‘I think I can guess what happened next. The bulb blew, leaving all of them in the dark, and then Ducray had his heart attack and fell against the door. Not nearly as exciting or mysterious as I thought.’

  She was busy buttering bread and as the kettle whistled, he poured the water into the teapot. ‘That’s not all that happened. Madame and the children abandoned him and stole the car to do so. Nobody knows where they are. He’s now in London somewhere. I’m pretty sure he’s a spy, not a German one, but for de Gaulle.’

  ‘What makes you think that?’

  ‘It was all very hush-hush and we were told not to discuss anything about the incident with anybody. Two men from the foreign office came and collected his belongings and paid his bill in full so we benefited from that as well.’

  ‘Have you heard anything about your application? I’ve had no response at all from the Air Ministry about mine. I’ve been flying most days as one of Jimmy’s flight is in hospital with appendicitis.’

  ‘I’ve been to one meeting of the St John’s but it all seems a bit pointless now. I won’t be here to minister to anyone injured in an air raid – I’ll either be living in a nurses’ home or in London.’

  ‘We don’t have time to buy a ring today but I promise we’ll do it before one of us leaves. It would probably be easier if I could choose it for you – actually I think that’s usually how it’s done. Do you have any preference?’

  ‘Look, I hope you won’t be offended, but I know you can’t afford to buy anything expensive. My great-grandmother, my father’s mother, left a box of jewellery to be handed down to me. She didn’t want Mummy to have it as she wasn’t Harcourt blood. Would you mind awfully if we chose something from that?’

  ‘I don’t have a family heirloom or I’d give you that. Why don’t you fetch the box down whilst I take the tray into the drawing room?’

  ‘Golly, not in there. It’s freezing as we don’t light the fires now our guests have gone. Take it to the smaller sitting room at the back of the house. I won’t be a moment. I told my mother we were engaged and she said she was happy for us but thought it better not to mention it to Daddy.’

  ‘Fine by me. We’re not thinking of getting married for years and you’ll be of age by then.’

  He did as she asked and was glad she’d left him alone to gather his thoughts. Somehow it didn’t seem right that the engagement ring came from her side of the family and not his, but as long as she wore a ring, then he was okay with it.

  ‘Look, Angus, I’d no idea there was so much valuable jewellery in this box as I’ve never bothered to look inside. I should think there’s a fortune here – mind you, I doubt anybody’s interested in buying precious stones and so on at the moment.’

  He put the tray down on the coffee table and went to sit beside her on the chintz-covered sofa. ‘Good God! You’re not kidding, sweetheart, there’s a king’s ransom in that box.’ He was staring down at a kaleidoscope of precious stones, necklaces, bracelets and rings and even three tiaras. ‘If these stones are real then you’re a very rich young woman. Don’t you realise what that means? You don’t need to get a scholarship but could actually take up your place at Oxford and use these to pay for your tuition and living costs.’

  ‘These are heirlooms, I wouldn’t be allowed to sell them even for something as practical and necessary as paying for my medical training. However, I am allowed to wear any of them if I want to.’ She rummaged around like a toddler in a toy box, treating the fabulous items with total disregard. He loved her for not being impressed by these riches.

  ‘What about this ring? It’s not too big, it’s an emerald with diamonds around it and set in either platinum or white gold. Shall I see if it fits?’

  He took it from her, examined it, and then slipped it over the knuckle of her ring finger. ‘It fits perfectly and is exactly right. I wasn’t sure about not being able to buy one for you but it would be silly not to use this.’

  She turned her hand from side to side, examining the ring. ‘I would have loved to have had one that you chose for me but this one will do. Mummy’s talking about having a party to celebrate the engagement – what do you think?’

  ‘Why not? Any excuse for a knees-up. How many guests are you going to cater for? Which reminds me, I’d better write to my parents and tell them the good news.’

  ‘Betty and the two ladies from the village will do everything. You can invite whoever you like from the base – there’ll certainly be dozens from the village. My father will be incandescent when he gets back and sees half his precious wine has been drunk. I don’t think she’s writing to him any more so he won’t know anything about it, which is probably a good thing.’

  ‘Do you think he wouldn’t approve of me?’

  ‘No, it’s me he’d be disappointed with. Obviously, he wanted a son and got me instead. To be honest, both Mummy and I have been a lot happier without him here. We were both permanently walking on eggshells, waiting to be shouted at for breaking one of his hundreds of unwritten rules. I suppose we’re lucky he didn’t believe in physical punishment or we’d have been black and blue.’

  ‘Sounds like a pretty miserable childhood so I’m not surprised you were happier at your boarding school. When was your mother thinking of having this party?’

  ‘As soon as possible. I think that’s really why she’s gone to the village. She and Betty will be plundering the three grocery shops for anything that’s still available. It’ll be a buffet, help-yourself sort of thing, and whatever we can find in the cellar to drink.’

  ‘I’ll get hold of some beer – the men will probably prefer to drink that. It can be a farewell party for both of us as well as an engagement do.’

  The telephone jangled at the far end of the house. With a rueful smile she put down her sandwich and ran to answer it. He was already on his feet, expecting it to be the base and that he’d have to depart in a hurry. Things were moving on fast, both for him and Sarah and for his career.

  ‘Sit down, it’s not for you. It was someone about the land girls. Our farms aren’t eligible to get them at the moment – apparently, they don’t qualify as we’ve almost a full complement of workers. That’s a bit of a blow so thank goodness we’ve got the money from the hunters to make ends meet.’

  She didn’t seem at all worried so he made no comment and let her continue and made a suggestion.

  ‘This is a ridiculously large house for two people to live in. I’m sure if you offered it to the RAF or army they’d be only too happy to commandeer it and use it as a convalescent home or something similar.’

  ‘It’s not Mummy’s prerogative to dispose of the family home. It makes my going more difficult as I don’t really want to leave her rattling about in here on her own with only the puppy for company. Also, she hates horses and until we’ve got land girls to take care of my mare, the chickens and ducks, I’ve really got to stay.’

  ‘I might get my posting before you’re ready to go.’

  ‘I know, but that doesn’t change anything. We’re engaged and we love each other. The rest will just have to fall into place.’

  The next few days were spent in party preparations. Sarah had pushed aside all thoughts of becoming a medical student or a nurse for the moment and was just concentrating on helping her mother. One thing she was sure about was her love for Angus and she was ready to show the village and all his friends they were a couple.

  The day of the party was Wednesday, 20 March. The weather had improved, which meant Angus and his fellow pilots had been constantly flying sorties over the Channel for the past three weeks and this was the first day most of them were free to attend.

  All the guests were aware they would be told on the actual morning of the event and nobody had complained. Being invited to the ‘big house’ for any sort of shindig was an event not to be missed even with the inconvenience of not actually knowing what day this party was to take place.

  ‘Sarah, do you think we have enough to eat and drink as we don’t actually know how many guests we’ll have this afternoon?’

  ‘People have been so generous with their time and their rations. We’ve got enough to feed a small army. The two pins of beer, all the wine we’ve stolen from the cellar, as well as the orange squash, will be more than adequate, however many people come. I’m so glad the men who played at the dance we went to a few months ago are happy to do the same for Angus and me.’

  ‘Shall we all give the house a final tour just to be sure everything’s in place? Do you know, darling, I’ve lived here for twenty years and this is the first time there’s been a big party like this. Imagine actually dancing in the ballroom – so exciting.’

  ‘I don’t know how Betty managed to make such a magnificent engagement cake when the ingredients are rationed. I expect this will be the last fruit cake anyone eats until the war’s over and these things can be imported safely from wherever they grow. Do currants grow?’ She laughed at her nonsense. ‘I’m pretty sure currants are shrivelled grapes – or is that sultanas? Anyway, I’m going to enjoy everything. This is how a house like this should be used. It’s ridiculous for just two of us to be living here.’

  She and Mummy had talked about the cost of the party but the money from the sale of the hunters and from the French family meant they were no longer living on the edge of financial ruin.

  ‘I think everything looks absolutely splendid, darling. You’ve done wonders getting this organised. I don’t know why it is that I can take charge of the WVS but find making any decisions about our lives and the house so difficult. I rather think I relied on your father too much in the past.’

  ‘It wasn’t a case of you relying on him, Mummy, he was a very controlling sort of man and didn’t let either of us have opinions of our own.’

  Her mother’s shocked expression brought home to her just how significant her casual use of the past tense had been. ‘I’m sorry, slip of the tongue. It’s just that life’s so different, so much better for both of us, without him here. I don’t think you ever really loved him, did you? Not the way I love Angus.’

  ‘I’ve never really thought about it. When an actual lord asked me to marry him of course I didn’t hesitate. I wish you’d been able to meet my parents, they would have loved you. Unfortunately, they both died before you were old enough to ask about them. David didn’t want me to have anything more to do with them, which I found extremely difficult, but they accepted that was how it should be as they weren’t in his social class.’

  They completed the inspection and everything was as it should be. At least her mother hadn’t denied that things were better without the man of the house around. ‘I wish I’d been able to meet at least one of my grandparents, or any other family member for that matter. Daddy never spoke about his mother – I don’t even know if she’s alive or dead.’

  ‘Actually, the Dowager Lady Harcourt, as far as I know, is still alive and well but she lives in the south of France. She didn’t approve of David’s choice of bride and refused to attend our wedding. She must be in her late sixties now so she could have died. I don’t suppose I’ll ever know.’

  ‘I hope if she’s living that she doesn’t find herself under German rule.’

  ‘Whatever do you mean? The BEF and the French army will keep Hitler under control. Please don’t say anything so dispiriting on such a happy day.’

  ‘I’m sorry, you’re right. The house looks wonderful and this is the last time there’s likely to be any sort of party here for a long time.’ She saw her mother about to contradict and stepped in quickly. ‘No, there won’t be a wedding. I think you should know that we’ve no intention of getting married until the war’s over and I’m a doctor – whichever comes first.’

  ‘Good heavens, child, the war will be over long before you qualify. It takes five years to become a doctor, doesn’t it? Everybody says Hitler will be defeated before Christmas.’

  As Sarah had promised not to spoil the occasion by mentioning anything depressing, she didn’t say what she was thinking – that the war might very well be over by Christmas, but it wasn’t going to be Christmas 1940, and possibly not the following one either. It had hardly started as yet and Hitler was going to want to invade Britain at some point but she was resigned to this like most other people.

  She’d decided not to wear one of her more expensive gowns but something simpler as she didn’t want to make any of the guests feel underdressed. Angus would be in his best blues so she’d found something that would complement his uniform.

  Her hair was pinned up in a French pleat, she was wearing a smudge of red lipstick and a dusting of powder. She examined her face from every angle in the dressing table mirror. She looked different. Older, wiser and considerably thinner.

  The frock she was wearing was dark blue with white spots – very fashionable – and had a nipped-in waist, full skirt and what was called a shirt front. She might be thinner in the face but she certainly wasn’t in the bosom department. The bodice was rather tight and she sincerely hoped the buttons didn’t pop open when she was dancing.

  It might well be years before she and Angus could celebrate their actual marriage so she was going to enjoy this engagement party and make sure everyone else did too.

  21

  Joanna had received another two letters from David but had pushed them into a drawer in her dressing table without reading them. As long as she didn’t know what he was writing, she wouldn’t feel obligated to follow his orders. She just hoped he would think the postal service was to blame and that their letters were being lost in transit.

  If he knew any of the things that had been done in his absence, he would be furious; even from France she rather thought he might be able to cause her and Sarah a lot of unhappiness. If only she was brave – like her daughter – and could truly take charge of her life.

  A good wife would have asked his permission before selling the hunters, agreeing to the engagement, taking in boarders and holding a party for the entire neighbourhood. The fact that she was actually allowing them into the house itself was unprecedented. In the past there had been village fêtes and garden parties held on the lawn but nobody, apart from his close friends, had been invited inside.

  How was she going to manage when Sarah left? The very idea of being in charge of this huge house, the estate, and everything else that was going on, filled her with terror. She pushed these unpleasant thoughts aside and pinned on a happy smile. Today was for Angus and her darling daughter and she wasn’t going to spoil anything by being silly.

  She decided to ignore the advice not to dress up too much and was wearing a gown that had been made for her in London. Her clothes had been one thing David had never cut back on. It hadn’t occurred to her until now that this was more for him than for her – that he wanted to keep up appearances, not let anybody know that they were in financial difficulties. By ensuring she was dressed in haute couture, despite the crippling cost, everybody would think things were tickety-boo.

  Thank goodness the weather was at least dry, if not particularly warm, as most of the guests would be walking from the village. Those that had cars were David’s friends and she’d deliberately not invited them. It belatedly occurred to her that one of his cronies was bound to hear about the activities at Goodwill House and would no doubt write to him.

  She glanced nervously at her dressing table. Perhaps he already knew and had written forbidding the engagement and everything else. If she didn’t actually read those words on the paper then she could pretend she was in ignorance of his demands. Heaven knows what would happen when he came back – if he came back. At the moment she was forced to admit she hoped he wouldn’t. Not that she wanted him dead – of course she didn’t – but life was so much easier and happier with him on the other side of the Channel.

  Downstairs there was the distant sound of the musicians tuning up, Betty was marshalling her troops and everywhere seemed very jolly. The hothouse had fallen into disrepair years ago so the floral arrangements were daffodils from the garden and foliage from the woods, but none the worse for that.

  ‘My lady, isn’t this grand?’ Betty said as she gestured expansively to the cluster of children’s balloons tied in bunches around the grand hall. ‘I’ve never seen the like. People will be arriving at any moment. Miss Sarah and her young man are in the ballroom.’

  ‘It’s all so very exciting. Remember, you and your team are guests at the party as well as everything else. Make sure you have time to enjoy yourself. This isn’t a formal event but something for everyone. I do hope I didn’t miss people off the guest list who will be offended.’

  ‘I’m sure you didn’t. All the members of the WI and WVS, along with their hubbies, will be here. I think it’s a good thing the kiddies aren’t coming too as with so much free alcohol available I reckon there’ll be a lot of men a bit worse for wear before the end of it.’

  ‘I do hope the ladies don’t refrain from drinking – there’s some absolutely splendid wine just for them. I even unearthed three bottles of sherry and I do know that several of them enjoy a glass of that.’

  Angus had been amazed how different Goodwill House seemed just by putting dozens of simple flower arrangements and bunches of balloons around the place.

  ‘What do you think? I can’t believe I’m actually going to dance with you in here.’

  ‘I don’t imagine that anybody coming to our party, sweetheart, will ever have danced in an actual ballroom. I certainly haven’t. Are you having party games as well as dancing?’

  For a moment she thought he was serious but then laughed. ‘Actually, I don’t see why we shouldn’t. Blind man’s buff, hide-and-seek – both those would be fun but I don’t think musical chairs would go down too well.’

  ‘Idiot girl – come on – let’s have a practice run.’ He looked over at the trio from the base. ‘What about a waltz?’