SPOILERS!!!
This part brings us a few surprises, which I didn't expect. One of the things I really didn't expect is that Beattie has a big secret, which we discover after an encounter in the canteen. When she serves an officer, she recognises him as Major Louis David Rathvilly Plunkett. Louis was David's first love in Dublin, but he left her without even knowing the reason. The shocking thing is that Louis got him pregnant and David is the fruit of that love, and then Beattie managed to find a solution by marrying Edward, who had been pursuing her for a while. Beattie thinks that Edward knows that David is not his but this is something they have never talked about. Even after these years, Beattie thinks that Louis is the love of her life, and that is the reason why David is her favourite son. The only person who knows the secret is Nula, who is now the sewing maid. After they talk at the canteen, Louis wants to talk to her in private, and they meet after work. Louis tells him that his father was bankrupt and he was forced to leave Dublin because he needed to work to save his father. Louis confesses that he saw her at the canteen and went to see her on purpose. Beattie lets him hold her hand, and she feels over the moon, and when she leave, she knows they will see each other again. After that first encounter, Beattie seems distracted and happier. I have to say that I don't like the fact that both Edward and Beattie are now drifting from their marriage. Beattie thinks that she has been happy with Edward, but he is not Louis. I just don't like this.
Another surprise comes from the part of Diana. During her stay in London, she gets to see Rupert quite often, and then one day he asks her to marry him. His reason is that she could still be Lady Dene if she marries him, and they could have a marriage of fun. Diana starts thinking that all the plans she and Charles had could be made a reality if she gets the title, so she agrees to marry Rupert. Diana doesn't love him, and Rupert doesn't even try to kiss her. Lady Wroughton is outraged, thinking that Rupert is making them a laughingstock, but Rupert is adamant he will have Diana and nobody else. I have the hunch that Rupert is not being honest and good to Diana. I think that in reality Rupert is gay and is in a relationship with Erskine, and Diana will help him give him respectability.
Ethel has finally found her real mother, Edie, after much searching. She is now employed in a hotel and has been looking for Edie in her free time. When she finds Edie, she discovers that her mother has a long story of failed relationships and has had several children, some of whom have died. What Ethel has always wanted to know is who her father is, and she is told that her father is Cyril, Edie's brother, who got her pregnant when she was just a child. Ethel has had another blow, and we discover that she is expecting a baby. Before leaving the Elms, she met Andy Wood, the married officer, and she let him have his way with her as she felt it made no sense to find anything better. What happened to Eric, dying during a bombing in London, had a big influence on her and made her feel very down.
Hank Bowers, the young man who was in love with Diana in the first book, has also died when his unit was sent to Dublin and was killed in the uprising there.
Another man who has been called up is Donald, Sonia's eldest son. Sonia is shattered to think of her son in the war, and Aeneas asks Edward if Donald, who is his right hand in the factory, should be exempted, but Edward, who is part of the committee to hear cases, tells him that it is not possible. Aeneas is worried that the position of Donald will be difficult to fill, but Audrey, his daughter, insists that she can do the job. Her father laughs off her suggestion, but Audrey says that she has been taking classes and even has gone to the factory when Aeneas and Donald weren't there, so she knows more than her father thinks. Aeneas agrees to give her a try and see how things will go.
I am nervous to think what will happen to these characters and how their mistakes will affect them and the family. I'm afraid that Beattie will liaise with Louis no matter what, and Edward is also smitten with Elise. The characters who I find more sensible are Bobby, who now has his wings and is a good pilot, and Sadie, who is doing a great job at Highclere, the horse farm with the voluntary girls.
No comments:
Post a Comment