their shared bicycle whilst the girls played hopscotch. Not that the children would be around for much longer. Barbara and the children were evacuating to Essex to stay with Barbaraâs cousin, whilst Ian Simpson, who worked on the printing presses of the Daily Express in Fleet Street, would continue to live in the Row during the week and spend the weekend with his family.
Even so, if Nancy saw that the children had drawn on the pavement in chalk theyâd be for it, Tilly reckoned. Nancy didnât approve of children making the Row look cluttered and untidy, not when they had back gardens to play in.
Most of the inhabitants of Article Row were around Nancyâs age, with children who had grown up here and moved on, and some of the houses, mainly those further down from them, were all owned by the same landlord who rented them out to people who came and went, people who, in the main, worked at one of the local hospitals, the nearby Inns of Court, or the government offices on and around the Strand.
Downstairs, Oliveâs thoughts were occupied with their lodgers every bit as much as Tillyâs, although in a different way. Sheâd spent the day, making sure that the house was immaculate, wiping a damp cloth over the insides of drawers and wardrobes, then leaving them open to the warm summer air to dry, before replacing inside the small bags of lavender sheâd carefully sewn and filled at the end of the previous summer. The previous week sheâd taken the last of her late father-in-lawâs clothes down to Mr Isaac just off the Strand, carefully paying the money heâd given her for them into her Post Office book.
This morning sheâd been up early to give her windows an extra polish with crumpled-up pages of the Daily Express dabbed with a bit of vinegar, and then this afternoon, sheâd made up the beds with freshly aired sheets. She and Tilly had made do with a scratch tea of freshly boiled eggs, brown bread and butter, and some summer pudding sheâd made earlier in the week. Now, as she surveyed her sparkling clean kitchen and smoothed a hand over the front of her apron she just hoped that she was doing the right thing, and that Nancy wasnât right to disapprove and warn her that no good would come of her actions.
In the event Sally was the first of the lodgers to arrive, bringing with her only one small suitcase, her calm organised manner soothing Oliveâs anxieties. For a girl still only in her early twenties, Sally had a very mature manner about her, Olive recognised, deciding that this must come of her being a nurse.
âYes, Iâd love a cup of tea, please,â she replied to Oliveâs offer, âbut Iâd like to take my case up to my room and unpack first, if thatâs all right with you.â
âOf course,â Olive agreed.
Upstairs in what was to be her new home, Sally unpacked quickly and efficiently pausing only to linger over and touch her parentsâ photograph before making her way back downstairs to the kitchen where Olive was waiting for her with the kettle on the boil.
âIâve had keys cut for you all,â Olive informed Sally. âMy neighbour seems to think I shouldnât have done but in your case especially, with you doing shift work, it seemed to make sense and I felt I couldnât offer you your own key and not do the same for the two other girls.
âTwo other?â Sally queried, smiling approvingly at Tilly as Olive explained what had happened.
Once they had their cups of tea they gravitated out into the back garden, Sally explaining, âIt seems a shame not to make the most of this warm weather, especially as we donât know how much longer weâll be able to enjoy it. It was noticeable how many young men in uniform there are in London, as I made my way here, and of course no one can avoid noticing the sandbags and other precautions.â
âNo,â Olive agreed unhappily.
Lori Wilde
Libby Robare
Stephen Solomita
Gary Amdahl
Thomas Mcguane
Jules Deplume
Catherine Nelson
Thomas S. Flowers
Donna McDonald
Andi Marquette