Across the Mersey - Annie Groves [6]
Her voice suggested that Jack could expect to be punished for his transgression and Jean winced inwardly but knew better than to say anything.
‘Do make yourselves comfortable whilst I go and put the kettle on,’ Vi continued. ‘Bella will be down in a minute, I expect, Grace. Bella has got a lovely surprise for you. She’s such a wonderful daughter, Jean. She got me flowers for my birthday and a bottle of scent. Edwin bought me my new frock, of course.’
‘It’s lovely,’ Jean offered dutifully.
‘Pure silk,’ Vi told her proudly, adding, ‘Oh, here are Edwin and Charles.’
Vi’s husband and son were casually dressed in cavalry twill trousers and smart sports shirts, and looked cool and fresh.
‘Yes, do take your tie off if you wish, Sam,’ Vi offered, causing Jean’s face to burn a little at the recognition that her sister was patronising her family. That Sam knew it too was evident from the tight look of anger she could see hardening his mouth.
‘I’ll come with you and give you a hand with the tea, Vi,’ Jean began, only to be told firmly, ‘I’d prefer it if you called me Vivienne from now on, Jean. Mrs Lawson, who’s in charge of our local WVS group, was saying to me only the other week, when she asked me to be her deputy, what an elegant name Vivienne is and what a shame it is to shorten it.’
Luke and Grace exchanged mirthful looks before turning away to hide their amusement.
‘Got your papers yet, Luke?’ Charlie asked, coming over to join them as the two sisters headed for the kitchen.
‘No, but I’m expecting to get them any time,’ Luke answered. ‘What about you?’
Charlie gave him a knowing grin and a wink, tapping the side of his nose meaningfully. ‘No fear of me being called up. I’ve made a smart move and joined the TA. A chap I know told me that once you’re in you’re exempt from having to do your six months, and that means that I get to stay at home and attend TA sessions a couple of times a week, whilst other chaps who aren’t as on the ball end up being send hundreds of miles away to some godforsaken army training camp. You should think about doing it yourself, Luke. Dad reckons that there’s no chance of us going to war, no matter what the papers might say. He reckons Hitler will back down. Mind you, we’re not complaining about all the doommongers, not when we’re doing very nicely thank you out of it. We’ve got that much work on we’ve had to take on extra men. Course, that means that things are a bit of a doddle for me at the moment.’ He gave Luke and Grace another wink. ‘There’s not many pretty girls that say no to a spin in a brand-new car on a nice sunny day.’
‘I wouldn’t have thought that your father would approve of that,’ Luke told him.
‘No, I dare say he wouldn’t – if he knew.’
In the kitchen Jean dutifully admired the new linoleum floor Vi was pointing out to her.
‘It’s all very nice, Vi – I mean Vivienne – but I don’t know how I’d feel about not having an outhouse to do me washing in.’
‘Oh well, as to that, Edwin insists that we send everything to the laundry. He can’t abide having wet washing hanging all over the place. He’s even talked about getting someone in to do the heavy cleaning, especially now that I’m getting so involved with the WI and the WVS. Mrs Lawson has good as said that she wants me to be her second in command.’
‘I don’t know,’ Jean marvelled, shaking her head. ‘Remember how our nan used to carrying her washing down to the wash house?’
Vi’s face changed colour and she looked over her shoulder before pushing the door to and saying quickly, ‘I’m surprised at you bringing something like that up, Jean. It was a long time ago and it’s best forgotten.’
‘Well, I’m surprised at you, our Vi. Anyone would think you were ashamed of Nan now that you’ve moved to Wallasey. A hard worker she was, and proud as well, even if she and Granddad were poor.’
‘Your Luke will be getting his papers soon,’ Vi announced, changing the subject as the kettle came to the boil.
Jean’s face creased with maternal concern. ‘That’s right. Sam’s got