“How could they know … ?”
“These people make it their business to know everything that might be of importance. You must have been watched.”
“Oh, Violetta!” I cried. “I’m glad I told you. What am I going to do?”
“There is only one thing you can do.”
“I must save Tristan.”
“You can’t trust these people.”
“I have to. I have to get my baby.”
“You cannot do it that way, Dorabella. You will betray our country. That box is obviously important. How do you know that, by stealing it, you might not help to kill thousands of our people?”
“But what of Tristan?”
“There are clever people who could be working on this.”
“It is straightforward. I give them the box and they hand over Tristan.”
“There is no guarantee that they will give him to you. You cannot do it, Dorabella. Gordon … Captain Brent… they will know the best way to handle this. Tristan will be safer if we work through them. Captain Brent must know. He will understand the importance of this box.”
My head was throbbing. I was telling myself now that I had been a fool to tell her. I should have known she would have taken it this way. There was only one thought which was going round and round in my mind: I must save Tristan. I would do anything … anything for that.
We were silent for a while. Violetta took my hand and held it firmly. She was fully aware of my thoughts.
Then she said: “We’ve always come through difficulties working together. After all, two heads are better than one.”
I nodded.
“I know what we must do,” she went on.
“What?”
“This is too important for us to handle alone. They might not give you Tristan, whatever you did.”
“I have to trust them. What else can I do?”
“Would you trust such people?”
“I have to do anything to get Tristan back. We have to make sure that we do get him.”
“Dorabella, this is more important than you realize.”
“More important than I realize! It is the most important thing on earth to me. Those people don’t want to hurt Tristan. They are just using him to get what they want. When they do … they’ll give him up.”
“That may be, but you can’t be sure. We know so little about this. This is what I suggest. We tell Gordon what has happened.”
“Gordon!”
“He will know what to do. He has connections with the army through the Home Guard. Captain Brent must know what is happening. He will be aware of the importance of this box. He will know why they are so eager to get it. It must be of great importance for them to go to such lengths and expose themselves to danger. Be reasonable, Dorabella. You are more likely to get Tristan back safely if this is dealt with by experts … sensibly.”
“No. I must go there myself … I must go alone.”
“It would be quite wrong.”
“How can you know?”
“Instinctively. One should never deal with these people. These are not even ordinary kidnappers. They are spies.”
“Oh, what have I got into, Violetta? Why do these things happen to me?”
She paused and said musingly: “I think people who do not live according to the conventions would be more likely to find themselves in awkward situations. Perhaps that is why we have these rules of conduct. But never mind. What we have to do is find the best way out of this.”
I was comforted by the word “we.” We were sharing this, as we had always done.
“The first thing we should do,” she went on, “is tell Gordon.”
“Oh, no …”
“He will know best how we should act. Don’t forget, he will know something of what is going on around us here. It’s a fairly isolated coast and the enemy are just across the Channel. Remember the flashing lights? They were never fully explained. There is more going on than we know about and Gordon could have special knowledge. If we tell him exactly what has happened, he will certainly get in touch with Captain Brent.”
“Violetta, I have to have that box by Friday.”
“I know. That is why we should tell Gordon right away.”
“In the morning then …”
“No, no. At once.”
“He’s in his room. He’s probably asleep.”
“Do you think any one of us in this house is asleep tonight?”
“You will tell him then. What then? They’ll know I’ve told.”
“They won’t. He’ll go to see Captain Brent. They’ll have some plan. They will know what they are up against and how to deal with it. It’s their work. You can’t give secrets to the enemy in any circumstances. Believe me, this is the only way.”
“So you are going to tell Gordon.”
“That’s the first step and we won’t lose a moment.”
“And Tristan?”
“He’ll be more safe this way.”
“Oh, Violetta, I can’t…”
“Trust me, Dorabella. I know I’m right. There is only one way to handle this.”
As she had thought, Gordon was up, sitting fully dressed in a chair near the telephone.
When we knocked, he said: “Come in,” in a startled voice. “Violetta! Dorabella!” he cried as we entered.
“Something has happened,” said Violetta. “There has been a note from these people.”
“A note? Where?”
Violetta explained.
“My God!” he murmured under his breath.
He wanted to know everything. Where was the note? I had had to give it up, we told him. How was it delivered? It was on the hall table where the letters were put.
“So, someone must have been here … in the house …”
“Gordon,” said Violetta, “we thought you would know how we should act.”
“And you actually saw this man. He gave you a sketch. It is so wild … so incredible …”
“It’s something serious, isn’t it?” said Violetta. “It’s more than an ordinary kidnapping for money.”
“I must have Tristan back,” I cried. “I don’t care …”
Violetta took my hand and pressed it while Gordon stood up and said: “Captain Brent must see this sketch immediately. He will know! what it is all about and how we should act.”
“He’s away,” I said.
“I shall reach him. Listen. I am going … immediately.”
I looked at the clock on the mantelshelf. It was half past ten.
He went on: “There may be little time to lose.”
“How will you find him?” asked Violetta.
“I shall find a way and I must do it right away.”
He went to the wardrobe and put on an overcoat and shoes. He opened a drawer and took out a briefcase; he put the sketch into his wallet and said: “Go back to your rooms. Tell no one of this. When I return, behave as though I have just been out on some early morning estate matter. I shall probably know then what should be done. Now, go to your rooms.”
Violetta came back with me to mine and shortly afterwards we heard the sound of his car starting up and driving off.
We lay in the bed together. She held my hand as she used to when we were children. I was vaguely comforted because she knew.
It was about ten o’clock next morning when Gordon returned.
He came to us at once.
I cried: “Have you seen Captain Brent?”
He nodded. “It is better at this stage,” he said, “if you do not know too much. You must do exactly what you are told. This morning, you will drive to Riverside Cottage, park the car at the back where it cannot be seen from the road, and you will let yourself in through the back door. You will stay there for about an hour. Then you will come out, go to your car and drive back to Tregarland. This afternoon, you will do the same again and perhaps stay a little longer. I shall leave this evening and perhaps be back in a few hours.”