Frankie's Letter - By Dolores Gordon-Smith Page 0,27
said Anthony. ‘I don’t know much about poets.’
‘He made quite a name for himself. He was an expert on Irish folklore and mythology and fiercely pro-Independence. He was a fiery sort of beggar, calling for young men to sacrifice themselves on the altar of freedom and so on. I don’t know how much was poetic licence and how much was meant, but it’s violent stuff. Sherston’s pro-Independence but so are many people, on both sides of the Irish Sea. He’s never made any secret of it and it might or might not be important. I hope it isn’t. What is important for our purposes is the name of his house. Guess what it is.’
Anthony shrugged. ‘It could be anything, I suppose.’
‘It’s Starhanger.’
‘What?’
Sir Charles smiled triumphantly. ‘Starhanger. And if that’s not Cavanaugh’s Star anger I’ll eat my hat.’
‘That’s incredible!’ Anthony couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice. ‘And the woman I saw – the woman in blue – could she be Miss O’Bryan?’
‘How old was she, would you say?’
Anthony had thought about this. He had thought about the woman in blue intently ever since that life-shattering glimpse. ‘She’d be in her twenties at a guess.’ He wanted it to be her. He very much wanted the woman in blue to be her.
‘That sounds about right,’ said Sir Charles. ‘There is a Mrs Sherston, Mrs Josette Sherston, but we don’t know anything about her. What does worry me is that Sherston is undoubtedly a gentleman.’
Anthony gave a low whistle. ‘I see where you’re going. Surely you don’t think Mr Sherston might be our gentleman?’
Sir Charles looked at him with a twisted smile. ‘It seems incredible, doesn’t it? And yet in many ways he fits the bill. He’s had a few swipes at the powers that be in his time, which is probably why he isn’t Lord something or other. He might resent that, you know. He was very pro-Boer and, as I say, he’s all for Irish Home Rule. He’s run many an article about John Bull’s other island, as he usually calls it. He might see his role as Cavanaugh’s gentleman as a way of paying off a few old scores. Granted what Cavanaugh said, I can’t deny he fits.’ He paused. ‘There’s another thing, too. I looked him up in Who’s Who. His second name is Francis.’
Anthony stared at him. ‘Francis? And we’re looking for a Frankie? That’s a coincidence.’
Sir Charles held up a steadying hand. ‘And that could be the top and bottom of it. I hope to God it’s not him. There’ll be hell to pay if it is. Since the war started, Sherston has become the patriot of patriots and has some very influential friends. He’s also put his money where his mouth is as regards the war. Any member of his staff who joined up has been guaranteed full pay for the duration of hostilities and he’s raised no end of money for various good causes associated with the services. If it’s a front, it’s a very good one. He regularly dines with Asquith and other members of the cabinet.’
‘He’s in a perfect position to have valuable information.’
‘I agree. However, you see what I mean when I said he’s someone we have to treat with caution. We’ve got a free press and Sherston knows how to use it. If this goes wrong, Sherston can make such a stink it’ll wreck the department. It’s hard enough to justify our work to some of the bigwigs in the War Office as it is, without giving them that sort of ammunition. We can’t afford to let him have the faintest suspicion we’re looking into him and his affairs, but it’s important that we do. I want you to be invited to Starhanger. You can find out an awful lot very quickly about a man in his own home. I’d like to be there as well.’
Anthony raised his eyebrows. Considering he’d only met the man once, the assumption Sherston was going to immediately offer him bed and board seemed a bit cool. ‘How on earth am I going to manage that? And how are you, for that matter?’
Sir Charles smiled once more. ‘I’ll see if I can swing it. As for you, Sherston’s a newspaperman, yes? I made a point of running into him at the Garrick last night and you came up in conversation. I didn’t know you’d met him, of course, but he was interested, and I offered to introduce you. After all, you’ve been in Germany.