The Wartime Vet: A completely heartbreaking and addictive historical saga (A Village at War) by Curzon Ellie

Author:Curzon, Ellie [Curzon, Ellie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2024-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTY

A smell of burning still lingered in the air as Laura walked to work the next morning. She kept thinking about Lottie and George, and dear, brave Martha who had given her life for her country. The weight of their loss settled, grey and heavy, in her mind and wouldn’t move, and it made her feel even sadder when she thought of Alastair and how he had lost Vicky. Poor man, the things he had lived through. It was no wonder he’d been so petrified during the air raid.

As she walked along, she saw Ewa and Zofia, with Zofia’s little girl in her pram. Ewa’s husband flew from the airbase, and Laura couldn’t imagine how hard it was for her, day after day, knowing that he could leave for work and never come back.

They had come to England from Poland as refugees, and had found safety in Bramble Heath. Relative safety at least, for nowhere in England was truly safe any more, especially not a village so close to an airbase. Indeed, now a bomb had fallen right here and claimed a life. Laura had heard that Ewa had lost her sister in their escape from the Nazi advance; Martha’s death, the young girl ripped away from her own devoted sister, would surely bring back sad memories for her.

‘Morning,’ Laura said gently. ‘It’s awful what’s happened, isn’t it?’

Ewa shrugged her characteristic one-sided shrug, but Laura had been in the village long enough to know that the gesture wasn’t a casual one: it was simply how Ewa answered many questions, from the serious to the frivolous.

‘It is a terrible thing,’ she said. ‘And to lose a sister… the pain doesn’t leave you.’

‘She was a sweet girl,’ Zofia said. ‘So very sad. And she had a boyfriend too.’

The heaviness inside Laura grew. ‘Yes, poor George, they looked so happy together. I can’t imagine how Lottie feels. It’s a terrible loss.’

‘George has the men on the base. Mateusz and the others will take care of him.’ Ewa nodded. ‘And we in the hamlet will send a note to Lottie,’ she went on. ‘Her loss is all of our loss. We all grieve for Martha.’

‘I’m sure she’ll appreciate it,’ Laura replied, touched by Ewa’s heartfelt thoughtfulness and care. ‘Take care of yourselves, won’t you?’

‘And you too,’ Ewa said. ‘It was good to see you.’

‘Goodbye, both,’ Laura said, then she continued on her way. Martha’s death and Alastair’s terror made her own worries look very small. She’d lost a job – one she cared about enormously, but she could find another. Even if she had to leave dear Bramble Heath, she shouldn’t mourn for herself.

Just outside the vet’s, swinging her legs as she sat on the wall, was Sarah. The usually lively girl looked glum and, as she swiped her hand across her face, Laura realised she was trying to hide her tears. Sarah had known Martha, of course, and would be mourning her along with everyone else.

‘Hello, Sarah,’ Laura said, sitting down beside her. She loosely slipped her arm round Sarah’s shoulders.

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