“The previous season I had met a handsome and intelligent gentleman named Colin Matheson. He had quite a reputation as a ladies’ man, and although I found him to be attractive, I was not going to be one of those who practically swooned when he came into the room. He asked if he could call on me, and not wanting to encourage him because of Jack, I told him I had a very crowded schedule. He didn’t like that answer, and he didn’t call. When my mother saw him in Paris, he told her what I had said, and she was not amused.
“Because I was in love with Jack, I had to put on this performance of looking for a husband, and so during the 1914 season, I encouraged Colin. Mama was so pleased with the way things were going that she agreed to let me go back to Montclair for a week’s rest before getting back into the game for the second half of the season. Of course, the reason I wanted to go back home was because Jack would be at Montclair on summer break.
“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that women are the worst gossips. Reed and I returned to Montclair by car with Billy Hitchens as our driver. Apparently, Billy told Jack about Colin, and when I went to look for him, his mother said he had gone up to the Highlands to work on a school project and would be gone for the rest of the summer. I went up to my room and cried my eyes out. When I returned to London, I agreed that Colin and I would become engaged at Christmastime.”
Beth closed her eyes as she tried to retrieve memories from thirty years earlier. “The summer of 1914 was glorious. There was no end to tennis parties and picnics. Colin and I drove down to Henley, where we met some of Reed’s friends, and we all went rowing on the Thames. My Aunt Laura, an admirer of Wordsworth, was visiting from New York, and we all went up to the Lake District and Windermere. You could hardly move with all the people strolling about the village. But Aunt Laura and Uncle Cal in New York did not come alone. Without my mother’s knowledge, they had brought Ellen Manning and little Gloria with them.”
“So Trevor got to see his daughter.”
“Yes, he did. Trevor, Ellen, and Gloria spent two weeks at the resort town of Eastbourne. It was Trevor’s intention to go to work for my Uncle Cal after the war and to marry Ellen. But you know what happened in France.
“All of that summer, there had been talk about war, and the great powers were mobilizing. But even after Archduke Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated, it seemed impossible that a major war would break out as a result of a death in the Balkans. But Colin was less optimistic.” Turning around facing the door, she said, “And I hear someone.”
It was Geoff. Beth was pleased to see him, and he put on his best public school manners and asked after the family. Reaching into her purse, she took out a piece of paper. “I’ve had a letter from Michael.” I moved to the sofa, so that Geoff and I could read it together. “I apologize for the handwriting. I don’t know what happened there, and he often forgets to date his letters.” I thought to myself, so did William Lacey.
Dear Mom, Dad, James, Angela, and Maggie,
This is my first day off since I arrived. It’s been ten days of twelve-hour shifts. Lubeck was used by the Luftwaffe as a night fighter base (Junkers 88s for those interested). Because it was a permanent installation on the North Sea, we have some very nice digs. The barracks is a brick building with central heating and is well insulated.
Since my arrival, I have been working on C-47 Dakotas exclusively. The Dakotas’ cargo is mostly coal, tobacco, and flour, but one crew delivered the goat mascot for the South Wales Borderer Regiment. The dust from the coal and flour get into everything, and it’s a nasty business cleaning everything for the next go-round, but these crews are stellar.
Starting tomorrow, I will be flying in and out of Berlin to work on aircraft that, for one reason or another, were unfit for the return flight. My crew and I will fly in with the parts, fix it, and return to Lubeck. The sergeant major asked if I wanted to go home on a short leave or have the time deducted from the end of my enlistment. I chose the latter because that will get me home on or about November 18th instead of the 25th.
Even though I don’t write that often, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. I’m too tired to do anything other than read your letters. It would be a lonely place without them. I love you all.
Mike
“Mike’s the last one to be demobbed,” Geoff said, “so we’ll have to have a grand party welcoming him back to civilian life.”
“Will Alberta be joining us?” Beth asked.
“No. Bertie and I have parted company,” Geoff said without his usual flippancy. “On the advice of a friend, I ended it because it was basically unworkable.”
After several discussions with Geoff about his relationship with Alberta, he had asked for my opinion. I told him that if I was in a relationship that was unworkable, I would rather know about it sooner rather than later. I had started a letter to Rob saying just that, but that letter was on my desk next to one I had received from my mother telling me my Aunt Marie was unwell. Mom did not say I should come home, but knowing how important my aunt was to me, she wanted to let me know that, at my aunt’s age, things could go from bad to worse very quickly.
Other than my mother, my grandmother’s sister Marie was the most important person in my life. She believed I could do anything I set my mind to. When I wanted to move to Washington after finishing secretarial school, my mother thought I was too shy to work in a big city, but Aunt Marie had encouraged me to go. When I hesitated about going to Germany to work for the Army Exchange Service, she told me if I didn’t go, I’d end up marrying a local boy and popping a kid out every other year. She practically pushed me out the door.
“Does your mother know about Alberta?” Beth asked Geoff.
“No. Mother has taken up residence at Lily’s house. I think she’s exhibiting an overabundance of caution regarding her pregnancy. Yes, she had a miscarriage, but so did you and so did my mother. It does not automatically follow that a miscarriage is a harbinger of future problem pregnancies.”
“It’s good of you to be so brave about this, Geoff,” Beth said, clearly annoyed. Standing up, she added, “I’m very tired, and I need to ring Jack.”
After Beth left the room, I told Geoff I didn’t know that Beth had a miscarriage.
“It happened in India when Violet and I were staying with Jack and Beth. Beth said she was going to lie down. The next thing I know, she’s calling for James to get Ayah and for Michael to bring some towels. When we found her, she was sitting on the bathroom floor with her head on the tub, quietly crying.”
Standing up, he said, “Excuse me. I need to find Beth.”
At breakfast, I told Beth that Geoff felt awful about what he had said. I was sticking up for someone who probably didn’t deserve it.
“Don’t worry, Maggie. Geoff is a very complex character, and I, perhaps more than anyone else, understand why he says the things he does. When he was with Jack and me in India, I was very hard on him. He was ten years old and throwing tantrums, something I never tolerated in my sons when they were toddlers. When he did come around, I found him to be extraordinarily bright and likable.
“Rather than sending Geoff and Violet back to England for schooling, I convinced Patricia to allow the children to stay with me and that I would supervise their education. When Geoff misbehaved, I told him if he didn’t straighten up, he would be joining his Burden cousins at Glenkill. That kept him in check.”