The pool of St Branok

"Two months," my mother was saying. "It really doesn't give us a great deal of time. While we are in London we must do some more shopping. It would be nice to have the dresses made here in London ... but I don't quite see how. Perhaps we could buy the materials here and have them made up in Plymouth. However, we'll see. I think, Rolf, we should have another week at least. We'll need that."

My father thought he ought to return to Cador. "But you and Angelet could stay a little longer," he added.

"All right," replied my mother. "You go ahead. Grace will be very helpful. She seems to have a natural flair for clothes. I always think she looks so elegant. I fancy she is a little lonely. What a sad life ... to lose one's husband almost immediately after marriage."

I was to return to Helena's and Matthew's and my parents were staying at the house in the square, so the cab would drop me first; and while my bags were being taken into the house, Helena came out.

I could tell immediately that she was extremely distraught.

I cried: "What has happened?"

She stared at me for a few seconds, then she burst out: "Morwenna has disappeared."

The cabby was quickly paid off and instead of going straight to the house in the square, my parents stayed.

As soon as we were inside, Helena said: "She has just ... disappeared. It was two days ago."

"Disappeared?" cried my father. "But ... how?"

"Grace was coming and they were going out together, and when Grace came the maid went up to Morwenna's room to call her and the room was empty. The time went on ... and Grace was waiting there. She said she would go over to my mother's house to see if Morwenna was there. It was unlikely, but we did not know. We thought she had to be somewhere. She wasn't there, of course. And then we began to get worried.

"Grace was a great help. She went back to her own place to see if Morwenna had gone there and they had just missed each other. She wondered whether there had been some misunderstanding about arrangements. Of course, Morwenna rarely went out on her own. We never thought it was right that she should ... but on isolated occasions she might have done so. Well, the plain fact is that she has gone. We can't find her anywhere."

"Has she taken anything with her?"

"No ... only what she was wearing ... everything seems to be here ... It is just as though she has walked out."

"Surely she would never do that," said my mother.

"She was always nervous about going to places," I said. "She always wanted someone with her."

"It's been driving us mad."

"And she has been gone two days?"

"We haven't known what to do."

"The police should be told," said my father.

"We have told them ... and we have sent word to her parents. I just can't think what has happened."

"If there had been an accident we should have heard."

My father was thoughtful. "You ... don't think she has been kidnapped?"

"Kidnapped?"cried Helena. "Who would kidnap her?"

"I was thinking of a ransom," said my father. "There was some mention in the paper a few weeks back about mining in Cornwall and how successful the Pencarron Mine was. I saw something about Josiah Pencarron's daughter, Morwenna, being in London for the season. I just wondered ..."

"Good Heavens," murmured my mother. "It seems feasible."

"What would they do to her?" I asked in terror.

My mother turned away. "They would have to treat her well. She would be their bargaining counter."

"It's terrible," I cried. "Morwenna ... of all people. I wish she had come with us."

We did not know how to act. The police were making inquiries. No one had any information except the maid who thought she had seen Morwenna leaving the house late on the night before her disappearance.

We could not understand that. Why should Morwenna have left the house late at night? There was no letter or anything in her room to give an indication that she had been called away. But who could have called her at that time of night?

None of us could understand what it could mean.

The maid thought her bed might not have been slept in although it had been turned back and made to seem as though it could have been.

We sat there in terrible dismay. We all felt we should be taking some action. But what? Morwenna just walking out of the house. It didn't make sense. There must have been a reason. There must have been a message if she went of her own accord.

And her departure might not have been discovered until about twelve hours after she left. What could have happened during those fateful twelve hours?

Uncle Peter came to the house with Aunt Amaryllis.

"This is an extraordinary affair," he said. He felt certain that Morwenna had been kidnapped and that sooner or later a ransom would be demanded. Then we should have to go very carefully from there.

"But what is so strange," said my mother, "is that she appears to have gone willingly."

"She must have left some message," said Aunt Amaryllis.

"The servants have been questioned," Helena reminded her. "Nothing has been found."