The Hidden Women: An inspirational novel of sisterhood and strength. Kerry Barrett

Chapter 11

      Helena

      May 2018

      I was too surprised to do anything but stare at the screen. Above the red stamp declaring that Lil had been dishonourably discharged, it also said Lil had been court-martialled and found guilty of contravening standing orders. It was completely bewildering and I wasn’t sure what to do. Luckily, Jack took over.

      ‘This is a shock,’ he said. ‘Do you need to get back for Dora?’

      I shook my head, touched he’d remembered her name.

      ‘She’s with my mum.’

      ‘Well, how about we print this out, take all the info we’ve got to the pub, and chat about it all over a drink?’

      I felt shaky. What had Lil done that deserved a court martial? Had she broken the law? Had she gone AWOL? I shook my head again, more vigorously this time.

      ‘None of this makes sense,’ I said. ‘This doesn’t sound like Lil.’

      Jack was bustling around me, stuffing pieces of paper into the folder. I found I didn’t even care that he was putting them in upside down and back to front. Instead I just stared at the screen.

      ‘It must be a mistake. Lil has always been a bit of a free spirit, but she’s not a bad person.’

      Jack paused in his gathering. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s get out of here and you can tell me all about her. She sounds interesting.’

      ‘Oh, she’s interesting, all right,’ I said. I looked at him standing there, clutching the folder, with bits of paper hanging out of it, and smiled. ‘Thanks. You’re being very nice.’

      ‘I feel like it’s all my fault,’ he admitted. ‘You’d have been none the wiser if I’d not turned up and started poking around your research.’

      He wasn’t wrong, but somehow I was pleased. Finding out more about Lil’s war felt like the right thing to do – even if she’d kept it a secret all this time.

      Jack grinned at me and I squinted at him.

      ‘Can you go to the pub?’ I said. ‘Like a normal person?’

      He frowned.

      ‘I am a normal person.’

      ‘I mean, you’re famous. Won’t you get mobbed?’

      ‘Nah,’ Jack said. ‘No one ever thinks it’s me. I think it’s because I’m so scruffy. People usually just tell me I look like Jack Jones.’

      I laughed and gestured to his immaculate T-shirt. ‘But you’re all dressed up,’ I said.

      With a grin, Jack pulled a tatty hoodie out of his bag and shoved it over his head. Then he jammed a faded baseball cap on top of his curls, balled up the beautiful leather jacket and squished it into his rucksack – much to my distress – and looked at me in triumph.

      ‘Better?’ he said. ‘I’m in disguise.’

      I laughed again because he looked so pleased with himself.

      ‘Better,’ I agreed.

      ‘So let’s go,’ Jack said. ‘I’m dying to know more about Lil.’

      ‘If you want to know more about Lil, you really need to meet my sister Miranda,’ I said. ‘Mind if I give her a ring?’

      It wasn’t a total lie. If I adored Lil, Miranda adored her even more and she could definitely talk about her until the cows came home. But I could do that myself, so I didn’t need Miranda to paint a good picture of our aunt. Instead I thought I wanted her there as a kind of shield. My attraction to Jack seemed to be growing by the second and I wasn’t completely comfortable with being alone with him. I thought having Miranda there might force me to be more professional and stop gazing at him with my tongue hanging out like a thirsty puppy.

      Unfortunately, Miranda’s reaction was predictably similar to mine. She arrived in the bar at a trendy hotel near the office just after we did. Jack was ordering the drinks and I was sitting in the semi-circular booth he’d chosen.

      ‘We’ll have more room here to spread out all the papers,’ he’d said when we arrived, turning round to catch a waiter’s eye and knocking the folder off the table with his bag. I’d caught the file before everything fell out and put it back on the table top without him noticing. ‘Stay here, I’ll get some drinks.’

      Miranda slid in next to me.

      ‘Is that him?’ she said, watching Jack at the bar with ill-disguised longing. ‘Oh, my.’

      I elbowed her, hard. ‘Stop it,’ I said. ‘You’re married. And too old for him.’

      ‘Window shopping,’ Miranda said. ‘And I am not too old.’

      Then she stopped looking at Jack and turned her stare to me instead.

      ‘Hang on,’ she said. ‘This isn’t just banter, is it?’

      ‘Jack’s getting wine, I think.’

      ‘Don’t ignore me. You like him.’

      I felt myself flushing again. ‘He’s nice,’ I muttered. ‘And handsome.’

      ‘Ohhhh,’ Miranda breathed. ‘You’ve got a crush.’

      I gave her a fierce look. ‘Have not,’ I said.

      ‘You are allowed,’ she said. ‘It’s not a crime. It’s ages since you broke up with Greg. It’s definitely time to get back on that horse.’

      ‘Jack is not a horse.’ I frowned at her, to warn her he was approaching. ‘And it’s unprofessional to have a crush on someone I’m researching. And how can I date anyone? I’ve got Dora to think about.’

      ‘Lot of excuses, there, Nell,’ Miranda said. ‘Protesting too much, I think …’

      She stopped talking as Jack approached. He put a tray of drinks down, slopping some of his beer on to the table, and beamed at Miranda.

      ‘Hello, hello, hello,’ he said, gleefully shaking her hand. ‘I’ve heard lots about you from Helena.’

      Again with the way he said my name. I imagined him saying it to other people. ‘Have you met my wife – Helena?’ and smiled to myself.

      ‘Nell,’ Miranda said, giving me a shove. ‘Are you with us?’

      I blinked, startled out of my daydream. ‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘I was just thinking about Lil.’

      ‘Oh yes, tell me more,’ Jack said. He began taking the drinks off the tray and I helped him, trying to make sure he didn’t spill any more than he already had. I handed Miranda a wine glass and a napkin to wipe up splatters and poured some Pinot Grigio for us both.

      ‘Is Lil your dad’s sister?’ Jack drank a mouthful of beer.

      ‘No, she’s Dad’s aunt, actually,’ Miranda said. ‘Our parents are both only children. But Lil was the baby of her family, so she’s not really that much older than Dad.’

      ‘You said she was very special to you?’ Jack prompted.

      Miranda and I looked at each other. We didn’t often talk about when we were growing up.

      I took a breath. ‘We had a bit of an unconventional childhood,’ I began.

      ‘And you have two other siblings, am I right?’

      He’d remembered what I’d told him. Miranda, obviously impressed, smiled. ‘That’s right,’ she said. ‘There’s Andy and Imogen, too.’

      ‘Andy’s nearly thirty, and Immy’s twenty-six,’ I added.

      Jack nodded. ‘I always