The Brooklands Girls Page 16

  The three women laughed as the two children came running into the cottage.

  ‘Right, Daisy, time we were going home. Say goodbye to Luke.’

  To their surprise the little girl planted a kiss on the boy’s cheek. Far from being embarrassed about it, Luke only grinned.

  ‘Aunty Pips, don’t go.’ Daisy wound her chubby arms around Pips’s neck. ‘I don’t want you to go away again.’

  ‘Darling, I’ve got a big race meeting later this month and I must practise. I have to go back, but I’ll come home again soon.’

  ‘Can I have a ride in your car?’

  ‘Sorry, darling, but it’s a racing car and I’m not allowed to drive it on the ordinary roads.’

  The little girl pouted for a moment, but then her sunny nature reasserted itself as her quick mind thought of another treat with Aunty Pips. ‘Then next time you come, will you take me riding?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Promise?’

  ‘I promise,’ Pips said solemnly.

  When she arrived back at Milly’s flat, there were two letters waiting for her; one from Milly saying she would be away for the weekend and the other was from George.

  My dearest Pips, I’m so sorry I wasn’t in touch before you went north to visit your family. Rebecca came home ill and I really hadn’t the heart to leave her alone in the flat. She’s well again now and back at work, so when can we meet?

  Was it always going to be like this? Rebecca coming between them, coming first in George’s list of priorities? And then she castigated herself for being mean. The girl had no one else to turn to when she was ill and, of course, George had wanted to care for her. Wouldn’t she go running home if one of her family needed her care, even though there were plenty of others there to help? She sighed. She really must have a serious talk with George before she could give a definite answer to the question he asked her repeatedly.

  He arrived the following weekend. ‘Rebecca’s on duty until Tuesday,’ he said as he unpacked his suitcase, put his clothes in the drawer, which Pips had left empty for him, and hung his suit in the wardrobe. He smiled as he turned to face her. ‘So, what are we going to do?’

  ‘I have a practice session tomorrow.’

  For moment, a frown flitted cross his face but then he seemed to force a smile and nodded. ‘May I come along too?’

  ‘Of course, but, George, we need to have a serious talk. I could see – just now – that you aren’t happy about my – er – pursuits and yet you said you’d never try to change me or stop me from doing what I want to do.’

  ‘I won’t,’ he said swiftly. ‘It’s just that I felt I’d let you down last weekend and I wanted to make it up to you now by taking you wining and dining.’

  Pips shook her head. ‘I’m not that sort of girl. Oh, I don’t mind the odd dinner out, wearing a posh frock and all that goes with it, but it’s not really me.’ She moved closer to him and put her hands on his shoulders. He slipped his arms around her waist. Softly, she said, ‘I do love you, George, but I really think that before we get married we should get to know each other a little better and, then, there’s Rebecca.’

  ‘Yes,’ he said soberly, ‘there’s Rebecca.’

  Twenty-Three

  With only three meetings left before the end of the season, the Brooklands Girls and their friends decided to make a party atmosphere at a meeting in October.

  ‘After the Autumn BARC meeting,’ Muriel told them, ‘there’s going to be a long-distance race organized by the Junior Car Club. It’s the two-hundred-mile race, so none of us are competing that day. We’ll be able to relax and enjoy ourselves.’

  ‘That’s a first, isn’t it?’

  Muriel nodded. ‘On two counts. It’s the first for small cars and also the first long-distance race since the war.’

  ‘There’ll be a huge crowd there, then,’ Pattie said.

  ‘Ah, but they won’t all be able to get into the clubhouse, will they?’

  ‘True.’ Pattie grinned. ‘So, what are we to do?’

  ‘Take hampers and champagne,’ Milly suggested. ‘And be sure to bring the gorgeous major with you, Pips. If it’s fine, we’ll have a party on the hill, if there’s space. If not, we’ll take over the clubhouse.’

  ‘The Clerk of the Course will not be amused,’ Muriel said.

  ‘Leave him to me.’ Milly waved her hand. ‘He’s a friend of Daddy’s.’

  ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite so many people here,’ Pips said, when they arrived at the meeting in Paul’s car. ‘The bookies will do a roaring trade today. There are men, women and even some children. Daisy will love this when she’s a bit older. I must bring her.’

  ‘Coming to the end of the season, they’ve all had the same idea as we have,’ Milly said. ‘At least we’ve got a fine day. Even the sun’s trying to shine. Let’s see if we can find a place on the hill to start with.’

  They commandeered a spot on Members’ Hill and sat down to watch the race, well wrapped up against the October chill. Pips introduced George to Muriel and Pattie, but Mitch seemed to have disappeared.

  ‘The race will last over two hours,’ Muriel explained as she sat down next to George and pointed out the places of interest around the circuit and told him a little of its history. ‘Now, they’re going to start in a minute. Let’s get that champagne opened. Major, would you do the honours?’

  ‘Call me George, please.’

  Mitch joined them just before noon as the cars lined up at the Fork Start. The noise was deafening and there was no chance to introduce him to George. Even the cheering crowds could not be heard against the roar of four rows of pounding engines.

  Pips stood up to watch. ‘I can’t count them from here, but there must be about forty cars taking part.’

  ‘It’s a terrific advert for small cars,’ Pattie said.

  ‘Not so good if they break down, though,’ Muriel said wisely. ‘They’ll do well to last the seventy-three laps.’

  ‘They’re off!’

  ‘The three Talbot-Darracqs are in the lead already.’

  ‘Hardly surprising after the practice results,’ Pattie said. ‘Don’t the drivers look smart in their white driving suits?’

  ‘The two Bugattis are having a go at them, though,’ Pips murmured.

  The three Talbot Darracqs took the first three places, as expected. There was more racing, but once they’d seen the presentation of the cup to the winner of the two-hundred-mile race, the friends retired to the clubhouse.

  ‘So, who’s the guy who’s in love with you?’ George was trying to speak lightly and to smile, but his mouth was tight as they walked towards the clubhouse.

  Pips’s eyes widened. ‘What on earth are you talking about?’

  George nodded towards Mitch. ‘The good-looking, dark-haired chap. Ex RAF, I’d say at a guess.’

  Pips followed the line of his gaze. ‘Oh him? That’s Mitch Hammond.’

  ‘Ah. The guy you pulled from his plane wreckage in no-man’s-land?’

  ‘The very same. He runs a flying school here and he’s one of Milly’s set. There’s a whole clique of them.’

  ‘I don’t doubt it,’ George murmured, his gaze still on Mitch.

  Pips moved closer to him. ‘George, you’re wrong. We don’t even like each other.’

  ‘My dearest Pips, for an intelligent woman you can be remarkably blind sometimes.’

  ‘Oh phooey!’ Pips laughed and linked her arm through his. ‘Come on, let’s go and join them in the clubhouse and forget all this nonsense.’ She hugged his arm to her. ‘I think you imagine every man is in love with me.’

  ‘They probably are, my darling,’ he answered, his tone quite serious.

  They spent the following few days at Milly’s flat, but when she arrived home from her parents’ house on the Tuesday, a little earlier than they’d expected, George said at once, ‘I’ll leave.’

  ‘No need, darling,’ Milly said. ‘I don’t mind you being here. As long as
you don’t mind Paul being here too.’

  ‘It’s your apartment,’ George began, but Milly laughed and flapped her hand.

  ‘If it doesn’t bother you two, it certainly doesn’t worry me, though what my Granny Fortesque would say – and Pips’s divine mother – I daren’t think.’

  ‘I’d make an honest woman of her tomorrow – I think you know that – but she seems to be hesitating.’

  ‘She adores you, George, but I think, like me, she’s not ready to settle down just yet. We’re having too much fun.’

  ‘And you and Paul?’

  Milly shrugged. ‘Funny you should ask me that, George. I told Pips that Paul and I were just friends, but it seems he’s got other ideas. And now he’s proposed. Several times, actually.’ She giggled deliciously. ‘And so have a few others. I’m very fond of him, but I’m not ready. Not yet. I want to cause a bit more of a stir. By the way, I don’t know if you’re up for it, but I’ve organized a party for tomorrow night and there’s going to be a midnight scavenger hunt. It’s a new idea someone’s come up with. We all put five shillings into a kitty for the winners and you have to collect a variety of things from around the city.’

  ‘You really are one of what they’re calling the flappers, aren’t you? Defying all the conventions of the time by wearing short skirts, bobbing your hair – drinking and smoking – and generally shocking the older generation.’ He smiled. ‘So will Pips be roaring through the city’s night-time streets?’

  ‘I do hope so.’ Slyly, she eyed George. ‘But if it’s not your sort of thing, I’m sure Mitch would keep her company.’

  ‘I’m sure he would,’ George said drily. ‘But there’ll be no need. I’ll be with her.’

  Milly hid her smug smile.

  For Pips, London at night was an exciting place, but she could sense it wasn’t quite George’s idea of fun as they drove around the city in the back of Paul’s car following the set of demands that had been devised by Pattie and Muriel.

  ‘We can’t possibly do that,’ he protested. ‘Collect a policeman’s helmet? We’ll be arrested.’

  Milly, in the front seat beside Paul, giggled. ‘Well, the other items aren’t much easier. Someone suggested a blond hair from an actress, though we could probably get away with one of mine.’

  ‘That’d be cheating,’ Pips said primly, then laughed. ‘But it might be the only way.’

  ‘Someone suggested we should steal the door knocker from Number Ten.’

  ‘No! What about the policeman who stands outside?’ George protested again.

  ‘One of us could lure him away,’ Milly said.

  ‘I don’t think you’d manage that.’

  ‘Never mind,’ Pips said. ‘Let’s go for something a little easier. I don’t expect we’ll win anyway. It’s not like racing. It’s not the winning that matters, but the taking part.’

  ‘Let’s try for a commissionaire’s hat from the Savoy . . .’

  ‘Or a nameplate from somewhere . . .’

  Back at a coffee stand near Hyde Park Corner in the early hours of the morning, they compared their trophies.

  ‘I declare Muriel the winner. However did you get a policeman’s hat without being marched off to Holloway?’

  Before Muriel could answer, Pattie piped up, ‘She cheated. It was someone who comes to Brooklands and he gave it to her.’

  ‘But won’t he get into awful trouble?’

  ‘Yes, if anyone finds out, but hopefully they won’t, if she returns it to him before he goes on duty at six, like she’s promised.’

  ‘Then you’d better get a move on, Muriel. It’s half past five now.’ Milly yawned. ‘Come on, Pips. I’m exhausted. Time for bed, I think.’

  The following morning, Pips told George, ‘I’ll be going up to Lincolnshire tomorrow for Sam and Peggy’s wedding on Saturday. Would you like to come with me?’ She chuckled. ‘It’ll be separate bedrooms again, I’m afraid. I wouldn’t wish to offend my mother’s sensibilities.’

  ‘But I’m not invited to the wedding, am I?’

  ‘Not exactly, but anyone can go to the church service.’

  ‘So the vicar has capitulated, has he?’ George smiled. He’d heard all about the contretemps over the wedding.

  ‘No one holds out against my mother for ever.’ Pips laughed. ‘I understand she told him that he ought to be grateful a young couple still wanted to be married in church. Since the war and the dreadful flu epidemic that took so many lives, many have lost their faith. They’re weary of listening to your patriotic sermons, she told him.’

  ‘Did it affect anyone close to you? The flu, I mean?’

  Pips shook her head. ‘My poor father was run ragged attending to patients. It came on so suddenly. Someone could seem perfectly well in the morning and be stricken by the afternoon. There were two deaths of elderly people in the next village, but no one close to us, thank goodness, though several were very ill. But to answer your original question, she – my mother, that is – is holding a wedding reception at the hall for them, so you can come along as my guest.’

  ‘She’s a very generous woman. I heard all about her magnificent fund-raising for the troops in the war. My own men were so grateful for all the gifts you personally brought to the trenches – especially at Christmas time – and I expect most of them were from her.’ They exchanged a sober glance, for a moment, reliving their time out there.

  ‘So, will you come?’

  ‘Of course. Any excuse to be with you.’

  ‘And Rebecca? What will you tell her?’

  ‘I’ll think of something.’

  ‘Don’t lie to her, George. I don’t want our relationship built on lies.’

  He sighed. ‘Then I will tell her the truth – the whole truth – and she can begin to learn to deal with it.’ He took her in his arms and, with his mouth against her hair, murmured, ‘I mean to marry you, Pips, and no one – not even Rebecca – is going to stand in my way.’

  Only now did Pips realize that he truly loved her.

  Twenty-Four

  ‘You’re most welcome, Major Allender,’ Henrietta greeted him when they arrived at Doddington Hall for the wedding. Ever perceptive, she had quickly noticed a subtle change in their relationship, the way they looked at each other, the way he’d put his arm around Pips’s waist as she’d climbed the shallow steps to the front door; steps that Pips had run up and down for years without mishap. Yet to the observant mother, the simple protective action spoke volumes and opened up her hopes again.

  The only ‘fly in the ointment’ for her was the difference in their ages, but Henrietta sighed inwardly. With such a shortage now of suitable young men, how could she raise such a piffling objection? He certainly had all the other qualities she sought. He was a highly decorated officer from the war. He was charming, courteous – a true gentleman – and obviously very much in love with Pips. Perhaps, after all, Henrietta began to hope her wayward daughter would really settle down and forget all this motor-racing nonsense.

  ‘Please, call me George,’ he murmured, as he glanced around the Great Hall. Already the long dining table was set for the wedding guests. It looked to George as if the whole village would be attending. Perhaps they were, if Henrietta’s generous reputation was to be believed. ‘This must be giving you a lot of work. Is there anything I can do to help?’

  ‘That’s most kind of you, but we’re fortunate here, we haven’t lost any of our staff like a great many of the country houses have. We still have everyone we had before the war – apart from William, of course. Even though some of the younger ones went to do war work, they were glad to come back to us afterwards.’ She laughed. ‘I was quite surprised, actually; I thought the girls would like the city life, but no, they’ve come back home.’

  ‘It’s a beautiful part of the country. I can’t blame them. I must try to see more of it with Pips whilst we’re here.’

  ‘Ah now, we have a little surprise for her, which you will hear about at dinner tonight. We shall
be eating in the Brown Parlour tonight as it’s just family. This,’ she waved her hand towards the grand table, ‘is being prepared for the wedding breakfast tomorrow and I don’t want to cause the servants any more work than is necessary.’

  George smiled to himself. Henrietta Maitland was a remarkable woman. Who, in her position, he wondered, would be so thoughtful towards their staff. Now he began to see from whom Pips had inherited her altruistic motives. He warmed to his hostess and realized that she could become a very useful ally in his pursuit of her daughter.

  ‘Philippa, we have a surprise for you,’ Henrietta said as the dinner came to an end and Wainwright moved silently about the room, serving coffee. ‘You tell her, Robert, because it was your idea really.’

  ‘We’ve bought another horse for the stable. His name is Boxer. Jake and I went back to see Mr Rudd at Horncastle last week. We thought it would be nice to have two horses rather than just the one alongside the children’s ponies. Only, at the moment, Daisy is forbidden to ride him, so no putting her on his back. And certainly, she’s not to go anywhere near Samson.’ He glanced at George and added casually, ‘You’re very welcome to use Boxer any time you come here because I don’t think you’ll get the chance to ride Samson – not when Pips is around. She loves riding him.’

  Before George had time to respond, Pips clapped her hands. ‘Oh how lovely!’ She drank her coffee quickly and got up. ‘I must see him this very minute.’

  ‘Oh, isn’t it a bit late now . . .?’ Henrietta began, but Pips was halfway out of the room. George smiled indulgently, finished his own coffee, begged to be excused and followed her.

  As the door closed behind him, Robert murmured, ‘Well, I think that went well, don’t you? I don’t think he guessed that we’d bought another horse for him to ride out with her, do you?’

  Edwin chuckled. ‘Of course he did, Robert, my boy. But if it’s something to please Pips, he’s not going to argue, is he?’

  ‘Oh dear, I hope he doesn’t see it as charity in some way.’