That settled it, though. She was definitely going to look for a job in some other town and she wasn’t going to tell anyone at work where she was going.

Angus didn’t waste any time bringing in a structural engineer to check the houses in Saffron Lane. Hedley Preece came well recommended and they were both impatient for him to complete his investigations and tell them what he’d found, but he said it’d be days before he could get to their place.

When he arranged to see them one afternoon the following week to share his findings, he suggested meeting at Saffron Lane, so that he could point out one or two things they might have missed. That sounded ominous.

He was already waiting for them when they arrived, standing in the middle of the street, his face turned up to the sun.

‘Ah, there you are. I was just enjoying the warmth and getting a free dose of Vitamin D.’ He shook hands with both of them then gestured to the houses. ‘This little street has a nice feel to it. They knew how to build solid dwellings in those days, my word they did.’

‘Does that mean they’re safe?’ Angus asked.

‘You can rest assured that these houses won’t fall down on you or your tenants. Of course, they’ll need rewiring and replumbing, but you don’t need me to tell you that.’

Angus beamed at him. ‘That’s excellent news.’

‘There are a couple of small faults that need dealing with if they’re not to turn into larger faults: the roof of Number 4 has some damage to one corner, probably done by a storm, and there are gutters here and there that need replacing.’

‘That’s all?’

He chuckled. ‘Do you want anything else to be wrong?’

Angus shrugged. ‘I just want everyone who lives here to be safe.’

‘There is something else I need to tell you, though. You said the War Office was the last occupier during and after World War II.’

‘Yes. They requisitioned the whole street.’

‘Well, they’ve left some stuff in the attic of Number 1. It’s nothing dangerous, mostly papers and everyday office equipment, but if I were you, I’d contact them and ask what they want to do about it. You shouldn’t just destroy any of it. I believe it has some significant historical value.’

Nell frowned. ‘I don’t remember there being anything in the attic of Number 1, just that it was smaller than next door’s attic.’

‘That’s because there’s a hidden door through to a deliberately concealed room. I hadn’t realised you’d not noticed it. I can show you how to activate the door catch if you like.’

Angus and Nell exchanged surprised glances.

‘How did you find it when we noticed nothing, Hedley?’ he asked.

‘I could tell that there had to be some other space under the roof and wondered why it hadn’t been utilised as it had been in Number 2. Luckily, I’d seen a couple of other hidden rooms which opened like yours. I’m a bit of a World War II buff, you see. I didn’t examine the contents in detail because I didn’t feel it was right to touch or move them.’