The 9 by Madalyn Morgan (tools of titans ebook .txt) 📕

‘I hope he’s not my cryptographer,’ Binkie said, taking a bright red lipstick from her handbag and applying it to taught lips. ‘What’s his name?’

‘Henry Green.’

‘Henry? Definitely not my cryptographer, thank goodness. How do you know old Highbrow Henry?’

‘He’s a family friend. My oldest sister Bess used to walk out with him.’

Binkie shot Ena a look of astonishment. ‘What? Were they sweethearts?’

‘Yes. There was even talk of them marrying. But my sister wasn’t ready to settle down at the time. She went off to London, to teacher’s training college, and Henry went to Oxford, but they stayed friends.’

‘Well I never. Old Highbrow hasn’t always batted for the other side, then? He certainly appears to now. I have never seen him with a girl and let me tell you that a chap as scrummy to look at as Henry Green would be fighting them off if he wasn’t… Come to think of it,’ she mused, ‘in the three years that I’ve worked here, I have never seen him at a dance. Nice enough chap. And you’ll be as safe as houses with him. Must dash,’ she said, admiring herself in the full-length mirror as she passed it. ‘I bet you ten bob you won’t get Highbrow to the dance tomorrow night.’

‘You’re probably right. If he doesn’t dance it wouldn’t be much fun for him.’ Ena was puzzled. ‘Before you go, what did you mean when you said Henry hasn’t always batted for the other side?’

‘That he isn’t sweetheart material, if you know what I mean.’ Binkie winked conspiratorially, ‘Ciao.’

‘Henry?’ Ena shouted. He stopped walking, looked over his shoulder, and waited for Ena to catch him up. ‘I’ve been all over the place looking for you,’ she said, out of breath. ‘Will you take me to the dance tomorrow night?’ Henry’s mouth fell open. He looked shocked, so before he had time to say no, Ena said, ‘It’s important. I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t. But I need an escort. Binkie’s going to be with her chap, so I can’t go with her. She said to let slip that I’m a friend of Lady Arabella Crofton-Dimbleby, which I’m not, and I’ll look like a wallflower standing around on my own. Well? Will you take me?’

‘I will if I can.’

‘Henry Green, you’re the best. I can’t think why our Bess didn’t marry you when she had the chance. I’m in two minds whether to snap you up myself right this minute.’ Henry laughed the way Ena remembered him laughing when she was a teenager. ‘Right! What time shall we meet? I shall be here all day. Did you know I’ve stepped in for some French hairdresser from Woburn Sands who’s off with the flu? I styled Binkie Brinklow’s hair earlier and she loved it. So I’m doing her pals tomorrow afternoon, for the dance at night.’

‘Whoa! Slow down, Ena. I’m not sure whether I’m on the early shift or the late shift. If I’m on late, I’ll have to swap with someone. Apart from that, I had promised a friend I’d go to the cinema if I was on earlies. I shall have to see him and tell him I can’t make it.’

‘So you will take me to the dance?’

‘Y-e-s.’ Henry said, drawing the word out. ‘I expect I’ll be able to swap shifts with someone if I need to. But now I really must go to work. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

‘Just one more thing, Henry?’

Henry turned with a sigh and pretended to stumble back to her. ‘What?’

‘If you see my friend Freda, don’t say anything about the dance. I forgot to tell her about it you see. And now I’m coming down to do Binkie Brinklow’s friends’ hair, she might think I purposely didn’t tell her because I’d rather spend my time with them, which I wouldn’t of course, far from it--’

Henry put his hands up. ‘My lips are sealed.’ He looked at his wristwatch. ‘I really do have to go.’

‘Go!’ Ena said, shooing him away. ‘And thank you!’ Henry lifted his arm above his head in a gesture of a wave, before disappearing into one of the huts.

Ena spotted Freda in the canteen, talking to a couple of ATS girls, and walked over. ‘Good bye,’ she heard Freda say, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ Tomorrow? Had the ATS girls told Freda about the dance? Stupid to think her friend wouldn’t find out about it. ‘Where have you been? I’ve been waiting ages,’ Freda chided.

Ena opened her mouth to say she’d been talking to a friend, when Freda cut in. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said, to Ena’s relief. ‘You’ll never guess what these girls,’ she pointed to the group of ATS women, ‘have just told me.’ Ena could guess, but again Freda didn’t give her time to speak. ‘There’s a dance here tomorrow night.’

‘I know,’ Ena said, ‘That’s why I was late. I was talking to this woman named Binkie about it,’ Ena said, smiling over Freda’s shoulder at the ATS girls.

‘So? Shall we come down and go to it? We haven’t been to a dance for ages. It’s time we had some fun, and the ATS girls said they’d sign us in.’

‘Of course.’

‘The thing is,’ Freda explained, ‘I promised my uncle I’d visit him this weekend, so I’ll be going to Northampton after the dance, which means you’ll be on your own for the remainder of the journey to Rugby.’

Ena wouldn’t be on her own, because she wasn’t going to Rugby after the dance, she was staying in the Station Hotel, not that she could tell Freda that. ‘Don’t worry about me,’ she said, ‘I’ll catch an earlier train. It’s only the last train that attracts the odd drunk. The nine o’clock, ten o’clock even, will be fine.’

‘We can travel down together, though, can’t we?’

‘Sorry, I promised