‘Hello, I’m Lily Duncan and I hail from Hampshire, Portsmouth to be precise.’
There was no shaking of hands or anything formal, but it seemed to have broken the ice as Penny wondered if they’d be fed and Camilla said she desperately needed the loo. Their chatter was interrupted by the arrival of two uniformed women carrying clipboards and any noise in the room quickly petered out.
The first to speak was a stern-looking woman with piercing blue eyes, who stood almost to attention as she addressed them. Her smudge brown uniform, similar to the one Dottie used to wear for work added to her air of authority.
‘Good evening, ladies. My name is Captain Walsh, and this is Sergeant Morgan and we will be looking after you during your time here. I’m sure you’re tired after your respective journeys so once I have shown you to your quarters, dinner will be served in the dining room which is situated down that corridor to your right.’ Heads swivelled and nodded. ‘Seven o’clock prompt. Cook doesn’t cater for dilly-dallies. Breakfast tomorrow will also be at seven, you will have your first briefing at eight in the conference room, the blue door to your left.’ All eyes followed her finger then rested back on her face. ‘Now, please follow Sergeant Morgan who will allocate your rooms. Save any questions for tomorrow when I’m sure most will be answered accordingly.’ With this she stepped to the side and nodded to her deputy who spun in her polished black shoes and headed upstairs.
Hurriedly picking up their suitcases, everyone followed. Dottie, keeping up the rear, still wasn’t sure if this was the start of a great adventure or a terrible dream. There were so many thoughts racing about in her head that were searching for reassurance. The women seemed friendly enough, and although the captain was quite abrupt, she wasn’t fearsome or unkind. Like the officers in Whitehall.
Maybe it was something Dottie would have to get used to, like that strange feeling in her chest, a deep hole that ached whenever she thought of home. She did manage a smile though, when she glanced at the four sets of legs in front of her, all splattered with mud, wearing shoes that were in dire need of a bloody good scrub.
At the top of the first landing the sergeant halted and tapped on the first door of the corridor. ‘Doyle, Ludlow, you’re in here.’
Both women looked unsure of whether to enter or wait.
‘Well don’t just stand there. Get inside and unpack otherwise you’ll miss dinner and you’ll need to change, we have certain standards to maintain.’ A cursory glance at their shoes gave them the hint.
At this both women nodded, first at the sergeant and then at the other women. Ivy chanced a quick wave as Camilla turned the handle and then both disappeared inside the room.
‘Right, Perkins and Duncan, you’re just down here.’
They all followed along the rather gloomy corridor, their footsteps muffled by a worn floral carpet that might once have been blue. The walls held no cheer either, the bottom halves covered with slate grey Lincrusta made slightly less depressing by the faded, peeling Victorian flock hung above the dado rail.
When they stopped outside their room, Penny and Lily scurried inside without a by your leave, obviously heeding Sergeant Morgan’s previous instructions. This left just Dottie, roomless and partnerless.
Sergeant Morgan rested her clipboard against her chest as she set off again. ‘Right, off we go. You’re up here, Tanner.’
It occurred to Dottie that had it not been 1942, she might have been starring in a dreary Gothic novel, and as they climbed another set of stairs not only was she dreading sleeping alone in a huge strange house, images of Rebecca began to haunt her.
On the next landing there were four more doors much closer together which indicated to Dottie that the rooms would be far smaller, and she would be on her own. When Sergeant Morgan rested outside the first and inclined her head, Dottie sucked in a breath and without waiting to be told to scrub her shoes and not to be late, twisted the door handle.
Sergeant Morgan, however, clearly enjoyed the last word and was beginning to sound like a broken record. ‘Your room-mate arrived earlier this afternoon, but I’ll leave you to introduce yourself. Remember, seven sharp, smarten up.’
And with that she ticked the sheet of paper on the clipboard before walking briskly back the way she came. Overcome with shyness, Dottie hovered, her hand had already half turned the knob so all she had to do was twist and enter. Not only had she never stayed away from home, she had also never shared a room in her life so her previous trepidation was now replaced by the desire for solitude. There was nothing for it because whoever was inside would think she was odd, hovering in the corridor so taking a sharp breath inwards, Dottie pushed open the door.
For a moment she was enveloped in a smoky haze and then assailed by a heavenly scent that mingled with the tobacco fumes. Before she had time to get her bearings her attention was drawn to one of the beds placed under the eaves and there, lay a vision of complete loveliness.
Dottie gazed at what she could only describe as Hollywood screen siren, dressed in what looked like pale green silk, the folds of the tea dress draped across the eiderdown. Lounging elegantly, flicking through a magazine while the other hand held a cigarette holder, the goddess immediately looked up and when her eyes alighted on Dottie, red lips smiled while the English rose face took on a delighted expression. Then came the voice, deep and plummy, yet animated and friendly all at once. Jumping from the bed, the goddess strode over and held out her hand as she spoke.
‘Oh, thank goodness… I was beginning to think I’d been abandoned in this little nest and I can’t bear to be alone but here you are, my lovely room-mate, at last. I’m Mary Balfour, by the way, Maude to my friends and you are…?’
‘Dorothy Tanner, but everyone calls me Dottie.’ As they shook hands Dottie was aware of Maude’s long elegant fingers wrapped around hers, a delicate hand that felt light as a feather, skin like velvet, pale enough to expose blue veins.
‘Well, then Dottie it is, and I know we are going to be firm friends and have a riot even though we are trapped in Northanger Abbey in the middle of God knows where. Now, let me help you unpack and then we can go downstairs for dinner, I’m famished, aren’t you?’
Dottie followed as Maude chatted on.
‘I bagged the bed nearest the window so I could have a sneaky puff during the night, but I don’t mind swapping and look, I saved you oodles of space in the wardrobe.’ Maude glided over and pulled open the door which was almost full of clothes which she swept to one side, the wire hangers screeching as they made room. ‘This is such a lark, just like being back at school, now where shall we start? Here, you pass your things and I’ll hang them up.’
Dottie allowed Maude to take her suitcase which she plopped onto the bed, and as the buckles were undone and belongings unfolded and stashed away, any nerves that lingered were replaced by a tiny bubble of excitement.
Maude wanted to know ‘everything’ about Dottie and where she came from and was beside herself to be in the company of a real-life East Ender. By the time they’d located the bathroom and followed orders to scrub up, and Maude had squirted the heavenly scent of Femme de Rochas all over Dottie, it was time for dinner. As they headed downstairs, Maude linked her arm through Dottie’s and chattered away about handsome men in uniform and the whereabouts of the local pub, you’d have thought they were in a hotel, not a Special Operations Executive training camp.
Brushing all thoughts of what was to come aside, Dottie focused on Maude and the aroma of food that lured them to the dining room. Tomorrow was another day, one where she hoped to telephone her parents and let them know she had arrived safely. Beyond that everything else was a fog, an adventure waiting to happen, a whole new exciting stage in Dottie’s life and the best part, her new friend the goddess would be along for the ride.
10
Killer Tanner
