She often wondered why she bothered with him. He was not at all like the blokes she usually fancied. Every time she saw him, though, she got a warm feeling inside. A comfortable feeling, knowing she didn’t have to try to put on airs and graces or pretend to be someone she wasn’t. Joe was a good friend, and she liked being with him. For now, that was enough.
She reached the stairs that led down to the courtyard just in time to see a group of officers trudging up them. The looks on their faces turned her stomach. She always knew when something had gone wrong with a mission. She could tell by the way they came up the stairs, none of them talking and poking fun at each other like they usually did.
For a moment fear crawled in her belly when she didn’t see Joe right away. She was just about to ask someone, but then she saw him turn the corner in the flight of stairs, his head down, his shoulders hunched.
Relief chased away caution, and she called out to him, “Joe? You’re all right, aren’t you?”
The other officers passed with no more than a glance in her direction. No sly comments, no teasing remarks. She waited, heart beating anxiously, for Joe to climb to the top of the stairs.
When he reached her, he seemed to have trouble looking at her, glancing everywhere but at her face.
“What is it, Joe?” She grabbed hold of his arm, heedless of the sidelong glances from the two airmen coming up behind him. “What happened?”
Joe looked down at his shoes and mumbled, “We had a couple of gliders come in with us.”
She stared at him in confusion. “Gliders?”
“Aircraft coming in without engines.”
It took her a moment or two to make sense of what he’d said. “You mean they had to land without an engine?”
“They made it back to base, but the kites broke up on landing. Major Monroe was in one of them.”
Sadie’s stomach dropped to her boots. “Oh, God. Is he…?”
“I don’t know.” Joe’s eyes were bloodshot when he finally looked at her. “They took him away in an ambulance. It didn’t look good.”
For a moment Sadie couldn’t breathe. She lifted her chin and stared at the ornate ceiling above her head. “How in God’s name am I supposed to tell that to Lady Elizabeth?”
CHAPTER 14
Iris wasn’t home when Elizabeth arrived there a few minutes later. Tommy answered the door to her knock and gave her a sullen shake of his head when she asked for his mother.
“She’s not come home from the village yet,” he mumbled. “I don’t know when she’s coming home.”
Elizabeth tried to soften his frown with a smile. “May I come in and wait for her?”
“Mum said we were not to let anyone in while she’s gone.” He started to close the door, but just then a loud wail from inside the house turned his head.
“That sounds as if your sister has hurt herself.” Elizabeth pushed open the door again and purposefully stepped over the threshold.
Tommy looked as if he would try to stop her, but Katie wailed again and, giving up, he dashed up the hallway and disappeared through a door. Seconds later he reappeared, carrying a sobbing Katie in his arms.
“She fell and bumped her head,” he muttered.
Leaving the door open, Elizabeth hurried forward. “Let me look.” She followed Tommy into the parlor, where he sat the child down on the couch.
Elizabeth laid down her handbag and approached the child, who stared up at her with wet eyes and her small thumb stuck in her mouth.
Gently parting the blond hair, Elizabeth felt a small knot beginning to rise on the child’s head. “Fetch me a flannel soaked in cold water,” she ordered Tommy.
He hesitated for a moment, then fled into the kitchen.
“There, there, sweetheart,” Elizabeth murmured, folding her arms around the sniveling child. “We’ll soon make it all better.”
Katie answered her by bursting into loud sobs. “I want my mummy!”
Tommy came back with a dripping facecloth and Elizabeth wrung it out over the hearth before applying it to the squirming Katie’s head.
The child yelled at the contact, then sobbed while Elizabeth rocked her in her arms.
Gradually the sobs subsided, and Elizabeth met Tommy’s anxious gaze. “She’ll be all right,” she assured him. “It’s just a bump. It will stop hurting soon.” She glanced more closely at his jaw. The bruises were now fading to an ugly yellow. “I hope your face has stopped hurting, as well.”
Tommy snatched his gaze away from her and stared at his sister instead. “It’s all right,” he mumbled.
Elizabeth decided now was the time to test her theory. “Your mother said you’d been fighting that morning I was here, but that’s not quite true, is it? Bruises take one or two days to turn that deep purple. Someone else hit you before that day, isn’t that right?”
Tommy shook his head fiercely, pressed his lips together, and stared down at the floor.
“Tommy,” Elizabeth said gently, “was it your father who hit you?”
The boy remained silent.
Elizabeth tried again. “It’s all right, Tommy. No one is going to get into trouble as long as you tell the truth.”
He looked at her then, and the look of dread on his face chilled her heart. “Mum said we were never to talk about my father again.” His gaze shifted to a spot behind her, and his eyes widened.
With a jolt of apprehension, Elizabeth turned her head.
Iris stood in the doorway, her eyes blazing with suppressed fury. “Might I ask what you are doing here in my house, Lady Elizabeth?”
Katie wailed, struggled out of Elizabeth’s arms, and ran to her mother, sobbing bitterly.
Iris stooped and gathered her up, then glared at Elizabeth as she slowly straightened.
“Katie fell and bumped her head.” Tommy was in such a rush to explain, his words tumbled over each other. “The lady came in to help and she put a flannel on her head and she stopped crying and I was just-”
“Tommy!” Iris rapped out sharply. “That’s enough. Take your sister to the bedroom and make sure she doesn’t fall down again.”
Katie wailed again and clung to her mother’s neck. “Don’t wanna go!”
Iris disentangled the child’s arms and handed her over to her brother. Katie’s wails filled the house as Tommy carried her off, then they faded behind the door he closed behind them.
“I apologize, Mrs. Morgan,” Elizabeth said, gathering up her handbag. “I came to see you, and Tommy opened the door just as Katie cried out. I only wanted to help, that’s all.”
Iris nodded stiffly and walked over to the couch, where she picked up the wet facecloth. “Thank you, your ladyship. What did you want to see me about?”
“I wanted to ask you…” Elizabeth paused, then took a deep breath. “I wanted to ask you if your husband physically abused your children.”
Iris stared at her for a moment, then turned away. “If you’re asking if he spanked them, well, yes, he did. Kids need discipline, you know.”
“I’m asking if he abused them,” Elizabeth said softly. “Those bruises on Tommy’s jaw. They weren’t caused by him fighting with other boys that morning. Those were days-old bruises. I suspect they were caused by his father.”
Iris’s bottom lip trembled, then she said sharply, “That’s nonsense. Clyde was a strict father, but he wouldn’t beat his children.”
“I think he did, Mrs. Morgan.” Elizabeth moved closer to her. “I think that’s why Katie hits her teddy bear and shouts at it. She’s copying her father. Clyde Morgan abused your children, didn’t he? I think you were frightened for them. He had to be stopped, before he did them real harm.”
“No!” Iris turned on her, eyes blazing. “You don’t know anything! Clyde shot himself. I don’t know why, but that’s what happened. The constable said so. It’s over and done with. My husband is dead. Why can’t you just leave it at that and leave us alone!”