Page 109 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure
“I’m so sorry, dearest Clive.” Ellie attempted to hug him, but he pushed her away.
“Where will I go?” he asked. “What will I do?” He looked around him. “I can’t stay here. There is nothing for me now.” In spite of Ellie’s entreaties, he went back to the house he had shared with Tommy. He wanted to be in the place where they had been happy together. Ellie urged him to take his goat and some chickens with him, but he refused.
“You can’t give up now, Clive,” Ellie said. “Not when we’ve endured so much. Tommy wouldn’t have wanted you to. Keep painting. You have great talent. Paint a memorial to a brave man whom I loved, too.”
He held her then, and they cried in each other’s arms. He did take the cat Minou with him, and Tiger walked around the house complaining bitterly.
After Tommy’s death was confirmed, Ellie and Nico waited a while before they were married. “It’s not the right moment,” she said. “We are in mourning for a wonderful man. Such a brave man. I will treasure him forever.”
“I agree,” Nico said, “but I have grown tired of my mother making me go to confession because we are sharing a sinful bed.”
Ellie looked at him tenderly. “After what the world has just been through, do you think the fact that we love each other counts as sin?”
“Of course not, but you know my mother. Old-school Catholic. Confession every time you have an impure thought.”
“I bet you had to go to confession a lot when you were younger, then,” she teased.
He wrapped his arms around her. “I love you so much,” he said. “I never believed I could be happy again, and now I am.”
“So am I,” she said. “All right, then. I’ll marry you as soon as you want. But shouldn’t we wait until the war is officially over? I know the end is in sight and the Germans are gone from here, but we have to remember that there are still people in camps as Tommy was, still waiting to be liberated, and so many people displaced from their homes.”
Nico nodded, considering this. “You’re right. We’ll get married, but it should only be a small ceremony, as we are still in mourning for Mr Tommy, and Hitler has not yet surrendered.”
She went down to tell Mavis the news and ask if she and Louis would stand as witnesses for them.
Mavis looked at her in disbelief. “A small ceremony with just two witnesses? Are you barmy? What we all need now is a chance to celebrate something. Look how many people in the village have lost a relative or friend. We should learn to be happy again—” She broke off. “I’ve been happy. I’ve got the best man you could want. And now you have, too, even though I thought he was a pirate to start with.”
Ellie laughed. “So you think we should have a proper wedding, then? Invite everybody?”
Mavis nodded. “I do.”
“But shouldn’t we wait until the Germans have surrendered and the war is officially over?”
“Who knows how long that will take? They are stubborn and proud, those Germans. They might keep fighting even though they can’t win. I say let’s be happy now.” She frowned. “Too bad there won’t be any fabric in the stores. I’d like to make you a wedding dress.”
“We can raid Jeannette’s wardrobe again,” she said.My mother-in-law,she thought, toying with the words and the ridiculousness of this. Maybe one day she’d tell Mavis.
“Righty-oh, then,” Mavis said. “Let’s come up and have a look.”
They went through the ballgowns, and Mavis decided on a pale-blue silk.
“There’s enough in that skirt to make you a simple dress,” she said. “They are wearing everything short these days, aren’t they?”
“Help yourself to anything you can use for yourself,” Ellie said.
“Me? I’ve got my own wedding outfit that I haven’t had a chance to wear since,” Mavis said.
The invitations went out. The dress was made, and Ellie and Nico were married in a simple ceremony. Somehow enough wine was found for everyone, and Madame Blanchet managed to make a cake, although she complained about the lack of butter and eggs. As the toasts were raised, Nico stood up. “I would like everyone to raise your glasses to a brave man who gave his life for my wife and me. To Mr Tommy.”
Glasses were raised. To Mr Tommy. The words echoed in the clear air. Clive brushed away a tear. Ellie knew how hard it must have been for him to attend any celebration and that he had only come because of his fondness for her.
“I’m so glad to see you happy at last,” Mavis said. “Who’d have thought, when we set off all those years ago, that we’d find the place where we belonged right here?”
The Germans surrendered. The war was officially over, and Saint-Benet held a party. The street was decorated with bunting and balloons and flowers. Flags flew from all the boats in the harbour. A band played. People hugged each other. Then, as everyone sat at long tables, Monsieur Danton called for silence and got up to speak.
“I was about to raise a toast to the citizens of Saint-Benet, for their courage and endurance and the part they played in defeating the enemy, but I have received a communication from the new government, asking us to name and shame those who collaborated with the enemy.”
“Madame Adams.” One of the women stood up, pointing a finger at her. “She was one. She was friendly with those Germans.”
