Page 114 of The Stranger in Room Six
‘Will you sell it?’ asked Cook when she told her.
‘No. I want to do something good with the place. We’ll offer it to those returning from the war who need somewhere peaceful for a break. We can invite their wives too. And their children.’
‘That’s a lovely idea. Mind you, it will be a lot for us to manage.’
‘Actually,’ said Mabel. ‘We don’t need to worry about that. Clarissa didn’t just leave me the house. She left me quite a lot of money as well.’
Cook sniffed. ‘Maybe the woman had a conscience after all.’
‘The best part is that this means all your jobs are safe and we can afford to employ more staff to take care of the convalescents.’
‘Will we need to provide medical help?’
‘No. I see it more as a holiday refuge.’
‘You’re a good girl.’
Tears sprang in Cook’s eyes, making Mabel cry too. ‘I just want to try and put something back into the world. It’s the only way I’m going to cope without my baby.’
Then she broke into big, juddering sobs.
Once more, Cook put her arms around her, until shestopped. To Mabel’s relief she didn’t come out with platitudes like ‘it will be all right’. Because it couldn’t be. Not unless she found her son, and even then, he would already have been formally adopted. He could never be hers now.
‘What about your young man?’
Mabel blushed. ‘When I went to the camp, someone thought he’d been sent on from the one he’d been transferred to.’
‘He might be on his way home now.’
Mabel’s heart swelled with hope. ‘Please may that be true. In fact, I did wonder if I might try to get to Italy somehow. He told me the name of the village he came from.’
‘You’d go there on your own?’
‘Why not?’
‘You’re plucky, I’ll give that to you. Just like your mother.’
Mabel gave her another hug. How she loved it when people compared them. It helped to keep Mama alive in her heart.
78
1945
When peace was finally declared, it seemed unreal and too late. So much damage had been done, not just to the landscape but to the hearts and souls of everyone all over the world.
Mabel showed her face at the village VE-day party in May but left early to pack.
‘You’re still going to Italy?’ asked Frannie.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I have to see if Antonio’s still alive and tell him about his son.’
‘Good luck,’ said Frannie. ‘I’m leaving too.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘I want to go to London. Live a bit. The war has shown me that I need to widen my eyes a bit more.’
Part of Mabel wondered if this had anything to do with those rumours about Frannie’s involvement in Clarissa’s death.
