Page 50 of The Stranger in Room Six
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‘Where have you been?’ demanded her aunt when she caught up with the rest of the hunt.
‘I don’t feel well,’ said Mabel, still reeling from Frannie’s words.
‘You’re just like your mother. Hunting made her sick too. Well, go home if you must but you’ll have to make your own way back.’
Mabel did as she was told, trying to rein in Wellington. After a while, she climbed down. It felt safer to lead him on foot. As they went through the woods towards the Old Rectory, she saw a piece of paper fluttering on the ground, then another. And a third too. Mabel thought back to the papers hidden in the Colonel’s saddle bag.
Curiously, she picked them up.
Are you unhappy with the running of our country? Do you want to see change? Are you prepared to stand up to the government and fight for a better future?
What kind of change? Mabel had an uneasy feeling. Before she could think further, she ripped them into tiny pieces and threw them into the river that ran down to the sea. Shaking with fear, she watched them float away.
That night she tossed and turned, wondering what to do next. There was, she decided, only one course of action. But it would take every inch of bravery.
When the cock crowed next morning, she marched up to the Hall. The Colonel always rode early.
‘Mabel!’ he said, when she found him in the stables. ‘What are you doing here at this time? Is your aunt all right?’
She took a deep breath. ‘Yes, but I’m not. You see, I saw you putting some papers in your bag yesterday, and then I found leaflets on the ground after you’d left.’
‘I see,’ he said, looking her straight in the eyes.
Her voice shook. ‘They talked about fighting back against the government.’
‘Of course they did, Mabel. We need to stand up to the politicians who are trying to take food out of people’s mouths. Think about your little friend Frannie. People like that need more help.’ He paused. ‘What did you do with the leaflets by the way?’
‘The wind took them,’ she said, hoping God wouldn’t punish her for telling a lie, ‘and they blew away down the river.’
A brief frown passed across his face. ‘That’s a shame. Now if I were you, Mabel, I wouldn’t say anything about this to anyone. In these uncertain times, people are understandably twitchy about perfectly innocent things. We wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. Would we?’
‘No,’ she whispered nervously.
Mabel fretted about their conversation all the way home. Part of her would have liked to talk to Frannie or Cook about what had just happened. But something inside made her feel she ought to stay quiet.
Later that day, she heard the Colonel arrive, followed by the library door slamming shut. Standing outside, she heard low voices. ‘We need to get her involved as soon as possible while there’s still time …’
Suddenly the door swung open and Mabel flew backwards. ‘Were you listening to us?’ demanded her aunt.
‘No,’ she stammered. ‘Not exactly.’
‘What did you hear?’
‘Something about you wanting me to get involved.’
‘That’s right, Mabel,’ said the Colonel, stepping in. ‘We thought you might like to help us make Britain great again. It might end the war sooner.’
‘How?’
‘It’s complicated. Now, why don’t you start by putting these leaflets in envelopes? No need to read them. Just fold them neatly like this.’
Excitedly, she began to do as instructed. It felt so nice to be working together round the table like this. Even her aunt gave her a little smile.
‘Afterwards, if you’d really like to help, you could hide them in the woods so others can collect them,’ said the Colonel.
‘But why would we want to hide them?’
