Chapter Forty Nine
Dickie watched the ladies walk ahead of him, clearly enjoying each other's company and talking non-stop. He smiled to himself as he thought how sociable his wife was and how the simplest things could bring her so much joy. He inwardly sighed and tried to think of another way to start some kind of conversation with the man beside him. He'd tried the conventional, so maybe it was time for some shock tactics.
"What made you come around to the idea of Tim and Julia in the end?" Dickie asked "Tim said you initially kicked up such a fuss he thought you'd never agree and they'd need to elope!"
After a few steps of silence, Dickie risked a look a Thomas. Maybe he hadn't heard him? But no, the man looked like he was chewing on a mouth full of bees.
"How much further is it to the Abbey?" was the surprising reply.
"Probably another ten minutes or so" Dickie replied "It's not too far."
Thomas sighed. "Do you think we could take a longer route? Somewhere we won't be overheard?" He gave Dickie a guarded look.
"Yes of course" Dickie nodded briefly before raising his voice a little "Isobel? We're going to take a brief look at the lake. Thomas is interested in the fishing" Isobel just raised her hand in acknowledgement as the ladies continued on their way toward the house.
Instead of following, the two men took a smaller path through the woods to their left. If Dickie thought Thomas would come to the point while they walked, he was sadly mistaken. They soon arrived at the lake, and Dickie followed as Thomas walked towards the middle of the bridge and looked over into the water.
"I say, if you're thinking of throwing yourself in, please don't bother. It's barely deep enough to drown yourself in and we'll both get in bother for getting wet in this weather!" Dickie tried to jest. "Surely Tim isn't that bad a prospect for a son-in-law?"
"He's certainly not the kind of man I'd envisioned for my daughter, but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Thomas perched himself on the edge of the bridge with his hands on his knees. "In truth, Marjorie thinks you may be able to help me out of a tight spot and I promised her I would talk to you about it."
"I see" Dickie was nonplussed "And what exactly might I be able to help you with?"
"I'm mixed up with someone I was introduced to through your other son" Thomas informed him, and he watched as Dickie's face became troubled "I'm usually very careful with my dealings, something I learned very early in my career, but this chap is... is bad news. I was sure I wouldn't do any business with him, but a trick here and there got me hooked, and now he's trying to exert his influence. I'm watched everywhere I go, and everything I say or do gets back to him. I'm completely trapped." Thomas sighed heavily "My reaction to Tim was more about blaming him for my situation rather than an objection to him per se. I hardly know the lad."
Dickie nodded thoughtfully "So how does Marjorie think that I will be able to help? I wasn't involved in Larry's life at all, you know."
"No, I know. There's been lots of talk about the whole thing, as you can imagine. At the club, in the House bar, amongst the Finance Committee... there's talk of maybe trying to include something in next year's legislation to try and regulate things more closely to stop this type of thing happening, but I can't honestly see how it would work" Thomas shook his head "I'm getting side tracked." He paused "Marjorie said that Isobel had mentioned that you have a contact in the police who was working on Larry's case?"
"Yes, an Inspector Money. He came up to Yorkshire looking for Larry before the whole thing was common knowledge" Dickie confirmed "I've tried to help him as much as possible"
"Do you think he can be trusted?" Thomas asked.
"He's a police officer!" Dickie protested.
Thomas huffed "That means nothing!" Thomas shook his head "There are rotten apples in every barrel. No, you still have to trust a man on his own merits, regardless of his profession."
"That's a rather sad indictment of the world in general" Dickie commented "But yes, for what it's worth I think he can be trusted. It's been some time now since Larry left and they haven't found anything new, but I know he is still working on it."
Thomas just nodded, and they both lapsed into silence for a time.
"What do you think he could do?" Dickie asked.
Thomas shook his head "I don't know, in honesty. I have no idea the extent of what Larry was up to but - and don't take this the wrong way - I really don't see him being able to orchestrate this on his own. I never got the impression he was bright enough for that. Have you ever played poker with him? Dreadful!"
"You think this chap who is after you might have links to Larry?" Dickie queried.
Thomas shrugged "I was introduced to one of his operatives through Larry, and everything snowballed from there. It's clear the two of them worked together and Larry mentioned him to me a couple of times." Thomas stood up and paced a bit "I don't know, even if he's not involved with whatever Larry was up to, maybe it's something else that your chap might be interested in. But the thing is: I can't contact him or anyone else in the police."
"I'll need to know more, or have something physical I can give Money" Dickie mused "In honesty, I don't want to know. Maybe you could write a statement? I could deliver it next time I see the Inspector?"
"I'll need to be careful about writing anything down and who might know about a letter" Thomas warned, going slightly pale "It would be an awful risk. I'm watched, you know."
"Our staff are all trustworthy" Dickie tried to reassure him "The female staff in the house have been with Isobel for years, and Stokes came with me from Cavenham. There are no new faces or questionable backgrounds to be exploited" Thomas seemed to relax "Besides, we won't mention it again. There are writing implements in your bedroom. Write your letter, seal it and put my name on the front. Hand it to me without saying anything, any time, and I will keep it on my person until I can deliver it. No one will know, or be able to overhear anything."
"It sounds like you've done this sort of thing before" Thomas gave him a tight grin.
"I had the most interfering matron at school. It was how Hugh and I passed notes to each other at breakfast" Dickie smirked "Come on. It's cold out here. Let's go and get some tea, and I'll introduce you to my grandson."
-TW- -TW- -TW-
"Whatever were you and Thomas discussing on your mysterious trip to the lake?" Isobel asked Dickie absently while she put her earrings in "You seem almost pally now"
"Oh, I wouldn't go that far!" Dickie protested as he sat on the edge of the bed to watch her finish getting dressed. He smiled "I love that dress. You look wonderful in it."
Isobel crooked an eyebrow as she caught his eye in the mirror "Don't try and change the subject!"
Dickie grinned at her "It was nothing really. We talked a bit about Larry and Tim, shared some school stories" Dickie shrugged "Nothing major"
Isobel narrowed her eyes "Alright, don't tell me" Dickie looked up in surprise and Isobel smirked at him "I shall let you keep your little boy's secret, as long as it doesn't interfere with this weekend. I do so want things to go well."
"I know you do" Dickie rose to take her in his arms, pressing a small kiss to her lips "I love you for the support you are offering Tim, especially after everything"
"I love you, and he's your son" Isobel smoothed the lapels of his jacket. "It's what families do."
"I almost wish we didn't need to go to dinner" Dickie said tenderly. "I could just do with an early night."
"Hold that thought." Isobel replied with an intimate smile "There's plenty of time." And with that she took his hand to lead him downstairs to their guests.
-TW- -TW- -TW-
Marjorie sighed contentedly as she snuggled into the warm bed.
"If the rest of the weekend goes as well as today, I might not want to go back to London on Monday" She said sleepily.
"Mmmm" Thomas murmured absently from the desk in their room.
"Come to bed my love." Marjorie all but purred.
"I just need to finish this, then I will be right with you" Thomas promised.
Some time later, envelope sealed and addressed, he sat up and stretched his back. He was still worried, but he did feel that the weight of uncertainty was beginning to lift. Maybe things could work out after all. He locked the letter in the desk drawer, then smiled and turned towards the bed. His wife was fast asleep.