Chapter 3

The little hotel had a breakfast room, consisting of one large round table which could accommodate up to ten people, plus a couple of side tables. They only did bed and breakfast at the hotel, not main meals. They also had a small sunny sitting room that Lyndsey had poked her head into when they got back from their walk. The landlady, a rosy-cheeked old woman, “Call me Betty, everyone else does,” sat them down and plied them with a full English breakfast.

Two big breakfasts in two days and this one definitely fried, Lyndsey groaned, and just managed to eat the eggs and bacon.

“Now, Mr Lyndsey, it is far too wet and windy today to keep little Maisie out in the cold, and we only have the Colonel and Mrs Everton staying with us today, so you be sure to bring her into the sitting room rather than stuck up in your room. We all love to see the little angel, don’t we Colonel?”

“Harrumph, yes, of course, she’s such a pretty wee thing. She adores yon Mason here,” The Colonel indicated Mason with a stab of his fork as he addressed the pretty girl sitting between him and Mason. He was a tall, ancient but upright gentleman, with a full head of white hair swept back off his forehead, and a thin grey moustache trimmed to a stubble under his nose, and spoke with an upper-class accent of a bygone age, with just a hint of Scots. “It’s a great shame that marriages seem so temporary nowadays. Once upon a time a man and his mem sahib worked out their little difficulties between ‘em and got on with it, ‘til death us do ... and all that, my dear.”

“Yes, Colonel, it is a shame, but some people just don’t have the sticking power to go the distance.”

“Well, my dear,” and here he dipped his head and whispered in her ear, “Young Mason here is the salt of the earth, a military man of resource and courage, a great NCO to have in a crisis and will definitely go the distance, you mark my words.”

She smiled and nodded, “I think I understand Colonel, thank you.”

Mason drove Lyndsey down to the house where his daughter Maisie lived. It was in a residential area, about twenty minutes’ walk from the sea, Mason said, but much too cold for walking with a tiny baby today. Mason pointed out the three-storey town house in the middle of a terrace as they drove past and parked just down the road. Most of the parking around the housing was reserved for residents, each car carried the appropriate licence in the front windscreen.

“Can I come with you, Mason?”

“Sure, I was hoping you would,” he grinned. “I’m relying on you being a game changer for me and Maisie.”

“Well, I’m happy to help,” she smiled back at him.

An elderly Asian man answered the door. Lyndsey thought he was probably well into his sixties, so must have been in his thirties when Leone was born, He was polite in his greeting of the tall Englishman, the father of his granddaughter. Lyndsey looked at him with a smile. He smiled back with intelligent eyes at the pretty girl, then turned his attention back to Mason.

“She not finished, Mr Mason. Where you park?”

“Just down the street about 60 yards, in the second public parking bay.” Mason replied politely. “Can I introduce you to my dear friend, Lyndsey, Mr P? She is a child doctor, so she is very good with children ... and their parents.”

He stretched out a hand and shook Lyndsey’s hand, bowing, “You a paediatric doctor?”

She enclosed his hand with both of hers and bowed slightly to match his bow. “Hello, Mr P. Yes, I am, and training to be a paediatric surgeon, in the children’s wing of Barton’s East Green General, how are you today?”

“Very well,” he replied, then he hesitated. “Er, would you like to come in and wait for Maisie in the warm?”

“Thank you, we would love to,” Lyndsey smiled in return.

They were ushered into the front room, the upholstery all reds and golds and clearly oriental in taste.

“Please sit down, I will check on how Maisie is doing. Would you like any tea while you are waiting?”

Lyndsey and Mason looked each other and shook their heads slightly,

“No thank you Mr P,” Mason replied, “We have had just had tea with our breakfast at the hotel; we probably won’t want another until mid to late morning.”

“Very well.” And he left them.

Mason sat down on the sofa, which was so soft he sunk right into it. “Well, this is a first, Lynds, I’ve never been invited into the house before, we normally hand over at the doorstep or either Mr or Mrs P wheels her down to the car.”

“He appears to respect you, Mace,” as she sat next to him, the softness of the sofa naturally causing her to slip down tight up next to him, her head on his shoulder and a hand on his chest, “the animosity between you and Leone set a pattern against Mr P’s normal polite behaviour, his common manners. With me being there, it broke that unnatural pattern and his innate politeness let us and you in. I am sure, even if I am not with you, he will invite you in here each time in future.”

“Well, I for one am very grateful to you, Lyndsey, and I am sorry about keep shortening your name, I was so pleased at the result of bringing you that I didn’t think.”

“I don’t think my father would approve,” she chuckled, “but I quite like it. No-one else calls me anything but Lyndsey.”

“So, providing I watch my Ps, Qs and Lyndsey’s, do you think we can make progress with your father?”

“Yes. Let’s do it soon. Are you free next Sunday?”

“Yes, all day.”

“OK, it’s a date. I’ll call him and make sure he’s home.”

“Where’s home?”

“It’s a village in the next county from ours, about 40 miles away from us, partly on the way here, actually. It’s a lovely old Manor House, dating back to medieval times. Lots of creaky floorboards, but full of character. It’s where I grew up and I love it there.”

“Perhaps he will let me paint it?”

“Probably, it’s just like the Forth Bridge, the maintenance on such an old house is —”

Just then a little old Asian woman poked her head around the door.

“Hello,” greeted Lyndsey.

“Hello,” the Asian woman replied with a smile, “Mr Mason, Leone say Maisie ready in ‘bout 30 minutes.” She paused while Mason nodded his acceptance of the delay as if it was a common occurrence. “Would you like to change your mind on a cup of tea?”

“Yes, thank you Mrs P, I would love a cup of tea, Lyndsey?”

“If you’re having one, then yes, I would like one, thank you Mrs P.”

The woman smiled, bowed and her head disappeared.

“We’ll have to wait, Lynds. Are you comfortable?”

“Yes, I’m fine, I’ve got a hot handsome man to lean on. How about you?”

“Actually, this sofa is too soft and my spine feels as though it is being bent in two, but with you on my shoulder, I’ve never been more comfortable.”

With that she leaned into him deeper, kicked off her shoes and pulled her feet up under her. Mason moved his arm down from the back on the sofa to rest his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m so tired after yesterday,” she said, “don’t let me close my eyes or I’ll be gone.”

“I’ll wake you when the tea arrives, Lynds,” he chuckled.

“Hey Boss, it’s Alex,” said the voice on the mobile phone.

“What you got for me, Alex?” asked Sir Alan Mason.

“Bad news, my guys lost them last night about midnight.”

“They were in a car together?”

“Yeah, right at the outset of the journey he accelerated before a turn on the circular bypass, overtook a lorry and did a quick turn off, blindsiding my guys and sending them off to the next junction. Once they tracked back there was no sign and no idea which direction they went.”

“Well, she’s a big girl now, and she normally rings me about 11 on a Sunday, so I’ll wait to see if she calls.” Sir Alan was adamant that he wouldn’t display his anxiety over his daughter by calling her until she was much later than normal calling him.

“I wouldn’t worry too much Boss, about Miss Lyndsey’s safety. This guy may be a tough cookie but there’s no history of trouble in the military and nothing in his police record, so I think the guy’s basically straight up.”

“That’ll be a refreshing change.”

“Yeah, compared to Belvedere.”

Lyndsey opened her eyes and looked up at Mason. His breathing had settled into a regular pattern but now he was gently snoring. She could see his head laid back on the soft sofa, his eyes closed and mouth open. She smiled and settled her head back on his shoulder but then noticed that Mrs P was standing there holding a couple of cups of tea. She sat up and stretched out to take one of them from her.

“I leave Mr Mason’s on the table. It’s shame to wake him until Maisie’s ready. You have late night?”

“Yes, we didn’t get in until two, and we both had a early start on Saturday. I managed to get a couple of hours sleep between the coach and the car, but Mason, poor lamb, had to write his football report earlier and then did all the driving down.”

“Yes, he good man, Mr Mason. Our daughter is blind, but you have your eyes open, I think.” She turned to go.

“Thank you for the tea.”

“You’re welcome, dear.”

Lyndsey drank the tea, a fresh herbal infusion that was much to her liking. She thought she would have to ask their host what it was. Between sips, she glanced at Mason, but he slept on. When she finished her tea, she put the cup on the table and settled back down on Mason’s shoulder, her hand on his chest. He twitched, but didn’t awaken, so Lyndsey smiled and closed her eyes for a few minutes absorbing his warmth and feeling the satisfying rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

She wasn’t sure if she had dropped off or not, but something made her open her eyes. In front of her were Mr and Mrs P and a tall darker-skinned woman holding a baby, who was quiet and appeared to Lyndsey to have that just fed, eyes half-closed look, except that it suddenly looked like the baby had just noticed Mason and was holding out both arms to him. Lyndsey sat up quickly, pushing her hand into Mason’s chest, which woke him up.

Mason seemed to become instantly awake and completely aware of where he was.

“Hi Leone,” he said pleasantly, “You’re looking well.”

“You too, are you going to introduce me?” Leone’s eyes flicked to the female sitting next to him.

“Yes, course—”

“I’m Lyndsey, a friend of Mason’s,” Lyndsey beat him to the introduction and extended a hand, which Leone looked at with hesitation, then handed baby Maisie over to Mason before giving Lyndsey’s hand the briefest of shakes.

Maisie cuddled Mason, full of smiles and gurgles. He stood up with her on his hip. Lyndsey also got up and stood next to him.

“Miss Lyndsey’s orthopaedic surgeon, dear,” Mr P said by way of expansion.

“Well, I’m still in training and gaining experience,” Lyndsey corrected, “I’ve been at East Green General for three years, the first two as a houseman, then I got an opportunity to help out with surgery and I’m now on the team learning the ropes.”

“You seem very young,” Mr P observed.

“I still had to do all the courses, but while some students had to work sabbaticals or work in private hospitals to fund their courses, my family paid my way, leaving me free to get in additional courses and experiences which has helped my progress.”