‘Your only great-grandson,’ Emma reminded him as she settled back into a deep leather chair.
‘As you haven’t brought him with you, I assume you have something serious to discuss.’
The small talk had already been dispensed with. Emma knew that Sir Walter would have allocated a certain amount of time for the meeting. Miss Beale had once told her that visitors were granted fifteen minutes, thirty minutes or an hour, depending on how important he considered they were. Family were not exempt from this rule, except on Sunday. Emma had a number of questions she needed answered, so hoped he’d allotted her at least half an hour.
She sat back and tried to relax, because she didn’t want Gramps to work out the real reason she wanted to see him.
‘Do you remember when you kindly travelled up to Scotland,’ she began, ‘to let me know that Harry had been killed at sea? I’m afraid I was in such a state of shock that I didn’t take it all in, so I hoped you might tell me a little more about the last few days of his life.’
‘Of course, my dear,’ said Sir Walter sympathetically. ‘Let’s hope my memory is up to it. Is there anything in particular you want to know?’
‘You told me that Harry signed up as the fourth officer on the Devonian after he’d come down from Oxford.’
‘That’s right. It was my old friend Captain Havens who made it possible, and he was among the few survivors of the tragedy. When I visited him recently, he could not have spoken more warmly of Harry. He described him as a courageous young man, who not only saved his life after the ship had been hit by a torpedo, but sacrificed his own when he attempted to rescue the chief engineer.’
‘Was Captain Havens also picked up by the Kansas Star?’
‘No, by another ship that was in the vicinity, so sadly he never saw Harry again.’
‘So he didn’t witness Harry being buried at sea?’
‘No. The only officer from the Devonian who was with Harry when he died was an American, called Lieutenant Thomas Bradshaw.’
‘You told me that a Dr Wallace delivered a letter from Lieutenant Bradshaw to Mrs Clifton.’
‘That’s correct. Dr Wallace was the chief medical officer on the Kansas Star. He assured me that he and his team did everything in their power to save Harry’s life.’
‘Did Bradshaw write to you as well?’
‘No, only to the next of kin, if I recall Dr Wallace’s words.’
‘Then don’t you find it strange that he didn’t write to me?’
Sir Walter fell silent for some time. ‘You know, I’ve never really given it any thought. Perhaps Harry never mentioned you to Bradshaw. You know how secretive he could be.’
Emma had often thought about it, but moved quickly on. ‘Did you read the letter he sent to Mrs Clifton?’
‘No, I didn’t. But I saw it on the mantelpiece when I visited her the following day.’
‘Do you think Dr Wallace had any idea what Bradshaw had written in that letter?’
‘Yes. He told me it was a letter of condolence from a fellow officer who had served with Harry on the Devonian.’
‘If only I could meet Lieutenant Bradshaw,’ said Emma, fishing.
‘I don’t know how you’ll manage that, my dear,’ said Sir Walter, ‘unless Wallace kept in touch with him.’
‘Do you have an address for Dr Wallace?’
‘Only care of the Kansas Star.’
‘But surely they must have stopped sailing to Bristol when war was declared.’
‘Not as long as there are Americans stranded in England who are willing to pay through the nose to get home.’
‘Isn’t that taking an unnecessary risk, with so many German U-boats patrolling the Atlantic?’
‘Not while America remains neutral,’ said Sir Walter. ‘The last thing Hitler wants is to start a war with the Yanks simply because one of his U-boats sank an American passenger ship.’
‘Do you know if the Kansas Star is expected to return to Bristol in the near future?’
‘No, but I can easily find out.’ The old man heaved himself out of his chair and walked slowly across to his desk. He began to flick through page after page of the monthly timetable of dockings.
‘Ah, here it is,’ he eventually said. ‘She’s due out of New York in four weeks’ time, and is expected in Bristol on the fifteenth of November. If you’re hoping to get in touch with anyone on board, be warned, she won’t be hanging around for long, as it’s the one place she’ll be vulnerable to attack.’
‘Will I be allowed on board?’
‘Not unless you’re a crew member or looking for a job, and frankly I can’t see you as either a deckhand or a cocktail waitress.’
‘So how can I get to see Dr Wallace?’