When Alice Met Danny (12 page)

‘Who was he writing to?’ Scottie’s voice was far more gentle than his outward appearance. ‘His wife?’

Alice glanced at the letters again. They were all to
My dearest Gladys
. Without reading them, it was difficult to tell the relationship, but at least it was clearly not his mum. She looked up. ‘His wife, his sister or his sweetheart. Her name is – was – Gladys.’

‘And what’s his name?’

‘Danny. I can’t see a surname. But I’m going to take them home and read them. If either of you want a go after me, you’re very welcome.’

A distant church bell started to chime five o’clock. Scottie and Gerry got up and headed off to continue their work. They were keen to get the job done as quickly as possible. They had promised that they would complete their first fix by the weekend, so the plasterer could come in the following week. Alice bade them farewell and headed out to the car. As she came out of the house, her phone rang. It was Megan.

‘Hi Alice. All well?’

‘I’m fine. And you?’

‘Extremely well.’ She sounded happy. ‘I wondered if you felt like a pie and a pint down at the King’s Arms tonight.’

‘Sounds good. I’ll see you there at seven.’

No sooner had she finished the call than the phone rang again. This time it was Danny Kemp, her friend and now tenant, from London.

‘Hi, Danny. Burst pipes, fuses blown, no hot water?’

‘No, the flat’s great, thanks. I was just keeping in touch. How’s everything going down there?’ She realised that she was very pleased to hear his voice.

‘Everything’s fine. Except for the fact that everywhere I go, I find men called Danny.’

He laughed. ‘Must be fate. Don’t forget, I was the original and genuine.’

She told him how things were progressing with the house and about finding the wartime letters.

‘That sounds like a sign from the Almighty to me. You definitely need to push ahead with your plan to go back to university.’

She had been thinking the selfsame thing. ‘I’ve been looking at Exeter university’s website. There’s a great-looking MA programme in the history department. I’m going to see if I can get an interview one of these days.’

‘Good for you. Alice, the reason for calling, apart from the pleasure of hearing your voice, is to see if we are going to be able to meet up in two weeks’ time?’

‘Of course, your windsurfing event. But aren’t you going to have company?’

‘No, it’s as I thought, Janie’s ducked out, so I’m all on my own. There’s a restaurant in Beauchamp with a Michelin star. How about dinner there on the evening of Friday fourteenth?’

‘The Lobster Pot, I know it.’ She’d heard of it, but had never been there. ‘I’d love to, Danny, but this time we go Dutch. OK?’

‘It’s a deal. And a date. I’ll book a table and give you a call a few days before to remind you.’

‘I won’t forget.’

‘I certainly won’t.’

‘Oh, and Danny…’

‘Yes?’

‘Sorry I fell asleep on you last time.’

‘Any time you want to fall asleep on me, you will be very welcome.’ Before she could retort, he hung up.

Chapter 21

That evening, the King’s Arms was busy for a Wednesday night. Steve behind the bar told them it was because of a local farmers’ association meeting. Alice’s ears pricked up. There was one particular farmer she would be interested to meet.

She and Megan found a table in the corner. Alice had brought Danny the dog with her, thinking he might enjoy the outing as he’d been left alone quite a lot recently. It would also give her a chance to judge his behaviour in a public space. Megan ordered salmon salad and a glass of white wine.

‘So what happened to the pie and a pint?’

‘Too fattening. I need to watch my figure, you know.’ Alice noticed the twinkle in her eye.

‘I’ll have the same, but maybe we could have a bottle of wine, rather than two glasses.’

‘Excellent idea.’

They took their drinks to the table and sat down, Danny stretched out beside them, nose towards the door. Although he appeared asleep, he was watching everybody who came in and out. Occasionally somebody would stoop down to pat him and the heavy black tail would thump the floor.

‘Danny’s not the only one looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tonight.’ Alice gave Megan a wink.

‘Not so much of the bushy tail, please. I’m trying to keep that to a reasonable size.’ Megan poured the wine and raised her glass. ‘A toast: to Alice, or should I say Cupid?’

‘Oh, Megan, I’ve been scared to ask. Did it work? Did he call you?’

‘He certainly did. Bless him, he sounded terrified.’ She smiled as she reminisced. ‘And we went out for dinner last night.’

‘And…?’ At that moment the salads arrived. Alice waited until the waitress had left before prompting once more. ‘So, come on, dish the dirt.’

‘No dirt. Just a really lovely evening. Reggie Burrell is a very, very nice man.’ She related the events of the evening as they ate their salads. Alice was delighted for her friend. Finally, Megan put down her fork. ‘And you?’

Alice told her all about her day. When she mentioned Mrs Tinker, Megan looked more serious.

‘I managed to have a word with the specialist while I was in there yesterday morning. I have met him a few times before. He couldn’t tell me much, but it looks like she hasn’t got a lot of time left.’

‘Is it cancer?’

Megan shrugged. ‘You know how it is. He couldn’t say, for fear of breaching patient confidentiality but, between you and me, I don’t think there is much doubt. Every time I go to see her, she looks weaker.’

‘I know what you mean. She more or less fell asleep after ten minutes today.’ Both women sat quietly for a few moments, thinking fondly of the old lady. Megan was the first to rally.

‘So, what else did you do today?’

Alice told Megan about her next-door neighbour in Lyndhurst Avenue and that his name was Danny. Megan was far more interested in him than in the coincidence of his name.

‘So what? If he and the dog were both called Rover, I could understand your concern, but Danny’s a common enough name. But tell me more. He sounds interesting.’ Then, spotting something in Alice’s eye, she pounced. ‘Aha, so he might be more than interesting,’

‘He must be all of ten years older than me, Megan.’

‘So? Look around you. It happens all the time.’

‘I suppose you’re right. And there was something rather charming about him. Who knows?’

At that moment the farmers’ meeting in the back room started to break up. A crowd of men and some women emerged and disappeared out of the door. Others drifted into the bar and stayed there, talking and drinking. Among them, Alice spotted Daniel Tremayne. Megan noticed where her eyes were headed and the penny dropped.

‘You have a thing for Daniel Tremayne?’

Alice blushed. ‘Of course not, I hardly know him.’ She caught Megan’s eye. ‘But he is rather dishy, isn’t he?’

Megan was looking unusually serious now. ‘I’ll give you that, Alice. He certainly is. But I think you might be wasting your time there.’

Alice shot her an enquiring look. ‘Mrs Tinker said it was a sad story. What did she mean?’

Before Megan could reply, Alice saw Daniel Tremayne turn his head and look across at their table. He gave a shy smile and a wave. Both women responded and, excusing himself from the group, he came across.

‘Good evening Megan, good evening Alice.’

‘Hello Daniel, want to join us?’ Megan pointed to a chair. Alice saw an expression of surprise on her face when he pulled it out and sat down. ‘So what was the big meeting about, Daniel?’

‘Nothing special. Just one of our regular meetings.’ He lowered his voice. ‘Farming’s a lonely job, you know. For some folk, these evenings are just about the only opportunity to meet other people and talk.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘And, boy, do they talk!’

As he spoke, Alice had the chance to observe him at close quarters. He still looked tired. Dark rings under his eyes emphasised the pallor of his complexion, unusual for a farmer. As before, his eyes darted nervously around the room.

‘How’s Daisy the cow?’ Alice saw his expression soften.

‘She’s fine, thanks. She had managed to convince herself and us that she was in calf. The vet gave her a scan. Turns out she was imagining the whole thing.’ He gave them a smile. ‘Some expensive treatment and now she’s back out in the fields again, happy as you like.’

‘How many cows have you got?’

‘Milking cows, 462, beef cattle about half that number.’

‘And the cheese-making?’ Megan had finished her salad. She sat back and watched Daniel and Alice.

‘Mmh. Work in progress, I’m afraid. There’s a lot to learn about making cheese.’ He turned to Alice to explain. ‘We only launched into it a few months ago. Some is coming out quite good, other batches disappointing. We can’t work out what’s causing the variation. Any time you are passing, do call in. You can do a bit of tasting for us. We’d be grateful.’ He swallowed the last of his orange juice and stood up, apparently unaware of the look of disappointment on Alice’s face.

‘Time to go?’ Megan gave him a friendly wave.

‘Yes, must get back. Good to see you both. And remember, any time you’re passing…’ And he was off.

‘When he says “we’d be grateful”, who exactly is “we”?’ Alice had remembered to check his ring finger. There was no mistaking the wedding ring.

‘Just Daniel and his mother now, as far as I know. His dad died before I came to the village. His mum’s quite an old lady now, and she’s been bedridden for months. He’s probably referring to his staff.’ Catching Alice’s eye, she began to explain. ‘There’s no wife there, now, if that’s what you mean.’

Alice gave her an innocent smile. ‘Of no interest to me at all. What could give you that impression?’ But Megan’s face remained grave.

‘I think it’s time I filled you in on Daniel Tremayne.’

Alice leant forward as Megan launched into her story. She was riveted from the start.

‘It’s a tale of love, pain and sorrow. You see, there was once a handsome young farmer. Well, more than a farmer, really. More of a lord of the manor. He had dark brown hair and light blue eyes. He met a beautiful young girl. They fell in love and they married. They made a lovely couple.’

The smile on her lips gradually died as her tale unfurled. ‘He had a hobby. He was mad keen on cars. He started doing rallies. He was very good at it. He and his navigator started winning a lot of races.’

‘You mean rallies like the Monte Carlo Rally?’ Alice found she was concentrating so hard, she had forgotten to breathe. She gasped in a mouthful of air and leant forward.

‘Yes, Alice. Anyway, he was spotted by one of the big teams and he turned professional. The news came through just before Christmas two years ago, and the whole family celebrated. He came to church on Christmas Day looking as happy as a man can be. Only a matter of a few weeks later, they were racing in the Scottish mountains. A tractor came out onto the road in front of them, and they crashed down a hillside.’

Alice put her hand to her mouth. ‘And he was injured?’

Megan nodded. ‘His navigator, I never knew him, was killed, and Daniel was badly injured. Unfortunately, it was an awful head injury, and it took him months in hospital to recover. In fact he probably never did. But the worst thing was, when he came home, he was a changed man. His personality had changed. He lost his friends and then, he lost his wife.’

Alice sat back, saddened by the tale.

‘What happened?’

‘He had terrible bouts of depression. He turned to drink. And, although nobody has ever told me for certain, I think he might have become violent. Whatever it was, she left him last summer.’

‘But now he’s getting over it?’ Alice looked across at her friend pleadingly. ‘I saw he was drinking orange juice.’

‘We are all hoping so. It has been awful for the whole village, really. The Tremaynes are such an important part of the place. I feel terrible for Daniel, but it must have been even worse for his mother and, of course, his wife.’

Alice shook her head in sorrow. ‘Here’s hoping it all turns out well in the end.’

After emptying the remains of the bottle into their glasses, Alice did her best to cheer things up, telling Megan all about the suitcase full of letters they had found at number 23. ‘And the spooky thing is that the soldier’s name was Danny.’

‘And his surname?’

‘I haven’t read them through yet. Hopefully I will find out as I go along.’ She looked across at Megan. ‘My other Danny, Danny from London, told me this was a sign from the Almighty that I should go back to uni.’

‘He works in mysterious way,’ Megan observed with a smile. ‘So get on with it, girl. Who are we to question the ways of the Lord? Start applying now.’

‘Point taken. I’m on the case at the moment. But the amazing thing about these letters is the personal insight it gives. I’ve been reading historians’ accounts of the war, and they make chilling reading. But it’s all about the hundreds, thousands killed in a certain action, on a certain day. Being able to read the real words of just one real person is amazing, sobering. I feel very privileged.’

She gave Megan a smile. ‘And then, there’s the girl back home, the one he was writing to. He addresses her as
my dearest Gladys
and signs off with the words
yours forever
. That’s pretty affectionate stuff, particularly way back then. It must have been simply awful for the women left behind.’

‘Sounds like you’re hooked. That should take your mind off poor old Daniel Tremayne and his troubles.’

Chapter 22

Alice looked out of the window. It had been raining all day and it was coming down harder and harder now as the afternoon came to an end. The first week of June had been one of the wettest on record. Water was running off the thatch like a curtain. There not being any gutters on the house, the flower beds close to the walls had been swamped. Beside her, Danny the dog was doing his best to sleep, but the noise of falling water clearly disturbed him as well.

‘Don’t worry, Danny. It’s just rain.’ He opened an eye and looked up at her. ‘The fields are going to be even muddier tomorrow morning for your you-know-what.’ She had quickly learnt that it was best to avoid the four letter word beginning with “W” that he recognised instantaneously. Their walks that Thursday had been short and the weather had also prevented her from including a loop as far as Manor Farm. Only to taste the cheese, she told herself.