The Sister Returns by Joanna Rees

Author:Joanna Rees [Rees, Joanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK
Published: 2021-11-06T17:00:00+00:00

48

The 21

At Penn Station, in a small public telephone booth, Clement held the Bakelite receiver close to his ear as the line crackled. He shifted uncomfortably, having been standing in the cramped wooden booth for far too long. His back and hip ached, and he longed to sit in a comfortable chair – preferably with a drink, although that seemed to be impossible in this city.

The switchboard operator had made him hold for the long-distance operator, who’d kept him waiting to connect him through to a different office who could dial London. He’d heard a British voice and then another connection to the exchange in Lancashire and finally, now, he could hear the telephone ringing in Darton Hall. He thought of Martha trudging along the dark corridor, and silently cursed her for taking so long.

‘Where is Edith?’ Clement demanded when she answered.

‘She’s not here, sir,’ Martha said.

‘And Mother?’

‘Doing the church flowers. Shall I take a message? Are you coming home?’

She sounded guarded, but then, he and Martha had never seen eye to eye. She was frightened of him, he suspected, remembering now the times over the years that he’d lost his temper or had blamed Martha for little things that had been his fault – smashing his mother’s favourite vase, treading mud through the house, stealing money. Martha had watched him with her disapproving stare, and he’d despised her for not having the backbone to stand up to him.

He wanted to know where Edith was. Maybe he should have called the mill instead of the Hall. He instinctively reached for his pocket watch to check the time and calculate the time difference, but then remembered where it was. Damn it.

‘Tell Edith that the plan has changed and I’m going to California,’ Clement said. ‘She’ll understand.’

‘California?’ Martha reacted as if he’d announced that he was going to Mars.

He replaced the receiver before she had a chance to question him, tucked the train ticket into the inside pocket of his jacket and pushed open the half glass door. If Edith had been home, he would have told her about Renata King and how he might have found a way to save Darton even without Anna’s shares. But now she’d forfeited her right to know the truth.

‘Excuse me.’ He heard a voice and turned to see a man waving. ‘You left your hat.’

‘Oh, thank you,’ Clement said, grateful that his oversight had been noticed. He didn’t trust anyone around here not to steal the coat from his back.

‘It’s a fine trilby,’ the man continued, brushing the rim of it with his gloved hand. From the dapper way he was dressed, he was clearly a fellow who appreciated the finer things in life. He looked inside the hat and saw the silk label. ‘Hawkes of London. I have several of these myself.’

He was a slim man, younger than Clement, with snake-like hips and a Clark Gable moustache, but there was something appealing about his style. The lining of his coat, which now flashed as he put his hand in the pocket of his wide pinstriped suit, was a vivid pink.

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