The Shifting Fog (62 page)

‘Dear God,’ said Teddy, stopping abruptly. ‘What on earth—?’

‘Teddy darling,’ said Emmeline. ‘Thank God.’ She turned jerkily to face Teddy and her voice levelled. ‘Mr Hunter has shot himself.’

The Letter

Tonight I die and my life begins.

I tell you, and only you. You have been with me a long time
on this adventure, and I want you to know that in the days
that follow, when they are combing the lake for a body they
will never find, I am safe.

We go to Germany first, from there I cannot say. Finally, I will
see Nefertiti’s head mask!

I have given you a second note addressed to Emmeline. It is
a suicide note for a suicide that will never take place. She must
find it tomorrow. Not before. Look after her, Grace. She will be
all right. She has so many friends.

There is one final favour I must ask of you. It is of the
utmost importance. Whatever happens, keep Emmeline from the
lake tonight. Robbie and I leave from there. I cannot risk her
finding out. She won’t understand. Not yet.
I will contact her later. When it is safe.
And now to the last. Perhaps you’ve already discovered the
locket I gave you is not empty? Concealed inside is a key, a
secret key to a safe box in Drummonds on Charing Cross. The
box is in your name, Grace, and everything inside it is for you.
I know how you feel about gifts, but please, take it and don’t
look back. Am I too presumptuous in saying it is your ticket
to a new life?

Goodbye, Grace. I wish you a long life full with adventure
and love. Wish me the same . . .

I know how well you are with secrets.

A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s

I would like to thank the following:

First and foremost, my best friend, Kim Wilkins, without whose encouragement I would never have started, let alone finished.

Davin for his endurance, empathy and unwavering faith. Oliver for expanding the emotional boundaries of my life and for curing me of writer’s block.

My family: Warren, Jenny, Julia and, in particular, my mother Diane, whose courage, grace and beauty inspire me. Herbert and Rita Davies, dear friends, for telling the best stories. Be brilliant!

My fabulous literary agent, Selwa Anthony, whose commitment, care and skill are peerless.

Selena Hanet-Hutchins for her efforts on my behalf. The sf-sassies for writerly support.

Everybody at Allen & Unwin, especially Annette Barlow, Catherine Milne, Christa Munns, Christen Cornell, Julia Lee and Angela Namoi.

Julia Stiles for being everything I hoped an editor would be. Dalerie and Lainie for their assistance with Oliver (was ever a little boy so loved?), and for giving me the precious gift of time.

The lovely people at Mary Ryan’s for adoring books and making great coffee.

For matters of fact: thank you to Mirko Ruckels for answering questions about music and opera, Drew Whitehead for telling me the story of Miriam and Aaron, Elaine Rutherford for providing information of a medical nature, and Diane Morton for her extensive and timely advice on antiques and customs, and for being an arbiter of good taste.

Finally, I would like to mention Beryl Popp and Dulcie Connelly. Two grandmothers, dearly loved and missed. I hope Grace inherited a little from each of you.

The Shifting Fog
is a work of fiction; nonetheless, its setting in history demanded extensive research. It is impossible for me to list here every source consulted; however, I would like to mention a few without whom the book would have been much the worse. Mary S. Lovell’s
The Mitford Girls
, Cressida Connolly’s
The Rare
and the Beautiful
, Laura Thompson’s
Life in a Cold Climate
, Anne de Courcy’s
1939: The Last Season
and
The Viceroy’s Daughters
, and Victoria Glendinning’s
Vita
provide colourful illustrations of country house life in the early part of the twentieth century. For more general historical information, Stephen Inwood’s
A History
of London
and the Reader’s Digest
Yesterday’s Britain
are both very informative. Beverley Nichols’s
Sweet and Twenties
, Frances Donaldson’s
Child of the Twenties
,
Punch
magazine, the letters of Nancy Mitford, Evelyn Waugh and Katherine Mansfield offer excellent first-hand accounts of literary lives in the 1920s. Noel Carthew’s
Voices from the Trenches: Letters to Home
and Michael Duffy’s website firstworldwar.com are two excellent sources on the First World War. For information on Edwardian etiquette I turned, as have countless young ladies before me, to
The Essential Handbook
of Victorian Etiquette
by Professor Thomas E Hill and to
Manners
and Rules of Good Society or Solecisms to be Avoided
published by

‘A Member of the Aristocracy’ in 1924.

All bent truths and errors of fact I claim as my own.

• Part title
  
• About the author
  
• Title page
  
• CONTENTS
  
• PART 1
  
  • Film script, Part 1
    
  • The Letter
    
  • Ghosts Stir
    
  • The Drawing Room
    
  • The Braintree Daily Herald
    
  • The Nursery
    
  • Waiting for the Recital
    
  • All Good Things
    
  • Mystery Maker Trade Magazine
    
  • Saffron High Street
    
  • In the West
    
  • The Times
    
  • Until We Meet Again
    
• PART 2
  
  • English Heritage Brochure
    
  • The Twelfth of July
    
  • The Fall of Icarus
    
  • Film Script, Part II
    
  • Full Report
    
  • The Photograph
    
  • New
    
  • The Dinner
    
  • A Suitable Husband
    
  • The Ball and After
    
• PART 3
  
  • The Times
    
  • Catching butterflies
    
  • Down the Rabbit Hole
    
  • In the Depths
    
  • Resurrection
    
  • The Choice
    
• PART 4
  
  • Hannah's Story
    
  • The Beginning of the End
    
  • Riverton Revisited
    
  • Slipping Out of Time
    
  • The End
    
  • The Tape
    
  • The Letter
    
• Acknowledgements