Bonfire Night by Anna Bliss
Author:Anna Bliss [Bliss, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-06T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter 20
13th July, 1940
âI was going to send my children to Canada but itâs too dangerous now,â Dorisâs mother said to Kate. âI wouldnât trust the journey.â
They stood side by side, watching their daughters chase each other around the Queenâs Park swings. It was a nice park with horse chestnut trees and beautiful old elms and a lake with loads of ducks. Kate knew the other little girlâs nameâDorisâbut not her motherâs, even though they had been meeting in the park for months. It seemed too late to introduce themselves now.
That morning, Kate had received a packet of acceptance into the latest evacuation program: two tags to be worn by Margaret, a blank postcard to be sent by her foster parents to Kate with their address, a packing list, and a Southern Railways special ticket to Clapham Junction. Dorisâs mother had received the same packet for each of her children.
âAccording to an RAF officer I know,â Kate offered, âthe war will be over before long. Once the fighting really starts, it will be over in a few weeks. Weâll make bonfires of our gas masks.â
Dorisâs mother looked skeptical. âOne never knows,â she said and Kate felt foolish.
âSo, you will send Doris on Tuesday?â
When war was declared the previous autumn, thousands of children had come from London to host families in Brighton. But the new threat of land invasion meant Brighton was no longer safe, either. A voluntary childrenâs evacuation was scheduled for the coming week.
âYes,â Dorisâs mother said. âMy husband insists itâs the only sensible option.â She sighed. âIt helps that all five of ours will be together. Will you send Margaret?â
Though she was ambivalent, Kate nodded because she knew it was the right response. âYes. I would go with her,â she said, âbut my sister canât run the boardinghouse without my help. Sheâd have to close her doors.â
âIf it werenât for my husband, Iâd not have the stomach for it. If only the government would tell us where theyâre sending the children.â
âI suppose they canât. Perhaps Doris and Margaret will be together?â
âNot likely,â Dorisâs mother said with an air of wisdom. âThere will be thousands of kiddies at the station on Tuesday. It will be absolute bedlam. Youâll see.â
The little girls caught each other in a running hug and Kateâs heart went to her throat. Doris wouldnât be alone; her brothers and sisters would be with her. Strangers would look after Margaret.
âI used to never be afraid of anything, before I had Margaret,â Kate said. âNow I find Iâm always frightened.â
Dorisâs mother frowned and Kate understood that she had said too much. It wasnât on to air oneâs petty anxieties in public. People were making much bigger sacrifices, and she hardly knew Dorisâs mother. But the sweltering heat was disorienting, it made her feel sheâd run miles just standing there. And she hadnât had a friend since Gordy.
Kate sluiced perspiration from her forehead and steered the conversation back to impersonal speculationâhow will the Germans come, when and where will they come? These were more acceptable pleasantries between mothers.
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