‘Where there’s a will there’s a way,’ Clara said. ‘You’d be amazed how inventive and adept at deception young ladies are,’ she giggled.
‘And what of Mr Arthur Makepiece?’ Kate asked. ‘Is he no longer after your hand in marriage?’
‘I sincerely hope not!’ Clara said screwing up her nose in distaste. ‘No doubt he heard about the post box thing and decided that I was not suitable material to make polite conversation around a dinner table. Father hasn’t mentioned any more about him, thank goodness, and I am certainly not going to raise the subject.’
‘So when will Philip be here?’ Kate asked.
‘Tomorrow and there’s to be a dinner, a welcome home dinner party for friends and associates of the Winton family no less,’ Clara explained, ‘and guess who’s coming because he’s a friend of Philip’s?’
Kate didn’t need to guess, she could tell by Clara’s expression that it was Edward Carnforth.
Kate was told that she would be needed to serve at table. So, she wouldn’t get to meet Master Philip until he was seated round the table with all the other guests. She was disappointed. No, she was more than disappointed, she realized, she was upset. She had tried to persuade herself that she could be happy with Archie and she did like him a lot, he was good company but she couldn’t stop thinking about Philip. She didn’t want their first meeting for a long while to be in front of so many others, with her as the servant and he as the man whom she could never be equal to. But there was nothing to be done. She was busy in thekitchens and getting the children ready for bed, and he was in his rooms, dressing and preparing for an evening of entertaining, eating and drinking.
Kate served all the guests with their main course but paid special attention to Philip, making sure he had enough of everything he wanted and retrieving more roast potatoes from the kitchen at his request. He thanked her and said to make sure to tell Mrs Bowden that she had not lost her touch.
‘Well, we had all better make the most of the splendid food and hospitality here this evening,’ one of the older guests with greying hair announced with a seriousness that hushed the room.
‘The way tensions are mounting in Europe, we could well find ourselves in all-out war before the end of the year. We’ve already sent troops into France. And don’t expect it to be over quickly. This assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand has sparked quite a conflict. We must expect there to be many casualties and if our enlisted men don’t prove enough to defeat the enemy then other means will have to be found.’
‘What are you saying, Charles?’ a man with a huge moustache and red, veined cheeks said. ‘Are you suggesting that things might get so bad that we need to recruit more men?’
‘The German army is a formidable force,’ the grey-haired gentleman replied.’ We must fight might with might. The German aggressors must be stopped.’
‘Hear, hear. Well said,’ added another guest.
Kate returned to the kitchen upset by what she had heard. She relayed the information to Mrs Bowden and Mary.
‘Well we knew it was coming,’ said Mrs B. ‘The papers have been full of it for weeks. Things were bound to get worse. We can’t stand by and let those Germans invade other countries. It will be us next! But war comes at a price and it’s paid by the men who fight it, not the men who declare it. My brother served inthe Boer War. He came home a changed man. He’s no longer in the army thankfully, but it did for his confidence and he lost his cheeriness forever, poor soul.’
‘My brother says that he’ll go and fight if they need him,’ Mary said. ‘He’s not in the army though and I can’t imagine him with a gun in his hand. He’s more likely to shoot himself in the foot, he’s that clumsy.’
‘I can’t imagine being asked to kill a man,’ Kate said. ‘Don’t know if I could do it.’
‘If you’re a soldier and you’re called to fight, then you must,’ Mrs B said. ‘Either that or be killed yourself. A good thing the Winton family are not army people, for we’d be waving our goodbyes to Master Philip and God knows what would happen to him then!’
Kate didn’t want to think about that at all. Her thoughts turned to brighter things. She had the opportunity during the dinner to observe Clara and Carnforth. Although they were not sitting next to each other, there was plenty of eye contact and the exchanging of discreet smiles. Carnforth had done his best to impress Mrs Winton and engage her in conversation. She noted that the mistress laughed several times during the course of the evening. Perhaps Clara would get her heart’s desire after all?
* * *
Kate was sufficiently concerned about the thought of a war that she mentioned it to Archie the next time she saw him. Now Philip had returned, she felt strange about continuing to see Archie but she couldn’t let him down. Archie didn’t reply immediately but looked thoughtful. Kate prompted him.
‘Well, what do you think about it all, about civilians being encouraged to enlist?’ she asked him.
‘Kate, my brother’s in the army and he’s been posted to France. What he said in his last letter sounds serious,’ Archiereplied. ‘There just aren’t enough of our soldiers. We have to stop these Germans. Before we know it, they’ll be invading our shores. I’m going to be with my brother. I’m joining up.’
‘But the war’s in France. We have the English Channel between us and them,’ Kate replied. ‘You don’t need to go, Archie. No one says you have to go.’
‘No one says I have to, no, but I want to. Look about you, Kate, you must have seen the posters on the shop windows, in the streets? Our country needs us. I’m not going to be one of those left behind. It’s the national duty of every able-bodied man. I’m fit and strong and I can learn how to be a soldier just like my brother. Besides, I won’t be going on my own. There are several of us going from my street; we’re pals, known each other since school days.’
‘It’s not a good reason to go to war, just because your pals are,’ Kate argued.
‘I don’t expect you to understand. My mother doesn’t understand either.’
‘Well she won’t be delighted to have two sons in uniform carrying guns, will she?’
Kate recognized a wild determination in his eyes. His lips were tight set and his hands were placed firmly on his knees. He would not be moved. She couldn’t keep her anger and disappointment down.
‘Isn’t fighting best left to those who are trained to do it?’ Kate said.
