Eustace gave her a puzzled frown.

‘You remember I told you that Seebold was chased by a swan,’ she continued, ‘well when he managed to get back into the lorry, the swan turned back and then it suddenly spotted the man coming out of the long grass and chased after him instead. I’ve often wondered what he was doing up there.’

‘Probably watching the swans,’ Eustace suggested with a shrug. ‘Or maybe butterflies. You get a lot of Clouded Yellow butterflies and the Dusky Sallow up there on the grassland. Did the man have a net or a camera?’

‘I don’t think so.’ Milly shook her head. ‘Anyway, he was facing that way.’

Eustace followed her pointing finger then pulled a face. ‘The only thing over there is Lancing College and Shoreham Airport.’

Milly said no more but it struck her that Pearl’s husband didn’t seem to be the type to be interested in butterflies. And come to think of it, yes, he had had something in his hand that day. She had seen him throw it into the bag on the back of his bicycle. Could it have been a camera or perhaps some binoculars?

So what was the true reason for him being up there? Was he bird-watching, or was it something more sinister? She shivered. Could he have been looking at Lancing College or the flight path to Shoreham Airport?

As they walked on, they bumped shoulders and Eustace reached for her hand. After spending such a lovely afternoon together, it seemed the most natural thing in the world and it gave Milly the most delicious feeling.

Chapter 30

Freddie dropped his bombshell at the breakfast table a week later, leaving Agatha and Pearl completely stunned.

‘We’ve done nothing at all this year. It’s about time we started some proper socialising in the run-up to Christmas,’ he told them. ‘I want you to organise a dinner party for the local gentry.’

Agatha opened her mouth to say something, but Freddie put up his hand. ‘I know what you’re going to say, the expense will be too high. Well, it may be considered vulgar, but I want to help.’ He rolled a wad of notes along the table towards her.

‘I can’t possibly . . .’ Agatha spluttered.

‘Please consider it as a gift, Mother-in-Law,’ he said, helping himself to another egg. ‘I have not made much of a contribution since I’ve been here and, after all, I am family.’

There was a moment of bemused silence, then Pearl said, ‘How exciting. Who shall we invite, Mummy?’

It had been so long since Agatha had entertained, she could hardly think. ‘Major Chipping might be a good option,’ she began, adding by way of explanation for Freddie, ‘He’s the chairman of the local hunt.’

‘Excellent,’ said Freddie.

‘What about Lady Verity?’ said Pearl. ‘After all, we did go to her party all that time ago.’

‘If we invite her, we should have Sir Maurice as well,’ Agatha said. ‘And if they come, maybe His Grace the Duke?’

‘Oh Mummy, he’s a bit of a bore.’

Agatha nodded. ‘You may be right. Let’s stick with fun people.’

‘No, no,’ said Freddie with a wave of his hand, ‘invite the duke. Old bores are fine. In fact, invite the whole bloody gentry!’

‘We need to write this down or we shall forget,’ said Pearl, going to the dresser drawer and taking out a writing pad. ‘You must ask Bunny Warren.’

‘Who is Bunny Warren?’ said Freddie.

‘Oh darling,’ Pearl scolded. ‘He’s the man who gave me away at the wedding.’

Freddie turned his attention back to his toast. How could he have forgotten that stupid old buffoon? His raucous laughter had near driven him mad at the reception. What on earth his mother-in-law saw in the man was anybody’s guess – unless it was his money. He made a mental note to put Bunny Warren at the top of his list; after all, he’d look quite fetching hanging from a lamppost.

Just the day before, Freddie had been up to London and the German Embassy with his photographs and a few picture postcards of the local area. Prussia House was a magnificent building which only last year had hosted a party with a thousand guests to celebrate its reopening after a £100,000 renovation. The guest list included royalty: Prince George, the Duke of Kent and his wife Princess Marina. Freddie’s dinner party might not reach such lofty heights, but the type of people Agatha wanted to invite sounded just perfect.

As his wife and mother-in-law put together an impressive list of the great and the good, he smiled to himself. Little did the British know that the German Embassy had been used as a base for the Gestapo ever since its formation.

When he’d handed his little treasure trove into the office, he had been told to wait for further instructions.

‘You have done a good job,’ Christoph, his superior said, as he sifted through the photographs. ‘Good shot of that plane coming in to land at Shoreham.’

‘I thought so too,’ said Freddie, careful not to mention being chased by an angry swan in full view of Pearl’s sister Milly. ‘It gives you a really clear idea of the flight path.’

‘And nobody suspects you?’

‘Absolutely not,’ Freddie said emphatically. ‘I’ve done everything possible to make them believe I have no time for the Führer. To them I am the perfect English gentleman.’

‘Sehr gut.’ Christoph put the photographs and cards to one side. ‘We have had a communiqué from your uncle. He wants you to contribute to the Sonderfahndungsliste.’

Freddie gave him a confused stare.

‘We are collecting the names of everyone who is antagonistic towards the Fatherland and those who are sympathisers. When we invade these shores, all traitors will be immediately arrested and deported to Germany.’

‘What about gypsies?’

‘It goes without saying,’ said Christoph, ‘that they will be rounded up with the Jews and the imbeciles. No, the people we are looking for are those who speak out against us, people of influence; the sort of people the British call the upper crust.’

‘I shall need money,’ Freddie had said. Hence the roll of notes he’d given Agatha.

Now he looked over Pearl’s shoulder. His wife and mother-in-law were rejigging the names on their list. There were plenty of upper-crust-sounding names in the mix. Good, good. He couldn’t wait to rid the world of these snobbish bores.

‘What about the members of the local Masonic Lodge?’ he suggested. ‘Or perhaps one of the local clergy or a Boy Scout leader?’

Agatha looked up. ‘Okay, why not?’

Freddie gave her a nod of approval. And you, my dear mother-in-law, will be the very first on my list, he thought savagely.

Seebold, Nan, Cyril and Milly had spent the day helping Lena to move into the cottage. Milly had been busy cleaning while Nan had changed the sheets and washed the curtains. The men had been working outside, building a chicken run and setting up the pigeon loft while Lena had taken her Shetland ponies to the stables on the Horsham Road. By the time evening came, the cottage was looking cosy once more.

Nan had prepared a hotpot which only needed to be heated through to be ready to eat. Milly laid the table.

‘Does she know what she’s going to do?’ Nan called from the kitchen.

‘I don’t think so,’ said Milly. ‘One thing is for certain: she doesn’t want to go back to Rainbow George.’

Nan put her head round the door. ‘Tell her I can get her daily work in service anytime she wants,’ she confided. ‘There are a lot of well-to-do people in Findon Valley who are crying out for domestics. They pay good wages too.’

‘I’ll mention it,’ Milly promised as Nan went back into the kitchen.

For Milly, being back in the cottage brought mixed feelings. She’d enjoyed some happy times here but also some very sad ones. A couple of times, as she’d turned quickly, she thought she could still see her poor father sitting in the armchair and doing his best to be jolly when it was obvious that he was in a lot of pain. It also reminded her of that night when Angel had been here and she and Pearl had been outside in the dark. Milly shuddered. She had never got around to telling Lena what they had done, and there were times when, even after all these years, it still weighed heavily on her mind. As she put the condiments onto the table, Milly heard the sound of voices and the door burst open. Lena was the first to come in, her face wreathed in smiles, but she was quickly followed by someone else. ‘Look who I found on the doorstep,’ Lena cried.