Daisy nodded. ‘He was a little boy in hospital.’
‘During the night you shouted his name.’
Daisy knew she had dreamed again, but couldn’t remember exactly what. ‘Tommy needed an operation. But - ’ She tried not to feel sad.
‘I take it he didn’t make it?’ Uncle Leo squeezed her shoulder. ‘It’s hard to lose friends, and there’s no real remedy for grief. But you will make new friends, I promise. Now, breakfast is served, m’lady.’
She thought how kind and funny Uncle Leo was. He was very different to most uncles. He liked his hair the way it grew, all tangled and curly and probably didn’t ever use a comb. He never wore suits, but preferred baggy sweaters and ancient trousers. He even wore sandals in winter.
When they reached the kitchen door, a delicious smell wafted out. Mother was frying eggs on a Primus. Aunt Betty was making tea. Will and Bobby sat at the table gulping down their porridge. Perched in her high heels at the sink, Aunt Minnie washed the dishes.
Uncle Leo grabbed Aunt Minnie by the waist and tickled her ribs. When he smacked a kiss on her cheek, everyone laughed.
As weary and exhausted as they all were from the gruelling events of the night, the tension was broken. Daisy knew that no matter what happened in the days and weeks ahead, it was wonderful to have a family.
CHAPTER 60
Christmas Eve 1940
Wattcombe
DAISY WAS PERCHED UNCOMFORTABLY on a suitcase next to Will and Bobby in the rear of the car. The windows were all fogged because of the stream of nervous conversation that had not paused since leaving London. But it wouldn’t be long now before they reached Grandma’s and Aunt Pat’s cottage. Perhaps Christmas would not be as bleak as everyone forecast.
’Soon be there,’ confirmed Uncle Leo as he steered the car along the narrow country lane. ‘And we seemed to have avoided trouble.’
‘I’m still not sure that we’ve done right in making a surprise visit. You know how Mother and Pat like to be prepared,’ said Aunt Betty who sat next to Mother on the rear seat.
‘We’ve brought all our allowances with us,’ Aunt Minnie assured her. ‘We shan’t go hungry.’
‘I can’t believe that Matt is up there flying in those treacherous skies,’ said Mother distractedly. ‘It only seems like yesterday he was wearing shorts and kicking a ball around the garden with Nicky.’
‘Is Amelia still in Wales?’
‘I believe so, though we’ve heard nothing,’ replied Mother as Daisy shifted her position in order to hear more of the conversation. ‘The problem is, with wholesale evacuation no one knows where anyone is living these days. Half the island has gone away; very few shops remain open and I dread to think how much damage has been done to our house.’
‘We’ll all muck in to help you,’ Aunt Minnie promised.
’Look!’ exclaimed Daisy, drawing a circle with her finger in the misted window. ‘There’s Vesta!’
‘Who’s Vesta?’ demanded Will, wriggling beside her.
‘The bossiest cow of all,’ Daisy explained patiently. ‘All the herd have musical hall names, like Vesta and Marie and Harry Lauder - ‘
‘Harry is a man’s name,’ objected Will truculently.
‘So what!’ Daisy protested. ‘They all had good voices.’
‘Cows don’t sing,’ Will laughed, deliberately misunderstanding. ‘They only moo.’
‘No bickering now, children,’ interrupted Mother, so ending the debate. ‘I know you’ve been cooped up for ages but we’re almost there.’
Everyone shuffled a few inches forward on their seats. Daisy’s heart missed a beat. In just a few moments they would catch sight of the elderly thatched building with its glinting lattice windows and smoking chimney. Hidden amongst the trees of the thick wood where she and Bobby had played, its brittle bare branches would be alive with the noisy armies of rooks.
‘You were right to bring us all away for Christmas, darling,’ whispered Aunt Minnie in Uncle Leo’s ear. ‘And risk making the journey. Now we’re here I’m so glad we came.’
‘Me too,’ agreed Aunt Betty wistfully. ‘Though I do miss Ed. Especially now I’ve taken a couple of weeks leave from the WVS. I feel a bit of a shirker.’
‘You more than deserve a break,’ said Mother as she reached for Aunt Betty’s hand. ‘Ed would be proud of you.’
‘Do you think so?’ Aunt Betty sighed. ‘There’s so much I want to talk to him about. Things I have to say … ‘
Daisy saw a look pass between her mother and aunt that surely indicated their secret. But Mr Calder seemed like a ghost from the past as Aunt Betty’s eyes shone with sentimental tears.
For a moment everyone was very still as Uncle Leo drove slowly down the last few yards of the narrow lane.
Daisy pressed her nose against the window. She couldn’t wait to explore the garden and fields again and hide in the wood. Perhaps they could walk to the shops and visit Mr and Mrs Webber’s farm again?
After all that had happened to London, the war seemed so very far away …
But the gasp that left everyone’s lips as the cottage came into view was not of joy or expectation. Rather of shock and dismay.
‘What!’ Exclaimed Uncle Leo, slamming his foot on the brake and stalling the engine.
Daisy stared wordlessly at the once pretty front garden that had been so luscious with wild flowers. Now a blackened and charred skeleton rose above the smouldering mountain of bricks and thatch which was all that was left of the cottage.
‘N o!’ Mother cried, gripping the back of Uncle Leo’s seat with white knuckles. ‘Oh, no!’
‘I can’t believe it,’ gasped Aunt Betty. ‘The cottage has just … just disappeared.’
Everyone sat as if frozen, until Daisy saw Uncle Leo suddenly shake himself and putting his shoulder to the car door he thrust himself into the wintry air.
They all watched, unable to drag away their eyes. Even Will was silent, which to Daisy was far more disconcerting than Uncle Leo’s wild behaviour
