When the Clouds Go Rolling By

by June Francis

  * * *

  It was pitch black by the time Freddie and Clara reached Mrs Black’s. Yet the lights were on in the drawing room and as soon as the car drew up outside the house, the front door opened and Eudora and Joy appeared in the doorway.

  ‘Is everyone safe?’ called Joy.

  ‘Yes,’ said Clara.

  ‘What about Bert?’

  Neither Clara nor Freddie answered immediately because they were climbing out of the car. She placed her arm through his and together they walked towards the two women waiting for them. As the light in the hall fell on their faces, Eudora said, ‘My dears, you look exhausted… and Freddie, you’ve definitely been in a fight.’

  ‘He’s dead,’ said Freddie.

  Joy’s soft brown eyes widened. ‘You killed him?’

  He shook his head. ‘I wanted to but… You’re never going to believe this…’

  ‘If it’s going to be a long story, Freddie dear, then let’s have you both inside,’ said Eudora. ‘I have a bottle of champagne I’ve been saving for a special day and I think today is that day.’ She patted him on the shoulder and kissed Clara.

  ‘I think I’d rather a bottle of beer, if you don’t mind?’ said Freddie with a twinkle in his eye. ‘I’m hellishly thirsty. I don’t mind a half glass of champagne for a toast.’

  ‘You’ve got a nerve,’ said Joy, shaking her head at him and then she hugged them both. ‘I think I can find you a bottle of beer.’

  An hour later Clara and Freddie had told their tale. He perched on the arm of the sofa with his hand resting on her shoulder. The grazes on his face and knuckles had been cleansed and anointed with iodine by Clara earlier.

  ‘Well, it’s nice to know that Bert’s not going to come back from the dead this time,’ said Joy. ‘Pity that he turned out the way he did. He had so many opportunities for good.’

  Freddie’s face hardened. ‘Don’t start feeling sorry for him. He was evil.’

  Clara shuddered as she thought of that fight in the cottage. Freddie’s arm slipped around her. ‘What is it, sweetheart?’

  ‘I was just thinking how close we came to losing each other today.’

  ‘I know,’ he said soberly. ‘Can’t risk that again. We’ll have to get married so we can look after each other.’

  Joy gasped. Clara blushed and smiled. ‘If that’s a proposal, I accept.’

  He kissed her.

  Eudora rose to her feet. ‘Enough kissing for now. Save it for when you’re alone. Let’s have a toast. To Clara and Freddie, may the sun shine on your path from now on.’

  They drank to that wish. Then Joy refilled their glasses and they drank several more toasts. Eudora said, ‘I’ll even drink to your aunt, Clara. I must admit, I’m still trying to come to terms with the idea of Gertie having a policeman follower.’

  ‘Hardly that at her age, surely?’ said Joy, topping up their glasses.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know, dear. Love can strike at any age and in different ways.’ There was a dreamy expression on her face that startled them all.

  ‘I bet Tilly will call tomorrow with pencil sharpened and notebook at the ready,’ said Clara. ‘She’ll be in hot pursuit of a story from us.’

  Freddie hugged her against him. ‘You’re right. But after today, I think she’s going to have to start looking for her own.’

  Epilogue

  ‘I think we should pull out all the stops for Tilly, seeing as how we actually forgot her birthday in all the excitement,’ said Hanny, accepting a glass of sherry and a macaroon from Seb.

  Alice said, ‘You’re right. I feel bad about that – and when I think she didn’t even remind us.’ She kicked off her shoes and curled her legs beneath her on the sofa. It was two days later and the four of them were alone.

  ‘We’ve so much to be thankful for and it should be a double celebration,’ said Seb firmly. ‘No more Bert – not ever – thanks to Mrs Kirk.’

  ‘Praise God,’ said Alice, sipping her sherry and glancing across at her dearest friend. ‘Hanny, do you think your mother really didn’t have any idea it was Bert confronting her?’

  Hanny did not hesitate. ‘Yes. Her feelings for him have never altered. He’s still her blue-eye and living in Australia.’ She sighed. ‘I wish I could understand how her mind works but I never will. Still, if she’s happy…’

  ‘The main thing is he’s dead,’ said Kenny, smiling. ‘I won’t be crying crocodile tears for him at his funeral.’

  His wife and half-sister looked at him from startled eyes. ‘I haven’t even given a thought to his funeral,’ said Hanny.

  Seb grinned. ‘I should think not. Besides, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s still officially dead according to army records.’

  ‘So the family won’t be getting his money then,’ said Hanny, with a twinkle in her eyes. ‘No doubt the police will confiscate any money he has tucked away… but there’s always the reward for his capture, dead or alive.’

  ‘I think that should go to Freddie,’ said Seb. ‘After all, it was he who risked his life.’

  ‘Yet again,’ murmured Kenny.

  ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if we were to hear some good news from Freddie and Clara any day now,’ said Hanny.

  ‘Tilly won’t be pleased about that,’ sighed Alice. ‘I wonder if she’ll ever get married.’

  ‘There’s always Don,’ murmured Seb. ‘Pity he couldn’t be here for her birthday, although she’s far too young to get married yet.’

  ‘Besides, she wants a writing career,’ said Kenny positively. ‘What if we club together and buy her the tools of her trade. Pencils, pens, pads – and a typewriter.’

  Alice stared at him. ‘You really are pushing the boat out. You know how much they cost!’

  Kenny and Seb exchanged glances. ‘Well, I reckon business is really going to start picking up now,’ said Kenny.

  ‘I guess I know what she wants more than anything,’ said Seb abruptly.

  The other three looked at him but it was Alice who murmured, ‘Don’t say it.’

  ‘I have to,’ said Seb, grimacing. ‘Your father, invite him to the party. I believe he helped save Flora’s life.’

  There was a silence.

  Kenny and Alice exchanged glances and both sighed. ‘Perhaps just this once,’ he said heavily.

  Alice did not speak. The others waited and a minute ticked by before she eventually muttered, ‘OK! Just this once, mind, because I know it’ll make Tilly’s day. There’s no way, though, I’m inviting Mrs Black.’ Seb and Kenny darted a glance at each other. ‘I saw that,’ she snapped, ‘but if you think I’m going to invite her the answer is… no, no, no!’

  First published in the United Kingdom in 2007 by Allison & Busby

  This edition published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by

  Canelo Digital Publishing Limited

  57 Shepherds Lane

  Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2DU

  United Kingdom

  Copyright © June Francis, 2007

  The moral right of June Francis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 9781911591405

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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