Romily regarded him with renewed respect, but also with sadness. She thought of the young men in Melstead St Mary and the surrounding villages, all of whom would be thinking the same way as Elijah and volunteering, oblivious perhaps to what they were letting themselves in for, just as their grandfathers, fathers and uncles had done in the Great War. ‘I believe you’re right,’ she said ruefully, ‘but I hope with all my heart it won’t come to that.’
‘We can’t just stand idly by while Hitler does what he wants,’ Elijah said gravely. ‘He has to be stopped, or where will it all end?’
‘I agree, and I applaud you and your friends for your courage.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Devereux-Temple,’ he said with a small nod of his head. ‘Now what was it you wanted me to do for you in the garden? Maybe I’ll have time before I leave.’
She raised a hand. ‘It’s fine; don’t give it another thought. You have bigger things to think about.’
‘But if it’s important to you, I’d like to help if I can. I’d like to do it for Mr Devereux too, seeing as I couldn’t make it to his funeral. If that’s not speaking out of turn.’
‘Not at all, Elijah; I’m grateful for your thoughtfulness.’
‘In that case, do you want to show me what you had in mind, and where?’
They were walking the length of the garden, back towards the house, when Romily saw Dr Garland appear through the open French doors of the drawing room.
‘I’ll be right back,’ she said to Elijah. ‘I must just speak to the doctor about Allegra.’
‘Why, what’s the matter with her? It’s not anything …’ His words ground to an abrupt halt and his face coloured. ‘I’m sorry,’ he muttered awkwardly, his gaze lowered. ‘I shouldn’t have spoken like that. It’s none of my business.’
‘That’s all right,’ Romily said, her earlier suspicions further roused. ‘Jack told me that you and Allegra were good friends when you were children, so your interest is perfectly understandable. I called for the doctor because I was worried about her. She doesn’t seem at all well in my opinion.’
He raised his gaze. ‘If it’s not too much bother, maybe you could say I was asking after her.’
‘Of course.’
‘And … and will you tell her I’m sorry for what I said. She’ll know what I mean.’
Romily smiled. ‘I will. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll see what Dr Garland has to say.’
‘Dr Garland says you have something to tell me,’ said Romily when she came in with a tray of tea things.
‘He didn’t tell you himself?’ replied Allegra, surprised. Waiting for Romily to come upstairs to see her, she had been convinced Dr Garland would have rushed to break the shameful news of her pregnancy to the entire household, the whole of the village too.
‘He’s much too discreet for that,’ Romily said, pouring out two cups of tea. ‘Milk? Or lemon?’
‘Neither. One sugar, though.’
She watched Romily drop a cube of sugar into the cup and then stir it before bringing it over with a biscuit placed on the saucer. After she’d fetched her own cup and sat in the chair next to the bed, where Dr Garland had earlier seated himself when he’d finished examining her, Romily said, ‘I was talking to Elijah in the garden and he wanted you to know that he was asking after you.’
Allegra tried not to look too startled. ‘Why would he do that?’
‘Presumably because he’s an old friend of yours and he cares about you. He also said to tell you he’s sorry for what he said.’
‘I don’t know what he’s talking about.’
Romily looked at her over the rim of her cup. ‘Don’t you? Really? He seemed very sure that you would.’
Ignoring Romily’s remarks, Allegra said, ‘What else did he say? And how did he know I wasn’t feeling well?’
‘I mentioned that Dr Garland was here to see you. There was no getting away from his reaction, which was one of alarm. Drink your tea, Allegra, before it gets cold, and perhaps try that ginger biscuit; you haven’t had anything to eat since yesterday morning.’
Allegra took a small sip of the tea and then a cautious nibble of the biscuit. Dr Garland had left a prescription for some medicine that he claimed would stop her feeling so nauseous. She hoped he was right.
‘I’m sorry I’ve put you to so much trouble,’ she said, when she’d swallowed a minuscule bite of the biscuit. ‘Especially after what happened yesterday.’
‘Don’t torture yourself by thinking about that; it won’t help you. Best thing we can all do is to learn from it and be on our guard to prevent a similar thing happening again.’
