House of Secrets Read online

  ‘Would you like a drink, Mr Lawless?’ a young nurse asked as she walked past the door. ‘We have some fresh tea brewed, if you would like?’

  Bandit shook his head preferring to sit peacefully while his father slept. A gold clock with ornamental spikes hung on the wall and ticked loudly and just as it struck five o’clock his dad opened his eyes, looked up, yawned and then smiled broadly as he saw his son.

  ‘Hey.’ The word was simple, but to Bandit it meant a lot. It meant that today was a good day and the child within his father had recognised him. He held out his hand and took his father’s hand in his.

  ‘You okay, Dad?’

  He smiled. ‘I’ve been to sleep.’

  ‘Yes, you have. Did you have a good dream?’ Bandit asked, watching as his father struggled with his thoughts.

  He nodded. ‘Went to see the lady. She’d made cheese sandwiches and cream cakes for our tea.’

  ‘Which lady did you go to see, Dad?’

  ‘The lady. I went to see the lovely lady. Love the lady, she’s so nice.’

  Bandit smiled. His father often talked of the lady and a life he thought he’d had. But the truth was that he’d been adopted soon after birth and his Nana Lawless had died when Bandit had been only three years old. She’d only ever been called Nana, never referred to as the lady. But other than her, Bandit had no idea who his father was talking about.

  Bandit lovingly stroked his father’s hand. Did it really matter if he imagined her? He wasn’t hurting anyone else if he lived in a place that no one else recognised, was he?

  Bandit shook his head. ‘Is the lady nice to you, Dad?’ he asked as his father broke into a broad smile and in a very childlike manner, nodded his head.

  Bandit leaned forward and kissed his father on the forehead. ‘That’s good, then, isn’t it? We like nice, kind people, don’t we?’

  His father slipped back into his sleep, the teddy bear still clutched in one hand as his other held on tightly to Bandit’s.

  ‘That’s right, Daddy. You have a lovely new dream.’

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  June 2nd, 1942

  I’m happy and sad all at once. Tonight, I’m going to sneak to the summer house at midnight. Eddie has a plan and says he has enough candles to light up the woods. I’m excited to see him but also I’m really worried because the war is getting worse.

  Men are being recruited and I’m terrified that Eddie will be called up too. All single men aged between eighteen and twenty-two years old are liable to go. They call them the ‘militiamen’.

  It is soon to be Eddie’s birthday. He will be eighteen years old in July and I’ve begged him to go and work in the mines, just until the war is over. The ‘Bevin Boys’ are expected to mine for coal. They are expected to keep the mines working and wouldn’t be expected to go to war. But Eddie won’t have it and watches the drive daily for the postman arriving with his letter of conscription.

  Not only do I fear for Eddie, I fear for both Mary and I. Women are being enrolled into the war effort too and I just hope that if Eddie gets called up, so do I. Even though I’m sure that Father would find a reason why I couldn’t go.

  Rationing has gotten worse. The use of coal, gas and electricity has now been tightened along with both tinned tomatoes and peas. So, I’m pleased that we grow our own vegetables. Father has taken to hiding them in the cellar wrapped in brown paper and kept in the cold. There is word that sweets will be rationed and Jimmy is distraught. He does love his chocolate and I know that he’s asked cook to hide some for him in the pantry.

  Eddie and I still see each other as often as we can, albeit Father now watches for us meeting. He’s forbidden that we see each other, has refused to allow us to marry and has threatened to throw Eddie’s mother out of the gatehouse if our dalliance continues. But I love him so much, how can we possibly stop?

  Father has now insisted that I go to London for the summer even though with the rationing of fuel I have no idea how he intends me to get there. He says that a new environment will sharpen my mind and improve my manner and has insisted that I’ll be leaving within the month. I fully expect that the conveyor belt of single, eligible men will be churned out before me, the moment I get there.

  I don’t want to go; it’s far too warm to be in London. I’ll have to dress correctly at all times, just in case a suitor drops in to visit. I’d much rather be here, wearing our light summer dresses, but what can I do?

  Madeleine propped herself up against the pillows as she read the words of Emily’s diary. She sat forward and sneezed, wiped her nose on a tissue and then collapsed back against the pillow, coughing. Every inch of her body shook with cold and then moments later was overheated from within. It had been two days since she’d ran to Bandit’s cottage, lain on the floor beside the shed and hidden herself in fear for her life, while Liam had screamed and shouted. She’d been shaking, terrified, wet and emotional and her hands and knees had been shredded against the gravel that had covered the path. All she could remember was crawling on her hands and knees through the woods for what seemed like hours, hiding every time she heard a noise and holding her breath, waiting for Liam to find her.

  She pulled another tissue from the box, just in time as she sneezed again. Feeling hot, she threw back the covers, only to drag them back over her a few minutes later in an attempt to stop the shivers. She’d taken everything at Nomsa’s insistence from hot whisky to Beechams powders and wondered what she needed to do just to feel normal again. Her eyes glanced towards the bathroom and she wondered how much energy it would take for her to crawl into a deep, hot bath.

  A knock on the door made her sit up and pull the blankets closer to her.

  ‘Who is it?’

  ‘It’s me, Nomsa. Can I come in?’

  A feeling of relief flooded through her as she lay back and began to cry. Every time there was a knock on the door, every noise in the corridor, every sound outside made her panic that Liam was back.

  ‘Sure, but use the key, it’s locked,’ she sobbed as she heard the key in the door and Nomsa walked in holding a huge bunch of wild flowers in a vase.

  ‘I picked you these from the garden.’ She smiled as she placed the vase on Madeleine’s bedside cupboard. ‘I thought they’d cheer you up. How are you doing, my girl? Do you want me to make you some nice parsnip and sweet potato soup or some pancakes, I have blueberries?’

  ‘I’m okay, Nomsa. I’m not hungry,’ Madeleine said, shaking her head, ‘but thank you. I’ll be fine once this damn cold goes.’

  Nomsa sat silently for a few moments. ‘Maddie, my darling girl, you don’t fool me. You are not fine at all. I saw you come back that night. How you crawled in from the woods, covered in mud. You looked horrendous and I hate him for what he did to you.’ Her voice was full of concern. She looked down, and bowed her head. They’d become close since her father had died. Nomsa now acted like a mother figure to her, Poppy and Jess.

  ‘Oh, Nomsa. It’s such a blur. He grabbed my wrist, hurt me and said nasty things and I really didn’t know what he would do next. I really thought he’d kill me.’ She fell into Nomsa’s arms and sobbed. ‘I was so scared, but all I could think about was getting to Jess. All I could think was that he’d go after her and Poppy too.’

  ‘Well, he’d better not show his face around here ’cause my broom is ready and waiting for him. I swear, Maddie, I’ll whoop him good if he ever goes near you again.’ Nomsa’s eyes filled with tears and Madeleine knew that she meant what she said.

  ‘Is Poppy okay?’ Madeleine pulled a tissue from the box and looked at Nomsa for an answer. With her being so ill, Poppy had been staying in Jess’s room since the night of the break in and Madeleine missed being with her.

  ‘She’s having her breakfast in the kitchen with Jess and Jack,’ Nomsa nodded as she replied to her question.

  ‘Did Bandit come back yet?’ Madeleine managed to say as a series of sneezes overcame her and the tissue she’d pulled from the box came into use.


  ‘Oh yes, he’s around, my girl. He’d been over to York to see his daddy that day and had stayed in town overnight.’

  ‘His father? Of course, why didn’t I think of that?’ She sat back, relieved.

  ‘Well, if it helps, he was furious when I told him what had happened. Swears that if ever Liam O’Grady steps foot in the grounds of Wrea Head Hall again, he’ll be gunning for him. And what’s more, you need to get yourself better soon, because he asks about you all the time. I’ve had to feed him twice as many scones these past two days.’

  Madeleine smiled at the thought of Bandit eating all of Nomsa’s scones. ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes, really. I’m sure he keeps dropping by the kitchen in the hope that you’ll be down there.’

  Madeleine smiled and shook her head. ‘Oh, I doubt he’d want to see me looking like this.’

  But Nomsa gave a knowing nod, kissed Madeleine on the cheek and disappeared back down the staircase and to her kitchen.

  Chapter Thirty

  July 12th, 1942

  The worst has happened.

  It was Eddie’s birthday last week. He’s now eighteen years old and this morning the postmaster delivered his conscription letter. This time next week, he’ll be gone. He has to do some training for just eight weeks, following which he will go to war.

  My poor Eddie will be sent to a battlefield where grown men will want him dead and I can’t bear to think of it.

  He says he will go, won’t do anything to get out of it and even though I’ve begged and begged for him to work down the mines, he’s not having any of it, says he won’t work the mines and definitely won’t be seen as a coward. Besides, now that the coal is rationed, even the Bevin Boys are being called to war.

  We’re going to meet at the summer house tonight. Father is still watching us closely and I don’t want him to see me walk into the woods, so I’ll use the tunnel to get there and back.

  I have to make a plan. I have to do something to keep him here in England. Whatever it costs, I want to keep him where he is safe but I have no idea what I can do.

  Jimmy is home from school again. He’s already up to mischief and I need to watch him carefully. The chambermaid he took to chasing has now left Father’s employment, but a new one is here and his attentions have moved to her. I caught him on the upper landing, outside the room where the maids go to take a bath and I’m sure that he waits until the coast is clear and goes in there with them.

  I think that Mary and the valet, Benjamin, are once again on talking terms. He now seems to like her more and notices her every time she walks past. They tend to disappear after dinner a little too often and he actually left Father waiting for his coat the night before last and Father had to get it for himself. Benjamin said that he’d been taken poorly, but I’m not sure that Father believed him. If he found out the truth, he’d be furious.

  I overheard Father speak to our mother about the need for a valet and suggest that it was time to keep less staff. Life has changed in big houses, more household members now do their own chores and I’m sure that Father thinks that Mary and I should do more work, but I doubt that I could, especially the gardening. It would be awful if, when Eddie comes back from war, there was no job here for him to come home to. And, if he had no job, what would become of his mother and her gatehouse? It’s tied to the hall and I fear she’d have to move out.

  Mother’s baby will be due soon. She’s getting bigger by the day and her moods have changed. We’re told that it will come late in the summer, but, by the size of her, I suspect that the baby will come sooner than she thinks.

  Madeleine inhaled deeply.

  ‘Poor Emily,’ she whispered as she pulled the covers back and stepped out of bed. She’d been reading the diary and looking at her sketches and pictures for hours. Walking into the bathroom, she grabbed a towel, washed her face and glared at her bright red nose which shone back at her in the mirror.

  ‘You look damned awful,’ she said, pulling a face, before turning around and walking back into the bedroom. She tidied the quilt and puffed up the pillows. ‘Won’t be long before I’m back to normal,’ she said as she turned to the wardrobe and dug through her clothes until she found a pair of clean tracksuit bottoms, thick fluffy socks and a knitted long sleeved top.

  ‘Pull yourself together; you have a daughter and a puppy to look after,’ she said sternly to herself as she pulled on the clothes. ‘You can’t expect Jess and Nomsa to do it all,’ she added, knowing that they’d both minded Poppy for the past two days while she’d insisted that Madeleine should take to her bed.

  Madeleine picked up her hairbrush and began dragging it through her knotted hair. ‘You’re sure not going to win any beauty contests,’ she continued as she sat back down on the bed with a sigh, ‘but I think it’s time to face the world again.’

  Madeleine used the back staircase to take herself down to the kitchen. She was not dressed appropriately for the hotel and was keen that she didn’t bump into any guests. At least Liam was gone and if Bandit or Nomsa had anything to do with it, he’d never dare show his face here again.

  ‘There you are, my girl. It’s good to see you out of your bed. Now, let me get you a hot drink,’ Nomsa’s voice rang out and Madeleine slumped in the chair and felt Nomsa’s hand immediately attach itself to her forehead. ‘You’re still feeling warm to me, though, so take it slowly.’ She walked through the kitchen, switched on the kettle and lifted some bacon onto a crisp white bread roll. ‘Eat this up, you need to get strong again.’

  ‘I can’t. I need to see Poppy. Where is she?’

  ‘She’s fine. She’s out there on the grass with Jess. I believe young Jack could be out there too.’ Her eyebrows lifted as she said the words making Madeleine jump up and look out of the window. Jack sat next to Jess with both Poppy and Buddy bouncing around them. They looked fondly at each other and were sitting so close that not a blade of grass could have grown between them, making Madeleine raise her own eyebrows and look back at Nomsa, who smiled.

  ‘A lot can change when you’re not watching,’ Nomsa said as she pushed the bacon sandwich firmly under Madeleine’s nose, before turning to pour the tea.

  ‘Wow. When did all this happen? I should go get Poppy. Give them some privacy.’ She smiled at the thought that Jess had found a friend and wondered how far the relationship had gone. They did look extremely affectionate towards one another and Madeleine approved wholeheartedly. Jack had never done anything to worry her, he’d always been the perfect gentleman and although he was a few years older than Jess, Madeleine secretly hoped that he’d be the catalyst that kept Jess from going back on the ships. She knew she was being selfish and protective, but after all that had happened and all that she’d lost, she wanted to keep Jess close and here at the hall.

  She took a bite of the sandwich.

  ‘Poppy’s all right, trust me. The child gives them a reason to be together in the garden. Shall we say they’re watching her play?’

  Madeleine nodded.

  ‘Oh, ouch. Wow, you look like crap.’ Bandit walked into the kitchen, held up his fingers like a cross and sat down opposite Madeleine at the table. ‘Am I safe to sit here or do I need one of those surgical masks, you know, the ones all the Japanese wear to protect them against pollution?’ he said with a grin as he reached over for the teapot and poured himself a drink.

  ‘Thanks. I’ve felt better,’ Madeleine said sulkily. She knew she looked a mess, knew her nose was bright red, but she really didn’t need reminding. ‘It’s your fault. I wouldn’t be this poorly if you’d been home the other night,’ she said as she stuck out her lip. ‘You should have been there.’

  Bandit laughed. ‘So now it’s my fault that your ex is totally deranged?’

  Madeleine turned her back to where he sat, turning her attention back to where Poppy played and noticed that she was trying to teach Buddy to catch, but each time she threw the ball it hit the puppy square on the nose and he’d give her a puzzled look, as
though wondering why on earth she’d thrown the ball at him in the first place. She watched as Poppy found this hysterical and threw herself to the floor repeatedly, laughing, each time it happened.

  ‘Have you read any more of Emily’s diary?’ Bandit enquired as he moved around the table to sit beside her, nudged her arm and slurped his tea.

  Madeleine turned to face him. ‘Of course. I can’t put it down. Emily talks of underground tunnels that go between here and a summer house. Have you been to the summer house?’

  Bandit nodded. ‘Of course. It’s right in the middle of the woods. Quite a distance from the house, I’d say a good half a mile.’

  He pointed and Madeleine sat back and stared towards the trees. ‘The tunnel must be huge. I mean, you couldn’t really crawl that far, could you? So it would have to be a tunnel that you could walk through, right?’ She stood up, walked to the window and tried to estimate how far away the nearest trees were. ‘I doubt Emily Ennis would have crawled that far. Trust me, I did it. It hurts like hell.’ She pointed to the trees and thought of the night she’d crawled through the woods.

  ‘It must … It just has to be in the cellar.’

  Madeleine turned to watch Bandit as he disappeared down the cellar steps. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘To find the tunnel. Are you coming? It’s got to be down here. Where else is so far below the grass? It’s the obvious starting point.’

  Madeleine turned to Nomsa who smiled and shooed her to the cellar. ‘Go, I’ll look out for Poppy. If she starts driving the lovebirds mad, I’ll bring her in. The Aga’s warm, we can do some baking.’

  Madeleine thanked her and ran down to the cellar to follow Bandit and help search for the secret tunnel.

  Together they walked through the arched rooms that were below the house. An old coal chute and coal room stood to the left, the wine cellar to the right and the room before them was full to the roof with Christmas decorations, pieces of wooden furniture and piles of boxes all neatly labelled.