Foxden Hotel (The Dudley Sisters Saga Book 5) by Madalyn Morgan (ebook reader ink txt) 📕

Bess’s attention returned to the nursery when she heard the words, ‘Have you got a poorly eye?’ Frank was sitting between the two girls trying to mend a doll whose arm had come out of its socket. He was used to being asked about his eye. Because it was glass it didn’t move like his own eye, which was often a source of curiosity when he met a child for the first time.

‘It was poorly,’ Aimee informed Nancy, ‘but it’s better now, isn’t it Uncle Frank?’ Aimee scrabbled to her feet, put her hands on Frank’s shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.

‘Thank you, Aimee,’ Frank said. When his niece sat down again and had finished wriggling to make herself comfortable, Frank turned to Nancy. She was still looking at his eye. ‘It’s a special eye,’ Frank explained. ‘It was made for me by a clever doctor. I’m very lucky,’ he said.

‘Why?’ Nancy asked.

‘Because no one in Foxden, Lowarth, or even Kirby Marlow, has an eye like mine.’

Nancy got to her feet, bent down, and kissed Frank on the cheek as Aimee had done. Then she stroked the fading scar that was still visible on his left temple. ‘Better now, Uncle Frank?’

‘Yes, thank you, Nancy. Now,’ he said, tears threatening to fall from his good eye, ‘let’s make this doll’s arm better.’

Leaving the two girls dominating Frank’s time and the boys, Archie and Matthew or was it Matthew and Archie - they looked so alike she couldn’t tell - playing with the train, Bess went down to the kitchen to finish Aimee’s birthday fare.

She took four trays from the kitchen cupboard. One for the birthday cake, one for plates of egg and cress, corned beef, and cheese sandwiches. One was needed for the sponge fancies and fairy cakes, and the last for the pink and white sugar mice, nibbling pineapple flavoured boiled sweets that pretended to be chunks of cheese. ‘That’s it!’ she said aloud. She was miles away when she heard someone say, ‘Need a hand?’

‘Margot? You made it.’

Margot helped herself to a quarter-square of cheese sandwich. ‘What can I do to help?’

‘Stop eating the food,’ Bess said.

‘You’ve made so much, no one’s going to miss a couple of…’ Margot leant forward to pick up another square and Bess tapped her on the hand with a spoon.

‘Blimey, you are tight, our Bess. Cruel too. How could you deny your little nephew or niece a teeny-weenie piece of bread?’

Bess laughed. ‘Put your bottom lip away, sister, and let me check we have everything.’ Holding up her fingers, Bess said, ‘Six adults and four and a half children.’ Giggling, she went over to her younger sister and gave her a hug. ‘You can eat as much as you like when the food’s upstairs.’ She backed away from Margot and placed the flat of her hand a few inches from her tummy. ‘May I?’ Margot nodded. ‘Goodness, you’re getting big.’ Bess beamed, ‘I can’t wait until this little one is born. What a party we’ll have then.’

Margot blew out her cheeks. ‘I can’t wait either. I’m counting the days. I feel like an elephant, a tired one. I haven’t slept for a month.’

Bess laughed at her sister who was clearly exaggerating. ‘Go and get Claire and Maeve.’

‘Maeve?’

‘Yes, Aimee invited Maeve’s niece to her party.’

‘I didn’t know Maeve had a niece.’

‘I didn’t either. But then, why would I? Anyway, Maeve and Nancy are lodging with the Vicar and his wife at St. Peter’s in Kirby Marlow. You’ll like Nancy, she’s lovely.’

Margot, miles away and deep in thought, said wistfully, ‘One of the children who comes to dance classes is called Nancy. When she first came, I couldn’t say her name without thinking of my beautiful mentor at the Prince Albert Theatre, Nancy Jewel.’

‘It’s hard, isn’t it? I don’t think we ever get over losing someone we love. Accept it eventually, but there’ll always be names, people, places, to remind us of those who have died, especially in the war. Come on,’ Bess said, ‘think of how lucky you were to have survived the Blitz, and go up and meet her.

‘Aimee also invited little two boys who are staying here. Nice lads. Their parents have gone into Coventry for the afternoon. Their mother was born there, lived close to the city centre until she married. They’ve gone in to see the damage the Luftwaffe did to the Cathedral.’

‘So you’re babysitting,’ Margot said.

‘Not really. They’ll only be away for a couple of hours. Besides, it wouldn’t be much fun for Aimee if the only guests at her birthday party were her aunts and uncles.’ Bess gave Margot a selection of cutlery in a tea towel. ‘Put these on the table, will you? Oh, and Margot?’ Bess called after her, ‘Smile!’ Margot pulled a comical face and left Bess arranging plates of food on the trays.

A breeze wafted into the hot kitchen. Bess turned and saw her brother-in-law Bill. Welcoming him with a kiss, she gave him a shopping bag containing bottles of lemon and barley, Vimto, lemonade and a dozen small tumblers.

‘Margot’s gone up to the old nursery. Will you take the drinks, and ask Frank to come down to help me carry the food? Oh, hang on.’ Bess took a clean table cloth and a dozen napkins from the linen cupboard. ‘Can you manage these?’ she asked, pushing them under Bill’s arm.

No sooner had Bill left than Frank arrived. He staggered across the kitchen and fell into Bess’s arms. ‘I’m puffed out from blowing up balloons.’

She kissed him, then playfully shooed him away. ‘You have quite a fan club, Uncle Frank,’ she teased.

‘Is that what you call them? I thought Aimee was a handful, but with Nancy as well…’

‘Go on with you,