‘Some hopes,’ munched Bobby, licking the preserve from his lips.
‘I don’t want to be on my own,’ she confessed.
‘Mother won’t be long.’
‘She might go shopping.’
Bobby scowled. ‘The answer’s still no.’
How could Bobby be so cruel? Salty tears filled her eyes. These days she took great care never to follow him around or say anything that would upset him or do anything he disapproved of. Since his outburst with Mother, she knew Bobby was growing into a young man who was hard, if not impossible to understand.
Quietly sniffing, she left the table and went into the hall. Everywhere she looked was grimy; the wallpaper was yellowed, the carpet so ingrained with dirt there was no visible pattern. For all her efforts, she might as well not have bothered to clean.
She dragged her tired legs into the living room and sank down on the couch, amidst a cloud of dust. She could even taste it on her lips. If she crunched her teeth, it was like chewing grit. A tear of self-pity rolled down her cheek. She wiped the moisture with the ends of her hair and tried to muffle a sob.
‘You can’t come with me,’ said a voice beside her, ‘because we meet at Island Gardens as her dad doesn’t like her seeing boys.’
Daisy looked up, startled. Had Bobby really spoken to her in such a pleasant tone?
‘But I can bring Grace here if you like,’ he offered.
Daisy felt a warm glow inside her. Below Bobby’s dirt-streaked cheeks and smudged blond hair and the splash of adolescent spots on his cheeks was an exceptionally good-looking youth. He towered over her now, lean and a little awkward yet his blue eyes looked on her fondly.
‘Th … that would be nice,’ she stammered.
‘Just don’t say anything that will embarrass me, right?’
‘I won’t,’ she promised excitedly. Somewhere upstairs in the spare room, in a box, or perhaps in a cupboard were her best clothes. It wouldn’t take long to find them.
CHAPTER 47
‘HELLO DAISY, I haven’t seen you since Cawdor.’ Followed by Bobby, Grace stepped through the kitchen door and smiled. ‘That’s a pretty skirt you’re wearing.’
Daisy thought Grace looked very pretty with her long dark hair brushed neatly over the collar of her winter’s coat. Despite all Daisy’s attempts to find a skirt or dress that wasn’t creased, everything was either crumpled, dirty or too short. She’d realised then, because she had been living in trousers for goodness knew how long, that it wasn’t only Bobby who’d grown. She had found very little to fit her and in desperation, had opted for a dark green skirt that Mother had lengthened though the original hem line still showed.
‘Did you ever find your friend Sally?’ Grace asked as she sat herself down on a kitchen chair. ‘And that other boy - you know the one you told us about? The one who got in trouble with the Blackshirts?’
Daisy was about to answer, impressed that Grace had remembered Sally and Sammy, when Bobby said quickly, ‘No, we haven’t seen them.’
Undeterred, Grace dug into her pocket and brought out a small brown bag. ‘Would you like a sweet?’
Daisy’s gaze fell on the shiny black and white confectionary.
‘Guess where I got them?’ Grace asked.
Daisy shook her head.
‘Iris and Sydney! Remember? Their dad had a confectioner’s in Poplar?’ Grace pushed the bag closer to Daisy. ‘Did you know that a bomb fell on their shop? It was terrible. There were sweets and broken jars everywhere. All the cigarettes and cigars went up in smoke.’ Grace giggled at her own joke. ‘I must admit it’s not very funny. But Iris and Sydney and their parents were safe as they had gone to the underground.’ Grace shook the bag enticingly. ‘These sweets are all chipped where the bomb exploded. See? Go on, try one.’
Daisy looked at Bobby who gave a brief nod.
‘Thank you.’ Daisy popped one on her tongue.
Grace smiled. ‘Would you like to come up to Island Gardens with us?’ she said, her tongue curling over her lips. ‘There’s an ack-ack station there now.’
Daisy was about to say she would like that very much when Bobby, standing behind Grace, shook his head.
So she managed to refuse politely, claiming she had chores to do about the house. It was the only long sentence she had uttered in Grace’s company, and Bobby seemed to approve as the look of fright on his face turned to one of relief.
She watched them leave, their hands brushing slightly. When they were out of sight, Daisy curled herself on the couch and gave her full attention to enjoying the sweet.
To think, she actually had something in her mouth that had been blown up by a bomb!
T hat night there was no rest at all, for the Luftwaffe rained their lethal cargo on the docks without pause. Explosions erupted in such fierce succession that no conversation was possible, words lost in the roar of the aerial attack.
‘Fortunately Wattcombe has not seen any more disasters,’ Mother said, explaining her earlier telephone call. ‘But the village seems to be directly under the path of the Luftwaffe who discharge the odd bomb or two on their way back across the Channel - ‘
An exceptionally loud explosion shook the kettle from its stand on the Primus. Then almost at once a deafening screech was followed by an earth-quaking roar.
Daisy was catapulted from her bunk to the floor and Bobby toppled beside her. As they lay there, shielding their heads with their hands, Daisy recalled Aunt Betty’s story of the bombed-out family and her heart thudded violently.
Could it be that the shelter was next? Who would find their remains and tell Pops and Matt they were dead?
CHAPTER 48
DAISY SAT up and stretched her arms. At some point in the night she must have crawled back on her bunk and fallen asleep. She wriggled her frozen legs over the side and whispered into the darkness, ’Mother,
