Barbara Bradford - The Cavendon Luck

‘I’m not so sure about that, but thank you for the compliment. I brought several summer evening frocks.’

Standing up, Diedre said, ‘I must go. I hope to be back by four. Shall we try and have tea together?’

‘That’s a grand idea,’ Cecily answered. ‘Have a nice day.’

‘I aim to.’ Diedre smiled and took her leave, hurrying out of the restaurant.

After buttering a piece of toast, Daphne looked at Cecily and said, ‘I’ve been wondering if Charlotte has said anything to you about Papa? About his health, I mean.’

This question surprised Cecily, and she frowned. ‘No, she hasn’t. But why do you ask? Do you think your father might be ill?’

‘Not really. He was very good when we left, but that is several weeks ago now. It was just something Alicia said on Sunday … She really did want to come with us to Berlin, I suppose because Charlie has made it sound so exciting. And those two have always been joined at the hip. I agreed she should come along, but she suddenly said she couldn’t let her grandfather down. Then she added that he was longing for her to come back to Cavendon and at his age it was important for her to be there.’

‘I don’t think she was referring to anything to do with his health,’ Cecily reassured her. ‘Anyway, if the Earl isn’t well, Miles would certainly know, and he would have told me.’ Cecily paused, sipped her tea. ‘Your father has always adored Alicia; she is his first grandchild after all. He doted on her when she was little and they’ve been very close. I’m sure he has missed her. Alicia obviously understands this and just wants to keep her promise.’

Daphne nodded, a look of relief crossing her face. ‘I’m sure you’re right. I’m just being silly.’ A smile slid on to her face. ‘The old man and the young girl have a special bond. I know that for a fact.’

‘Alicia’s a lovely person, very considerate to everyone,’ Cecily pointed out. ‘My mother adores her, you know.’

‘The feeling is mutual, and I also adore Mrs Alice.’ A faint smile crossed Daphne’s face; she looked off into the distance, as if staring back into the past. She said, after a long moment, ‘Your mother saved my sanity; saved my life when I was seventeen … well, you know all that.’

‘I do indeed.’ Cecily said no more, thinking of that terrible summer when Daphne had been violently assaulted. Only the Swanns had known about it, and Daphne’s parents.

As if reading her mind, Daphne said, ‘I’ve been terribly afraid of violence ever since. I think that’s probably why I’m not particularly happy here in Berlin. I sense an undercurrent of danger, of trouble brewing, then erupting. That’s why I’m relieved we’re only staying a few days.’

‘There does seem to be a lot of tension and trouble in the streets. I know exactly what you’re referring to, Daphne. There’s fear in the air. But look, we’ll be back in Zurich on Sunday, and anyway, we are perfectly safe.’

‘Yes, I know, Hugo reassured me of that.’

As they finished breakfast, a silence fell between them. They were both preoccupied with their thoughts. Cecily was focused on her father-in-law, wondering if Alicia had spotted something she had recently noticed. The Earl did not seem as robust, and it had struck her several times lately that his health might be failing. She had not said anything to Miles, or anyone else, but he wasn’t the same any more. Now, unexpectedly, she could suddenly pinpoint it. The spirit had gone out of him, and this saddened her. She resolved to keep this insight into her father-in-law to herself. Nobody needed to know for the time being.

Diedre left the Adlon Hotel, stepped out on to Unter den Linden, and turned right on to Wilhelmstrasse where the British Embassy was located. She thought about Tony Jenkins, whom she was about to see. It was a relief to know that she could talk to him face to face in plain language rather than on the phone in code. Even so, she was quite certain he would call her Daffy Dilly, but she had made up her mind not to address him as Toby.

Here at the embassy he was Tony Jenkins, an attaché. He did not really work for the Foreign Office; he was with British Intelligence, working for her, although none of his colleagues knew this. Self-confident, in control, blessed with natural charm, he managed to play the role of an attaché with great élan, and success. Not for a moment was he like an agent.

Diedre came to a stop at number seventy and looked up at the Union Jack on a flagpole above the huge front door of the British Embassy. It was flaring out in the light breeze, a dazzle of red, white and blue, and she felt a little surge of patriotism. To her that flag represented not only her country, but democracy, justice and freedom.

Glancing up Wilhelmstrasse, she saw the swastika on the German flag flying above the Reich Chancellery a few doors away. Inside that building sat Hitler and his henchmen, a bunch of gangsters in charge of the German government, plotting their evil schemes and the domination of Central Europe. Hitler’s vandalizing of democracy was abhorrent to her, and what an irony it was that these two buildings stood on the same street.

Moving swiftly, Diedre went up the steps and into the embassy, her head held high in her pride at being an Englishwoman, and one determined to defend everything her country stood for.

Within minutes of giving her name to the young woman seated at the reception desk, she saw Tony Jenkins hurrying towards her. He had a bright smile on his face, and was obviously happy to see her standing there.

A moment later he was shaking her hand. ‘Lady Diedre, good morning, and welcome back.’

‘It’s nice to be here, Tony,’ she said, and allowed herself to be led away, down a short corridor to his office.

Once inside, he gave her a huge bear hug. She hugged him back, and then they stood apart and smiled at each other.

‘I can’t tell you what a relief it is to see you,’ he said.

‘I know what you mean. I feel the same.’

‘Let’s sit down over there on the sofa, and then I think we should go for a walk.’ As he spoke he gave her a knowing look.

Diedre nodded. ‘I think that’s a good idea. Why stay cooped up inside when it’s such a lovely day?’ She turned her head, her eyes searching the walls and ceiling, and then she stared at Tony, mouthed, ‘It’s not wired, is it?’

He shook his head. ‘It’s better we go out before we get interrupted. Somebody might pop in.’

‘I understand. What about Sir Nevile? I should pay my respects to the ambassador.’

‘He asked me to explain that he is unavailable at the moment. But he welcomes you, and is looking forward to seeing you and your family tomorrow evening.’

Tony stood, went over to his desk and picked up some envelopes. ‘These are your invitations to the reception and dinner, Diedre. I thought of sending them over to the Adlon by messenger, and then decided just to give them to you.’

‘Thank you,’ she said, and took them from him. There was one for her, another for Cecily and Miles, and a third for Daphne, Hugo and Charlie. ‘We’ll all be there with bells on,’ she said with a chuckle. Opening her handbag, she put the three envelopes inside and got up. ‘What are we waiting for? Let’s go.’

They got out of the taxi on the Tiergartenstrasse, and went straight into the Tiergarten, after Tony had paid off the driver. Diedre knew the park well, having strolled through it in the past; it was one of the few places in Berlin today where tranquillity still reigned.

It was truly beautiful, laid out in the manner of a traditional English park, with large expanses of green lawns, limes and horse chestnut trees, and many weeping willows growing everywhere. The abundance of magnificent trees aside, the flowering bushes and flower beds were in full bloom this month, and the air was fragrant with their mingled scents.