CHAPTER XIII
NEW ARRIVALS
The wind held and Dick and Titty sailed back through the channels of the Backwaters to the boatyard. On their arrival the tide was almost at it's highest for the day. Once the boat was moored they went in search of the man who had hired it to them.
They found him deep in conversation in the office shed with Nancy, from the snippets they could both hear as they approached, it was clear she was making an enquiry about the cost of a boat. As they got to the door she looked up and spoke to them.
"Hello! Trying to see if I can afford yacht or sailing dinghy of some sort." Titty mentally noted that Nancy said 'I', an admission of Daisy being part of any purchase was not to be mentioned. The boatyard man spoke.
"I'm sure we can sort something for you. Come have a longer chat sometime." He then looked toward Dick and Titty. "You made it alright, then if you've sailed to Holland in the night the Backwaters shouldn't be any trouble!"
"It was fine, and I remembered some of the channels and how to get through them." Dick then dealt with the business side of things.
"Do we owe you anymore?"
"No, not at all, just need to give you your deposit back," He went over to a cash box on a desk behind them, and using a key from a large bunch on a key chain in his pocket opened it and gave Dick the amount he had left the day before. "Well you know where we are should you need a boat again, and you Miss Blackett you come along another day and we'll see what we can do for you."
All three of them bid their farewells and Dick and Titty thanked him again. When they were away from the yard Titty spoke to Nancy.
"Where's Daisy?"
"Oh I told her we'd take Dot and Susan back to the cottage then we can all got to the Naze in the Land Rover and Susan can leave her car at ours."
Once all in the Land Rover Nancy drove the short distance to the sea front opposite the Albion and parked.
"Do you know what car Susan has got?" Titty answered her.
"One of those small ones, an Imp?"
"Do you know what colour?"
"Blue I think." Titty knew little about cars, and cared less. They were useful for going from A to B and as long as they did, that was all she needed to know.
"Well there's no sign of one yet, we'll just have to wait."
Dick wondered whether to mention to Nancy yet that certain people in authority already knew where she was, he decided it better to wait until Dot and Susan had arrived and the general catching up between them had taken place.
"Do you think you'll buy a boat?" He asked Nancy.
"Of course, thanks to Daisy's legacy we have a bit of money spare, it's a question of what they can do for the small amount we have."
As they waited Nancy occasionally glanced in the rear-view mirror at the road behind her anticipating the arrival of a small blue car.
"You'd think Susan would have a better car than an Imp." Titty immediately defended her sister.
"No, she's not interested, for her driving is just a means to an end. As long as it goes she doesn't care." Dick supported her.
"Doesn't interest me either, trains will do me fine. Those I worked with in America thought it odd. They all had a licence and a car when they were sixteen, some younger. Only thing was they needed the licence as ID when they bought alcohol, I just used my passport, I used my wartime ID card when I was first there but some stores didn't recognise it or accept it."
He was interrupted by a shout from Nancy.
"Here they are!" They all turned around to see a small blue car park behind the Land Rover. They all climbed out and as they did so Dot and Susan got out of her car. The five of them exchanged greetings.
"Hello! Hello! Good to see you. Haven't see you in ages! When did we last meet!" Between them all Dick had not seen Susan for a number of years, when he last took a short holiday to return to London, and even then she was busy so they only had time for hastily eaten lunch together in a café near to her office. She hugged him for a moment.
"You look well Dick, Dot tells me you're back here for good."
"Yes, I suppose I've retired, I don't need to work anyway, which gives me time to do other things, like tracking down missing people!"
"I was not missing, just out of contact!" Nancy was teasingly indignant. Susan responded in the same vein.
"You certainly gave everyone a turn, my brother and your sister in particular, they have been worrying about your whereabouts!"
"I know, look, can we forget about it for awhile, I have a plan. We're going up to the Naze, Daisy is making a picnic, so if you follow me you can leave your car at the cottage and we can all squeeze in the Land Rover."
This was agreed by them all, except Dick who then surprised them by suggesting Dot went with Nancy and he would go with Susan in her car to the cottage.
"It will give us a chance to talk, I haven't seen her in years." Titty was taken aback to begin with but knew that when Dick planned or suggested something there was always a good reason behind it. Nancy, Dot and Titty climbed in to the Land Rover and drove off, Nancy knew Dick would be able to show Susan the way to the cottage.