‘Would you like some more tea?’ Ben asked, already on his feet.
‘No. Thank you. If I have another cup, I shall be swimming to Bletchley.’ Her hand flew to her mouth and she felt the colour rush to her cheeks. She inhaled sharply. She shouldn’t tell a stranger she was going to Bletchley. She shouldn’t tell anyone. Thank goodness she didn’t say Bletchley Park. Her heart beat fast. She looked at Ben and told him her cover story. ‘We have a friend who lives in Bletchley. That is, my boss and I. She used to work with us at-- anyway, we were going to visit her, but we got separated and I missed the stop. Stupid thing to do, miss the stop.’ Ena tutted and rolled her eyes.
‘Don’t be so down on yourself. It’s an easy thing to do if you’re not sure of where you’re going. Hey, I’m going to see some people in Bletchley today. We can travel together.’ Ben looked at his watch. ‘The next train is in fifteen minutes.’
Feeling the wings of panic beating in her chest, Ena opened her mouth to give the young American a reason why she wasn’t able to travel with him, but couldn’t think of one.
‘That way I’ll be able to get to know you, and you won’t miss your stop. Okay?’
Was it really okay to travel to Bletchley with a man she didn’t know? It couldn’t hurt, Ena reasoned, as long as she didn’t tell him anything about Silcott’s Engineering or Bletchley Park. And she would have to make sure that when they arrived, she walked away from the station in the opposite direction to him. ‘Okay,’ she whispered. It wasn’t travelling with Ben to Bletchley that was worrying her. It was having to face Mr Silcott and Commander Dalton when she got there. The thought of telling them that her work had been stolen terrified her. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes, blurring her sight.
‘Hey? What is it?’
Ena could see real concern in Ben’s eyes. He would probably keep her secret if she told him, but she couldn’t, she would be breaking the Official Secrets Act. But she had to tell him something. There had to be some reason for her tears. She wiped her face and thought of something that was close enough to the truth, without being the truth, that would make her cry.
‘I was taking something important to my friend, the one I told you about, that I used to work with.’ She looked around. No one was listening. The only people sitting near enough to hear what she was saying were engrossed in their own conversation. Keeping her voice low, just in case, Ena took a shaky breath. ‘And it was stolen.’ She knew she shouldn’t go any further with the story, but the words kept tumbling out of her mouth. It was as if she couldn’t stop. ‘I shall be in terrible trouble. When my boss, who is also a friend of hers, finds out, he’ll sack me. I won’t be able to get another job, because no one will trust me again.’
Ben reached across the table and covered Ena’s hands with his. ‘Slow down and take a breath.’ Ena nodded, and when she was calmer, he said, ‘You were with your boss?’ Ena looked down and nodded. ‘So where is the guy? Did he get off the train at Bletchley?’
Ena shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’ Ben’s brow furrowed. He looked questioningly at her. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. There’s probably a simple explanation, though what it is, I don’t know. And it won’t stop me from being in trouble for losing the case.’
‘You said it was stolen.’
‘It was.’ Oh Lord. Ena bit her bottom lip. She hated lying. She never remembered what she’d said when she lied. ‘It must have been, but…’
‘But what?’
‘I can’t prove it. I had a terrible headache,’ Ena said, rubbing her temples. ‘It started behind my eyes.’ She thought for a moment. ‘The sun was shining through the window directly onto my face. It was so bright it hurt my eyes, so I closed them. I only meant to shut them for a second, to ease the pain. But I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I remember was waking up in Euston. The carriage was empty and the bag had gone.’
Ben smiled at her sympathetically, then looked at his watch. ‘Come on. It’s 1.20, our train leaves in ten minutes. We’d better make our way to the platform.’
‘I need to buy a ticket. My boss bought mine, when he got his own, at…’
‘Do you have any money?’
‘Oh yes. Mr-- my boss gave me enough money to get me home, if we got separated. And I’ve got an emergency ten-bob note. I didn’t think I’d have to use it.’
They stood up at the same time. Ena put her handbag on the seat of her chair and Ben helped her into her coat. Grabbing her gasmask from the back of the chair, she picked up her handbag and allowed Ben to take her by the elbow and walk her out of the buffet. They went together to the ticket office and while Ena bought a single to Bletchley, Ben bought a newspaper from a vendor close by. Feeling more composed, Ena strolled down to the platform at the side of her new and incredibly good-looking friend.
As the train pulled out of Euston, Ena took the pear drops from her handbag. Looking at the cone-shaped packet, she felt the bitter taste of bile rise
