We'll meet again

"Well, it is a little difficult to explain. She married... a sort of adopted brother. My mother took him when he was a baby and he was brought up mainly by my grandparents.”

"Would they be the people who made such an excellent job of turning their home into a hospital during the last war?”

"Yes. Marchlands, my grandparents' home. Briefly, my mother was at school in Belgium in 1914 and she found a baby who had lost its foster parents. She brought him to England. He took our name of Denver.

Mrs. Denver is his wife.”

"Is it true that she is German?”

"Yes. She is Jewish. Her parents and brothers may be dead. We don't know where they are. They were persecuted by the Nazis.”

"That's very sad, and she is helping here now?”

"She is of great help," said Mrs. Jermyn. "Tell Morwenna to bring them here if she can find them, Violetta. Then they can meet Captain Brent.”

I did so. Dorabella was the first to arrive.

"Dorabella," I said. "This is Captain Brent. He has come to see some of the men here. Captain Brent, my sister Mrs. Tregarland.”

They shook hands and I saw Dorabella’s eyes brighten. Captain Brent was, I supposed, attractive, and she was as susceptible as ever.

He told her how much the men enjoyed their time with us and what good it had done them.

"So our efforts are not in vain," she said lightly.

"Far... far from it.”

Gretchen had come in. She looked slightly flustered and a shade fearful. She had been uneasy since she had been aware of people's suspicions, and her accent became more pronounced when she was nervous.

"Captain Brent has been paying us some nice compliments," said Mrs. Jermyn. "He wants to compliment all those who have been taking part in our venture.”

"That is goot," she said.

'It must be hard work looking after all these men.”

"We enjoy it," I said.

"Are you staying near here, Captain Brent?" asked Dorabella.

"For a while. I move around, you see.”

"I see. And I understand you will be visiting us now and then to make sure everything is going well.”

"That's the idea. It will be a great pleasure for me.”

"And for us," said Dorabella.

The days passed quickly. Summer had gone and November was approaching.

Captain Brent had paid several visits to the Priory, and I knew Dorabella enjoyed these.

One morning Gordon came to breakfast when I was there. He was working very hard and we saw little of each other. He was shorthanded and was very much concerned with what was now known as the Home Guard. The Prime Minister had thought this a more appropriate title than the Local Defence Volunteers.

Gordon said that he had a spare few hours during the day and he proposed to go into Bodmin. He wondered if I could take the time off to accompany him. He wanted to look at a couple of bicycles which he proposed to get for Charley and Bert.

"They have done so many little jobs on the estate and they are so keen," he said. "They really have been a help and they need some way of getting round the country. I think this would suit them very well.”

"It is an excellent idea!" I cried. "They will be delighted.”

He looked at me rather pleadingly. "I see so little of you nowadays,” he said.

"We are all very busy. When do you propose to go to Bodmin?”

"Tomorrow... or the next day.”

"I'll tell Mrs. Jermyn and I'll see if I can shift some of my duties.”

The next day we set out.

Gordon made this journey frequently to visit his mother, and I was wondering whether he was thinking of her as we drove along. I supposed he could not fail to.

I felt I had never really known Gordon. From the first moment when I had come to Tregarland, he had aroused certain misgivings in me, but he had behaved admirably always. The prosperity of Tregarland's was due to him and his mother could not have had a more devoted son.

On arriving in the town, the first thing we did was find the bicycles.

I was so pleased that he had thought of this, for I could imagine the joy on the boys' faces when they saw them. It was a very kind and thoughtful gesture on Gordon's part.

We decided to stow the bicycles in the car and have lunch. There was an-old inn Gordon knew on the edge of the moor; it was not far and after that we should have to go back.

I had gone to an inn on the moor once with Jowan, and I was not sure whether I hoped it would be the same one or not. Memories could be painful, and yet I felt a constant urge to go back into the past.

The place Gordon and I lunched at was called the "Inn on the Moor" and it was quite new to me. There were not many people in the dining room and we found a secluded table.

Due to the war, it was difficult for the host to find dishes with which to feed his guests, and instead of the traditional roast beef, such a feature of the past, there was meat roll. The meat was conspicuously invisible, but it was tasty enough with beans and vegetables to supplement the beef, and there were roast potatoes as well. We drank cider with the meal.

Gordon talked about the Home Guard and the difficulties of running the estate in wartime, but I guessed his mind was on other matters.