Wartime Brides (Wives and Lovers) by Lizzie Lane

Author:Lizzie Lane [Lane, Lizzie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Published: 2022-04-28T16:00:00+00:00

13

As the bride prepared to leave the Baptist church hall to get changed and depart for her honeymoon, Charlotte gave her a hug and whispered, ‘Wonderful dress, darling.’ She would have let her pass there and then, but Edna held her arm. Charlotte beamed broadly, anything rather than look with pity at her and Colin. Her smile faltered slightly when she saw that Edna was looking at her in exactly the same way.

‘This is my new address,’ she said with a brighter expression. She slipped a note into Charlotte’s hand. ‘Bring me some material and I’ll make some more baby clothes. And I’d love to have you visit.’

They exchanged knowing looks. Charlotte ached to think how Edna must be feeling. Most brides were too wrapped up in their wedding day to think of anything or anyone else. Obviously Edna was not one of them.

‘Your chariot awaits you!’ Colin cried, coming up behind his bride in his wheelchair. Laughing, Edna fell into his lap. Charlotte waved and Edna waved back. Was that concern she could again see in her eyes? Wedding night nerves, Charlotte thought with a knowing smile, and remembered their conversation in the little teashop on Redcliffe Hill.

As she moved away, a woman in a royal blue suit and a squat hat with a bunch of brown leaves at the side gave her a tight smile and a sharp jerk of her head by way of greeting. Edna’s mother, if she remembered rightly. There was a suspicious look in her eyes.

In an effort to avoid holding a conversation with the woman, she deliberately turned her back and looked around for David. For a moment she couldn’t see him and half wondered whether he’d left without telling her. Quite honestly, it had surprised her that he’d agreed to come in the first place. But he’d surprised her a lot lately. The aggression he’d shown since coming back from the war was not so frequent. Instead there were long silences, periods when he would stare into space or act as though what she did and whether she was there or not were of no consequence at all. But every now and again he would explode. On such occasions she had managed to avoid the slaps to the face but not the bruises to the body.

Eventually she saw him talking to Polly, who was wearing a black and white check suit. A black pillbox hat sat at a jaunty angle on her blonde head, its veil almost reaching the end of her nose.

Just like the one I wore when I met David off the train. Oh well, isn’t copying the sincerest form of flattery?

Polly’s smile was utterly bewitching. Her chin was down slightly but her eyes were looking up at David in a childish, teasing fashion.

Almost like Janet flirting with those young GIs, thought Charlotte. If I didn’t know better…

The thought was carelessly flung aside as a smartly dressed man with the look of a spiv brought two glasses of brown ale to Polly’s side.

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.