Orphans of War. Leah Fleming
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asked for a volunteer and Bryan stood up as his assistant. The eggs came and went, and for his last trick he placed a magic egg on Bryan’s head, said some magic words and cracked it with his conjuring stick. It broke all over his hair and dribbled down his face and onto his jumper. Everyone roared, but Aunt Plum was furious.
‘That’s his new jumper…How could you waste an egg like that!’
Poor Uncle Algie looked quite shocked at his telling-off but Grandma came to his defence.
‘What’s got into you? He’s done his best to keep the natives calm. Thank you, Algie. We’ll take the children back into the hall for pass the parcel. Really, Prunella, there was no call for that!’
Everyone pushed and shoved back out of the room, leaving Aunt Plum almost in tears. ‘I’m sorry, Algie, I’ve a lot on my mind,’ she sighed.
Gloria pinched Maddy’s arm. ‘I know what it’s all about. She’s had bad news,’ she whispered.
‘She never said,’ Maddy replied curious now. ‘Is it Uncle Gerald?’
‘’Spec so. I heard Uncle and Auntie in the kitchen talking about his ship going down, but don’t say nowt. I was earwigging behind the door. She’s a widow woman now, that’s why she’s been wearing black.’
‘But why hasn’t she told Grandma? She’s got a red suit on. Uncle Gerry’s her son. How strange? Come on, we’ll be especially nice to her.’
Maddy kept looking at her aunt sideways. Plum must have kept her sadness all to herself to give them a good Christmas. How kind she was. Poor Uncle Gerry, never to see him again. How brave she was to bear such bad news.
The party seemed to drag after that and Maddy was glad when the last ones had gone home and she could put her hand in Aunt Plum’s and squeeze it gently.
‘I know,’ she whispered. ‘It must be awful for you.’
‘Know what, Maddy?’
‘About your bad news. Gloria heard the Battys talking. She didn’t mean to but they were talking loud about Uncle Gerald’s ship going down…’
Aunt Plum was staring at her hard. ‘Is that what Gloria told you?’
Maddy nodded. ‘Is that why you’ve been wearing black clothes?’ Poor Aunt Plum was looking very strange and grasping her chest. Then she took her arm and guided Maddy towards the little morning room with French doors that opened out onto the side garden where the bird table was.
‘Let’s just shut the door for a minute. You’re right, I’ve got some bad news but it wasn’t Uncle Gerald’s ship. You see, a ship did go down…We don’t know all the details yet. There was a phone call the night before Christmas Eve. I thought it was best to let you all have a proper Christmas. Mrs Batty was there when the call came through. I don’t know how to say this, Maddy, but it wasn’t Uncle Gerald.’ She paused.
In that split second Maddy saw the look on her face and knew what she was going to say and put her hands to her ears. ‘No, no…Please, no, not my mummy and daddy!’
Everything went all fuzzy round the edges and her throat sort of froze so she couldn’t swallow. There was a ringing in her head. Plum’s words were faint, something about enemy action and a troop ship off the coast of Ireland, lifeboats and survivors, but it was all very quick. ‘No, no, it’s not true…?’
Aunt Plum nodded. ‘I’m so sorry, darling. I didn’t know how to tell you.’
‘But there are lifeboats and they can last for days? They found the children from the City of Benares when all was lost, days and days after!’ Maddy was pleading for hope.
‘It’s been nearly two weeks. There were only a few survivors. It must have been very quick.’ There was no comfort in her words.
The mantelpiece clock ticked and the fire crackled and blew out smoke. The blackbird was hopping around for crumbs and the icicles were dripping from the stone bird table. Time seemed to stand still.
‘Then they’re never coming home, are they?’ she said, looking Plum straight in the eye.
‘I’m afraid not.’
‘So I’ll have to go to an orphanage like Anne of Green Gables?’
‘Of course not! Your home is here in Brooklyn.’
‘But Grandma doesn’t like me. She wore a red suit…’
‘She doesn’t know yet…about Arthur. I had to tell you first. I didn’t see the point in spoiling your Christmas,’ Aunt Plum sniffed.
‘There’s no Father Christmas, is there?’ Maddy said, feeling ice cold inside. ‘All I asked him for was to see Mummy and Daddy again and he sent them to the bottom of the sea. It’s all lies! All of it…’ she screamed.
‘Maddy, I’m sorry, but Brooklyn is your home,’ Aunt Plum stuttered, looking older and unsure. ‘Forgive me if I’ve got it all wrong. I’ve never had to do this before. I just wanted you to have a nice time. Your home is with us now.’
‘No it’s not! I’ll not stay where I’m not wanted. I’ll go to the Vic and stay there. I’m not a Belfield any more!’ she spat out, and jumped off the sofa, making for the door. She wanted to get away from this house. Grabbing her gabardine mac and galoshes, and the dog lead, which got Blaze bounding after her down the steps, Maddy stepped out into the dusky whiteness of the front drive.
There were no tears in her eyes. She couldn’t cry. It couldn’t happen twice, could it? First Uncle George and Granny Mills and now Mummy and Daddy? That wasn’t fair. It didn’t make any sense.
Maddy wandered down the lane in a daze, picking out the frozen footsteps of the hostel gang before her. She looked up at the tall poplar trees standing like Roman candles, the snow on the bark making pretty patterns. It was all so crisp and white and silent, so beautiful and so sad.
Would Mummy and Daddy know how sad she was? Did they care? Were they out there somewhere looking down on her, watching over her, with Granny too? She hoped so.
How strange that her own life was going on right now whilst their lives had been over days ago and she didn’t know. All the time she was having fun at Christmas and the school concert, they were already gone. Her life was going on and they’d just disappeared. Now she’d grow and change and do things and they wouldn’t know–or would they? Oh, how she hoped so. It was the only comfort she could cling on to.
Maddy looked down the avenue of poplars and thought of all those other boys who never came home, who were just names at the bottom of the trees. Now Daddy would be a tree on the lane with Uncle Julian. How strange all her family were in a far-off place and she couldn’t reach them.
Now the dark chill wrapped itself round her but she wasn’t a bit afraid. She didn’t feel cold. She didn’t feel anything but a numb sort of tiredness as she made her way to the Victory Tree. She felt safe there tucked away, hiding in the crevice.
It was like sitting in the tree in The Feathers all over again, but without any hope of letters coming from Egypt. All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep until the war was over and things would go back to how they were before.
How could I have been so stupid? Trust Gloria to get it all wrong and spoil the moment; that silly nosy little tyke! Plum jumped up to follow the child. How could I take it on myself to play God and get it so wrong?
Pleasance would have to be told but not yet. First she must find the girl. It was too cold to be wandering about in the dark. Her footprints would be easy to follow and chances were she’d head for the Old Vic and to her friends.
Plum wished there was a phone in the house to warn Vera Murray, the vicar’s wife, of the situation. It was not surprising Maddy preferred the shabbiness of the old pub to the genteel grandeur of her grandparents’ house. Hurt puppies always headed for safety, where they could watch the world