Thirty-eight
Charles Ingham climbed the moors to the enormous outcropping of giant-sized rocks, extraordinary monoliths that dated back through eons of time to the Ice Age when the whole of Yorkshire was covered with glaciers.
The great crags had been a favorite place of his since childhood, and he often went there when he needed to think clearly, or to sort out his troubled thoughts.
But today he was in search of Diedre. He knew she had come here earlier, because Hanson had seen her hiking up to High Skell, the name of this vast and empty moorland which stretched endlessly toward the North Sea.
That she was troubled was quite obvious to him, although perhaps not to others. He knew his eldest daughter so well, and she had inherited many of his traits. One was an inability to share worries with members of the family or friends. She carried her burdens alone, as he did.
When he arrived at the plateau of land under the shadow of the crags, he found her sitting on the ledge which had been used for centuries by Inghams long dead and gone.
She looked surprised to see him, but forced a smile as he walked toward her. He noticed at once that she had been crying.
“Papa!” she exclaimed. “I’m intruding on your private space up here, I’m afraid.”
“No, you’re not,” he replied, sitting down. “I often brought you up here with me when you were a girl. Perhaps that’s why you gravitate to it when you need to sort yourself out. None of your sisters ever come up here, nor Miles.”
He took hold of her hand, and held it tightly in his. “I know you are tremendously disturbed about something, Diedre, so you mustn’t deny it.”
She nodded. “I am. But oddly enough, peace and quiet, and time to think does help. I’ve been so busy with a project lately, I’ve pushed private problems to one side.”
“I know what you mean, and you take after me. I’ve done that for years. Somehow it’s easier to cope with general matters than private concerns.”
“Like you did when Mama was behaving badly. That’s what you mean, isn’t it?” Diedre remarked.
“Yes.” He looked at her intently, searching her face, staring deeply into her eyes, so very blue today they were almost startling. Slowly, he said, “Only one thing can make a strong woman like you truly vulnerable. And that has to be a man.” He half smiled, shook his head as he continued, “Men. Women. How complicated we are. And yet we are so necessary to each other. We can’t do without each other, actually. But we do cause each other so much pain and heartache.”
Diedre nodded. “You always see through me, Papa, and get right to the heart of the matter.”
“Shall we talk about it for a moment or two? Please.”
“Yes, of course,” Diedre said quietly. “I have discovered I’m in love with a man who is forbidden to me. But besides that, I’m not sure he shares my feelings. Certainly he’s never made me aware of them.”
“Forbidden? Is he a married man?” Charles raised a brow quizzically.
“Oh no, no, nothing like that. He was married; it wasn’t a very happy union, I’ve been told. His wife died fifteen years ago. And he’s never remarried.”
“Perhaps he’s involved with someone?”
“I don’t know,” Diedre murmured.
“So why is he forbidden to you? I don’t quite understand.”
When she remained silent, Charles said, “I have a strange feeling you are in love with the man you work with. Your boss, as you call him. I am right, aren’t I?”
“Yes,” she said in the same quiet tone.
Charles stood up, offered her his hand. “Come on, Diedre. We must go back to the house. Now.”
Frowning, she stood up, and hurried to keep up with her father as she strode across the flat bit of ground. “Why do we have to go to the house? You make it sound urgent.”
“Not urgent, no, but important. William Lawson telephoned a short while ago. When Hanson told him you’d gone for a walk he asked to speak to me. He explained he was at Commander Jollion’s and wondered if he couldn’t stop by to see you. I invited him to lunch. I told him I would go and find you. And here I am. Come along, darling, hurry up. He’s already waiting for you in the library.”
For a moment, Diedre stood stock-still, truly shocked, gaping at her father, flabbergasted by his words. As he started walking rapidly again she hurried after him, crying, “I can’t imagine why Will is here. It must be something really important. And why was he visiting Commander Jollion? He never told me he was coming to Yorkshire this weekend.”
“None of that matters, Diedre. I’m sure he’ll tell you everything. He did arrive with a suitcase, and I got the impression he is on his way back to London.”
* * *
When they went into the front entrance hall, Diedre made for the main staircase, but her father held her back. “No, no, you don’t need to go to your room. You look fine, Diedre, beautiful, in fact.”
She stared at her father. “Aren’t my eyes all red?”
“No, they’re not. You’ve nothing to worry about. And if Mr. Lawson has to speak to you about something to do with your work, I suggest you walk him up to Skelldale House. Vanessa and Richard are not here this weekend, and you have great privacy there.”
Diedre eyed her father appraisingly for a second, and then said, “I can assure you Will Lawson has come to talk to me about work, Papa. And perhaps we should do so in private. So many people are always in and out of the library.”
“Quite,” her father responded, squeezed her arm and headed for the staircase. “Lunch at one, as usual,” he said over his shoulder, then mounted the stairs.
For a moment Diedre stood in the middle of the hall, watching her father leave, and then she took a deep breath, opened the library door, and went inside.
Will was standing with his back to the fire, and a smile slipped onto his face when he saw her. Immediately he hurried forward; they met in the middle of the floor.
“This is quite a surprise,” she said, and was relieved her voice was steady. She was shaking inside and her legs felt weak.
“Sorry to barge in like this, Diedre,” Will said. He took hold of her arm and led her over to the fireplace.
“I had to come to see Commander Jollion about something, which I’ll explain later. After my chat with him last night, I had the urgent need to talk to you. I hope you’re not angry, and—”
“No, no, I’m not. Just tremendously surprised. But pleasantly so. And I’m glad Papa invited you to stay for lunch,” she managed to say.
“He’s such a charming man and he made me feel welcome at once,” William said.
“He’s like that and very thoughtful. He suggested that we walk up to his sister’s house. She’s not here this weekend. He made the assumption that you might wish to speak to me in private.”
“There’s no problem here, Diedre, really—”
She cut him off. “The strange thing is that almost everyone in the family is always popping in here, for some reason or another.” She gave him a small smile, explaining, “Skelldale House is about ten seconds away. Come on, let’s go.”
* * *
“You told me it was always raining in Yorkshire,” William said. “But it isn’t today. It’s lovely, almost like spring.”
“September usually is nice, and sometimes so is October … that’s when I say it’s our Indian summer.” Diedre lifted her head, looked up at the sky. “There are patches of blue, so we’re safe for the moment. No downpours threatening.”
William nodded, and glanced around as they walked through the park. After a while, he said, “I really do understand why you love to come here, it’s so tranquil, and the park is truly magnificent. Especially these trees. They look ancient.”
“They are, and date back to the first earl who planted them,” Diedre explained. “And he also hired Capability Brown to do the landscaping.”
She gave him a tentative smile. In the last ten minutes she had managed to recover from her shock at seeing William
Lawson here at Cavendon, and was now able to speak in a normal way. At first, she had felt flustered. But years of continuous training in intelligence had kicked in, and she recouped very quickly, was able to put up a calm front.
Wanting to make small talk, she now said, “My aunt Vanessa is married to a man called Richard Bowers. He’s got some sort of management job at Scotland Yard. I don’t know whether you’ve ever come across him?”
“I’ve heard the name, I think he’s rather important, very high up. But I’ve never met him.” William’s voice was steady even though he was, as always, affected by her presence. It usually took him a while to get accustomed to her beauty and elegance.
A moment later, Diedre said, “Well, here we are at Skelldale House.” She led the way up the stone-paved path, through a well-planted front garden. The manor house was set back from the main path in the park in front of a stand of tall trees which made a natural backdrop of verdant green for the gray stone house. High above the trees was a stretch of moorland, purple now as the heather was in full bloom.
Opening the door, Diedre ushered William inside. There was a small parlor just off the front hall. Diedre said, “Let’s sit in here, it’s a comfortable room, and near the door. Not that I think anyone will be coming in at this time of the day.”
William threw her a curious look, frowned, “But who would come in when your aunt is away?”
Diedre shrugged. “One of the maids, the head housekeeper, or the butler, Hanson, from Cavendon. Just to check things out. The door is opened in the morning, for an early check, and then it stays open until late afternoon.”
Sitting down in one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace, Diedre indicated he should take the other one opposite her.
When he was seated, William sat thinking for a moment, wanting to focus entirely on business and not on her, which was proving difficult. Clearing his throat, taking hold of his flaring emotions, he finally said, “To get straight to the point, I know you have to be wondering why I came to see Commander Jollion.”
“Actually, I am. You never mentioned it to me. Nor can I fathom out why you needed to see him,” Diedre responded, betraying none of her sudden anxiety about William being at Cavendon. Everyone, and especially Cecily, had sharp eyes. And all were very curious about her life.
“Let me explain, you see—”
Cutting in she said, “Please do tell me.”
“I wanted to pick his brains about Wilhelm Canaris, Diedre. Your friend Valiant has been puzzling to me. Not in terms of his dropping off messages for us to odd sources, like a contact in the Vatican, for instance. But his assessment of Spain’s future.” He paused and threw her a pointed look.
Before he could continue, she said, “You’re referring to his suggestion about Spain remaining neutral, aren’t you?”
“I am. I wrestled with this for the past week and then I suddenly remembered that Commander Jollion was in the Great War, and served in the South Atlantic, during the Falklands War in 1914. I also knew that Valiant was a hero for the Germans in that war. He was the brilliant young intelligence officer on the Dresden, and drove the Royal Navy crazy with his hide-and-seek games.”
“How extraordinary that you know the commander, our good neighbor,” Diedre murmured, amazement echoing.
William nodded. “Yes, it is. We’re not close friends or anything like that. I’ve met him socially. With my brother, Ambrose, who is a friend. To continue, I recalled that Edgar Jollion had once recounted a tale to us about the scuttling of the Dresden, and it struck me that he might know more about Canaris than either you or I do. This was my reason for coming to Yorkshire.”
Diedre inclined her head, but remained silent. She couldn’t help wondering why William hadn’t confided in her; she could have so easily arranged the meeting. On the other hand, most likely he was protecting her cover.
“When I telephoned the commander earlier this week, he said the only time he had available was Friday evening because he was going to Portsmouth on Sunday. To take charge of his new ship. He insisted I come up yesterday for dinner and added I must stay the night. I didn’t have any alternative.”
“He must have wondered why you wanted to know what he knew about the head of Abwehr. Does he think you’re with MI6?”
“No, he doesn’t think I’m a spy. He’s positive I’m in Administration at the War Office. My cover is as tight as a drum, Diedre, and so is yours. In fact, I’m sure he believes you and I are involved in moving troops around the world.”
Diedre burst out laughing, shaking her head.
William laughed with her, and then went on. “When I asked him if he knew Canaris, he said he’d only ever met him once or twice and in a casual way, before the Great War. However, he was aware that Valiant had spent time in Chile as a naval cadet, spoke Spanish with a Chilean accent, and that over the years he had built important connections in Spain. Bankers, financiers.”
“That in itself is very interesting,” Diedre murmured, sounding reflective. “But don’t let me interrupt you, Will. Please finish your story.”
“I want you to understand how I explained my interest in the head of the German military intelligence,” William announced. “I told him I’d heard on the grapevine that Hitler wasn’t interested in Spain, had set his sights on Russia and on Great Britain. I hinted that this information had come from Canaris himself to MI6. And this was the point I made … I asked Jollion if he thought that Canaris would know the truth about Hitler’s real intentions.”
Diedre exclaimed, “He said yes, didn’t he?”
“Indeed he did. Because everyone knows in Germany, and here at home, how powerful Canaris really is, that he has Hitler’s total attention, and his ear. The commander told me something else … that Canaris does anything he wants, flies around Europe, sees whomever he wants, and visits certain countries all the time. He added that no one in the entire Nazi regime really knows how to run an intelligence organization. They’re baffled. Only Canaris has the know-how and skill, plus experience. And that’s why he gets to do anything he wants. They all genuinely believe he’s the great expert. Which indeed he is.”
“Did Commander Jollion go into any detail about Jollion’s Spanish connections?”
“Not exactly. However, he did speculate a little. He told me that there was a rumor going around that the head of German military intelligence was a close friend of General Franco, and that he had been for some years. Very close, thick as thieves, was the way he put it.”
“Well, there’s the answer,” Diedre murmured, eyeing her colleague knowingly.
William gave her a long, questioning look in return. “Do you believe Franco will be in total power soon?”
“I do. By next year at this time. Just imagine having Franco’s ear as well as Hitler’s.” She laughed out loud. “Bravo, Valiant, wouldn’t you say?”
“I would.” William glanced at his watch. “It’s ten minutes to one. Perhaps we’d better go to lunch and finish this conversation later.”
Thirty-nine
As they went into the main entrance hall at Cavendon, Diedre and William ran into Lady Gwendolyn, who was talking to DeLacy at the bottom of the wide staircase.
Lady Gwendolyn’s face filled with smiles when she saw Diedre, who rushed over to her at once. After kissing her aunt’s cheek, and greeting DeLacy, Diedre beckoned to William.
When he joined them he was given an unusually warm welcome by Lady Gwen, and Diedre smiled to herself. Her great-aunt had always had an eye for a handsome man.
After introducing him to DeLacy, Diedre swung around at the sound of footsteps.
Suddenly they were surrounded by the rest of the family. Her father and Charlotte, Cecily and Miles, and Daphne and Hugo were following on behind them. Once William had met everyone, they trooped into the dining room en masse.
Although their faces were calm and smiling, Diedre knew that her sisters were all agog about William Lawson being at Cavendon. Because they were Inghams they wore
neutral expressions and were welcoming. And so was Cecily.
However, it was Cecily who threw her a knowing glance, when no one was looking, and raised a brow. Diedre kept a straight face and shook her head in a denying way.
Charlotte, as usual the charming hostess, led William down the dining room. Diedre lagged behind; Cecily moved closer and took her arm, held her back. “What a good-looking man … so personable. It must be hard working with him.” She gave Diedre a wicked smile.
“No, it isn’t,” Diedre said, her tone low. “And he travels a lot. But we’d better go in, Ceci.”
Diedre took her usual place on her father’s left. He was pulling out the chair for Great-Aunt Gwen, who sat on his right. She noticed that Charlotte had placed William on her right; DeLacy sat on his other side. Glancing down the table, Diedre offered him a faint smile, and settled back in her chair, deciding to keep a low profile during lunch.
Her thoughts focused on William. He had intruded into her private world unexpectedly, albeit by invitation, and he didn’t know what he was in for. The Inghams and the Swanns could be relentless at times. They were nosy, curious about family members and their relationships, and probed. Still, she wasn’t worried about him. He was a grown man and could defend himself. And he was a spy, to boot, who had certainly faced situations much worse.
Her thoughts about him ran on. She wondered why he had telephoned her this morning. Reviewing what he had recently told her about Valiant, and his Spanish connections, the matter didn’t seem particularly urgent, nor did he really need her advice. Also there were no decisions to be made.
He had gathered some important information from Commander Jollion, there was no doubt about that. Jollion’s opinion about Valiant and his influence with Hitler was important for them to know. Nonetheless, she was still puzzled.
Miles, sitting next to her, broke into her thoughts. “Why didn’t you tell me your boss was coming to lunch?”
“I didn’t know. Apparently he had arranged a meeting with Commander Jollion and phoned to say hello to me, according to Papa. I had gone for a walk, so Papa invited him to join us for lunch. Seemingly, he is going back to London later today.”