Page 59 of The Stranger in Room Six

Mabel

Life was so confusing. Antonio was the enemy, wasn’t he? Yet she loved him! How she lived for the brief moments they spent together, usually out in the garden, where he would work while she made them a pot of tea to share.

Often, she found him humming to himself.

‘That’s a lovely tune,’ she said dreamily, when she came across him one morning.

‘It’s called “Bella Ciao”,’ he said. ‘The resistance sing it back home in defiance of Hitler. My brother wrote to tell me.’

‘Is he part of the resistance?’

‘Of course. My family does not want the Germans to win any more than you do.’

So if Antonio wasn’t the enemy after all, surely it was acceptable to be friends?

The following week, Antonio was instructed to work on one of Aunt Clarissa’s fields, some distance from the house. Cook had gone to collect the week’s rations, so no one saw her setting off with a flask of tea and a sandwich.

‘This is so kind of you,’ he said. As she handed the package over, his hand brushed hers.

A thrill went through her like an electric shock. Catching his gaze, it seemed he felt the same.

‘Taking that lad’s tea out to him in the fields again, are you?’ Cook said when she returned to the house later.

Mabel nodded, aware she was blushing.

‘Be careful, won’t you, love?’ Cook patted the kitchen chair next to her and Mabel sat down.

‘It’s none of my business but if your own dear mother was here, she might warn you about losing your heart to this good-looking lad.

He’s a prisoner of war, love. And even if he wasn’t, you’ve got to be careful. ’

Mabel jumped up, her face burning with embarrassment. ‘Of course I’m careful.’

But she just couldn’t get Antonio out of her head. The next day, he wasn’t there and her heart felt as if it was twisting inside with pain. Then – yes! – he was back the day after. ‘I’ve missed you,’ he said when she came flying across the field towards him.

He reached out for her hand. ‘When I have finished my work, can we go for a walk?’

‘I could show you the disused tunnel,’ she said excitedly, hardly believing she was being so daring.

‘This is amazing,’ he said when they clambered inside later that afternoon. Then he moved towards her and they began kissing even more passionately than they had before. From that moment on, Mabel was lost.

The tunnel became their regular meeting spot.

Mabel knew she was being reckless – suppose Frannie or one of the others saw them?

– but she couldn’t help it. It was so wonderful to be loved!

Besides, didn’t everyone say that you had to seize the moment?

That you didn’t know if you’d be here next month, let alone next week?

That’s why there were so many marriages in the village church: girls not much older than her were getting wed before their men went to war.

Was it crazy to imagine being married to Antonio?

‘After the war,’ he told her, ‘we will get married as soon as we can and have a big family. We will live in Italy, where the sun will warm our bones and all will be well.’

‘But my father …’

‘Your father can come and live with us. My family will welcome him. People will be friends again. You will see.’

Then he kissed her once more and Mabel was wrapped in a cloud of such wonder and love that all her worries disappeared.

Meanwhile, Mabel was only just getting used to having ‘the visitor’, an awful inconvenience involving a terrific amount of stomach cramps and blood. When it first started, not long after Mabel arriving here, Cook had noticed the stain and asked if her aunt had ‘talked about it’.

‘What do you mean?’ she had asked.

‘You know. The birds and the bees.’

‘I don’t understand.’

When Cook had finished telling her about men giving ladies a seed, Mabel had been astounded. ‘Does it come in a packet like lettuce seeds?’ she asked.

Cook had laughed then. ‘You’re an innocent if there ever was one.’

It was only when Cook asked if she was in need of ‘more pads’ that Mabel realized that she had not received ‘the visitor’ for ages.

‘Is this normal?’ she asked.

It was not a question she could put to her aunt or even to Frannie, who, despite having ‘forgiven her’, was still a little off.

‘Not really,’ said Cook. Her eyes were sweeping over Mabel’s stomach. ‘You’ve put on weight, haven’t you?’

She nodded, thinking of the top button of her skirt, which would no longer do up.

‘Have you been sick in the mornings?’

‘No,’ said Mabel, ‘although it’s strange that you should mention that, because I have been feeling a little queasy.’

Cook wiped her forehead, which was beginning to sweat. ‘Dear Lord above. I tried to warn you before. Is it possible that …’

Then she stopped.

‘That what?’ asked Mabel.

Cook sucked in her cheeks. ‘I’ll come straight to the point. Has Antonio done more than kiss you?’

Mabel blushed furiously. ‘Tell me exactly,’ said Cook gently, ‘what he has done.’

When she’d finished, Cook bit her lip. ‘I see. I think we are going to have to tell your aunt.’

Now

‘You were pregnant?’ asks Belinda.

Mabel nods. ‘I hadn’t even realized.’

‘That must have been so difficult, especially back then.’

Mabel feels the old sense of shame creeping in. ‘It simply wasn’t done in families like ours. It was the ultimate sin to have a baby out of wedlock. I was terrified by what my aunt was going to do to me. I thought she might throw me out of the house.’

Her eyes pricked with tears.

‘And did she?’

Mabel was dabbing her eyes. ‘She did something far worse.’