Secrets of Cavendon: A gripping historical saga full of intrigue and drama. Barbara Taylor Bradford

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СКАЧАТЬ something of a nuisance, pestering her to go out with him. Now this. He was spying.

      Leaning against the wall, her mind racing, Victoria understood that Phil Dayton had become a threat. Instinctively, she smelled trouble. She would have to find a way to deal with him. Right now, though, she considered her options, wondering what to do.

      If she left the house, he would see her. She might manage to get a taxi quickly, but he would follow her. Perhaps she could make a dash for the Tube station nearby. He certainly couldn’t do that, because he wouldn’t leave his car unattended. Her last option was to go over and confront him, and imply she was going to report his behaviour to their boss, Michael Sutton.

      But she wasn’t too thrilled with that idea. There might be repercussions, and who knew whether she would be believed. She must be careful.

      She jumped, startled by the banging of an upstairs door and the clatter of heavy feet running down the stairs at high speed.

      Quite unexpectedly, her neighbour Declan O’Sullivan was calling her name, and a moment later smothering her in a big bear hug in the hallway.

      Then he held her away and looked at her intently, his black eyes full of sparkle. ‘You look smashing, Victoria! You should be in pictures.’

      Victoria couldn’t help laughing; Declan was always full of good cheer and bonhomie. ‘How was your mother’s birthday party?’ she asked, happy to see him.

      ‘A good time was had by all, and Mum loved every minute, being the centre of attention, and all that jazz. We partied until dawn.’

      ‘I’m glad. And I’m also relieved you’re back,’ Victoria said, and meant it. She missed Declan when he was touring in rep, or off making a film. He was one of her good friends, and reliable.

      ‘I see you’re off now? Going to Cavendon, are you?’ he asked.

      ‘No, I’m not. I’m about to have supper with Elise tonight. Nothing special, but tomorrow I’m going to see the flat she wants to take, so I can give her my opinion. Since I’m in north London and she’s in Chelsea, it’s always better if I sleep over at her sister’s house in Chelsea.’

      ‘That’s in Phene Street, isn’t it?’

      ‘Yes, why?’

      ‘Because I’m going that way. I’m meeting a mate at a pub in the King’s Road. So I can give you a lift. My car’s parked just down the street. Come on, let’s go.’ As he finished speaking, he picked up her overnight bag and opened the front door for her.

      It was with some relief that Victoria fell into step with Declan and clung to his arm as he led her to his Morris Minor. It was parked further down in Belsize Park Gardens.

      She couldn’t help hoping that Mister Phil Dayton was watching them in the mirror of his car. Then he would think she had a boyfriend and might leave her alone. No one had warned her that being a single career girl in the big city might carry this risk. But she wouldn’t give it up for the world.

       TEN

      Elise Steinbrenner stood on the landing between the two attics at the top of Greta’s house. She had suddenly felt the urge to walk around it a little earlier, and now her heart and mind were flooded with memories, filling her with happiness, and also a sense of sadness as well.

      She loved this warm and welcoming place. Eleven years. That was how long she had lived here in Phene Street with her older half-sister, who had received them with open arms. They had arrived on a Sunday, weary, tired and a little scared, and yet relief and joy had soon replaced these other emotions. Her father and brother and she were safe. At long last.

      They had escaped Berlin and the terror of Nazi Germany by the skin of their teeth.

      They were in England at last. It was the red, white and blue Union Jack on flagpoles that whirled in the wind in London, and not the German flag bearing the dreaded swastika, that symbol of danger and fear to her.

      A sudden memory flashed: the Union Jack billowing above the front door of the British Embassy on the Wilhelmstrasse. It had spelled SAFETY to her, and she had always thought how ironic it was that a few buildings further along was the Reichstag, where Hitler and his cronies sat plotting their heinous deeds in their headquarters, envisioning their conquest of the world.

      They had been lucky, she and her brother Kurt and their father. They were Jews. And Jews in Germany were being killed by the thousands in 1938. Their escape had somehow been secretly arranged by Lady Diedre Ingham, who worked at the War Office. She had a contact at the British Embassy in Berlin, who knew someone who knew someone else. And their escape had been cleverly and carefully planned; and once they had their valid travel documents they had been able to leave Berlin. Elise knew she would never forget the moment they had crossed into France, and finally arrived in Paris. It was a strange kind of shock to realize she was free. That her brother and her parents were free.

      A small involuntary shiver ran through her as her mind filled with thoughts of her mother. Heddy Steinbrenner had not travelled with them to London in the end. She had remained in Paris. And now, as an adult, Elise knew the reason she had stayed, having gone back to Paris and Berlin in 1946, wanting to find out about her mother’s fate.

      Pushing these thoughts to one side, Elise walked into the attic that her brother Kurt had called his lair. Years ago, Greta had furnished it with a desk and chair, several comfortable armchairs, bookshelves, and a chest of drawers. He had spent a lot of time in here.

      Now, staring at the corkboard above the desk, Elise smiled to herself. There had always been a small Union Jack flag and a bright red poppy for Poppy Day, in remembrance of the First World War, pinned to the board. His special keepsakes. Those spots on the board were empty. Kurt had taken his flag and his poppy with him when he had left for New York to continue his medical training to be a brain surgeon at a hospital in Manhattan – New York Presbyterian.

      Kurt, independent and determined by nature, had always had his sights set on what he termed ‘the new world’. He loved London, but the other shore beckoned, luring him with its modernity.

      When their father had unexpectedly died from a massive heart attack in 1947, Elise had known Kurt would start making his plans. And he did. He had been gone for almost two years already.

      Turning, leaving Kurt’s lair, she glanced in the other attic, which had been her brother’s bedroom, and sighed to herself. At the moment Kurt was having romantic problems, but he was far away and all she could do was offer advice …

      The ringing of the doorbell cut into her reverie, and she ran downstairs to the foyer, smoothing down her dark hair. Seconds later she was greeting Victoria and Declan on the doorstep.

      ‘Won’t you come in for a drink?’ Elise asked the young actor, whom she’d met before. Her musical voice still had the hint of an accent, despite all her years in London.

      Declan shook his head, smiled, then explained, ‘I’m running late, but another time perhaps?’ He smiled again, eyeing her appraisingly, and raised a brow.

      Elise laughed. ‘Of course. Vicki will give you my number.’

      Declan nodded, looking pleased, placed Victoria’s bag on the foyer floor and said СКАЧАТЬ