‘Oh, no, sir!’ Edna was clearly horrified. ‘That’s the last thing she’d do. Too frightened, she is. This man what’s after her is not nice. When we was on the train today she saw something in a newspaper. Went white, she did – I thought she was going to faint. No! She won’t go home.’

‘Which newspaper?’ Louise sat down as if drained of all strength and began to scan the papers on the table.

‘I don’t know. She threw it out the window before I could see it.’ Edna hesitated, then gave Matt a pleading look. ‘You got to find her. She ain’t got no one. On her own, she is.’

He nodded grimly. ‘I’ll do my best.’

But where did he start?

‘Keep a sharp lookout, Luke,’ Matt ordered as he drove slowly up the road.

‘This is hopeless, you know that,’ his brother complained. ‘She could be anywhere by now. And why the hell are you bothering?’

‘Because she’s a young frightened girl and we don’t know if she’s got a family, or anywhere to go.’ He gave his brother a worried look. ‘Father acted too hastily, and I consider that makes us responsible for her safety!’

‘You would think that,’ Luke said with a shake of his head.

‘What does that mean?’ he snapped.

‘You care too much about other people and what’s going on in the world. Look at the way you’re always going on about the emerging Nazi Party. Now this R101 airship is really something to get excited about. Just think, Matt, with the kind of aircraft they’re now developing it won’t be long before we can go anywhere by air.’

‘I agree that it is an exciting prospect, but I happen to believe that the Nazis are dangerous. And they’re getting far too powerful. They’ve won almost a hundred seats in this month’s German elections.’ Matt loved his brother, but Luke couldn’t seem to see past his own little world …

Luke continued as if he hadn’t spoken. ‘And the girl you’re getting in a stew about is only a servant –’

‘My God!’ exploded Matt. ‘What an unfeeling beast you are.’

Luke laughed in his usual careless way. ‘No, I’m not. I’m a realist. While this girl was under our roof we were responsible for her, but Father has dismissed her. For a very good reason, as far as I can see. Stop worrying, Matt. She’ll go back to her family and soon get another job.’

‘Suppose she hasn’t got anyone who would take her in; have you thought of that?’ Matt drove along Oxford Street. ‘Keep looking. Some of the buses from our place do come along here. I wish Mrs Douglas had thought to get the number of the bus before it disappeared.’