she had started this new job she enjoyed the experience of physical books more, searching through pictures and descriptions of buildings, and their histories that stretched back through the years. It gave her great satisfaction to meander through the streets of London of the past through the books’ pages, and Sophie loved being able to recognise a particular building and know its story. They were becoming familiar to her now, feeling like old friends, regal and dignified, guarding over the city for centuries.
Sophie gathered the books about World War Two she had recently purchased to prepare for the exhibition and opened a chapter about the buildings along Baker Street. Where the picture had been taken had no firm address, so figuring out exactly where Vivienne was standing took some time but with some delving and investigation on her computer, and with the knowledge of the buildings around it, she pulled together the pieces of the puzzle.
The young boy perched on the rubble was at the top of Baker Street, and the building next to the bomb site, with its white stone steps and Grecian pillars, was very recognisable. An online article stated the building with the pillars housed a lot of civil servants and the government had used it during the war, with one of the offices even being SOE – Special Operations Executive – an independent spy network set up by Churchill during the war to work alongside MI5 and MI6. Sophie sat back and thought about that. It was interesting. If Vivienne had been such a wild child, what business did she have in a bureaucratic building in London so far from her home in Cornwall? Especially one involved in war work. Is that what Vivienne had been doing on her visit to France? The passage didn’t go into any further detail about the organisation, but it confirmed Sophie’s suspicions. The woman stepping out of that building in the photograph, who could’ve been a reflection of herself or her mother, was a mystery to be solved.
Sophie decided to email her cousin Jean, who lived with her great-uncle Tom, with a crop of the photograph, asking if she could shed any light on the person who was in it, and also if it was possible for Sophie to come down to the manor sometime for a visit. It had been so long since she had been there and the thought of getting out of London for a break sounded good.
Jean, who was invariably up late, messaged her straight back, saying she remembered talk of a mystery sister years before, but that until Sophie’s email she had completely forgotten about it, as no one mentioned her. But Jean had no idea if the woman in the photograph was the mystery sister. Though she had some hazy recollection from when she was a child, of her dad talking about a Vivienne in hushed tones with her mother, she had never been told anything about the woman in question. Her email went on to say that her dad’s memory was extremely fragile now, and that Sophie might not get much help from him. Though I am sure he would welcome a visit from his favourite grand-niece, she had added with a smiley emoji.
Sophie closed her laptop. Her gran was being too pessimistic. And though Jean had sounded a little concerned about how Sophie’s great-uncle would react, she seemed to share Sophie’s interest in finding out more about Vivienne.
Making herself a cup of tea, Sophie settled down to review her work calendar. She had been pretty busy over the last few weeks, but the exhibition was now open, and there was a bank holiday coming up soon. She couldn’t see why she couldn’t travel down for a week or so to see her great-uncle and cousin Jean – who she really viewed more as an aunt. She would ask Jonathan in the morning. Then, against her better judgement, she flipped open her phone and typed a text to Matt.
Sophie kept it light, even though she desperately wanted to know what was really going on between them. She was finding it hard to understand how, after they had been through so much together, they appeared to have quickly drifted apart. She weighed everything she said now.
Hey there, great to see you at the gallery today. Sorry you’ve been so busy. I am considering going to Cornwall for a short break. If I decide to, let’s try to get together when I get back. Love