SERIAL Together We Stand by Heather Pardoe

Inspector Williams had some questions for Henry and Madeleine . . .

INSPECTOR TWM WILLIAMS paused at the entrance to the Bron Derw and gazed back out over the curve of Llandudno’s bay, the tall guest-houses gleaming brightly in the morning sun.

“Ah, Miss Gillingham.” He smiled as Madeleine appeared at the open door. “I’m a little early for my appointment, I’m afraid.”

“Not at all,” Madeleine replied. “Please do come in. My brother is waiting for you in the garden.”

“Thank you, Miss Gillingham.” Inspector Williams followed her into the garden, neatly trimmed and bright with flowers, where Henry Gillingham was sitting at the garden table set in the sun.

“Good morning, Inspector.” Henry rose to shake his hand, gesturing him to one of the free seats. “How can I help you?”

“I’ll leave you,” Madeleine murmured.

“I would rather you stayed, if you don’t mind, Miss Gillingham. Unless you have pressing business, that is.”

“Not at all.” Madeleine took the remaining seat. “I shall be joining the ladies on the pier, but I’m not due down there for another hour.”

Inspector Williams almost allowed a grin to escape him.

“I hear it’s going well down there. I’ve already had several complaints from Councillor Banks about the temporary photographic studio clogging up the pier.” His eyes gave a brief twinkle. “I can’t see visitors enjoying themselves being any cause of harm.

Although you might drop a hint to Mrs Humphries that she not lecture passers-by on the need for a female councillor with quite such enthusiasm.” He cleared his throat. “I might find myself obliged to intervene to keep the peace.”

“I’ll mention it to her.” Madeleine smiled. “I’m afraid she does get a bit carried away. Mr Banks closing the tearooms has made her determined to gain a seat on the council so she can fight him on his own ground.”

“That should prove interesting,” the inspector replied. “I’ve heard women make excellent councillors, myself. Not that I could voice any opinion on the matter, of course.”

“Of course,” Henry replied, hiding a smile. “So how can we help you, Inspector?”

“Ah.” Twm eyed the two of them. “I was interested to establish if you had any of your uncle’s papers in your possession.”

“Only the ones you have already seen,” Henry said.

“And in the picture wagon?”

“The picture wagon?” Madeleine frowned at him. “Do you think there might be something of value in there?”

“I’m not sure if I’d call it of value, miss. Just papers. But they could possibly have value if they fell into the wrong hands.”

“You think that’s what my intruder was looking for?” Henry said.

“Possibly. A very secretive man, your uncle. I’ve been trying to find out more about his affairs, but there’s remarkably little, which interests me.

“A man with no past and very little to show for a very long life seems to me a man who has something to hide. The question is what.”

“All I know is that he worked as a journalist in the Crimea and was treated at Miss Nightingale’s hospital at Scutari,” Henry told him.

“Yes, that’s one of the few things I’ve been able to establish.” Twm Williams glanced at Madeleine. “Did you know that he was treated at the same time as Miss Phillips’s father?”

“No,” Madeleine said in surprise. “Tanni’s never mentioned it.”

“But didn’t Mr Phillips die some time ago?” Henry frowned.

“Yes, indeed.” Inspector Williams drummed a pattern with his fingers on the table. “Suicide.” Madeleine gasped. “I’d no idea. Poor man. And how terrible for Tanni and her family.”

“Yes.” The inspector was lost in thought.

Madeleine scanned his face, deep in preoccupation.

“Are you suggesting, Inspector, that it might not have been suicide after all?”

Inspector Williams started.

“I’m not at liberty . . .” He came to a halt. “To be honest, the possibility has crossed my mind. Mr Phillips was known to be troubled, and the pain of his wounds often led him to take a little more beer than was wise.

“There was no obvious foul play, and it was a natural assumption at the time. I’d still say so now if it hadn’t been for recent events.

“It might be nothing, but it strikes me as untidy. And untidy bothers me.”

Madeleine’s eyes widened.

“Tanni said there was someone in the studio one night when she was working down in the basement.

“She only saw his shadow at the top of the steps. She thought she had disturbed him and frightened him away. But suppose . . .” She swallowed.

“Suppose it was something else that disturbed the intruder,” Henry finished slowly. “Suppose it was Tanni they were looking for.”

“Indeed,” the inspector remarked.

“I must get down to the pier,” Madeleine said, rising to her feet. “If there’s any possibility that Tanni might be in danger, we can’t leave her alone.”

“Agreed.” Henry stood up, too. “We should get down there right away. You are welcome to search the picture wagon and the house.”

“Thank you,” Inspector Williams replied. “It would be helpful if Miss Phillips is accompanied at all times.

“I’ve arranged for a couple of my officers to keep an eye on the house, but I can hardly put an officer outside the studio. It would put anyone off having their portrait taken.

“It would also give a signal to anyone wishing Miss Phillips ill that we were on to him, and heaven knows what a desperate man might do.”

“I’ll make sure there’s always someone with Tanni,” Madeleine said firmly. “The volunteers from the tearooms are itching to get back to some kind of gainful activity while it remains closed.”

“I would be grateful if you don’t mention the reason.” He cleared his throat. “Can’t be too careful in these cases.”

Henry stared at him. “Are you suggesting whoever has been trying to harm Tanni may have come from inside the tearooms?”

“I hope not, but best to be careful. We don’t want to provoke anything until we have time to find out exactly what all this is about.”

On the pier, Tanni was enjoying herself. The little temporary studio had proved popular from the moment she had set up her equipment.

Even on the windiest of days there were queues of visitors waiting for their photographs to be taken, sitting at the wooden tables in the entrance to the kiosk, where Edith kept them entertained with charm and endless pots of tea and fruitcake.

Not even the presence of Mrs Humphries and her helpers, eagerly handing out leaflets to every passer-by, and engaging anyone who would listen in a discussion of the importance of local politics, was a deterrent.

“They are going to have to reopen the tearooms and the studio at this rate,” she said to Edith, who had been keeping two small children amused while their parents were photographed at the edge of the pier.

“Let’s hope they do,” Edith replied. “You’ve taken so many photographs today and word is spreading. It’s a pity you can’t set up a darkroom here.”

“It would be so much better.” Tanni sighed. “I hate having to go back into the studio at the end of the day.”

“I’ll come down with you, if you like.” Edith smiled. “I’d like to learn how to do this developing of photographs.”

“You’ll be very welcome,” Tanni said, surprised.

Although she was happy to help with the setting up of the scenes and distracting the children, Edith had shown little interest in the process of developing the photographs.

Tanni brushed aside an ungrateful thought that she would be much faster working on her own than with a pupil to teach, but Edith obviously meant well.

“I’ll meet you at the tearooms, then,” Edith said. “My grandfather is expecting me for tea this afternoon, but I shall be able to leave and open up the tearooms with Doctor Humphries, then it will be ready by the time you’ve finished, and you’ll be able to get on with your work without interruption.”

“Thank you,” Tanni replied. “I’ll try not to be long. I’m sure none of us will want to miss Mrs Humphries’s election rally.”

“No, indeed,” Edith said, laughing. “I wouldn’t miss that for the world.”

She nodded towards the entrance to the pier, where Councillor Banks, accompanied by

several of his fellow councillors, was making his way towards the little booth.

“It looks like he means business. I’d better escape now if I’m going to meet my grandfather. I’ll see you at the tearooms, Tanni.”

She set off, one hand keeping her hat secure on her head against the gusts of wind, scurrying between the group of approaching men, waving to Henry and Madeleine, who were making their way towards the pier.

“Yes, of course,” Tanni said to a shy enquiry from a young couple. Tanni smiled at the glint of an engagement ring worn slightly self-consciously on the young woman’s finger.

“I’ll be delighted to take a photograph of you with Llandudno behind. You’ll be able to collect the print tomorrow morning.”

“So soon?” the young man exclaimed.

“Oh, yes.” Tanni smiled. “And the photograph itself will only take a few minutes.”

“Well, I never,” he replied. “We’ll be in plenty of time for our trip around Anglesey on the steamer, my dear,” he added in reassuring tones to his fiancée, who was eyeing the camera equipment a little nervously.

Tanni smiled with relief as Madeleine dodged through the crowds and arrived at the little booth to help her.

“Sorry we are late,” she whispered as she helped Tanni with the equipment. “The inspector took longer than we thought.”

“Does he have any idea who might be behind this?”

Madeleine shook her head.

“They really seem to have made very little progress.”

Tanni swallowed her frustration and concentrated on guiding her charges towards the position with the best view of Llandudno, with the mountains of Snowdonia rising up behind.

As they passed the small group of tables set out for tea, Gwendolyn, still waving leaflets, was engaged in yet another skirmish with Councillor Banks.

“Madam, you are causing an obstruction. I have had a number of complaints from the businesses on the pier.

“You really cannot engage in this most indecorous demonstration. Is this the reputation you wish Llandudno to offer to visitors?” Mr Banks demanded.

“This is not a demonstration, Mr Banks,” was Gwendolyn’s reply. “This is the democratic process.

“If you are so certain I am wasting my time, I suggest you come to my meeting tonight. I shall be laying down exactly what I stand for. Feel free to question me then.”

“Unseemly,” he muttered, scowling. “A woman making a spectacle of herself.

“Not to mention dragging respectable young ladies from good families into becoming a subject of public comment. Who knows what damage to their futures you may be causing?”

He glared at Tanni as she passed.

“And into what unsuitable occupations you may be luring them?” he added.

“There’s no shame in a woman earning an honest trade to enable her to support herself and keep her out of the clutches of a dishonest trade,” Gwendolyn retorted.

A ripple of applause went up around her.

“Hear, hear,” the mother of the engaged couple said, following behind Tanni and her charges.

“Back home in Derbyshire, I’m on the board of a charitable institution for the most wretched of women.

“I’ve never met one who would not, given the chance, have taken a different course to feeding herself and those dependent on her. You, sir, have a positively mediaeval approach to womanhood.”

Mr Banks stared, open mouthed, as his unexpected opponent swept by, feathers nodding in the breeze.

“Mama is very forthright in her opinions,” her daughter whispered apologetically to Tanni.

“She sounds very sensible,” Tanni replied.

The young woman smiled, losing some of her shyness and revealing a pretty face.

“I’m afraid my own mother is even more radical in her views,” the young man confided, sending an adoring glance at his fiancée. “We weren’t certain if she would allow the engagement.” Tanni smiled.

“Well, it seems to me you’ve won your most important battle.

“At least now you’ll be able to support each other, and not do what either of them tell you.”

The young couple exchanged a thoughtful glance.

Tanni set up her camera with a sense of enjoyment.

“That looks as if it will be a very happy picture,” Henry commented as Tanni returned to the little booth.

“I’m sure they will always be happy.” Tanni smiled.

“So they will,” Henry agreed, watching them as they disappeared amongst the crowds. “I’m certain that picture will be passed down to their children and grandchildren, who will marvel at the strangeness of their clothes and the youth of those they have known only as bent and wrinkled.”

“I like that idea.” Tanni smiled.

He turned his gaze back towards her.

“So do I.”

“I’d better get this printed,” Tanni mumbled, turning away to hide the colour rising to her cheeks.

Henry cleared his throat, inwardly cursing himself for having revealed too much.

“I’ve promised to take Madeleine to Mrs Humphries’s rally,” he said. “Perhaps you would like to come, too?”

“I should get home. Mam will be expecting me.”

An awkward silence fell between them, broken only by Madeleine weaving through the crowds with a slab of fruitcake, which she pressed into Tanni’s hands.

“This is delicious,” she said, brushing crumbs from her blouse. “Come on, let’s get down to the tearooms. Evan should be there.”

****

Henry watched them go, hurrying past Mr Banks, now setting a dignified pace as he retreated along the front, their skirts flying in the wind until they vanished into the streets of the town, heading towards the tearooms.

He glanced up at the guest-house as the mill of visitors moved around him.

“A remarkable woman.” He turned to find Mrs Humphries, cheeks pink with the exertions of the day, arriving behind him. “You mean my sister?” “No, I do not. Although I would say the same for her, too.”

Despite himself, Henry sighed.

“Yes, she is.” Gwendolyn gave him a sharp glance.

“If you don’t mind me saying so, young man, a gentleman can overdo the honourable.”

“I beg your pardon?” “Well, it seems to me, that if a young couple have an understanding, then they can face whatever life throws at them.”

He felt an irresistible tide of scarlet rising towards his scalp.

“I’m not entirely sure I follow you.”

“Of course you do.” She glanced up at the guesthouse. “I don’t expect you ever thought you’d find yourself here, and I don’t know if you plan to stay. But I’m sure you can work it out between you.

“When I was young, we never expected to live very far from where we were born. All that is changing.” A twinkle appeared in her eyes. “I can think of worse places to settle down than Llandudno.”

Henry smiled.

“I see your point, Mrs Humphries,” he said. “But it is not my decision alone.”

“My dear young man, you don’t seriously think she will refuse you?”

“I . . .” Now he was scarlet. “I’m not sure

I’d want her to make