Jacqueline Winspear - Among the Mad

Also by Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs

Birds of a Feather

Pardonable Lies

Messenger of Truth

An Incomplete Revenge

AMONG THE MAD

AMONG

THE MAD

A Maisie Dobbs Novel

JACQUELINE WINSPEAR

Henry Holt and Company

New York

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of Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

Copyright 2009 by Jacqueline Winspear

All rights reserved.

Distributed in Canada by H. B. Fenn and Company Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Winspear, Jacqueline.

Among the mad : a Maisie Dobbs novel / JacquelineWinspear.1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-8216-6

ISBN-10: 0-8050-8216-6

1. Dobbs, Maisie (Fictitious character)Fiction. 2.Women private investigatorsEnglandLondonFiction. 3. World War,19141918VeteransGreat BritainFiction. 4. World War, 19141918PsychologicalaspectsFiction. 5. London (England)Fiction. I. Title.

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First Edition 2009

Designed by Victoria Hartman

Printed in the United States of America

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Dedicated to my wonderful Godchildren:

Charlotte Sweet McEwan

Charlotte Pye

Greg Belpomme

Alexandra Jones

Keep True to the Dreams of thy Youth

Friedrich von Schiller

17591805

But I dont want to go among mad people, Alice remarked.

Oh, you cant help that, said the Cat. Were allmad here.

Im mad. Youre mad.

How do you know Im mad? said Alice.

You must be, said the Cat, or you wouldnt havecome here.

LEWIS CARROLL,

Alice s Adventures inWonderland

A short time ago death was the cruel stranger, thevisitor with

the flannel footsteps... today it is the mad dog inthe house.

One eats, one drinks beside the dead, one sleeps inthe midst of

the dying, one laughs and sings in the company ofcorpses.

GEORGES DUHAMEL,

French doctor serving at Verdun in the Great War

AMONG THE MAD

ONE

London , ChristmasEve, 1931

Maisie Dobbs, Psychologist and Investigator, picked upher fountain pen to sign her name at the end of a final report that she and herassistant, Billy Beale, had worked late to complete the night before. Thoughthe case was straightforwarda young man fraudulently using his uncleshonorable name to acquire all manner of goods and services, and an uncle keento bring his nephew back on the straight and narrow without the police beingnotifiedMaisie felt it was time for Billy to become more involved in thecompletion of a significant document and to take more of an active part in thefinal interview with a client. She knew how much Billy wanted to emigrate toCanada, to take his wife and family away from Londons dark depression and thecloud of grief that still hung over them following the death of their daughter,Lizzie, almost a year earlier. To gain a decent job in a new country he wouldneed to build more confidence in his work and himself, and seeing as she hadalready made inquiries on his behalfwithout his knowledgeshe knew greaterdexterity with the written and spoken word would be an important factor in hissuccess. Now the report was ready to be delivered before the Christmas holidaybegan.

Eleven oclock, Billyjust in time, eh? Maisieplaced the cap on her fountain pen and passed the report to her assistant, whoslid it into an envelope and secured it with string. As soon as thisappointment is over, you should be on your way, so that you can spend the restof the day with Doreen and the boysitll be nice to have Christmas Eve athome.

Thats good of you, Miss. Billy smiled, then went tothe door where he took Maisies coat and his own from the hook.

Maisie packed her document case before reaching underthe desk to bring out a wooden orange crate. Youll have to come back to theoffice first, though.

Whats all this, Miss? Billys face was flushed ashe approached her desk.

A Christmas box for each of the boys, and one for youand Doreen. She opened her desk drawer and drew out an envelope. And this isfor you. We had a bit of a rocky summer, but things picked up and weve donequite wellplus well be busy in the new yearso this is your bonus. Its allwell earned, I must say.

Billy reddened. Oh, thats very good of you, Miss.Im much obliged. Thisll cheer up Doreen.

Maisie smiled in return. She did not need to inquireabout Billys wife, knowing the depth of the womans melancholy. There had beena time, at the end of the summer, when a few weeks spent hop-picking in Kent had put a bloom on the womans cheeks, and she seemed to have filled out a little,looking less gaunt. But, in London again, the routine of caring for her boysand keeping up with the dressmaking and alterations she took in had not liftedher spirits in any way. She ached for the milky softness of her daughterssmall body in her arms.

Maisie looked at the clock on the mantelpiece. Wedbetter be off.

They donned coats and hats and wrapped up against thechill wind that whistled around corners and blew across Fitzroy Square as theymade their way toward Charlotte Street. Dodging behind a horse and cart, theyran to the other side of the road as a motor car came along in the oppositedirection. The street was busy, with people rushing this way and that, headsdown against the wind, some with parcels under their arms, others simply hopingto get home early. In the distance, Maisie noticed a manshe could not tellwhether he was young or oldsitting on the pavement, leaning up against theexterior wall of a shop. Even with some yards between them, she could see thegrayness that enveloped him, the malaise, the drooping shoulders, one legoutstretched so passers-by had to skirt around him. His damp hair was slickedagainst his head and cheeks, his clothes were old, crumpled, and he watchedpeople go by with a deep red-rimmed sadness in his eyes. One of them stopped tospeak to a policeman, and turned back to point at the man. Though unsettled byhis dark aura, Maisie reached into her bag for some change as they drew closer.

Poor blokeout in this, and at Christmas. Billyshook his head, and delved down into his coat pocket for a few coins.

He looks too drained to find his way to a soupkitchen, or a shelter. Perhaps this will help. Maisie held her offering readyto give to the man.

They walked just a few steps and Maisie gasped, for itwas as if she was at once moving in slow motion, as if she were in a dreamwhere people spoke but she could not hear their words. She saw the man move, puthis hand into the inside pocket of his threadbare greatcoat, and though shewanted to reach out to him, she was caught in a vacuum of muffled sound andconstrained movement. She could see Billy frowning, his mouth moving, but couldnot make him understand what she had seen. Then the sensation, which had lastedbut a second or two, lifted. Maisie looked at the man some twenty or so pacesahead of them, then at Billy again.

Billy, go back, turn around and go back along thestreet, go back...

Miss, whats wrong? You all right? What do you mean,Miss?

Pushing against his shoulder to move him away, Maisiefelt as if she were negotiating her way through a mire. Go back, Billy, goback...

And because she was his employer, and because he hadlearned never to doubt her, Billy turned to retrace his steps in the directionof Fitzroy Square. Frowning, he looked back in time to see Maisie holding outher hand as she walked toward the man, in the way that a gentle person mighttry to bring calm to an enraged dog. Barely four minutes had passed since theywalked past the horse and cart, and now here she was...