Darkest Before Dawn Episode 08
Tilly had started to feel queasy on the train to London.
Truth be told, she hadn’t felt well for a while and couldn’t even manage the lovely dinners Maud made.
She put it down to worrying about Edward.
She missed him so much that it seemed every time she thought about him she ended up rushing to the bathroom.
“I’ve never been to London,” Tilly told Isobel. “I have no idea where anything is.”
“You’re in for a treat,” Isobel replied. “The buildings are so big. There are statues, red buses and beautiful parks.
“We’ll go on a bus to Aunt Rose’s so you’ll see more.”
Tilly nodded and smiled. Everything seemed less frightening now she was part of the Pollard family.
Maud and Alf treated her as if she were one of their own, and it touched her more than words could say.
She still had to pinch herself sometimes. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was, being married to the man she loved and having the family she’d always longed for.
Liverpool Street Station was big, sooty and busy.
Alf led the way and they scurried along behind him.
Rose was waiting for them at her home, holding the net curtain aside as they arrived at her gate.
The front door was thrown open and she rushed out to greet them.
She was smartly dressed, fully made-up and her hair was pulled back in a French plait.
“I’ll say goodbye,” Alf said after he’d carried the bags into the hall. “I have to get the next train back.”
“So soon?” Rose asked, disappointed.
“Alf’s boat has been requisitioned as a troop ship,” Maud explained. “He’s part of the war effort now.”
“You take care,” Rose warned him. “Don’t go doing anything daft.”
She hugged him, then Isobel and Tilly did the same.
Sidney held out his hand and Alf grabbed him in a hug, making him squirm.
“Look after everyone for me, Sidney,” he said.
Rose ushered them all inside so Maud could say goodbye to her husband.
Tilly felt for her. It had been the hardest thing, saying goodbye to Edward.
“Come on, Tilly,” Isobel said. “Let’s go into the city and look for work.”
“But we just got here!” Tilly’s heart sank a little.
“Please, Tilly,” Isobel pleaded. “The sooner we’re both earning the better.”
“What about Mum?” Tilly asked as she looked out and saw Maud watching Alf hurry down the street.
Her back was straight, her shoulders rigid, and only the slight tremble of her head gave away that she was crying.
“Maud will be fine with me,” Rose assured them. “I’ll look after her.”
As they left, Maud was coming back inside. Her eyes were red, but she’d wiped away her tears and was smiling.
“Off out already, girls?” she asked cheerfully.
“Are you all right?” Tilly asked sympathetically, and she felt Isobel grasp her arm and hurry her along.
“I’m sure she was upset,” Tilly said, looking back over her shoulder.
“Of course she was,” Isobel replied. “But it’ll really cheer her up if we come home with jobs.”
Tilly nodded. Isobel knew best where her own mother was concerned.
There came a time when you had to stop getting upset about things and start fighting back, and that was what Maud was doing in her own way.