Page 75 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure
He considered this. “Probably not,” he said. “But I’d like to see you try.”
He was incorrigible, she thought. And yet there was something about him ...
The summer passed with the small town crowded with visitors. The beach was no longer deserted when Ellie took Dora to swim. The water became delightfully warm, and Ellie enjoyed swimming, too, although Mavis still refused to join them for more than a paddle. Theybrought Jojo, who lay in the shade in her basket, giving a toothless smile whenever they looked at her.Such a delightful child,Ellie thought.How could anyone abandon her?She pictured the little girl crawling soon, then toddling. Mavis would sew her pretty dresses, and then later, they’d have to think about school ...
Then, on September 1, just when all the summer visitors had gone back, the news came that German troops were amassing on the Polish border. There was a stern warning from the Allied nations, but Hitler paid no attention. His troops swarmed over the border, and on September 3, 1939, war was declared. Ellie and Dora had acquired a radio earlier in the year and now listened to grim announcements both from Paris and the BBC.
“Do you think we should go home?” Ellie asked, the worry showing on her face. “But then I couldn’t take Jojo back to England, could I? She’s not mine to take. So I suppose that means we’re trapped here.”
“I suspect that we shall be safer here than in England,” Dora said. “Obviously Hitler will set his sights on London. I’m sure there will be bombings, but who will show any interest in a remote corner of the French coast with little strategic use? Anyway, let us be optimists and believe that even now peace will be negotiated. They must remember the toll of the last war. Neither side can want that again.”
“Let us hope so,” Ellie said.
“All the same, it might be good to be prepared,” Dora said. “Let’s go into Marseille and stock up on provisions—things like sugar and coffee that might become scarce. Also, let’s buy enough jars so that we can preserve our produce.”
They made the trip into Marseille. In that city life went on as it always had. The pavement cafés were full; there was laughter and music. No hint of panic or approaching war.
“We have the Maginot Line,” one shopkeeper was saying. “The Germans will never breach that, however hard they try. They’ll give up and turn on easier targets in Eastern Europe, you’ll see.”
This prediction seemed to be true. Hitler aimed for the Balkans, then Norway. Life went on as usual in Saint-Benet. Dora and Ellie worked at preserving fruits and vegetables. They made sure they had enough chickens and even acquired a young nanny goat, named Babette, from the nearby farm for future milk supplies. Nobody in Saint-Benet mentioned that the women were aliens. They were, after all, on the same side. Britain and France prepared to fight against the might of the Nazi regime.
At the end of September, Ellie received a letter from her son Colin.Dad begged me to write to you to tell you to come home while you still can,he said.You may find yourself trapped in France. If you need money, he’ll cable it to you. I’ve just received my call-up papers and will be reporting. As I have been to university, I gather I can go enlist as an officer, which should be a damned sight better than sleeping in a barracks with a hundred other men. I’m trying to think whether I want army, navy or naval air arm. I think flying might be quite a lark.
Ellie stared down at the letter. Quite a lark. Being shot at by enemy aeroplanes. How could the young be so stupid? And yet she knew it was no good writing back to tell him to take a safe desk job. She remembered young men in the last war who couldn’t wait to join up and get to the battlefield—and so many of those young men didn’t come back or came back horribly damaged: maimed, gassed, mentally disturbed. And then there was Richard, already in the army, his regiment presumably being sent to an arena of conflict.My boys,she thought, and stared down at the village. How many young men from the village families would go and not return?
Bruno’s mother came to see her with consternation. Bruno had received a summons to join the French army. “He can’t go and fight,” Bruno’s mother said. “He’s just like a child. He won’t understand.”
Ellie had a word with the doctor, who wrote a stern letter exempting him on account of mental incompetency. Bruno’s mother hugged Ellie and kissed her when she found out. So Bruno was to be spared, but not the baker’s son, or Luc, married to the baker’s daughter, or the twosons of François the fisherman. They all went out, proudly wearing uniforms, boasting how they were going to stop Hitler.
September became October. They had been in Saint-Benet for a year, but it seemed inappropriate to have a party. Instead they dined at Henri’s with Tommy and Clive, thus giving him business after the visitors had departed. Henri produced a beautiful beef bourguignon for them. “I don’t know how long we’ll be able to get good supplies,” he said. “So make the most of it while we can. Frankly, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay open if no visitors come or if they start implementing rationing. Damn that Hitler—that’s what I say.”
But nothing dire happened. Ellie took care of Jojo, went out in the motorboat, sometimes alone, sometimes with Nico, with whom she had developed an easy camaraderie. Dora continued swimming for a while, although she had given up her painting lessons. “One realizes when one has no talent,” she said. With the wintery weather she read, painted and slept a lot. Ellie watched the palm trees bending and swaying crazily as rain battered the windows. Roland had gone back to Paris, saying he was sure the Maginot Line would keep the Germans at bay and there was good theatre and opera to see. They went to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, where Father André offered prayers for their safety and the safety of France. Their presents were meaningful ones, given the situation: a bottle of good cognac for Dora, a pair of shoes for Mavis, a box of English Black Magic chocolates for Tommy and Clive. “Who knows when we’ll see these things again?” Ellie said.
But 1940 dawned, and still Saint-Benet slumbered peacefully, hearing news of distant battles, German invasions of French colonies, but nothing that impacted France. The chickens laid eggs, the young nanny goat produced milk and Ellie learned to milk her without getting kicked or butted. Spring vegetables appeared. Everyone in Saint-Benet began to feel hopeful that this was a war that, while terrible, affected other people.
On March 12, Jojo turned one year old. She had grown into a pretty little girl with dark curls and dark eyes, already toddling around,chasing the cat, saying her first words in a mixture of French and English. Ellie was adamant that she learned both. She called Ellie “Maman” and Dora and Mavis “Tante” or “Auntie.” Ellie would watch her with pride and love as she practiced walking in the garden, chasing birds, holding out her hand to be splashed by the fountain and then squealing with delight. And she relived those happy first years with her boys. Where were they now? she worried. She hadn’t heard anything since a Christmas card from Colin saying he was still in training in Surrey but Richard had been moved to the Far East. She continued to write to them, hoping the letters would finally reach them, sending them love and prayers for safety.
On Easter Sunday they went to church, and Henri roasted a whole lamb for the inhabitants of Saint-Benet. Ellie’s thought was that it would soon be May. Would the boat take people across to the island this year? She looked forward to seeing the abbot.
“I should go into Marseille while we can,” she said to Dora. “Jojo is outgrowing everything. If I buy some fabrics, we can make her new outfits for the summer. Do you want to come?”
“I think not, my dear,” Dora said. “I find it tiring enough going upstairs to bed these days. But perhaps you could look for English books for me to read. I’ve got through everything we have, and one can only read P. G. Wodehouse so many times.”
“Of course.” Ellie kissed her forehead. She paused, looking back at the older woman. It was true that Dora was fading. She had taken on an ethereal look, her skin like parchment. Only her eyes still had life in them. She saw Dora watching her in her turn and smiled as she walked away. As she went down the garden path towards the motor car, she saw the gate opening and someone coming towards her. It took a moment to recognize it was Yvette.
Chapter 30
Yvette took one look at Jojo and ran towards her, arms open. “My little child,” she called. “My precious little child. Look at you. How beautiful you are. How you’ve grown. Come to maman, ma chérie.”
And she swept up the little girl into her arms, covering her with kisses.
“I’ve come to take you home,” she went on.
Jojo tried to squirm out of her embrace and let out a loud wail, holding out her hands to Ellie. “Maman!” she cried.
“This lady is not your maman,” Yvette said, swinging her away. “I am Maman. She was just looking after you until I came back.”
“What were you doing, Yvette?” Ellie demanded, her voice taut. “A whole year and we hear nothing from you. Then you show up as if nothing has happened and want to take your child back?”
