say yes, you will be giving up your own tea, Miss Bateman?’ His merry eyes twinkled as he saw her discomfort and he chuckled. ‘You have a big heart, Miss Bateman,’ he said, patting her hand. ‘Don’t let anyone shrink it.’

‘Here we are, folks,’ Cecil called and the coach pulled up. Built in 1750, the old timber roundhouse underneath the mill had been replaced at the turn of the century and tea rooms installed. The mill itself, which was said to be the last working post-mill in Worthing, had been going for 150 years. Cecil stepped down and threw open the door of the coach. ‘Toilets over there to the left,’ he pointed.

Just as Ruby had feared, Albert was waiting for her when she got off the coach but, stepping to one side,
she managed to put Cecil and her father between them. As the passengers made their way out of the coach, the children ran across the grass to let off steam, whooping and shouting as they went. The tea that had been laid on for them looked absolutely delicious. Ruby’s mouth watered as she gazed at the Sussex lardy Johns, scones and jam, Sussex plum heavies and the Victoria sponge that graced the snow-white tablecloth next to the rows of cups and saucers. By the time they sat down, Cecil Turner had already asked the caterers to lay on an extra tea so that Dr Palmer could join them. Ruby heaved a sigh of relief. There was no need for her to go without.

Everyone was seated at small tables, so Bea, Ruby and Cousin Lily stayed together. Vinny Cutler, Lily’s mother, was still working at the laundry. May sat at a special table reserved for the children, where they had jelly and cake and drank lemonade. Nelson and Dr Palmer sat with some of the men, who had cracked open a beer barrel rather than drink tea.

Ruby’s brother, Percy, and his friend Jim had already arrived on their bicycles by the time the coach got there. ‘You took your time,’ Percy grinned when he saw Ruby coming towards him. ‘We’ve already been up here for hours.’

‘We saw the Blackshirts,’ said May, running by. ‘They made the coach stop, and our Ruby rescued a doctor from the hotel.’

Jim frowned. ‘Why would the Blackshirts want to stop the coach?’ he asked. Tall and fair with powerfully
built shoulders, he was by far the best-looking man there. ‘And what doctor?’

‘They were fighting with some local lads,’ said Ruby. ‘I think it was mainly because they were trying to take away their flag.’

She didn’t notice her father coming up behind her. ‘I’ve heard about them – the Blackshirts. They’re a bad lot,’ said Nelson. ‘Troublemakers, the lot of them.’

‘They were only trying to get their flag back,’ Ruby insisted.

‘And I’m telling you: they were up to no good,’ said Nelson, raising his voice. ‘What they all need is a good hiding.’

‘My father seems to think a good hiding will solve all the world’s ills,’ Percy laughed, embarrassed. Nelson glowered.

‘I’ve been talking to that doctor fellow, and he agrees with me.’ Nelson was already in a belligerent mood. It seemed that he and his son couldn’t say two words without getting angry these days. ‘Why do you think they beat him up?’ Nelson said, wagging his finger in his son’s face. ‘Because he tells the truth about them – that’s why.’

‘All the Blackshirts I’ve met spend their time putting on football matches and boxing competitions,’ said Percy, his eyes flashing. ‘What’s wrong with that?’

‘Mosley and his cronies want to take over the whole country,’ Nelson insisted. ‘We’ve always done things a certain way; we’ve done them that way for the last
thousand years, and his lot want to change everything. My mates died at Ypres to stop people like him.’

Percy rolled his eyes. ‘Here we go again.’

‘Percy,’ Ruby cautioned softly. Her father looked as if he was going to blow a fuse. She sighed inwardly. Why did Percy always have to antagonize him?

‘I’m afraid your father is right, young man,’ said Dr Palmer, coming up behind him before Nelson could retaliate. ‘Mosley’s message sounds all well and good, but I’m afraid there’s a hidden agenda. He’s looking for a one-party dictatorship.’

Nelson nodded with an ‘I-told-you-so’ expression. Percy looked a little disconcerted. ‘This is Dr Palmer,’ said Ruby. ‘He is one of the guests at Warnes Hotel. Dr Palmer, this is my brother, Percy Bateman.’

The two men shook hands. ‘No disrespect, sir,’ said Percy, ‘but I think you are wrong. What this country needs is strong leadership …’

Ruby moved away and left them to it. She refused to allow the men to spoil her one day out by talking politics, so she went to join her mother and Cousin Lily.

‘Oh, dear. You look as if you’ve lost a pound and found sixpence,’ said Bea as her daughter came up to her. She was relaxing in a deckchair that someone had put on the grass outside the tea rooms.

‘Father and Percy are arguing about politics,’ said Ruby, flinging herself onto a wooden chair. ‘Honestly, I could bang their heads together. Where’s May?’

‘Playing Hide-and-Seek with the other children,’ said Bea. ‘Lily’s going to buy an ice cream. Want one?’

‘Yes, please.’ Ruby spread her legs and fanned her skirt to try and get cool. The sun was warm on her face, and the gentle breeze toyed with the hem. She kicked off her shoes. This was so relaxing. She closed her eyes and made herself think of nice things.

A few minutes later Cousin Lily appeared with two ice creams. ‘Here, have one of these and forget your troubles,’ she smiled.

‘What about you?’ said Ruby, sitting up to take it.

‘I’ll get one in a minute,’ she said. ‘There’s plenty there.’

‘Thanks,’ said Ruby. ‘That’s very kind of you. How’s the job going, Lily?’

Lily was working in service to an old woman who lived in Richmond Road.

Lily sighed. ‘The old lady is moving to her nephew’s home in Yorkshire.’

‘Yorkshire!’ cried Bea. ‘My goodness, that’s a long way away.’

‘Oh, I’m not going with her,’ said Lily, ‘but the family have assured me that they haven’t sacked me. It’s just that they have their own servants.’

‘What on earth will you do?’ said Ruby.

‘Her nephew says he’ll give me a good reference,’ said Lily.

‘That’s something, I suppose,’ Bea conceded.

‘Why are they taking her to Yorkshire?’ asked Ruby.

‘Didn’t you know?’ said Lily. ‘She had a stroke. She can’t talk any more.’

As Cousin Lily hurried off to get another ice cream,
Bea sighed. ‘You know why she gave her ice cream to you, don’t you?’

‘No?’ Ruby followed the jerk of her mother’s head. ‘Ah,’ she said. ‘I see what you mean. The ice-cream vendor is quite good-looking, isn’t he?’ And they both laughed.

Albert Longman wasn’t with the rest of the men. He was showing the children some magic tricks. On her way to buy another ice cream, Lily stopped to watch him make a queen of hearts appear in someone’s pocket, and May was thrilled when he found a sixpence behind her ear. Everyone stared wide-eyed as he made a furry mouse disappear from his hat, even though they’d all seen him putting it there. The children spent several minutes looking for it, to no avail. It wasn’t until one heard the mouse calling from under the wood-pile that they found it.

‘He’s awfully good with children,’ Bea remarked, but Ruby only made a non-committal remark. She didn’t want her mother getting any ideas about Albert Longman.

After she’d finished her ice cream, Ruby went back to the men and, unbelievably, they were still arguing.

‘Speaking personally,’ said Jim Searle, ‘I’ve never had any problem in getting a job around here.’

‘People may be affluent down here in the south,’ said Dr Palmer, ‘but you mark my words, up north it’s a totally different story.’

‘We’ve all seen what that Muzzaleni fellow’s done to
his country,’ said Nelson. ‘If this Mosley is anything like him, God help us.’

‘I think you’ll find that Mussolini has made a big difference in Italy,’ said Percy, enunciating the Italian leader’s name in such a way that everyone would know his father hadn’t got it quite right. ‘For a start, he’s making it far more productive.’

‘What you may not know, young man, is that already the secret police are carting people off for no good reason,’ said Dr Palmer.

‘What would the likes of Percy know about it anyway?’ Nelson said dismissively.

Percy’s eyes flashed. ‘Quite a bit, as a matter of fact,’ he said.

‘Percy, please,’ Ruby interjected, ‘please let’s not fight.’

‘You keep out of this, Ruby,’ her father said.

‘She’s right, Mr Bateman,’ said Dr Palmer. ‘I shouldn’t have started this discussion now. This isn’t the time or the place. Miss Bateman, I apologize. I’ll say no more.’

‘Don’t mind her,’ said Nelson.

‘I would hate to spoil such a lovely day,’ Dr Palmer insisted. ‘You should feel very proud of your daughter, Mr Bateman. Organizing such a wonderful outing is no mean feat.’

‘What – Ruby?’ Nelson made no attempt to hide the disbelief in his voice. ‘She couldn’t organize a bun fight in a baker’s shop.’

‘Didn’t you know, Uncle Nelson?’ said Lily, coming to join them and slipping her arm through Ruby’s. ‘All this was Cousin Ruby’s idea. Isn’t she clever?’

‘It’s Cecil’s coach …’ Nelson began.

‘But it was Ruby who drummed up the support,’ said Lily.

Ruby blushed. ‘I couldn’t have done it without Cecil’s help,’ she said quickly.

Clearly annoyed, Nelson Bateman picked up his jacket from the back of a chair. ‘You finished those nets yet, boy?’

Percy bristled. Ruby knew he hated being called ‘boy’, especially in company. ‘Not yet.’

‘Thought not,’ said Nelson. ‘Can’t trust you to do a damned thing, can I?’

‘We’re not going out tomorrow, are we?’ said Percy. ‘I’ll do them first thing Monday morning.’

‘Nets should be mended straight away,’ said Nelson pedantically.

‘How about we all go for a walk?’ Jim suggested. ‘It’s lovely up on the hill and there’s quite a good view.’

‘The concert will be starting soon,’ said Cousin Lily, fluttering her eyelids at Albert, who was busy packing away his playing cards and the mouse into a small leather suitcase.

‘I heard someone say it’ll be at least another twenty minutes,’ Jim insisted. ‘It won’t take us long to walk up Honeysuckle Lane. You will excuse us, won’t you, Mr Bateman, Dr Palmer?’

‘It’ll be a lot better than listening to his drivel,’ said Percy, and his father glared.

Lily grabbed Jim’s arm and they started walking.

‘Would you like my arm?’ Albert asked Ruby.

‘Thank you, but I’m walking with my brother,’ said Ruby, pulling Percy away. They set off. ‘You really shouldn’t antagonize Father,’ she scolded him, once they were out of earshot.

‘He drives me mad,’ said Percy. ‘He always has to be right, and everybody else’s opinions count for nothing.’

‘You’re right,’ said Ruby, ‘but just ignore it.’

‘I can’t, Ruby,’ said Percy. ‘I’ve got to leave this place. I can’t stand being with him a moment longer than I have to.’

‘But where will you go?’

‘I don’t know – anywhere.’

‘It’s not easy to get a job,’ said Ruby, ‘and Father’s counting on you to keep the fishing boat in the family.’

‘I hate fishing,’ said Percy. ‘I don’t want to be forced to do something I hate for the rest of my life, and certainly not with the old man.’

‘Oh, Percy … You know what he’ll say.’

‘I’m sorry, Ruby,’ he said, ‘but just because four generations of Batemans have fished, it’s no reason for me to mess up my life. I can’t even stand the smell of fish.’

‘When will you go?’ she asked.

‘As soon as I’ve saved up a bit of money,’ said Percy. ‘He leads me a dog’s life, and I’ve had enough.’

Ruby squeezed his arm. She knew how he felt. He’d told her often enough, and their father’s belligerent attitude didn’t help. Yes, it was a shame, but Percy was right: he deserved to live his own life.

They soon reached the lane. High Salvington itself was part of the South Downs, and the views from the
top were indeed lovely. The hill had always been an area of quiet natural beauty, but since the early 1920s a great many large detached houses had been built on the slopes leading to the top, and now this was a much-desired spot. Dr Palmer was right when he said there was little sign of poverty in this area. Only people with plenty of money could afford to live up here. Ruby couldn’t actually see the houses at the summit, but she couldn’t help feeling that they had changed this tranquil spot for good.