The Grafton Girls - Annie Groves [125]
‘Well, I never did! That’s a fine thing to happen to a decent English girl,’ Jess’s mother announced indignantly. ‘Did you hear that, Colin?’ she called out through the open kitchen door into the parlour, telling Jess without waiting for her husband to answer her, ‘Billy’s just called round to see your uncle. He got called to his first bomb this afternoon. Made Colin laugh his head off when he were telling him all about it, he did. Why don’t you go in and say hello to Billy, love, and tell your uncle that I’m making a fresh pot of tea.’
Jess hesitated, but she knew her mother would start asking awkward questions if she acted like she didn’t want to see Billy. Thought the sun shone out of his backside, her mum did. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the parlour.
‘Mum said to tell you that she’s making a fresh brew,’ she told her uncle, bending to drop a kiss on the top of his head, before saying casually, ‘Oh, hello, Billy. I didn’t see you there.’
‘Billy’s just bin telling me about this bomb he dismantled this afternoon. Tell our Jess what you were saying about it blowing off, and making a real stink, Billy,’ her uncle chuckled.
‘Uncle Colin!’ Jess protested, putting her nose in the air and pretending to look disapproving.
‘Oh, go one wi’yer, you like a good laugh and you know it,’ he chuckled.
‘Aye, well, it stank like it were as ripe—’ Billy began
‘Billy…’ Jess warned him
‘It was your uncle as asked me to tell you about it,’ Billy reminded her innocently. ‘Anyway, what kept you? Your mam was just saying she wondered where you’d got to.’
‘I had to call round at Ruthie’s to tell her mam that she’d bin taken up to Burtonwood to see Glen’s commanding officer. Oh, and I never said, Ma,’ Jess called out guiltily to her mother who was still in the kitchen, ‘but Walter’s bin in a bad fight.’
‘Walter?’ Her mother came bustling through to the parlour, wiping her hands on her pinny. ‘What? A nice quiet lad like that, fighting?’
‘Well, from what Ruthie was telling me it wasn’t Walter’s fault. Seems like he got set on by that GI wot’s taken up with that Myra who Diane shares with.’
‘Diane? Is she the one that got that funny drink given her?’
‘Yes, that’s right, Mam. A really nice sort she is, a lady, but not a nose-in-the-air posh type. According to what Ruthie had to say, this Nick – that’s this Myra’s GI – had been caught cheating at cards by Walter, and he’d got a bit of a grudge against him on that account. Ruthie said she had never seen anything so scary in her life. And wot’s worse, when the MPs arrived this Nick tried to make out that it was Glen who had bin the one wot started it all.’
‘So how’s Walter now?’ Billy asked.
‘Ruthie said she’d find out whilst she was up at Burtonwood.’
‘He’ll be all right, lass, don’t you worry,’ her stepfather offered comfortingly.
‘Told you about his girl back home yet, has he?’ Billy challenged her.
‘That’s between me and him and no one else,’ Jess answered sharply.
‘Exceptin’ his girl back home,’ Billy retorted.
‘Our Jess would never take another girl’s chap, would you, Jessie?’ her mother defended her firmly.
‘Well, are you going to tell us about how clever you were disposing of this bomb or not, Billy?’ Jess demanded without answering her mother.
Billy gave a dismissive shrug. ‘There weren’t that much to it, really. It were only a little ’un. I reckon the sarge had kept it waiting there so as we could have a bit of a practice on it. Down by the allotments on Lansing Street, it was, right in a patch of ruddy nettles. Up to me backside in ’em, I were. You should see the stings I’ve got.’
Jess gave him a dark look, whilst her mother laughed and shook her head mock scoldingly, and told him affectionately, ‘Give over with that teasing of yours, Billy, and tell us about the bomb.’
‘I thought I was doing,’ Billy responded with a wink at Jess’s stepfather. ‘Well, like I was saying, it was right in the middle of these ruddy nettles, and then when we’d got to it we had to dig down all around it,