Across the Mersey - Annie Groves [87]
And then suddenly Trixie spoke up, her voice polite but very clear and cool as she pointed out to Bella’s father, ‘But your son didn’t really plan to volunteer, did he? I remember him telling us that he’d only joined the TA to escape conscription.’
The three Parkers were looking gratefully at Trixie whilst Bella’s father was glaring at her as though he couldn’t believe his ears.
‘That’s right, Trixie, I remember Charlie saying that as well. In fact, Father-in-law, I seem to remember him also saying something about being sure you could get him out of the TA,’ said Alan smugly.
‘Rubbish, I don’t know where you’ve got that idea from. Charlie wanted to do his bit, and I’ll not have anyone say any different.’
Her father was blustering now, Bella recognised, and it was plain from the looks on the faces of her husband and her in-laws that they knew they had won the encounter.
Thanks to Trixie.
Bella gave her a baleful look. She was so plain that it was no wonder she had to suck up to their parents’ generation, and that consequently Alan’s parents thought the sun shone out of her backside, Bella thought angrily. You’d never catch her doing anything like that.
‘It might not be a bad idea to warn your brother that Lillian wants to marry a doctor,’ Hannah told Grace meaningfully, as they sat out a dance together whilst Luke danced yet again with Lillian. ‘You wouldn’t want to have him falling for her and getting hurt.’
‘Don’t be daft, Hannah. Luke is just having a good time because he’s home on leave, that’s all.’ Grace laughed.
‘Have it your own way,’ said Hannah goodnaturedly, adding, ‘I’d have thought you’d have bin dancing a bit more yourself, seeing as you are so good at it and don’t have two left feet like me.’
‘Hannah, you haven’t got two left feet at all.’
‘Well, I feel like I have, especially when I watched you doing that jitterbugging with your brother.’
Grace laughed again. ‘It’s our sisters, the twins, that got us doing that. It fair takes your puff, though.’
‘What’s that then?’ Teddy asked, coming back to the table just in time to catch the end of their conversation.
‘Dancing,’ Grace told him.
‘It does that,’ he agreed. ‘I’m saving meself now for the last dance.’ He gave them both a wink and grinned, and Grace couldn’t help but be amused. He was such fun to be with and she could tell that the other girls and Luke all liked him. She was glad that he’d said what he had to her about them just being friends, but at the same time she also felt a bit disappointed. She knew that she wanted – and needed – to concentrate on her nursing training and that the last thing she needed was to fall head over heels in love with someone, and yet a little daringly a part of her still wondered what it would be like if Teddy wanted to go further than just holding her hand and telling her how much he liked her, whilst the more sensible part of her was glad that he was content to keep things as they were.
The last dance of the evening was announced and within seconds the floor was packed with couples determined to take the opportunity to be close to one another. The dimly lit dance floor permitted the kind of intimacy that was normally frowned upon, the war adding to the sense of urgency and poignancy that everyone was feeling, but whilst Teddy got her up to dance, he certainly wasn’t holding her as close as he could have done, not even as close as Luke was holding Lillian, Grace noticed as they danced past them. She was glad, of course, that Teddy respected her and that he was behaving so decently, she told herself firmly. But it was New Year’s Eve, and if he had attempted to hold her closer she would have understood.
‘Penny for them?’ Teddy asked her.
Unwilling to tell him the truth, Grace fibbed. ‘I was just wondering where we’d all be this time next year.’
‘Why waste time thinking about tomorrow? It’s today we should be thinking about and enjoying.’
That was true, but it was hard not to think of what might lie ahead, especially now, Grace thought, as the dance came to an end and the band