At reception, Bess said goodbye to a middle-aged couple who had paid their bill, but were in no hurry to leave. Thanking them, she said, ‘I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay?’
‘Everything was perfect; the room, the food - and the staff,’ the man said, ‘couldn’t do enough for us, could they, dear?’
‘No,’ his wife agreed. ‘And the view of the lake from the window in our room,’ she swooned, ‘with the ducks and drakes... That’s what I loved best. It was spectacular.’
‘We’re city folk you see. Staying in a real country house like this, with its history and charm was a real treat. We shall recommend the hotel to our friends.’
‘See you next year,’ his wife called, as they were leaving.
While Jack was on his break, Ena came down. ‘Katherine’s asleep, so I thought I’d chance it and get a cup of tea.’
‘You look as if you could do with a sleep,’ Bess said, noticing the dark shadows under her sister’s eyes.
‘We had to pull an all-nighter last night. The operation was co-ordinated to take place at two in the morning. But it took hours to search every room in every fascist’s home, as well as their places of work and the safe houses. Hopefully every building that is owned or rented by the British fascist movement has been searched by now. A lot of youngsters like Katherine will have had their worlds turned upside down and will be left wondering what has happened to their fathers - their mothers too, in some cases.’
‘At least this Katherine is safe.’
‘For the time being,’ Ena said, her expression one of worry.
‘The poor girl looked scared to death earlier. What if she wakes and you’re not there? Won’t she be frightened?’
‘She won’t wake up for a while.’
‘How can you be sure?’
‘She said she hadn’t slept properly for weeks, so I gave her a light sedative.’ Bess’s mouth fell open. ‘Don’t look so shocked, it was only a mild one. It’ll calm her down and help her to relax, so she can get some sleep.’
Bess put up her hand. ‘I don’t want to know any more.’
‘It’s for her own good. She’ll be fine.’
‘She’ll be fine once she’s reunited with her mother.’
‘Hopefully.’
‘She will be reunited with her mother, won’t she?’
‘Yes, eventually, but there’s a lot to do before we bring her mother down.’ Bess tutted. ‘It’s important that we find out how much, if anything, Katherine knows about her father’s business - and I don’t mean where he worked, I mean how he got his money.’
‘And that’s your job, is it?’ Bess asked, a mixture of annoyance and apprehension in her voice.
‘Part of my job, yes. But my main job is to keep Katherine Hawksley safe. Not for MI5 or Special Branch, but from her father’s fascist associates. We’re hoping they were all caught last night, but if any of them have slipped through the net they might think Katherine, being the head of the organisation’s daughter, knows their names and roles in the fascist movement. They’d be wrong. Apart from the names of a few men who passed through Kirby Marlow last year bound for South America - and David Sutherland - she doesn’t know the names of anyone involved in the organisation. The problem is, they don’t know that. It’s Hawksley’s people who are a threat to Katherine, not us.’
‘I see,’ Bess said lamely, although she wasn’t sure she did see.
‘Anyway,’ Ena said, ‘how are you feeling? It’s today that Maeve comes back, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, she’ll be here around four. Then Nancy will go back to the Vicarage in Kirby Marlow.’ Bess gave a sad smile. ‘I’ve just asked her what she’d like to do before lunch and she said, say goodbye to Grandma Dudley. She’s quite taken with our Mam.’
‘And Mam’s taken with her. We all are. And, here she is,’ Ena sang, as Nancy and Frank appeared from the direction of the dining room. ‘If you’re going down to Mam’s, I’ll take the newspaper and a pot of tea up to the room. I’m so tired, I might even try to have a sleep. Bye-bye, Nancy,’ Ena said, and made her way to the kitchen.
Bess got their coats from the office, helped Nancy into hers and put her own on. ‘Jack shouldn’t be long,’ she said to Frank, who was already in position behind the reception desk. ‘We’ll see you later.’
‘Say hello to Grandma Dudley for me,’ Frank called, as Bess and Nancy got to the door. Nancy turned and waved, and then slipped her hand into Bess’s.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Nancy jumped down each of the circular steps and, on the last, let go of Bess’s hand and skipped down the drive until she came to the small wood that was once part of Foxden’s parkland. ‘Stay on the path, Nancy,’ Bess called.
Catching up with her, Bess saw concern in Nancy’s eyes. Standing very still she was staring into the wood at the gnarled roots of a giant oak tree. Bess knelt down beside her. ‘There’s nothing to be frightened of, sweetheart. The wood is quite safe. My sisters and I used to play in there when we were your age. We often saw rabbits and squirrels, or fox cubs. When I grew up I used to come here when I wanted to be on my own.’ Bess laughed. ‘When I wanted to get away from my chattering younger sisters. It was so quiet and peaceful,’ Bess sighed. ‘And in the summer when it was really hot, I used to walk my
