Towards a Dark Horizon Read online

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  I felt sorry for him also but I still couldn’t understand how he could have been such a fool to get in tow with her in the first place. But, never mind, I thought, hopefully it would all be behind him and he would settle down with Rosie. He had learned a hard lesson.

  It was midnight when he returned. Unfortunately the street was deserted and our neighbours wouldn’t have witnessed his return. They would think he was still in the jail. He looked tired and drawn.

  As I made some supper, he said, ‘Margot was arrested yesterday for deception and theft, just like the bobby said.’

  As the next day was Saturday, Lily was sleeping in her own room instead of at the Overgate which meant I had to keep a watch in case she heard Dad’s voice and maybe wandered through.

  Rosie was puzzled. ‘Where did Margot go when she sold her flat, Johnny?’

  ‘She ended up in Edinburgh where she got a good job as a housekeeper to a retired judge – using a forged reference, I believe. Imagine Margot with a judge?’ His lips twitched and it was good to see him smile – it transformed his whole face. ‘But it seems she didn’t know he was a judge. She thought he was just some doddery old man that didn’t know his thumb from his pinky but he was far from being dottled. He noticed that large sums of money were going missing. Every time he went to the bank he locked the money he withdrew in a drawer in his desk. Of course Margot was full of sympathy and she even went round the house with him, suggesting how a burglar might have got in.’

  At that point he did burst out laughing, much to Rosie’s surprise. ‘Och, I’m sorry, Rosie, but it’s priceless. I can see her floating around full of sunshine and light – sweet Margot with her employer’s welfare at heart. But she made one big mistake. She got greedy. Instead of being happy with the money she had already pinched she had to steal some more. What she didn’t know was it was a trap set up by the police. She always swore blind that she never went into this room on her own but the old man had a good sense of smell and he could identify her perfume. Well, the police found the money under a mattress on her bed but she’s still denying it. Of course Margot would because she thinks she can get off with anything.’

  The story stirred a memory in my mind. The smell of scent – the day I thought I heard the noise and found the twenty-seven pounds missing.

  ‘She must wear her scent awful strong for the man to smell it,’ Rosie said doubtfully.

  ‘Aye, she did and it wasn’t a flowery scent she wore. It had a strong musky smell but I’ve no idea what it’s called.’

  ‘Probably something expensive,’ I said. I mentioned the money I had lost. ‘Do you mind when I wasn’t well, Dad, and you asked me for money for Lily?’

  He nodded.

  ‘Did Margot know where it was? In the tin I mean?’

  He looked dubious. ‘I don’t think so – unless Lily mentioned it but I can’t see that.’

  ‘I found twenty-seven pounds missing a few days after you’d gone and there was a faint perfume in the room although I couldn’t place it.’

  Dad suddenly said, ‘Come to think of it, she could have known. When I got home that day, I told Lily that there would be no more money from the tin. I wonder if she overheard it?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter now but I think she pinched my money as well.’ I didn’t add that, for ages, I’d thought he was the culprit.

  He was very angry. ‘She was a bad woman right enough but hopefully she’ll get her comeuppance. I think she thought that your legacy would land in her lap, Ann. She thought you would be some placid wee lassie that she could hoodwink into parting with the money but she came up against the wrong person. You stood up to her and she didn’t like it.’

  I knew that. At least I had only lost a few pounds and it had been worth it to get rid of her.

  Dad walked Rosie home while I got ready for bed. The next day was Saturday and Danny would be leaving on the Sunday. In the evening, he would probably catch the night train back south. Then what?

  I soon found out on the Sunday afternoon when they both appeared at the house. Maddie didn’t look as ecstatic as she had done on the Friday night but Danny looked much the same. I soon found out the reason for Maddie’s downcast face when he mentioned this forty-eight-hour pass was actually embarkation leave. He didn’t know his eventual destination but it was to be overseas.

  ‘I’ll probably get sent to France,’ he told me. ‘The French army is fighting the Germans and loads of regiments are being sent to help, I believe.’

  I glanced at Maddie and she returned my look with sadness. Her blue eyes were shadowed and she looked miserable.

  ‘Hopefully, it’ll not be for long, Danny,’ I said cheerfully, which was an act as I felt far from being cheerful.

  ‘That’s what I keep telling Maddie but she won’t believe me,’ he said with a smile.

  I wouldn’t have believed it either if I was in her place but I wasn’t going to say that.

  I told them the story of Margot and their eyes widened with shock. At least it was a diversion from the talk of war.

  ‘She’s been arrested?’ said Danny.

  I nodded while Maddie looked on in disbelief.

  ‘What will happen now?’ he asked.

  I shrugged my shoulders. ‘I’ve no idea, Danny. Maybe she’ll get carted off to jail.’

  Maddie spoke. ‘But your father will still be able to marry Rosie?’

  I said I hoped so – for Rosie’s sake more than anything.

  Then it was time for them to leave. I said another goodbye to Danny and told Maddie I would see her soon. I then watched as they set off down the Hilltown and my heart was heavy with sorrow. Danny was maybe going to France – going to some unknown horror and fear that Maddie and I could never even begin to fathom. Going to his own dark horizon.

  17

  Maddie was expecting a baby. The Pringles and Hattie were over the moon with her news, as we all were. It was the end of May and the baby was due around the end of the year – or Hogmanay, according to Bella.

  The dark blot on her happiness was Danny. He had gone to France and, although she had received a few letters from him since his leave, she hadn’t heard for over a month now. As a result, he didn’t know about the baby.

  She had given up her work at the nursing home because she hadn’t been feeling well. Most mornings she suffered from morning sickness that was so bad it left her weak and trembling. Still, she was adamant she wasn’t going to stay with her parents so I spent every night with her. After leaving Lily with Granny, I would head to the flat at Roseangle to keep her company until I had to go to work early in the morning.

  Hattie would then arrive as soon as I left which meant she had to cope with the symptoms of the sickness. She was telling Granny one day, ‘Poor Maddie is so ill every morning. It lasts until midday or even the early afternoon.’

  Granny was sympathetic. ‘Aye, the morning sickness is a beggar, right enough, Hattie. Still, most expectant mothers suffer from it and few escape it.’

  I knew this was true. Although I had no first-hand knowledge of it, I remember hearing our neighbours Rita and Nellie suffering from it. Even my own mother had experienced a few months of feeling unwell when she had been expecting Lily. The only good thing about it seemingly was the fact it didn’t last long.

  ‘She’ll feel much better after three months, Hattie,’ Granny said, trying to sound helpful.

  Every morning, Maddie went to look for a card or a letter from Danny and each time she was disappointed. We tried, Hattie and I, to explain how hard it would be to write while being in France but she fretted every day.

  Hattie would make some delicious little snacks for her but as soon as she ate them she was sick. I was worried about her and that was the truth. I told Granny my worries. ‘She’s not eating enough to keep her alive, Granny, never mind keeping the baby nourished.’

  To my surprise, Granny wasn’t in the least alarmed. ‘Och, don’t you bother about Maddie. She’ll be keeping enough food down for the tw
o of them, believe me.’

  ‘I wish Danny would write. That would make her feel better – I’m sure of it.’

  ‘Well, it is a war, Ann, and I’m sure he would write if he could. He’s not doing this out of spite or anything like that.’

  I knew that but it didn’t help.

  Then, in June, the news came through about Dunkirk. Connie was white faced one morning as I went into the shop. The papers were still lying in their bundles on the counter. ‘Are you all right Connie? You don’t look well.’

  She sat down and I hurried to make her a cup of tea. She pointed to a paper on the counter. The headlines were stark – ‘British Army Retreat from Dunkirk’.

  ‘My neighbour’s laddie is in the army and he turned up at the door at four o’clock this morning.’

  I was about to ask if he had a forty-eight-hour pass but the look on Connie’s face stopped me.

  ‘The laddie was wearing an old pair of trousers and a jersey. He didn’t even have on a pair of socks – just an old pair of sandshoes. He was at Dunkirk and he told his mother he was one of the lucky ones. He was in the water for hours. The Germans were shooting at the retreating men but seemingly a fleet of small boats crossed the English Channel to get the soldiers back to Britain. As I said, young Jack was lucky because he was picked up quite quickly but he thinks most of the men didn’t make it. He says the death toll will be high.’

  I felt sick. ‘Oh, no, Connie! Danny is in France as well.’

  Connie looked sad. ‘Well, Ann, unless he’s got out like Jack …’ She stopped because to continue would have brought me even more horror.

  I thought of Maddie and the coming baby and I almost cried. But tears wouldn’t do any good in these circumstances. She would need all the help and support we could give her.

  Connie continued, ‘The Germans managed to cut off the troops and then the Belgian Army surrendered on orders from King Leopold and that left a huge hole in their defences. Jack was telling us that the Germans are shooting refugees as well as men from the forces. According to him, it’s just one big massacre.’

  Then Joe came in, his face as white as Connie’s. ‘You’ll have heard this awful news, Connie?’ he said. ‘Still, it’s a miracle that they’ve managed to save thousands of men from the beaches because of the armada of wee boats.’

  Connie nodded. ‘Aye, so Jack said. He was picked up by a holiday cruiser. It could only carry a dozen men but he said there was hundreds of small boats coming over the channel. Jack’s clothes were ruined but the voluntary women were handing out spare clothes to let the lads travel home for a few days.’

  Joe was pessimistic. ‘You wait and see, Connie. France will be the next country to surrender to the Jerries. Yon Hitler is just tramping over everybody and the amount of folk getting killed is horrendous. In the last war, it was the men on the battlefront that got killed but not this time.’

  ‘Jack was telling his mother that there’s a big battle going on at St Valery and those soldiers haven’t managed to get out. He saw lots of men being treated in a casualty unit at Dunkirk and said that the doctors are drawing straws to see who goes and who stays. Jack said it was full of badly injured soldiers and the only reason he saw it was because one of his mates had a broken ankle. He managed to get him to the beach but he was in so much pain that he took him to the hospital unit and he had to leave him behind. He was crying when he told his mother that.’

  I couldn’t listen to this horrible saga any longer and I asked her if I could go to see Maddie for a half hour.

  ‘Aye, you can, Ann. I only hope Danny has also been one of the lucky men and is sitting at home.’

  As I was putting my coat on, I overheard Joe speaking. ‘Of course, the men who are injured will be taken to prisoner-of-war camps – that’s what the Geneva Convention says.’

  Although I hadn’t long left Maddie, I knew I had to be with her when this dreadful news broke.

  She had been sick again and Hattie said quietly, ‘It’s been on the wireless but I don’t know how to tell her.’

  When she emerged from the bathroom, looking white and ill, she knew something was wrong. ‘What is it? Is it Danny?’

  I sat her down and as gently as I could I told her about the retreat from Dunkirk. I added, ‘Danny is more than likely still in his camp somewhere or even on his way home like Connie’s neighbour, Jack.’

  She shook her head sadly. ‘You don’t really believe that, do you, Ann?’

  I was saved from telling her a lie because she suddenly rushed towards the bathroom from where I could hear her retching.

  Hattie had tears in her eyes. ‘What a bloody world it is, Ann.’

  I was taken aback by her language. In all the years I had known her, I had never ever heard her swear. It would seem there was always a first time for everything.

  I quickly told her the news of Jack. ‘It was seemingly traumatic, Hattie. The poor laddie was standing in the water for hours and he had to leave his pal behind with a broken ankle. He says there are thousands of men dead. Dear God, please don’t let Danny be one of them.’

  Maddie reappeared and she looked drained of colour and energy. I was now extremely worried about her because she was so frail and wan looking. How would she ever get through this pregnancy?

  I had to go back to the shop but I was dreading it. All the customers would be talking about this latest news and I didn’t think I could cope with it but I couldn’t leave Connie to do all the work. The comments were all the same. If France did indeed surrender to the Germans, then we would be on our own – one small island against the hard jackboots of the ever-powerful and conquering Germans.

  Connie said that civilians from the overrun countries had either been killed or carted off to labour camps but how she knew this I wasn’t sure. Perhaps she had access to other newspapers. She had certainly known about the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson long before it appeared in the papers. I suddenly longed for that far-off world of a few years ago when life was simple and we all lived in peace – at least in our neck of the woods.

  Connie asked about Maddie and the baby. ‘Is she keeping fine?’

  I nodded. ‘Aye, she’s bearing up, Connie.’

  To my distress, I noticed that Joe was still hanging around the shop. Every customer who came in had a long discussion with him about Dunkirk. Up until that moment, I couldn’t have told anyone the whereabouts of Dunkirk but I don’t think a single person in the country could be unaware of its location after this terrible blow – this retreat.

  In the afternoon I was glad to reach the peaceful atmosphere of my house. Dad was no longer working in the warehouse now. Mainly because of the dearth of vegetables and the almost extinction of fruit, Mr Pringle had reluctantly had to let half his workers go but Dad had got a job with the Caledon shipyard as a labourer. He seemed to like this new job but the case hanging over Margot was making him tired. She was due in court later in the year. I just wished he could marry Rosie and forget all about Margot. She wasn’t worth bothering about.

  I made up my mind to voice these thoughts to him in the evening. After all, if the Germans did overrun our country there might not be enough time to do all the things we wanted to do. I felt then as though life were somehow more precious and short. We shouldn’t waste a moment of it.

  I wrote to Greg, telling him we thought Danny was either missing or dead. After I read over it I tore it into tiny pieces and threw them into the cold grate and put a match to them. I rewrote my letter but left out the news of Danny.

  When I went to the flat that night, Kit and her sisters were there. Their faces were all downcast and I thought how we had all aged a lot since this awful war had started.

  It was a strained conversation as we all skirted around any mention of Danny. Kit tried to be cheerful but very soon we lapsed into silence.

  Maddie always felt better in the evening but without the topic of Danny to keep us going we found very little to say. There was only so much Maddie could tell us a
bout her pregnancy.

  Then, in the middle of this silence, Maddie said to me, ‘Do you think Danny was at Dunkirk, Ann?’

  I was taken aback by the directness of her question. ‘I’m not really sure, Maddie. He could be anywhere. Even back at his camp in England.’

  She smiled ruefully. ‘I don’t think so.’

  The Ryan women were at a loss as to what to say so they remained silent.

  In an effort to bring some talk into the room, I asked Kit how Kathleen was coping with Kitty.

  Kit smiled, her pale face lighting up. ‘Och, she’s coming along fine. She’s into everything – even the coal bucket. The other morning she resembled a wee black lassie from Africa and she looked so funny. Kathleen is doing really well in her job. You know she’s seeing a lot of Colin Matthews?’

  I didn’t know but it was good news nevertheless.

  Kit continued, ‘He’s been called up but he’s asked her to write to him …’ She stopped when a spasm of pain crossed Maddie’s face. ‘Och, I’m really sorry, Maddie. I shouldn’t be chattering on like this. You’ll be wanting to go to your bed?’

  Maddie shook her head. ‘No, I’m fine – honestly. I like the company.’ She swept her hair back from her face. ‘Is there any news of Sammy?’

  It was Kit’s turn to look distressed. ‘No, there’s been no word – either to Kathleen or his mother. And seemingly that rumour about the lassie he was supposed to be seeing being pregnant turned out to be a load of hogwash. Oh, he was seeing her all right but there was no baby on the way.’

  Maddie spoke quietly, almost to herself, ‘Danny’s missing and Sammy’s missing. Lots of wives and mothers will be mourning their men tonight – and every other night.’

  We all stayed silent again and it was so quiet in the room we could hear the loud ticking of the clock which had been a wedding present from one of Maddie’s relations.

  My mind went back to the day of the wedding and how joyous it had been but then I remembered how the threat of war had hung over us even then.