Darkest Before Dawn Episode 17
Maud clenched her teeth so hard that she bit the inside of her cheek. The pain of that helped divert her thoughts from the bombing. It felt unreal. They were safe in the shelter in Rose’s garden, but Isobel and Rose were both working. Maud hated having her family scattered all over the place.
“Come on, Mum!” Sidney shouted. “It’s finished.”
“No!” Maud replied, but Sidney had gone out, craning his neck, searching the sky for planes.
“Stay there!” she instructed Tilly before following her younger son. Sidney howled as she clipped him round the ear, then she gripped his arm and marched him back into the shelter.
“What was that for?” he yelled, making far more fuss than was warranted. “It was the all-clear. What are you doing?”
She didn’t know when it had happened, but he was as tall as her, and the shock on his young face was far beyond his years.
“Mum, what’s the matter?”
“We’ll stay in the shelter,” she said. “It’s safer.”
“Mum, we can’t stay in here for ever,” Tilly reasoned, her voice gentle.
“I didn’t say we would,” Maud said stubbornly. “But we’re not going out yet. What if it isn’t over?”
The noise of the bombs had been horrifying, and she could still hear the echoes of it in her head. When she’d gone out to bring Sidney back, she could smell the smoke and dust of devastation. So much for it being safer in London, Alf, she thought.
“It’s all right,” Tilly allowed. “It won’t hurt to stay in here a while longer. “We have food and nappies for Peter, so we can sleep in here, if necessary.”
“I’m bored,” Sidney complained, then he saw Maud’s frightened face. “Sorry, Mum. Do you want to play cards?”
Maud nodded. They hadn’t played cards during the bombing, because they were all too shaken up to do anything. But if this happened again they’d have to find ways to cope. It would happen again.
“Can we play for money?” Sidney asked with a cheeky grin. “I have a tanner in me pocket.”
“In my pocket,” Maud corrected him. “What’s it doing in your pocket?” he asked and Maud couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “Where did you get a tanner from?” Maud asked.
“Dad give it me,” Sidney replied. “Last time he was here. It’s my lucky tanner.”
“Dad gave it to you,” Maud corrected. “You’d best keep it then. What shall we play?”
“Rummy,” Sidney said.
They played until Peter woke up for a feed and paused proceedings while Tilly saw to him. She sang softly while she fed him, and Maud and Sidney joined in. Their voices got louder as they sang and little Peter smiled, enjoying the sound.
Maud’s spirits rose. Hopefully Isobel would make it home, and she’d know to find them in the shelter. If she didn’t guess where they were, she’d be able to hear them.
As the evening wore on, Maud felt calmer.
“We should go and sleep in our own beds,” she said, just before nine. “Isobel’s probably in the house wondering where we are.”
“Are you sure?” Tilly asked. “I’m sure,” Maud confirmed. “I thought Isobel would realise we were in the shelter, but she might think we’ve gone off somewhere.”
They stood up, about to leave, when the siren filled the air again.
“Oh, no,” Maud whispered, sinking down. It was even more frightening this time, knowing what was coming.
“Come on, Mum,” Sidney said. “Get the cards out. “We’ll have a few games until Peter wakes again.”
“What about Isobel?” Maud whispered.
“She has her head screwed on,” Tilly assured her. “She’ll have found somewhere safe. “She said there’s a shelter near the store. Maybe they stayed there, like us.”
The noise was horrendous, and at one point it sounded as if Rose’s house had been hit. The shelter shook. It felt as if the sky was coming down on top of them.
“That was close,” Tilly whispered.
“Too close,” Maud agreed, her heart hammering frantically.
“We should go and look,” Sidney advised, and Maud could see he was desperate to get out.
Go out? It was the last thing Maud wanted to do. At the same time she felt trapped and dreadfully worried about Isobel. There was only one thing they could do.
“Sit down,” she ordered. “No-one leaves until I say so, and until we’ve had the all-clear.”