Wait for Me: the captivating new novel from the Sunday Times bestseller by Santa Montefiore

Author:Santa Montefiore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Published: 2023-07-06T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Weeks passed and Florence heard no further word about Rupert. In October she gave birth to a baby girl. It was not an easy birth, but the physical pain she endured was far more bearable than the mental anguish she had been suffering. When she held her child in her arms at last, exhausted and emotional, the tears she shed were for Rupert who was not able to meet his daughter. In a moment of despair, she wondered whether he ever would.

Henry, now a proud great-grandfather, registered the birth. As Florence wasn’t sure which name to choose, Henry suggested they put down both and then make up their minds when Rupert came home. That pleased Florence. It gave her something to hold onto; they’d decide on the name when Rupert came home. For now, she’d be called Mary-Alice.

Margaret came down by train and Henry used his precious petrol coupons to pick her up at the station. She was excited to meet her granddaughter, but at the same time desperately anxious about Rupert. She knew what it was to be widowed.

Every effort was made to find out Rupert’s fate. Henry was in touch with the Red Cross, trying to discover news of prisoners-of-war, but nothing was forthcoming. Florence was up most of the nights feeding Mary-Alice and because she was too worried to sleep. One night she padded down to the kitchen where the old retainer, Rowley, who had worked his way up from a boot-boy in his youth to butler, was also finding it hard to rest. The two of them sat at the kitchen table, the big teapot steaming between them, and talked. Rowley, who was not accustomed to chatting in the kitchen with his employers’ granddaughter, soon got used to it and took great pleasure from seeing Mary-Alice when Florence brought her down at six every morning. Over the weeks that followed, the two of them became unlikely friends.

Christmas was quiet and sad. All Florence wanted was news that Rupert had been found alive. Perhaps he had been captured by the Germans. Maybe he was hiding somewhere. She hoped with all her heart that he was alive and that those who were with him were treating him well. At church on Christmas Day, Reverend Millar asked the congregation to pray for those still missing and Florence cried quietly into her handkerchief, because if there was one thing that set her off, it was compassion.

On 8 May the following year, the country celebrated the end of the war in Europe. Not wanting to appear sullen, Florence went to the local pub to join in the festivities, although her heart felt like a stone. She found solace in the bottle, numbing her pain with as much alcohol as she could consume. When, by some miracle, she returned home, it was Rowley who helped her upstairs, took off her shoes, and covered her in a blanket.

‘Am I a fool to hope?’ she whispered, gazing up at him with shiny eyes.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.