Shelter From the Storm by Ellie Dean

Author:Ellie Dean [Ellie Dean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784750930
Publisher: Arrow
Published: 2016-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

21

The bombing campaign over Germany was still very much ongoing, and although everyone at Beach View had become inured to the sound of the planes taking off from Cliffe and mostly ignored them, they still reacted swiftly when the sirens went off.

April was fast asleep when the high-pitched whine alerted her to an enemy raid, and she quickly pulled on her dressing gown, grabbed her ID papers and the precious photographs and hurried downstairs to the kitchen where Harvey was howling at the shrieks of the sirens that were now going off all over town.

There was clearly a smooth routine for such events. April was handed the box of essentials and Cordelia was escorted by Ron down the garden path, while Peggy wrapped Daisy against the cold night.

They all trooped out as the sirens reached their ear-splitting pitch and the searchlights began to quarter the sky in search of enemy aircraft. Ron closed the door of the Anderson shelter, plunging them into darkness, and April shivered at the memories of her incarceration in the hotel cellar on the night Paula and seven of her colleagues had been killed.

Peggy lit the lamp that hung from the ceiling and as the pale glow illuminated the dank, cramped space, April forced herself to relax. She was as safe here as anywhere and actually it was a relief to know that she was above ground, for the thought of being buried alive again was enough to give her nightmares.

As Ron cradled Daisy in his arms, Sarah made sure that a sleepy Cordelia was secure in the deckchair that had been wedged into a corner. Surrounded by pillows to keep her from sliding out, Cordelia promptly went back to sleep, undeterred by the awful noise of the aircraft because she’d turned off her hearing aid.

Peggy took the box from April and made tea on the small camping stove. Harvey had stopped howling now that the sirens had gone silent, but the sound of the dogfights continued overhead. Rita tried to snatch a bit of sleep, even so, huddled in her fleece-lined First World War flying jacket and thick trousers. She would have to go to the fire station once the raid was over to check if she was needed. Sarah was wrapped in a thick dressing gown, with trousers pulled over her pyjamas; Ivy was bundled in a blanket and woolly hat; and Ron was in his poacher’s coat, the kitten tucked in one of the pockets while Harvey snored at his feet.

April sipped her tea, aware that Ron was watching her, his expression more puzzled than hostile, but it made her feel uneasy all the same, for she suspected that he didn’t really approve of her or her situation, and so she was relieved when he closed his eyes and tried to settle down to sleep. She’d heard from Peggy that Ron and Stan were very close friends, and she accepted that Ron was of an older generation who frowned on girls like her.

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