Jacqueline Winspear - The Mapping of Love and Death

"Yes, you're right." Maisie thought Lord Julian was more loquacious than she had ever known him. "Would you please ensure that someone calls me if his condition deteriorates? If he gets worse, I want to be there."

Maisie could hear a voice in the background.

"Maisie, just a moment, Rowan would like a word with you."

Maisie blew out her cheeks. I bet she would.

"Maisie! How fortuitous that you've called to speak to Julian. I'm coming up to town with him tomorrow-a bit of shopping, and you know how I loathe shopping, but needs must-might you have time to join me for tea? Fortnum's, say, half past three?"

"Well, yes, that would be lovely. I'll see you there. Half past three."

"Excellent."

Though it was Lady Rowan who had first noticed her intellectual ability and love of learning, and later sponsored her education, Maisie remained somewhat intimidated by the thought of an invitation to tea the following day. She knew James had spoken to his parents and would have said something to the effect that they were walking out together-as her father might describe it-but she was sure that, underneath the warmth exuded in the telephone conversations, a dire warning was waiting for her. She had lived at Ebury Place as both a servant and, later, a guest with her own rooms, but this new development-now far from secret, as Carter's comment indicated-would test the Comptons' self-described socialist leanings.

Good morning, Billy. Did everything go smoothly when you delivered Miss Peterson into the care of her aunt and uncle?" Maisie looked up at Billy as he came into the office.

"Mornin', Miss." He rolled up his newspaper, pushed it into his jacket pocket, and sat down on the chair in front of Maisie's desk. "I told them I worked with her, and she'd been taken poorly at work, so I thought I'd better bring her back to family, being as she lived alone and didn't look like she should be on her own today, not with her being gray around the gills-which of course she was, with all the goings-on with that Mullen."

"You did well, Billy." She leaned back in her chair. "Tell me, I thought you'd already seen her once before, when you went through your list-she was in the second half of the alphabet. What made you go back?"

Billy ran his fingers through his hair, which always seemed to be in need of a comb, if not a cut. "I dunno, Miss. When I first went to see her, she didn't want to talk about it, said it was all a mistake, that her friends put her up to write a letter, and she'd never known any soldier in the war. Nigh on shut the door in my face, she did. But I did what you said I should do-I paid attention to how I felt in my middle-and I came away from that hostel feeling like I had a hive of bees in there, all buzzing around saying, 'That's the one, Billy. That's the one you're looking for.' I never said anything, just in case I was wrong, but after I'd gone through the others on your list, I went back to see her, and of course, it was the right moment for her to just spill it all out like milk from a dropped bottle. She was that scared, so she told me everything. Then I ran down the road to the telephone box to call you."

"You did very, very well, Billy." She regarded him as she spoke. "How are you feeling today?"

He nodded. "I'm all right, Miss." He looked at his hands. "What happens next with the Clifton case?"

"I'm waiting for some information from Lord Julian today-I daresay it will take him just one or two telephone calls to find what I'm looking for, and he'll have the details transcribed and sent to me in short order. I never have to wait long for intelligence from his sources."

Billy stood up. "I've got some work on those other cases to catch up with, Miss. Anything you want me to do on the Clifton case before I start?"

"Yes, there is one thing." Maisie leaned forward and scribbled a note on a piece of paper. "I'd like a birth date for this young man, if you don't mind. Shouldn't take long."

Billy took the note. "Must be, what? Sixteen by now?"

"Something like that. I'd like to know his exact date and place of birth-if you can get a look at his birth certificate or registration, so much the better. Take down as much information as you can."

"It's as good as done, Miss. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Thanks, Billy. I'll be out myself later, so just leave the details in an envelope on my desk."

Billy nodded, and left the office.

"'I'm all right, Miss.' Who do you think you're kidding, Billy?" Maisie said the words aloud now that she was alone in the silence of her office. Alone but for the hive of bees.

Priscilla answered the telephone herself on the second ring.

"I'm so glad you telephoned, Maisie, I have been wondering what to say to Ben Sutton-you know he's interested, and I didn't know whether to say, 'Sorry, darling, she's spoken for.' Are you seeing that gorgeous James Compton, or not? The boys, by the way, will be crushed if he vanishes from their lives forever. All we've heard since you brought him here is Uncle James this, and Uncle James that. You see-it's Uncle now, because he came with Aunt Maisie. Douglas says that if it goes on much longer, he'll ask James to show the boys that he really can walk on water."

"Oh, dear."

"Maisie, don't tell me you've put the brakes on."

"No, well, not really-I just don't want to be pushed."

"If I'm any judge, my friend, you're going to fall anyway, so a bit of pushing won't hurt."

Maisie laughed. "I've got to hand it to you, Pris, you see the black and white in everything."

"And you see all that gray in the middle-that's why we get along. Are you in my neck of the woods today? How about lunch? Or better still, if you're going to be out on the town with James Compton, how about something new to wear-my treat."

Maisie looked at her clothes. She was wearing her burgundy suit with black shoes and a cream blouse underneath. "I'm dressed appropriately for seeing my friends at Scotland Yard."

"Drab, I would imagine."

"'Suitable' is more the ticket." Maisie twisted the telephone cord around her finger as she spoke. "Pris, I wonder if I could ask you about your niece."

"Oh, Maisie, you should see her now, growing up into a lovely young woman-we'll have to keep an eye on her in Biarritz this summer, if I know anything about the Evernden women."

"She's coming for the summer?"

"Yes. We'll be going out from the middle of July until September. I cannot wait to see the villa again. You must come!"

"I might just do that. But in the meantime, I wonder, how is she, in terms of accommodating the news that she has a family she never knew a thing about?"

Priscilla sighed, and there was a moment of silence before she replied. "I know this is going to sound strange, but…well, I think she always knew. I mean, I don't think she knew consciously as in, 'I have an aunt, uncle, and three cousins somewhere.' I just think she had this…oh, what's that word you use sometimes?"

"Intuition?"

"Yes, that's it. I think she had that feeling you have when you just know something will happen one day, and though you're not exactly hanging around the gate waiting, there is that sense of anticipation."

"And do you think she has come to any harm as a result of the revelation? After all, her grandmother could easily have located you all before the discovery was made."

"No, I don't think she sees it like that. She was just so excited about having a family, and of course she loves her grandmother. I think it was me who felt shortchanged, not knowing that my brother had fathered a child in the war, a child I might have known since infancy, a child who might have helped fill the gap left by his loss. But I'm being selfish. Old granny Chantal did what she thought was best for Pascale. Of course, it doesn't work out that way for everyone-there were many children born out of wedlock in France during the war, and I am sure in England too. War and love-or perhaps I should say declarations of love-seem to go hand in hand, don't they?"