Tug of War Read online

  ‘Madame! Oh, there you are! We’ve been looking out for you for ages! They’ve arrived! A message came to say they were on their way an hour after you’d left. The Captain said not to send after you . . . better to let you go ahead and do your duties. He could wait . . .’

  Aline almost collapsed with relief. She was hardly listening as the maid chattered on. ‘We didn’t know quite what to do . . . the state they were in! But it’s all right . . . we’ve managed! They’re all bedded in and we’ve got their mucky uniforms off their backs and into the tub.’

  Aline spoke calmly to counter the girl’s gushing excitement. ‘Quite right, Pauline. And – lye? Have you used plenty of lye? You’ll find supplies on the bottom shelf of the pantry. Pay special attention to the seams. I understand that is where the lice gather.’ This was the maîtresse de maison speaking. At last she allowed herself to ask: ‘Now, tell me – where is the Captain?’

  ‘He’s out the back. Gone to take a stroll round the estate with Master Georges. He said as I was to tell you where he’d be the minute you got home. I put the men in the summer salon. Six of ’em. They’re in there playing cards. Seem glad enough to be under a roof. I hope that was all right, madame?’

  ‘Yes, of course. Offer them tea, Pauline. There’s a caddy full on the top shelf of the housekeeper’s dresser.’

  She dismissed the girl with a nod, turned and managed six stately steps before breaking into a run. As she tore along, she pulled off her bloodstained apron and her auxiliary nurse’s cape and threw them to the floor. Her starched cap followed and she shook her hair loose as she went, weaving her way down cool corridors heading towards the stable yard. She knew where she’d find him. Clovis wouldn’t have wasted time waiting for her to return. He’d be at work already.

  At an open door she heard the clank of a pail, a cheerful whistling and a child’s excited squeal. And then, there he was, the familiar tall shape at the end of the corridor, his fair hair freshly washed and gleaming in the sunshine, his dog at his heels. With his uniform discarded and in the tub, he’d put on his old working clothes and yard boots. And, naturally, he’d been out to inspect the cellars; he was returning, carrying a bottle of champagne in each hand.

  All hesitations and doubts abandoned, shaking with excitement and caught out by an unexpected rush of affection, she called out his name. He was blinded by the sunlight and it was a moment before he saw her standing in the shadows. She ran to him, hugging him, breathing in the familiar smell of his brown linen shirt, moving her arms up around his neck and teetering on her toes to reach his lips.

  The bottles crashed to the marble floor, frothing in scented eddies around their feet as he put both arms around her and lifted her up, swinging her round and laughing with delight.

  Chapter Two

  The War Office, London, August 1926

  ‘I’m sorry, sir. Truly. Of course, I would have liked to oblige but . . . no . . . the answer has to be – no. I’m afraid it simply can’t be done. I have to plead a prior engagement.’

  Joe Sandilands stirred uncomfortably in his seat. He was unused to refusing to fall in at once with a requirement, order, wish or whim from a superior officer. And Brigadier Sir Douglas Redmayne was a very superior officer. No one ever got into the habit of denying Sir Douglas anything. A second opportunity never presented itself. The Brigadier seemed equally surprised and discomfited by the feeble rejection. He bristled at Joe across the breadth of mahogany desk, bushy eyebrows gathering in attack with moustache coming up in support.

  His hand reached out and he pressed a buzzer.

  Joe rose to his feet and turned to face the door. He braced himself for the entry of a matched pair of the heavy brigade he’d caught sight of standing on duty in the corridors of the War Office on his way up to the fifth floor and prepared himself for the ceremony of ejection from the premises. It would be embarrassing, of course, but not entirely unwelcome. In fact he’d need an escort to find his way out of this imposing baroque building with its two and a half miles of corridor. Everything around him from the shining white Portland stone cladding on the pillared exterior to the heavy gold and ivory desk furniture was designed to overawe.

  To Joe’s surprise the two expected thugs made no appearance; the door was opened by one small female secretary.

  ‘This would seem to be as good a moment as any, Miss Thwaite,’ said the Brigadier with a nod. ‘If you will oblige?’

  Miss Thwaite favoured them both with an understanding smile and disappeared.

  ‘Resume your seat and hear me out, Commander.’ Redmayne smiled and selected another card from his strong hand: ‘Perhaps I should have mentioned that I am seeing you with the knowledge and permission – encouragement even – of your Commissioner. From whom I continue to hear good things. Liaison between our departments, I’m sure you’ll agree, has . . .’ Into the slight pause, Joe knew he was meant to slide the thought: ‘until this moment’. ‘. . . been cordial and effective.’

  Joe sat down again, eyeing Redmayne with what he hoped was an expression at once undaunted but unchallenging. The officer was, he reckoned, ten years older than himself, probably in his early forties, lean, active and professional. His title was as impressive as his appearance: ‘Imperial General Staff, i/c Directorate of Military Operations and Intelligence’. As baroque as the building, Joe reckoned. He’d always known it as ‘Mil Intel’. A survivor of the war, Redmayne had worked his way to his present eminence, it was said, thanks to more than his fair share of luck. But Joe would have added: intelligence and a speedily acquired understanding whilst under fire of the changing nature of warfare. And, if the stories were to be believed, a strong streak of ruthlessness had stiffened the blend.

  ‘Now, be so kind as to hear me out, old chap!’ said Redmayne into the silence, trying for a tone of bonhomie. ‘I’m perfectly aware of your travel arrangements.’ He poked at and then straightened a folder in front of him, a folder containing as the top sheet, Joe was sure, the outline of his holiday plans. ‘Nevil was kind enough to send over your file before he left for Exmoor.’

  Out of courtesy and custom Joe had sketched out his itinerary beginning with departure early tomorrow morning from his sister’s house in Surrey where he would pick up a package and make for the Channel port, and going on at a speed dictated by the performance of his car and the state of the roads all the way down to the south of France. He’d even given estimated dates of arrival at hotels along his route. But his plans further than Antibes he had not confided for the simple reason that he had none. He was looking forward to a blissful two weeks of wandering around Provence before starting for home again.

  ‘I see you’ve elected to take the Dover crossing to Calais and then on down through the battlefields, fetching up at Reims.’ The Brigadier looked at him with speculation. ‘Many chaps would have gone Newhaven-Dieppe to Paris and avoided all that.’

  ‘Avoiding “all that” is not something I would ever want to do,’ said Joe quietly. ‘I have respects to pay. Memories to keep bright.’ In embarrassment he added, ‘And you have to admire what the French and the Belgians are doing by way of transforming all those hellish bone-yards into memorials and cemeteries. There are some quite splendid monuments designed by Lutyens I should like to take a look at . . .’

  ‘Good. Good. Well, I see I’m not sending you out of your way then. Not at all. You’ll be passing through Reims. Centre of the once glorious champagne trade. All I’m asking you to do is break your journey at this address instead of staying at a hotel. Here you are.’

  He passed over the desk two small white cards. Joe looked first at the visiting card and read in curlicued, florid French lettering: Charles-Auguste Houdart, Château de Houdart, Reims, Champagne. The second card was a merchant’s copy of a wine label. A spare architectural sketch of a small château nestling between beech trees showed ordered lines of vines marching up a slope behind and disappearing into the distance. Across the top was printed the name of the champagne house, which
appeared to be Houdart Veuve, Fils et Cie.

  ‘Your wine merchant, sir?’

  ‘Yes, that, but also my friend. Charles-Auguste. Splendid fellow. You’ll like him.’

  ‘And is your friend Charles-Auguste the son of this house?’ Joe asked, intrigued despite his unwillingness to show the least co-operation with this scheme to divert him from his plans.

  ‘No, he isn’t. I suppose you could say he’s billed as Cie – la Compagnie. He runs it after all. On behalf of the aforementioned Widow and Son. Ever heard of this brand, Sandilands? No. Can’t say I’m surprised. It’s a very small house . . . not one of the grandes marques like, oh, Moët et Chandon, Ayala, Bollinger, Veuve Clicquot. But to a connoisseur the name Houdart speaks volumes. Interesting history. Especially recent history. You’ll remember the two battles of the Marne damn nearly scoured this country out of existence? Some of the larger estates are only just beginning to get back to pre-war production levels but this little château managed to survive practically unscathed. And all in spite of losing the owner and moving force of the enterprise to the war. Clovis. His name was Clovis. He rode off to war, disappeared and was posted “missing, presumed dead” in 1917. He left a widow and a seven-year-old son behind. But quite a widow as it turned out! Gallant, in the tradition of Champagne widows. Nothing loath, she rolled up her sleeves, kicked off her sandals and trod the grapes, so to speak, alongside whoever she could get hold of to work the estate. And it paid off, it would seem. Nothing prospered, of course, in that dreadful four years but it survived. And now it’s prospering like anything!’

  ‘I’ve identified the Veuve, and the Fils – her son – must be about sixteen now? But where does your friend, who I see bears the family name, come into this?’ Joe’s interest was polite and professional but no more than that.

  ‘Charles-Auguste. He’s a cousin of the chap who disappeared on the battlefield. When it was clear that Clovis had been lost he came up from Provence where he had a small winery himself and took the reins from the doubtless weary hands of the widow. With huge success. But you shall judge for yourself! Thank you, Miss Thwaite!’ he shouted cheerily to his secretary who entered bearing a tray set with champagne glasses and a bottle in a silver ice bucket.

  Joe’s mouth tightened. All this careful stage-setting boded ill for him. He scowled critically at the wine he was offered and listened to Redmayne’s hearty toast: ‘To the Widow!’

  ‘To all widows,’ Joe murmured in response. ‘God bless them.’

  He sipped the wine and sipped again with pleasure. It was as good a champagne as he had ever tasted and he said as much. Redmayne appeared pleased. ‘This is the 1921 vintage,’ he said. ‘Only just been released. Reports are that last year’s will be even better. While you’re down there, Sandilands, I want you to be sure to register an order for a certain quantity to be shipped to me when the moment comes. Charles-Auguste will advise you. Very much to my taste. The bouquet is excellent – don’t you think so? People are so intrigued by the bubbles they often forget to appreciate it, you know. And the degree of dryness is spot on. They get it right. What do you make of the colour?’

  Well, if this was the game, Joe could hold his end up. Hiding a smile, he raised his glass to the light and squinted at it. ‘Rather deeper than one is accustomed to – a brilliant intense gold.’ He swirled the wine gently, put his nose to the glass and sniffed briefly ‘And a bouquet to match. Spices, would you say? Vanilla certainly but . . . cardamom? Yes, a whisper of cardamom . . . and fruit . . . Something here from my childhood . . . got it – quinces! Quinces cooking with apples under a buttery pastry crust.’

  Redmayne stared and blinked and Joe wondered if he’d overdone it but the only response was a dry: ‘Indeed? Mmm . . . And I detect a touch of Proust, I think.’

  They drank companionably together, Redmayne talking knowledgeably of blending, first and second pressings, remuage, dégorgement, while Joe waited for the blow to fall.

  ‘More wine, Sandilands?’

  ‘Thank you. Would this be a good moment, sir,’ he said genially, ‘to tell me why you’ve summoned me here? My detective skills lead me to suppose you wouldn’t have called in a Scotland Yard Commander to hand him a shopping list for champagne. I’m wondering what service, exactly, Monsieur Houdart would be expecting me to perform – were I to accept this chalice which I suspect will turn out to be heavily laced with some poison or other?’

  Joe held out his glass.

  Redmayne smiled as he poured. ‘As a matter of fact there is something you could do for him. Just a small favour. Army involvement, of course. French, possibly British. This thing landed on my desk, diverted from the Department of the Adjutant General, the Directorate of Prisoners of War and Personal Services – if you can believe! – but mainly it’s the French police you would be helping. The request for assistance came, in fact, from them. From the very top. Oh, yes. Police Judiciaire involved . . . and rather puzzled to be involved, I gather. At all events, they handed it swiftly to Interpol and you’ll be only too aware, after that last lot, that we owe them a considerable favour. Your mob owe them a considerable favour. The least we could do, I thought, when they approached me, was to send someone along to liaise with them. Interesting case. You’ll be intrigued.’

  Not quite at ease with his presentation, Redmayne got up and strode to the window, hands behind his back. He pushed up a pane, the better to catch the bugle call coming up from Horseguards below, and looked out with satisfaction over to the crowding green canopy of trees in St James’s Park.

  He cleared his throat. ‘Of course, it’s the press involvement that stirred the whole thing up. And now the country’s in a frenzy. Nothing like a mysterious death and a grieving widow to get the Froggies going! The whole population dashes out in its slippers every morning to buy a paper and read the latest instalment of the drama. Haven’t seen anything like it since the death of Little Nell hit the news-stands.’

  Joe had, as a child, ridden without permission a horse which, he had very quickly realized, was out of his control and heading for the hills. The same sick feeling was growing as Redmayne talked.

  ‘Sir! A moment!’ He attempted a tug on the reins. ‘Police? Interpol? Mysterious death? This doesn’t sound like a matter I can attend to between sips of champagne and polite conversation. Whilst flighting south for the summer. There’s an officer in my department, ex-guardsman – Ralph Cottingham. I know he would be delighted to get away for a week or two.’

  Joe had overstepped the mark.

  ‘Thank you for the suggestion, Commander,’ came the curt reply. Redmayne turned and glowered. ‘Cottingham’s name came up, of course. I always choose the best man for the job and in this case, with your wartime experience in Military Intelligence and your knowledge of the language, you are he.’

  His words had a finality which depressed Joe but then the Brigadier unbent and gave a tight smile. ‘And I don’t forget that you were right there – on the spot as it were. Caught up in the battle of the Marne, weren’t you? Your local knowledge may come in handy. And, better yet – travelling under no one’s auspices but your own, your section will avoid any belly-aching from accounts in the matter of extra departmental expense. We’re all accountable these days to pen-pushing pipsqueaks of one sort or another. It irritates me to have to take these petty restrictions into consideration and I expect it’s much the same with you but – this way neither Nevil nor I will be expected to foot the bill. Some might consider the offer of a weekend’s hospitality at a château a more than adequate quid pro quo.’

  ‘And so it would be, sir, if I were free to accept it.’ Joe’s voice had an edge of desperation. ‘But, you see, there’s a . . . an . . . impediment. For the outward leg of my journey, at least, I am not a free agent.’

  The Brigadier returned to his desk and poked again at the file. ‘Something you haven’t declared?’

  ‘Not something, sir. Someone. I shall not be alone. For the journey down to Antibes I shall be travellin
g with a female companion.’

  Chapter Three

  A questioning flick of Redmayne’s eye towards the file betrayed, to Joe’s satisfaction, that the official records evidently did not contain full coverage of his private life.

  ‘A lady, you say?’

  ‘I think I said female, sir. Not sure the word lady would be appropriate.’

  Redmayne was, for a moment, disconcerted. But only for a moment. His expression adjusted itself into one conveying comprehension and collusion. ‘Look here – is the presence of this, er, companion absolutely essential to the success of your vacation, I wonder, Sandilands? You refer to her as an impediment. Quite understand your position. Most chaps would be only too glad to use the opportunity of an emergency posting abroad to get off by themselves. I’ll be pleased to put it in writing . . . tiddle it up and make it look official if that would smooth a few feathers . . . ease your path. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that female companionship – if that’s what you’re after – is available and of a superior style in France.’

  Redmayne sat back, pleased with his solution. He exchanged an old soldier’s knowing smile with the handsome young man sitting opposite. He didn’t think he’d assumed too much. As well as the details he’d picked out from Sandilands’ file he had had a full report from Sir Nevil and, indeed, had even met the man in a social context on one or two occasions. You never quite knew where you were with a Scotsman but first impressions had been most favourable. Undeniably a gentleman, impeccable war record. He was, to date, unattached and that suited his department. With no wifely or domestic concerns, he had always shown himself ready to move at a second’s notice from his bachelor apartment in Chelsea without demur, travel any distance and take on any task, Nevil had assured him. But this was a state which could not, realistically, be expected to last. The Brigadier sighed. This promising chap would soon, inevitably, announce his decision to settle down in some green suburb with wife, children and labrador. Redmayne dismissed this gloomy picture. With a bit of luck he might just turn out to be that useful thing – the eternal bachelor. Still in his early thirties, fit, active and charming company. Thick head of black hair, neatly barbered. Quiet grey eyes. Pity about the face. The war wound. Still, there were those, mainly women – and Lady Redmayne one of them – who maintained that the crooked brow was most intriguing and gave a certain mystery to the otherwise clear-cut features.