to lie in it. Anyhow, little Johnnie here needs his dad. I couldn’t take him away from his father.’
Ted bounced his grandson on his knee, his heart melting as the baby gave him a toothless grin. ‘Oh, Glenda. I wish there was something I could do. Maybe if I have a quiet word in Harry’s ear he might listen?’
‘I know you mean well, Dad, but please don’t. It’ll only make things worse. Harry doesn’t like me talking about our married life so it’s best if we keep this little chat between ourselves.’
Ted sighed. ‘All right, my gal, you’re a grown woman, so it’s your choice at the end of the day. I ain’t happy about it, though, so if you change your mind don’t you hesitate to get yourself home here.’
Ted tickled Johnnie’s tummy, making the child coo in delight, and as Glenda watched the two of them play, Ted could see there was something else behind the little smile that kept breaking out on his daughter’s face. The woman had been abused and battered, so why was she looking so happy?
‘Anything else been going on in the world of Glenda Jenkins?’ Ted teased. ‘Only you look like Churchill did on VE Day!’
‘Course not, Dad, just the usual stuff. I called in on Helen next door before I came round here. Seems her mum is getting more and more forgetful. She was asleep upstairs, but when she woke up and came down, she called me Elsie! Helen tried to tell her I was Elsie’s daughter but she wouldn’t have it. She even tried to drag me out while going on about the “protest” and how we would be able to vote soon. She started getting quite excited and poor Helen had a job calming her down!’
Ted chuckled and sat back in his chair, remembering the feisty little thing Elsie had been years earlier when they had first met. ‘Cor, that takes me back.’ He smiled at Glenda. ‘Your mother and her next door were a formidable twosome in their day. They kicked up quite a stink round here, banging on about the right of the ordinary woman to vote. Must have been about twenty-odd years ago when they finally won and huh, the jollies them two had that night. Course you won’t remember, you was just a nipper then yourself, not much older than Johnnie boy now.’
‘What? Mum was a Suffragette?’
‘Well, not as such, but she had a right gob on her and stood up for what she believed to be right. She went on quite a few marches and protests up in London town, swinging her banner and shouting her mouth off. Blimey, the temper on her too. I used to call her “Frowny Crowny” on account of her name being Elsie Crown.’
‘I never knew Mum was like that! She’s always been so … so quiet.’
‘She changed when you were born, but she was one helluva woman when we first met.’ Ted looked across to his wife. He would never cry in front of his daughter, but his eyes glistened. It had been love at first sight when he’d met Elsie and she had proved to be the love of his life.
‘I remember the first time I saw her. She was coming out of a big house over Chelsea way. She was in service there, see. Anyhow, right haughty she looked, nose in the air, marching down the Embankment in her shiny black boots, ankle-length dress with a nipped-in waist, pretty as a picture she was, just like you now. I remember catching sight of her and thinking how I wished I was brave enough to make her acquaintance.’
‘Well, you must have managed it,’ Glenda pointed out, smiling.
‘Yeah, well, as luck would ’ave it for me, this old horse and cart went rushing past her, almost galloping it was. It nearly knocked her off her feet and as it sped through a dirty old puddle, a big splash of mucky water went all over your mother’s dress. Cor blimey, she shouted out some obscenities, words I had never heard a woman use before, but it did make me laugh! Course, she caught me laughing, didn’t she, and that was that, she turned her anger to me then. I did my best to calm her and eventually she let me introduce meself. Funny little thing she was, and when she told me her name was Elsie Crown, she added, “Crown, like what the Queen wears.” It still tickles me all these years later.’
Ted stood up and placed Johnnie back in his pram then walked over to his wife and gently pulled a blanket over her legs.
‘Oh, Dad, that’s a lovely story,’ Glenda said as she rose to her feet. ‘I know the sun’s shining, but it’s a bit nippy for Mum in here. I’ll go out to the shed and bring some coal in. You could do with lighting that fire.’
‘No point, love,’ said Ted glumly, ‘you won’t find no coal in the shed.’
‘I know there’s shortages, Dad, but the coal cart was round the streets last week. Didn’t you get any?’
Ted was a proud man, but after Glenda’s openness earlier he felt she deserved the same honesty in return. ‘He would have stopped if I could have paid him. Thing is, love, I’m a bit strapped at the moment. Your mother needed some tonics from the doctor and he ain’t cheap, but not to worry. There’s an old railway sleeper out in the back yard. I’ll chop that up and use it but I’m waiting ’til it gets a bit colder yet. And if need be, Philip’s old wardrobe is sitting empty now so that’ll make a good bit of firewood.’
‘Oh, Dad, why didn’t you say?’
‘And what would be the point of that, eh? I won’t take no handouts from my own daughter! Don’t worry, love, we’ve been through tougher times than this. Us Webbers are made of stern stuff, ya know!’
‘I’m not.’
‘Of course you are. You’ve just had a bit of your courage knocked out of you, but one day, like a worm, you’ll turn. I know you will.’ It was then that Ted noticed a silly smile again on Glenda’s face and a bit of a twinkle in her eye. ‘You still haven’t told me what’s making them cheeks of yours nice and rosy, and don’t tell me it’s the wind!’
Glenda blushed again and went over to the window to look out onto the street, moving from one foot to the other and obviously excited about something. It was nice to see her looking so happy, thought Ted, but he knew it was not of Harry’s doing.
‘It’s nothing really, Dad. I’ve just got a new friend, that’s all.’
‘Oh,’ said Ted, raising his chin in the air, ‘and this new friend, does he have a name?’
Glenda spun round to look at her dad, her expression one of shock, but she nodded. ‘Yes, his name is Frank. He’s such a nice bloke, Dad, a proper gentleman. Of course Harry mustn’t find out, but we’re only friends. It’s just nice to have someone to talk to who is kind and caring. I dunno, maybe I’m being silly, but I just like spending time with him, that’s all.’
Ted nodded his head. He recognised that look when his daughter spoke of Frank. It was the same way Elsie used to look when they had first gotten together. Glenda never had that look when she talked about Harry. Oh, well, if this Frank made his daughter happy, who was he to question it? The girl deserved at least a small bit of joy so good luck to her. He only hoped that awful Harry never found out …
It was a sunny but chilly Friday morning as Glenda pushed her pram over Battersea Bridge, excited about meeting Frank on the other side. She was glad of the good weather, but if she was honest even a hurricane wouldn’t put a dampener on her spirits today. This was the second time she was meeting Frank in secret and though she hadn’t known him long, she felt she knew him well. It was odd, she thought, that Frank was so different from his brother Billy. Not just in appearance but in personality too. Frank was warm and funny; he had a confident air about him but his light spirit made her feel instantly relaxed. On the other hand, his brother gave her the creeps. She shuddered as she dismissed any further thoughts of Billy.
The week had dragged by so slowly, but she had managed to tolerate Harry and his demands by creating her own little daydream world with Frank as the focus of her thoughts. Oh, why couldn’t Harry be more