The Nightingale Girls

CHAPTER Thirty-Eight



MILLIE SAT DOWN on the pavement, took off her shoes and massaged her stockinged toes. Standing for hours for a glimpse of the royal procession had been almost as hard on her feet as a twelve-hour shift on the ward.

But she wouldn’t have missed it for the world. It felt as if the whole of London had gathered to celebrate the King’s Jubilee. Crowds lined the streets between Buckingham Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral, old and young, families with their children perched on their shoulders to see the glittering ranks of guards on horseback and the carriages containing the Royal Family. The King was decked out in all his military finery, while Queen Mary looked as regal as ever in a plumed hat, her shoulders shrouded in pale fur. Their sons followed behind in another open carriage together with their wives, all waving as they drove past.

Millie and her friends had managed to find themselves a good spot on the stands close to Admiralty Arch, where they could watch the whole event.

‘Isn’t the Prince of Wales handsome?’ Georgina Farsley sighed, as the carriage rattled past. ‘But he looks so lonely, doesn’t he? His brothers have their wives, and he has no one.’

‘Don’t you believe it,’ grinned Sophia’s fiancé David. ‘He’s certainly not short of female company from what I hear.’

‘Mrs Simpson sees to that,’ Seb added.

Millie had heard her father discussing Wallis Simpson with her grandmother. The future king’s romance with ‘that wretched American’, as the Dowager Countess called her, was the talk of high society. Everyone had hoped that she might prove to be nothing more than a distraction, like Thelma Furness and Mrs Dudley Ward, and that the Prince would eventually grow weary of her. But a year on, her hold only seemed to grow stronger.

‘I can’t see the attraction myself,’ Seb said. ‘She always looks rather cruel to me.’

‘And we all know you prefer blondes!’ Sophia joked. Seb blushed. Georgina tossed her raven locks and looked furious.

‘Daddy says if he doesn’t come to his senses soon it might affect the succession,’ Millie observed.

‘I don’t see why,’ Georgina huffed. ‘He should be allowed to marry whoever he likes.’

‘It’s not that simple,’ Sophia explained patiently. ‘Our King can’t marry a divorcee.’

‘Then the rules should be changed,’ Georgina said firmly.

‘If she really loved him, she’d give him up and allow him to do his duty to his country,’ Millie said.

Georgina glared at her. ‘Wallis Simpson is an acquaintance of my mother’s,’ she said. ‘And believe me, she isn’t ready to give up anyone.’

Millie caught Sophia’s eye as Georgina turned her adoring gaze towards Seb. Poor Seb. Georgina Farsley was just as determined to get her man as Mrs Simpson.

Millie looked around, enjoying the spectacle of the crowds below them, and caught a glimpse of a familiar face across the road. Lucy Lane sat perched high in the stands opposite, beside a very stylish-looking woman in a fitted blue coat – her mother, Millie guessed. Their miserable faces were a stark contrast to all the cheering and waving going on around them.

Millie was waving her handkerchief and trying to catch her eye when Sophia grabbed her arm. ‘Everyone’s following the procession to the palace,’ he said. ‘Let’s go up The Mall and watch the King come out on to the balcony.’

Afterwards they joined hundreds of other revellers in St James’s Park. It seemed as if no one wanted the party to end. All over the park, people were having picnics, playing games or just lazing on the grass together.

‘Look at you,’ David laughed, as Sophia carefully unpacked the wicker picnic basket. ‘How domesticated you look. You’ll make someone a wonderful wife one day.’ He winked at her.

‘Don’t get too excited, it was our cook who prepared it all,’ Sophia replied, peeling the muslin off a veal pie.

‘Just think, you’ll have a house and staff of your own soon,’ Georgina sighed dreamily.

‘Don’t!’ Sophia shuddered. ‘I’m sure I’ll be a perfectly useless housekeeper. The servants will all bully me mercilessly.’

‘They won’t, because they’ll all adore you far too much.’ David leant over and kissed the end of her nose.

‘Ugh, do you have to?’ Seb grimaced. ‘People in love are rather sickening to watch.’

‘You’re just jealous.’ Sophia screwed up the muslin pie wrapping and threw it at him. ‘You should find a girl of your own, Seb. Then perhaps you wouldn’t be so bitter.’

‘And I don’t think you’d have far to look either,’ David added meaningfully. ‘In fact, I suspect there’s a girl not a million miles away who has claimed your heart already.’

‘I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,’ Seb replied through tight lips, as Georgina simpered.

‘He shouldn’t tease Seb like that,’ Millie whispered to Sophia as they handed round the plates. ‘You know he’s not keen on Georgina.’

Her friend smiled. ‘I don’t think David was talking about Georgina.’

Before Millie had a chance to reply, a cricket ball whistled past her ear and landed with a smack in the middle of the plate of sandwiches Sophia had just unwrapped, scattering them everywhere.

‘I’m terribly sorry,’ a voice called out. ‘May we have our ball back, please?’

Millie looked up, squinting into the sun, as the young man jogged across the grass towards them. He was dressed casually in flannels, not a white coat in sight, but she would have known that tall, lanky frame anywhere.

‘William?’

He turned around. ‘Hello,’ he said, breaking into a smile. ‘Fancy seeing you. Although I suppose it’s hardly surprising since half of London seems to be here.’

He grinned around at her friends, who were eyeing him curiously.

‘Aren’t you going to introduce us?’ Sophia asked.

‘This is William Tremayne,’ Millie said. ‘He’s – er –’ She searched for the right word. A friend? An acquaintance? Someone I tried to kiss one dark night when I’d had too much to drink?

‘We work together at the Nightingale,’ William finally finished for her.

‘You’re a doctor? How thrilling,’ Georgina said.

‘Would you like to join us?’ Sophia invited graciously.

‘No, thank you. My friends are waiting for me.’ Far beyond them, under the trees, Millie recognised a few of the other junior doctors from the hospital, and a couple of nurses too.

Seb picked up the ball and held it out to William. ‘You’ll be wanting this, then?’

‘What? Oh, yes. Thanks. I hope I didn’t ruin your picnic?’

‘I’m sure we can live without a few cucumber sandwiches,’ Sophia smiled.

‘William?’ Amy Hollins sauntered over to them, looking pretty in a summer dress. She nodded a greeting at Millie and then turned to William. ‘Hurry up. We’re waiting to finish the game.’

‘Just coming.’ He looked down at the ball in his hand, then back at them. ‘Would you like to come and play? We could use a decent bowler?’

‘No, thanks,’ Seb answered for them shortly.

‘Oh. Well, if you’re sure?’ He glanced at Millie. ‘I expect I’ll see you back on the ward.’

‘I’m sure you will. If I’m not stuck in the sluice as usual.’

‘Is he an admirer of yours?’ Georgina asked Millie, as they watched him walk away.

‘Not at all. He’s just a friend.’ She kept her gaze fixed on William and Amy. She had her arm threaded possessively through his as they sauntered towards their group of friends.

‘Don’t be silly, Georgie,’ Sophia said. ‘You can see he’s with that blonde girl.’

Millie turned to her sharply. ‘Is he?’

‘If he isn’t now, he soon will be!’ David laughed. ‘She’s certainly got her sights set on him. Poor fellow doesn’t stand a chance. None of us ever do. We’re just helpless victims to predatory females, aren’t we, Seb?’

‘If you say so,’ Seb replied distractedly. His gaze was still fixed on William too.

‘Are you saying I’m predatory?’ Sophia pinched David’s arm, making him yelp.

‘What? Of course not, my darling. I’m just saying I’m helpless,’ he protested.

‘There’s nothing helpless about William Tremayne,’ Millie said quietly.

Georgina looked at her. ‘Really? That sounds rather intriguing. I must say, he did seem to be devouring you with his eyes, Millie. Perhaps we should join them?’ she said, glancing over to where William was going in to bat. ‘After all, we mustn’t stand in the way of true love, must we?’

‘Do shut up, Georgina,’ Millie and Seb said together.

Millie returned to the nurses’ home just before nine in the evening. She hadn’t been planning to go back so early, but it had been a long day and the champagne had given her a headache. While the others went off for dinner and dancing, Millie caught a bus back to Bethnal Green. She refused Seb’s offer to escort her, to Georgina’s obvious relief.

She was looking forward to seeing Helen’s face when she walked in before lights out, and to hearing all about Dora’s street party. But instead Millie walked in to a full-scale argument between her room mates.

‘You can’t go,’ Helen was saying.

‘Well, I can’t stay here, can I?’ Dora was shrugging on her coat. Her leg was bandaged and she was limping badly.

‘And what are we supposed to say to Sister Sutton if she comes looking for you?’

‘Say what you like. I’m still going.’

Millie looked from one to the other. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked.

Helen rolled her eyes. ‘Thank heavens you’re back. She might listen to you. Tell her she can’t just walk off into the night whenever she feels like it.’

‘My little sister’s missing. What am I supposed to do, sit here on my backside while everyone else goes out looking for her?’

Millie stared at her. ‘Your sister’s missing?’

She nodded. ‘Josie disappeared during the street party. They’ve been out searching for her all day.’ She swallowed hard. Millie could tell she was trying her best to stop herself from crying.

‘I know it’s awful,’ Helen said. ‘But you won’t do any good if you—’

‘Of course you must go and look for her,’ Millie interrupted. ‘Do you want me to come too?’

‘What?’ Helen’s voice rose. ‘Now just a minute . . .’

‘No, thanks,’ Dora said, ignoring her. ‘But maybe you could leave the window open for when I get back?’

‘Of course.’ Millie nodded. ‘Oh, and you’d better take this.’ She pulled her torch out of her bag. ‘It’s a life-saver when you’re scrabbling around in the dark, trying to find the drainpipe.’

‘Thanks.’ Dora tried to smile, but Millie could see the worry in her green eyes.

‘You’re both mad,’ Helen declared flatly. ‘If you get caught . . .’

Dora turned to her. ‘I’ll deal with that if it happens,’ she said grimly. ‘First I’ve got to find my sister.’

No one was asleep in Griffin Street. Light spilled from every window and open door on to the street, illuminating the tables and chairs from the abandoned street party. People were milling in and out of the open back door of number twenty-eight. The neighbours who weren’t searching the streets were gathered in the kitchen and the yard, trying to offer whatever comfort they could.

In the kitchen, Dora’s mother sat like a pale, frozen statue, staring fixedly into the empty grate, her arms clenched around Bea and Little Alfie as if she were terrified to let them out of her sight. Alf and June Riley were with her, while Nanna Winnie and Dora’s sister-in-law Lily bustled in and out of the scullery, keeping themselves busy brewing up tea for everyone.

Rose looked up sharply as her eldest girl came into the kitchen.

‘Dora?’ She looked dazed. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I couldn’t sit at the hospital doing nothing. I wanted to see if there was any news?’ She glanced around. June Riley shook her head sadly.

‘Everyone’s still out searching,’ she said. ‘Your Peter, the Pike boys, all the neighbours, my Nick. No one’s giving up ‘til she’s found.’

Dora turned to Alf. ‘Why aren’t you out looking, too?’

He shifted his bulk guiltily in his armchair. ‘Someone’s got to stay with your mum, haven’t they? Besides, I’m not feeling too good. My gut’s still playing me up something awful.’

Dora glanced at Nanna Winnie, who rolled her eyes but said nothing.

‘Well, I’m going out to look,’ Dora said.

‘Do you have to?’ Her mother looked up, her eyes glazed with fear. ‘I don’t like to think of you out there on those streets at this time of night. It’s bad enough our Josie’s missing, but if anything happened to you, too—’

‘I’ll be right as rain, Mum,’ Dora reassured her. ‘Anyway, I can’t sit around and do nothing until our Josie’s home safe and sound.’ Unlike some people, she added silently with a filthy look in Alf’s direction.

She needed Millie’s torch as she tramped the streets from the canal to Victoria Park. Now and then she met one of the neighbours or a gaggle of men from the pub or the market, all out looking too. Word had soon spread around the local area and everyone had taken to the streets to find Josie Doyle.

And they would find her. Dora wouldn’t allow herself to think anything different. Although the image of Josie’s red coat floating in the dark water of the canal still haunted her.

How many times had she stood on that canal bank and thought about ending it all herself, when she didn’t think she could stand another day of Alf’s abuse? She only prayed Josie hadn’t got that desperate yet.

But it became harder and harder to stay optimistic as the hours went by and the dark streets began to empty. By midnight, even the most intrepid searchers were heading home to snatch a few hours’ sleep before going out again at dawn.

Except one. Down on the waste ground behind the railway line, Dora spotted a solitary figure emerging from one of the disused railway sheds, silhouetted in the moonlight.

‘Nick?’ She called out to him and he came to her, picking his way over the rubbish-strewn ground.

‘What are you doing here? Why aren’t you back at the hospital—’ The silvery moonlight caught the look of panic in his face. ‘Josie’s not . . .?’

Dora shook her head. ‘She’s not been found yet. But I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. Not while our Josie’s out there on her own—’ she broke off, her voice catching.

‘I thought she might be hiding out down here.’ She was grateful that Nick pretended not to notice her trembling lip. ‘It’s where I always used to come when I wanted to get away from my old man.’

Dora looked up at his haggard face, etched with exhaustion. ‘You must be dead on your feet,’ she said. ‘Why didn’t you pack up and go home with the others?’

‘I promised you I’d find her, didn’t I?’

His eyes met hers in the moonlight. For a moment neither of them spoke. Somewhere in the distance, a train rumbled past, making the ground tremble beneath their feet.

‘We’ll look together.’ She pulled away from him, breaking the spell.

Even Millie’s torch was no match for the darkness as the moon became shrouded in cloud. Dora tripped and stumbled over the uneven ground, and Nick put out a hand to steady her. After a while it was easier for her to go on holding on to his arm. His presence beside her made her feel safe.

But knowing that her sister had no one to hold on to made her feel even worse.

‘She’ll be so frightened.’ She spoke her thoughts aloud. ‘She never liked the dark. I used to tease her all the time about ghosts and bogey men who wandered around the streets after dark, lying in wait for kids . . .’ She put her hand over her mouth to stifle her sob of despair.

‘Shh.’ Nick’s arm came around her shoulders, pulling her into the reassuring, solid warmth of his body. As she leaned against him she could feel the steady beat of his heart against her cheek. ‘You’re tired, you should go home.’

‘I’m not going anywhere until we find Josie.’

She felt the rise and fall of his chest as he let out a sigh. ‘At least let me walk you back to Griffin Street,’ he said. ‘You never know, there might be some news.’

There was. As they turned the corner, Dora recognised the black bicycle leaning up against the wall outside their house.

‘The police are here!’ She pulled away from Nick and started to run, tripping and stumbling over the cobbles in the darkness.

They all turned to face her as she crashed into the kitchen. Including the policeman who stood in the centre of the room, towering over everyone in his helmet, his short dark cape thrown around his shoulders.

But there was no sign of her sister.

All the terror and anxiety she’d been holding back crashed over her like a great tidal wave. She felt her legs buckle and would have sunk to the ground if Nick hadn’t been there to hold her up.

Her mother came forward, tears shining in her eyes. ‘It’s all right,’ she whispered, hugging Dora. ‘They’ve found her. She’s safe.’

‘But I don’t understand. Where is she . . .?’

‘She’s ended up at your Auntie Brenda’s,’ her mum explained. ‘Can you believe she walked all the way to Loughton?’

‘And now the cheeky little so-and-so is putting her foot down and says she won’t come home.’ Nanna Winnie folded her arms across her chest. ‘If that don’t beat everything, after what she’s put us all through. I’ll have a few words to say to her when she gets back here, I can tell you. Spoiling our Jubilee Day, and making us all ill with worry—’ But beneath her angry bluster Dora could see the relief on her grandmother’s face.

‘Stop it, Mum. It’s enough that she’s safe.’ Rose Doyle released Dora and turned to the policeman. ‘Thank you, Constable, for letting us know,’ she said stiffly, remembering her manners. ‘We’re very grateful, we really are.’

‘I’m just glad I could bring you a bit of good news.’ He glanced around at them, touched his helmet and then let himself out of the back door.

‘I wonder why she went all the way to Loughton?’ Rose said, when he’d gone. ‘It’s a mystery to me, it really is.’

‘It’s a mystery to me why she don’t want to come back,’ Nanna put in.

Dora glanced at Alf. It was no mystery to her why her sister had run away. And it wasn’t to him, either. She could see it written all over his face. It was all she could do not to grab the poker and smash him with it.

‘We’ll see about that,’ he said. ‘First thing tomorrow I’m going down to Loughton to fetch her. I’ll bring her home, don’t you worry, love,’ he reassured his wife. ‘Even if I have to drag her all the way—’

‘No!’ Dora hadn’t realised she’d shouted it out until she saw the looks of surprise on everyone’s faces as they stared at her.

‘Why don’t you let her stay with Auntie Brenda for a while?’ she reasoned, forcing herself to calm down. ‘Give her time to sort herself out a bit? Maybe you could take the kids over to Loughton and visit for a few days,’ she said to her mother. ‘You could have a proper chat with her, find out what’s wrong.’

‘I know what’s wrong,’ Nanna Winnie grumbled. ‘She needs a good hiding, that’s what’s wrong.’

‘It might be an idea to go down there I s’pose.’ Rose turned to her husband. ‘What d’you reckon, Alf?’

‘Well—’

‘I’m sure Alf wouldn’t say no to the idea of you having a holiday?’ Dora put in quickly. ‘I reckon she deserves it, don’t you?’

She looked across the room at Alf. He was gnawing at his thumbnail, a sure sign that he was aggravated.

‘Well, I think it’s a grand idea,’ Nanna Winnie put in. ‘Our Dora’s right, you could do with a break, Rose. And you might be able to talk some sense into Josie, too. We’ll manage all right here for a few days, won’t we, Alf?’ She gave her son-in-law a toothless grin.

‘I s’pose.’ The thwarted, angry glance he shot at Dora was enough to stop anyone in their tracks, but she didn’t care. At least this way she could keep Josie safely out of his filthy hands for a while.

Behind her, Nick cleared his throat. In all the excitement she’d almost forgotten he was there. ‘I’d best be off, then,’ he mumbled.

Dora followed him out of the back door. ‘Thanks for helping to look for her,’ she said.

‘I promised you, didn’t I?’

‘All the same, it was nice of you.’

‘Nice?’ His mouth curled. ‘That’s not a word people use about me too often.’

‘Well, I think you’re nice.’

‘Do you?’ He was standing very close to her, looking down at her in the darkness. ‘Do you really like me, Dora?’

‘’Course I do.’

The air crackled with tension. Slowly, as if drawn by a force she couldn’t control, she turned her face up to his. She saw his eyes darken and knew he was going to kiss her. She also knew it was what she wanted more than anything in the world.

He lowered his head to meet hers, blocking out the light from the moon. But no sooner had his lips touched hers than Dora felt suffocated, overwhelmed. Memories flooded back, crashing over her like waves, drowning her. Alf Doyle pressing down on her, his kisses hard and wet and tasting of stale beer, his tongue invading her mouth until she couldn’t breathe . . .

‘No, stop! Get away from me!’ She struggled against Nick, pushing him off. He staggered back, his face blank with shock.

‘Sorry,’ he said gruffly. ‘I thought you wanted me to.’ He stepped away from her, his hands dropping to his sides. ‘I must have got the wrong idea.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Dora longed to talk to him, to explain. But the words stuck in her throat.

‘No, it’s me who’s sorry. I didn’t mean – I’d never—’ He turned away. ‘Like I said, I got the wrong idea. It won’t happen again.’

‘Nick, wait!’ she called after him, but he was already stumbling away into the darkness.