Desperate Measures Read online

  As we sipped our tea, she took down an old brown tin from a shelf with ‘Sharpe’s Toffees’ written in gold lettering on the top and round the sides. It was full of curled, faded photos of her and her brother taken before the war.

  ‘We were pretty much free range at your age. Especially in the school holidays. Out after breakfast, back when it got dark. Exploring usually. Every day with Lionel was an adventure.’

  We looked through the photos together. They were happy smiling pictures, taken at the seaside or on picnics or at Christmas. Lionel was almost as tall as Elizabeth with blond hair, suntanned skin and a cheeky wide-mouthed grin.

  ‘Well, this won’t get the baby bathed,’ said Elizabeth with a small sigh, getting up briskly. She went over to the oven. As she opened the door, heat filled the kitchen, which she wafted away with her frail bird-like arm.

  ‘As ready as they’ll ever be,’ she said as she slowly took out the foil containers and put them on to the table. She told us where to get the plates and cutlery and I served up the food while Re and Jamie laid out the knives and forks.

  We sat round the table and ate hungrily as Elizabeth poured herself another cup of tea and sipped it slowly.

  I tried to say as little as possible about us but it was difficult. Elizabeth wasn’t nosy or anything. It wasn’t that. She didn’t keep asking questions. In fact, she didn’t really ask many at all but there was something about her. Something that made me let things slip. Things I wanted to keep hidden. I told her we hadn’t meant to do anything wrong, we’d just got a bit lost and were taking a short cut through her grounds. She just nodded as if this sort of thing happened every day. Then it came out that we were heading for the station because we were going to our Great Aunt’s house. Somehow, maybe because she’d told us all about being evacuated, and because Jamie was the same age as her brother when he was put on that ship to Canada, I started explaining about us being fostered and how we were going to be split up. She was quiet for a moment. I thought she was getting ready to tell us we’d better go straight back home. But she didn’t.

  ‘It’s a terrible thing for a family to be separated. Not knowing whether you’ll ever see people you love again,’ she said softly.

  We helped clear away the plates and I washed them up in the big stone sink. Jamie and Re wiped them dry and placed them back on the shelves.

  Then Jamie asked if we could explore the house. I could tell he’d been itching to do this since we’d come inside.

  Elizabeth smiled. ‘It’s not looking its best,’ she said.

  ‘We don’t mind,’ retorted Jamie and he was off in a flash.

  It was a huge and rambling mansion just like the one from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, with long dark passages, heavy antique furniture and threadbare tapestries hanging from the walls. There was even a suit of armour, which freaked Re out but enthralled Jamie who was desperate to try it on. I put my foot down and told him no. There were nine bedrooms upstairs, two with four poster beds, complete with heavy moth-eaten curtains draped round them so they looked like huge holey tents. My friend Rosie would have had a field day. Every single room had its own fireplace, even the big old bathroom with its huge rusty-edged bath and cracked black and white tiles.

  We were just about to go back downstairs when we saw a small door at the end of the passageway.

  ‘Wonder what’s through there,’ said Jamie, quickly diving round the door. I followed him in and gasped. It was a boy’s bedroom – the most amazing boy’s room ever.

  Laid out on the floor against the walls of the room ran a miniature train track complete with model bridges, tunnels, buildings, trees and people. Spaced around the track were about ten different engines each with an assortment of carriages and each one a detailed intricate replica of the real thing. On the chests of drawers there were models of ships, including a battleship, a pirate ship with sails and skull and crossbones flag and a passenger steamer with a big wheel attached to its side.

  Hanging from the ceiling were models of old-fashioned aeroplanes, all covered in a film of dust but every one carefully made and painted. It was like Jamie had died and gone to heaven. He didn’t know what to start with first.

  We didn’t hear Elizabeth come in.

  ‘This is Lionel’s room,’ she said softly. ‘He built all those planes himself.’

  Jamie had already picked up one of the trains and was examining it.

  ‘Will he mind if Jamie touches his stuff?’ I asked quickly.

  ‘Of course not,’ she replied.

  I looked round for Rhianna. She’d disappeared. Out in the hallway there was no sign or sound of her. I felt a slight twinge of panic.

  ‘Re?’ I called.

  There was no answer.

  ‘She won’t have gone far,’ said Elizabeth as we started checking all the upstairs rooms. ‘Don’t worry,’ she added, realising I was getting anxious.

  ‘You wouldn’t think we were twins,’ I told her. I explained that Re had been starved of oxygen when she was born. ‘Nothing’s easy for her. She can’t manage on her own so I sort of have to help her with stuff.’

  The old lady looked at me with her cloudy pale-blue eyes. ‘Her time will come.’

  I didn’t understand. Re wasn’t suddenly going to get a new brain and I didn’t believe in miracle cures. So what did she mean?

  We eventually found Re in one of the spare bedrooms in the four-poster bed, curled up and fast asleep under a beautiful golden silky eiderdown. On the pillow next to her lay a small china ornament about three inches tall. A black and white penguin with a cheeky smile and a pink bow tie.

  I leaned forward to take it but Elizabeth stopped me.

  ‘It’s all right. Don’t wake Sleeping Beauty,’ she whispered with a smile.

  It did seem cruel to wake her. I glanced out of the window. It was beginning to get dark. We should have left hours ago. The peacocks were screeching as they prepared to settle down for the night. I wondered if the people in the lodge had let their dogs loose again. I thought I could hear them barking in the distance. The garden no longer looked like a jungle; it was just a tangled mass of black shadows. Anything could be lurking out there. I wasn’t looking forward to leaving – I was dreading it.

  I didn’t want to be the one in charge any more, sorting everything and everyone out. I just wanted to be an ordinary fourteen-year-old kid with no decisions bigger than whether to buy a teen mag or a bar of chocolate.

  I sighed. I felt completely lost.

  ‘You can stay here tonight if you think that’s best,’ said Elizabeth.

  I nodded. Relieved.

  ‘Thank you.’

  Elizabeth hesitated then took my hand in hers.

  ‘Come with me. I want to show you something,’ she said.

  We went downstairs into the sitting room. There was a dusty old bureau in the corner of the room. Propping her white stick against it, she flopped down the lid and fumbled inside, finally pulling out an old paper folder. Inside was a single, yellow, slightly mildewed newspaper cutting. She handed it to me. It was dated 28th September 1940. There was a black and white photo of the ship the City of Benares.

  I looked at Elizabeth. She gave a small firm nod. I read on. The ship had been torpedoed by a German submarine six hundred miles out at sea. Only seven of the ninety evacuee children had survived.

  ‘My brother wasn’t one of those lucky seven, unfortunately. He never got to Canada and he never came home.’ Her voice was full of sadness and regret. ‘There’s not a single day goes by that I don’t think about him.’ She looked me in the eye. ‘Vicky, I’m an old woman. Lots has changed since I was your age. But some things stay the same and are always important – brothers and sisters, parents . . . families. You have a choice about what you do. You can choose to go on . . . or you can go back. It’s up to you and I can’t tell you what’s best. But there’s one thing I will say: desperate times call for desperate measures.’

  Chapter 19

  It was
funny waking up in Elizabeth’s house. It was cosy and warm in the bed. I didn’t want to get up. I wanted to stay under the lovely silky yellow cover but Vicky was already up and putting on her trainers.

  ‘Come on, Re, time to get out of bed,’ she said.

  ‘I don’t want to. I’m tired.’ I picked up the little penguin on my pillow and stroked its shiny head.

  ‘We’ve got a train to catch. The sooner we get going, the sooner we get to Great Auntie Irene’s.’

  ‘But I’m really really tired.’

  ‘You can have a big sleep when we get to Great Auntie Irene’s. You can sleep for a whole week if you like!’

  ‘I want to sleep now.’

  Vicky sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at me. ‘Don’t you remember how much you loved it when we were there on holiday?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Well it’s going to be like that but even better. Because we’re going to live there, it’ll be like we’re on holiday all the time.’

  ‘Really?’

  Vicky nodded. ‘Every single day,’ she said.

  I got up out of the bed and pulled on my trainers. A holiday every single day. I liked that idea.

  Jamie was already downstairs with Elizabeth. He was eating cornflakes.

  ‘All set?’ Elizabeth asked, looking at Vicky.

  Vicky nodded and grinned.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘For everything.’ She gave Elizabeth a hug.

  ‘You’ve got a good head on those shoulders. I know you’ll use it. Your Great Aunt is a very lucky woman.’

  We picked up our rucksacks. I still had the little penguin in my hand. I held it out to Elizabeth.

  ‘This is yours,’ I said.

  She felt it with her wrinkly hand.

  ‘Keep it,’ she said with a smile. ‘He might bring you luck.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I said. I popped him into my coat pocket and zipped it up so he couldn’t fall out and I wouldn’t lose him.

  We all walked down through the garden along a windy path, past a little stream. It was a very big garden. It was bigger than the park at home and much much nicer. There were no smashed up fridges in the bushes or beer cans on the grass.

  We went down another little road with more statues till we got to some big gates. Next to one of the gates was a little house. Elizabeth said this was the lodge. Inside we could hear dogs barking.

  ‘It’s all right,’ Elizabeth told us, ‘the owners lock them up during the day while they’re out.’

  She told us how to get to the station and we all said goodbye and she hugged us and then leaned on her stick and watched us walk off down the road. I looked back after a while. She was still there. She was very small like a little bird. She gave us one last wave and then we went round the bend and we couldn’t see her any more.

  It took a long time to get to the station. Vicky showed me where we were going on the map – it didn’t look far but it took ages. I was getting fed up and wanted to sit down and have a rest but bossy old Vicky said I couldn’t. She said we had to keep going.

  I’d never been on a train before. At the station the man behind the glass gave us our tickets and said, ‘Enjoy your trip.’ Vicky and Jamie went over to the board to check what time our train was. I sat down on a bench to wait for them and took my penguin out of my pocket but then this man came up and sat down next to me.

  ‘Hello,’ he said. ‘That’s a nice little penguin.’

  ‘I know,’ I said.

  ‘Do you like animals?’ he asked.

  I nodded.

  ‘So do I,’ he said. ‘But I like real ones best. I’ve got some lovely puppies back at my house. They’re only a few weeks old. I don’t suppose you like puppies though . . .’

  ‘Oh yes . . . I love them,’ I said.

  Then Vicky came over. I don’t know why but the man got up and hurried out of the station and down the street. Vicky took my hand and pulled me towards the toilets.

  ‘But I’ve just been Vicky!’ I told her but she still rushed me in there.

  ‘I’m not a baby. I don’t need to go every two seconds,’ I told her.

  She didn’t take any notice. She just started filling up our drinks bottles from the tap. ‘You mustn’t talk to anyone, Re, not a word!’

  ‘You can’t tell me what to do – you’re not Mum. Anyway I was only doing a conversation. Mrs Edward says doing a conversation is a Life Skill.’

  ‘I don’t care what Mrs Edwards says!’

  ‘I’ll tell her you said that.’

  Vicky made a groaning noise. ‘Stuff Mrs Edwards,’ she said. ‘Come on. The train’ll be here any minute.’

  I was really cross with her. She was always bossing me around. I went back into one of the toilets and sat down on the seat.

  ‘Re!’ she yelled. ‘Come on.’

  I didn’t budge.

  ‘What’s the matter now?’

  ‘I’m not talking to you,’ I said. ‘And I’m not doing anything you say. So put that in your nuckets and smoke it.’

  Chapter 20

  ‘Rhianna!’

  ‘I can’t hear you . . .’ She put her hands over her ears and started singing to herself. Something told me this wasn’t going to be easy.

  ‘Please, Rhianna, not now . . .’ She turned her back on me. Outside on the platform I could hear the tannoy announcing our train. What if Jamie got on and we were left here? I glanced through the open window and saw him right at the end of the crowded platform. He was too far away for me to call out without having to shout – we couldn’t afford to draw attention to ourselves.

  ‘Rhianna, you’ve got to come, right now. I mean it!’ I could hear my voice getting tighter and tighter, and her tuneless singing getting louder and louder. This wasn’t going to work. I looked through the window at Jamie again then back to Re. She was so infuriating sometimes; I could throttle her. I knew I couldn’t force her out on to the platform – she was much bigger and stronger than me – and if I tried, she’d throw a wobbly. There was only one thing to do. It was going to be a gamble but I had no choice. I took a deep breath and fought hard to keep my voice sounding light and unconcerned.

  ‘OK, Re. You stay here. That’s fine. I’m going on the train with Jamie.’ I turned to go. ‘Bye, then . . .’

  The singing faltered slightly but I knew I had to call her bluff. I kept on going, desperately resisting the temptation to turn round. I forced my legs to walk through the door. Outside on the platform there were crowds of people waiting. The stationmaster was helping an old couple with their suitcases. I avoided his eye and sidled past him towards Jamie. The train pulled up and he eagerly bounded forward. I called to him to hang on but it was too late; he hadn’t heard and was already scrambling aboard.

  I rushed up to the train, my palms sweating and my heart pounding. I looked round. No sign of Re. Jamie appeared at the window inside one of the carriages and grinned.

  ‘Where’s Rhianna?’ he mouthed through the glass.

  I felt sick. The panic was rising. How could I have been so stupid to leave her on her own in that toilet? What was I thinking of and what on earth was I going to do now? I tried to motion to Jamie to get off the train but he thought I was telling him to put his bag on the luggage rack and turned away. People streamed around me but I was rooted to the spot. I just didn’t know what to do. Who should I go after – Re or Jamie? In a few more seconds the train doors would close, and the train would pull away, taking Jamie with it, but if I leapt on, it would mean leaving Re on her own and that didn’t bear thinking about. But would Jamie know what to do if the train went off without us? He wasn’t the most clued-up kid in the world.

  I had to stay with Re and get Jamie off the train. I started to bang on the window. A man in a beige suit turned and glared disapprovingly at me. I smiled apologetically and he tutted and shook his head, muttering to a woman in a green coat. At this rate, we’d be discovered any second but I had to do something. Ignoring the man, I started thumping frantic
ally on the window again. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and froze.

  I turned round, expecting to be confronted by the angry stationmaster, but to my relief I saw Re standing in front of me, her face blotchy and red.

  ‘Don’t ever do that again!’ I hissed, yanking her hand off my shoulder. She reeled back as if I’d hit her. Tears started to roll down her bewildered moon face.

  ‘I’m sorry, Vicky. I’m sorry.’

  She was shaking and so was I. I put my arm tightly round her and bit my lip till I could taste blood. ‘It’s OK. Don’t cry any more.’

  The guard blew his whistle as the last few passengers got on. I hurried Re on to the train and looked round for Jamie. He was standing at the end of the now crowded carriage.

  ‘What took you so long?’ he asked, staring at me accusingly.

  Most of the seats were taken so we made our way into the next carriage. Re had finally stopped crying but was hiccupping noisily. She wouldn’t let go of my hand, and in a way I didn’t want her to.

  The train was packed with half-term holidaymakers and nobody really noticed us. Eventually we found a table between four seats. A man with a beard was sitting in the far corner. In front of him, he had a little radio, which was reporting the cricket. I hate cricket, it’s sooooo boring. He must have thought so too. His eyes were tight shut and he was snoring really loudly. We sank down in the three spare seats and, for the first time that day, I allowed myself to relax.

  I looked out of the window while Re chatted happily to Jamie, her tears forgotten. We drank the water out of our bottles – it tasted disgusting but we were all so thirsty we didn’t care any more. We were on our way, whizzing out of the town, past endless fields and woods, then a river with men fishing, horses grazing and a family out picnicking.

  Gradually the countryside became wilder and craggier and bare hills loomed in the distance. The rhythm of the train seemed to be saying, ‘You’re nearly there, you’re nearly there.’ We stopped at some stations – people got off but loads more got on to replace them. Each time the train started up its reassuring chant again. ‘You’re nearly there, you’re nearly there, you’re nearly there.’