Chapter Sixteen Out of Bounds #3
She had to, so she did. She stood still, with Ben close at her side growling softly, and faced the horseman as he pulled his mount up too close, as if he was expecting her to flinch and step back.
She didn’t, of course, and then immediately remembered that she was a fugitive, an escaped prisoner, and the last thing she should do was challenge any bully in uniform.
She took a step back then, and made herself cringe a little.
“You can’t go up that way any further,” the soldier said. He was young, only in his early twenties, and easy prey for the dominating Alice. But not now, she thought, not now.
“Oh. I didn’t know. Why? What’s happening, sir?”
The “sir” was a bit rich, but she knew the effect it would have.
“That end of the meadow’s been requisitioned. Army property. Training ground. There’ll be a proper fence up tomorrow. Best thing is get off the meadow over that way”—gesturing behind her and to his left—“and go round by road. Where you going, anyway?”
“Just up Godstow. See my gran.”
“Where you just come from?”
“Cowley. Been working there but my gran’s not well so I thought I’d come and look after her for a bit.”
He looked her over, with all the confidence of someone who’d never been tested at anything. “Off you go, then. The whole meadow’ll be out of bounds from next week. Don’t forget. Anyone trespassing will be arrested.”
“Thank you,” she said humbly.
She put up with his scrutiny as she walked away towards the path to Jericho. After a minute she heard the jingle of harness and then the sound of hooves as he rode away.
“They’ll never be able to shut the whole meadow,” said Ben.
“Want to bet?”
They’d reached the bridge for the footpath that led to Aristotle Lane. She stopped and turned around. There was a lot of movement up at the Godstow end of the meadow, too far away to see in detail: horses, vehicles, a handful of tents being put up.
“The world’s changing,” said Ben.
“Better keep our heads down. I hope Brenda and Reg are all right.”
It took another half hour’s walking before she turned into the garden of the Trout and made her way round to the kitchen door. The place was quiet, but it was a chilly sort of day, not the best weather for a drink on the terrace; and there was no smell of roasting joint or frying fish.
“Something’s wrong,” she said very quietly to Ben.
She put her hand on the kitchen door, and hesitated. The top half of the door was glass, and from outside she could see that the lights were off.
She turned the handle and went in. The kitchen was cold. There were no voices from the inner rooms; there was no food in preparation.
She was about to go through to the bar and look for Brenda when that door opened and a soldier came in. He was as startled as she was, and his crow daemon flapped on his shoulder.
“Who are you?” he demanded. “What you doing here?”
“I was going to say the same thing to you,” she said mildly. “I was looking for Brenda or Reg. Are they about anywhere?”
“Alice?” said Brenda’s voice from behind the soldier. She sounded unwell. He stood aside to let her through. She was carrying a pile of clean and ironed napkins and tea towels.
“Who’s she?” the soldier asked Brenda, jerking his thumb at Alice. He had a sergeant’s stripes.
“That’s Alice.”
“Alice who?”
“Alice Lonsdale. She’s a friend.”
“I came up to see Gran,” Alice explained, as reasonably as she could, “and I thought I’d look in and say hello. What’s going on?”
“We’ve been requisitioned,” said Brenda. She had gone pale. “I mean, for billeting, you know.”
“Oh, I see, right,” Alice said, nodding as if it was all clear and obvious. “Anything I can do?”
“D’you live here, in Wolvercote?” said the soldier, still suspicious.
“No. I live down Cowley way. I come up to see my gran. I used to work here, see, in the bar and that.”
He nodded. “Carry on, then.”
He went out onto the terrace and looked around.
Brenda said quietly, “Grab those sheets over there and come up to the airing cupboard. Just be normal.”
Alice gathered the freshly washed sheets, which had been drying over the range, and followed Brenda upstairs.
“Is he the only one here?” she asked in a whisper.
“For the moment. Reg is talking to the officer outside. What are you—we thought you were—where’ve you been?”
“I escaped. They put me in some bloody camp thing down Henley way, I think it was, only the security was so careless I got out and thumbed a ride to Oxford. I tried to get across Port Meadow—”
“Yeah, that’s out of bounds. The army’s taken over everything up this way.”
“When? Must’ve been damn quick.”
“Most of ’em arrived just yesterday. But it feels like they’ve had it planned for months. Listen, are you all right, love?”
“I’m bloody hungry and thirsty, and I haven’t got a penny in my pocket.
I had to break out of the camp just as I am.
Stole a truck, so they might be after me for that too, if they can get their papers in order.
They were asking lots of questions about Malcolm, where was he, what did he do, everything.
He’s lucky to be abroad, if you ask me.”
She wasn’t going to tell Brenda about the kind of questions; she wouldn’t even tell Malcolm, if she ever saw him again. She helped Brenda fold the sheets, and heard about other people who’d been taken away.
“It’s like a different country all of a sudden,” Brenda said. “There’s no one we can ask. Reg tried to talk to old Gordon Rudyard, but all he could say was that Parliament had been—what did he say—‘prorogued for the emergency.’ ”
Gordon Rudyard had been the Member of Parliament for Oxford all Alice’s life.
“What emergency?” said Alice.
“It’s all been happening so fast…Listen, come down to the kitchen and I’ll heat up a saucepan of soup and make you a sandwich. We can keep an eye on that sergeant and talk quietly. What about Jordan? You been back there?”
“No. I thought about it but then remembered it was them who had me arrested. That bastard bursar and what’s-’is-name, Dr. Hammond, the new Master.
If anyone saw me it’d be all round the college in five minutes, and they’d call the CCD, and I’d be caught.
And I bet this time they’d be better at security than that camp they put me in first. Brenda, I can’t stay here for long; I can’t trust… ”
She found it hard to speak. They entered the kitchen and found Malcolm’s father at the back door, saying goodbye to the billeting officer, who looked past his shoulder and touched his cap to Alice and Brenda before nodding to Reg and leaving.
Reg shut the door and turned to greet Alice, muting his surprise. “How do, Alice,” he said, sounding hearty but looking around.
“Hello, Reg. Brenda can tell you where I’ve been and all that. I’ve got to go soon.”
“You’re not going till you’ve had something to eat,” said Brenda. “Sit down there and cut yourself some bread and cheese—or there’s a nice piece of ham in the larder—and I’ll heat up some onion soup.”
Reg, bulky and solid and steadfast, sat at the table and took over the bread knife. Alice could see her own hands trembling, and surrendered it readily.
“All right, I’ll wait to hear what Brenda tells me,” he said. “What’s important now is what you’re going to do.”
“Have they gone?” Alice said quietly.
Brenda was looking through the glass of the door, and said, “Yes. I can see ’em both climbing the steps to the road. There was only two.”
She turned to the stove and poured some soup out of a china bowl into a saucepan.
“I just don’t know,” said Alice. “I suppose what I was thinking was just get back home, and I must have thought that Jordan was home till I remembered how I couldn’t go back there till…
till all this was over, so I came up here, and found Port Meadow was out of bounds, and…
I just don’t know what I can do. But if I stay here I’ll get you in trouble—”
“Come off it,” Reg began, and Brenda said, “What rubbish. You’ll be safe—”
But Alice said, “No. I know you won’t give me away, but how can I hide here?
There’s too many people know me round Godstow, and in the city as well.
I’d’ve bumped into Sheila Murphy this morning if I hadn’t dodged out the way.
I just can’t stay here, Reg. I’m not going to sit in a bloody wardrobe not moving all day long. I’ve got to go on somewhere.”
“Any idea where?” he said.
“Ben said London. But I don’t know.”
Reg cut a thick slice of ham and made a sandwich. He put it on a plate for her and then cut some more bread to make another.
“Can’t trust London food,” he said. “Little skinny sandwiches they make there. Eat a plateful and half an hour later you’re hungry again. You know anyone there?”
“Not really. It’s just there’s so many people there it’d be easier not to be seen. I suppose. Shouldn’t be too hard to find work.”
Brenda put a bowl of soup in front of her and took a spoon from the drawer. “Eat that before it gets cold,” she said.
“It is cold in here,” said Reg.
Alice had a mouthful of soup and then said, “Are they going to billet some soldiers here? Is that what you said?”
“He was totting up the rooms, that officer. He reckons we got room for thirty-five. Thirty-five!”
“I’ll poison ’em,” said Brenda.
“They are going to pay you?” said Alice.
“Yeah, just about. They’re not getting my best cooking at those rates.”
“Lucky to get any,” said Reg. “Listen, Alice, I’m worried about you in London. None of the college servants moved there, nothing like that?”
“Well, actually, Sally Jamieson did, now I think of it. She got a job in the—what was it—big West End hotel…”
“Habsburg? Savoy? Claridge’s?”
“That was it, yeah. The Savoy. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll go there and see if she can get me a job. Easy.”
She was trying to sound confident, even jaunty. But she could see Reg and Brenda exchange an anxious glance.
“Lovely soup, Brenda,” she said. “The kind of muck they fed us on in that place, you wouldn’t believe it.”
Reg had been cutting more sandwiches. He left the table and went into the office. Brenda’s badger daemon, Kerin, had been talking quietly with Ben, and Alice knew that he’d pass on anything important.
“I suppose those clothes are all you’ve got?” Brenda said.
“Well, course they are. They probably stink. I probably stink. I just had to get out when I saw the chance, and I didn’t have nothing to take with me anyway.”
“Well, I’m a lot bigger’n you, but you’re welcome to whatever you can find in my wardrobe. There might be a coat that isn’t too big. Have a bath too while you’re here, if you like. Makes such a difference feeling clean. Don’t forget those sandwiches. Or another bowl of soup?”
“Oh, Brenda…”
Alice never felt helpless except when she was being helped, which was stupid, but she couldn’t help it; and as she thought that, she gave a little snort of laughter that was almost a sob. Brenda pretended not to notice.
Reg came in from the office and sat down again. He put something on the table, and Alice couldn’t quite see what it was till she’d dabbed her eyes.
“Pepper in the soup,” she said. “Reg, what’s—”
It was a bundle of pound notes and some change. He pushed it towards her.
“Go on, take it, you goose. That’ll do for the train fare to London and to live on for a couple of weeks. Drop us a line to let us know where you are and how you’re doing. Don’t bloody argue. Take it.”
“Probably would be best, London,” Brenda said. “Get lost in a crowd, kind of thing.”
Alice nodded and put the money in her pocket. It was hard to speak. Reg went out to sweep the terrace, he said, and Brenda sat down.
“How’s Malcolm?” Alice managed to say. “Where is he now?”
Brenda sighed shakily. “When we last heard, he was in Constantinople. I wish I knew where he is now. We’re not even sure where he was going.”
“Lyra? Did he say anything about her?”
Brenda shook her head. “She’s just vanished off the face of the earth. Not a word.”
Alice finished the soup. Then she said, “You remember when he was teaching her? About five or six years ago?”
“Yeah, vaguely. Why?”
“Did they quarrel, or something? There was some sort of difficulty…”
“He used to grumble about her, about not working and making excuses, but nothing serious. I can’t remember, to be honest. He only had a handful of school-age pupils, just to earn a bit extra.”
“Ah. She grumbled to me about him, once or twice. I must say I wouldn’t have liked to teach her.”
“It’s funny, when she came here, just a few days before she vanished, it was like the two of them had never met before. Like strangers, a bit wary, kind of unnaturally polite. Course, they’d never met as grown-ups before.”
Alice told Brenda about the strange moment in her sitting room when Lyra had been with her and Malcolm had unexpectedly walked in.
Before she could reply, the terrace door opened and Reg said, “Here, Alice, I got an idea. I can run you down the canal in the new boat. They got patrols on the river but none on the canal, yet.”
“New boat?”
“It’s his pride and joy,” said Brenda. “Little gas engine. He’s too lazy to row.”
“Well, thanks…”
“Down to the Castle Mill Stream. Only a step to the station then.”
“You better forget the bath,” said Brenda. “You don’t smell. I’ll pack a couple of things for you.”
“That’ll be the second time I’ve escaped from here in a boat,” said Alice. “I’m making a habit of it. Thank you, Reg. Thanks for everything, both of you.”