Joy Street Part VII

Emily takes on war work, helping as a nurses aide at a hospital and organising knitting groups and giving blood. Her servants leave the house, to work in factories, except for their elderly cook housekeeper, Deirdre, who keeps things running with Emily doing more housework. Roger also takes on extra volunteer work for the war effort, and she worries that he's working too hard. Elizabeth Emily's aunt marries her admirer and they have a baby son Archie.. Pell de Lucca has also left the law firm to join the army... so now Roger is almost the only one left there. Priscilla joins the women's services and hopes to be posted overseas. Mrs Forbes who is a very shrewd old lady suspects that this is partly because David is likely to be posted overseas also...She loves Emily best of all her grandchildren, and she is aware of that she has feelings for David, although she is loyal to Roger. Then Pell de Lucca comes to ask Roger's advice as a lawyer... and he and Emily listen to the Italian man's story. They learn that Pell has been in love for years with his cousin Simonetta. He was an orphan and was brought up by his Aunt Carmela, who was widowed at the end of the war. She had a baby of her own, Simonetta, a very beautiful girl. Pell wants to marry her, but as they are first cousins, they are forbidden by the Catholic church. Carmela is against the marriage. She became very embittered after her husband's death, and became reclusive and fanatically religious. She didn't want Simonetta to marry and certainly not to make a marriage which is not approved by the Church. Pell's grandfather has died recently and in his will, he left some money to Pell. Pell did not like his grandfather, who had shown him little kindliness - but he wants Roger to arrange for some of the money to go to SImonetta to give her a better education than she has had. Emily says that she thinks there is something odd about the Grandfather's will, since he only left his daughter Carmela a small amount and Carmela has now decided to contest the Will. Pell has to go off back to the army, and as soon as he's gone, Simonetta turns up at the Joy St house, saying that her mother has turned against her and thrown her out, and she has nowhere to go.