Chapter Forty-Four
CHAPTER
FORTY - FOUR
Violet and Henry were working in the basement a couple of days later when Felicity was ushered in by an inquisitive Sylvia. Felicity was strikingly attractive in a long overcoat and fur hat, both obviously inspired by the film Dr Zhivago , which both of them had seen and wept through. Violet could tell Sylvia thought Felicity was some sort of film star. She certainly looked the part.
‘Hello, everyone,’ Sylvia said, uncharacteristically diffident. ‘I hope you don’t mind me bursting in on you …’
‘You’re hardly bursting,’ said Violet, getting up from her desk and coming over. ‘And you’re very welcome.’
‘Would you like some tea or coffee?’
Felicity turned to her. ‘Oh, not for me. I’ve only popped in. I’ve got to meet my mother in a few minutes. We’re going to have lunch with some old friends of hers. I gather there’s an eligible son I have to impress.’
‘I don’t suppose that will be difficult,’ said Violet, laughing. ‘Sylvia – Felicity and I share a house. Felicity, this is Sylvia who runs the place. Henry just owns it.’ She shot him a glance but he only looked up briefly; he was hard at work.
As for Sylvia, Violet detected a strange mixture of disappointment and relief pass across her face. It was a shame that Felicity wasn’t a film star, but on the other hand, having a film star in the shop could have been hard work.
‘I’ve just come to say that I’ve been thinking and thinking about this,’ said Felicity when Sylvia had gone. ‘I’ve realised that finding Oliver is the only answer.’
There was a pause and then Violet said, ‘We have tried. I rang both the men who gave me their telephone numbers at that party.’ She blushed at the embarrassment at ringing men she didn’t know, even though it was for a good reason. ‘They had no idea where he was.’
‘But I know Miranda, his neighbour on the moorings in Chiswick. I think I should visit her and see if she knows where he is.’ She paused. ‘Although I don’t think he wants to be found, which will make things harder.’
‘You could certainly try visiting her,’ said Violet. ‘And would you like me to come with you?’
Felicity nodded. ‘Yes, please. I didn’t like to ask because I led you and Henry on such a wild goose chase the other day.’
Henry got up from behind his desk. ‘You did your absolute best to be helpful. We were extremely grateful.’
Felicity sent him a smile. ‘I was hopeless!’
‘When can you go?’ said Violet. ‘We are in a bit of a hurry.’
Hearing the huge understatement come out of her own mouth made Violet smile; Henry’s agent had managed to secure interest from a big publisher, but they didn’t want to wait for proof that the palace had existed. The danger was that they would lose interest, and the publishing deal was critical to helping him get the job in Oxford. Henry really needed to prove where the palace had stood.
‘Will you still be here after lunch?’ said Felicity. ‘After I’ve impressed the debs’ delight, I could call for you, and we could go then?’
‘That would be marvellous!’ said Henry. ‘Thank you, Felicity. I realise this won’t be easy for you.’
‘Could you change first, though?’ said Violet. ‘It would be awful to get that beautiful coat muddy. And I’ve learned one thing: if it involves Oliver, it involves mud.’
When Felicity came back to the basement a couple of hours later, she saw that Violet had changed too.
‘How was lunch?’ Violet asked as they went up the stairs together.
‘Boring,’ Felicity said, ‘although the boy was quite sweet. My mother thought the sun shone … What’s the expression?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Violet quickly. ‘Shall we get a taxi?’
‘Is Henry not coming?’ asked Felicity.
Violet shook her head. ‘He’s checking something in the British Library.’
Once they were in the privacy of the cab, Felicity felt she could ask what she’d been longing to know ever since she’d come back to England. ‘Are you and Henry – going out?’
Violet laughed, but Felicity felt there was a slightly desperate edge to it. ‘Do you mean, are we a couple?’
‘Yes.’
‘No. I mean, he’s always charming and I really like him. He takes me out for meals sometimes but it’s always as colleagues, not … lovers.’ Violet let out a huge sigh.
‘Perhaps he got the impression when you wouldn’t say goodbye, and wouldn’t let him know where you were that time, that you didn’t want him as more than a colleague.’
‘Felicity, as I’ve said before, for one so young you have a lot of wisdom.’
‘You don’t have to be at all old to work that out, chérie . It is common sense!’
Violet’s laugh sounded more genuine this time. ‘So what is our plan?’
‘Once we’re certain Oliver isn’t around, we have to try and find Miranda.’
‘Won’t she be working?’
‘I suppose it depends where she’s working at the moment. She’s an actress, so if she has an acting job, she might be around, but if she’s got an ordinary job, she may not be. And if not, we’ll try and find someone else who might know where Oliver is.’
The taxi delivered them to the pub near the moorings; Felicity was confident she’d be able to find Oliver’s barge from there.
‘If there is any sign that he’s on the barge,’ she said to Violet, ‘you have to go on your own. I do not want to see him under any circumstances.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘It’s for my protection,’ said Felicity. ‘I love him, and if I see him all my good, sensible plans to forget about him will disappear. I mustn’t allow that to happen.’
‘I wish I had as much common sense as you have,’ said Violet. ‘Now let’s find this barge.’
Felicity could see Our Nora from the gate which led to the moorings and it did look completely closed up. Relieved, she moved on to the next problem.
The barge moored up next door had smoke curling from its chimney. ‘Well, there’s someone about, anyway,’ she said. ‘I wish I could remember the names of the other people at that lunch, but it all seems so long ago! I got to know Miranda and Quentin quite well because of painting the scenery but not the others.’
‘Well, let’s give it a go,’ said Violet.
Felicity banged on the roof of the barge and shortly afterwards a hatch was pulled back and Miranda appeared. She was wiping her hands on a paint-stained rag.
‘Oh, hello!’ she said. ‘Felicity! How nice to see you. And your friend. Violet, isn’t it?’
‘We’re sorry to disturb you,’ said Felicity. ‘It’s just we really need to find Oliver.’
‘Oh God! He hasn’t made you pregnant, has he?’
‘No!’ said Felicity, taken aback.
‘I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have presumed, but you know how it is.’
‘It’s Violet who needs him really,’ said Felicity, still shaken.
‘He hasn’t made you pregnant, has he?’ Miranda asked, more calmly this time. Violet shook her head, laughing. ‘Why don’t you both come in?’ Miranda beckoned them aboard.
‘We don’t want to disturb you,’ said Violet.
‘Oh, please do!’ said Miranda. ‘I’ve been painting a cabin and I’d love an excuse to stop.’
Felicity followed Violet and Miranda down the wooden steps to the saloon. The barge was very different to Oliver’s. There was a wooden dresser fixed to one wall, covered in cheerful, mismatched plates. There was a rag rug in front of the stove, which crackled merrily, flanked by a couple of small armchairs piled high with patchwork cushions.
‘You can tell what I usually do when I’m not working,’ said Miranda. ‘I make rugs and do patchwork. Currently I’m preparing a cabin for a visit from my mother. She always comes in early March – no idea why she doesn’t wait until the weather is warmer. Now, coffee?’
The galley consisted of a sink and a stove. A long wooden plate rack was fixed to the wall above and underneath were cupboards. The sink had a gingham curtain beneath it. It was very cheerful, Felicity thought, and reminded her a little of the chateau, in style if not in size.
‘Right,’ said Miranda, a little later when she had made coffee and produced homemade biscuits. ‘What do you want from Oliver?’
‘Violet?’ said Felicity.
‘We – my boss and I – just need to know which part of the river he was mudlarking on a little while ago. He hasn’t done anything dreadful.’ Violet heard Felicity clear her throat at this. She probably didn’t agree.
‘Why do you want to know that?’ asked Miranda.
Felicity was a little embarrassed by Miranda’s questioning but Violet wasn’t concerned.
‘It’s for historical reasons. My boss and I are trying to find a lost building. We think Oliver may have found where it was, but probably doesn’t know he has.’
Miranda nodded. ‘OK, well, that doesn’t sound threatening, or as if you’re going to demand money with menaces.’
‘Of course we’re not!’ said Felicity. ‘Do you know where he is?’
‘Sadly, no,’ said Miranda. ‘But I do have the key to his barge in case of emergencies.’
‘This is an emergency,’ said Violet quickly. ‘If we don’t find out where this lost palace was – if it was actually ever built,’ she muttered, slightly disloyally, ‘my … boss won’t get the job he really wants.’
‘And you want him to get the job?’ Miranda looked at Violet intently.
‘I do, yes.’
‘Can I ask why?’
Violet took a breath. ‘I’ve spent quite a lot of time myself researching this palace and I’d love to find it.’ She paused. Miranda didn’t speak. Violet took another breath and went on. ‘Apart from the fact that it’s important for Henry, it’s important for history.’
‘Which do you care most about?’ asked Miranda. ‘Your boss, or history?’
Violet laughed. ‘Both really.’
‘But it’s your boss you love?’
Violet cleared her throat. ‘Yes.’
‘OK. I deem this an emergency. I’ll give you the key to Oliver’s barge and you can search for clues as to where Oliver is hiding out.’
‘Will you come with us?’ asked Felicity.
‘I most certainly will!’
Miranda had to go back and get a torch, such was the gloom in Our Nora when they came down the steps and into the saloon. Even when they’d lit all the oil lamps they could find, it was too dark to read anything. ‘We need to find where he keeps papers.’
Miranda laughed. ‘Thinking that Oliver will have rows of files with important documents about tax and his mooring is funny but highly unlikely.’
‘But he does have a desk!’ Felicity exclaimed excitedly from a dark corner next to the door to the main bedroom.
‘Oh yes,’ said Miranda. ‘I remember now. He found it in a skip and dragged it back on a trolley behind his bicycle because he knew it would fit. Of course he was right.’ She paused. ‘Oliver would drive anyone to drink he can be so annoying, but he is actually quite clever.’
‘I do hope the desk isn’t locked,’ said Violet.
‘It’s not that sort of desk,’ said Miranda. She opened the lid. ‘Well, here are Oliver’s papers. He obviously just stuffs everything in.’
‘I’m not sure if we should rummage about in here,’ said Violet.
‘Do you want to find out where he is or not?’ said Felicity. ‘You can’t be all English and stuffy about it.’ She pulled out a fistful of papers which looked horribly official and important. ‘There must be something in here that will tell us where he is.’
A little while later, after some fruitless searching, Violet found an address book. It seemed old and was mostly filled with boys’ names that, going by the handwriting, had been written by Oliver when he was at school.
‘I think we should go through this,’ she said, bringing it to the oil lamp on the table.
‘But is it likely that he’ll have written down where he’s going to be?’ said Felicity. ‘After all, he’ll know where his friend lives.’
‘He might know the address, but he might need to write down the telephone number,’ said Violet.
‘Can you find out someone’s address from a telephone number?’ asked Felicity.
‘It was easier when there were names rather than numbers for the first bit,’ said Miranda. ‘But lots of the numbers are the same as the letters used to be.’
‘I’m sorry? I’m half French; I don’t understand,’ said Felicity.
Miranda chuckled. ‘You know, if you dial, say, 946, it’s the same as dialling WIM – for Wimbledon, where my parents live. You use the same hole on the dial.’
‘And there’s a code book,’ said Violet. ‘It could be time consuming, but if we found a number that looked new, and wasn’t in Oliver’s handwriting from when he was a schoolboy, we could go through all the numbers and find the place the first bit of the number used to be. It’s not as complicated as it sounds.’
Felicity shrugged.
‘I can’t really read this properly,’ said Violet. ‘And lots of these people only have first names.’
‘Take it outside?’ suggested Miranda. ‘Lighter.’
‘It would be easier to take it home than to sit on top of a barge and do it. We’d get terribly cold, and it might rain at any time.’
‘True,’ said Miranda. ‘As long as you promised on your life to bring it back, I will let you take it away with you.’
‘Of course!’ said Violet. ‘Right, these papers …’
‘They won’t take long to put back,’ said Felicity, picking up a fistful and starting to thrust them back in the space they’d come from.
Violet was horrified. ‘No!’ she said. ‘We can’t do that! Tidying and sorting papers is what I do. Leaving them in a heap will almost kill me.’
‘Sweetie,’ said Miranda patiently. ‘Oliver will definitely know that someone’s been here if he finds all his paperwork neatly filed. We don’t want that.’
‘Of course. We don’t want that,’ Violet repeated and then shuddered as she watched Felicity stuff everything back into the desk.
‘Take deep, calming breaths like they taught us in drama school,’ said Miranda, watching her. ‘It’ll be fine.’