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

had swept her off her feet. She went over what he had said when he told her he loved her, when he asked her to marry him and go to America with him. She had only seen Ben as a young man in love, until last night.

After Freda accused her of betraying Ben, and later seeing them arrive at the Station Hotel together, Ena had written a different profile on him. On the day my work was stolen, Ben could easily have been the second figure on the train. He could have left the train after me and followed me into the buffet on Euston station. He could have befriended me to find out if I’d seen anything on the train that I shouldn’t, or remembered anything that happened after I was drugged. Ena remembered coming to for a few seconds and seeing two figures. She shut her eyes and squeezed them tight. It was no good. She couldn’t even define whether the second person in the compartment was a man or a woman.

If Ben were a spy, he had done everything Commander Dalton warned her to look out for, which at the time she had largely ignored. He had approached her, befriended her, bought her gifts, swept her off her feet, and told her he loved her. And he had made her think she loved him.

Leaning back in the seat, Ena closed her eyes. They ached from straining to read her scribblings of the night before. The only notes left were those she had written about the girls who worked on the factory floor. Several manufactured parts for Bletchley and Beaumanor. Ena ran her eyes down the list. None knew what the work was for, nor did they care. She had long since crossed their names off the list.

Leaving the train at Rugby station, Ena headed for the telephone kiosk. Bess had taken her to Rugby station on Saturday morning, thinking she was going to Northampton to stay with Freda and her uncle, and would be going to a dance with Freda at night. Half the story was true… She put her money in the slot and dialled the telephone number for Foxden Hall. Bess had said she’d be happy to pick her up, but it was tea time. She wouldn’t ask her sister to come to Rugby, she would suggest Lowarth – if anyone ever answered the telephone at Foxden. She heard the pips, pressed the ‘A’ button and listened to the money rattle through. ‘Hello, could I speak to Bess, please?’

‘Hang on, I’ll fetch her,’ a woman said.

Ena put another couple of pennies in the box. She didn’t want the call to end before-- ‘Bess, it’s Ena.’

‘Are you in Rugby?’

‘Yes, but there’s a bus any minute, so I’ll catch it, and if you can, will you pick me up from Lowarth in half an hour?’

‘Yes. See you in Church Street?’

‘Thanks, Bess.’ Ena heard the pips and put the phone on the cradle. She pressed button ‘B’ out of habit, but there wasn’t any change.

Crossing from the telephone booth, Ena saw the bus was at the stop. She waved to the driver and ran for it. Stowing her suitcase in the luggage compartment, she found a seat and paid the conductor the fare.

The journey took less than half an hour, and when she got off the bus in Church Street, Bess was waiting for her in Lady Foxden’s black Rover.

Opening the back passenger door, Ena threw her case and handbag onto the back seat, slammed the door, and joined her sister in the front of the car. ‘It’s good of you to pick me up,’ Ena said, leaning back in the comfortable leather seat.

Bess pulled away from the kerb. ‘No trouble at all, I’d have fetched you from Rugby station if you’d have wanted.’

Ena shook her head. ‘I’d have had to wait in the cold waiting room. If the buffet had been open I’d have had something to eat, but it’s closed at this time of day on Sundays.’

Bess laughed. ‘Didn’t Freda’s uncle feed you before you left Northampton?’

‘I had a big breakfast, but it seems like ages ago now. Bess?’ Ena thought she’d ask her about Henry while they were on their own, which didn’t happen often these days. Bess glanced sideways, and Ena carried on. ‘Henry Green was at the dance. Well, I met him before when I was with Freda and arranged to see him there. Do you still hear from him?’

‘I haven’t heard from him recently. I think the last time was Christmas. Why?’

‘Nothing really…’

Bess looked in the rear view mirror before steering the car left onto the Woodcote road. Ena could see she was smiling. ‘Are you sweet on him?’ her sister asked, as they cruised along the road to Mysterton.

‘No!’ Bess shot her a knowing look. ‘I’m not sweet on him, but I like him.’

‘And there’s a difference?’

‘Yes, there is. It’s a bit... oh I don’t know.’ Ena floundered for the right words. She couldn’t tell Bess where it had happened, but she could tell her when and what had happened. ‘To cut a long story short, I went outside and a man followed me. Henry came out looking for me and, well, you could say he saved me.’ Ena glanced at her sister. She looked worried. ‘Nothing happened,’ Ena said quickly, to put her sister’s mind at rest. ‘Anyway, I spent the rest of the evening with Henry, talking, and I got to know him. And I really do like him.’

‘And you want to know what I think?’ Ena nodded. ‘He’s quite a lot older than you and--’

‘And what?’ Before he sister had time to answer, Ena said, ‘Does Henry… bat for the other side?’

‘What? Where on earth did you hear that expression?’

‘When I told Binkie, a friend, that you and Henry had walked