They accompanied her inside and watched while she pulled clothes from an old oak wardrobe, ready to pack. ‘I cannot stay and look at that . . . that filth! It will never come off, and even if it does, my home has been indelibly stained. Who is doing this, Mr Ballard? Mr Stonebridge? My God, you have no idea how much my family hated the Nazis. My dear father worked for British intelligence, for God’s sake! Now it feels like history is repeating itself and they are attacking Jews again!’
Angrily, she threw open drawers and snatched at odd items of underwear and stuffed them into a case.
‘Mrs Swain, can you think of anyone who may have a grudge towards you? Forget the Jewish element for a moment. Have you or your family ever had enemies for any other reason?’ Will asked.
She gave a short, hard laugh. ‘We were German and Jewish. We always had enemies. But no, after the war my parents worked hard at fitting in, being part of the community. It was tough, very tough, but they succeeded.’ She sighed at the memory, ‘Except that my poor mother struggled with the English language, I was brought up bilingual, and I still blame her for my never losing her accent.’ Now her tone softened. ‘My husband was a well-respected — indeed, well-loved — man, and as his wife, I was accepted too, in time. No, Mr Stonebridge, I have no enemies here.’
‘I know we’ve asked this before, but are you sure no one has ever offered you money to move? I keep thinking about property developers. There are housing estates springing up everywhere these days,’ Matt said.
‘No, and I am certain that the farmer who owns the land surrounding the cottage would not let it go for building. Henry Porter is a man of the countryside. He hates the way the towns are spilling over into the rural areas. He’s vehement about it. No, no one has approached me, and I wouldn’t have sold if they had.’ She frowned. ‘Now, of course, I’m not quite so sure.’
Matt hated to think of her being ejected from the home she loved through no fault of her own. ‘Look, don’t make any decisions just yet. Have a break, get the cleaners to sort out the graffiti, and then think again. Will you leave me a contact address? I can let you know when the work is finished, and Will and I will keep an eye on your post, if you like?’
‘I will leave you a key, if that is alright with you, Mr Ballard? If you don’t think it an imposition?’
‘Of course not. I’ll be happy to help.’ He gave her a rueful smile. ‘I’m just sad that we’ve not managed to protect you from it all. To tell you the truth, Will and I are feeling pretty useless.’
The old woman went to a bureau in the corner of her bedroom and took out a sheet of white paper. On it, in elegant script, she wrote a name, address and telephone number, and her mobile number, and handed it to him.
‘No one could have done more. And you’re both being so kind. It means a lot to me. Lena is a dear old friend, as well as a relative of my husband. She used to live in the old Manor House in the village here, but it got too much for her after her family grew up and her husband died. She now has a nice little bungalow in Beckington, near Louth, and I can stay for as long as I want. She was a great friend of old Mrs Holland, too. She is a good woman, she will make me welcome.’ She turned to Will and smiled. ‘Oh, and do tell your wife that I will be staying with Lena Marshall. They met at the funeral. Mrs Stonebridge was quite taken with her, Lena having spent such a lot of time at Holland House in the past.’
Will froze, then stuttered, ‘Funeral?’
‘Yes, Mrs Holland’s funeral. It was very good of your wife to attend, when she clearly isn’t very well herself. There were precious few who did, I can tell you. I know it was rather early in the morning but even so, the crematorium chapel was almost empty. Just myself, Lena, a couple of representatives from the home, and your good wife.’
Matt watched as Will struggled to cover his confusion. ‘Oh, yes, of course. I was in Canada at the time. I’d forgotten.’
Emilia seemed to accept that and continued with her packing. Matt caught Will’s eye and nodded towards the door. ‘Shout when you’re through, Emilia, and we’ll carry your cases down.’
He hurried Will downstairs. ‘What was that all about?’
‘Black Gucci shoes with mud-covered heels.’ Will looked shell-shocked. ‘When I came home from Canada, Kate wasn’t there. I got in the bath, and heard her come in. She was ages before she came and found me. I asked where she’d been, and she said to the garage for fuel. But I saw her best shoes in the porch, the heels all muddy.’ He looked as if he was about to cry. ‘So much for getting petrol! She had been at the funeral. How could she, Matt? We travelled halfway across the world without her because she couldn’t face going to my only sister’s funeral. She couldn’t be there to support me in my grief, yet she managed to dress up and drive herself to the cremation of a complete stranger! I didn’t even know the woman was dead!’
Matt didn’t know what to say at first. He gripped his friend’s arm tightly. ‘Look, Will, you need to get a hold on this. There’s one hell of a difference between flying off to another country and driving a couple of miles in familiar territory. And don’t forget, Mrs Holland was her only living link to the place she’s obsessed with. In her fragile state, I’m willing to bet that Kate believed she had no choice.’
Will looked at him, hollow-eyed. It was going to take him some considerable time to get over this apparent betrayal.
‘Come on, man! She’s far from being herself, and you know it. Cut her some slack. Just don’t go storming off home to have a go at her. We both know that could have disastrous consequences.’
‘I’m ready!’ Emilia called down. Her voice seemed to rouse Will from his stupor.
‘Coming!’ he called back. He swallowed. ‘I hear what you say, Matt. I’m just hurt, and I think I have every right to be.’ He went back up the stairs two at a time and collected the bags.
Five minutes later, the two men watched Emilia Swain’s new Volvo drive away in a cloud of dust.
‘Bloody shame,’ growled Matt. ‘We must find out what is going on here. We have to.’
Will nodded absently.
‘Want me to come back with you, Will?’ Matt asked.
Will shook his head. ‘I appreciate the offer, Matt, but it’s okay, I won’t mention it — well, not tonight. Maybe another time when I’m less emotional, but I won’t have a go, I promise.’
‘Okay, then I’ll head off home. If you see my vehicle around, it’ll just be me keeping an eye on Emilia’s place. Not that I think I’ll do any better than I did before. Speak tomorrow.’
He watched his friend trudge slowly back along the lane, head down and shoulders drooping. What has happened? Matt thought. Whisper Fen used to be a happy place, but now an old lady was fleeing her home and a happily married couple were disintegrating before his eyes. Oh yes, and not to forget their other neighbour, the possible paedophile, just down the road in Tylers Lane.
Shaking his head, Matt got into his car and revved the engine.
* * *
Will made his way slowly down the lane, trying to gather up the tattered remnants of his composure before going into the house. Right now, he couldn’t trust himself to speak to Kate. He would be sure to say something he’d regret, words he couldn’t take back.