No, she couldn’t do that. The thought of banishing him from her mind altogether was too terrible to contemplate. Even when she’d been going out with Ray, which turned out to be a bad mistake, she’d still thought about Sam. It was as if she kept him in a small piece of her heart, so that whenever she felt sad and lonely, he’d still be there to keep her company. Even if it did still hurt.
Engrossed in her thoughts, she failed to hear what her mother said, until Edna barked, “Did you hear me?”
Polly jumped. “What?”
“I said, I’ve got something that might cheer you up.”
Without much enthusiasm, Polly muttered, “What is it?” Probably a bag of broken biscuits that Ma had bought off ration. Ma always thought that sweets could cure the worst misery. A cup of tea and a biscuit. That was Ma’s answer to everything.
“There’s a letter came for you yesterday.”
Polly stopped short in the road and stared at her mother’s back. “A letter? Is it from Sam?”
“No, it’s not from America.”
Polly lost some of her enthusiasm. “Who’s it from? Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Because it came while we were at the wedding, and then you didn’t come home until after I was in bed.” Edna paused to look back at her daughter. “I don’t know what your father would say if he knew you was coming home late like that. Staying down that pub all hours of the night.”
“I wasn’t at the pub. I was riding me bicycle along the cliffs.”
Edna’s face registered shock. “How many times have I told you it’s dangerous to be riding along the cliffs at night without lights? Have you forgotten that a young lady died from falling over them cliffs?”
“She didn’t fall; she was pushed,” Polly said. “Anyhow, who’s the letter from. Marlene?”
Edna shook her head.
“Pa?”
“No, I don’t know who it’s from. I thought it was Marlene at first ’cos it’s got a foreign stamp on it. I think it’s from Italy, but it’s not her writing.”
Polly felt a spasm of fear. “What if something’s happened to her and someone’s writing to tell us about it?”
“They don’t write letters,” Edna said calmly, though her face looked pale in the sunlight. “They send telegrams. Didn’t you send letters to a bunch of soldiers over there?”
Polly blinked, still shaken by the possibility of Marlene being hurt. “Soldiers? Oh, yes! I did! It’s been so long I forgot.”
Edna started walking away. “Come on, if we don’t hurry we’ll be late.”
“Why didn’t you give it to me this morning?” Polly demanded, hurrying as best she could on her high heels to catch up with her mother.
“Because you were taking so long to get ready for church.” Edna quickened her steps as Polly drew level. “I knew if I gave it to you then you’d take even longer.”
Polly didn’t answer. Her mind was buzzing with questions. A few months earlier, she and Sadie had collected letters from villagers and sent them to Marlene who’d promised to give them out to servicemen desperate for news from home. Polly had written a long letter herself, but had never really expected an answer.
She felt a little skip of excitement as she thought about the letter waiting for her. A letter from a mysterious stranger. Who was he? What was he like? How old was he? Where was his home? She could hardly wait now, to read it.
All through the service she kept thinking about it, and had to be nudged twice by her mother when she failed to stand up for the hymns.
At long last the sermon was over, and it wasn’t until she was outside the church again that she realized she’d forgotten to pray for the pain to go away when she thought about Sam. That was because she hadn’t thought about Sam at all, she realized with a shock.
That upset her at first, but then she started thinking about the letter again and her spirits soared. She couldn’t wait to read the letter and find out all about the person who’d sent it. Things were looking up. Life could still be exciting after all.
CHAPTER 5
When Elizabeth went in search of the Winterhalters, Violet informed her that Daphne had not returned from her walk and Rodney had gone to look for her. Since Elizabeth barely had time to get to the church on her motorcycle in time for the service, she was forced to wait until later before she could talk to Tess’s parents.
She’d hoped to see Earl that morning; he often joined her for the Sunday service, but she could see no sign of his dark head as she entered the church. Aware that people were discussing the death of Brian Sutcliffe, she avoided conversation with anyone and left hurriedly as soon as the service was over.
She arrived back at the manor in time to see both Daphne and Rodney strolling up the driveway. The sight of them greatly relieved her. She’d been rather worried that something might have happened to Daphne. Which just proved how easy it was to jump to conclusions.
She waited until the Winterhalters had settled themselves in the library before going in to see them. They both looked up as she entered, with identical expressions of dread on their faces. She hurried to reassure them.
“I’ve talked to Tess,” she told them, “and I don’t think she is responsible for the death of Brian Sutcliffe.”
Both parents uttered exclamations, though Rodney looked far more relieved than his wife.
He rose to his feet, one hand raking through his hair. “Did she tell you what happened?”
“Yes, she did.” Elizabeth sat on her favorite armchair by the fireplace and smiled at Daphne, who still looked stricken. “I really can’t go into it now, as I have many more questions to ask and people to talk to before we can come to any conclusions. As soon as I know something for certain I’ll let you know.”
“Do you have any idea who might have killed Brian?” Daphne asked, one hand clutching her throat.
“Not at present, no.” Elizabeth stood. “But I can assure you I’ll do everything in my power to ferret out the truth.”
“Well, if there’s anything we can do to help…” Rodney walked to the door with her. “I can’t thank you enough, Lady Elizabeth. As you can imagine, my wife and I have been out of our minds with worry. I only hope we can solve this mess before the inspector gets here and jumps to the wrong conclusion, as P.C. Dalrymple did.”
Heartily agreeing with that sentiment, Elizabeth left them alone and headed for the kitchen. She was eager to have her lunch and then get out of the manor for a while, in order to clear her mind. A brisk stroll across the downs with her two dogs, Gracie and George, bounding along by her side was just what she needed to organize her thoughts.
It wasn’t until she was tramping through the long grass that she allowed herself to think about Earl. He’d been absent a lot lately, and he seemed preoccupied. Which usually meant something big was brewing at the base. Talk of the Allied invasion of Europe had been the main topic of news lately, both in the newspaper and on the wireless. Speculation, of course. No one knew when or even if it would eventually take place.
One thing Elizabeth did know: if there was to be an invasion, Earl would be in the thick of it. The troops landing on the beaches would need air support. Undoubtedly that was the reason he’d been sent back to his base in England. Something else was just as certain. She wouldn’t know he’d gone until it was over. One way or another.
The fear that always hovered in the back of her mind surged to the forefront. To lose him now, just when the path ahead of them appeared to be offering a chance for happiness, would be too terrible to bear. She was devastated when he left England the year before, but there had always been a faint hope to cling to, a chance that she would see him again someday. To have him come back to her, only to lose him forever, would destroy her completely. No, it was too awful to even think about.
Her eyes misted with tears, she didn’t recognize the figure standing on the edge of the cliffs at first. The dogs, however, had no such reservations and were leaping about with joyous whines and yaps that left no doubt in her mind.
