Page 155 of The Gathering Storm

‘Yes, they’re half buried, which makes them even safer.’

‘But you’d be sitting on the cold, damp earth. And if it rained, I bet it would flood – what’s to stop it?’

He glanced at her. ‘It won’t be an ideal situation,’ he said. ‘But better than being blown up. Scarborough’s situation on the east coast makes it a likely target. In the last war—’

‘I know. That woman told me. It was bombed.’

‘Shelled, actually, from the sea, but bombs are more likely this time. Better to take precautions.’

‘She called it an Anderson shelter,’ Polly said on an enquiring note.

‘After Sir John Anderson, who’s been put in charge of Home Security. He commissioned an engineer to design it, and the steel is manufactured at a steel works in North Wales.’

‘You’ve read all about it.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s not just Scarborough, is it?’

‘Anywhere they think might be a target. London, of course, and the south-east. The east coast. Anywhere near military installations, or docks. Or railway centres.’

‘York?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you didn’t tell me?’

He smiled faintly. ‘I had better things to talk to you about. I knew you’d find out sooner or later.’

‘But what do we do about Morland Place? All the servants …’ She frowned. ‘I seem to remember that people went down into their cellars in the war.’

‘I don’t think that would be a good idea. We’re surrounded by a moat. I don’t know how thick the walls are between the water and the cellar, but if there was even a crack, and the water poured in …’

‘So – what, then? Do I have to have a lot of these Anderson shelters built out in the fields? Or one big one?’

‘I wouldn’t worry. I don’t think Morland Place is likely to be bombed directly. And I think it’s strong enough to stand up to anything randomly falling nearby. Just tell people to keep away from the windows, in case of broken glass.’

‘You’ve thought about this,’ she said.

‘It’s my job to take care of you all.’

‘It’s my job too. But I just never believed …’ She stared out of the window. They had come down onto the Esplanade now, and she could see the sea, vast and quietly moving in its massive indifference to the transitory concerns of man. ‘It’s really going to happen, isn’t it?’

‘I think so,’ he said unwillingly. ‘It’s like a runaway train – I can’t see how we can stop it.’

‘And what about you?’

He didn’t pretend not to know what she meant. ‘I’ll serve in any way I can. But I’m not a British citizen, so I won’t be called up to fight.’

She nodded, and was quiet all the way back to their hotel room. Then she put herself into his arms, and said, ‘It’s our last night here. Let’s not allow this to spoil it. Let’s be as merry as possible.’

They dined in the hotel. They had a lot of champagne, and after dinner they danced together until the orchestra stopped playing and packed up their instruments.

When they got home, they learned that the first call-up under the Military Training Act had taken place on the 3rd of June. John, Martin, the footman Sam, and two of the grooms had all left for training camp.