Christmas with the Bobby Girls

Book 0: The Bobby Girls

by Johanna Bell

Genres: World War I; Sagas; 20th Century Romance

Synopsis

The third book in an uplifting, lively saga series centered around women entering the world of policing for the first time, set at the outbreak of the First World War.

In the midst of war, can they find a reason to celebrate?

1915. Patrolling is the last thing on the minds of Women's Police Service recruits Annie, Maggie and Poppy right now, because Annie and her fiancé Richard are about to get married. She's been waiting for this day her whole life, but when it finally comes it brings only heartache and Annie doesn't know if she can go on.

The influx of soldiers to the capital means that the WPS's work is more important than ever, though, and Annie's country needs her. She and the girls are posted to the bustling heart of the city and she hopes the new job will distract her from her sorrow.

It certainly does that. Soon the biggest bombing raid of the war causes chaos on their patch. On top of that, Annie suspects that a group of men are forcing European refugees into prostitution and resolves to stop them by Christmas. But by the time she realises just how high up the scandal goes, she might be in too deep to get out . . .

The Bobby Girls Series is perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Daisy Styles and Call the Midwife

(P) 2020 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Release date: November 26, 2020

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Print pages: 336

Sample

London, September 1915

Annie Beckett felt a rush of wind as she and her colleagues started their descent down the steps. The warm air billowing over her told her that a tube train was about to make its way into Whitechapel Station. Sure enough, only seconds later she heard the familiar sounds of carriages pulling up and doors opening to spit out Londoners eager to get on with their journeys. Annie, Maggie and Poppy were halfway down the steps when the crowd surged around the corner and started clambering up the stairs towards them at speed.

Annie stopped and stepped to the side to let everyone past. She had learned the hard way that it wasn’t worth trying to fight your way through the hordes of passengers desperate to escape the stuffy station and get out into the fresh air. Maggie and Poppy followed suit and the three of them stood firm so as not to get knocked off their feet.

Once the worst of the crowd had passed, the girls made their way down the steps once more. Annie spotted a young lad in uniform loitering at the bottom of the stairwell. She slowed down and watched carefully as he looked shiftily around him and scratched his head nervously. She was about to mention him to her friends when he appeared to pull out an imaginary rifle and fix it into place. The second he started his advance up the staircase, Annie leapt into action. She had to do something before he hurt somebody. His mind had clearly transported him back to the battlefields and it was anyone’s guess what he would do if some poor blighter – a German to him – got in his way.

The soldier had only made it up a few of the steps when Annie, Maggie and Poppy sprung forwards in unison to block his path. As bemused members of the public veered to the side to watch the drama unfold, the girls braced themselves to take his weight. They made it into position just before the man reached them. He tried to charge through the human wall they had created but they stood firm. Annie was in the middle, so she took the brunt of the force, but she stood in a ju-jitsu pose with her hands and arms out protecting her body so that she wasn’t knocked off her feet. When the soldier bounced back off the trio, they all grabbed him, catching him before he fell back down the staircase. The movement seemed to jolt the man back to reality. Annie was relieved. Blinded by rage and fear, he could have hurt a lot of people by charging through the crowd at speed with all his force if they hadn’t stopped him. Not to mention how his actions would likely have caused a dangerous panic and crush.

‘I … I … where am I?’ the man stuttered. The girls loosened their grips on him and he looked around, dazed, as another surge of tube passengers made their way past them up the steps, unaware of what had just happened.

‘You’re back in London. You’re safe,’ Annie said firmly as the soldier leant against the wall for support. The relief that swept over his face as her words registered winded Annie like a punch to the stomach. She hated what this war was doing to men like this – like her fiancé, Richard. Would any of them ever be able to get over what they had seen and been forced to do to protect the country? Annie quickly pushed her anguish aside to deal with the matter in hand. She found that if she thought about things like this too much then she lost all focus, and she needed to get through this patrol as smoothly as possible.

‘Let’s get you out of here and into the air, and then we can help get you home,’ she offered, taking the soldier’s hand in hers as Poppy placed her own gently on his shoulder. Together, they guided him up the stairs. Out on the street, they all took a moment to adjust to the early September sunshine. Annie pulled her hefty jacket tighter around her – there was only a slight nip in the air but she always struggled switching from the warm and stuffy atmosphere in tube stations to the fresh air outside.

The soldier, however, seemed to be a lot more comfortable in his surroundings. He took some deep breaths before muttering, ‘I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened back there, but I felt like I was back in the trenches.’ The usual London hustle and bustle swept past them all, unaware of the major panic and crush that had been averted below them.

‘Don’t worry,’ Maggie said kindly. ‘It’s not the first time we’ve been in a situation like that. That’s why we stepped in to help you so quickly.’

In the early days of the war, there had been no organisation responsible for meeting leave trains at the mainline stations where they pulled in after transporting troops from the front, so a lot of the recruits had found themselves helping confused soldiers find their bearings. The onwards journey was tricky for a lot of them and busy, stifling tube stations were the worst places for the men to be when they were trying to get themselves home while at the same time dealing with what they had seen on the front line. Officials were meant to meet them off the trains at the main stations now and escort them on the rest of their journey but every now and then one slipped through the net and the girls found that they could spot the ones who were struggling with the transition a mile off. Just as they had done today.

When Maggie started jumping up and down and gesticulating wildly, Annie realised she had spotted a police car. The officer pulled up beside them with a stern look on his face and Maggie stepped forward to speak to him.

‘He’ll take you home,’ Maggie declared, turning back around to face the group and wave the soldier over. He thanked the girls, took off his backpack and made his way to the car.

‘Make sure you get some rest,’ Poppy called out as he climbed into the back seat. ‘Let your mother look after you, won’t you?’

As the oldest of the three recruits, it was typical of Poppy to show this type of concern. The soldier looked back at her with tears in his eyes and nodded sadly. Annie felt a pang in her chest for this stranger and found herself wishing he could stay at home with his mother looking after him for as long as he needed, instead of having to go back out into the line of fire in a matter of days.

‘That policeman was a right miserable so-and-so. He didn’t even thank me for our help,’ sniffed Maggie as they watched the car drive away. ‘I would have given him a piece of my mind if I wasn’t so concerned about that poor lad getting home.’

Annie laughed to herself. She loved how feisty Maggie Smyth was. She didn’t stand for any nonsense from anybody – whether they were her superior or not. She had really helped Annie come out of her shell in the last year or so. Annie had been so timid when they had first met while training for the Women Police Service; so much so that at first Annie had been horrified by Maggie’s self-assured attitude and confidence. But they had been through an awful lot together during their training and subsequent placement together at Bethnal Green Police Station. Annie knew she had Maggie and their other friend and original patrol partner Irene Wilson to thank for the fact she was such a strong and independent woman now, even if she did go through occasional moments of self-doubt.

Although the threesome had patrolled together to begin with – and cracked the biggest burglary case the station had seen in years – Irene had been transferred to Grantham back in May and they both missed her dearly. The male officers hadn’t taken too kindly to their arrival in the beginning, but their success with the burglary had helped them to be accepted. There were still a few officers who made it clear they didn’t agree with women patrolling the streets and taking on ‘men’s work’, but as the war had raged on longer than anybody had expected and more men had signed up to fight, the WPS recruits across the country had become an ever more valuable resource for the struggling police service. Annie assumed the chap who had driven the soldier away wasn’t one of their biggest fans.

Poppy Davis had been sent to join Annie and Maggie on the beat when Irene had left for Grantham and, although being in her thirties made her quite a bit older than them both – Annie was twenty-three and Maggie just nineteen – she had fitted in well to their little set-up – even moving in to the flat they shared in Camberwell Green. She had already been patrolling in another part of London before she joined the girls and Annie had been relieved to have been sent someone with experience rather than a recruit fresh out of training. Maggie had been convinced Poppy would use her age to boss them both around, and Annie had been ready for the pair of them to clash. But it turned out that Poppy was young at heart, and she made sure her extra years of life-experience benefited the whole group. Now it was like she had always been a part of their life together, although Annie wished Irene could still be with them, too.

‘What were you thinking back there?’ Maggie asked suddenly.

Confused, Annie looked round at her to check who she was addressing.

‘What do you mean?’ Annie asked when she found Maggie staring at her expectantly.

‘I mean, how could you take such a big risk so close to the wedding? You leapt straight in there and plonked yourself in the middle, right in the line of fire. I wish you’d taken a step back and let me or Poppy do that.’

Annie blinked. She hadn’t thought before she had acted. It all came naturally now. ‘It happened so quickly,’ she explained. ‘I didn’t even get a chance to make sure you had both seen what I’d seen and were going to back me up.’

‘Well, thank goodness we did,’ Maggie sighed. ‘What if we hadn’t realised and left you to take him on alone? He could have knocked you straight off your feet. Your mother would kill me if I dragged you along to the dress fitting with a head wound, and don’t get me started on Richard’s reaction to a bruised and bloody bride!’

Annie could see now that Maggie was joking around with her. ‘Well, it’s a good job we’re all so in tune then, isn’t it?’ she said, smiling. ‘I know you’ve always got my back.’

She gave her friend a playful pat on her back and the three of them giggled. And that was the truth; she had dived straight in without checking Maggie and Poppy were behind her because she always trusted that they were. They had never once let her down, and she was confident they never would. Just like she knew she would always be there to help them, no matter what the situation was. That was one of the reasons their bond was so strong.

‘We’d better hurry back to the station,’ Maggie declared suddenly, checking her watch. ‘I don’t know where the afternoon has gone, but we’re cutting it fine to meet your mother at the dress shop and I don’t want to upset Mrs Beckett!’

Annie rolled her eyes playfully. Her mother was as relaxed as they come and certainly wouldn’t moan at them being late to meet her with such good reason. She wondered if Maggie had one of her grand plans in place and secretly hoped she didn’t. She didn’t want any big surprises over the next few days. All that mattered was that she got to see Richard again, and become his wife at last. He was due back on leave the next day and this final dress fitting was the last piece of wedding preparation she had left to do before the ceremony. She rushed along the street with Maggie and Poppy. She had to admit, she was rather desperate to try her dress on one last time before the big day.

Wrapped up in their excitement, the three girls ran practically all the way back to the police station and changed back into their everyday clothes without pausing to catch their breath. Making her way to the dress shop with two of her best friends by her side, Annie couldn’t quite believe that this was one of her final days as a spinster. Walking into the store, she smiled when her eyes fell upon her mother. She had been so busy with the WPS lately that she had hardly had any time to see her, and all the time they had spent together had been consumed with last-minute wedding planning following Richard’s re-proposal the previous month. As she walked towards her mother for what suddenly felt like a much-needed hug, she noticed a tall, slim figure standing just behind her. She had to stop and take a second look as her heart caught in her throat. Annie rubbed her eyes dramatically.

‘I can’t believe it’s really you!’ she cried as her mother stepped to the side to allow the two of them to embrace. Annie threw herself at Irene so hard that she nearly knocked her friend off her feet. She hadn’t seen Irene since she had popped back from Grantham to tell her and Maggie that she had broken things off with her terrible fiancé, Charles. Annie had since learned through letters that Irene was courting Jack, the deserter she had discovered on her new beat. They were even planning on getting married – with Maggie and Annie as bridesmaids – although they hadn’t set a date yet as they were both busy working in Grantham. Irene had helped Jack to get the medical care he needed for his shell shock, and when he was better he had returned to Grantham for her. He now had an office job at the army camp there. Irene’s letters to the girls were always brief as she wasn’t one for expressing her feelings, but it was clear that she was the happiest she had ever been, and Annie was so happy for her friend.

‘What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting to see you until the wedding,’ Annie gasped. Then realisation dawned on her and she pulled away to seek out Maggie. ‘So, this was your grand plan,’ she exclaimed joyfully. ‘I knew you were up to something!’ Maggie shrugged her shoulders and grinned from ear to ear before running up to give Irene a hug herself. Annie looked over and saw Poppy standing awkwardly on her own. She had only met Irene once before, and very briefly. She was trying to think of a way to involve Poppy when Irene stepped in.

‘Your fitter is still busy with her previous client, so why don’t we all sit down and catch up?’ she suggested, gesturing for Poppy to join them. They moved to the waiting area and Annie sat with her mother and Irene on either side of her, holding a hand of each of them in her own.

‘I have to know more about this re-proposal,’ Irene gushed, squeezing Annie’s hand affectionately and looking excited. ‘It was such a romantic thing for Richard to do.’ Annie hadn’t gone into much detail when she’d written to Irene to break the news, and she was glad because it meant she got to relive the whole thing with her in person now.

‘I was so surprised,’ Annie squealed. ‘As you know, Richard signed up the minute war was declared, and we’d always planned on getting married once it was all over. But that was when we thought it would done and dusted very quickly.’ Annie paused for a moment, thinking back to the time when everyone had believed all the fighting would come to an end within a few months and everything would be back to normal before they knew it. How full of hope they had all been, she thought wistfully – and how silly and naive. ‘If we’d known then that it would still be dragging on now – well, we would have made sure we’d exchanged those rings before Richard left.’

‘No one could have known, dear,’ Annie’s mother said quietly. Annie nodded, thinking of all the lives that had been lost and families that had been ripped apart since that time.

‘Richard surprised you with a visit while he was back on official duty, didn’t he, dear?’ Annie’s mother prompted her, pulling her out of the reflective lull she had fallen into.

‘Yes.’ Annie grinned, the mention of the special visit perking her up again. ‘The last time I’d seen him was when he had that home-leave back when we’d only just started patrolling,’ she explained. ‘He was so withdrawn and quiet during that visit, I feared that whatever he’d witnessed during his time away had changed him forever. I remember telling Maggie about it and getting so upset. I was convinced I’d never get the old Richard back. But then that Richard turned up a month ago!’

‘He managed to get word to me and Mr Beckett beforehand to say he was going to be in London for a matter of hours dropping off a top-secret package,’ Mrs Beckett cut in, unable to restrain herself. ‘We still don’t know any more about that official business, but I sent one of Annie’s sisters along to tell Maggie and Poppy, and they made sure Annie came to see us for lunch that day. It was all so rushed and last-minute, and it could have so easily gone wrong. But I know those two are meant to be as it worked out perfectly.’ She smiled fondly at her daughter. Annie was beaming now, and she looked across at Maggie who was looking rather pleased with herself.

‘I’ve never been as shocked in my life as I was when I opened the front door and found my handsome Richard on the doorstep down on one knee,’ Annie gushed. Tears welled in her eyes as she remembered the flood of emotion that had swept over her. ‘He was my Richard again. He looked happy instead of haunted. He told me he couldn’t wait any longer to make me his wife. Everything he’d seen while he’d been away had made him realise what was important in life and he told me he wouldn’t be able to go back out to war after his next lot of leave unless it was as a married man. He didn’t propose properly the first time around – it was more of an agreement between us – so this was even more special. We decided there and then that we would get married a month later when he was due back home for a few days’ rest. And then I heard a big cheer from behind me and realised my whole family had crept up behind me to listen in from the hallway!’

All the girls laughed at the lovely ending to her story.

‘That’s wonderful,’ sighed Irene. ‘I take it you didn’t get to spend long with him, though, if he was in London on official business?’

‘He’d managed to drop the package off early and he had just under an hour until he had to leave and get his train,’ Annie said.

‘Oh, so did he stay for lunch with the family?’ Irene asked innocently.

Annie felt her cheeks flush. ‘No,’ she said hesitantly. ‘We went for a nice walk together and—’

To Annie’s relief, the fitter chose that moment to pop her head around the corner. ‘I’m ready for you now, love,’ she said, and Annie jumped up and scurried off, glad to leave the topic behind. As they entered the fitting room, the woman unveiled Annie’s dress and her previous embarrassment was replaced by an overwhelming feeling of happiness. She was suddenly aware that getting into that outfit and marrying Richard was what she had been destined to do from the moment she was born. Everything felt so right. Her mother joined her in the changing room and as she stepped into the plain white, floor-length gown, both their eyes filled with tears.

When she stepped out, all three of her friends gasped in unison. Annie was relieved. She had gone for an understated dress; with everything that was going on it would have felt wrong to opt for anything extravagant, even if her father was willing to pay for it. Plus, there hadn’t been time to get anything too fancy. But her friends’ reactions told her she had made the right choice.

‘I don’t think there’s too much more that needs doing,’ the fitter said, standing back to allow Annie to do some twirls for her adoring audience. When she stopped to look at herself in the full-length mirror, Annie put her hand over her mouth as she took in her reflection. She had been worried about the dress being too revealing, but her curves seemed to fill it out perfectly. Her womanly frame was on show without giving away too much. She had always been a little on the fuller side, but all the hours walking around on patrol had slimmed her body down somewhat. She was still what some would call ‘plump’ compared to the likes of Irene, Poppy and Maggie, but she found that she didn’t feel as self-conscious about her size anymore. And this dress certainly complimented her figure.

As she admired her reflection, Annie couldn’t help but think about the suggestion her mother had made a few weeks before when she had decided on her outfit. Mrs Beckett had told her it would be perfect for making into a christening gown when Annie and Richard started a family together. She took a moment to appreciate all the wonderful things she had to look forward to at such a terrible time. In a few days’ time she would be Richard’s wife. And then just a few months later, she would be spending her first Christmas as a married woman. She had always loved that time of year, but this year it was going to be even more special. Then, once the war was over, she and Richard would be able to start a family together.

Finally taking her hand away from her mouth to smooth down the delicate material, Annie realised with a start that for the first time in her life, she felt beautiful. She couldn’t wait to walk down the aisle and for Richard to see her in this dress. As she reluctantly took it off to get changed back into her normal clothes, all she could think about was how the next time that she stepped into it, it would be her wedding day.

Leaving the shop with the gown draped over her arm and her mother and her best friends by her side, Annie felt so lucky that her future was full of such hope and happiness.

The next morning, Annie woke very early, anticipation and excitement rushing through her veins. She felt the same way she had always felt on Christmas Eve as a child, only it wasn’t Father Christmas and a stocking full of presents she was hungry for; it was Richard and the start of their new life together as husband and wife.

She was staying with her parents until the wedding day, which meant things were a little cramped. One of the reasons she had been so keen to move into the flat with her friends was because her aunt and cousins had moved into the family home indefinitely when her uncle had gone off to fight in the war. Annie’s aunt had been struggling at home without him. As Annie tossed and turned in the bed she was sharing with her sister Maria, she became worried about waking her sibling and crept downstairs.

In the living room, she tiptoed past her aunt who was snoring on the sofa and quietly made herself a cup of tea in the kitchen before settling down in the dining room. Her dress was hanging up in there and she felt calm again as she sat and stared at it, drinking in all the promise it held as she sipped her tea. She knew her life wouldn’t change dramatically once she became Richard’s wife – he’d be back on the front line and she would be back on patrol within a few days. But she knew somehow that she would feel different.

Before she knew it, the house was alive, and Annie sighed as she prepared herself for all the chaos that came with having so many young women under one roof. With her three sisters and two cousins, there was never a moment’s peace. She stayed in the dining room as noise travelled through the house. She wanted to enjoy her moment of solitude for as long as she could.

Then, suddenly, the front door slammed and it all went quiet. The dining room door creaked open and Annie looked around to see her mother beaming at her.

‘I thought you’d want some space to get ready for Richard’s arrival so I’ve sent the rabble out on various wedding errands,’ she explained. ‘And your father’s gone to work, so the house is all ours.’

‘Thank you,’ Annie sighed, taking one last look at the wedding dress before getting to her feet.

‘Let’s get to work on freshening you up – your husband-to-be is due to arrive in an hour,’ Mrs Beckett said with a glint in her eye, and Annie’s stomach flipped like a pancake.

An hour and a half later, Annie was anxiously pacing the living room. She had put on her long-sleeved dark-red dress – normally reserved for Sunday-best – and her mother had styled her loose, mousey curls into tight ringlets that bobbed around on her shoulders and swung into her face annoyingly every time she turned to change direction.

‘Please sit down,’ her mother urged. ‘Your hair looks perfect and I don’t want it to fall out before Richard gets here. And you’re going to make yourself all agitated and sweaty.’ She stepped forward to block Annie’s path. Startled, Annie stared into her mother’s face. She hadn’t even realised she’d been pacing up and down. ‘Come, sit down with me,’ Mrs Beckett soothed, guiding her to the sofa.

‘Where is he?’ Annie asked anxiously as she wrung her hands. ‘He should be here by now!’ She didn’t want to panic, but she had so much nervous energy rushing around her body.

‘He’ll be here, we just have to be patient. He could have come across all sorts of delays – there is a war on, you know!’ Mrs Beckett laughed lightly and rubbed her hand up and down Annie’s back. Annie relaxed a little and let out a nervous giggle. Her mother always knew how to calm her down when she was getting herself in a state. Annie took a deep breath and put on her biggest smile.

‘That’s my girl,’ Mrs Beckett said cheerfully. ‘Nice, cheering thoughts, my dear.’

As soon as the words had left her mother’s mouth, Annie spotted a man’s silhouette move past the window. She felt a sharp hammering in her chest, and then she heard hammering on the front door. She leapt up and rushed to the hallway, ready to greet Richard and fall into his arms. Seeing a khaki-coloured, military-style cap behind the stained glass, her hand trembled as she pulled the handle.

But when she swung the door open, her heart sank. Instead of Richard stood a man in uniform who she didn’t recognise.

‘Oh,’ Annie spluttered, trying and failing to hide her disappointment. ‘Who … who are you?’ she asked cautiously, looking behind him for her fiancé.

‘I’m Jeremy. I’m one of Richard’s friends,’ he explained, taking his cap off and nodding politely. Annie smiled at him bemusedly and peered out behind him again and into the street. Maybe Richard had fallen behind or sent his friend on ahead to distract her ahead of a grand arrival? But that didn’t sound very much like her Richard. Looking at this stranger again, she saw his face drop.

‘My goodness. You don’t know, do you?’ Jeremy said quietly as she desperately searched his face for answers.

‘Know what? What are you talking about? And where’s Richard?’ Annie demanded, agitation making her voice uncharacteristically sharp.

‘What’s going on? Who is this?’ Annie’s mother’s voice called out from behind her.

‘Ma’am, may I come in?’ Jeremy asked in a shaky voice.

Annie felt her mother’s arm guiding her back into the living room and before she knew it, she was sitting on the sofa beside her again, with the stranger in uniform sitting opposite them on her father’s favourite armchair. Annie stared at him as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together.

Worry surged through her as she tried to work out why this man was here instead of her fiancé. Had Richard’s leave been cancelled or delayed? That would be all right – they could move. . .