Kate Kingsbury - Wedding Rows

“But they did take Nellie,” Polly insisted. “Sadie said the Housewives League saw them.”

“Well, yes, but I’m sure they meant no real harm. They’ve never hurt anyone before.”

“There’s always a first time.” Polly sat hugging herself as if she were cold. “I’m scared, m’m. I’m really scared.”

Elizabeth abandoned the bills for the moment. “Polly, why don’t you just go home and be with your mother. It’s almost time to leave anyway, and there’s a bad storm on the way. You’ll feel safer once you are home. I’m sure by the morning we’ll have some news and all this will be over.” She was sure of no such thing, but it felt good to say the words.

Polly looked somewhat relieved. “Oh, can I? I would feel better, I know.”

“Of course. Just leave what you’re doing. It can wait until tomorrow.”

She waited for Polly to leave the room, then reached for the telephone. She badly needed to talk to Earl. Not only to ask for his help, but just to hear his voice. His quiet strength always seemed to steady her in times of turbulence, and she needed him now as she never had before.

She had to wait for some time before the ringing was answered at the base. The stern voice that spoke to her informed her that Major Monroe was unavailable. With a deepening feeling of dread, she replaced the receiver. How she hated those words and what they conveyed. Now she had to suffer another night of torment before she knew he was safe again. What’s more, at least another night would pass before she could ask for his help in finding Florrie and Nellie. She could only hope it wouldn’t be too late.

Polly ran down the steps and hurried around the corner to the stables where she had left her bicycle. She wasn’t going to feel safe until she was in her own bedroom, surrounded by all her pictures of her favorite film stars on the walls. How she wished Marlene would come home. She missed her sister more than she ever thought she would.

A voice called out behind her, making her jump. “Where are you going in such a blinking hurry?”

“Sadie!” She swung around, trying hard not to burst into tears. “Have you heard the news? Florrie Evans has disappeared.”

“Blimey.” Sadie shifted the bulging shopping bag she carried to the other hand. “Who’s going to be next?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.” Polly wheeled her bicycle out under the black sky. The rain was pattering down steadily now. She was going to be soaked by the time she got home.

Sadie frowned at her. “Is anyone looking for her? They never found Nellie, did they?”

“No, they didn’t. I don’t think they’re going to find Florrie, neither. Lady Elizabeth said she was going to ask the base if they could send some of their boys to look for them both.”

Sadie frowned. “I’m going to help look for them, too. The more people looking for them, the more likely we’ll find them.”

Polly swallowed. Sadie was awfully brave. She wished she were as brave as that. “Where will you look?”

Sadie put the shopping bag on the ground and rubbed her arms. “Well, I’d start with the old windmill. That’d be a good place to hide someone.”

“But you saw the Jeep go into the woods. That’s miles from the old windmill.”

“A Jeep can go miles, silly, can’t it?”

Polly’s stomach quivered. “What if you did find them there? They’d get you, too.”

“Not if they didn’t see me. Once I knew they were there I’d go back and get the bobbies, wouldn’t I. I’m not daft.”

“You’re not going alone, are you?”

Sadie smiled. “Think about it. All those women tramping about in groups, talking and carrying on? That lot never did know how to keep quiet. Of course they didn’t find no one. They heard them coming, didn’t they. Now if there’s only one person out there…” She looked hopefully at Polly. “Or maybe two.”

Polly’s stomach took a nosedive. “If you think I’m going with you out there you can blinking think again. I hate going out in a thunderstorm.”

“It’ll be over in a little while. We can go when it moves off.”

“It’s dangerous out there with them musketeers running around kidnapping everyone. I’m going home. Where it’s safe.” She pushed her bicycle past Sadie and swung her leg across the saddle.

“Nellie would be out looking for you if you was missing,” Sadie called out after her.

No she wouldn’t, Polly thought fiercely. Nellie was only interested in meeting GIs. She pedaled furiously down the drive in the rain, more angry at herself than at anyone else. The truth was, she felt ashamed of being such a sissy. Sadie was going to be out there all by herself. What if something happened to her? Polly caught her bottom lip between her teeth. It would be all her fault. She’d never forgive herself.

Polly let the bicycle freewheel while she fought her conscience. It was no good. She couldn’t let Sadie go out there on her own. She’d worry herself sick about her. Although the fluttering in her stomach got worse at the thought of what she was about to do, she deliberately swung the front wheel of her bicycle around and pedaled slowly back to the manor.

Nellie broke off a piece of the pork pie she was holding and held it out to Florrie. “Here, eat this. You’ll feel better.”

Florrie shook her head, her arms hugging her stomach. “I couldn’t eat a thing. If I do I’ll bring my breakfast up. I don’t know how you can eat anything with death staring us in the face.” Her lips trembled and silent tears rolled down her ashen face.

Nellie shoved the piece of pork pie in her mouth and chewed with relish. “If you were as hungry as I am you’d eat it,” she said when she’d swallowed it down. “I haven’t eaten anything since supper last night. And I ate that early because of Rita’s stupid invasion watch. If it hadn’t been for her and her bloody Germans we wouldn’t be here now.”

Florrie moaned. “She’ll be so devastated to have our deaths on her conscience.”

Nellie opened a bottle of lemonade and offered it to Florrie, who shook her head with a shudder. “We’re not going to die, silly. They’re just a bunch of soppy schoolkids. They’re not going to kill us.”

Florrie stared at her. “I thought they was the musketeers.”

Nellie laughed. “Don’t let the musketeers hear you say that. They’d be really insulted.”

“But they kidnapped us.”

“Yeah, ’cos they didn’t know what else to do. They got in a panic, that’s all.”

“They’re not going to just let us go.”

“I think they will once they do what they came to do.”

Florrie looked really scared. “And what’s that?”

“I don’t know. All I know is they want to get on the base. I said I’d help them if they brought me something to eat and drink.”

“You’re not going to help them, are you!?”

Nellie almost laughed at Florrie’s shocked expression. “Nah, silly. I’m just going to pretend to help them. I’ll tell them how to get onto the base without being seen, but I’ll really be sending them right into the arms of the MPs.”

“How’re you going to do that?”

Nellie swallowed more pork pie. “I haven’t exactly worked that out yet.”

Florrie looked fearfully over the ledge. “Where do you think they’ve gone?”

Nellie shrugged. “Don’t know. I just hope they stay away until I’ve come up with a good plan. They’re really stupid; It shouldn’t be hard to get them caught.”

“They were clever enough to steal two Jeeps from under the noses of the Americans,” Florrie reminded her.

“Yeah, I don’t know how they did that. Someone must have left them outside the base.” Nellie tipped the lemonade bottle to her lips and took several gulps. “They were stupid enough to go off and leave us alone up here, though, weren’t they.”