Page 73 of Fire Must Burn

‘That’s why Gwen chose her,’ said Sparks. ‘She thought the same thing. I confess I don’t see the resemblance, but self-appraisal has never been one of my better qualities. Miss Lowle came by the office this morning, by the way. She had heard about what happened. She was very upset.’

‘I can imagine,’ he said. ‘I suppose this will take me out of the running for the near future. Please give her my regrets.’

‘As a matter of fact, she wanted to come visit you,’ said Sparks.

‘I can’t have her see me like this,’ he said. ‘Even if I pull through—’

‘You will,’ she said determinedly.

‘Even if I do, God only knows what I will look like,’ he said.

‘Now, you listen to me, Tony,’ she said. ‘We have had many men as clients at The Right Sort who were injured by the war. You are not even the first burn victim. There are women among our clientele who look past mere appearances, and we have made successful matches with them.’

‘Is Miss Lowle one of these superior women?’ he asked.

‘It remains to be seen,’ said Sparks. ‘If she isn’t, I will make every effort to find you one who is. But she did ask to see you, already knowing this happened.’

‘She does like to take the initiative,’ he said. ‘Tell her I’m not ready yet, but to be patient and wait for me. Tell her I need time to get my hair done and pick out a hat that will match this outfit.’

‘I will,’ promised Sparks, laughing. ‘And I know you’re going to recover because your sense of humour is still intact.’

He laughed briefly, which triggered a sudden coughing fit, which in turn must have caused him pain, for she could see tears running from his eyes, dampening the bandages.

‘You poor thing,’ she whispered. ‘Who did this to you? Tell me, so I can hunt him down myself.’

‘Will you? Have you become an avenging angel in your spare time, Sparks?’

‘A girl needs a hobby,’ she said. ‘Any ideas?’

‘None,’ he said. ‘It’s all so bizarre. I survived Spain, I survived the world war, and I survived what I did in China, then I finally make it back to the peace and safety of London, and this happens.’

‘I was wondering, and this will sound far-fetched …’

‘What, Sparks?’

‘Do you think it might have anything to do with what happened to Sauce back in Cambridge? Someone else’s avenging angel, perhaps.’

He went silent. She waited.

‘Oddly enough, that whole sad tale has been preying on my mind since I woke up here,’ he said finally.

‘Why?’

‘I keep thinking about poor old Catey,’ he said. ‘He never really cared about the cause. He liked being rich. But he thought Spain would be some glorious adventure, maybe with a chance to redeem his soul.’

‘So he thought he needed redemption,’ she said. ‘Do you think he found it in the end?’

‘I know you’re no believer, Sparks,’ said Tony. ‘But Catey— after Sauce drowned, he started quoting all the sermons from his childhood that he used to make fun of. The ones promising everlasting hellfire. When I suggested joining the fight, he jumped at it. Yet in the end, the fire found him anyway.’

‘Excuse me, miss,’ said a nurse standing at the door. ‘We have to take him for another treatment.’

‘I’ll come back tomorrow,’ said Sparks, patting his hand.

When she emerged from the lift, she saw the Brigadier’s man in the reception area. He was wearing a hospital porter’s outfitthis time, but made no attempt to conceal himself, nodding as she noticed him. She raised an eyebrow in response, and he jerked his head over to a row of telephone boxes. She followed him.

‘No kissing this time,’ she said.

‘I imagine that would have been fairly painful for him,’ he commented as he stepped into one of the boxes. ‘I’m here to make sure you report right away.’