Page 12 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure
“Then it will be good for him,” Ellie said.
“Yes, but you don’t know what he’s like if ...”
Ellie understood what was going through Mavis’s mind. She was worried he wouldn’t let her go—make sure she didn’t go. “Maybe youshouldn’t tell him in advance, Mavis. Leave him a note to say you’ve been called away suddenly.”
“I can’t do that,” Mavis said. “There would hell to pay when I came back.”
“Mavis, do you really want to come back?” Ellie reached out and put her hand on Mavis’s arm. “Are you happy with him?”
“Of course I’m not bloody happy, but ... I did promise for better or worse, didn’t I?”
“And so did I. And look where it’s got me,” Ellie said. “Out on my ear. Nowhere to go after thirty years. And my husband never laid a hand on me. Yours is liable to do you serious injury one day.”
Mavis nodded, digesting this.
“Now’s a good time to make the break, Mavis,” Ellie continued. “Don’t tell him ahead of time, but leave him a note to say you are accompanying me to the Continent. And then, if you decide you are better off without him, you write to him again and say that you’re not coming back. That way you never have to face him.”
“But what do I do when you come home? How do I survive on me own with no money?”
“You stay with me until we figure something out. I promise I’d never leave you stranded. You could find a job as a live-in housekeeper for a while or stay with me until you’ve enough new jobs to pay for a little cottage of your own. You could even go back to school, learn typing or some other skill. Either way we’d make it work.”
There was a long silence.
“It’s certainly tempting, missus,” Mavis said at last.
“Then say yes. It’s your perfect chance to escape, to lead a lifeyouwant.” She put a tentative arm around Mavis’s shoulder, leading her across the room. “I’m not doing this because I want company or I want someone to help me. I’m doing this because I’m genuinely fond of you, and I’m frightened that you’re going to wind up in the morgue one day after he loses his temper. Your one chance, Mavis. What do you say?”
There was a long pause, then Mavis gave a sigh.
“All right. Why not? What have I got to lose?” She broke off. “Here, hold on. I don’t have no passport.”
Ellie sighed. “That is a problem.”
“No, it ain’t,” Mavis said, her face suddenly lighting up. “Remember Major Radison at the Grange? I used to clean for them. They went abroad once, and her maid got to go with them as a servant, so she didn’t need no passport of her own. She was written in as part of the group.”
“That’s splendid,” Ellie said. “We’ll go up to London today and get you added to my passport.”
“London? Today?” Even the thought of that made Mavis uncertain.
“Yes. We want to get on with things, don’t we? So take off your apron and let’s get going. We’ll take the Bentley.”
As they drove off in the car, Ellie gave Mavis a delighted grin. “This is splendid. We have our own little tour group.”
“What do you mean ‘group’?”
“Now there are three of us ...”
“Three?”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you. Miss Smith-Humphries is joining us.”
Mavis recoiled. “Her? Oh no. Stop the car. Turn around. I ain’t coming if she’s part of it. She’s a critical old cow. Told me I didn’t polish the church brass properly.”
“She’s dying, Mavis. She wants one last trip to a place she loved. We can’t deny her that, can we?”
“I suppose not,” Mavis said grudgingly.
“If you had to choose between Miss Smith-Humphries and a trip to the Continent and being left at home with your husband, which one would it be?”
