Page 86 of The Stranger in Room Six
‘That’s what your sister told me.’
‘We are more alike than we sometimes care to admit. Now you need a rest after your journey.’ She looked at Mabel’s tummy. ‘That little one needs it as much as you.’
‘Do you have children?’
‘Sadly not, but …’ her sentence drifted off, unfinished, before she shook her head. ‘Anyway, I don’t know what you need in the way of clothes but there are some spare clean dresses in the wardrobe that might fit you for a while. If you want something washed, please let me know. You will be safe here, Mabel.’ She hesitated before continuing. ‘Mousehole is a warm, friendly place but people talk, as in any small village. You haven’t mentioned the father, and we don’t want to pry but shall we tell people that your husband is away in the navy?’
Mabel hesitated.
‘No need to say any more, dear. However, you’ll need a ring to prevent questions. We’ll find you one from our mother’s old jewellery box.’
Mabel was too choked to speak.
‘You won’t be the first to have a child out of wedlock,’ said Olive quietly, ‘and you won’t be the last. Now do get some rest.’
But Mabel couldn’t sleep. Tiptoeing out onto the landing, she heard voices below her in the little sitting room.
‘How could you have brought her here? To me, of all people?’
‘What else could I do, Olive? The girl was destitute.’
‘But what if something goes wrong again?’
‘We’ll just have to make sure that it doesn’t.’
Mabel was terrified.Whatmustn’t happen again?
Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so rash in accepting a stranger’s invitation. ‘I must leave now,’ Mabel told herself. If necessary, she’d sleep in a bus shelter. Tiptoeing down the stairs, she discovered the front door was locked, with no sign of a key.
Her chest tightened with panic, and that light flutter in her stomach returned. ‘Please look after me,’ it seemed to say.
Not knowing what else to do, she padded back up the stairs to her room and stared out at the sea, glinting in the moonlight. Somewhere out there was Papa. There might not have been a letter from him yet, but she prayed that there would be soon. In the meantime, she had to be grateful that the Red Cross had managed to trace him to a camp.
Somewhere out there, too, was Antonio. Please may he be safe.
‘And now I have you,’ she whispered, stroking her rippling stomach. ‘Soon, we will all be reunited. Until then, it’s just us. Sleep tight, little one. In the morning, I’ll find a way for us to escape.’
After much tossing and turning, Mabel finally fell into a deep sleep in which she dreamed that she and Antonio were walking through a field. She was carrying their babe, and he had his arm around her shoulders.
The next thing she knew, Beryl was peering over her face. Mabel jumped.
‘Sorry, love. Did I startle you? I just wanted to check you were all right. When you’re ready, come down for some breakfast.’
It would be too difficult to leave now, with everyone up. Besides, her stomach was rumbling; she needed to eat for the sake of the baby. Mabel went downstairs nervously tofind a small table beautifully laid with pretty blue-and-yellow floral china and a lace tablecloth. The sisters were sitting opposite one another, the air tight, as if Mabel had interrupted an argument.
‘My sister says you need to let your former employer know that you’re here safely,’ said Beryl.
‘My employer?’
‘Didn’t you say it was Lady Clarissa at the Old Rectory near Sidmouth?’
‘Yes, of course. Thank you.’
‘I don’t have a telephone,’ said Olive, ‘but if you write a note, I can give you a stamp. You can hand it in at the post office. It’s just over on the sea front.’
‘Thank you,’ said Mabel, jumping at the chance to leave without raising suspicion. She would catch a bus or a train back to Exeter, but then what?
‘You can tell Lady Clarissa that you’ll stay here until you have the baby, and beyond if you wish.’
