Darkest Before Dawn Episode 23
Most days Isobel worked from dawn till dusk.
Her hands looked as battered now as they had after she’d helped search for the boy in the rubble.
It didn’t take Sidney long to get into mischief.
The school had reopened, much to his disgust, as more evacuees returned home, but Sidney soon decided to take a day off.
Isobel was at home when she heard her mum go to the front door one day.
“What have you done now?” she demanded. “Why aren’t you at school?”
She hurried out and saw her little brother standing next to a tall policeman.
“You should be proud of Sidney, Mrs Pollard,” the policeman said.
“He found an unexploded shell at the old factory and alerted the authorities.
“His actions may well have saved lives, so I think we’ll overlook the fact that he was playing hooky.”
“Sidney,” Maud whispered.
“Remember what I told you, Sidney,” the policeman went on. “You’re a bright lad. Do well at school and you’ll go a long way.”
“Yes, sir.” Sidney nodded.
“And keep off bomb sites in future.”
“I will, sir.”
“I have to go,” Isobel said. “The farm truck will be at the end of the road in a minute.”
“I’ll walk with you,” the policeman said.
Isobel’s heart skipped a beat. He was very handsome.
Maud could hardly believe it was almost a year since Peter was born.
He could already take a few steps on his own.
He had quite the vocabulary, too, and he was such a happy and contented child.
And every child deserved a party on their birthday.
It was a sunny July afternoon when the Pollards took a picnic to a meadow that overlooked the beach.
“I bet Peter would like to play on the beach,” Sidney said as he eyed up the barbed wire, no doubt looking for a way through.
“Don’t you dare, Sidney Pollard,” Maud warned him. “You’ll get yourself shot, or worse!”
“You’ll be able to take Peter on to the beach when the war is over, Uncle Sidney,” Tilly added.
Maud hid a smile.
Whenever anyone referred to Sidney as uncle, her boy puffed himself up and his cheeks turned pink.
A breeze came in off the sea, and the next time Maud looked, Tilly was asleep, exhausted from a night of fire watching.
She was so proud of her daughter-in-law.
Isobel was playing a ball game with Sidney and Peter, even if Peter did end up on his bottom often.
She watched Isobel scoop him up and put him back on his feet, and her heart felt full of love and pride.
Maud dozed contentedly in the sunshine, waking later to find Peter asleep in his pram, protected by the sunshade.
Tilly was still snoozing and Isobel was reading a book.
She looked round to see Sidney prowling along the perimeter of the barbed wire, standing up on his toes to look further along.
Before Maud could react, a soldier appeared and seemed to be having stern words with him.
Isobel put her book aside and ran through the grass towards them.
Moments later, Sidney was on his way back, looking suitably chastised.
“I wasn’t trying to get through,” he told her. “I was just having a look to see what was going on.”
“What’s your sister doing?”
Isobel was laughing with the soldier.
Sidney shrugged.
“She told him I didn’t mean any harm,” he replied. “Are we going to have the picnic now?”
“We’ll wait until Tilly and Peter are awake. It is his birthday party, after all.”
She had one eye on Isobel. What was taking her so long?
It made her feel uneasy, and it got worse when Isobel came back, her eyes shining and cheeks flushed.
“What was that about?” Maud asked.
“I managed to save Sidney from getting in trouble, and that young man told me he has a little brother so he understands what boys can be like.”
“And?”
“He asked if I’d like to go to a dance with him at the weekend.”
“You said no, of course,” Maud declared.
“I said yes,” Isobel returned. “It’s just a bit of fun.”
“You’re meant to be waiting for John.”
Isobel’s cheery expression vanished.
“I work hard, Mum. I deserve to enjoy myself now and then. There won’t be anything improper.”
“Peter’s awake!” Sidney announced.
“Did you wake him?”
“No,” he said too innocently, but Peter was quite happy and his happy chatter woke his mother.
“Get the grub out, Mum,” Sidney demanded. “I’m starving.”
Tilly helped Isobel get ready for the dance.
She drew lines up the back of Isobel’s legs so it looked as if she was wearing stockings, then put up her hair.
“You look like a young lady instead of a farmer,” Tilly told her with a smile.
“Oh, Tilly, it feels so good to get properly dressed up again.
“I just want to forget about the war and dance.”
Tilly was worried about her sister-in-law.
She rarely talked about John, and she seemed to Tilly like a poor dog on a rope, unable to run free.
Nice as John was, she knew Isobel didn’t love him the way Tilly loved Edward, with all her heart and soul. And she shouldn’t settle for anything less than that.
The soldier knocked on the door and they heard Maud downstairs, warning him to behave himself or he’d have Isobel’s father to answer to.
Tilly watched as Isobel and the soldier went down the road together, Isobel holding his arm.
Seeing her so happy was wonderful.
As she wasn’t on duty, Tilly took the opportunity to catch up on her sleep, waking up some time later when Isobel arrived home.
From the murmur of voices, she guessed Maud had waited up for her, and she held her breath until she heard them laughing.
She went back to sleep with a smile on her face.