But every day that went by increased the chance of Merope’s going back to Oxford and Polly’s missing her. And she needn’t quit her job to go find her-she could show Miss Snelgrove Props’s letter saying that her mother was gravely ill and that she needed to come at once. Miss Snelgrove could scarcely refuse to let her go in that sort of situation, and she’d been extremely understanding the day the shelter had been destroyed. And as far as the retrieval team went, Polly could tell Marjorie to tell anyone who came in asking for her that she worked there and when she’d be back.
And making the journey to Backbury would be better than sitting here fretting over what would happen if the retrieval team didn’t come by her deadline. But, given her recent run of luck, they’d arrive as soon as she left. Especially if the divergence point they were being kept from interfering with was the big attack on Fleet Street, which would happen Wednesday night.
I’ll give it till Thursday, she thought. Surely they’ll be here by then. But they weren’t.
11 Across:-But some bigwig like this has stolen some of it at times. (Solution: Overlord)
War Emergency Hospital-September 1940
“COMMANDER HAROLD AND JONATHAN WERE KILLED AT Dunkirk?” Mike said to Daphne. “No, they weren’t. They made it safely back to Dover. I was with them. The Commander helped put me on the stretcher-”
“That’s when you were hurt?” Daphne asked. “On that first journey?”
“Yes-first journey?”
She nodded. “When the Lady Jane turned up missing, the Commander’s granddaughter-Jonathan’s mum-was afraid they’d gone to Dunkirk. She asked Dad to go down to Dover to find out what he could, and the Admiralty told him they’d gone to Dunkirk on their own and brought troops back and then set off again immediately, but that they didn’t make it back that time. They didn’t know what had happened to them, but we do know they made it over to Dunkirk that second time. Mr. Powney saw them.”
“Mr. Powney? The farmer who’d gone to buy the bull?”
“Yes. That’s why he didn’t come back that day. He never made it to Hawkhurst. On his way there he found out about the rescue effort and went to Ramsgate to volunteer. They put him on a coast guard cutter, and he made three journeys and rescued ever so many soldiers.”
“And he saw the Commander and Jonathan?”
“Yes, in Dunkirk. On the thirtieth. They were loading troops onto the Lady Jane under heavy fire. He hailed them, but they were too far away to hear him. And the Daffodil saw them leaving the east mole, but they weren’t seen after that. The officer who talked to Dad said it was likely a torpedo got them on the way back. Or a mine.”
Or a Stuka, Mike thought, remembering the shriek of the diving plane. Or another corpse in the propeller.
“When your letter for him came, Miss Fintworth-she’s our postmistress-didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t give it to Jonathan’s mum-she’d gone to her people in Yorkshire after she got the bad news-and she didn’t like to send it back since it was plain you didn’t know what had happened, so she brought it to Dad to ask him what to do. I hope you don’t think we did wrong by opening it, but Dad said it might be urgent, being from a hospital and all, and when we read it and found out you’d been injured at Dunkirk, we thought you must have been with them. We knew you didn’t know”-she gave the gloves another twist-“how things had ended, or you wouldn’t have written the Commander, but we thought perhaps you were there when the Lady Jane was hit and then got separated from them somehow and been rescued, and that you knew what had happened.”
No, but I know why they died, he thought. Because he’d untangled their propeller. He’d made it possible for them to go back again.
Daphne was looking questioningly at him.
“No, I was injured on that first run,” he managed to say. “I didn’t know they’d gone over there again. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” she said, looking down at her gloves. “Dad says it was the Commander’s foolhardiness got them killed. The Small Vessels Pool had turned the Lady Jane down, you see. Dad says he should have listened to them.”
“He wanted to help,” Mike said. “A lot of boats went over on their own, and it was a good thing. The Army was in a pretty bad spot.”
“And you went along to help them. I think it was marvelous of you to do that, being a Yank and everything. It was very brave. The officer told Dad that the Commander and Jonathan brought home nearly a hundred of our boys. He said they were true heroes.”
They were, he thought. You wanted to observe heroism, and you got your wish. “Absolutely. They showed a lot of courage.”
Daphne nodded solemnly. “You were a hero as well. The nurse told me about your untangling the propeller and all that. She said you should have a medal.”
A medal, he thought bitterly, for being where he wasn’t supposed to be, for murderously altering events. If I hadn’t unfouled that propeller, that bomb would have hit the Lady Jane and damaged her rudder. They wouldn’t have been able to make that second trip-
Daphne was looking worriedly at him. “I’ve tired you out,” she said, standing up and beginning to pull on her gloves. “I should go.”
“No, you can’t.” He hadn’t been able to ask her about the retrieval team yet. “Can’t you stay a little longer?”
She hesitated, looking uncertainly in the direction of the doors. “The nurse said I was only to stay a quarter of-”
“Please.” He reached for her hand. “It’s so nice having a visitor. Tell me what’s been happening in Saltram-on-Sea.”
“Oh, all right then,” she said, looking pleased. “We did have a bit of excitement last week. The Germans dropped a bomb in Mr. Damon’s field. We thought it was the invasion starting. Mr. Tompkins was all for ringing the church bells, but the vicar wouldn’t let him till we knew for certain. Mr. Tompkins said it would be too late by then-that they’d already have sent in saboteurs and spies, and they’d be landing soon-and they had a grand row, standing in front of the church.”
Spies. That gave him the opening he needed. “I suppose you’re all on the lookout for strangers, then?” he asked.
“Oh, yes. The Home Guard patrols the fields and the beach every night, and the mayor sent round a notice telling us to report any strangers in town to him immediately.”
“And have you had any? Strangers?”
“No. There were a good many reporters in town just after Dunkirk to speak to Mr. Powney and the others-”
“Did any of them come in the pub and talk to you?”
“You sound as though you’re jealous,” she said, cocking her head flirtatiously at him.
“No, I…” he stammered, caught off guard, “… I thought someone might have come looking for me from my newspaper. I told my editor I was going to Saltram-on-Sea and that I’d send him a story about the invasion preparations, and I thought when he didn’t hear from me, he might-”
“What does he look like, your editor?”
“Brown hair, medium height,” he improvised, “but he may have sent someone, another reporter or-has anyone asked about me?”
“No. They might have spoken to Dad, I suppose. If they did, he very likely told them you’d gone back to London. That’s what we thought you’d done.”
Which might mean the team was looking for him in London. “Daphne, if my editor or anyone else does come, will you tell them where I am and what’s happened? And ask your father if anyone inquired about me. If they did, write and tell me.”