Nanny Crabtree was sad. She hated to see her nursery depleted, and Hildegarde was such a good girl, she said. I reckoned Hildegarde was more virtuous in retrospect than in actuality, and that Tristan would hear frequently of her excellence, that Hildegarde had never done things like that. Hildegarde had been such a good little girl.
In a few weeks Nanny Crabtree became philosophical. “Well, I’ve got my hands full with his lordship—and as for that Charley and Bert!” She clicked her tongue and raised her eyes heavenwards, calling in divine corroboration of what she had to suffer.
“Racing about on them bikes! My goodness me! They scare the wits out of me, them two do. Give me little girls.”
“If I remember rightly, Nanny,” I said, “you have had two who on occasions were not such little angels.”
“You get along with you,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “You were always the saucy one, you were!”
Tristan missed Hildegarde. He said to me one day: “Want Hilgar.”
“Well,” I told him, “you’ve got Mummy.”
He smiled suddenly and held out his arms. I picked him up and he planted a wet kiss on my cheek.
“Got Mummy,” he said with evident satisfaction.
I hugged him. My little angel. He loved me now. He had forgotten that I had once deserted him.
My darling child, I thought, as I had a thousand times. I’ll make up for that.
When I look back over those months, they seem like an oasis in the midst of the fearful conflict which was going on in the world.
And Tristan loved me. There is nothing to compare with a child’s innocent belief in his mother’s ability to make everything come right. Even I, who am certainly not the maternal type, could rejoice in it. I swore that never again would I disappoint him. I should always be there. I had Tristan then. I had my constant comfort, Violetta, my dear parents … and James Brent.
Yes, it was a good time.
I had driven down to Poldown and hastily shopped and then gone to Riverside Cottage. There was just a possibility that James would be there.
When I stayed for any length of time, I made sure that the car was well out of sight from the road. It was possible to do this by parking at the back of the cottage. On this occasion, I was just looking in and, if I were to stay, I should, of course, move the car.
I let myself in, saw no one was at home, scribbled a note to James and went back to the car. As I was getting in, a car drove up. It was Simone in the estate car which belonged to Jermyn’s and which she drove round collecting things for Tom Yeo.
She drew up and grinned at me.
“He is not … chez lui?”
“No,” I said.
“Dommage!” she murmured. “Then … you will have a moment to spare? Perhaps we have a café together? Just for thirty minutes … twenty … or fifteen?”
“Yes,” I said. “Let’s do that.”
So we drove down to East Poldown. There was a small place on the front looking over the sea and Mrs. Yelton, who ran the place, came to take our order.
“How be ’ee today, me dears?” she said. “Nice cup of coffee, is it?”
“Yes please, Mrs. Yelton.”
“What they do call a well-earned rest, I’ll be bound. You young ladies are doing a good job up there, the both of you. You should hear what some of the boys say about the home, Mrs. Tregarland. Angels of Mercy, that’s what they called the young ladies.”
I laughed. “So, I look like an angel?” I asked.
“To tell you the truth, I always thought you had a bit of the devil in you, Mrs. Tregarland. And, as for you, Mam’selle … coming over here in that boat … well, that was something.”
We laughed and she went away to get the coffee.
“It’s nice here,” said Simone, as she stirred the beverage.
“Yes, if they accept you,” I replied, thinking of Gretchen.
She knew at once what I meant. That was like Simone. She was always quick to catch my meaning.
“It’s wonderful for her to have her husband coming home now and then,” I said. “It would have been impossible for her to have seen him so often if she had stayed here.”
“And being German did not help her. All is well with you and the good captain?”
“As well as it can be in such times.”
“I see you ’ave the key to the door.”
“Oh yes. He gave it to me. It’s quite convenient. I can slip in when I like and, if he is not there, leave a note.”
“He is a thoughtful man. It is so romantic. It is good that we have this romance in wartime.”
“As long as the world goes round, love goes on.” Had I made that up, or was I just stating the obvious? It was a real old cliché anyway; but when you consider them, they are very often true.
We sat there gossiping for a while, then said goodbye to Mrs. Yelton and got into our respective cars.
Returning to Tregarland one early evening, Violetta and I found Nanny Crabtree in what she herself called “a state.”
“I’ve told them time after time, if I’ve told them once, I won’t have them dashing round the country after dark. It’s them imps, Charley and Bert. What they don’t seem to understand is that six o’clock in May is not the same as at this time of year. It’s the dark I won’t have them out in. It’s them bikes, that’s what it is. Fancy themselves as goodness knows what, I shouldn’t wonder. Spy catchers one day, dispatch riders the next. Flying round … I don’t know … but I won’t have it.”
“Were they going anywhere special?” asked Violetta.
“No, they wasn’t. I’ve said to them time and time again. After school, it’s home. Then they can get back and wash their dirty selves and sit down to a nice meal. You’d think they’d be satisfied with that, wouldn’t you? But no. They must go dashing about the countryside.”
“I expect they’ll be back soon, Nanny,” I said.
“They’d better be.”
I thought: She loves those boys. That is just how she used to be with us. Dear old Nanny, she is really worried about them.
As a matter of fact, Violetta and I were beginning to get anxious. Violetta said she had seen Gordon and he thought they should be back by now.
“I hope there’s not been an accident,” said Violetta.
When we heard the sound of the boys’ bicycles in the courtyard, we were very relieved.
They were safe, and, now that she was no longer afraid for them, Nanny was growing more and more bellicose. She went into action without delay. She wanted to know what excuses they had, and I could see from her expression that they would have to be very good to satisfy her.
The boys put their bicycles away and came running upstairs, their faces alight with excitement.
Nanny faced them squarely, with Violetta and I on either side of her.
Charley burst out: “There’s been a burglary. Or would ’a bin, if we ’adn’t stopped ’em.”
“A burglary?” I cried. “Where?”
“At that cottage by the river.”
“Riverside Cottage?” I asked quickly.
“That’s it, Mrs. Tregarland. That’s the one. Me and Bert was cycling along, wasn’t we? You can cut round the back if you know the way … by the river.”
“That’s trespassing,” I said.
“It’s only a little way. Well, Bert and me was there, wasn’t we? You could see the back of the place, and I knew Captain Brent wasn’t there, didn’t I?”
“Did you?” I said. “How?”
“Well, he wasn’t there, was he? Hadn’t been for some time. I heard one of the soldiers say he reckoned he’d be away for a bit. I knew it wasn’t him, ’cos I saw this torch, didn’t I? It was moving about … just like in a film, and I said to Bert, I said: ‘P’raps the ’lectricity’s off.’ But then I see the light on the road was on. Well, we left our bikes and went up to the house and then I see the back door was broke open. Then I knew.”