by Anna Jacobs
‘I’m a much better shot than she is and she hates even touching it.’
Cook came to stand beside her. ‘I’ll be there too, sir. With this.’ She brandished a wicked-looking meat mallet.
‘Good. Go and take your places.’
When he went back into the new house, a group of the more able internees met him.
‘We want to help as well, Major.’
‘I’m sorry, but I can’t allow that.’ He hesitated. ‘Though if they get through and try to hurt you, I’d be more than happy to see you defend yourselves with whatever you can find.’
Since Phoebe refused point-blank to leave the old house, he stationed the doctor with her and her two visitors inside the old hall.
‘I’m worried about my wife’s condition,’ he whispered to the doctor.
‘I’ll keep an eye on her. But she doesn’t seem the sort to panic.’
‘No. But I’m worried because she’s more vulnerable at the moment and who knows what they will do to her if they get inside? I can’t spare any more men, but you have a gun. Be prepared to use it.’
‘I have a gun too,’ Alex said.
Corin studied him, then looked at the weapon, which was well cared for. Seaton seemed a sensible fellow and very fond of Olivia. She wasn’t the sort of woman who panicked and screamed either. At least, he didn’t think she was. Well, if she was going to be the next chatelaine, she’d have to be a strong, steady sort of person.
But even though he’d placed his forces carefully, the ones who could actually fight were few on the ground for defending such a big house. If a big mob came in from the surrounding area, they’d be overcome eventually, and who knew what a mob might do then?
When he’d done everything he could, it was a question of waiting.
To his relief, four of the younger men from the village turned up a short time later, one armed with an old shotgun.
‘I can only pepper them with bird pellets, sir,’ its owner said. ‘But that’s not pleasant and it ought to slow them down, at least.’
‘If we’re attacked,’ Corin reminded them. ‘Don’t fire unless they attack.’
‘They’ll attack, and soon. They’re gathering in the village now,’ another man said. ‘I heard a car drive round to the other side of the abbey grounds too, so they must be gathering there as well. There have been people passing through the village for the past hour or more, trying not to make any noise. Ha! Proper townies, they are! You could hear most of them a mile off.’
‘They didn’t see you leaving?’
‘No, sir. We were careful.’
There was a tap on the door of the kitchen in the new part of the house and the army cook peered out of the window. ‘It’s the lad. I can’t see anyone else.’
He opened the door and shut it quickly once Joe was inside. After making sure the door was bolted behind him, he said sharply. ‘Stand still, you, until we tell you it’s all right to move. What are you doing here?’
‘I need to see the major. I’ve come from the village and I’ve got information for him.’
‘What the hell happened to you? You’re filthy.’
‘The troublemakers caught me and locked me in the coalhouse. Miss Bowers got me out.’
‘Shall I take him to the major?’ his assistant whispered.
‘Yes.’
Corin wanted to know more details and Joe tried not to wince as he stood there, but his arm hurt every time he moved it. ‘I’ve warned the men waiting in the village that it’s nearly time.’
‘Good. How did you get hurt?’
‘After Hatterson tied me up, he gave me a kicking.’
‘Damned coward! Better let the doctor look at that arm. Someone fetch him.’
‘I’ll go for him, Major. That at least I can do for you.’ Mr Stein, who had been standing nearby listening, set off before anyone could stop him.
Corin continued questioning Joe about what he had seen and who he’d recognised, becoming grimmer when he heard that most of the men gathering in the village were outsiders.
‘What the hell are they doing here, then?’
‘There’ll be some who’re only interested in looting,’ the commandant said. ‘There always are. And some who enjoy violence and destruction. But there will be others going after our internees.’
‘Unfortunately, yes. And there sound to be more of them than we’d expected. There have been some shocking incidents with mobs attacking Germans and other aliens living in Britain. And since we incarcerated them here at Greyladies, it’s our bounden duty to protect them.’
He decided to stick to his original plan. ‘We’ll wait for them to start it. If they’re anything like other hotheads, they’ll not be able to hold back for long.’ He looked at the commandant. ‘You know what to do when I give the signal?’
Captain Turner nodded.
Then they all went back to waiting.
When told what had happened, the doctor frowned. ‘If he’s been badly beaten, I’d better have a look at that lad and check him for broken ribs or fractures. It’d make things worse if they bound up broken ribs.’
‘I’ll stay here in case I can be of use,’ Mr Stein said. ‘I may be too old to fight, but I can take messages or tell the major if they break in.’
‘Good man. Find yourself somewhere out of sight near the connecting door, because if they do break in, you’ll want to leave before they have a chance to stop you. And it’d be better if they didn’t see you go.’
The doctor left, and after examining Joe, he decided the boy didn’t have any broken bones, though he was badly bruised, especially on the arm. He saw the tracks of tears on the boy’s face and touched Joe’s cheek lightly. ‘Is the pain bad somewhere I haven’t examined? If so, get the rest of your clothes off and show me.’
‘No, sir. It’s not that. I was … upset at myself for getting caught.’
‘Well, you’ve wiped that mistake out now, because you got here without getting caught a second time and you alerted the people who’re going to come up on our attackers from behind. Anyone can make a mistake. The thing is to learn from it. All in all, you’ve done very well indeed.’
‘Can I go back and help fight them?’
‘No. You’ll be a hindrance rather than a help because your injuries will hold you back. But we’ll ask the major if he needs a lookout anywhere. Youngsters have sharper eyes than us old fellows, especially in the dark, so you can still make yourself useful.’
Joe nodded, squaring his shoulders and standing very upright.
When he was assigned an upstairs bedroom at the side, he proudly took his position there, ready to continue doing his bit.
The messenger arrived from Nev to say the other big group of attackers had gathered and were ready to start. As agreed, they were going to split up into smaller groups to attack the various windows at Greyladies and break into the house from front and rear.
‘Are you all sure of what you’ll be doing?’ Hatterson asked. ‘You’ll need to—’
‘Of course we’re sure. And we don’t need you ordering us around. You aren’t in the army now, you know.’
‘But I have been.’
‘So have I. Where do you think I got this?’ The messenger held up one hand that had lost most of its fingers, with only parts of two digits remaining. He thrust it close to Hatterson’s face, making the other man flinch back. ‘This is what the Huns did to me and it’s why I’m here.’
He waited a minute, but there was no response, so he pulled back his hand. ‘Come on, Group D. Get yourselves into place. We’re all going to have some fun tonight and maybe pick up a few things we can sell,’ he called.
In consternation Hatterson watched them go and turned to his friend. ‘They’re intending to loot the place!’
‘Of course they are. No use letting useful things go to waste.’
‘It’s still thieving. I don’t like associating with criminal types.’
‘Get away with you. Those men will do what we want
and he was right about one thing: We’re not in the army and you aren’t going to get the best cooperation tonight by using that tone of voice. The chaps are here because they want to get a crack at the Huns, not because they want to play soldiers.’
‘We’re not playing at soldiers. We are soldiers, unofficially. And soldiers don’t loot their own countrymen.’
‘Ah, what harm does it do to take things which are going to be burnt anyway when we set fire to the house? You should look after yourself tonight and grab a few bits and pieces. I intend to see what I can find. As well as getting rid of a few Huns.’
From a bedroom window at the side of the house, Joe saw the group at the rear split up into three smaller groups. He rushed downstairs to where the major was directing operations. ‘The big group at the rear has split up, sir.’
‘The group at the front has separated into smaller groups, Major,’ someone yelled. ‘I can’t keep track of them in the dark.’
At that moment a horn blared outside. ‘Hoy! You inside,’ someone yelled.
Corin went to peer cautiously out of a front window. ‘What do you want?’ he yelled.
‘The Huns. We don’t want to hurt any British people, so if you send the Huns out, we’ll leave you in peace.’
‘Do they honestly think we’d do that after they’ve been heard boasting about burning down the house? It’s just an excuse to get the doors open,’ Corin muttered. ‘I shan’t even answer.’
When no response was made, the offer was repeated.
Still Corin kept silent.
‘Right. Since you refuse, we’ll come in and get them! Death to the enemies of Britain.’ It was easily recognisable as Hatterson.
Corin signalled to Captain Turner, who rushed off to his office to telephone for help.
Suddenly stones were hurled at the house from every vantage point and someone with a gun began firing it.
‘Mobs don’t usually have guns. What the hell are they doing?’ Corin muttered.
There was the sound of smashing glass.
‘Damnation! There goes another window. Thank goodness for stone window frames. We have to stop them breaking in until help comes.’
He didn’t add if it comes. He had to trust that the local commander would believe Captain Turner about the urgency of the matter and the size of the mob.
Chapter Nineteen
Hatterson had insisted on organising one particular job himself, even though most of the strangers were cynical about the information it was based on.
Well, he knew better. He’d overheard more than the villagers realised recently, because there was nothing wrong with his hearing. A couple of people had talked about a secret passage from the crypt to the big house, not as a legend but a fact, because that Latimer bitch had actually been through it.
So he’d insisted on two men armed with a bolt cutter being sent to cut off the padlock that was used to keep it locked. They were to open up the door into the crypt as soon as the fighting started. Then they were to look for the passage and enter the house when they heard him break in. The crypt wasn’t all that big. They were bound to find it.
The two men did as he’d told them and the padlock was quickly disposed of. They pushed open the grille, laughing.
‘Fat lot of good a door like this is,’ the older one muttered. ‘Anyone could break in.’
The other one shivered and stood still for a moment. ‘Is it my imagination or is it colder in here?’
‘Well, it’s underground, isn’t it? Bound to be. Where’s that electric torch you were given? Switch it on. The sooner we find that passage, the better. I want to be one of the first into the house, so that I can get my choice of the pickings.’
‘Ah, it’s a big house. There’ll be enough stuff to go round before we burn it down.’
‘Do you know what we’re looking for in here?’
The younger fellow nodded. ‘Yes, I do and Hatterson agrees with me. You have to find something to twist, like a bit of carving or a knob of wood, then a panel in a wall opens up. I read a book about secret passages when I was a lad, and that’s the way most of them work.’
They slowed down as they left the short passage and entered the main chamber of the crypt. Even the light of a modern electric torch didn’t seem to illuminate the big underground space very well. Shadows danced on the walls around them, shadows that looked like menacing figures shaking their fists. Of course they couldn’t be, but still, the two men moved closer to one another.
‘I don’t like this place,’ the younger one said suddenly. ‘It smells of death. I hadn’t thought of that.’
‘You’re not here to like it; you’re here to do a job.’
Just then they heard something move inside the crypt.
‘That wasn’t a ghost. Quick, switch that torch off and get down behind this tomb.’
There was a grating sound and a thin shaft of light shone out from the wall in a corner at the rear of the crypt.
‘Told you so,’ the younger man said. ‘It’s a secret panel. And they’re showing us the way.’ He laughed softly.
The older man took a hasty step back. ‘We’d better go and tell the others there’s a group from the house coming this way.’
But as they turned to leave, a light began to glow between them and the way out.
‘What the hell is that?’
As the light shimmered into the outline of a figure, the younger man wailed and yelled, ‘It’s the devil, come to get us! No, no! Go away!’ He crouched down, pressed against the box tomb, hands over his head as if protecting himself from blows.
When he wouldn’t get up, his companion tried to drag him towards the door.
But the first man from the house had got through from the tunnel by that time and he was from the village, so knew exactly who the glowing figure was. The light around it grew brighter, illuminating the two intruders nearby.
Bobbing his head quickly to the figure in a gesture of respect, the villager rushed across to grab the nearest man and yelled, ‘Someone get the other chap.’
Within seconds both men had been captured, and although the older one put up a half-hearted struggle, the other continued to wail and beg to be saved from the devil.
All the time Anne Latimer’s figure glowed steadily, giving them light to see by.
‘The devil is welcome to you, as far as I’m concerned,’ the group leader said, shaking the younger man good and hard. ‘Tie them up and stick them in a corner. We have a job to do.’
He bobbed his head again to the ghost. ‘Thank you, My Lady.’
The final men were out of the tunnel by then and once the intruders had been secured, the men from the big house made their way out of the crypt.
Behind them the light faded slowly, leaving the big echoing space in total darkness.
The younger intruder began crying for his mother.
The older one kept silent, shivering, wishing he’d never come, wondering what the authorities would do with him.
Several of the windows at Greyladies were smashed by now.
‘Time to take them by surprise,’ Hatterson said as his friend came across to join him. ‘Are you going to create that other diversion, Nev?’
‘Aye. I’ve got the fireworks ready. With a bit of luck one of them will set fire to the roof.’
‘It’s made of stone. We have to get into the house to set it on fire.’
‘Well, I hope you really do have a way to get in. You do your bit and I’ll do mine with the fireworks, like we planned.’
As the assault on the front of the house increased in intensity, Hatterson smiled in anticipation. He had a key to the rarely used back door of the laundry in the old part. It’d cost him a pound to buy it off one of the men in the village who had worked at Greyladies for a while, but been sacked for drunkenness. If it worked, it’d be well worth the money.
With some of his group creating an extra diversion by lighting a bonfire in one corner, he crept round to the laundry door. The key was
a bit stiff but it worked. The door opened with a brief squeak. He doubted anyone would hear that with all the racket going on near the old stables and the first of the fireworks zipping into the air.
As soon as the bonfire started burning outside, he moved quietly into the house, not bothering to exaggerate his limp now. No one would notice in the dim light how he was walking.
He beckoned to his companion to join him and they moved forward, avoiding the kitchen, which his informant had told him how to do.
He grinned as he peeped into the long hall and saw her. Yes, you bitch, he thought. You’re going to pay dearly for housing those Huns.
He wondered who the short fellow standing near her was. He hoped it was a new Hun. And who was the other woman? She wasn’t bad looking. He giggled softly as he wondered if she’d ever been taken by a one-legged man. If he got the chance later …
He and his companion crept round the side of the room, taking advantage of the occupants’ attention being diverted by the bonfire. As he’d planned.
Suddenly light began to shine on them. He cursed. What the hell was that?
It resolved itself into a woman’s figure. He didn’t believe in ghosts. They’d probably found some way of shining lights to fool the attackers, like they did in the theatre when they projected ‘ghosts’ on to a stage. He’d seen that done a couple of times now. It made the lasses scream.
But when he tried to raise the hand containing a club to thump whatever it was out of the way, he could only move slowly. Bewildered, he tried to act more quickly, but it was like stirring up treacle.
By then someone was calling out in a clear, bell-like voice. ‘Beware of intruders, Phoebe and Olivia. Beware of intruders.’
Ethel heard the noise and voices in the main room and looked at Cook. ‘They must have got in another way.’ She took out the gun. ‘You stay here. If anyone tries to get through a window, bash them good and hard.’
She slipped through the kitchen door and glanced round the room. She saw Mr Stein leave through the connecting door. He’d be going for help. But would it come in time? She’d spotted Hatterson now and the expression on his face was that of a man in a dangerous mood.
