A Stranger in Honeyfield

by Anna Jacobs

  ‘No. Not at all. I learnt first aid for my ambulance driving and I had to help people who were much more badly injured. One of them died in my arms. You may not think so now, but you’ve got off very lightly, Tez.’

  ‘I realise that with my head but my heart is still upset about it.’

  ‘Time will cure that.’ And her own grief, she hoped. She didn’t want to feel this raw and unhappy for the rest of her life, especially not with a child to raise.

  They sat quietly for a few minutes and he didn’t seem to realise that he was still holding her hand. She found his touch comforting and didn’t pull hers away.

  When he broke their clasp he stood up, looking restless again. ‘What do you intend to do this morning?’

  ‘I thought I’d go and introduce myself at the village shops.’

  ‘Good idea. I’ll come with you, if I may. It’ll look better if we’re together and I don’t like to be penned indoors on fine days. I nearly went mad stuck in a bed in the hospital.’

  ‘It’ll be nice to have you with me.’

  They walked down to the green and went into the nearest shop, which was the baker’s. There was a wonderful smell of freshly baked bread. Bella introduced herself and Tez to the proprietor, explaining that her husband would be coming and going from his new job in London, so she couldn’t place a regular order for bread.

  ‘That’s all right,’ the woman behind the counter said cheerfully. ‘We always have a spare loaf or two, especially for someone whose husband is engaged in war work.’ She bobbed her head cheerfully to Tez. ‘I’m Mrs Saunders. It’s my husband who does the baking.’

  ‘What other shops are there?’ Bella asked after she’d paid for two fresh, crusty loaves. ‘I saw the grocer’s and we’re going there next. Are there any other shops?’

  ‘Farmer Corsley kills a beast on Fridays and his son sells the meat in the butcher’s shop just round the corner from the grocer’s. Mrs Corsley supplies eggs and table chickens if you put in an order. You can go up to the farm for them or pick them up at the butcher’s shop.’

  She ticked them off on her fingers. ‘Malcolm Leatherby down at the far end of the green repairs cars and tractors and such, and sells petrol too. He’s getting on a bit, says he’ll sell his business to some chap back from the war once we’ve trounced them Huns. He has a smallholding as well and grows vegetables. His son was killed at Ypres, poor soul. Left two children, the son did, but they’re girls and their mother took them to live in Birmingham with her family, so poor old Malcolm is on his own now.’

  ‘Is there a dressmaker?’ Bella was going to need some new clothes soon. Already her skirts were a bit tight and so were her blouses.

  ‘Dear me, yes. Mavis Calwell and her daughter do that. They’re so good at it, ladies come to them from all over the district. Get a lovely fit, they do, and a neat finish. But both of them are married to good wage earners, so they can pick and choose what they take on. They won’t make anything they think will be unflattering. They’re lucky to be able to do that, aren’t they?’

  ‘Good. And what about a haberdasher? I need some more sewing things.’

  ‘You’ll have to go into the next village for that, though they’ve got a few bits and pieces at the grocer’s, thread and needles and the like. Or you could go into Malmesbury, if you need something fancy, or else Stroud, which has more shops. Not much to choose between them in distance from here, either. Pity your husband won’t be here with the car.’

  ‘I’ll be leaving the car for my wife till this hand is better,’ Tez said.

  ‘Oh. Do you drive, then, Mrs Tesworth?’

  ‘Um, yes. I’m a bit rusty, but I’ll soon get back in practice.’

  ‘I leave that sort of thing to the men,’ the shopkeeper said.

  She sounded disapproving, Bella thought. Well, she could disapprove to her heart’s content. That car was going to be a godsend.

  ‘I’m relieved my wife’s able to drive,’ Tez said. ‘She’s been able to take me around because I’m not allowed to drive yet with this hand.’

  ‘There is that,’ Mrs Saunders said, but she didn’t sound convinced.

  An older woman came into the shop just then and was immediately introduced to the newcomers, but Bella could see the shopkeeper was dying to have a gossip with her, probably about them. So she said goodbye and headed for the grocer’s. She had a long list for them and was hoping they’d be able to deliver it quickly.

  After she’d placed the order, she was told to bring her jug next time if she wanted some milk, but Mrs Foster volunteered to put some milk in a jar for her if she’d bring the jar back the next day.

  ‘My husband will deliver your groceries within the hour,’ the shopkeeper said. ‘I hope you’ll be happy here in Honeyfield, Mr and Mrs Tesworth.’

  By the time they went outside again the day had clouded over.

  ‘Good thing I was here, eh? Word about us will spread quickly, I should think,’ Tez said as they strolled back. He looked up at the sky. ‘We’d better hurry. It’s getting darker by the minute, looks as if it’s going to rain quite heavily. That’ll give us a chance to check the cottage for leaks. That roof doesn’t look as if it’s been well maintained the last year or two. And the cottage next door is a disgrace. I wonder who that belongs to and why they’ve let it go to rack and ruin.’

  It felt almost as if they really were married, Bella thought wistfully as big drops started to fall and they ran the last few yards, laughing.

  All in all, it was a lovely, peaceful start to her stay here and it was a pity Tez had to return to London tomorrow. She’d miss his company.

  Well, she’d find things to fill her time. She could start making baby clothes, for one thing, and hemming a set of nappies. She might have to go into the next village to buy the material but she wasn’t going anywhere near Malmesbury in case she bumped into the Cotterells. The thought of doing that made her shiver.

  It was silly to feel like that, really. Why would they pursue her now she was offering to sell them the house in Malmesbury?

  In Penny’s cottage Georgie had a bad night, tossing and turning, sleeping only in fits and starts. As the sun was starting to rise she fell asleep and didn’t wake till mid morning. She went down feeling guilty and found her hostess frowning over a letter. Another letter had been slit open and lay to one side.

  ‘Is everything all right, Penny?’

  ‘Yes. Well, there isn’t a problem exactly, Georgie, not yet, but—’ She broke off as if not sure how to say something.

  Georgie caught sight of the handwriting on the envelope and her heart began to thud nervously. Why had her mother written to Penny? Spencer must have told her where his sister was, she supposed.

  They’d been living very quietly here because there wasn’t much to do and they didn’t have a car. Even so, she had found it wonderful not to live with scolding and peremptory demands to do this and fetch that. She felt almost as if she was recovering from a period of illness.

  ‘I can see it’s my mother’s handwriting, Penny, so it won’t be good news. What does she want?’

  ‘It’s rather a strange letter. She’s warning me that I should be careful what I believe because you’re rather unstable and don’t always tell the truth. She says you need help and I should encourage you to go home where you can be cared for properly.’

  Penny tapped the paper but made no attempt to show the actual letter to Georgie, which probably meant her mother was writing much more nastily than that. Her hostess’s next words confirmed that.

  ‘It’s a strange sort of letter for a mother to write, very melodramatic. She actually suggested I throw you out.’

  ‘She’s been waiting for me to go running home and beg her forgiveness, and is beginning to realise that I won’t do that. She’ll send Spencer after me, eventually, I know she will. After he saw me, he’ll have found where I’m living and told her. He might even drag me back home forcibly.’

  ‘He can’t kidnap you off th
e street or even drag you out of my house, because I won’t let him in.’

  ‘Can’t he? I wouldn’t put anything past Spencer. He is the unstable one, but my mother thinks he’s perfect. And if he did come after me and force his way in, who would hear? This cottage is very isolated.’

  ‘Oh, dear. And Edward has just written to say he’s being transferred to Portsmouth, where there are married quarters available, so he wants me to move there as soon as I can.’ She blushed. ‘We haven’t had much time together, so that’ll be wonderful, but I’m not going to move until I’ve made sure you’re all right. Only where are you going to go?’

  ‘I don’t know. I think I’d better find somewhere else to live quite quickly and move there secretly.’ Georgie forced a smile but couldn’t make it last long. ‘Now I’m the one sounding melodramatic. I don’t think I’m unstable, but my family, especially Spencer, can be downright nasty sometimes. I don’t want you caught up in their machinations after you’ve been so kind to me.’

  ‘Well, grab something to eat and sit down. We have to decide what to do.’

  When Georgie was facing her, Penny said, ‘I think the best thing to do is for me to phone my brother. Harry will know what to do, I’m sure.’

  ‘I don’t want to trouble him. And he might be back in France, probably is by now because he hasn’t written for several days.’

  Penny laughed. ‘He likes being troubled by you.’

  ‘Oh. Well. He’s been very kind.’

  ‘Why do you think that is?’

  Georgie felt embarrassed and didn’t know how to tell Penny that Harry didn’t attract her in that way.

  But when Penny phoned the regimental office the clerk said Harry was away and wouldn’t be back for a day or two.

  Did she have time to wait for him? Georgie wondered. Or should she leave here this very afternoon?

  But when she suggested it, Penny insisted on waiting for Harry and in the end Georgie gave in because she hadn’t a clue where to go and was still nervous about managing on her own in a strange town.

  In the middle of the night, Georgie was woken by something. She lay still, wondering what she’d heard. The sound came again, very faint. It sounded as if someone was creeping round the garden.

  She slipped out of bed and went to peer out of the window, gasping when she saw two men dressed in dark clothing moving towards the house.

  Dear heaven, it must be Spencer. Who else would come after her?

  Who was the other man? She peered out again as she threw on her clothes. The second man moved out of the shadows into the moonlight. Francis! She’d recognise that cruel, hawk-like profile anywhere.

  She made sure the bedroom window was locked and went to wake Penny.

  ‘I can’t believe this,’ her friend whispered. ‘Well, they’re not taking you away by force. I’m going to phone Farmer Grey. He’s the nearest and I know he’ll come to help us.’

  ‘He may not be able to reach us in time.’

  ‘Then they’ll get more than they bargained for. Edward gave me a gun to protect myself with and showed me how to use it, too. I thought he was being foolish and only learnt to humour him. He insisted you never can tell when you might need to protect yourself, especially these days because some people are taking advantage of the war to burgle houses or worse. Don’t tell anyone else I’ve got the gun, though. I haven’t got a licence for it or anything.’

  She got out of bed and opened a drawer in her dressing table, taking out a small handgun. ‘Come on. The phone’s downstairs and we need to make that call in case they try to break in.’

  She got through to the farm but it seemed ages before anyone picked up the phone, by which time they’d heard the sound of breaking glass. ‘It’s Mrs Richards, at the cottage. We’ve got men trying to break in and they’ve just broken a window.’

  ‘What? I’m on my way,’ the gravelly voice replied. ‘Five minutes at most.’

  ‘He’ll be here in five minutes,’ she repeated for Georgie’s benefit. ‘Now let’s lock ourselves in my bedroom and push that big chest of drawers against the door till Mr Grey gets here.’

  When they’d done that, the two women could do nothing but wait. The kitchen windows were small and the outer doors were solid, but thumps from below told of force being used.

  ‘If they get in and try to break my bedroom door down, I’m going to threaten them with the gun,’ Penny said. ‘It’s already loaded. Edward said if there was an emergency I wouldn’t have time to load it.’

  ‘I don’t even know how to fire a gun. I’ve always refused to hunt or shoot, though Spencer loves killing animals and birds of any sort. He used to dip his fingers in the blood and chase me.’ She shuddered at the memory.

  They fell silent as something else smashed at the back of the cottage, not glass this time, but wood.

  ‘I think they’re breaking down the door,’ Penny whispered. ‘Oh, no! Listen.’

  They heard footsteps inside the house. Doors were flung open and banged back against walls, the intruders making no attempt to hide their presence, then the footsteps came up the stairs.

  The knob of their bedroom door turned but the person was unable to force it open. He shouted, ‘They’re here! Come and lend a hand.’

  ‘That’s Spencer,’ Georgie said. ‘I’d recognise the harshness of his voice anywhere.’

  ‘You might as well give up, Georgina,’ the other man shouted.

  ‘That’s Francis. He always calls me Georgina, says Georgie is undignified.’ She shuddered and looked at the chest of drawers. They’d wedged the bed crosswise against the wall to hold the drawers in place. ‘Will these keep them out for long enough, do you think?’

  ‘I hope so. If not, I’m definitely going to shoot them.’

  One of the two men threw himself against the door and it rattled. But it was made of solid oak, hardened with age, and the lock was the old-fashioned sort with a big key, so it held as the thumping continued.

  Suddenly one panel of the door cracked with a splintering sound.

  Georgie let out an involuntary squeak. ‘They must have an axe.’

  Penny raised the gun and tried to hold it steady.

  After another two blows the panel burst open. They could see part of a man’s face.

  ‘I have a gun,’ Penny called. ‘And I’m prepared to use it.’

  ‘So have I. You’ll probably miss but I won’t. I can hit you anywhere in the body that I choose. How about the right shoulder?’

  She gasped in shock at this threat.

  ‘Stop meddling, you silly bitch. It’s not you we want but Georgina and if you have any sense you’ll get out of our way and allow us to take my sister to where she can be cared for properly.’

  ‘If you take her, I’ll report you for breaking in and kidnapping, and the police will come after you.’

  He laughed. ‘There are only old dodderers holding the forts of justice at the moment and people prepared to swear we were with them all night, plus Mother knows a doctor who’ll certify Georgina as needing care. You’ll get nowhere with a complaint, believe me.’

  Before either of the women could reply there was the sound of a vehicle approaching the cottage.

  ‘What the hell—’ Spencer exclaimed and his face vanished from the gap in the door.

  ‘Thank goodness.’ Penny sagged against Georgie in relief.

  ‘Damnation!’ Spencer raised his voice. ‘Georgina, this is only postponed. Wherever you go, we’ll find you. And the longer you keep Mother waiting, the angrier she’ll be when I do take you home. She’s talking of having you locked away in a lunatic asylum.’

  ‘I’m never coming back,’ she shouted back. ‘Never!’

  ‘Oh, but you will.’

  ‘And I’ve still got the ring and intend to use it as planned,’ Francis called, his voice growing fainter as the men clattered down the stairs.

  From below came the sound of people yelling and cursing and the two women went to the window again.
>
  Spencer and Francis met the newcomers at the gate and attacked them without warning, causing more shouting.

  A gun went off and Mr Grey called out, ‘Stand back, Tam. Let them go. It’s not worth dying for.’

  The sound of the two men running faded and a car engine started down the hill.

  As it drove away Mr Grey turned to yell, ‘Are you ladies all right?’

  ‘Thanks to you we are,’ Penny shouted back. ‘I’m not sure we can get the bedroom door open without some help, though. They’ve smashed the panels and it looks as if something in the lock has been twisted, because I can’t turn the key.’

  Mr Grey and his son came in and jemmied open the door, finishing the job of ruining it.

  ‘I’ll pay for it,’ Georgie said.

  ‘Who cares about an old door? It’s those villains I’m worried about. What sort of people go around breaking into houses and shooting at people?’

  ‘My brother.’

  ‘Are you sure it was him?’

  ‘Oh, yes.’

  ‘Then he’s a madman. You can’t stay here any longer, though. It’s too isolated. What if they come back?’

  ‘I’m moving to Portsmouth to be with my husband,’ Penny said. ‘I’ll leave first thing in the morning.’

  ‘I think I’d better leave as soon as I can get a taxi to come for me,’ Georgie told them. ‘Is there someone nearby who runs a taxi service?’

  ‘You’ve got somewhere safe to go?’

  She hesitated. ‘No. But I have some money so if I can get to a railway station, I can go to some town far away from here and rent a room. If I live quietly I doubt they’ll find me.’

  ‘You can’t be sure of that. Word leaks out. I think you’d be better staying with some people my wife knows. They’ll look after you, Miss Cotterell. People don’t always help a complete stranger, and they won’t know who to believe if he’s your brother. He’s got an educated voice and that always impresses people. No, we have to find somewhere really safe for you.’

  He stood frowning for a while, then turned to Tam. ‘Can you stay here with Mrs Richards? I’ll call in at Lionel’s and send him to take you and her back to the farm. I’m going to act quickly and go straight from here to some people who help women in trouble. The young lady will be absolutely safe with them. How quickly can you pack, my dear?’