Chapter 9, Apostolic Way
School Daze
"I consider it a good rule for letter-writing to leave unmentioned what the recipient already knows, and instead tell him something new."
Sigmund Freud
"A Letter is a Joy of Earth -It is denied the Gods."
Emily Dickinson, 1885
"At the age of 13 I was working as a delivery boy for a baker's company called Scott's Bakery in High Craighall Road in Glasgow. ... Part of our delivery sometimes was to Abbotsinch Airport. The cookhouse there was manned entirely by black American Air Force personnel. This was the first time in my life I had ever met a black person. After making my deliveries of bread I was standing there, looking around, when I was lifted bodily by a giant of a man, an American sergeant. I was so small, he simply lifted me and put me on a table like a doll. Then he shook my hand and gave me some chocolate with a big smile and off he went."
BBC: WW2- People's War, "The Brown Bomber: Meeting Joe Louis," by Tommy Mac
To: Col. George Walker-Smythe
From: Maj. A.A.M. al-Masri
Both messages delivered per orders
To: Maj. A.A.M. al-Masri
From: Col. George Walker-Smythe
Does she understand? No use N, etc.?
Be in UK in 43; want 2 meet
To: Col. George Walker-Smythe
From: Maj. A.A.M. al-Masri
Yes, she understands
want 2 meet 2
To: Maj. A.A.M. al-Masri
From: Col. George Walker-Smythe
Tell her again.
To:
Miss Susan Pevensie
c/o Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
From:
Major A.A.M al-Masri
Russell House
Combe
Ox
Dear Mrs. Caspian,
It was a pleasure meeting you, however briefly. Having come to know your elder brother well, and having met your younger brother at the request of Colonel Walker-Smythe, I was pleased to make your acquaintance, an occasion marred only by the unavailability of your sister. I am, as you would have discerned through Colonel Walker-Smythe's office, occupied at the moment. However, I hope we might remedy the shortcoming of introductions not yet made in the new year.
At the request of Colonel Walker-Smythe, I write to remind you of your promise to him regarding the matters on which the two of you spoke prior to your departure. Do not under any circumstances infer that his communication to you via me regarding the delivery of the gryphons and war horses was a signal that all is well or forgotten. Colonel Walker-Smythe specifically asked me to convey this caution.
You and your brothers have all asked for such assistance as I might provide and so I offer it here. Be extremely circumspect. These are very serious matters and while seemingly appear to you and your family as a clever game, they are not in the eyes of those in positions of considerable authority and influence. Your own advancement hinges in no small part upon your continuing discretion. I understand the difficulties such injunctions pose but having chosen to enter this realm, you now must obey its rules, leave it altogether, or be prepared for consequences should you fail to follow our requirements. In these matters, our loyalties are tested. If you desire to discuss this difficulty in person, I can arrange for a visit to Marlhurst-Brockstone.
I understand further through Colonel Walker-Smythe that you intend to continue your language instruction with Madame Yvonne-Renee Simon. Sa réputation la précède. I understand arrangements have already been made through your school for you to meet with Mme. Simon. However, should you have any difficulty, please advise me immediately.
I look forward to seeing you again.
A.A.M. al-Masri
From: Susan Pevensie
Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
England
To: Gladys Gardner
c/o Embassy of Great Britain
Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, District of Columbia
USA
Dear Gladys,
I am writing of course for I have seen the reports of Dieppe and that David is still accounted among the missing. Have hope and courage, my friend. He is a good and brave and clever man and I pray that you hear soon and that he returns to you thereafter. You are both very much in my thoughts and prayers.
Our crossing was uneventful, and so very much a good thing. As you might have heard, my father did not make the crossing with us – evidently New York would not be parted with his services.
I now return to very dreary things. If you can tell me, have you been able to recruit additional help in the office? Has Tebbitt destroyed my filing system in but a week's time? Do give him and the Colonel my warm regards. I miss you all terribly.
Your dear friend,
Susan
From: Susan Pevensie,
Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
To: Eustace Scrubb
Experiment House
Eyton upon the Weald Moors
Telford
Shropshire
Dear Eustace:
Forgive me, in advance, for being vague, but I am sure you understand. I am so sorry that I was unable to see you before you returned to school. Allow me to greet you and welcome you most whole-heartedly into our family. It is so much, much better that by the Lion's grace, we are now known to each other, where before we were strangers.
I understand that Mum shall be writing to Alberta that you might join us at Christmas. I hope to hear all of your adventures then, from your own lips, rather than second and third hand through Edmund, Lucy, and Peter. By the accounts of your cousins, you were as brave as a Lion and as true as any Knight. I especially wish to hear of dear Reep, of whom I was very fond. He claimed to be related to a very good friend of mine and knowing both of them, I do not doubt it, though it was likely in spirit only.
In the days and weeks ahead, and especially as you return to your old places and to school, we all know that it becomes harder to stay true to the Lion's call. He lays a heavy responsibility upon us and has high expectations for all whom he called and to whom he gave such extraordinary gifts. You do not walk this path alone, my cousin. We are with you and the Lion as well.
Congratulations and my very best wishes, thoughts, and prayers go to you,
Your loving cousin,
Susan tG
From: WC R. Tebbitt
British Embassy
Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
To: Susan Pevensie
Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
England
Dear Mrs. Caspian
I have heard through the Colonel that your journey was of the best kind, that is, without incident. We have had no word from Lowrey, which is a wretched business. My best guess is that he is in a camp. I would like to say that as an officer and a Canadian he would receive better treatment and better conditions. I fear that such things matter little.
We have received reinforcements including a good chap who is very much of Fleming's ilk, but even bolder. By comparison, I am as meek and sober as a Parson. Parson or no, I am counting the days until the War ends.
I have thought further on what we discussed regarding your brother, Peter. While I understand your concern that he could not serve a fool, basic training is effective in beating that obstinate streak out of the most intelligent and insightful of young men. The changes in training and recruitment have, overall, increased the quality of the officer corps with it coming to be based more on merit and less on bloodline. I believe Peter will find a place, and a good one, should he chose to exert himself toward obtaining it.
Regardless, Susan, as skilled as the Colonel is, and as much as is to be learned from him, I would not want to see this duty of mine for any man. It is a sore trial. I would not wish it for your brother and you should not either.
Agnes sends her greetings and love and asks (impatiently, too) if you have met the "Hierophant."
I shall close with a long quote, for I find that the words of others are more eloquent than my own.
Madame, more than kisses, letters mingle souls,
For thus, friends absent speak.
This ease controls
The tediousness of my life; but for these
I could ideate nothing which could please;
But I should wither in one day, and pass
To a bottle of hay, that am a lock of grass.
Life is a voyage, and in our lives' ways
Countries, courts, towns are rocks, or remoras;
They break or stop all ships, yet our state's such,
That though than pitch they stain worse, we must touch.
Really, Donne writing such to Sir Henry Wotton seems a mite dodgy, for all that I have endured your tongue lashing on that subject. I find it far more pleasing to quote such to a fair Bacchante. For all his use of the humble and slimy snail as a metaphor, Donne's closing admonition bears reflection:
Be then thine own home, and in thyself dwell;
Inn anywhere; continuance maketh hell.
And seeing the snail, which everywhere doth roam,
Carrying his own house still, still is at home;
Follow—for he is easy paced—this snail,
Be thine own palace, or the world's thy gaol.
And in your palace, I would dwell there, too.
I suspect this return will be very difficult for you. Be your own person, Mrs. C, carry her with you. Do not lock her away, or the world's a gaol.
Do great things while we wait. I expect no less.
WC R. Tebbitt
P.S. Is your filing system in chronological or reverse chronological order? Also, where do you file the Penguin's memoranda? Do you file the news clippings by source or by subject?
P.P.S. I regret to say that I was attempting to file the clippings for the Colonel and the bottom fell out of the file drawer and the files with it. Hence the questions above.
From: Susan Pevensie
Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
England
To: Agnes Hill Bell
1800 & U Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
USA
Dear Agnes:
As you might have heard through Tebbitt or the Colonel, we arrived well and safely and I now return to a smaller and far less interesting life. I hope that this finds you, and your family, and Legba, well.
On the journey, I read Little Women and really I must disagree with you about Jo's decision to marry the Professor. Marriage to Laurie might have been more romantic as you define it, but surely it was ill advised, as Jo rightly saw. In a similar vein, I find Heathcliff's behavior toward Catherine most disturbing and really not romantic at all. As my brother, Edmund, has observed, if he is not good to you, he is not good for you.
I shall write more as I learn more, but I do believe I have met the Hierophant. He is nothing of what I expected. Peter came to know him well over the holiday and he is quite the figure. He is Egyptian or, perhaps more accurately, North African or, perhaps, Arab? I am uncertain of the nuances here and so risk error. He is a veteran of the Arab Revolts and World War I, and serves in the Army currently in the rank of Major. The Colonel knows him as a man of good repute, also borne out by Peter's report. He has been known long and well by others who are acquainted with the stories of Lambert and Willa and he may, however, mysteriously, have some understanding of such stories himself. I trust you understand my meaning and how curious it all is.
If you have any further insights, I would welcome them.
Please give my warmest regards to your family.
Your friend,
Susan
From: Marjorie Preston
Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
To: Mrs. James Preston
Dartford Road
Dartford
Kent
Dear Mum:
You were right! You were so very, very right! I just felt awful having said those beastly things about Lucy to Anne Featherwitch. And Lucy somehow knew and she felt just awful that she had spied on me. (I don't know how she knew, but Lucy's like that). She came right up to me the first day we were all back and we had a good talk and we both cried a little and we both think Anne is just horrid and we are not going to let her get between us.
Thank you, Mum. I love you. I'm so happy that you were right about Lucy and made me see sense. We are in a room together and a new girl has joined us, Jane Edwards. We both like Jane very much. Alice Jones is the lowers' Prefect. I've told you about her, I think? She is very sharp, both her mind and her tongue. Still, she sees right through nonsense and sucking up so all in all Alice is a good draw for us.
I worry a little about Lucy, though. She is very upset about the War. We're all upset, of course, and I worry so much about you all, even if the bombs aren't falling anymore and we aren't so worried about the Nazis crossing the Channel now that the Americans are here. Still, Lucy is very, very upset. She is writing a lot to politicians about things she reads in the newspapers. Also, I have heard Lucy mutter some not very nice things about the Reverend Collins. True, none of us likes him at all. Lucy, though, seems quite put out by him.
I miss you and Father, and William and Spot. Stay safe!
Love,
Marjorie
From:
Anne Featherstone
Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
To: Mrs. Alastair Francis Featherstone
Elvetham Heath
Fleet
Surrey
Dear Mother:
You must get me out of this bedlam and damn the marks. I am being tortured by those utter beasts, Lucy Pevensie and Marjorie Preston. They put on airs, even though they are the most common, unpleasant girls. I have found, since returning to school, a frog in my shoes, spiders in my bed, and a mouse nest among my jumpers.
If you do not send James to come and fetch me in the car, I shall suffer and take a train home. I swear it mother, I shall. A train! You may die of embarrassment that your daughter was reduced to a train again!
Sincerely,
Your daughter, Anne
From: Eustace Scrubb
Experiment House
Eyton upon the Weald Moors
Telford
Shropshire
To: Edmund Pevensie
Blackpool Forest School
Tilehurst
Reading
Berkshire
Dear Edmund:
You called it. I knew it would be awful returning, and it is. My old gang expected me to be back with Them and their old ways. Anyone not an utter rotter wanted nothing to do with me. When I tried to behave properly, the decent folk thought I was a spy and got even more suspicious. I keep telling myself what you said, that it's the work of weeks and months, and by my actions I shall be judged.
Which led to the rabbit. Carter and some of his gang had cornered the poor thing behind the gym and were throwing rocks at it. It wasn't a Talking Rabbit, of course, but rabbits aren't very far from Rats (though rabbits are not rodents like rats, they are lagomorphs due to the teeth and other anatomical features) and even if it had been a hedgehog or a snake, the thing should not have been tortured and frightened to death by schoolboys.
So, I grabbed Carter by the arm, prised, his fingers from the rock he was holding, and told him to leave off the rabbit. Which they did, and he (or she, couldn't tell) hopped away. But, then They had a go at me. It wasn't anything bad, just a few bruises.
I'm glad I'm tougher than I was, and stronger, and I keep working at it in gym.
That's a good thing, too. There was something involving another boy and a secret, and I'm not going to say his name in case one of Them get hold of this letter. But that other boy, who is a good bloke, did something They didn't like at all and They figured I knew about it. Which I did.
I was roughed up in the boys' lavatory for it. Just the usual, which I'm sure you know, with the mop handles and the flushies. It hurt, but not as much as other hurts, if you know what I mean. I didn't blub and didn't snitch.
Peter and Susan both told me that it was better to be improved and a Friend than what I was before and a stranger. I keep telling myself that and I'm looking for You Know Who a lot. I feel him sometimes. Like with the rabbit and in the lavatory, when I really need it.
That's all for now. I don't see it getting any better but eventually I hope I won't be so alone in suffering through it.
Your cousin,
Eustace
From:
M. Anning Russell
Russell House
Combe
Ox
To: Mr. John Taylor
Science Faculty
Experiment House
Eyton upon the Weald Moors
Telford
Shropshire
Dear. Mr. Taylor:
I write to take the strongest excepshun to the marks you awarded Eustace Scrubb on his essay regarding T.H. Huxley's comparison of Archaeopteryx lithographica with Compsognathus longipes and modern birds. Simply because you do not have the wit to comprehend Mister Scrubb's argument and anatomical analysis does not mean he is wrong. It means only that you are an idiot. Huxley's theory that small, theropods may have evolved into Aves is not in vogue, to be sure, but it is uncontroverted that A. lithographica shares numerous features with modern birds, including wishbone, flight feathers, and wings. Unless you correct your ignorance forthewith, to the benfit of Mister Scrubb, I intend to foreward his essay and your stupid remarks upon it to Richard Russell and Professor T.W. Copeland, whom you undoubtdly know holds the Linacre Chair and is Curator of the Oxford Museum of Natural History.
Also, please inform your Head that if I continue to see such ignorance bandied about maskerading as scientific query, I shall reconsider her offer of employment to me and replace you.
Sincerely,
M. Anning Russell
P.S. Don't think for a moment I cannot determine which paper in the queue is yours for the Royal Proceedings. I can.
From: M. Anning Russell
Russell House
Combe
Ox
To: Lt. Col. Thomas B. Clark
Impington Lane
Impington
Cambridgeshire
Dear Colonel Clark:
I am writing to thank you for the very kind gift of chocolate to Major al-Masri and so to me. The chocolate was very well-timed given my husband's illness and I am grateful for it. I understand farther that we have acquaintenances in common, specifically Eustace Scrubb and the Pevensee family. Should you see Eustace's parents, do please tell them on my behalf that they have an extrordinary son. His analysis of Huxley's comparison of Archaeopteryx lithographica with Compsognathus longipes and modern Aves was first rate.
Thank you again for your generousity.
Sincerely,
Mary Anning Russell
From: Elizabeth Pole
Lewisham Park
London
To: Jill Pole
Experiment House
Eyton upon the Weald Moors
Telford
Shropshire
Dearest Jill:
I hope you are settled and that your term has begun well. I know that Experiment House is not the typical school and that there are some awful children there. I know it is not easy for you; it is not easy for your father, either. But, the school was very keen to have you and others like you back and I hope that you meet some nice friends with whom you share some common ground. I know you mentioned how that awful Eustace Scrubb boy had become strangely nice this term, so perhaps he might be a place to start?
I need to tell you that I shall be very busy for the next few months and will not be living at home. If an emergency arises, send a telegram to the WRENS office in the Admiralty, London and they should be able to find me at the GCCS. Do not worry for my safety. I am in England and quite secure, just very busy and it is all quite secret.
I have just been promoted to First Officer, which is equivalent to a Lieutenant-Commander!
As to your father, his squadron is in the south and really that is all I can say. He is doing well, flying often, and doing important work that will keep us all safe.
It is hard for all of us, my lovely Jill. England has given us so much and now we of her Commonwealth of nations must do our patriotic duty and give in return or no one shall be free ever again.
With love,
First Officer Mum
From: Jill Pole
Experiment House
Eyton upon the Weald Moors
Telford
Shropshire
To: First Officer Pole
Lewisham Park
London
RETURN TO SENDER; ADDRESSEE NOT IN RESIDENCE
From: Miss Lucy Pevensie
c/o Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
To:
Mr. Lawrence Holt
Alfred Holt & Co.
Liverpool
Frederick James Leathers, 1st Viscount Leathers
Minister
Ministry of War Transport
London
Dear Sirs:
It has come to my attention that the Chinese men sailing in the Merchant Navy are not receiving the same wages and war bonus as white men. In fact, the wages and bonuses of Chinese sailors may be twenty-five percent less than those paid to white men for the same duty. It seems to me that the Nazi U-boat captains do not take the time to determine whether the crews of the merchant ships they target are Chinese, Indian, English, Canadian, African or any other race. The risks of death these patriotic men bear are the same and so their pay should be the same. Please rectify this injustice immediately.
Sincerely,
Lucy Pevensie
From: Lucy Pevensie
Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
To:Polly Plummer
Victoria Street
Dunstable
Bedfordshire
Dear Polly:
Thank you for helping me with the letter to Mr. Holt and Viscount Leathers. I am really not acustomed to anyone caring about my spelling. Some things about Narnia were preferrable and the absence of a dictionery was one of them!
Would you please tell Mrs. Kwong that I wrote the letter? The treatment of the Chinese Merchant Navy men deeply offended me and I did wish to do something other than wring my hands and say polite, sympathetic things. I truly appreciate what you said about how feeling badly over someone's ill treatment is the mimum standard for an ethical person and the larger, bigger, harder task is the calling to do something about it. How to translate that pasion and anger I feel into something meaningful? Thank you very much for the suggestions on whom to write. Even this does not seem enough, but it is a start, I suppose. A Queen I may be, but I still felt very bold scolding a Viscount!
Thank you again for taking me to the Caxton Hall rally. It was very motivating and infuriating and I am very grateful you were there with me. I am so impressed by Miss Sutherland! Thank you for introducting me to her. I did send the note and she wrote back with a lovely one in reply. I now have a card from the National Labour Party Chief Woman pinned to my closet mirror! Susan is quite envius!
Love,
Lucy
From: Edmund Pevensie
Blackpool Forest School
Tilehurst
Reading
Berkshire
To: Lt. Colonel Thomas B. Clark
Impington Lane
Impington
Cambridgeshire
Dear Colonel Clark:
Thank you for the loan of the Lieber Code. I have now read it a dozen times and find something new to ponder in it at every turn. It is alternately profound and frustratingly inadequate, yet I am mindful that it was written at all. Some things seem so obvious, such as treating prisoners of war as detainees rather than criminals, yet this was plainly a radical principle as compared to what had preceded it.
Our conversation was prescient. I enclose a publication, the September 11, Jewish Chronicle, which discusses a rally held at Caxton Hall. You will note the headline, "A Day of Retribution." The Home Secretary, Mr. Morrison, states that "the United Nations would accept no peace offer from Hitler, unless it took the form of a promise, which guarantees, of the performance of a collective suicide pact by the whole of the German leadership."
As my Latin tutor would say, res loquitur ipsa. Can there be justice when the accusations are so large, passions so high, and when even the respected voices call so bluntly and unapologetically for retribution? This troubles me greatly, Colonel. At the risk of theology and philosophy, I have come to believe that we are not judged by those things with the easy answer. The measure of the man or woman is in how he or she treats the guilty and the undeserving. As you had said when we argued about your American Bill of Rights, it is not the majority that needs protection and much the same applies to assuring justice in the hardest of cases. Demanding suicide so that we might be spared the duty of proving guilt and apportioning commensurate punishment cannot be the answer.
To less weightier subjects, Jack is doing well. Some things are easier than others but Peter and I have made sure he did not fall in with the wrong sort. For all that cricket is a "girl" game and he complains about the absence of "baseball' and "American football," he excels even at our British sport and this stands him in good stead.
Please give my warm regards to Ruby and to Major al-Masri, should you see him.
Sincerely,
Edmund Pevensie
To:Edmund Pevensie
Blackpool Forest School
Tilehurst
Reading
Berkshire
From: Mrs. John Pevensie
Finchley Road
Finchley
Barnet, London
Dearest Edmund:
Are you mad? There, now that I have vented my feelings, I shall be able to proceed more rationally. Darling, must you insist upon such coursework? Your Head of School wrote to me personally asking that I consent to your adding Russian and German to your French, Latin, and the upper form maths.
I admit to worry, Edmund. I see how Peter has carried the weight of your father's academic expectations and I would not wish to see you so burdened as well. You are your own man, extraordinary in your own ways. Do not take so punishing a path to obtain a dubious approval you do not need and should not want. Do not let the sorts of doubts that hinder me stop you. You have nothing to fear – your marks have been exceptional this last year. Truly, I believe the doors (or windows as you never take the easy path when a harder one beckons) that you seek will open for you.
Do not do this for anyone, my son. If you desire it for yourself, then by all means. When you catch the death and must come home to be nursed through the ague, I shall not even say, "I told you so."
From your loving and very proud Mum
To: Mrs. John Pevensie
Finchley Road
Finchley
Barnet, London
From: Edmund Pevensie
Blackpool Forest School
Tilehurst
Reading
Berkshire
Dear Mum:
Thank you for the kind letter. For your eyes only, I admit I was envious of Susan and Peter both this holiday. They met extraordinary people this summer while I suffered through the likes of Eustace, Harold and Alberta. Yet, Eustace improved and I came to know the Clarks – the Americans of whom Lucy and I spoke.
The languages are for myself. I had not known that the Headmaster would ask for your approval. Thank you for granting it and for trusting my judgment in this.
It is odd that you write of closing doors and opening windows for I have been contemplating them as well. I have also been considering, as you wrote, the hard roads and difficult choices to which I always seem drawn. I was not aware that I was so transparent to you.
Thank you and with love,
Edmund
ENTRY FROM PERSONAL JOURNAL OF EDMUND PEVENSIE
(translated from Rat & Crow)
My mother sent me a letter. They were her words, but I heard your voice say them. I love my mother, but it is not the same at all and I wish it had been you who had spoken to me so. She would have liked you very much.
From:Tom Clark
Impington Lane
Impington
Cambridgeshire
To: John T. Clark
Blackpool Forest School
Tilehurst
Reading
Berkshire
Dear Jack:
So, you will write to Ruby, but not your dear Dad? Congratulations on the cricket and football teams. I know it's not baseball and American football, but then there isn't a lot of that going in America now, either. I understand that rugby might be to your liking as well and as you know, we have rowers among your Clark uncles and cousins so you might want to give that a go when the school has try-outs.
I can sympathize with you about English spelling. I am having difficulty with it too. Why is it centre when it is so obviously pronounced cen-ter and not cen-tre. And, unfortunately, their coursework would be skewed in favor of English literature rather than American, so you will be reading Dickens and Donne rather than Twain and Dickinson. Maybe we'll read Huck Finn together over the holiday – Huck's relationship with Jim and how you "can't pray a lie" have been on my mind lately. I suspect it is a book that Edmund would enjoy as well.
I'm very glad to hear that your math (they call it maths, I know) is putting you so comfortably ahead.
Do the best that you can, son. Make friends, be happy, do the things you enjoy, and the rest will follow.
As for the food, it's awful. Secretly, I agree with you that it does all taste like wet dog ears. I don't understand their fascination with things like steak and kidney pie, either. On the positive side, the desserts and potatoes and bread are good and New Englanders are not any better with vegetables. I remind myself that we have to really wonder at the first person who looked at a spiny lobster and said, "Let's boil and eat it." If you need anything from the American PX, let me know and Ruby and I will see what we can do about it. I've enclosed a Hershey bar, which, if you have not already eaten it, I hope you will share.
Ruby has had a difficult time with finding work. She would like to work at the hospital at the University. At some point, they just look foolish inventing excuses for turning away a highly qualified nurse given the acute needs everywhere. It really bothers me, but I hope that our British hosts may rise above America, at least as things stand in the Southern states. If nothing else, once we start seeing Negro American units here, command will need Negro nurses to care for the men.
I understand there is also a need for qualified mechanics and you know how handy Ruby is with engines, even if she hates getting her hands dirty.
I am omitting for your sake my usual harangue on the subject of segregation in the American armed forces. Please don't tell any of your British friends. We're not supposed to talk about it and I'm the hypocrite for hating it but following the order to not discuss it.
I cannot tell you much of work, but it is going better and we are moving into what will be a very busy time.
I will see if I can spring you free for Thanksgiving, assuming I can get sprung myself. Perhaps the PX will have a turkey and maybe Ruby can manage a proper oyster dressing.
Love,
Dad
From: John T. Clark
Blackpool Forest School
Tilehurst
Reading
Berkshire
To: Lucy Pevensie
Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
Dear Lucy,
As you can see from what's inside the envelope, I'm sending you half the Hershey bar I got from Dad.
I hope you were able to spend some time with Susan and your Mum like you wanted to. I heard from Ed about your Dad and I'm sorry that he didn't come home. I know what that's like, though it is different for me with my mom gone and Ruby instead. I did appreciate how you and Ed both understood that you can have a good family even if it doesn't look like everyone else's.
Did you like going to the rally with Miss Plummer?
School's alright. It's not that different from the prep schools I attended in Massachusetts, though the food is a lot worse and I wish everyone spoke English! Really, I can't understand half of what some of the "blokes" say. The sports are good but this time of year back home we would be playing American football and I miss that. They also are putting us through this Officer Training Corps, which near as I can tell, OTC is a lot of running and marching and calisthenics while some fellow pretends to be a staff sergeant and yells at you.
Your brother, Peter, by the way, has been the talk of the school. There was a training corps competition among the oldest students (we would call them seniors; I guess you all call them the upper and lower Sixths?) from several of the boys' schools in the area. Officers from the Service Board and recruiting centres (see, I spelled it right!) were judging. They sent the boys around an obstacle course with a pack and then had a map reading task, a signals exercise, and target shooting. Your brother was the first across the line by a mile, and broke a slew of school and corps records. There was apparently some to-do with the GSC wanting to haul him off the next day, with Peter ready to pack his bag, then everyone realizing your mother had to sign first and even then they have to wait until he's 17 next year.
I hope you are doing fine.
Your friend,
Jack
LUCY PEVENSIE'S DIARY
Dear Aidan:
I have been very preocupied with the return to school. I have quareled with someone who has made me cross, and learned of things in the greater world that have made me even more cross. I have reforged a friendship I thought had been broken and together we have done some very silly things to a very silly and cruel girl.
Aslan is with me, though he was not happy about those silly things I did to that cruel girl. Secretley, between you and I alone, I think he did laugh. Aslan has always apprecaited a good joke, especially if it involves chewing mice and frogs and foolish girls who scream at them.
And, my dearest, I think I see something happening here that has me very confused. Perhaps it will come to nothing and with school starting, this may solve the problem, if it exists. I wish I could speak to Edmund about this because he would understand. He misses Morgan as I miss you. He is not ready to discuss it, though. So, in this I am alone.
I love you. I have things I am called to do, first. I must live and work in this world as fully as I did in Narnia. Give my love to Briony and all our friends.
Until my work is done or Aslan calls me to you,
Lucy
From: Professor Digory Kirke
Oxford University
Ox
To:
Lucy Pevensie
Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
Dear Lucy:
I am sorry to hear of your argument with the school vicar. He is a man of a very narrow understanding and even more limited learning. Do keep in mind that Jesus of Nazareth, when read historically, was a very radical figure and just how radical would certainly be a shock to many who purport to follow his teachings. The Nazarene was born and died a Jew and did not, as your school vicar asserted, "convert to Christianity" upon his baptism in the Jordan.
Regrettably, Lucy, these conflicts will continue and you must decide how you shall manage them. As a veteran of this war myself, it is a path I would wish you did not have to walk for it will not get easier. I include another book by Archbishop Temple and some poems by Hopkins. Both may provide comfort to you.
To avoid cynicism, do continue your study of the Archbishop's teachings and I shall exert myself to find others who may be more aligned with the direction of Aslan's call that you perceive. It also occurs to me that you would do well to meet others of different traditions. In this way, you might see better the many ways that peoples of this world celebrate divine Creation and encourage moral living beyond the confines of the Book of Common Prayer and the shallow men who purport to understand your spiritual journey but are mostly concerned with keeping you silent, unthinking, and obedient. I was delighted to hear that you met Kwong Lee and Lin Kun and Mr. Patel so recently. Both Peter and Edmund have enjoyed their time with Asim bin Kalil. This is not traditional in the slightest, my dear Lucy, but then neither are you and your singular experiences.
You are very much in my thoughts and please give my regards to Aslan,
Digory Kirke
From:
Professor Digory Kirke
Oxford University
Ox
To: Charles Brown-Davies
Head of School
Blackpool Forest School
Tilehurst
Reading
Berkshire
Dear BD,
Congratulations on your school's performance in the OTC games. I read of it in the local papers. I am sure you will agree that there is little point to Peter Pevensie continuing his regular coursework at Blackpool. I shall coach him through his exams this term and then he will be off for training after the turn of the year. From the reports, it seemed that the Selection Board had already packed his bags.
Please tell Mister Pevensie that I will expect him beginning Thursday next.
Sincerely,
D. Kirke
From: Peter Pevensie
Blackpool Forest School
Tilehurst
Reading
Berkshire
To: Mrs. John Pevensie
Finchley Road
Finchley
Barnet, London
Dear Mum:
I apologize for not giving you fair warning of the letter from the Selection Board. After the exercises at school, they were surprised to learn my age or I might already be in basic training. This all happened very quickly.
Thank you for signing the consent. As we discussed, I am certain this is what I should do, for a time. Please do not think it merely the arrogance and naiveté of youth when I say that I am very confident of my combat readiness and I believe I will be an asset to whatever unit I am assigned. I am called to this duty and must respond.
I will sit for my exams as planned and begin the admissions process. The Professor is seeing to all that.
Thank you again for understanding.
Your loving son,
Peter
From: Mr. John Pevensie
British Security Coordination
Rockefeller Centre
New York, NY
USA
To: Peter Pevensie
Blackpool Forest School
Tilehurst
Reading
Berkshire
Dear Son:
I understand through Mum that you have studied very hard and are excelling at school. This is wonderful news, though I expected no less. With the Professor's assistance and my own influence, there should be no obstacle to your admission.
There is no need at all to rush to the front. Make yourself useful, study hard, and make your parents proud. If you persist in this belief that the British armed forces cannot do without your presence, please advise. There are some excellent, highly placed men in my office and they will find something suitable for you here in America with the BSC.
Give my regards to Edmund.
Sincerely,
Your father
From: SR Patel
c/o
Richard Russell
Russell House
Combe
Oxfordshire
England
c/o Consul of Great Britain, Nairobi
c/o
Mary Leakey
Nairobi
Kenya Colony
Mary-
Richard dictated the enclosed for Wangari. Could you please contact her and see that she receives it? I hope that you all are well and have good luck next season. Should you be able to return to England, a visit with Richard would not be amiss. He will not travel again. I suspect, as we all do, that travel will become more difficult before it is easier.
My well wishes for the continued good health of you and your family,
SR Patel
O00OO00OO
Dear Wangari:
It is as I feared and as we discussed. What afflicted my father and grandfather now has me. Unless you are able to come here, I shall not see you again, until what adventure the hereafter holds for us.
Kioni should have had her baby by now. I hope that they are all doing well. Such love I do not give to you, I give to our children and grandchildren, little though it all is.
Continue to draw from the account as you need. The bank in Nyeri has a correspondent relationship with Barclay's and they have the details. At the advice of your friend, Sims (who also sends his regards), I had the funds converted to mostly American dollars. He seems to think that important given what state the British economy will likely be in once the war ends. American currency will be more stable, he believes. As my head for numbers is even worse than my ability to measure a lorry's load capacity, I am heeding his advise.
I never married for money, but married women who knew how to manage it. It is poor consolation but at least you and our family shall not be in need. Should any matter arise which necessitates you or any member of our family leaving Kenya, or any other thing, seek out Sims, and Mary here in England. They will do for you what I cannot.
The blessings of Ngai upon you, who I continue to assert is a SHE. Someday, we shall solve the mystery together.
Your loving husband, Richard Gatura
From: Polly Plummer
Victoria Street
Dunstable
Bedfordshire
To:
Richard Russell
Russell House
Combe
Ox
Dear Goat:
You are an absolute Goat and a lunatic and if Mary moves to lock you up, I shall be there with the key.
Yes, I have jumped out of airplanes before and I am, as you very well know, a crack shot. I am not, however, daft and so I shall decline to mount an invasion of occupied Norway to locate breeding pairs of Castor fiber. I do not care that you think Asim might be able to "call in a favour." And I do beg to differ on your assessment. Asim is sensible. I am sensible. You are cracked.
Love always, Bird
From:
Maj. A.A.M. al-Masri
London
To: Maj. John Howard
'D Coy'
2nd Battalion, Ox & Bucks
Major Howard-
It was a pleasure seeing you again last week and my congratulations are long overdue to you on the promotion "back" to Major. As promised, I enclose the clipping regarding the remarkable performance by a young man at the recent OTC games for the South East counties. I have come to know Mr. Pevensie very well and can think of none better for D Company.
While still some months away, unless I hear differently, I shall recommend he attempt to enlist in the Ox & Bucks and after basic training try to join the 2nd Battalion. Mr. Pevensie is very conscious than asking for a particular assignment may be a surety of not receiving it, but perhaps indicating his willingness to jump out of planes and fly in ones that do not have engines will hurry that along.
With regards to Mrs. Howard,
A.A.M. al-Masri
By Courier:
From: Madame Yvonne-Renee Simon
Beaulieu
Brockenhurst
Hampshire
To: Vera Atkins
French Section
SOE
Baker Street
London
[Translated from French]
Dear Vera:
I have met with Mme. Caspian. I was skeptical, of course. I felt that perhaps our men in America had had their heads turned for a pretty face and nice legs even though Mme Carré was so complimentary and she praises so few. I found this collective infatuation very peculiar.
I had arranged to meet Mme. Caspian at a tea shop in Newbury. I arrived early, but she had anticipated me. When I entered, she was ordering tea in broken English and expressing, in French, her frustration at her poor mastery of English. It was a masterful performance. It was her American clothes that revealed her, a shortcoming I have urged her to begin to address.
We spoke the whole of two hours in French. She is a natural actress, charming, confident, very clever, and very pretty. Given our desperation for radio operators, I spoke to her at length about her technical skill and while she would need training, I believe this a small obstacle easily overcome given her proven facility with locks and firearms. She does not know how to drive, but professed no concern at all in learning to do so. She has some basic medical knowledge as well, binding bones, bandaging wounds and similar. We have already heard of her proficiency in defence and she discussed the Embassy incident and her role in apprehending the spy more calmly than I would have expected.
She has only been to France twice, and those were short trips, with family and with school. Her accent is, like that of her teacher, very of the Loire Valley.
I was prepared to recommend an interview with you as soon as could be arranged. She requires training and polish, but she was very eager and I felt what she lacked of France and skill might be acquired at the Beaulieu Finishing School, with placement perhaps in a support position with a native.
As we concluded our interview, I then asked to see her identity card – her true one – as I was instructed to do. She was very reluctant, even rebellious. I insisted and she finally relented.
I understand her obstinacy for surely this identity card must be a forgery. I assumed her to be at least twenty, and at times her manner and conversation seemed far older, for all that she was speaking her non-native tongue. Really, I could not begin to guess her true age.
I do not know what to make of it, Vera. We would be mad as Englishmen to fail to use this resource. She is wasted in school. I shall continue to tutor her and we can begin to work on a legend for her. If her mother might be prevailed upon, I strongly recommend removing her from school altogether and bringing her on as an assistant at Beaulieu. We always need the help, she may continue to learn, and when the time comes, the only question will be why Mme. Caspian was not sent to France earlier. I understand that Walker-Smythe is willing to consider looking the other way by this time next year, with plans for possible insertion in 1944.
We should keep this amongst ourselves for now.
Yvonne
From: Peter Pevensie
Blackpool Forest School
Tilehurst
Reading
Berkshire
To:
Susan Pevensie
Marlhurst-Brockstone School
Newbury
Berkshire
Dear Susan:
Thank you for the congratulatory words about the OTC competition wins. They were just games, silly really, but they mattered and I did feel Aslan's approval in it. They were not the end, but the means - a distinction which I know you appreciate. This sense of his approval has happened to me all too rarely in the past year or so - one important, memorable day with Richard, but otherwise I have felt little of Aslan's pleasure or presence in my actions. I had played the fool during these games until now and understand now so well what you meant about the relief of finally letting Narnia out, to show ourselves for what we are.
I am resolved to enter the airborne division if they will have me. This means I will decline your offer to see me situated in your old office in America and I appreciate that you have ceded this point to me so gracefully.
Father, I fear, is another matter. It is my hope that my commitment to sit for exams and achieve admission will temper his disappointment. I know you recognize that rhetorical and management strategy. He feels that if I delay to the last possible moment, the war will end, thereby rendering my service in it moot. Failing that, he would have me in the same work you so recently advocated. It greatly pains me to think I would grieve him when Father has done so much to encourage me and given so much. But, his war work is not where my gifted purpose lies, such as it is.
By Aslan's grace, this shall be the last time I disappoint Father. To do so hurts our Father and the Lion certainly expects more of me. I expect more of myself.
Now, it is late, and I shall sneak a glass of tequila and complete my reading. I shall be in Oxford frequently with the Professor so letters will find me there as well as here.
Your brother (and not father to your 32 non-existent children)
Peter
From: Lt. Col. Thomas B. Clark
Impington Lane
Impington
Cambridgeshire
To: Dr. M. Anning Russell
Russell House
Combe
Oxfordshire
Dear Dr. Russell:
Thank you for your thank you note. The chocolate was no trouble at all. Major al-Masri has been an enormous help to me and I was pleased to be able to show my gratitude. I am not trying to buy a favor, but I do enclose another Hershey bar and I hope that you will enjoy and share it with my compliments.
Please accept my heartfelt wishes and prayers for your husband's full recovery.
Major al-Masri suggested that I present our current problem to you. I use the word "suggested" in jest for when I resisted his idea, he stated clearly that if I did not do so, he would. In truth, I am running out of time, ideas, and patience. My housekeeper, Ruby Smith, is a trained nurse and has cared for my son, Jack in the stead of his mother. Ruby graduated from a respected College of Nursing in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been on the staff of hospitals in New York and Boston for a decade. Yet, she seems unable to obtain any employment around the Cambridge area and I regret to say that it is likely because she is Negro. The situation will probably improve in the months ahead. However, for now, I am sure you appreciate the unhappiness of a trained and talented woman with nothing to do.
I certainly do not mean to seek employment on Ruby's behalf and forgive me if it appears so. However, Major al-Masri had suggested that you might have learned of staffing shortages in the Oxford area. If so, would you let me know of it? Perhaps there is a more forward thinking, progressive hospital, or a women's hospital? Or, a hospital whose focus is serving patients who are not white?
Thank you for your time and attention and again, I hope that this finds your husband in better health.
Sincerely,
Thomas B. Clark
From:
Mrs. John Pevensie
Finchley Road
Finchley
Barnet, London
To: Miss Polly Plummer
Victoria Street
Dunstable
Bedfordshire
Dear Miss Plummer:
I want to thank you again for taking Lucy to the Caxton Hall rally. Lucy spoke at length about the speakers from the Polish National Council and the atrocities being committed against Jews by the Nazis. She was very moved by the presentations and, yes, upset as would be expected. She came home and promptly sent off letters to the PM and the Home Secretary. I found it necessary to curb her enthusiastic language a little and I do hope she concentrates upon her spelling in school!
Amidst the upset, Lucy was very excited to see Miss Mary Sutherland in person. Thank you for introducing Lucy to her. I believe that as the National Labour Party Chief Woman Officer, Miss Sutherland is the most esteemed person Lucy has ever met! I do admire Miss Sutherland's work on behalf of women and children and her efforts to secure meals and milk for school children. Lucy seemed quite taken with her and with you, and I am pleased that Lucy has come to know such accomplished women.
I do wonder at the sources of Lucy's seemingly new found political passions. I thought it might have arisen during her time with her aunt and uncle. On further reflection, I believe this unlikely.
To that end, at your convenience, might we have tea and discuss this further? I would welcome Professor Kirke, of course, as well. As you both saw so much of Peter this holiday, I would like to hear of his time, too. I would be glad to meet the two of you, either at your home, or his, or somewhere in between.
Perhaps you might also be able to enlighten me on the reasons for Edmund's new enthusiasm for Russian and German?
Sincerely,
Mrs. John Pevensie
To follow, Chapter 10, Lionsgate
A/N
Thanks to Theoretica for early guidance on the conundrum of age, service, and educational requirements. It's not perfect and for purposes of the story, it can't be, but it's closer than it was. She directed me to the exhaustive site, Paradata dot org which is a living history of the UK Airborne Forces and I've relied heavily on the personal histories found there in crafting Peter's path forward.
(Another) thanks to Autumnia who found the quote from the Jewish Chronicle about the Caxton Hall rally. There was virtually nothing else out there. Information on Major John Howard comes from Stephen Ambrose's Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944 and the information about Vera Atkins and the SOE Finishing School at Beaulieu comes from Rita Kramer's Flames in the Field: The Story of Four SOE Agents in Occupied France. Information regarding the Officer Training Corps, basic training, WREN First Officers, Miss Mary Sutherland, and Castor fiber comes from various on line sites. Links are in my LJ.
There are a lot of details here, small ones. If you see something that bothers you, let me know, and if it is fixable, I will try to do so.
A special thanks to those on my LJ who responded to my query regarding what letters should be sent and to whom.
Also, for those who missed it, I posted in my Livejournal an answer to some of the questions Peter and Susan discussed in the last chapter regarding their ordered succession and what happened after their departure. Links are in my profile to the short, Acceptance of the Terms.
Today, March 22, 2011 marks my two year anniversary of posting TSG. The first chapters of Part 1, Digs, followed quickly by Tetchy, and Tea and Sympathy, were posted on March 22 and 23, 2009, marking my return to fan fic after a long absence. I'm not going to count the words in those two years. Please don't do it for me because I'm liable to freeze up. The first chapter garnered one review, by Ilysia, and by chapter 3, I picked up Autumnia, Miniver, Princess Lucy, and Doewe as well.
Thank you, ladies.
Last, my notifications from this site have been completely whacky, arriving 12 to 24 hours later or not at all. I can see reviews and PMs if I come to the site, but I don't know they are there otherwise and alerts and favs I do not see at all. So, please let me know if you are out here somewhere.
