The Daughter of Victory Lights by Kerri Turner

Author:Kerri Turner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HQ Fiction
Published: 2019-12-16T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

1951: London, England

The boat docked in London for the winter break. It was too cold to perform, even with whisky-laced tea and lard-coated skin.

Evie held her handbag close to her side as she walked past shops and houses she’d once known so well, and which now jarred her eyes. The terraced houses with their white-framed windows; the occasional doorway with a rusted spotlight still sitting above it, as if afraid to let its wartime guard down even after all these years. She could have remained on board the Victory, hidden away from her sisters, but she’d discovered honesty could open doors to kindness and acceptance; perhaps it could lead to forgiveness too. And there was Spencer to think of. She yearned to see her nephew again, to see how he’d grown and what new words he’d learned. To tell him he would soon have a cousin to play with.

The weather was so cold it felt as though the frost was creeping underneath her full-length felt Utility coat, deliberately chosen in the hope its familiarity would spark some sentiment in Cynthia. The thought of their reunion warmed Evie and kept her moving despite her self-consciousness and the sensation that the word ‘unmarried’ was branded on her stomach, even though she was not yet showing.

She was afraid someone she knew might spot her, but arrived at her sister’s front door without incident. It had been given a fresh coat of paint, and roses had been planted close by, although in winter they were just a tangle of bare, forbidding spikes. The Anderson shelter that had still been in the tiny garden when she’d left was gone.

Evie stared at the door, hesitating. Should she knock? It would be oddly formal. Yet this was no longer her home and she probably shouldn’t treat it as such.

She sighed and looked down at her feet. How much longer would it be before she would no longer be able to see them? Evie rested one gloved hand on her stomach. She had done her best to look nice for this reunion, going through all the clothes Bee had given her to piece together an outfit that was respectable, if old-fashioned. Her hair was pinned up neatly, exposing her ears to the cold, and a half-hat with a beaded-end hatpin was perched on her head. She didn’t feel herself. She reminded herself that she was trying to bridge the gap between the Evelyn of old and the current Evie. It was just clothing, and if it softened Cynthia towards her, it was worth it.

She raised her hand to knock on the door, then changed her mind. She couldn’t behave like a stranger or a door-to-door salesman. She reached for the handle instead and walked in.

Maureen was entering the sitting room from the kitchen. She looked up, a polite smile hovering on her lips, until she registered who it was.

‘Hello, Maureen,’ Evie said gently. She hadn’t been expecting such a powerful reaction to seeing her younger sister. She looked different yet somehow exactly the same.

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