Page 119 of Strangers in Time

“Yes, quite remarkable.”

“Did he say what his motive was?” asked Oliver.

“Only that if we could not administer justice, he would.”

“Any idea what he meant by that?”

“Not the foggiest. Ignatius, can one get a cup of tea in thisbookshop?”

“You know it’s strictly against government regulations to have tea in the morning. But I can provide you with a simply disgusting cup of what the government deems to be coffee.”

Bryant glared at him.

“Molly was left quite badly off,” noted Oliver in a serious tone. “She’s making do as best she can, but it’s not been easy.”

Bryant nodded. “Murderous father on the lam, mother in the looney bin, house now a pile of rubble, yes, quite badly off, I’d say. Look, I’ll have the Ministry of Health take the girl off your hands. I should have brought them with me, in fact.”

Oliver leaned forward, his expression tense but focused. “I would consider it a great personal favor if you would do nothing of the kind, Scott. I really would.”

The man eyed him in surprise. “What’s all this?”

“She is vulnerable and hurt and confused. And she is also helping the war effort through her superb nursing skills. I think we should allow Molly to continue to do just as she is, and she can remain here while she does so.”

“But she’s not even sixteen.”

“She’s far more mature than many an adult of my acquaintance.”

Bryant watched him keenly. “Is she the daughter you never had, Ignatius? Is that what this is about?”

“It is about letting someone do her duty for her country whilst she is trying to cope with untold personal tragedy. I would argue that she could do that far better here than in an orphanage.”

“You and your brother were placed in an orphanage for a while, if I remember correctly.”

“Yes.”

“And he’s a highly competent surgeon, and you turned out all right.”

“We turned out all right inspiteof our circumstances, not because of them.” He glanced hopefully at the major. “So, can you just let this rest? Please?”

After a few moments mulling over this, Bryant said, “As a favorto an old friend, yes, I can.” He gazed around the study. “You ever think about the old days at university?”

“Not too often, no. I have other things to occupy my time,” replied Oliver. “You know, thewar?”

Bryant smiled briefly at the remark. “It was quite lucky for us that the Germans didn’t stick to only bombing the East End. We might have had social chaos otherwise, poor versus rich, that sort of thing. But they bombed everywhere.”

“Which of course drew us more together,” said Oliver. “Something I have witnessed firsthand in my official duties.”

“And how is the air raid warden bit coming along?”

“The recent lull has been nice.”

“Unfortunately, there are darker days ahead.”

“Oh, really?” said Oliver dully.

“You know of course of the Germans’ V-1 rockets? They started chucking them at us this summer. First one hit on the Kent coast, but London has been targeted as well.”

“The doodlebugs? Yes, I’ve actually witnessed one or two of the bloody things whizzing across the sky.”

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