Across the Mersey - Annie Groves [124]
Once Bella was back out on the street, the giddy sense of power and triumph she had felt in the office receded, leaving her feeling very odd and weak. So weak that she almost felt as though she might faint. Perhaps her mother was right and she did need a tonic.
EIGHTEEN
Wednesday 15 May
‘It’s bad news, isn’t it, now that the Dutch have surrendered?’ Jean asked Sam worriedly.
They were alone in the house, the twins having gone to the cinema and Francine being at a rehearsal.
‘Ay, love, it is,’ Sam agreed. He saw her expression and knew what she was thinking.
There had been so much bad news these recent weeks. The Germans had already overrun Norway and now this. The Bank Holiday had been cancelled because of the crisis and the papers had been full of the shocking fact that the German Wehrmacht had invaded France and Belgium.
‘Don’t worry about Luke,’ he tried to reassure her. ‘I reckon that now Chamberlain has gone and Churchill’s taken his place he’ll have our lads back safe and sound.’
Jean knew that Sam was trying to comfort her but she knew him too well for him to be able to deceive her. He was as worried as she was, and not just for Luke. Everyone was talking about how easy it would be for Hitler to bomb England now that he would be able to set up bases in Holland. Jean still couldn’t believe the awful finality of what had happened.
‘Everyone said that it would never happen, that Hitler wouldn’t be able to overcome Holland’s defences.’ Her voice shook.
‘I know, love,’ Sam agreed. There was no real comfort he could offer her. He was as shocked as she was. The Germans had moved with such speed and such force. It seemed that nothing and no one could stand in their way.
‘Well, Mrs Parker, I have some good news for you.’
The doctor was smiling encouragingly at her. He probably wasn’t going to give her a tonic because it was on ration or something, Bella thought crossly. Well, she wasn’t going to leave until he gave her one.
‘I’m just exhausted, Doctor,’ she told him, ‘what with having to look after these refugees I’ve been landed with and everything.’
‘Well, yes, of course you will be feeling tired. That’s quite normal in the early months, especially with a first pregnancy. You mustn’t overdo things, you know, my dear. You must put Baby first now.’
Baby? Bella stared at him. ‘But I can’t be having a baby,’ she told him flatly.
He had stopped smiling now and was looking at her rather sternly. ‘Indeed you are, my dear, and I’m sure you’ll be very pleased about it once you’ve got used to the idea.’
‘But I’ve just had my monthlies and—’
‘I see,’ said the doctor. ‘Well then, in that case it may well be that you were carrying twins. Sometimes it happens that one of them is lost in the early weeks. I can assure you, though, that you are most definitely pregnant.’
She was pregnant after all, and now Trixie would have to keep away from Alan. She had done it. She had got what she wanted, so why was she feeling all sick and shaky, and as though she wanted to sit down and cry?
Bella could hear the wireless as she opened her front door. They were clustered around it, listening to it in silence. She was tired and still in shock but instead of jumping up to make a fuss of her as her mother would have done, her unwanted house guests simply ignored her. She should be feeling angry, Bella knew, but somehow she felt more as though she wanted to cry. She went into the kitchen and filled the kettle, making a lot of noise as she banged it down on the stove to show her disapproval and relieve her mood.
If they had to have the wireless on without asking her permission first, then why on earth couldn’t they have some music on instead of some dry, dusty news-reader, boring on again about the war and Hitler?
The telephone rang and when she went to answer it, it was her mother, asking how she had gone on at the doctor’s.
‘He says that I’m having a baby,’ Bella told her.
There was a sound from behind her and as she turned round she saw Jan standing in the hallway.
‘The kettle