Darkest Before Dawn (30 page)

Seraphina smiled at him, her beautiful, brilliant smile, and stood up. Then she leaned across the table and kissed him. ‘Of course I'll write, Toby,' she said. ‘You were always my bezzie, as they say in these parts, and you are still. But I think we ought to walk down to the Telegraph Office and send your parents a telegram – and your unit, I suppose – letting them know you're safe. Then you can come back here for a bite to eat. Mam usually makes a snack for herself and anyone else who's around.'

Toby agreed to this, and presently the two of them set out into the fine June morning. Toby felt as elated as though the return of the BEF had been a victory and not a defeat; he and Seraphina were friends again, and when she tucked her hand into the crook of his arm as they walked along the Scotland Road, he could have sung with happiness.

There was a long queue at the Telegraph Office, and as soon as his telegrams were despatched Toby walked Seraphina to her college and then returned to the flat. He had told his parents he would be home some time that very day, because he did not think it fair to remain with the Todds, not whilst he was in danger of waking the whole family with his horrible nightmares.

But he was still with them when Churchill's speech was relayed to the nation on the six o'clock news and was stirred and strengthened by the Prime Minister's words: ‘. . . 
we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
'

When it was over, Toby saw that he was not the only person in the Todds' small kitchen with tears in his eyes. He chose that moment to say goodbye and to promise them that he would return if he possibly could, before he was posted to whatever theatre of war might seem appropriate. ‘We'll come with you to the station,' Evie said eagerly, rushing across the kitchen to fetch her jacket. ‘You'll come too, won't you, Fee? Angie? Mam?'

They all went in the end and Toby, climbing aboard the train, felt that his cup of happiness was full. He waved until the station was out of sight, but though he told himself he was waving to the whole family, in his heart he knew that his eyes were fixed only on Seraphina.

‘I know a wedding's awfully important, but what's the point of being a bridesmaid when you don't have a special dress?' Evie grumbled. She was standing in front of the mirror in the girls' bedroom, trying to adjust a circlet of small white roses on her slippery brown hair and glaring at herself in the spotted mirror which Angie had bought on Paddy's market before the war had started. ‘Look at me! I'm all arms and legs. I grew out of this dress last summer, so why Mam should think it's suitable I just don't know.'

Angie laughed. ‘You look very sweet and that pale primrose colour is just right for a bridesmaid,' she said. ‘Anyway, I offered you my last year's dress and you didn't care for it, and I've let the hem on that one down as far as it will go, so stop grumbling. Think of poor Seraphina; she's always longed to be a proper bride, all in white, and she's had to settle for a grey suit and a pair of court shoes she bought in 1938. As for Ma, she's wearing a dress I remember she's owned for at least six years, and maybe longer.'

‘Oh, all right, I know it's the same for everyone,' Evie said, turning away from the mirror. ‘Now if Seraphina had been sensible and joined the WAAF as she said she would, she could have borrowed the WAAF wedding dress and looked really glamorous.'

‘Ye-es, but you know very well that if she had joined the WAAF, she would have been posted as far away from Roger as they could get her,' Angie pointed out. ‘And she is doing war work at the ROF in Long Lane, making guns.'

‘And she's an Air Raid Warden,' Evie reminded her sister. ‘But she and Roger have got it all planned; when he's on leave, he'll come to Liverpool, and when she's free, she'll go across to him.'

‘Yes; she told me yesterday life would be lots of little honeymoons,' Angie said, giving an appreciative chuckle. ‘Aren't we lucky it's such a beautiful sunny day, though? October can be tricky, but the sun hasn't stopped shining since it rose, so I reckon the photograph should be a good one; something to remember if . . .'

‘What do you mean by “if”?' Evie enquired. They had been about to leave the room, but now the younger girl turned wide, reproachful eyes upon her sister. ‘The Battle of Britain's been won, Mr Churchill says so:
Never has so much been owed by so many to so few
,' she quoted. ‘Oh, I know the war isn't over, but surely it won't be long now? Mam said that Hitler's invasion fleet had been bashed to bits by the good old RAF, and no one seems to be talking about fellers dressed as nuns hiding their parachutes in ditches any more.'

As she spoke, the two girls were hurrying down the stairs which led to the kitchen, where they found Seraphina and Martha putting the finishing touches to the buffet lunch which would be served when the ceremony was over. Because this was the first proper spell of leave Roger had had since before Dunkirk, the wedding had been arranged at short notice, so there would be few guests. Roger's father was working at the War Office in London and his sister was up in Scotland, serving with the WRNS, but his mother had promised to attend and would meet them at the church. Roger's friend Dick was to be his best man, and a couple of other pals from his squadron would attend the wedding breakfast. On the Todd side, there was just the family themselves, Mr Wilmslow, and Seraphina's friend Daphne. Martha would have liked to invite old friends from the canal, but there was really no time, so they had contented themselves with a small wedding reception. Mrs Bunwell had also been invited since she and Martha were friends and colleagues these days. Because of the mounds of paperwork caused by rationing, Mrs Bunwell now worked for the Wilmslows at least three days a week, releasing Mr Wilmslow to count coupons, check supplies and fill in vast numbers of forms. She had been much gratified by the wedding invitation and had offered to leave the church before the bride did, in order to hurry home and get the kettle on the stove and the sausage rolls warming in the oven. Martha had accepted gratefully and now smiled a welcome as her daughters entered the room. ‘You look very pretty, my dears,' she said, and Evie beamed back at her, eager to return the compliment.

‘You look very pretty yourself, Mam,' she said, and meant every word, for Angie, the best dressmaker amongst them, had given her mother's dark green cotton dress a pretty lace collar and cuffs and had pinned a small bunch of pink rosebuds on the lapel of her coat. Seraphina, delicately placing sprigs of parsley on plates of sandwiches, smiled approvingly at her younger sisters. ‘You do us great credit, girls,' she said brightly. ‘Roger already thinks you're positively gorgeous and I'm sure his mother will be most impressed.' She glanced up at the clock above the mantel. ‘But it's time we were off; I refuse to be late for my own wedding.'

Later that afternoon, Seraphina and Roger sat side by side in a train which was rumbling its way to Betws-y-Coed, in North Wales. Seraphina glanced sideways and felt a little thrill of pride; Roger was so handsome in the uniform of a pilot officer, and when he smiled at her and squeezed her hand, she thought herself the luckiest girl in the world.

She had never been to Betws-y-Coed before, but Roger had fired her with his own enthusiasm for the little village set deep in Snowdonia. ‘I came to Betws for the first time when I was fifteen, on a mountain climbing course,' he had told her. ‘After that, climbing got into my blood and whenever I had a spare weekend, I'd get on the train and book myself into any of the little guesthouses with a vacant room. As I grew older, I drove myself down and got into the habit of staying at the Plas Coch. Mrs Eirwen Evans could always find me a bed and I reckon she's the best cook in the whole of Snowdonia.' He had smiled lovingly down at Seraphina. ‘I don't intend to do any climbing on our honeymoon, but it's ideal country for rambling, so I hope to introduce you to your first walking holiday.'

Seraphina had agreed that she would love a holiday spent mostly in the open air in surroundings of such astonishing beauty, but now she began to wonder whether she would be able to keep up with Roger. There was also the fear that he might find such a pastime tame, for he had told her many stories of his exploits whilst climbing. She knew about the importance of wearing the right boots and carrying the correct equipment. She had heard of ropes and the special knots used to secure them, of crampons for icy weather and how to ascend a ‘chimney'. Abseiling, she now knew, was a fast way of descending a mountain and she also knew that every route had its own name, from the easy, beginners' slopes to the sort of climb which men off to the Himalayas used for practice.

Seraphina glanced around the carriage. Every seat was taken and many of the occupants were probably as familiar with the mountainous scenery passing the windows as was Roger. Several of them were speaking in Welsh and, for a moment, Seraphina felt she was in an alien land, but then she chided herself. She was with Roger, her handsome husband, and she was sure she would speedily feel as at home in the mountains as he did. She leaned back in her seat. Mrs Evans had promised to have a meal ready for when the train got in, and tomorrow Roger meant to take her for a gentle stroll out of the village to see the Swallow Falls, one of the Seven Wonders of Wales. When in full spate, he told her, the falls were a wonderful sight, though he feared that after such a fine summer they would not now be at their best. Nevertheless, he was sure she would be impressed, and, in any event, would enjoy having lunch at the hotel opposite the falls.

The train slowed down and Roger stood up and began to get their bags down from the luggage rack. Seraphina got to her feet, feeling a flutter of anticipation in the pit of her stomach. She had tried not to think about her wedding night, but now that they were about to descend from the train it was impossible to completely dismiss it from her mind. Roger was always kind and gentle, but suddenly she found herself wishing that it was Toby who was taking her arm, helping her down from the train. She knew Toby so much better than she knew Roger. His company would have held no fears for her; she would not have felt awkward, or ill at ease, with a young man she had known all her life.

She picked up her own small bag and Roger put an arm about her shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze. ‘Nervous, my love?' he asked. ‘Don't you worry; Mrs Evans is a charming woman and will make you as welcome as she has always made me. We're going to have a wonderful time, I promise you.' As he spoke, he was guiding her along a narrow path which led towards the main road. They crossed it, turned right and very soon were outside the Plas Coch Guest House. They climbed a short flight of stone steps but Roger had barely raised his hand to the knocker when the door shot open. A small, skinny woman stood there, beaming at them.

‘Welcome, welcome; did you have a good journey?' she said, in a soft sing-song voice. ‘I heard the train come in so I stood in the bay window watching for you, and your dinner's ready when you are, though I thought you'd like to go to your room first.' She turned to Seraphina, holding out a hand. ‘How do you do, Mrs Truelove? Nice to meet you, it is.'

Seraphina shook her hand and then the three of them climbed the steep flight of stairs and were shown into a large room, described by the landlady as ‘the best front'. There Mrs Evans left them, after informing Seraphina that the bathroom was the door opposite and that the water would be nice and hot.

‘This is very grand,' Roger said approvingly, surveying the room. ‘I've been staying here on and off for years, but I've always had one of the single rooms which overlook the mountain at the back.' He sat down on the large double bed, which was covered with a pink satin counterpane, and gave an experimental bounce. ‘I say, this is a good deal more comfortable than the ones in the back rooms, I can tell you.'

Seraphina felt the heat rise in her cheeks and, to hide her confusion, gave Roger's shoulder a small push. ‘Don't sit on top of the counterpane; you'll crease it horribly,' she admonished. ‘Let's take it off and fold it very carefully and lay it across the back of that chair . . .' she indicated one of the two, very pink upholstered chairs which stood in the bay window, ‘and then we can take turns in the bathroom.'

‘Or we could both go in the bathroom together,' Roger said. He laughed at her expression. ‘We're married, darling Fee; there's nothing wrong with washing our hands in the same basin. Why, later on we're going to share this wonderfully comfortable bed, and . . .'

But Seraphina had slipped out of her coat, thrown her hat down on top of it and made for the bathroom. ‘No nonsense; I'm starving hungry so I mean to hurry,' she said firmly. ‘Oh, Roger, isn't it nice to wonder what is for dinner and not to know exactly what's in store because you've cooked it?'

‘Well? I don't suppose you've ever seen anything like that in your life before!'

Seraphina shook her head, gazing in awe at the tumbling water of the Swallow Falls as it cascaded down on to the rocky bed below. ‘It is wonderful,' she breathed, and then had to repeat the remark since the sound of the falls had drowned her voice. ‘Can we get any nearer?'

Roger nodded and put an arm round her waist, drawing her close. ‘I knew you'd love it here, as I do,' he said contentedly. ‘When the war's over, I'd like to live in the mountains, but whenever I've mentioned it to my parents they always say:
What would you do?
And of course there's no answer to that, or not one I've discovered as yet, at any rate. Father suggests that I buy a weekend cottage down here and I suppose that's the sensible thing to do, but one day . . . oh, one day I mean to try my hand at teaching others to climb and to enjoy the mountains. Still, that's for later.' He took his hand from her waist and indicated a narrow pathway through the scrub which surrounded the falls at this point. ‘It's a bit of a scramble so I'll go first, then if you fall you won't go far.'