Two Strangers (18 page)

‘Can you tell us if they had a son called William?’

‘They only had one son, James, and sadly he was killed in the war.’

‘He was their only child.’ Mr Harmond shook his head. ‘Terrible loss. Our son was devastated by his death. They grew up together, and James attended Harrow at the same time. We were lucky – our son came home, but so many didn’t. Peter lost his best friends.’

When Mr Harmond began talking about the boys, Vicki’s attention wandered, and she began to look at the array of photographs on top of the piano. They were obviously family photographs, many of them of children laughing happily at the camera, and she wondered how many of them were alive now after that awful conflict.

Suddenly, one caught her attention and she stood up to take a closer look. It was of a group of youngsters around twelve years old, she guessed. Waiting until Mr Harmond had finished what he was saying, she then asked, ‘Mrs Harmond, may I pick up this photograph?’

‘Of course.’ She came over and stood beside Vicki. ‘The boy in the middle is our son Peter; James is next to him.’

‘Who is this boy?’ She pointed to one of the group.

‘That’s another friend, Henry Manton, but we all called him Will, because he liked that more than Henry.’

Harry had now joined them to study the picture. ‘What is it, Vicki? Does he look familiar?’

‘Yes, he does,’ she said, staring at the image.

‘Oh, he can’t be the one you are looking for,’ Mr Harmond told her. ‘He was also killed in the war. It was so upsetting for Peter to lose both of his friends, and he still misses them very much. Will was at Harrow as well, and had a fine mind. He had just started his teaching career and could have gone far in life. That war was such a waste of young lives. From what we heard, Will was serving with James, and they died in the same week.’

Vicki was shaking her head. This boy was Bill; she was sure of it. There was something about the way he was leaning against the fence, feet crossed at the ankles. Exactly the same way he had been when she came out of that warehouse washroom.

‘He didn’t die,’ she said softly. ‘That’s Bill.’

‘How can you be sure?’ Harry wanted to know. ‘That’s only a young boy in the photograph. He was a grown man when you met him.’

‘It’s the way he’s leaning on the fence and the amused expression on his face. That’s exactly the way I remember him, and he’s taller than the other boys. It’s him, Harry! The reports of his death must be wrong.’

‘I admit there was a lot of confusion at the time.’ Harry didn’t look convinced, though.

‘Could you tell us where we can find the Manton family, Mr Harmond?’

‘I’m sorry, young lady, but we lost track of them when they moved out of the area. Our son told us that James and Will had been killed, and he wouldn’t have said that if there had been any doubt.’ Mr Harmond turned to his wife. ‘We should have a picture of the boys when they went into the army for Vicki to see.’

‘There’s bound to be one in the albums.’ She removed two large books from the shelf, handing one to her husband and opening the other herself.

As they turned the pages, Vicki waited in anticipation. She was fairly certain that the young Will was indeed Bill, but a picture of him when he was older would help to confirm his identity.

After what seemed an age, Mr Harmond exclaimed, ‘Ah, here he is! Have a look at this, Vicki.’

When she saw the photograph of the young officer, her eyes misted with tears and she wiped them away quickly. ‘That’s Bill. You have been given the wrong information. He survived the war.’

‘You have no doubt that this is the man who gave you the book?’

‘No doubt at all, Mr Harmond.’

‘We must tell Peter!’

‘Hold on, my dear. From what we’ve just been told, it was some time ago and he was living rough. Peter was shattered by the reports of their deaths, so it wouldn’t be wise to raise his hopes yet.’

Mrs Harmond sighed. ‘No, you are right, of course, my dear.’

‘What are you going to do now?’ Mr Harmond asked Harry.

‘Try to find out the truth about this. You are wise not to say anything to your son at this point. All Vicki knows is that he was moving on, and he could be anywhere. Tracking him down could take time.’

‘Providing he is still alive, of course.’ Mr Harmond gave Vicki a sympathetic smile. ‘I’m sorry if I sound as if I doubt you, but we only have your word that he is still alive.’

‘I understand that, but I know it’s him and I will do everything I can to find him.’

‘With no guarantee that you will be successful,’ Mr Harmond declared. ‘I would ask a favour. If you do find him, we would be grateful to be told where he is – and what condition he is in. He might need help. So many of the poor devils still do.’

‘We promise to contact you the moment we have any news.’

‘Thank you.’ Mr Harmond’s lips firmed in a grim line. ‘He grew into a fine man, and it makes me angry to think that he could be out there somewhere struggling to overcome lingering problems.’

Mrs Harmond removed the photograph from the album and handed it to Vicki. ‘You take this. Will obviously means a lot to you.’

‘He does, and thank you. I will return it to you when I’ve been able to give the book back to Bill.’

‘Let’s pray that you are right and that day will come soon.’

Eighteen

‘How did you get on?’ everyone wanted to know when they arrived back from the Harmonds’.

‘It was an interesting and fruitful visit, wasn’t it, Vicki? Show them the photograph.’

‘That’s Bill,’ she told them, without the slightest hint of doubt.

The photograph was passed round. When it reached Charles, he studied it carefully. ‘That’s Manton! You must be mistaken, Vicki. He was killed. I was there and he couldn’t possibly have survived. The barrage was so fierce we couldn’t get to them for hours, and I was told that they were all dead.’

‘Did they recover all the bodies?’ Harry asked.

‘As far as I know. They were all listed as killed, so they must have done.’

‘Then they made a mistake.’ Vicki was adamant. ‘I’m absolutely certain that’s the man I met at the old warehouse. Do you know where his family live?’

Charles shook his head. ‘Sorry. I didn’t deal with the paperwork for Manton.’

‘Did you know him well?’

‘We only met a couple of times, Harry, but I liked him. He was a damned fine officer. I could make some enquiries with the military. They should be able to give us more information.’

‘An address, if possible. Even if his family are no longer there, it would be a starting point.’

‘Leave it with me. I’ll see what I can do.’

Vicki slipped the photograph carefully in the book and put it safely in her handbag. Now they must wait and see if the army could provide something to help. She was content. It had been a good day. She now knew his name and had learnt more about him, and she even had a picture of him. They had taken a step forward, and she was hopeful that the chance of finding him had increased.

‘Where are the boys?’ Harry asked.

Charles gave a quiet rumbling laugh. ‘Upstairs, sleeping in a four-poster bed. By the time they’d had a tour of the stables and house, they were tired. When they saw the large bed, they were fascinated, so I said they could have an afternoon nap in it. They are still up there. One of the maids is keeping an eye on them in case they wake and don’t know where they are.’

That amused Vicki. ‘I bet they couldn’t wait to get in it.’

‘They couldn’t,’ Pearl told her. ‘They both had the biggest smiles on their faces I have ever seen. But the bed is so huge I hope we can find them in it.’

‘Oh, this I’ve got to see. Come on, Vicki.’ Harry stood up. ‘We won’t wake them up. Which room, Charles?’

‘Top of the stairs, turn left and it’s the third door along on the right.’

Harry and Vicki found the room. The maid was sitting outside, with the door open just a crack. ‘Are they still asleep?’ Vicki whispered.

‘Not a peep from them.’

Opening the door cautiously, Vicki and Harry doubled over with laughter at the sight. The boys were awake and propped up against lace pillows. They grinned at them as they walked into the room.

‘You look comfortable,’ Harry said.

‘Have you ever seen such a bed?’ Dave wiggled around. ‘It’s ever so soft – it’s like sleeping on air. Come and try it, Vicki.’

She ran over and jumped on the bed, making the boys squeal in delight. They both began to hit her with the pillows until the three of them were rolling around shouting with delight.

‘I like this place,’ Alfie giggled. ‘Can we stay here, Mr Harry?’

‘We will be moving into the house we saw this morning when it’s all fixed up,’ Harry told them, sitting on the edge of the bed. ‘Did you like that?’

He nodded enthusiastically. ‘We saw horses, so can we have horses as well?’

‘Yes, and you can learn to ride them.’

‘Cor …’ His eyes opened wide. ‘When can we move there?’

‘In about three weeks.’ Charles walked into the room. ‘Pearl and Edward will need to be here to oversee the work, so would you like to stay as well? You can sleep in that bed. Unless you want to go back to London, of course.’

‘No, no! Never want to go back there!’ Alfie declared. ‘Nice here. Nice people here.’

‘Then that’s decided. Is that all right with you, Harry?’

‘That will be fine, and thank you, Charles.’

‘The invitation to stay includes you as well. You will also need to be on site a lot of the time. I know you will have to go back to London and sort things out there. I will send a van to collect your belongings, and you can return with it.’

‘That would be a great help. I can then close up the house until I decide what to do with it.’

‘Good, good. It will be nice to have the house spring into life again, and the staff will enjoy that. It has been quiet for too long. Now, who wants tea and cakes?’

‘We do!’

Charles lifted Alfie off the bed. ‘I thought you might. Come on, young man, let’s beat your brother to the food.’

Harry looked at Vicki and nodded as Dave raced down the stairs, trying to beat Charles and Alfie. ‘Our young lad is making more progress than I dared hope when we first saw him, and I’d say we can thank Charles for that.’

‘Having that replica stick made for him was the turning point, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes, Charles is a good man, and we are so pleased you met him.’

‘He appears to have a talent for turning lives around,’ she said.

‘There’s no doubt about that, and perhaps we are helping him. His wife died after only two years of marriage and he doesn’t have any close family.’

‘Oh, that’s sad.’

The journey back to London that evening seemed strange with only four out of the eight sitting in the carriage.

‘We are going to miss you and the boys, Harry,’ Bob said. ‘We’ve got used to having you around.’

‘You’ll have to come and visit often.’ Harry ran a hand through his still-abundant hair. ‘Everything has happened so fast I can hardly believe it. To be offered such a fantastic place to start the school is beyond my wildest dreams. I keep thinking I’ll wake up and none of this will be true.’

Flo laughed. ‘You’ll soon come back to reality when the children start arriving. Charles is very enthusiastic about having a school on his property, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s already demanding that the authorities send you youngsters straight away. He’s clearly a man who likes things done, and done quickly.’

Harry nodded in agreement.

‘You’re going to need more teachers, Harry. Three of you can’t run a place of that size on your own. Your original plans were more modest, but once Charles stepped in things changed.’

‘You’re right.’ He grinned at Flo. ‘It will be too much for the three of us, especially at our age, eh?’

‘I didn’t say that!’ she protested.

‘Of course you didn’t. You’re far too well brought up.’

She punched his arm, laughing, and then slipped into the London accent. ‘The way I was brought up ain’t got nuffin’ to do with it, mate. I’d ’ave told you straight you’re too old for this lark.’

‘Ouch!’ Harry raised his eyes to the roof of the carriage and grimaced. ‘Have you been taking lessons from Dave?’

‘Vicki, mostly. She can slip back into her old accent when she wants to tease us.’

‘Thank heavens for Bill,’ Harry muttered with feeling, watching a broad smile of mischief cross Vicki’s face. ‘I’ve got to shake that man’s hand one day.’

The atmosphere in the carriage turned serious, and Flo asked, ‘Are you absolutely certain the man in that photograph is the one you met, Vicki? That was a traumatic time for you, and you might be mistaken.’

Vicki pursed her lips. ‘I know what you are saying, but when I saw that picture the recognition was instant. I didn’t have to look and wonder; I knew it was him. I did tell myself I could be making a mistake when everyone kept telling me he had died in the war, but that didn’t last long.’

‘Well, there’s only one way to find out for sure, isn’t there?’

Vicki nodded. ‘I’m hoping Charles and his army connections can help. All we can do is wait and see if they turn up anything useful. So, what are you going to do about more teachers, Harry?’ she asked, changing the subject.

‘I know one who might be persuaded to join us. His name is John Steadman, and he’s an excellent teacher with experience of working in some of the most difficult schools in London. He’s just the kind we need, and you’ll be pleased to know that he’s only in his early thirties. I’ll see him as soon as we get back to London.’

‘You’ll also need help packing the things you want to take with you,’ Flo pointed out. ‘We’ll all pitch in with that. When did Charles say he was sending the van?’

‘The day after tomorrow. It will be mostly clothes; anything else can wait until we know what is needed.’

‘Even so,’ Bob exclaimed, ‘we’ll have to get a move on. Charles isn’t wasting any time again.’

‘Now, why doesn’t that surprise us?’ Flo remarked drily.

By the time the van arrived, they had all the essentials ready. It was loaded and Harry locked up the house, leaving a key with Bob so he and Flo could keep an eye on the place for him.