by Pam Lecky
Gladys looked over and mouthed: ‘Oh, no!’
Sarah bit her bottom lip, breathing rapidly, doing her best to look flustered. Gladys, wide-eyed, glanced up the room to the supervisor’s desk. Sarah scowled and nodded in response. Thank goodness for those acting opportunities last year. She took a few deep breaths before slipping the tracing cloth free. Slowly, she made her way up the room to the supervisor. Sarah felt her face burn, but the blush in her cheeks suited the situation perfectly. Miss Sugden would not know it was anxiety induced, rather than embarrassment.
‘I’m terribly sorry, Miss Sugden, I’m afraid I knocked over my inkwell,’ Sarah said, showing the damage to the supervisor. ‘It’s just the title block, though.’
Miss Sugden’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Oh dear, that’s not like you, Sarah. You are usually so careful.’
‘It was very clumsy of me. Is the damage too great? What should I do with it?’
Miss Sugden gestured towards a tray at the end of her desk. ‘You can add it to those to be soaked and cleaned off. Such a shame, my dear, I’m afraid even that small amount of damage is too much. You will have to start over in the morning. Tuttut. What a pity: your work is always perfect.’
‘That’s kind of you to say, Miss.’ Sarah looked down at the floor for a moment, before moving to the tray. She made a show of placing the tracing down in the tray, then turned back to the supervisor. Her heart was in her mouth: this was the key part of her plan. ‘I feel really bad about this, Miss. May I be of help? I can take these out to the cloakroom and clean them off for you, if you like?’
Miss Sugden glanced at the spoilt tracings in the tray and then at the clock. ‘That’s kind of you, Sarah. It will save my old legs. Do you know what to do?’
‘I do, Miss. I soak them in the sink and then rinse them off.’
‘Yes, Sarah. Once they are clean, bring them back in here and put them on the radiators to dry off. Hopefully, they will be usable tomorrow. Waste not, want not!’
‘Indeed, Miss. Don’t worry, I’ll sort them out for you. I really am very sorry.’
Miss Sugden melted. ‘Don’t fret, my dear, these things happen to the best of us. Now, before you go out, fetch the original drawing and I will keep it safe for you to use tomorrow.’
Sarah hurried back to her desk and retrieved Martin’s drawing. Gladys gave her a sympathetic look, which she returned with a self-effacing smile, before heading back to Miss Sugden.
‘Here it is, Miss.’ Sarah handed the drawing over.
Miss Sugden examined it closely. ‘That’s a relief: no damage to the original.’ Then she turned and placed it in the cupboard behind her desk and turned the key.
Sarah took up the damaged sheets and hurried out of the door. Out in the corridor, she was almost light-headed with relief and paused to catch her breath. But she couldn’t hang around for long. The girls would leave the room as soon as the clock struck five thirty. Sarah strode to the cloakroom and quickly closed the door behind her.
She had deliberately left her coat on a hook at the back of the room to give herself some cover in case anyone should come in. When she found it, half-hidden beneath someone else’s coat, she turned to the inside and found the opening she had made in the front lining the night before. But perhaps her gas mask box would be better? She stood uncertain, eyeing the box. No. The tracing would become very creased, as she would have to fold it over many times. Decision made, she went with her original plan. Sarah carefully fed her tracing into the gap in her coat lining and turned the coat interior to face the wall.
Sarah filled the sink with water and plunged the other tracings in. Tapping her foot, she waited for the water to take effect. She pulled the top one out. The ink began to blur and run. Sarah took up the cloth, which was always there for that very job, and scrubbed off the ink. It took her several minutes to clean off the remaining cloths. Using a dry towel, she soaked up the excess water. Her watch read five twenty. She’d have to hurry.
With a prayer of thanks foremost in her mind, she exited the cloakroom and hurried back to the Tracing Room. The other girls were finishing up their work, the silence of the afternoon now broken by their chatter. Sarah nodded to Miss Sugden and made for the radiators. She spread the cloths along the top, checked they would not slip off, and returned to her drawing board. As the others left the room, she tidied up her equipment. She needed time to recover, and wanted to avoid being caught by Ruth or Gladys on her way out. The quicker she got home, the sooner she could breathe easy again.
On her return to the cloakroom ten minutes later, Sarah was surprised to find a few of the girls still there chatting, including Gladys.
‘I thought you’d already left,’ Gladys said to her, as she pulled on her coat.
Sarah threw her eyes to heaven. ‘Silly me, I was so flustered over that stupid tracing, I forgot to put on my coat before I brought the cloths back inside.’
‘You were lucky, my friend. I thought Miss Sugden would have had a fit when she saw that tracing. She really hates when that happens. If that had been me …’
‘I know. She was awfully good about it. I guess we are all allowed one mistake.’
Gladys giggled. ‘I’m well past that quota! Come on; let’s get out of here. I’ll walk out with you.’
To Sarah’s horror, as they walked down towards the gate, she spotted a queue at the hut. That could only mean one thing: they were doing checks of the staff as they exited. Of all the days for them to do it! Would this nightmare never end? To get this far and now this. Gladys was chatting away, but she barely heard her. What if they found the tracing? Should she make an excuse and go back in and wait? Perhaps she should try leaving from the Southend House gate instead? But there was no guarantee they weren’t carrying out checks there too. Running around like a headless chicken would only draw attention. Too late now. With her heart pounding, they joined the queue: she’d have to brave it.
Gladys groaned. ‘Oh no, I’ll miss the bus at this rate. Do they not realise the likes of us don’t need to be checked? I wish they’d hurry up.’ Sarah nodded. It was all she could do in response, for she feared if she tried to speak, it would come out as a squeak.
When they reached the two soldiers on duty, Gladys sidled up to the nearest one and piped up: ‘Hello, Frank, pet. Any chance you could let me through?’ She pointed to the bus stop. ‘Look, my bus has just pulled in and I don’t want to miss it. Be a dear.’
Frank checked to see if his superior officer inside the hut was occupied, then winked at Gladys. ‘Gladys, you should know better.’ Gladys beamed at him and he visibly melted. ‘Oh, all right, you know I can’t resist that cheeky smile of yours. Quick – just show me the insides of your handbags, ladies.’ He peeked inside each of their bags and nodded. ‘That’s fine. Go on. Just this once, mind! You’ll get me in trouble, Gladys, you will.’
Gladys blew him a kiss and took off at speed for the bus stop. Heart thumping, Sarah stood outside the gate and watched while her friend jumped onto the bus. Gladys turned and waved back to her.
Thank God for flirts! That had been far too close for comfort.
32
7th November 1941, Hursley Park
Much to Sarah’s disgust, Rob was waiting at the army hut at the entrance to Hursley Park on Friday morning. Rob hassling her was all she needed. She was already tense; she didn’t know what awaited her inside. Could her theft have been discovered? As the time for the handover approached, she was getting extremely nervous. Rob’s constant badgering was only making things worse. It was bad enough having lunch with him every day without being ambushed at the gate. Keeping up the pretence of romance was really getting to her. The sooner this was all over, the better.
She showed her ID to the soldier on duty and didn’t make eye contact with Rob. She kept walking, her irritation bubbling up inside.
‘Sarah?’ He gasped as he came level with her. ‘Hey, hold up,’ Rob demanded, catching her arm and forcing her to stop.
‘What?
’ Sarah turned on him, wrenching her arm from his grasp. Over his shoulder and not far behind, she saw Martin and Uncle Tom coming up the path, as were a few of the tracing girls. ‘For goodness’ sake, why are you waylaying me here?’ she hissed. ‘I told you I’ll meet you for lunch. We can talk then.’
Rob frowned at her. ‘I only wanted to know if you had any success. No need to bite my head off!’
Sarah greeted the group of girls as they passed, then turned back to Rob. ‘Have you no patience?’
‘Frankly, no!’ Rob spluttered. ‘There is so much at stake, Sarah. You can’t leave me in the dark. I need to know.’
Martin and Uncle Tom walked past, her uncle winking at her. But Martin threw her a questioning glance. She indicated it was all right with a shake of her head and he continued on, turning back to his conversation with his father.
Rob glanced at Martin’s retreating back. ‘What’s up with him?’ Rob asked.
‘Nothing. Like me, I’m sure he is wondering why you are accosting me on the way into work,’ Sarah ground out, looking at her watch.
Rob’s eyebrows shot up. ‘For God’s sake, do you think I got any sleep last night, wondering what happened yesterday?’
‘It might surprise you to know that sleep was fairly elusive for me as well.’
‘You succeeded then?’
‘Yes!’ She sighed. ‘Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get to my desk. I’m already in trouble for messing up my tracing yesterday. I don’t want to draw any further attention to myself.’ The look of relief which spread over Rob’s face was almost comical, but it just added to her irritation. He moved as if to link her arm. ‘Please, Rob, don’t,’ she said, and strode away.
By lunchtime, there had been no mention of any missing tracing sheets and Sarah’s mood had mellowed. To her surprise when she arrived at the canteen, there was no sign of Rob. She found an empty table and waited. As she finished her sandwiches, he finally appeared in the doorway. Ruth was by his side and they were in deep conversation. As Sarah looked on, Ruth touched his arm and leaned in even closer to say something. Rob became agitated, shaking his head. Now, what’s that all about? Sarah wondered. They seemed very chummy for supposed ex-lovers. It gave further credence to her suspicion that they were in league. But could she be mistaken? Perhaps Ruth was still interested in Rob romantically? That raised the question of whether she should warn Martin. Sarah didn’t want to see him get hurt.
Just then, Rob caught sight of her, muttered something to Ruth, and made for Sarah’s table. Ruth joined the queue, but Sarah noticed her gaze followed Rob across the room.
‘Are you still speaking to me? May I join you?’ he asked, his expression a trifle sheepish as he stood looking down at her.
‘Of course,’ she replied. Once he sat down, she couldn’t resist: ‘Is Ruth all right? She looks upset.’
‘What?’ he replied, looking flustered. ‘Ruth Howard? I don’t know, she seemed ok to me. Met her just outside on my way in.’
Not at all convinced he was telling the truth, Sarah flicked a glance over to the queue, but Ruth now had her back to them. Sarah turned to Rob. ‘Look, I’m sorry about earlier, but I didn’t know what I’d be facing this morning. I was all on edge.’ She lowered her voice. ‘If Miss Sugden or the Dragon cottoned on to what I’d done …’
‘Don’t worry, I understand. I’m pretty stressed myself.’ She noted that the enthusiasm with which he launched into his sandwiches belied his claim. ‘When I saw the check at the gates yesterday evening, I was concerned you might be caught.’
‘I nearly did. It was only thanks to Gladys using her charms that we weren’t thoroughly searched.’
‘Excellent, but you still haven’t told me how you got the copy.’
Sarah briefly outlined the previous afternoon’s venture.
‘I’m impressed,’ he said. ‘That was inspired. It’s not too damaged, is it? I’ll get a telling-off if it’s not of use.’
‘The only unreadable bit is the title block; I made sure of that,’ she answered. ‘The drawing itself is perfect.’
‘Well done. My friend will be so grateful.’
Sarah sniffed. ‘I hope so, because I won’t be doing that again in a hurry. I was scared to death I’d be caught.’
‘But you weren’t. I must admit, I’m not sure I’d have had the gumption to do it. You must have nerves of steel, Sarah. Now the sooner we pass it on, the better. Can you meet me this evening?’ he asked.
A wave of panic swept over Sarah. She needed more time. There was no guarantee Northcott would be available at such short notice. She licked her lips and swallowed hard. ‘No, I’m afraid not. It will have to be Sunday.’
‘Why?’
‘What’s wrong with Sunday? That’s the day we normally meet up. It might raise questions otherwise.’
‘I think we could make an exception in the circumstances. Besides, who would question it? We’re walking out, aren’t we?’
‘But I already have plans,’ she said, desperately trying to think of an excuse.
‘Change them.’ Rob glared at her, and for the first time she was afraid of him.
‘I can’t. I’m meeting up with the girls tonight, and tomorrow is a family night out at the local. My cousin Judith is coming down from London for the weekend. I have to be there. My aunt and uncle would be very hurt if I didn’t go.’
‘I see,’ he said, frowning over his tea.
‘What’s the rush, Rob? It’s not going anywhere.’
‘But is it safe? I hope you have hidden it well. The last thing we need is for your nosy cousin to find it and start asking questions.’
‘Trust me, no one will find it. It’s in a safe place where no one would think to look.’ Rob didn’t look satisfied, but she brazened it out by giving him a long hard stare with her chin up.
He looked away first. ‘All right; Sunday it is. Can you come to the flat?’
‘Sure. Straight after Mass – about one o’clock?’
Rob nodded. ‘You will be careful, won’t you?’
‘Of course. Will your friend be there too? I’m not sure I want to meet him from the way you described him.’
‘He may insist on it, but I’ll try to put him off.’
‘Is he German secret service?’ she asked in a whisper.
‘He has hinted at it, but he’s not the kind of man you question. All I know is he can pass information on to where it is greatly appreciated and will do the most good. Best of all, he is willing to pay handsomely for it. If he’s happy on Sunday, he’ll pay us then.’
‘Hmm, I don’t really care about that. This was never about money, Rob.’ Rob shrugged. ‘Do you think he will be armed?’ she asked.
‘Possibly, but he won’t harm you, not after what you have achieved for the cause.’ Rob frowned. ‘He’s bound to be pleased.’
Sarah smiled: Well, your friend won’t be so pleased when he comes face to face with Captain Northcott!
The phone box in Otterbourne was again an unwelcome sight, but it was still the safest option. As she waited to be put through to the Victoria Hotel, she once again marvelled at how quickly the lies came to her. Rob had really pressured her, but she supposed he was anxious to get the whole thing over with as soon as possible. A lot appeared to hinge on the success of the operation for him. His German friend didn’t sound like a man you would want to disappoint.
Using Cousin Judith as an excuse for putting Rob off had been inspired, her only regret being that it wasn’t true. A letter had arrived earlier in the week, full of excuses for Judith’s absence, yet again. Poor Aunt Alice had done her best not to show how disappointed she was, and how much she missed her daughter, but Sarah had seen her uncle become enraged for the first time. He had immediately written a response, and Sarah had no doubt he wouldn’t have minced his words.
The phone clicked and a male voice answered. ‘Good evening, the Victoria Hotel; how may I help you?’
Sarah could have sworn it was Mr Snooty
from her visit the previous Saturday. ‘I’d like to leave an urgent message for Captain Northcott, please.’
‘Certainly, madam. I shall just fetch a pen,’ he answered, and she heard the receiver being placed on the desk, then picked up again. ‘Sorry, madam. Please go ahead.’
‘One o’clock, Sunday afternoon, 35 Albert Place, Winchester,’ Sarah said.
‘And would madam care to leave a name?’
‘No, madam would not. Just that message, please.’
‘Very good, madam,’ he replied frostily.
Sarah had to admit he sounded unsurprised at the cryptic nature of her communication, and she wondered if Northcott was often the recipient of strange messages. The receiver went dead.
Sarah leaned against the side panel of the telephone box, breathing hard. Had she given enough information? Should she have warned Northcott about Rob’s friend? But it wasn’t something she could have said over the phone to the receptionist at the hotel, and when she had mentioned the man’s existence to Northcott, and the likelihood of his being present, he hadn’t appeared fazed by it.
With a muttered curse, she picked up the receiver once more. ‘Southampton 379, please, operator.’
‘One moment please,’ the disembodied voice replied. Sarah fed in her coins.
A click and a voice came on the line. ‘Hello?’ Sarah reckoned it was the same lady from last time.
‘Hello. May I speak to the captain, please?’
‘I’m afraid he is out. May I take a message?’
‘Could you just say Miss Gillespie is expecting company on Sunday afternoon? He’ll know what it means.’
There was a sigh, followed by silence on the other end for a few moments. Was she writing it down? ‘Very well, I will pass it on.’ The phone line went dead.