Always in My Heart by Ellie Dean Read Free Book Online Page B

compost again, heathen eejit,’ Ron muttered as he toed off his boots, flung them back down the stairs in the vague direction of the basement scullery and grabbed Harvey by the scruff. ‘Will ye be following the boots, ye great lump,’ he growled.
    The Bedlington-cross eyed him mournfully as he was dragged towards the concrete steps. Harvey was a big dog, with a shaggy brindle coat, floppy ears and long legs. In possession of an entire catalogue of expressions which he used to great effect when he knew he was in trouble, he was as scruffy and unruly as his owner.
    They were both a pain in the neck, but Cordelia could forgive them anything, for Harvey and Ron had proved their courage many a time during the air raids as Harvey sniffed out survivors beneath the debris, and Ron helped to rescue them.
    ‘I don’t know what Peggy will say if she sees this floor,’ she muttered as Ron shut the door on Harvey, who proceeded to howl as if he’d been abandoned in the pit of hell, and not in the basement right next to his bowl of food.
    ‘Peggy will not be seeing any floor for a while yet,’said Jim cheerfully as he appeared in the doorway carrying a pile of dirty nappies. ‘She’s to rest and be looked after, so she is. Treated like a queen.’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘Where do I put these?’
    ‘There’s a bucket under the sink,’ Cordelia replied as she pointed to the faded gingham curtains that hid all the cleaning paraphernalia. ‘Let them soak in there.’
    She watched as he delved beneath the old stone sink. Jim was another rogue, with a glint in his eye and enough blarney to make you blush. A handsome man in his forties, Jim could charm the birds off the trees, and sell sand to the Arabs. He could also turn his hand to some dodgy dealing, which often led to trouble between him and Peggy – but it was clear that he adored Peggy and his family, and for Cordelia that was enough to redeem him.
    Cordelia brought her wandering thoughts back into order as she heard the three lodgers coming down the stairs to knock on Peggy’s door. Fran and Suzy were nurses at Cliffehaven hospital and little Rita drove a fire engine. They were all young, with good appetites, and would need this filling hot breakfast to start the day, for it was bitterly cold out there.
    ‘Let the dog back in before he upsets the baby with his racket,’ she said wearily. ‘But clean him up a bit first.’
    Ron winked at her and she did her best to glare with disapproval at such cheek – but she could feel her face burn, for he always made her want to giggle like a silly schoolgirl when he flirted like that.
    Ron went to sort out his dog and Jim went outside to see if there were enough eggs to perhaps keep a few as barter for extra margarine or flour.
    Cordelia carefully avoided the mud on the linoleum as she returned to stirring the porridge. It was lovely to be in charge of a kitchen again, and with a new baby in the house, and all the sweet young things dashing in and out, it chased away the gloom of memories and war and made her feel much more like her old self.
    ‘To be sure, that is the sweetest wee cub I ever did see,’ said Fran as she came into the kitchen, starched apron crackling over her neat uniform as she helped herself to tea. She tossed back the mane of fiery hair from her face and dreamily stared into the teacup. ‘All that dark hair and those long eyelashes – makes me feel all warm and broody.’
    ‘I’d have thought that being one of twelve would have put you off babies,’ said Suzy as she followed her to the table and reached for the teapot.
    Fran shrugged. ‘Well now,’ she replied. ‘Maybe it does make a girl stop and t’ink, and I’ve had the endless lectures from Father O’Brian which are enough to put a girl off men and babies for life – but when they’re that wee and that perfect …’ She sighed and sipped her tea.
    ‘I suspect we’re all feeling a bit clucky at the moment,’ said Rita as she came