He took a deep breath and ran for hiscar. His single focus was on getting in the car and getting away. Then he would phone the police. As he neared his car, the thought enteredhis head that maybe Douglas had slashed his tyres again, but thankfully thatwas not the case. Morton climbed into the Mini, started the engine andsped from Friar’s Road as fast as he could.
Only once he had descended Strand Hill,did he dare to pull over and make the 999 call.
Chapter Fifteen
Saturday15th April 1911
EdwardMercer could barely contain himself. He and the rest of the Blackfriarshousehold were on the final leg of their journey home from Scotland. Hewas grateful that Lord Rothborne had decided to return slightly earlier thanplanned to be with his wife following the illness that had sent her homeprematurely. The family and all the domestic staff had stayed overnightin London, ready to take the first train back to Rye. A convoy of sixshiny black horse-drawn carriages were cutting their way through the gloriousSussex countryside towards Winchelsea. Edward gazed through the coachwindow at the patchwork quilt of yellow and green fields that ran endlesslyinto the horizon. He wasn’t really taking in what his eyes were seeing;his thoughts were preoccupied with Mary. His feelings for her had seemedto spring unexpectedly from nowhere, but were now so powerful that they weredriving his every thought and action. The time when they could betogether, properly and seriously, couldn’t come soon enough. The painfulabsence from her had sown the seed of the idea of getting married as quickly aspossible. When he had proposed, they had only discussed the marriage invery general terms, which revolved around their family being informed. But now, Edward didn’t care what their family thought about it; he loved Maryand she loved him. Throughout the time in Scotland, the idea burgeoned tothe point that Edward had written a letter to the vicar of Winchelsea,requesting a special marriage licence so that they could be married quickly andwithout the need for banns to be called. They could even marry in secretand then tell their family. He couldn’t wait to tell Mary—he knewthat she would be as thrilled as he was at the prospect. Edward had madeup his mind that the two of them would go and speak to the vicar this veryafternoon. Lord Rothborne had kindly given all domestic staff therest of the day off, including those who hadn’t been included in the trip,meaning that he and Mary could have an entire day off together. It wasprobably too ambitious, but he wondered if he could take her to Hastings afterthey had seen the vicar, or somewhere further afield. Although, thinkingabout it more, he knew that Mary would much prefer to take a picnic and headout into the countryside where they could be alone together. Whateverthey did, it didn’t really matter. The weather, too was perfect forthem—bright blue skies with only the merest smudge of cloud.
‘What you grinning at, Mercer?’ JackMaslow asked, as the coach bumbled along an unmade section of the road.
‘Nothing,’ Edward said, unable to stopsmiling. He had told Jack everything about his courtship with Mary, butnow wasn’t the place to open up about the marriage, since James Daniels andThomas Redfern were also sharing the coach with them. The gossip hadinevitably spread but the last thing Edward wanted was to add fuel to the fire.
‘Mary, Mary—my darling, Mary!’ Jamesteased. ‘How I long to hold you in my arms!’
Edward smiled and ignored thegoading. His stomach began to churn as the grand front entrance toBlackfriars came into view. Usually, the servants would have been broughtin via the back entrance along Friar’s Road, but the grand spectacle of sixhorse-drawn carriages was an opportunity to remind the village of theprominence of the Mansfield family.
Upon entering the estate, the processionsplit: the coaches containing the family went to the front of the house and thecarriages containing staff and luggage drew up at the kitchen door. Asmuch as Edward wanted to run into the house to find Mary, he still had work todo yet. They could only be dismissed once all the trunks and cases hadbeen safely taken to the correct areas of the house. The mammothoperation of unpacking and life returning to normal was to begin tomorrow.
Edward was disappointed when he firstentered the gloomy kitchen to be greeted by Bastion’s wretched face and adisgusting smell. He had hoped that wherever Mary was in the house, shewould have seen their return and come and welcomed him. She must bebusy somewhere at the back of the house and not know we’re home, Edwardthought. What a surprise she’ll have! He grinned and leftthe kitchen to help carry the suitcases inside.
‘Come on, lads, let’s get this done,’Edward said, heading to a coach containing the cases and trunks.
‘Yeah, we know why you’re in a hurry,Mercer,’ Jack Maslow said with a laugh.
Edward responded with a smile, rolled hissleeves up and reached up for the first trunk.
Itwas almost ten o’clock in the morning by the time all of the luggage had beencarefully transported inside. The horses had been led away to the stablesand the coaches stowed in the old cart lodge. For Edward, the time hadpassed agonisingly slowly and there was still no sign of Mary. It’sjust like her to keep me waiting, he thought with an inward laugh.
He headed through the kitchen, which wasstill filled with the unpleasant aroma of offal being sliced and diced, towardsthe servants’ hall, whistling a made-up tune. As he walked along thecorridor, the door to the housekeeper’s room opened and Mrs Cuff and MissHerriot stepped out. ‘Good morning,’ Edward said cheerfully. ‘We’reback!’ He stepped back to allow the ladies to pass.
‘Good morning,’ the ladies answered asthey wandered smartly past.
‘Have either of you seen Mary at all?’Edward called after them. He watched, somewhat alarmed, as both the womenstopped and glanced at each other before turning back towards him.
‘Has nobody told you?’ Mrs Cuff asked.
‘Told me what?’
