Two Strangers (25 page)

‘Come any time you are free,’ Harry told him. ‘Walk around and talk to the children. The more they see you, the better.’

‘I’ll do that.’ The doctor stood up. ‘Thank you for showing me around. It has been an interesting visit.’

‘Do you need help moving?’ Edward asked Elsie. ‘I could bring the bus for your belongings and any furniture you’d like for your rooms.’

‘That is kind of you. I would appreciate the help. Would tomorrow afternoon be all right?’

‘Two o’clock?’

‘I’ll be ready.’

When their visitors had driven away, Harry turned to his friends. ‘What did you think?’

‘Perfect.’ Pearl put the kettle on to make a fresh pot of tea. ‘All we’ve got to do is get the matron and night porter settled in, and that leaves Bill. I do hope he turns up tomorrow.’

Twenty-Five

The next day was very busy. First George arrived, and it was bedlam for a while as three of his family came to help him move in. They had just left when Edward arrived with Elsie and her belongings. She had brought quite a few pieces of furniture with her and needed help to get them up the stairs.

‘Phew! What a day.’ Pearl joined Harry and her husband as they watched the children playing football with John to work off excess energy after their lessons.

‘Look!’ Edward brought their attention to someone approaching on a bicycle. ‘Is that Bill, Harry?’

‘That’s him.’ He sighed in relief. ‘Thank goodness he’s come.’

‘Good-looking man,’ Pearl remarked.

‘Eyes off, and remember you’re a married woman,’ her husband teased. ‘Besides, he’s too young for you.’

‘I know, but I can still look.’

Harry stepped forward as soon as Bill got off the bicycle. He shook hands, smiling warmly. ‘Good to see you again, Bill. Let me introduce you to my friends and partners in this school of ours, Edward and Pearl.’

When they had shaken hands, Harry said, ‘I’ll introduce you to other members of the staff, and then you can have a look round before you decide if this will be for you.’

‘I’m sure it will be.’ Bill gave a slow smile and pointed to the package tied on the back of the bicycle. ‘I’ve brought my things ready to move in right now, if I may?’

‘You weren’t joking when you said you didn’t have much. Your room is ready for you, so if you have no doubts about working here, we are delighted to welcome you to the school.’

‘And I’m more than delighted to be here.’ Bill studied the building and the children playing in the field, then nodded. ‘Yes, I’m sure I will like it here. Would you mind if I go and talk to some of the children? Who is the man they are playing with?’

‘That’s John. Please go ahead, but remember they are disturbed children and very wary of strangers.’

‘I won’t upset them.’

As Bill strode across the field, Edward murmured, ‘Do you think that’s a good idea, Harry? Shouldn’t one of us introduce him to them first?’

‘We’ll wait and see what happens and step in if necessary.’

They watched him approach the boys, talking to them and clearly getting answers that made him laugh out loud.

‘Wonder what he’s saying?’ Pearl said.

‘Whatever it is, they don’t seem frightened of him, which is surprising because he’s a big man.’

One of the boys kicked the ball towards Bill, and suddenly he was running around the field with them, amidst howls of protest and laughter when he kept kicking the ball in the net.

‘Well,’ Harry chuckled, ‘I don’t think there’s going to be a problem there, do you?’

Edward was doubled over with laughter. ‘Those youngsters can get as rough as they like with him and it won’t matter. He’s already helping them to get rid of some of their aggression.’

The boisterous game came to an end and Bill stayed for a while talking to the boys. Then, with a wave, he began to walk back.

Dave was sprinting towards them, skidding to a halt in front of them, out of breath. ‘Who is he? Is he staying?’

‘He’s going to be your new teacher,’ Harry told him.

‘Wow!’

Bill reached them, Alfie trotting beside him. ‘Lively bunch you’ve got here, Harry.’

Dave was gazing at him in awe. ‘You’re a size. How tall are you?’

‘About six feet three inches.’ Bill turned his head slowly to look at the small boy lurking behind him. He turned and hunkered down. ‘What’s your name, young man?’

‘Alfie,’ he said after a pause, edging slightly away.

‘I’m pleased to meet you, Alfie. ‘That’s a lovely cane you have stuck in your belt. May I have a look at it?’

This time there was an even longer pause as the little boy tried to decide.

Bill waited, not moving from his position, until eventually Alfie slid the cane out of his belt and handed it over.

Taking it gently, Bill examined it. ‘It’s beautiful. Do you know what the dog is?’

‘Bulldog.’ Alfie edged closer. ‘It’s got green eyes like Sir’s big cane. Made it for me.’

‘That was very kind of him.’

Alfie nodded and, with a look of relief, took the cane when Bill handed it back to him.

Pearl was delighted by the way Bill had handled the little boy, and smiled with pleasure. ‘Bill, this is Dave and his brother, Alfie. They came with us from London, and we are their guardians. Would you like to see your room now? Then you can join us and the rest of the staff for a meal.’

‘Thank you.’ Bill untied the parcel from the bicycle and smiled at Dave and Alfie. ‘Want to come with us, and you can tell me all about the school?’

After a nod from Harry, the boys hurried off with Bill and Pearl. When they were out of hearing range, Edward whistled through his teeth. ‘No wonder Vicki’s been so insistent on finding him. He isn’t someone you could easily forget – or that deep soft voice.’

‘Vicki once told me that although he was a big man she found him non-threatening. I know what she means now.’

‘What are you going to do about Vicki, Peter and the Mantons, Harry?’

‘I want to give him time to settle in, but know I won’t be able to leave it more than a week. I’ll ask Vicki to meet him first, but she must only talk about the time at the warehouse and what has happened to her since. I’ll try to persuade Peter and Bill’s parents to let him have a little more time. They can come here and see him, but that is all. I don’t want him faced with loads of information from people he doesn’t remember. That could do him more harm than good.’

‘I understand your concerns, Harry, but you are going to be asking a lot of them.’

‘I know.’ Harry started to walk back to the school with Edward. ‘The important thing is we’ve got him here, but there’s no telling how he is going to react when he’s told who these people are. We could lose him, Edward, and that is the last thing I want to happen. The school needs him –
we
need him. We must have people around us who will be willing to take over the running of the school when we are no longer able to.’

Edward nodded in agreement. ‘You’re thinking John and Bill might be just the men to take over the reins.’

‘Exactly. We’ve done all we can at the moment, so let’s eat.’

When Dave and Alfie had been the only pupils, they had taken all their meals with Pearl and the men, but now they joined the other boys in the school dining room. Elsie had insisted that she oversee the mealtimes, starting immediately, so she left them after she had been introduced to Bill. Relieved of that task, John Steadman joined them for dinner that evening and told Bill tales of the pupils’ exploits. There was a relaxed atmosphere, which pleased Harry.

George, the new night manager, also started work that night, leaving Edward and Harry free for the first time since the arrival of new pupils.

It was nearly midnight and everyone was in bed, but Harry couldn’t sleep, so he wandered down to the kitchen. With a steaming mug of cocoa in front of him, he stared at blank sheets of paper.

‘Dinner went well tonight.’ Edward joined him.

‘Can’t you sleep, either?’ Harry asked him.

‘My mind is reeling all over the place.’ Edward looked at the paper in front of his friend. ‘Trying to write letters?’

‘I can’t leave the Mantons in suspense, and I want to ask them to treat Bill like a stranger when they see him, but I can’t do it. He’s their son, for heaven’s sake! The son they thought was dead.’

‘I know you want to take this slowly, and I agree it would be the correct thing to do, but we can’t dictate to his family and friends what they should do. The only one who will do as you ask is Vicki. She understands and wants only what is best for this man. You’ve got to stand back and let them all meet, and just hope all goes well. There’s a good chance Bill will handle it calmly; you never know, he might be grateful to know who he really is.’

‘You’re right, of course, but I was so hoping we could give him a few weeks to settle in.’

‘Not possible.’ Edward shook his head. ‘Get Vicki down here to meet him before anyone else. She isn’t anything to do with the life he can’t remember, and she’s a sensible girl.’

Sighing deeply, Harry ran a hand through his hair. ‘I’ll write a brief note asking her to come on Sunday. I’ll also write to the Mantons and Peter, explaining the situation and asking them to wait until after Sunday.’

Harry picked up the pen. ‘I’ll get Vicki to talk to Peter before he sees Bill.’

Edward laughed softly. ‘Coward.’

‘Absolutely.’ He began writing and then looked up at his friend. ‘Are you thinking of making some more cocoa? This could take some time.’

‘It will send you to sleep and you’ll never get those letters written.’

‘I’ve decided to ask Vicki to come the Sunday after next.’

By the time the letter was finished, there was another cup of cocoa in front of him. He pushed the note towards Edward. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think she’ll give you a piece of her mind when she gets here.’

Harry grinned. ‘I’ll have to risk that. I’m not telling her any more until she arrives.’

‘Can I come to the station with you to collect her?’

‘No.’

‘Spoilsport.’

Both men drank their cocoa with broad grins on their faces.

Bill finished his temporary job on the Friday and started work at the school on Monday. He was an excellent teacher, and, although he was softly spoken, the more difficult boys soon discovered that they couldn’t misbehave with him. It only took a couple of days for him to gain their respect, and by the end of the week he had them studying willingly.

Harry and Edward were delighted and earnestly hoping they would be able to keep him. With what was about to happen, however, they were by no means certain of that. It all depended on how he reacted to the news he was soon to be given. He would either run or stay, and they hoped it would be the latter.

Vicki read the letter again for the hundredth time and fumed. ‘Just wait until I see Harry! How can he send me a letter like this? It’s no more than a paragraph asking me to come and bring the book with me, and to wait until this Sunday. He knows how anxious I am to know if the man at that junior school is Bill, and there isn’t one piece of information in this. Has he found Bill?’

‘Stop pacing.’ Flo took the crumpled letter out of Vicki’s hands and folded it carefully. ‘Our train leaves in half an hour and we’ll miss it if you don’t get ready.’

‘Sorry. I
am
ready.’ She sighed. ‘He should have at least told me if he’d found him or not.’

‘You’ll soon know why he’s being so mysterious. You know Harry never does anything without a very good reason.’ Bob ushered her out of the door.

‘Whatever he’s found out, he’s frightened to tell me,’ Vicki declared as they hurried to the station. ‘It is bad news, I just know it; otherwise, he would have told me if it was Bill.’

Twenty-Six

The moment they reached their destination, Vicki hurried out of the station and up to Harry who was waiting by the old bus. ‘I want to know what’s going on, Harry! Why did you send that short note? Couldn’t you have put some explanation in it? I’ve had a week of worry. Have you found Bill, or not?’

‘If you’ll just stop talking, I will explain.’ Harry greeted Bob and Flo. ‘I’m glad you came. The boys have been asking when you were coming to visit again. Please get in the bus; I want to talk to you before we go to the school.’

Once they were in, Harry took Vicki’s hand. ‘I didn’t want to put the news in a letter. We have a delicate situation and I want it handled as sensitively as possible. He’s a fine man and I don’t want anyone barging in with news he can’t handle.’

‘Oh, you’ve found him.’ Vicki’s eyes misted with tears. ‘But you’re frightening me, Harry. What’s wrong?’

‘It was Bill living in that cottage, and he’s at the school now, working as one of our teachers. He’s only been with us for a week, but the children like him. He’s perfect for the job, and I want to keep him if possible.’

‘That’s understandable, Harry,’ Bob told him, ‘but you haven’t told us what’s wrong with him.’

‘During the war he suffered a head injury, and our guess was correct: he has lost his memory. He told me he has brief flashes, but they’re gone almost at once. He’s using the name of William Dale.’

Vicki gasped. ‘That’s the name of his parents’ house, and he has come back to the place where he spent his childhood. There must be a glimmer of memory there, Harry.’

‘That’s more by instinct than actual memory, I think, because he doesn’t appear to know anything about his life before or immediately after the injury. I asked him if he’d seen any doctors, and all he said was that he must have.’

‘So he doesn’t even remember what happened to him in France?’

‘I’m afraid not, Flo.’

‘But, Harry, I didn’t notice any injury when I met him.’

‘His hair has grown over the scar so only a little is showing.’

‘Poor man.’ Bob was shaking his head. ‘It must be torment not knowing who you are.’

‘I agree, but he’s a strong man, mentally and physically, and appears to have come to terms with his condition. He’s doing his best to make a normal life for himself, but my worry is that after all this time he might not want to know what happened to him. Now, apart from Edward and Pearl, we are the only ones who know about this.’