Jan had. It seemed to have the best potential for his achieving his goal. He said enthusiastically, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow night. I’ll . . .’
Jan piped up, ‘You can’t be the one to follow her, Glen. Caitlyn Thomas knows you, and if she catches sight of you tailing her she could get suspicious. I need to be the one to do this. Tomorrow’s Saturday and the office staff don’t have to work like us factory lot do so I doubt she will. It’ll have to be Monday night. Oh, dear, seems like a long weekend’s in front of us. Anyway, I’ll tell Hilda I’ve got somewhere important I need to be straight after work so I’ll have to leave as soon as the hooter blows. I’ll hide somewhere I’ve got a good view of the factory gates and as soon as I see Miss Thomas coming through them, I’ll tag on behind her, keeping at a safe distance. Hopefully she’ll be in too much of a hurry to get home to take much notice of what’s going on around her. And it’s dark that time of night, so that’s on our side . . .’
The plan sounded a good one to him but, regardless, several problems struck him. He said to her, ‘But, Jan, you’ll have been on your feet all day and be tired. And it’s freezing weather. You could catch your death if for some reason Caitlyn Thomas stays late in the office.’
She told him, ‘Well, I’ll be sitting down on the bus, and I’ll make sure I wear two pairs of knickers.’
He grinned. ‘Well, it seems it’s all go then.’ Another thought struck him then. ‘But Caitlyn knows you too, Jan. You brought a tray up to the office this morning so she’s seen your face, hasn’t she?’ He eyed her quizzically. ‘Er . . . by the way, why were you acting so oddly when you brought it in this morning?’
She looked at him for a moment before shifting awkwardly in her seat. ‘Well . . . er . . . you see, I wasn’t entirely honest with you . . . I didn’t lie, but I didn’t tell you either as I didn’t want to upset you since you believed at the time that the young woman in the office was your daughter. If I had told you I’d met her, you would have asked me what she was like, and I didn’t want to tell you so—’
He cut in, ‘You’re babbling, Jan. What is it you’re trying to tell me?’
‘Just that I crossed paths with . . . well, the girl we now know is Nerys’s own daughter, not yours, the first morning she came in. In fact both of us have come across her before. She was the girl in the church who kicked up a fuss when we went inside that night to rest.’
The incident came back to Glen. ‘Well thank goodness she hasn’t recognised us this time around, considering the state we were in then. She’d know the information I’ve told her about my background is a pack of lies.’
‘No one would realise the man that was in the church is the same one sat opposite me now,’ Jan said. ‘There’s no comparison. In my opinion she was too concerned at the time that we’d spoil her wedding to take much notice of us. At least, I assume it was her wedding, only as she’s still a Miss, something must have stopped it happening. Perhaps her fiancé didn’t like her attitude and called it off before it was too late. If that’s the case I do feel a bit sorry for her. She will have had a hard lesson to learn.’
Jan paused for a moment. ‘That first morning, I had a run-in with her and she ended up sacking me. Accused me of committing treason! Thankfully the boss’s secretary arrived then and I made a quick exit, glad the young woman hadn’t asked for my name. I did tell Hilda what had happened but she just told me to get on with my work and she’d deal with it. Thankfully I heard no more. I was acting strangely this morning because I was concerned she might recognise me and remember, but I don’t need to worry about bumping into her now with the union agreement to reinstate those she sacked unfairly, do I?’
Glen smiled. ‘I wondered why you were behaving differently. Now I know.’
‘Please don’t hold it against me for