by Anna Jacobs
‘An hour ago we received a message from your father, sent anonymously, given to a lad in the street to deliver for sixpence. The lad said a lady gave it to him, but he couldn’t describe her very clearly. Your father said he would need to go into hiding as something had cropped up.
‘We fear for your father because he’s co-ordinating the gathering of some information which will be very useful in the coming peace talks.’
‘But the war’s over now. Why would my father need to go into hiding?’
‘The open war is over, yes. However, there will be skirmishing behind the scenes for years to come, and not just about the peace negotiations. There have been various groups working in secrecy all through the war. Major Butterly thought someone should be assigned to protect you, because they might use you to get at your father, hence my presence here until someone can be assigned.’
She felt a surge of relief that her father was safe.
‘Your father might prefer you to go down to Westcott House with men to guard you,’ the captain suggested.
‘I’ll help you work out the best way of getting there. Unfortunately, on a day like today it’s not easy to get hold of suitable men to guard you, and I have other pressing duties I can’t neglect. You have Mathers here, though, who can definitely be trusted and who is very capable with a gun. Could he be fetched, please, so that I can brief him?’
‘He’s out of the house at the moment.’
‘What? Where has he gone?’
She explained.
The captain scowled. ‘Let’s hope he gets back soon, then. We won’t leave you until he returns.’ He studied Patrick as he said that, frowning in thought.
She felt as if the ground was shaking under her feet. How could all this be possible? And was her father really in constant danger? She’d just thought he was being … well, fussy and overprotective of her, as fathers of unmarried young women often were.
The silence went on for a long time, then the captain turned to Patrick. ‘I wonder if it would be possible for you to stay here until Mathers returns, Farrell? And even afterwards, perhaps. You might be limping but that won’t prevent you from firing a revolver. They must have thought well of you to make you up to sergeant.’
‘If I can help Miss Cotterell in any way, I shall be glad to do so. And I’m a pretty decent shot, actually. Or I would be if I still had a revolver.’
‘Good.’
The captain sounded so relieved at this response that Georgie couldn’t help staring.
He turned to her again. ‘Do you know where your father keeps his weapons? I’d prefer Mr Farrell to be armed.’
Georgie wasn’t going to let them talk about her as if she was so feeble she was unable to help herself. ‘I can use a gun, too, Captain. My father made sure of that.’
‘Excellent. Perhaps you’d kindly show me what weapons you have in the house? And then carry one with you everywhere you go. You too, Farrell.’
‘I can’t show you anything. My father wouldn’t want any outsider knowing how to get into his gun cabinet let alone what it holds. But I can go into his study and get some weapons out for Mr Farrell and myself.’
The captain looked unhappy with this but nodded and moved back to join his companion in the hall.
Farrell winked at her and followed him into the hall. Somehow he gave her more confidence than Jordan, who seemed very much on edge today.
She took out two revolvers and ammunition, then locked the cabinet and secured it again, putting the guns beside her on a small table.
What next? she wondered, staring down at them. Did she trust Jordan? Well, he must be all right if he worked for her father, but you were never quite sure what he was feeling.
For some reason she trusted Patrick absolutely. He had looked so alert from the minute she’d found she might be in danger, almost like a man reborn. That was because he now had a purpose, she guessed. It must be hard for a man to be busy fighting for years and then suddenly have nothing to do with his time.
She loaded her own revolver and tucked it in her belt before calling the men to come in. She gave one to Farrell, who checked it in a way that said he was well aware of how to use it. Then she waited, gun in hand, to find out what the captain thought she should do next.
She wasn’t doing anything until Mathers came back and gave his opinion, though. He worked directly for her father, not the bureau, and the two men had been together for a long time. His loyalty was beyond question.
She looked at Jordan and frowned. Mathers was the only man she could say that about. She didn’t know anyone from the bureau well enough to pass judgement on them.
She looked across the room at Farrell. He had made a good first impression on her. But she’d still keep her eye on him till she was sure.
Gordon Mathers walked along beside Rosie Baggett, who was still wearing Miss Cotterell’s raincoat and a rather squashed old hat of her own. It took them over half an hour to make their way through the crowds to the workshop in a poorer area where Rosie had been employed.
As she indicated that this building was it, she looked apprehensive. ‘We girls have to go in the back way.’ Even her voice sounded wobbly.
He took one look at the side alley and sighed. Definitely not the sort of place he usually visited. Someone could have swept away the dirt and debris, surely? And those were definitely rat droppings.
Rosie rapped on the back door and the voices inside fell silent. A woman came to see who it was, her cheeks flushed and a smell of port wine wafting from her.
She scowled at Rosie. ‘So you’ve come back, have you? Well, you’re not staying. You’re fired.’
‘I’ve only come to collect my things. I don’t want to stay on here.’
‘The cheek of it. After all we’ve taught you. Couldn’t sew a straight seam when you came to us, you couldn’t. Well, Miss Impudence, we’re keeping them things of yours as compensation for having to train up a new girl.’
Mathers intervened. ‘If you don’t give Miss Baggett her possessions back, my employer, who will be this young woman’s employer from now on, will call in the police and ask them to look into your theft. And since he’s a well-respected gentleman who works with the police regularly, I rather think they’ll take his word against yours that it is a theft.’
A man who hadn’t shaved that morning lurched to his feet and came across to join them at the door. ‘He’s bluffing, Flo.’
Rosie edged closer to Mathers, looking terrified.
The woman looked uneasily from one to the other, then said coaxingly, ‘Not worth the trouble of finding out, Skeet. Her things won’t bring that much anyway.’
For a moment there was a stand-off, then the man shrugged. ‘Do as you please, Flo. But he can stay outside while she fetches them.’
His eyes raked Rosie’s body so rudely that she whispered to Mathers, ‘I’m not going up to the dormitory with Skeet. She makes him stay away from us when we work here, but she’ll not help me against him now.’
‘It’s a good thing Miss Cotterell didn’t come back with you. Let’s sort this out quickly.’
Skeet stepped forward. ‘Come on, Rosie. I’ll take you upstairs.’ As he reached out for her she let out a shriek.
There was a sudden blur of movement and for all he was the bigger of the two men, Skeet went spinning across the room.
Mrs Dashton backed away from Mathers, who had snatched up a large kitchen knife in the confusion. ‘Go and get your things, Rosie. Quick as you can. And you two stay here.’
Rosie ran through a door at the back of the room and Mathers smiled grimly as he stared at Skeet, slapping the blade of the knife against his palm. ‘I should think I’m a better fighter than you, especially since you’re half-drunk.’
With a growl, Skeet lurched to his feet, but Mrs Dashton rushed across to push him back. ‘We don’t want no trouble with the police, Skeet. Our master wouldn’t like it and that Rosie isn’t worth it.’
For a moment all hung in the ba
lance, then Skeet shook his head and sat down again. ‘Pity. I’d a fancy to try her out.’
Before Mathers could say or do anything else, the two of them began arguing about his womanising at the tops of their voices.
He was glad when Rosie appeared at the back of the room. She darted across to his side before the other two saw her.
‘Got everything, lass?’
‘Yes. They’d been through my stuff, but I found my best blouse in her room an’ took it back.’
‘That’s my blouse,’ Mrs Dashton said at once. ‘You’re nothing but a thief.’
Mathers raised his voice. ‘If you keep insisting it’s stolen property, I’ll ask my employer to have a word with the police tomorrow. They can be brought in to decide who’s the thief.’ He stared at her. ‘I should think it’ll be easy enough to do that, though, because you’re twice her size at the top and that blouse won’t fit you.’
The matron breathed deeply but she didn’t reply, turning instead to start arguing with Skeet again.
‘Thank you, Mr Mathers,’ Rosie said gratefully. When he gestured to the door, she was out of it like a shot.
‘No need to run!’ he chided as he followed her. ‘They won’t come after you once we’re away from here because they won’t know where to find you.’
She brushed away a tear from her cheek. ‘You don’t know Skeet. He’ll have me followed by one of his lads and then come after me another time. I’d better not go home for a while, either, because I bet he’ll send someone to threaten Mam as well.’
‘Why would he do all that now you’ve stopped working there?’
‘To keep people frightened of him. Everyone is round here.’
‘I’m not.’
But Mathers decided to make sure they weren’t being followed, because Mr Cotterell wouldn’t want rough folk like Skeet and Mrs Dashton poking their noses into his affairs, especially now.
Once they were a few streets away, he took Rosie into a house on a side street. It was neither big nor small, not remarkable in any way, and the door was in need of painting.
‘We’ll take a little detour, go in here one way and out another.’
Rosie looked at him anxiously and he smiled. ‘It’s all right, lass. You don’t have to be frightened of me.’
There was a man outside keeping the revellers off the steps. He nodded to Mathers, who stopped to say, ‘Little detour needed, Pete, in case we’re being followed.’
‘Better use the cellar today, sir. There are too many nosey people about, looking for places to burgle.’
‘All right. Look snappy, lass. We need to get straight back to Miss Cotterell. And I’ll carry that bag for you from now on.’
He led her down some stone steps that took them from the hall to the cellar and the man on duty down there opened a door that led to a passageway under the ground. The passage was lit by large electric bulbs hanging from the ceiling here and there.
Rosie stared up at them in amazement. ‘Fancy using electric lights in a cellar! Must have cost them a fortune.’
‘Worth it. Mr Cotterell has electric lights in every room at his London house, yes, and electric table lamps too, but electricity isn’t available in the country so he has to use oil lamps there.’
‘Fancy. Um – how did you manage to toss Skeet across the room like that, Mr Mathers, if you don’t mind me asking? He’s a big man.’
‘It’s a way of fighting I learnt from a good friend. They do it that way in the Orient.’
‘I wish I could toss men who annoy me across the room,’ she said feelingly. ‘I’d have done it a good few times, I can tell you.’
‘You’re too little to deal with big chaps that way. I’ll teach you a few tricks for protecting yourself, though, once things settle down. Now let’s save our breath for walking and get back quick as we can.’
Chapter Four
Nora came rushing up to the sitting room door to announce breathlessly, ‘I just saw Mathers coming down the back alley with Rosie, miss.’
The captain said curtly, ‘I’ll go and have a word with him.’ He followed Nora down to the basement.
Georgie didn’t follow him immediately because she wanted a quick word with Patrick. ‘Look, are you sure you don’t mind staying with me?’
‘Happy to. I’ll need to fetch my things from the hostel, though. If I leave them there overnight, they might get stolen. I hope you’ll trust me to do my best to protect you, if necessary.’
‘I trust you absolutely.’ She realised abruptly that she did trust him.
He looked surprised. ‘Why?’
‘I don’t know. I just do.’
‘I’ll do my very best to deserve your trust. Eh, it’s good to feel useful again.’
She nodded. She’d guessed right, then. Fellow feeling. She’d had a taste of feeling truly useful in the last two years and didn’t want to give up that sense of satisfaction.
Patrick was still looking at her with a quiet, serious expression on his face. ‘Are you all right, Miss Cotterell?’
‘A bit bewildered and not sure what’s happening, but don’t worry. I’m not the sort to panic.’
‘No. I saw that when you helped me chase away the fellow who was attacking Rosie.’
Voices floated up from the servants’ quarters in the basement and she said suddenly, ‘I want to hear what’s happened to Rosie. Let’s join them.’
She ran lightly down the stairs to the kitchen and Patrick limped after her as quickly as he could. When she turned at the bottom of the stairs to grin at him, he couldn’t hold back a chuckle. Eh, she was a lively one. Not the sort to accept being bossed around, from what he’d seen.
Most men wouldn’t like that, but he did. He’d seen his mother act as a doormat to the men of her family for years and had often wished she’d damned well stand up for herself.
Georgie reached the kitchen just as Mathers was locking the back door. Rosie was waiting to one side of it, looking anxious.
The captain, who was standing by the back window, asked, ‘Are you sure you weren’t followed, Mathers?’
‘I don’t think so, sir. We had a little trouble retrieving Rosie’s things, so on the way back, I took one of the official diversions Mr Cotterell uses sometimes. You’ll know about those.’
‘Yes, of course.’ He studied Rosie, seeming mildly surprised by her appearance.
Georgie moved forward. ‘This is our new maid. Welcome to our home, Rosie. Nora will find you a bedroom, and start teaching you your duties.’
When the two women had gone upstairs to the attics, the captain turned his attention back to Georgie. ‘As I said before, I think your father would want you to go to Westcott, where you can hire people you’re sure about to guard you. We need to make plans to get you there.’
‘I’ll still be needed to drive wounded officers round London for some time yet. I’m not going to neglect my duty.’
‘Ah. Well. I had your name taken off the roster of drivers before I came here.’
‘You did what?’
‘You’d be too much at risk, driving round. If they captured you, they could use you to get at your father.’
‘I’m still finding it hard to believe all this,’ she said quietly. ‘And I do not wish to go back to Westcott House. It’s been shut up for over a year. It won’t be ready for anyone to stay there.’
His voice was soothing, as if he was dealing with a stupid child. ‘I’m sure you’ll be able to find staff in the village and get the place running again, Miss Cotterell, people you know and trust. That’ll pass the time nicely and will be useful to your father.’
‘No.’
Patrick was hard put not to smile at how quietly emphatic her voice was and how astounded the captain appeared at this blunt response.
‘Miss Cotterell, you do not have a choice,’ the captain said earnestly. ‘You’ll be safer in the country, believe me.’
‘Well, I intend to make my own decisions, the first of which is to stay here for a
while and see what happens. For all we know, my father may return home tomorrow.’
‘You don’t have enough staff here to keep you safe. And certain people know where you live.’
‘Who are they?’
He hesitated, then said, ‘I think this may be the work of an organisation called Siebenzeit. They have been … a nuisance, lately. We’re not sure they even recognise that the war has ended, and perhaps for them it never will.’
‘Then perhaps I can hire one or two more people to help keep watch here in case of an all-out attack on this house,’ she said flippantly.
The captain lost patience at this. ‘How would you know they’d be loyal? You might be hiring men who intend to kill your father and yourself, if he won’t do as they wish, for all you’d know about them.’
Patrick had a sudden idea and cleared his throat to get their attention. ‘Maybe I can help you there. I know one or two chaps at the hostel who’re well enough now to help guard Miss Cotterell.’
‘Look—’ the captain began.
Georgie interrupted. ‘Could they be reached by telephone? Perhaps a couple of them could join us here?’
‘There is a telephone at the hostel, so some could be reached. I’m not sure exactly who’ll be there, mind. Most of the chaps went out celebrating, but like me they’ll have found it tiring so they may be back by now. A few didn’t feel like celebrating, so even if the porter’s out, there will definitely be someone available to take a message.’
‘Oh, really, this is ridiculous!’ the captain exclaimed. ‘You need able men to guard you, Miss Cotterell.’
‘I need people like Mr Farrell, who was able enough to rescue me today,’ she snapped. ‘Phone your friends, Mr Farrell. I’ll pay them whatever you think reasonable for doing this job – and you, too, of course.’
‘Thank you. May I use your telephone?’
‘Of course. This way.’ She took him into her father’s study and shut the door on the captain. ‘I’d better wait with you in case they have any questions.’
‘You’re sure about this?’ he asked in a low voice.