‘She ought not to be alone.’
XXVI
The next night there was another raid, and every night that week. Walter was all on edge.
The children became fretful with their nights disturbed. I thought it would be better to stay in our beds, quietly, as though nothing was happening, but Walter said that was silly.
He said we must take the reasonable precautions. So we sat downstairs, night after night, Walter and I, and the servants, with the children half asleep.
Maud had gone to Mrs. Sebright, and taken her down to the school. ‘People should leave London, who could,’ she said, ‘it was foolish to stay behind.’
And then the raids stopped for a bit, and the nights were quiet, and we slept again and were glad.
Afterwards, when they came, we stayed in bed.
Food was now difficult to get. There were voluntary rations. I spent hours every week weighing and measuring them out. People who kept to the rations put cards up in their windows. We kept to the rations, but we did not put up a card. The taste of beans and lentils became sickening to us all.
Ada gave notice, on account of the air raids, and it was a long time before I got another maid.