By the time the doctor arrived, Milly had heated some water and put it into a bowl. She’d found a flannel and was washing the dried vomit from Seebold’s face and hair. It seemed strange to be touching him so intimately. Apart from that one time when he’d put his arm around her and drawn her close to him after her mother had been so nasty, they had never really touched each other. As she washed his dark curls and cleaned his ear, Milly felt oddly emotional – close to tears. Her heart was thumping. He was such a wonderful person. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she washed his torso. She had begun by thinking of him as like a brother, but now that those strong arms were limp and his clear blue eyes (lapis lazuli, she had once told Lena) were dull and empty, Milly was afraid. He had a dry cough and it was obviously hurting him a lot. As she did her best to comfort him, she felt painfully tender towards him.

Nipper sat up and barked as the doctor came through the door. The doctor wrinkled his nose. ‘Has the patient been drinking?’ he said curtly.

‘No,’ said Milly. ‘I thought the same at first but there’s nothing here. No bottles at all but he’s been dreadfully sick.’

The doctor came towards the bed. Milly stepped to the other side of the curtain and left him to examine Seebold. She was washing her hands when the curtain flew back again and the doctor came out.

‘I’m glad to see you’re washing your hands,’ he said. ‘Make sure you do a good job of it. It looks as if he may have pleurisy and he’s also got hypothermia.’

‘What’s pleurisy?’ Milly asked as she dried her hands.

The doctor took her place at the bowl to wash his own hands.

‘It’s a lung infection,’ he said. ‘As soon as I’ve finished, I shall ring for an ambulance. He may have to have the fluid drawn from his chest.’

Milly caught her breath. That sounded really serious.

‘I suggest you get rid of those sheets,’ said the doctor. ‘Burn them if necessary, and you should sleep elsewhere tonight until this caravan is thoroughly cleaned.’

‘I don’t live here,’ said Milly. ‘I’m just a friend.’

‘Ah,’ said the doctor. ‘Then I apologise for my presumption.’

Twenty minutes later, Seebold was on his way to hospital. Milly didn’t want to stay in the caravan any longer than necessary, so she stuffed his washing into a holdall she’d found at the back of the cupboard, ready to be burnt back at the cottage. She then put an old belt through Nipper’s collar to make a lead, and the pair of them headed for the bus stop.

As she reached the driveway of Muntham Court, it seemed that there was some kind of party going on at the house. Several big cars were snaking their way down the driveway as Milly and Nipper made their way towards the little lane which took her to the cottage. At one point, the passenger in a large chauffeur-driven Bentley wound down the window. ‘Milly!’ she cried. ‘Oh my goodness, it is you.’

Milly turned her head to see Sarah Whitmore, her old school friend. She hadn’t seen her for years. ‘Sarah!’ she cried. ‘How are you? Where have you been? I did write ages ago but your letter was returned.’

‘Stop the car a minute will you, Jackson,’ Sarah said. The chauffeur pulled the car over and Sarah climbed out to walk beside her old friend. ‘We went to Austria,’ Sarah continued. ‘You remember my father was in the diplomatic service.’

‘Gosh,’ said Milly. She frowned. ‘You said “was”. He’s not . . .?’

‘No, no,’ said Sarah with a chuckle. ‘He’s in the car. I’m sure you know things have hotted up a lot lately. My father has been recalled to the UK.’ She gave Milly a hard look. ‘I say, you don’t exactly look ready for the off. Can I give you a lift to the house?’

‘No thanks, Sarah,’ said Milly. ‘I’ll be fine. I’ll catch you later. I’m just giving the dog a bit of a walk.’

The driver of the car behind the Bentley tooted his horn abruptly. A man, Milly presumed Sarah’s father, wound down the back-seat window. ‘Darling, we have to get going.’

‘Sorry, Daddy,’ said her friend.

‘Look, you go on, Sarah,’ said Milly.

‘Well if you’re sure?’

‘Absolutely,’ said Milly as they air-kissed each other’s cheeks. She watched Sarah climb back into the car and for a brief moment she missed her old life. The Bentley drove on and, as she turned into the lane, Milly had already changed her mind again. No, she didn’t miss those ghastly parties or the dressing up. She just missed having lovely friends like Sarah.

Chapter 34

On 15 March 1939, the Czechoslovakian president was intimidated into signing away his country’s independence. That meant that one of the world’s most modern, developed and industrialised economies – and one of the world’s largest food producers – had toppled into Hitler’s lap without so much as a cross word. Everybody said that Poland would be next.

Though internationally the situation was becoming increasingly worrying, matters closer to home were starting to look up. Seebold had spent a week in hospital before it was deemed that he was ready to be discharged. ‘The doc tells me it was a really close call,’ he told them. ‘Good job you turned up when you did, duchess. You’re my hero!’

Lena rolled her eyes as Milly shook her head and waved him away.

‘They say they want me to go to some sort of convalescent home,’ he complained bitterly. ‘I don’t want to be locked up indoors with a load of old men.’

Nan was willing to help, but Cyril’s brother who lived in Horsham was very unwell and the girls felt that she had enough on her plate. How could they convince the powers- that-be that Seebold could live with two unmarried girls, though? In the end, Lena solved the problem at a stroke.

‘He’s got to come with me,’ she told the doctor, as if there was no argument. ‘He’s my brother. I can’t leave my brother out in the cold, can I?’ She sighed and looked down at the floor. ‘No, I’ll look after him. It’s what my mother would have wanted me to do. It’s my duty.’

So a week later, an ambulance brought him to the cottage.

Once the ambulance had driven off, the three of them had a good laugh, and then Lena laid down some ground rules. ‘I know you are itching to get back outside, but you’re to stay in the warm for a few days. Milly can see to you in the mornings, and I’ll make your tea when I get home in the evenings. We’ve decided you can sleep in the bedroom. Milly and I can bunk up together in the boxroom.’

Seebold gave her a mock salute.

It was lovely to be together again although, for all his bluster, Seebold was still quite weak. He tired easily and he went to bed much earlier than the girls. Nipper, now recovered from his own trauma, was delighted to be reunited with his master. Milly and Lena didn’t mention that the poor dog had been half starved when Milly brought him home. They both knew it wasn’t Seebold’s fault anyway.

In the evenings they played cards, or Seebold showed them a few tricks. His cough was slow to go, and it was obvious that he still had a pain in his side. Being unwell frustrated him. ‘I’ve already been ill for too long. I need to get the Wonderland ready for the season.’

‘You will,’ said Milly brightly. She looked up and noticed that he was giving her a long hard look. ‘What?’

‘If there is a war,’ he said gravely, ‘I wonder how long I can keep it going. Now that Czechoslovakia has capitulated, things look pretty bad.’

‘It’ll be fine once the dust has settled,’ Milly tried to reassure him.

Seebold shook his head. ‘If push comes to shove, I shall join up. I shan’t wait to be conscripted.’

‘What brought that on?’ she said with a chuckle.

Seebold looked away. ‘Cyril came up on his bike this afternoon. He heard on the radio that Neville Chamberlain has promised to help Poland if Hitler invades.’

Milly frowned. ‘You don’t think Hitler would really do that, do you?’

Seebold turned towards her. ‘I think he might, you know,’ he said quietly.

Milly felt her eyes stinging. ‘But that really would mean war.’

Seebold nodded.

‘And if you join up, what will you do?’

He shrugged. ‘Probably something like the Royal Engineers. I’m not going yet. I just wanted you to know, that’s all.’

Milly had a sick feeling in her stomach but she didn’t say anything. Everything pointed towards war, but there was a part of her that kept hoping all the signs were wrong. If war did come, everything would change. Come to that, what would she and Lena do if the country went to war? Sussex was right next to the continent of Europe. It would be on the front line if there was an invasion. She glanced over at Seebold again. What if they sent him abroad? What if he was injured . . . what if he was . . .?

‘Sorry, duchess,’ he said softly. ‘I’ve upset you with all this talk of war, haven’t I?’