Letters to the front

Chapter 1 - We are at war

The rain bounced off the cobbled courtyard outside our small cottage. All around, the high hills surrounded us and dark clouds covered the sky. Another rainy day. I was dreading going to the village that morning, the weather would make it a long walk and i would be soaked in the now torrential downpour. My mother and father were busy, they were out checking the sheep. My father was a shepherd, our sheep roamed the northumbrian hills, he was probably out riding with my mother, we desperately needed milk so, knowing I should, I picked up my wool jacket and braved the rain. 

It immediately froze my skin and soaked the bottom of my dress. I sighed and pushed on, the village was a mile away and it would be a long walk in the weather, normally it took ten minutes, but the walk seemed to stretch on forever. 

Rivers and streams flowed down from the vast hill sides, our sheep dotted about on the landscape. I smiled fondly at this, all ours, well sort of i added, we only rented the land here, it all belonged to the duke of Northumberland, but he didn't pick up rent himself, he sent Lionol Harrogate, the slimy rent collector. He always smiled at me disturbingly and brushed his oily hands across me as he past. I shivered at the thought. 

I tucked back my now soaked hair and stuffed my hands in my coat pocket, protecting them from the cold. It was cold for the time of year, July, then again, it was Britain. The small pockets of trees added greenery to the heather covered hills, crags stood proud against the dark, menacing sky. 

More and more houses occurred as i got closer to the village. The stone buildings and cobbled streets were so familiar, people smiled and said 'hello' as I past and I shook myself dry before entering the grocers. Mr. Finch smiled at me, "morning Alice" he said.

"Good morning, Mr. Finch" i replied, "how's Georgiana?" 

"She's fine thanks, recovering from that flu going around" 

"I heard" I said sympathetically, "give her my best" 

"I will" he said. 

I went to the back and picked up a bottle of milk, everyone else in the village had it delivered, but we didn't want to bother poor Bob so i picked it up myself. "Just the milk, Alice?" he asked.

"Yes thank you" I answered, fetching two coins from my pocket. He ran them through the till as Ryan came through the door. "Hello Ryan" I said, blushing slightly. Ryan was so handsome, with strong shoulders from working on the farm and a proud chin. "Hello Alice" he said absent mindedly, wiping a thick lock of hair from his eyes. "Awful weather isn't it?" I said.

"Yes it is, bloody awful, I hope the crops are alright" he said, his voice nervous, Edwin Jackson was not a nice boss, he blamed Ryan for every mistake on the farm. "Are you going to the dance next week?" I asked, hopeful of an invite.

"Possibly, I was thinking of asking Synthia" 

My heart sank, I had fancied Ryan for a while and really wanted to go with him. "Oh, i'm sure she'd like that" I said. 

"I hope so" he said, pulling up his trousers, they were too big for him and tucked into his muddy boots. "She'd be mad to say no" I said. 

"You think?" he said brightly. 

"Positive" I said, "See you" I left the shop devestated, I had really hoped he was finally starting to notice me. Oh well, no dance for me then. All of my friends had been asked, and it wasn't a big village, plenty of men had offered but i had turned them down, hoping against hope Ryan would ask me. I should have know really, Synthia was stunning compared to me. She was tall and graceful, she was rich, she had strawberry blond hair like sunshine and sparkling brown eyes, she was so much more....classy than me. I on the other hand, was rather short, my bust was rather large, I was more muscled from a working life with thick brown hair and blue eyes, and unfortunately, poor. Maybe that put Ryan off, my lack of connections, then again, he was only a farm worker on Synthia's fathers land. 

While I was thinking this, a man on a motor bike rode through the now busy high street.  He was shouting and wearing an army uniform. He stopped on the village green outside the church, waiting for people to gather. "From eleven o'clock today, Britain is at war with Germany" 

There was a lot of gasping and muttering, there had been rumours this might happen, but no one had believed it would. "The church bells will ring out for a final time at eleven o'clock, then will not be rung until the war is over" 

This led to yet more gasping and muttering. "We need all able bodied men to volunteer, it is your duty as a citizen of Great Britain" 

Men stepped forward, the first was Tommy Jones, a well known thug built like an ox. "I volunteer" he said gruffly. More men stepped forward, each saying "and I" 

Then my heart plummeted when I saw the next man to step forward, "I volunteer" 

Ryan stood proudly, his chin raised and his eyes set. I rushed forward and whispered, "Ryan no" 

He looked at me like i was a fool, "What? Alice stand aside"

"No, you'll be killed" I argued. He pushed me aside and stepped towards the now present registration table. Mothers and sisters wept silently as they watched the young men sign up. I was choked and pushed through the crowd, tears spilling from my eyes. I heard the church bells chime behind me, i might not hear them again for years. 

I ran all the way home, clinging to my milk. My mother and father were riding back into the yard when I got back. My mother saw my face and handed Polly (her horse) to my father and rushed to me. "Alice, what's wrong?"

"We're at war, and Ryan signed up" 

She looked shocked and my father emerged from the stables. "You should be proud, its a great thing to go to war" 

"I don't want him to die" I sobbed.

My mother glared at my father, he retreated inside clearly understanding he was not helping. My mother led me into the barn out the rain. "I know you liked him" she said. I looked at her, my eyes filled with tears, "I don't want him to die" 

My mother wouldn't lie to me, so tactfully she said, "he might not die, he's strong" 

I nodded and sniffed, she wiped away tears. "Better?" 

I nodded and held back the tears trying to break through my defences. Ruby nodded over the stable door and put her head sympathetically on my shoulder, she sighed in my ear as if to say, "Its okay, you still have me"  I rubbed her nose and smiled. 

"Come on, lets go get lunch" said my mother, leading me back to the house. Everything was surreal, my father was sat at the table, drinking at a cup of tea. My mum nodded at him, giving him the all clear. I went into the bathroom and got a towel out, patting my hair dry. Wondering back into the kitchen i sipped the tea sat on the table for me. "I just can't believe we're at war" I said.

"I know" said my mother.

"By the sounds of it, it'll be over by Christmas" said my father. 

"Hopefully" said my mother, pouring some milk into his tea. 

We all sat around the table silently, we couldn't come to terms with it and were worried, surely dad is too old to be conscripted? At forty-seven my father had a weak back from years of strenuous labour, he would be no good at the front. I sat and stared into my tea. "He wasn't asking me anyway" I muttered. 

"What?" said my Dad.

"The dance, Ryan" summerised my mum. 

"Well then he was a fool darling, besides, won't be much of a dance now" he said. 

"I know, what a shame" said my mum. My dad finished his tea and rose from the table. 

"Where you going?" asked my mum. 

"Too the pub, need to speak to the lads" my dad said, grabbing his battered tweed jacket. 

"Don't be back too late" said my mum, kissing him on the cheek. 

"Course not" he laughed, closing the door and braving the rain. 

It was a bleak day, and rather appropriate. I huddled by the fire, and curled onto the arm chair, wrapping a blanket around myself. We didn't say anything, we just stared into the fire and ignored the outside world and all its problems.