A Refuge at Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky

Author:Carrie Turansky
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2015-10-20T04:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

Penny lifted her skirt a few inches and followed Julia up the wide marble stairs inside St. George’s Hospital in London. “I hope Jon is not in surgery.”

Julia looked over her shoulder as they reached the third floor. “We’ll know soon enough.”

They set off together, Penny checking the names on the office doors to the right while Julia looked at those on the left. The scent of antiseptic and starched sheets floated in the air.

Searching and not finding seemed to be the theme of the day. They had spent the first two hours in London trying to locate William. They’d gone to the building where the committee usually met, but they were told the committee was not in session today. Next, they stopped by the flat William shared with Jon, but neither of them was home. Finally, they went to William’s club and asked for him there.

William came out, surprised and pleased to see them, but women were not allowed past the front reception area, so he suggested they go to a tearoom a short distance away.

Over steaming cups of tea, William listened while Julia explained the reason for their trip to London.

“I saw the article about the Zeppelin’s destruction in the paper this morning.” William stirred sugar into his tea. “Everyone is talking about it, but I didn’t notice the pilot’s name. I’m not sure I would’ve recognized it even if I had.”

“I’ve mentioned Alex to you a few times,” Julia said with a gentle smile.

“I’m sure you have, my dear, but I’m afraid I’ve never been good with names, and I have been a bit distracted lately.”

“Of course. I understand. But I hope you’ll do what you can to find out what happened to Alex.”

William frowned at his teacup. “It won’t be easy to get information like that.”

Penny had tried to be patient and let Julia lead the conversation, but she felt she would burst if she didn’t speak up. “Oh, please, Cousin William. Alex doesn’t have close ties to his family, and I’m not sure he has other friends who will step forward to help him.”

William studied her more closely. “So this young pilot is special to you?”

She nodded. “We’ve exchanged a few letters, and I do want to help him if I can.”

He lifted one eyebrow and looked at Julia. She gave a slight nod, and he turned back to Penny. “All right. I’ll speak to Alfred Cummings at the War Office. He might be able to help.” He thought for a moment more. “And Michael Burlingame is with the Red Cross. Perhaps he could look into it.”

Penny tried to press down her disappointment. “Thank you. I appreciate your help.”

She wanted an answer today. Still, she didn’t intend to rest until they discovered Alex’s location and condition, and had a clear plan in place to bring him back to England. Which was the reason for their next stop, St. George’s Hospital, where they hoped to speak with Jon.

“Here we are.” Julia knocked on Jon’s office door.

No one answered, and Penny blew out a frustrated breath.

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