Dr Bamart smiled at his son.
‘Hi Daniel. I didn’t expect you until this evening.’
Daniel blushed.
‘I’ve brought a friend, Mina,’ he said to his father.
The old man rose from his armchair to take a closer look at Mina.
‘Daniel, where are your manners?’ said the man to Daniel, then, turning to Mina, ‘Good afternoon, I’m Joshua Bamart, Daniel’s father.’
‘And I’m Mina Osman, from New York. I’m doing research at the University Library, partly about Hildersham. Your son told me you might be able to help me and kindly drove me here to meet you.’
The old man puffed up his chest.
‘I’d be delighted to help you. I have huge archives upstairs which concern the history of this village and some of the neighbouring villages. I’m sure you’ll dig out your answer somewhere in there. Would you like a nice cup of tea first?’
‘Yes please,’ said Mina.
An hour and several cups of tea later, Mina was feeling guilty again. The more Dr Bamart was kind to her, the more she felt phoney and guilty about her lame research topic. The man was clever and so was his son. They were bound to realise she was lying. Bamart asked her where she was staying.
‘In a guest house off Station Road,’ Mina replied.
‘Oh. How dreadful. How long do you intend to stay in Cambridge?’
‘Two weeks. Actually, it is pretty depressing. You wouldn’t know of any nice accommodation in Cambridge?’
‘Why don’t you stay here, with us? We have two guest bedrooms. You wouldn’t be in the city centre but you’d have peace and quiet.’
‘That would be very nice. How much do you charge per night?’ asked Mina.
‘No no, dear me, I don’t usually rent out the rooms, they’re for guests.’
‘Oh, I see. I couldn’t, Dr Bamart.’
‘Hush hush. Call me Joshua. Frankly, now that I’m retired I miss company and if you promise to cook a Middle Eastern meal for me one evening, you’re most welcome to stay here for two weeks.’
Mina was moved by the old man’s kindness and thinking back to the horrible room that awaited her, was relieved to accept his offer.
‘In that case, I accept, on condition that I can cook more than one meal before I leave.’
Daniel felt over the moon as she said those words.
‘Well, now that’s all settled, you ought to bring your belongings from your guest house,’ said Joshua. ‘Daniel, can you drive Miss Osman back into town?’
‘Of course dad,’ he answered, and to Mina, ‘Come on Mina, I’ll drive you now.’
‘Thanks Daniel,’ she said.
As they got into the car, Mina thanked Daniel for his hospitality.
‘It’s a real pleasure. I should have thought of it myself. By the way, I’m really sorry about this, but you’ll need to catch a bus on the way back here. I’ve got things to take care of, but I’d love to have lunch with you tomorrow if you’re around.’
‘Of course. That would be great,’ answered Mina.
Mina spent a very entertaining evening in Joshua’s company. Her host had cooked a delicious vegetarian feast. They drank wine and talked about the many countries they had travelled to. He seemed so different from his son. He wore thick rimmed glasses, and was as short and plump as his son was tall and slim. He was a funny old man and was totally at ease in her company, probably due to his many years as a country doctor, used to seeing patients at home. He told her about his wife, Esther, a beautiful New York artist ‘with a dreadful temper,’ She’d died ten years ago but they had shared thirty blissful years together. He never remarried and since her death he rarely entertained guests. He enjoyed living with his memories and seeing his beloved Daniel whenever he was in the country. After dinner, they went for a walk along the river towards the nearby village of Linton. The night was cold and damp but the stars were shining in the pitch black sky. Mina wished Jack were there with her. They could have walked together under the stars. ‘God I miss you,’ she thought, looking up at the night sky and wondering where he was.
Chapter 24
December 16th, 2004. Cambridge
Jack had been tossing and turning in his king size bed since five a.m. He’d spent the previous day in London making sure he wasn’t followed and had driven off to Cambridge in the evening. He felt much happier for having seen Stella and knowing that, for the time being, the spooks were off his back and Mina’s. That left Oberon Wheatley and the other mysterious pursuers. But now that he was in Cambridge, he kept wondering how he was going to find Mina. He had opted to stay in a comfortable hotel on the banks of the River Cam, right in the city centre. He had asked discreetly after Mina at various hotels and guest houses near the train station, but no-one seemed to remember her. He only had one choice left, which was to go to the University Library and wait until she showed up.
Mina called the Genizah research unit and spoke to the secretary. She explained that she was Daniel Bamart’s guest and if someone called Jack Hillcliff came by the unit asking for her, she would be very grateful if they could give him Daniel’s address in Hildersham. Later that morning, Mina and Joshua had their first serious conversation about her research. She explained that she was looking for a Jewish gentleman who had lived in Hildersham or in Cambridge in 1755 and for any correspondence that may have existed between Hildersham and Safed from the 18th century onwards. Joshua looked at her strangely and said he wasn’t aware of any such correspondence. They were sitting in Joshua’s office, which contained a huge archive made up of filing cabinets and shelves upon shelves of documents that lined the walls. He said it was all at her disposal. He then explained that she would have to search the archives from different angles, as he didn’t have a specific 18th century section. It was thematic, divided according to parish records, public records, land ownership and so forth. She thanked him and got down to work. He smiled at her, and walked out of the office.
Daniel returned from Cambridge at lunchtime, carrying extra wellington boots for Mina. Father and son lead her through Hildersham’s muddy fields to Linton for a pub lunch. At least it wasn’t raining that day. Mina was trying to be cheerful but she kept wondering if Jack would find her. Daniel seemed more embarrassed than usual as they walked back to the house together chatting, as Joshua lagged behind.
‘Mina, can I ask you a personal question?’ asked Daniel with difficulty.
‘Yes, of course,’ she replied.
‘Do you have someone in your life? I mean, you seemed a bit sad today and I just wondered if…’ he broke off.
‘Daniel, can I be frank with you?’
‘Don’t be too tough on me. I know you American girls can be blunt as hell.’
They both laughed.
‘I’m sort of involved with someone.’
‘Ah,’ said Daniel sadly.
‘I hope I wasn’t too blunt?’ she asked.
‘No, no. A direct answer to a direct question.’
‘Daniel, can we be friends? I think we could be good friends and right now, I really need one,’ said Mina.
