‘I suppose she could have left that before we got up,’ said Lena.

Milly shook her head. ‘If she wrote it in the morning, she would have said, “Gone to let the hens out.” No,’ she added bitterly, ‘she left the note that night and we never even noticed it.’

‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, Milly,’ Lena said gently, ‘you were very upset about the conversation with your mother.’

‘That must be why Cyril’s bike was leaning against the fence,’ said Seebold, having a lightbulb moment. ‘She wanted to get there and back again before it got dark.’

They sipped their tea until Seebold said, ‘Are you two staying here tonight?’

Milly looked at Lena and chewed her bottom lip. ‘We forgot to ask Cyril. Do you think he’d mind?’

‘You stay as long as you like, my dears.’ The voice in the doorway made them all jump. Cyril stood there, red-eyed and looking exhausted.

Lena rose to her feet. ‘Would you like some tea, Cyril? I’ve just made a fresh pot.’

‘No, my dear,’ he said. ‘If you don’t mind, I’m going to bed.’

Twenty minutes later, Milly walked with Seebold to his lorry. ‘I’m sorry if I made a fool of myself at the mortuary,’ he said sheepishly.

She squeezed his forearm. ‘We’ve all had a very traumatic couple of days.’

It wasn’t until he was at the Offington roundabout that it occurred to him that she might be thinking that he didn’t mean what he’d said at the mortuary. He thumped the wheel in frustration. What an idiot. Why did he get so tongue-tied when he was with her? Why did he always mess things up?

Chapter 40

The letter had been addressed to the cottage so it was a couple of days before Mr Sewell, the postman, found out where Milly was staying and was able to deliver it to her. When she opened it, she had to sit down. It was from the Ministry of Home Security’s Camouflage Directorate. Principal Salt had sent her painting, the one of the nightjar, along with a letter of recommendation, and she had been short-listed for an interview. If she was successful, they would contact her for a person-to-person meeting. Her hands were trembling. She felt elated and terrified at the same time. It would be hard to leave Lena and Seebold, but what an amazing opportunity this would be! She sighed. If only poor Nan had been here to see it. Milly felt her eyes stinging, but then she seemed to hear Nan’s voice. ‘Make the most of your opportunities, girl. They don’t come round often.’

Milly took a deep breath. Yes, she would. This opportunity was too good to miss.

Agatha, Pearl and Seebold arrived back in Worthing two days later. Much to Agatha’s disgust, they had been formally arrested on suspicion of arson and manslaughter when the Worthing police arrived in Harwich. The officers were too tired to drive all the way back the same day, so they had to wait in a police cell until the next morning. When they arrived back in Worthing, they were taken straight to Thurloe House in High Street and each put into a police cell. By the time they were interviewed the following day, Agatha was beside herself with rage. This was an affront to her dignity like no other.

‘How dare they treat me like a common criminal!’ she screeched when her solicitor arrived. ‘Where’s Inspector Young? He knew my late husband. Get Inspector Young here, this instant.’

But her solicitor was more circumspect and did his best to calm her down.

‘It’s no good going in there all guns blazing,’ he said. ‘Just answer the questions.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous! I had nothing to do with it,’ Agatha shrieked.

‘Then simply tell the truth.’

It was a harrowing day but, by four o’clock, she and Pearl had been released. Freddie was still in custody.

Agatha’s main problem was where to go. Because she had been on her way to Germany, she had formally vacated Muntham Court. When she mentioned this to her solicitor, he had explained that – because the owner and her friend had lost their home – they would be moving into Muntham Court next week. ‘Under the terms of my husband’s will, she’s not supposed to have that property until she’s twenty-one,’ Agatha spat.

‘Under the terms of that self-same will, should you vacate the property, it’s up to the Trustees to determine what happens next,’ the solicitor reminded her. ‘They have deemed that – under the circumstances – your daughter can make it her home.’

There was no way Agatha wanted to be under the same roof as Millicent and that creature, so she had no other choice but to find somewhere else – and she had less than a week to do so. Thus, Warnes Hotel along the seafront became her and Pearl’s home while she worked out what to do. It was time to call in a few favours.

It wasn’t until the following Wednesday that Bunny Warren offered her a workman’s cottage on his estate for as long as she wanted it. It was a bit of a climb-down but Agatha accepted it as graciously as she could and, seeing as Pearl would be with her too, she was relatively safe from Bunny’s advances. She even submitted herself to one of his wet kisses and allowed him to knead her breast to seal the deal.

Back at the house, she and Pearl were collecting the few things they had left behind. Her daughter seemed strangely quiet but that was hardly surprising with her husband still being held in a police cell.

It came as a shock when they found Freddie’s note on the kitchen table. ‘Thanks for the memory,’ Pearl read aloud.

‘Can you believe the audacity of that man!’ Agatha fumed. ‘I wish I could wring his bloody neck.’

The note brought tears to Pearl’s eyes. ‘He had no intention of taking me with him, did he?’

‘Well, he’s locked up now,’ said her mother. ‘Let’s hope they throw the book at him.’

The doorbell rang but, before she opened the door, Pearl peered through the glass. She came running back to her mother. ‘It’s Milly,’ she gasped.

Agatha strode down the hall and swung the front door open. ‘What do you want?’ she said coldly. ‘The solicitor says you don’t move in until Monday.’

‘Hello, Mother,’ Milly said pointedly. ‘I thought out of common courtesy I would ring the bell rather than walking straight in.’

‘What do you want?’ Agatha repeated coldly.

‘I just came to say that you can both still live here if you want to,’ Milly said calmly. ‘There’s plenty of room. Things have changed and I shall be moving myself shortly—’

‘We don’t need your charity, thank you very much,’ Agatha interrupted spitefully.

Behind her back, Pearl looked crestfallen. ‘But Mummy . . .’

Agatha was already closing the door.

Milly shrugged. ‘Please yourself,’ she said as she turned to go.

They buried Nan in Durrington cemetery. There was a large turn-out. Nan had been a friend to so many people. The hearse was so full of flowers that the undertaker had to ask the mourners themselves to take them up in their cars to the graveside.

The service had been held at All Saints Church in Findon Valley. Nan and Cyril had been going there ever since it had opened in 1934 when, alongside a small band of churchgoers, they had attended services held in what was a storeroom at the Highfield Dairy on Findon Road. The pair had been part of the group that had set about raising money for the building of a more permanent church, something that had been completed a couple of years later in 1936 when it was dedicated by the Bishop of Lewes. It was now packed with mourners but, even though he was surrounded by his friends, Cyril seemed to be a lonely man.

At the wake which took place in Cyril’s cottage, Milly and Lena played hostess. When it was over, Cyril looked a shadow of his former self. It had been arranged that his recently recovered brother would take him back to Horsham with him for a few days’ rest away from the cottage’s memories.

Once Milly and Lena had cleared up and Seebold had taken borrowed chairs back to their owners, the three of them sat at the kitchen table over the inevitable pot of tea.

Milly took the opportunity to tell them about the Camouflage Directorate.

‘Sounds amazing,’ said Lena.

‘You deserve it,’ said Seebold.

They were both delighted for her, but she could still see their sense of loss.

Seebold stared into the depths of his half-empty cup. ‘They tell me that Freddie has been charged with Nan’s murder,’ he said eventually.

‘See, I don’t understand that,’ said Milly. ‘Why on earth would Freddie want to kill Nan? He hardly even knew her.’