“I know,” Polly said, wrapping Miss Gill’s purchases. She’d told Polly she wanted them sent and then changed her mind and decided to take them with her. It took Polly till closing to wrap them all, by which time Miss Gill had changed her mind again.
“Thank heavens,” Doreen said when the closing bell rang, and began covering her counter.
Polly put on her coat and was reaching for her hat when Miss Snelgrove came over. “You waited on Mrs. Jones-White earlier?”
“Yes, she purchased two pairs of stockings. She wanted them sent,” Polly said, thinking, Please don’t say she’s changed her mind and wants her purchases wrapped, too.
“Mrs. Jones-Smith has decided she wishes-”
“Ohh!” Doreen gave a strangled cry and rushed past Polly’s counter toward the lifts.
“Where are you going, Miss Timmons?” Miss Snelgrove said, annoyed, and then, in an entirely different tone of voice, “Oh, my!” and started after her toward the lift.
A young woman was stepping off it. She moved stiffly, as if she hurt, and her arm was in a sling. It was Marjorie.
Here Comes the Navy-with the Army!
London-25 October 1940
MARJORIE STEPPED OFF THE LIFT AND STARTED ACROSS the floor toward Polly, who was still putting on her coat. “Marjorie!” Polly breathed and ran over to her.
Doreen got there first. “When did you get out of hospital?” she was asking. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Marjorie ignored Doreen. “Oh, Polly!” she said. “I’m so glad to see you!” She looked dreadful, thin and with dark shadows under her eyes, and when Polly embraced her, she flinched. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m afraid I’ve got four broken ribs.”
“And no business being here,” Polly said. “You don’t look as though you should even be out of hospital.”
“I’m not,” Marjorie said and laughed shakily.
Miss Snelgrove came over. “What are you doing here, Marjorie? Your doctor should never have allowed-”
“He didn’t,” Marjorie said. “I… it was my idea to come.” She put her hand to her forehead, swaying slightly.
“Miss Sebastian, fetch her a chair,” Miss Snelgrove ordered, and Polly started toward her counter, but Marjorie clutched her sleeve.
“No, please, Polly,” she pleaded. “Stay with me.”
“I’ll fetch it,” Doreen volunteered.
“Thank you,” Marjorie said, still holding on to Polly. Doreen left, and Marjorie turned to Miss Snelgrove. “Could you possibly go tell Mr. Witherill I’m here? I’d intended to go up to Personnel to speak to him about coming back, but I’m afraid I’m not feeling-”
“You mustn’t worry over that,” Miss Snelgrove said kindly. “I can assure you your place will be here whenever you’re ready to return.” Doreen brought the chair, and Marjorie sank into it. “And you’re to take as much time as you need.”
“Thank you, but if I could just speak to Mr. Witherill-”
“Certainly, my dear.” Miss Snelgrove patted her hand and started toward the lifts.
“What did you do to her?” Doreen said, looking wonderingly after her. “She’s been an absolute bear these last few weeks.” She turned to Marjorie. “You still haven’t told us what you were doing in Jermyn Street.”
“Doreen, could I possibly have a glass of water?” Marjorie said faintly. “I’m sorry to be such a bother…”
“I’ll bring it straightaway,” Doreen said and scurried off.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have come,” Polly said, concerned.
“I had to.” She clutched Polly’s arm. “I sent her for the water so I could speak to you alone. I’ve been so worried. Did you get into trouble?”
“Trouble?”
“Because I wasn’t here to tell Miss Snelgrove you weren’t coming in,” she said, near tears. “I’m so sorry. I only remembered this morning. I heard two of the nurses talking, and one of them said she needed to leave early and asked the other to cover for her, and I thought, Oh, no, I was supposed to cover for Polly if she wasn’t back on time Monday. I came as soon as I could. I had to sneak out of hospital-”
“It’s all right,” Polly said. “You mustn’t upset yourself. Everything’s fine.”
“Oh, then you did make it back in time for work on Monday.” Color flooded back into her cheeks, and she looked so relieved Polly didn’t have the heart to tell her she hadn’t. “I was so afraid Miss Snelgrove would sack you.”
She’d have liked to, Polly thought. “No, I wasn’t sacked.”
“And your mother was all right?”
Polly nodded.
“Oh, good,” Marjorie said. “I was so worried that you’d had to stay and I’d let you down.”
“You let me down?” Polly said. “I let you down. I thought you’d gone to Bath. I should have known you wouldn’t leave London without telling me. I should have told the authorities you were missing. I should have made them look-”
Marjorie was shaking her head. “They couldn’t have found me. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going.”
“Where were you going?” Polly asked, and then regretted it because Marjorie looked stricken. “It’s all right,” she said hastily. “You needn’t talk about it if you don’t want to.” She looked over at the lifts. “I can’t imagine what’s taking Doreen so long with the water. I’ll go see what’s keeping her.”
“Thank you. Did your friend find you?”
Polly froze. “My friend?”
“Yes. She came the day you were gone. Eileen O’Reilly-”
Merope. They’d sent Merope. Of course. She not only knew Polly, she knew the historical period. But how ironic. While Merope’d been here looking for her, she’d been up in Backbury looking for her. “She said you were at school together,” Marjorie said.
At school. “We were,” Polly said. “She came in the Saturday I was gone?” That had been nearly four weeks ago.
“Yes. I told her you’d be back on Monday,” Marjorie said. “Didn’t she come in?”
“No. What else did she say?”
“She asked if you worked here, and I said yes, and she asked where she could find you.”
“What did you tell her?”
“She was so anxious to contact you, I told her you’d gone to Northumbria to visit your mother.”
And Merope, hearing the explanation the lab had them use to cover their disappearance at the end of an assignment, must have concluded she’d already gone back through to Oxford, and that was the reason Merope hadn’t come back on Monday.
“She gave me her address,” Marjorie said, “but I’m afraid I haven’t got it. I’d put it in my pocket, and when they rescued me, they had to cut my clothes off because of all the blood… The nurse said they had to be discarded.”
“And you don’t remember the address?”
“No,” she said, looking stricken again. “It was in Stepney. Or Shoreditch. Somewhere in the East End. I only glanced at it, you see. I intended to give it to you on Monday morning. I remember where she said she works, though.”
