An Orphan in the Snow. Molly Green

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       Chapter Four

      June opened her eyes and for a few moments wondered where she was. Then she smiled. She now lived in a grand country house all the way up north in Liverpool. If her mother could see her she’d be amazed. But grand house or not, the room still felt deadly cold. She sat up, wrapping the extra blanket she’d found in the wardrobe last night around her shoulders, and let her mind drift over the last twenty-four hours. Bingham Hall was certainly a different world from her last two years living with Stella and her three boys in Wisbech. She pictured them all and suddenly felt a stab of homesickness. They were the only family she cared about now, besides Aunt Ada. A tear trickled down June’s cheek and she quickly brushed it away. She had a new life now, and she was determined to make a difference to these children’s lives.

      Well, she wasn’t going to make a difference in anyone’s life by sitting here thinking. She scrambled out of bed and pulled back the short velvet curtains, which were spotted with age. She peered through the glass panes, pleased she’d cleaned them yesterday, though she could still smell the traces of the vinegar she’d used. The fog had cleared and everywhere was white. Snow, like giant bales of cotton wool, lay over the fields and trees as far as her eyes could travel. Thick and white and silent.

      She couldn’t see another house in sight. She’d never lived anywhere this remote in her life. But standing there looking out of the misted-up window at a fairyland view, she felt a sense of calm seep through her bones. Her mother, bless her, was finally at peace. June had been grateful Stella had given her a home, but it hadn’t been easy looking after the three boys while her sister’s husband had been away fighting. Stella had had little control over her sons, leaving them to June. ‘I’m better to go out to work,’ Stella told her sister, as she left each morning to work in the munitions factory. ‘And I need the company,’ she’d added, never thinking her sister might occasionally like to be with people her own age too, June had thought at the time. After her husband was killed Stella had gone out dancing or to the pictures most nights, and six months later she’d found herself a new boyfriend. She’d been astounded when June told her she’d been offered a job up north.

      ‘What will I do without you?’ she’d said. ‘The boys need some stability and you know how fond they are of you.’ Her eyes pleaded with June.

      June wasn’t at all sure that was true – it was much more likely that Stella wouldn’t have the freedom she’d enjoyed lately – but it didn’t stop her feeling guilty that she was leaving her sister in the lurch.

      It had been a shock to June when she’d moved from sleepy Wisbech and stayed with her aunt in London those last three days. When she’d lived there while training to be a nursery nurse there’d only been rumours of a war. This time she’d seen whole streets reduced to a pile of rubble, and the bombs at night had left her tired and jumpy. She had no desire to live in London again. How had the Londoners gone through bombing, night after night, day after day, with such bravery? Was she being a coward to escape it all? But surely vulnerable orphans and evacuees at Dr Barnardo’s needed help just as much as wounded soldiers and citizens.

      Now June gave a sigh but it was more of contentment. Whatever lay in store for her, for once she hadn’t been manipulated or made to feel guilty. This new life was of her own making. She’d take the consequences whatever they were.

      Feeling more sure of herself she washed and dressed and half ran down the four flights of steps. Iris was the first person she spotted.

      ‘Bet you haven’t seen snow like this in London.’

      ‘I must admit I’ve never seen it as thick.’

      Iris glanced at June’s shoes that Aunt Ada had bought her. ‘You need boots for our northern winters,’ she said. ‘Those shoes won’t do at all.’

      ‘I didn’t bring any.’ And had no money to buy them, June wanted to add.

      Iris considered for a few moments. ‘We need to fix you up with some proper footwear right away so I’ll have a word with Matron. What say we go into town this morning? I have a few hours to spare as I’m on evening shift this week. But you’ll have to brace yourself. We had a very bad raid in May and parts of Liverpool are in a terrible state. They usually aim for the docks but I think they enjoy giving the civilians a good fright as often as they can as well.’

      ‘Don’t worry about me – I’m used to London, which you wouldn’t believe the terrible hammering it’s taken …’ She stopped, realising she sounded as though she was making light of Liverpool’s hardship. ‘Though I read Liverpool is a close second,’ she added quickly. ‘I suppose it’s because it’s a port.’

      ‘A major one,’ Iris said. ‘The docks have taken the brunt of Hitler’s planes because its position is convenient for American ships to bring us crucial supplies. Not just American but Canadian and Australian ships deliver here as well. If the Germans have their way and smash the docks to pieces we’ll have had it. Nothing will get through – food, fuel, arms – everything we depend on. It’d be a disaster.’

      June shivered. She could tell by Iris’s upset expression that her friend was not exaggerating.

      ‘Anyway, enough of that,’ Iris said smiling. ‘Are we on? Our jaunt into town?’

      ‘But what about the twins in the sick bay?’ June asked. ‘Don’t you need to see to them?’

      ‘Kathleen’s here to look after them.’

      ‘I don’t know …’ June hesitated. It might not look right if she wasn’t there to learn the ropes on her СКАЧАТЬ