Time for Silence

“No, miss. All she said was she wanted to see Miss Lucinda Greenham, and when I said I wasn’t sure when you’d be back, she said she would write a note to you. So I settled her down with pen and paper and she wrote and I gave her an envelope and she said to put this with a letter she’d brought and she said would I give it to you the moment you came back. I said I would. I was right-down sorry for her. So I took the opportunity-like…”

“Give me the letters.”

He felt in his pocket and produced them. My name was written on one. It said Private. Urgent.

I did not want to open it under the groom’s curious eyes, so I said, “Thanks. I’ll see what this is all about.”

I went up to my room.

The other envelope was rather bulky and it was addressed to Major Merrivale.

I slit the envelope addressed to me. I took out the note. At the top of it was the address 23 Adelaide Villas, Maida Vale, London.

Dear Miss Greenham,

I don’t know whether I’m right in this, but it is something I must do.

Would you please give this letter to Major Merrivale? I don’t know whether I should write to him in this way, but as he is in your hospital and he should know what’s happening, I had to. I thought you looked like a kind young lady, and perhaps I could explain to you. But as you are away, I don’t want to trust it with anyone else.

I saw your picture in the paper with the gentleman who won the medal and there was a bit about the hospital. I just thought you looked like the sort who would understand and help me.

Would you give this letter to Major Merrivale as soon as you can? I hope it won’t be too late. It is very important to someone.

Yours truly,

Miss Emma Johns

I sat for a moment reading the letter and wondering what it could mean. Hadn’t the stableman told her that Major Merrivale was no longer at the hospital? Of course not. She had not mentioned his name. She had just asked for me. It was clear that she did not want to tell anyone else to get a message to him. It must be something very important as she would only entrust it with me…because I had a kind face!

It was very mysterious.

Obviously I should get the letter to Major Merrivale without delay. But I did not know where he was. I had heard that he had a small pied-à-terre in London, but where, I did not know. Nor had I ever heard the address of his home in the country.

Annabelinda could help me. But would it be wise to give her the letter? I detected some urgent plea in the note addressed to me that I alone should deliver the envelope.

I was not sure what to do.

I read the note again. 23 Adelaide Villas, Maida Vale. As I was in London, I could go there. I could explain to Miss Emma Johns that the major was no longer at the hospital and that I did not know how to reach him, unless she would wish me to pass on the letter to his fiancée.

The more I thought of it, the more I liked the idea, for I must confess that I was very curious to know what this was all about.

So that very morning I took a cab to Maida Vale.

Adelaide Villas was a pleasant crescent of small houses, all alike and not without charm. I knocked at number 23. The door was opened by a woman of about thirty and I guessed at once that she was Miss Emma Johns.

“Miss Emma Johns?” I said.

She nodded, staring at me, and I saw recognition dawn in her eyes. The picture that had been taken of me with Robert must have been a good likeness.

I went on. “I’m Lucinda Greenham.”

“Oh…please come in.”

I stepped into a small hall. She opened a door and I was in what was obviously a sitting room—neat, tidy and well cared for.

She told me to sit down, and I said at once, “I came because I was unsure what to do. The fact is, Major Merrivale is no longer at Marchlands Hospital.”

“Oh,” she said blankly.

“I thought the best thing to do was to come and see you, as I happened to be in London. I was not quite sure how to act. There seemed a certain amount of secrecy.”

She was clasping and unclasping her hands.

“It’s an awkward situation,” she said at length. “I wouldn’t have dreamed of writing to the major but for Janet being so ill. She’s not got long, you see.”

“Janet?”

“She’s my sister. I look after her and the children.”

“And…er…you wanted…?”

She was silent again, frowning.

“You’ve been so good to come,” she went on. “That was kind. I knew you’d be kind. And I thought if I could get to see you and talk to you…it would be all right. You could have given him the letter and no one else know…if you see what I mean.”

“Up to a point,” I replied. “But I think if I knew what this was all about, I might be able to help more.”

“Well, you see, I have always been with them. Janet…she’s a bit younger than me…eight years. She was always so pretty. I’d looked after her since our mother died…soon after Janet was born, in fact. She’s always been like my baby. I don’t rightly know…”

“Is it something you’d rather not tell me?”

“I’m that uncertain. I really want her to see him before she goes.”

“Goes?”