Charlie stepped forward and saluted. He looked so very smart and handsome that Bobby could have burst for pride. Marmaduke seemed to agree, bouncing up and down inside her. The king spoke a few words to Charlie that Bobby couldn’t hear, then pinned the medal above his left breast pocket. Charlie saluted again, and returned to his place.
It had taken only minutes, yet it was something Bobby would remember all her life. Her Charlie and the king. For all his doubts about accepting the decoration after he had lost so many friends, Bobby couldn’t help feeling when the king pinned on the medal that it wasn’t only for Charlie. It was for all of them: every man who had died in this war to keep the world free for her baby to grow up in. It was for Teddy’s crew. It was for Bram. It was for Chip. It was for Hynes. It was for Ernie King. Every one was a hero, and in seeing her husband decorated, Bobby felt that each lost man was being recognised for his sacrifice. Whenshe swelled with pride, it wasn’t only for Charlie. It was for all of them.
Chapter 38
‘I can’t help feeling that every day I don’t meet a monarch after this is going to be a disappointment,’ Charlie said when they were on the train home, in his civilian clothes once more. There weren’t many fellow travellers, and they had managed to get a compartment to themselves.
Bobby laughed. ‘Yes, you looked to be bosom pals. Will you invite him for Christmas dinner?’
‘If he brings his own sprouts.’
‘What was it he said to you?’ she asked curiously.
‘Just congratulations, and…’ Charlie flushed. ‘And that he knew what I’d done and he thought I was a brave man.’
‘Quite right too.’
‘By the way, you’re definitely letting me get that gramophone after the daft sum you spent ordering pictures from the photographer.’
Bobby smiled. ‘Can I help being proud of my brave, handsome husband? I want one for everyone in the family and some for the local newspapers. Come next month, there won’t be a person in Yorkshire who doesn’t know the name Charles Atherton, DFC.’
‘Well, I think you can say “I told you so” now,’ Charlie said, lounging back against the antimacassar. ‘In spite of my catastrophic predictions of air raids and you giving birth during the ceremony, we seem to have survived our trip to the capital relatively unscathed.’
‘Don’t tempt fate. We’re not at home yet.’ Bobby grimaced, and pressed a hand to her stomach. ‘Ugh.’
‘What’s up? Do you need the lav again? You might as well just lock yourself in for the whole journey.’
‘Very funny.’ She rubbed her belly, trying to soothe her restless baby. ‘It’s Marmaduke. He won’t keep still today. It’s giving me terrible cramps.’
‘Perhaps he’s homesick,’ Charlie suggested. ‘We’re coming through Peterborough now. If we’re lucky and there aren’t too many delays, we ought to be in Skipton for the last bus.’
They weren’t to be lucky, however. It must have been some way past Sheffield, deep in the blackout, that the train stopped. An hour later, they were still there. Bobby’s cramps were showing no sign of letting up, and Marmaduke felt low in her belly, pressing against her bladder. She had needed to visit the privy four times in the hour they’d been stuck here. There had been blood on her underwear the last time, which worried her, but she hadn’t said anything to Charlie.
‘We’re going to have to find a room for the night in Leeds at this rate,’ Charlie muttered. He opened the door of their compartment and called to the conductor outside. ‘Excuse me. Do you know what the delay is?’
‘Now, sir, you know I can’t tell you that,’ the man said indulgently. ‘Careless talk, et cetera et cetera.’
‘Are you at least able to tell us how long it’s going to be until we start moving? My wife is expecting and she’s very uncomfortable.’
‘I couldn’t say, I’m afraid, sir. As soon as we know more, I’ll be sure to inform you. In the meantime, your wife should feel free to lie down and rest.’
Charlie closed the door. ‘He says you can lie down.’
‘Very kind of him,’ Bobby muttered. ‘Charlie, I… I don’t feel well.’
He frowned. ‘What’s the matter, darling?’
Bobby shuddered as another cramp ripped through her. These were so much worse than anything she’d experienced with her monthlies, although those could be bad enough to put her inbed. Her stomach felt hard and tight whenever another one came.
Her eyes widened as she felt a sudden dampness between her legs. Dr Minchin had told her what that meant.
‘Charlie,’ she whispered. ‘I think… I think he’s coming. The baby.’
Charlie stared at her. ‘What?’
‘I just felt my waters breaking. He’s coming, Charlie.’
‘But… he can’t be. He isn’t due for a month.’
