Home Front Girls

then promptly clamped it shut again. She had never been able to lie convincingly to her mother. ‘I . . . I suppose I do,’ she sighed. ‘And he told me that he had feelings for me too, so why is he putting Lucy first?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ her mother told her honestly, ‘but I’ve no doubt you’ll find out all in good time. Although I have to say, Joel is hardly the sort of chap I thought you’d fall for. What happened to tall, dark, handsome and rich?’ Then, more seriously: ‘Didn’t you say that Joel would be permanently crippled?’
    ‘I wouldn’t care if he didn’t have any legs at all, let alone a limp,’ Annabelle responded, then she grinned sheepishly. ‘Perhaps I’ve changed my values.’
    ‘I rather think you have, and I must admit I approve of them.’ Miranda kissed her on the cheek. ‘But just try to be patient, eh? Things will come right in the end, you’ll see.’
    ‘I hope so.’ Annabelle snuggled closer to her mother and they sat that way for some time, enjoying being together. It was something they hadn’t done for what seemed like a very long time. She’s coming back to me, Miranda thought, and her heart rejoiced.
     
    The following weekend Lucy made the journey to Watchet to visit her brother. The train she travelled on drew into a quaint little station and after a brisk walk and asking directions she eventually found the convalescent home nestling on top of some cliffs overlooking the sea. She could see at once how men might recover here. The scenery was breathtaking and it was so peaceful that it was hard to believe that there was a war raging.
    Brother and sister were both shocked when they first saw each other. The time they had spent apart had not been kind to either of them. Joel was sitting in the day room, which had a view of the sea, and he greeted her with concern.
    ‘How are you?’ he asked.
    ‘Shouldn’t it be me asking you that?’ she responded, thinking how gaunt he looked. He had actually put a little weight back on during his stay at Haslar, thanks to Annabelle’s insistence that he eat, and her unwavering care, but she could have no way of knowing that.
    ‘I survived, which I suppose I should be thankful for,’ he answered caustically, and taking a seat next to him she folded her hands primly in her lap. Now that she was actually here she found that she didn’t quite know what to say to him. He felt almost like a stranger, and yet before he went away they had been so close. And then he broke the silence that had settled between them when he said, ‘It will be strange when I come home without Mary being there . . . and poor Mum dead and buried.’
    Lucy lowered her head in agreement but then suddenly asked, ‘You didn’t tell Annabelle our secret, did you? The way she talks about you, it sounds as if you two have grown very friendly.’
    He met her eyes. ‘Of course I didn’t. I swore to you that I never would, didn’t I? And what’s wrong with us being friends?’
    This seemed to satisfy her for the moment and she glanced around at the other men in the room, all obviously recuperating from their injuries. Many of them had visitors too and a nurse was going around with a laden trolley supplying anyone who wanted it with a cup of tea.
    ‘I have a dog now,’ she suddenly told him. ‘His name is Harry.’
    ‘So Annabelle said,’ he answered, then seeing the set of her chin he wished he hadn’t. She clearly felt threatened by Annabelle, although she had no reason to be. He had once made their mother and Lucy a promise, that he would always be there for her, and he had no intention of breaking it even for Annabelle, although he ached just thinking about her. In another life he knew that he could have happily spent the rest of his life with her, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Chapter Thirty-Seven
     
    Before Dotty left to return to London, the three girls stood in Miranda’s hallway and hugged each other. Annabelle was also returning to Haslar soon and Lucy had come to say goodbye to them both before they left as it was one of her rare days off.
    ‘Let’s promise each other that whatever happens we’ll all meet up and have a big party when the war is all over,’ Dotty suggested. She had visited her old doctor early that morning and could hardly wait to get home to Robert now, for she had some very exciting news to share with him. She had told Miranda that she was just nipping into the city centre, or what remained of it, to pick a few