Ken Follett - Night Over Water

Mrs. Allen did not hesitate. “Of course, my lady. How much do you need?”

Margaret did not know what the train fare to London was: she had never bought her own ticket. Guessing wildly, she said: “Oh, a pound should be enough.” She was thinking: Am I really doing this? .

Mrs. Allen took two ten-shilling notes from her purse. She would probably have handed over her life savings if asked.

Margaret took the money with a trembling hand. This could be my ticket to freedom, she thought; and frightened as she was, a small flame of joyful hope flickered in her breast.

Mrs. Allen, thinking she was upset about emigrating, squeezed her hand. “This is a sad day, Lady Margaret,” she said. “A sad day for us all.” Shaking her gray head dismally, she disappeared into the back of the house.

Margaret looked around frenziedly. No one was in sight. Her heart was fluttering like a trapped bird and her breath came in shallow gasps. She knew that if she hesitated she would lose her nerve. She did not dare wait long enough to put on a coat. Clutching the money in her hand, she walked out the front door.

The station was two miles away in the next village. At every step along the road Margaret expected to hear Father’s Rolls-Royce purring up behind her. But how could he know what she had done? It was unlikely that anyone would notice her absence at least until dinner-time ; and if they did, they would assume she had gone shopping as she had told Mrs. Allen. All the same, she was in a constant fever of apprehension.

She got to the station in plenty of time, bought her ticket—she had more than enough money—and sat in the ladies’ waiting room, watching the hands of the big clock on the wall.

The train was late.

Four fifty-five came around, then five o’clock, then five past five. By this time Margaret was so frightened that she felt like giving up and returning home just to escape the tension.

The train came in at fourteen minutes past five, and still Father had not come.

Margaret boarded with her heart in her mouth.

She stood at the window, staring at the ticket barrier, expecting to see him arrive at the last minute to catch her.

At last the train moved.

She could hardly believe that she was getting away.

The train picked up speed. The first faint tremors of elation stirred in her heart. A few seconds later the train was out of the station. Margaret watched the village recede, and her heart filled with triumph. She had done it—she had escaped!

Suddenly she felt weak-kneed. She looked around for a seat, and realized for the first time that the train was full. Every seat was taken, even in this first-class carriage; and there were soldiers sitting on the floor. She remained standing.

Her euphoria did not diminish even though the journey was, by normal standards, something of a nightmare. More people crowded into the carriages at each station. The train was delayed for three hours outside Reading. All the lightbulbs had been removed because of the blackout, so after nightfall the train was in total darkness except for the occasional gleam of the guard’s flashlight as he patrolled, picking his way over passengers sitting and lying on the floor. When Margaret could stand no longer she, too, sat on the floor. This sort of thing did not matter anymore, she told herself. Her dress would get filthy, but tomorrow she too would be in uniform. Everything was different: there was a war on.

Margaret wondered whether Father might have learned she was missing, found out she caught the train, and driven at top speed to London to intercept her at Paddington Station. It was unlikely, but possible, and her heart filled with dread as the train pulled into the station.

However, when at last she got off he was nowhere to be seen, and she felt another thrill of triumph. He was not omnipotent after all! She managed to find a taxi in the cavernous gloom of the station. It took her to Bayswater with only its side lights on. The driver used a flashlight to guide her to the apartment building in which Catherine had a flat.

The building’s windows were all blacked out, but the hall was a blaze of light. The porter had gone off duty—it was now almost midnight—but Margaret knew her way to Catherine’s flat. She went up the stairs and rang the bell.

There was no reply.

Her heart sank.

She rang again, but she knew it was pointless: the flat was small and the bell was loud. Catherine was not there.

It was hardly surprising, she realized. Catherine lived with her parents in Kent, and used the flat as a pied-à-terre. London social life had come to a halt, of course, so Catherine would have no reason to be here. Margaret had not thought of that.

She was not dashed, but she was disappointed. She had been looking forward to sitting down with Catherine, drinking cocoa and sharing with her the details of her great adventure. However, that would have to wait. She considered what she should do next. She had several relatives in London, but if she went to them they would telephone Father. Catherine would have been a willing coconspirator, but she could not trust any of her other relations.

Then she remembered that Aunt Martha did not have a phone.

She was a great-aunt, in fact, a fractious spinster of about seventy. She lived less than a mile away. She would be fast asleep by now, of course, and it would make her furious to be wakened, but that could not be helped. The important thing was that she would have no way of alerting Father to Margaret’s whereabouts.

Margaret went back down the stairs and out into the street—and found herself in total darkness.

The blackout was quite scary. She stood outside the door and looked around, with her eyes wide-open and staring, seeing nothing. It gave her a queer feeling in her tummy, like being dizzy.

She closed her eyes and pictured the familiar street scene as it ought to be. Behind her was Ovington House, where Catherine lived. Normally there would be lights in several windows and a splash of brilliance from the lamp over the door. On the comer to her left was a small Wren church whose portico was always floodlit. The pavement was lined with lampposts, each of which should cast a little circle of light; and the road should be lighted by the headlamps of buses, taxis, and cars.

She opened her eyes again, and saw nothing.

It was unnerving. For a moment she imagined that there was nothing around her: the street had disappeared and she was in limbo, falling through a void. She felt suddenly seasick. Then she pulled herself together and visualized the route to Aunt Martha’s house.

I head east from here, she thought, and go left at the second turning, and Aunt Martha’s place is at the end of that block. It should be easy enough, even in the dark.

She longed for some relief: a lighted taxi, a full moon or a helpful policeman. After a moment her wish was granted: a car came creeping along, its faint side lights like the eyes of a cat in the heavy gloom, and suddenly she could see the line of the curb all the way to the street comer.

She began to walk.

The car passed on, its red rear lights receding into the dark distance. Margaret thought she was still three or four steps from the comer when she stumbled down the curb. She crossed the road and found the opposite pavement without falling over it. That encouraged her and she walked on more confidently.

Suddenly something hard smacked into her face with agonizing violence.

She cried out in pain and sudden fear. For a moment she was in a blind panic and wanted to turn and run. With an effort she calmed herself. Her hand went to her cheek and rubbed where it hurt. What on earth had happened? What was there to hit her at face level in the middle of the pavement? She reached out with both hands. She felt something almost immediately, and jerked her hands back fearfully; then she gritted her teeth and reached out again. She was touching something cold and hard and round, like an oversized pie dish floating in midair. Exploring it further, she felt a round column with a rectangular hole and an outjutting top. When she realized what it was she laughed despite her sore face. She had been attacked by a pillar box.