“Tom Beck, don’t be rude,” Sally admonished him. But Maggie pulled him into her arms and gave the young boy a hug. He pushed her away, wiping his face on his sleeve.
“Yuck, what did you do that for?”
“Nothing wrong with a hug now and then, child. Sally has a surprise for you.”
“A piece of cake? I’m starving.”
“You’re always hungry, lad,” Sally said. “I got a letter. From Harry.”
“Harry. Really? Where is he and when is he coming home? Can I read it?” Tom paused for a second. “Is it in German because my English reading isn’t too good.”
“I’ll read it for you if you like.” Sally tussled his hair, making him smile.
“Yeah. Can I go find Rachel, Ruth, and Liesl? They’ll want to hear the letter too.”
“Go on then. We will have lunch here. Mrs. Shackleton-Driver can just wait for her cakes.
“Can I tell her that? She’s really mean and says nasty things, especially to Rachel.”
Sally and Maggie exchanged a look over his head.
“No Tom, you leave Mrs. Shackleton-Driver to Maggie to deal with. Now, go find the girls.”
Tom ran, screaming the girls’ names at the top of his voice.
“The whole village will know you’ve had a letter. I’d suggest you speak to Constable Halton as soon as you can.”
“I will Maggie but first what will we do about Rachel? What do you think that horrible woman has been saying?”
“I don’t know, but I will handle her. It will give me an outlet for some of this anger I have growing inside of me.”
Sally nodded, feeling just the tiniest twinge of sympathy for Mrs. Shackleton-Driver. Maggie rarely let her temper go but when she did, you stood back and thanked God you weren’t the target.
Sally gave the letter to Rachel to read to the children while she finished the cakes for the Women’s Institute sale. The buns turned out very well, even if she did say so herself. The children happily ate two each and would have had more if she hadn’t rescued the plate.
Staring at the four children around the table, she wondered how she would make them cakes, buns or anything nice now that everything seemed to be going on ration. She agreed with rationing in principle, it was unfair for some to horde tins of fruit, sugar, cigarettes and whatnot. But she couldn’t help think farmers had it luckier than most.
Spotting the time, she tore off her apron and ran upstairs to put on a dash of lipstick and a spray of perfume that Derek had brought her on his last trip home. She closed her eyes and prayed for her husband, as she had every day since she’d gotten that horrible telegram. Despite having the remembrance service, she refused to believe he was dead. She’d know inside if he was.
“Aunt Sally, you’re going to be very late,” Rachel called up the stairs, a worried edge to her voice. Rachel fretted a lot, particularly over upsetting the villagers. After Tom’s comment earlier, Sally could guess why.
“Coming. Are you sure you don’t mind keeping the children here?”
“I love it here,” Rachel said quietly. “We are going to write back to Heinz and tell him about mother’s letters.”
Sally impulsively kissed the top of the girl’s head. So young yet she was carrying the weight of adult worries.
“I won’t be long, I promise.” Sally picked up her cakes and stalked out the door, ready to do battle if she had to. There was no way on this planet Constable Halton was going to stop her from sending parcels to Heinz, now she knew where he was.
When she got to the village hall, Susan caught up with her. “Did you hear Maggie and Mrs. Shackleton-Driver went at it hammer and tongs?”
“They did?”
“Maggie gave her a slap, right across her face. Left a red mark but the constable refused to arrest Maggie. Said Mrs. Shackleton-Driver should be happy she wasn’t the one being arrested.”
“Why? What did she do?” Sally asked.
“Seems she was spreading horrible rumors about Rachel being a German spy. How she was in bed, literally and figuratively with the Nazis. Said she’d heard Rachel got regular letters from her mother in Germany and as no letters got through the regular post, it must mean she was a spy.”
Sally’s hands itched to slap Mrs. Shackleton-Driver herself. What a horrid, mean, old woman.
“Rachel got one letter from Sweden, not Germany. Anyway, its none of that woman’s business.”
“The loss of her sons is making her worse.”
Sally’s anger cooled a little. Jane Shackleton-Driver had lost twin sons in the Battle of Britain. She had always been a tyrant, but the news had pushed her over the edge.
“I should go and speak to her.”
“Who? Maggie? Reverend Collins took her home. He didn’t seem a bit pleased.”
“I’ll see Maggie later. I meant Jane. I never sympathized with her over the loss of her children. Whatever else she is, she was a loving mother and adored those two lads of hers. No wonder she is lashing out.”
Susan stared at her for a few seconds before she smiled. “Your heart is way too soft, Sally. Your mum was the same. Always looking out for other people.”
Sally couldn’t talk about her mum. She missed her all the time but since the telegram arrived, she really wished she was here to give her a cuddle and tell her the world was going to get better. Things would go back to normal. To a time when men of Derek’s age and even younger, in the case of the Shackleton-Driver boys, weren’t killed and young girls like Rachel didn’t have to run for their lives.
She handed Susan the cakes, asked her to take over her slot on the stall and went in search of Mrs. Shackleton-Driver. Her trip was in vain as the woman refused to see anyone. Her housekeeper dismissed Sally with a look that could have frozen the River Thames. Sally took the hint. Her next visit went much better with Constable Halton agreeing she should
