‘No!’ Freda’s rejection of Ena’s offer of opening the letter was immediate and final.
‘If you’re sure?’
‘Yes. I know what it is. It’s a ticket for my uncle, for his birthday, which isn’t until next month. I’ll deal with it, and the other post, when I come in. Oh, Uncle has made me some soup, I’d better go. See you tomorrow.’
‘Yes, see you tomorrow,’ Ena said, through gritted teeth. She put the telephone receiver down and stood for some minutes, trying to calm her palpitating heart.
‘Freda,’ she said, when she eventually turned round and spoke to Herbert Silcott. ‘She isn’t well, but feels sure she’ll be better by tomorrow. She said she was in Northampton, so don’t expect her until late morning,’ Ena said, unable to hide her anger.
Herbert Silcott acknowledged the information with a nod. ‘Not like her,’ he said. Ena didn’t comment. ‘Do you want to tell me what’s going on, Ena?’
Suggesting her boss sit down, Ena ran through the events of Saturday night, finishing with how she was followed when she left the dance and had to hide behind the cars in the car park. ‘I was frightened out of my wits. If it hadn’t been for Henry Green leaving the dance a few seconds after me, noticing a man acting suspiciously, and coming to my aid, God only knows what would have happened.’
She chose not to tell Herbert Silcott that Henry had saved her life by kissing her in a dark doorway. She didn’t think she could report that particular piece of information without embarrassing him as well as herself. Even now, just thinking about it, butterflies played havoc in the pit of her stomach.
A mixture of care and concern crossed Herbert Silcott’s face. Rubbing his chin, he very slowly shook his head. With Freda’s letters still in her hand, Ena showed her boss the address on the back of the largest envelope.
Reading the name of the ferry company aloud, he said, ‘I don’t understand. What is this?’ Ena told him that, while he had been in Beaumanor that morning, she had steamed open the letter, and gave him the sheet of paper with the information that she had relayed to Commander Dalton over the telephone. ‘And there’s something else,’ Ena said. Herbert Silcott lifted his head from Freda’s travel details and raised his eyebrows. ‘Freda’s brother spelt her name with an ‘i’. I expect it was a slip. He’s never done it before, but he clearly wrote, F-r-i-e-d-a.’
Ena crossed the room to the kettle. Her throat was dry. She’d only had one hot drink since arriving at work that morning – the rest she’d let go cold. She also thought a cup of strong tea would be welcomed by her boss.
By the time Herbert Silcott had listened to every detail of Ena’s expedition into the secret life of Freda King, if that was her name, the tea was made. Ena carried two cups to her boss’s desk and handed him one. He accepted his cup with shaking hands.
They drank in silence.
When they had finished, Herbert Silcott took the delivery sheets that Ena had asked for from his briefcase. ‘The one you’ll be most interested in is at the bottom of the pile.’ His mouth was turned down at the corners in disgust and his eyes flashed with anger. ‘The first time Freda took work to Beaumanor on her own was the day I was set-upon by thugs, you were drugged, and your work stolen on the way to Bletchley.’
Ena took the delivery sheet from the bottom of the pile and read it. The time Freda had arrived at Beaumanor was 2:35pm.
The following morning, Ena arrived at work early. Meeting the postman by the front door, she took four letters from him. Two were addressed to H. Silcott, and two were addressed to Freda. One Ena knew was from a supplier because it was addressed to Miss F. King, had Invoice in brackets and had been written on a typewriter. The second was handwritten with Personal in the top left hand corner. She dropped that day’s post on top of the previous day’s, levelling the letters into a neat pile as she always did, and telephoned Commander Dalton for further instructions. There were none.
‘I have passed on everything you told me yesterday to MI5,’ he said. ‘They are putting certain measures in place, which I will tell you about when I am told. For now, behave to Miss King as you would if you hadn’t found the ferry tickets or the letter from her brother. Understood?’
‘Yes, sir. Mr Silcott will be in soon. Shall I ask him to ring you?’
‘No. I spoke to him last night.’ There was a sudden silence. Sensing that the commander had more to say, Ena waited. ‘Herbert is extremely angry. I told him that MI5 was involved and it was imperative that you and he treat Freda King as you always have – ordered him to do so – but he was still huffing and puffing when we said goodbye. I am relying on you to make sure he doesn’t give the game away, Ena. Make him understand that he must behave normally towards her.’
‘I will, sir. Is there anything else?’
‘No. I’ll let you know what MI5 plans to do, as soon as they tell me. Goodbye.’ The commander put down the receiver without waiting for Ena to reply.
Herbert Silcott arrived within minutes of Ena speaking to Commander Dalton. He took off his coat and threw
