Free No Regrets: A Novel of Love and Lies in World War II England (The Thornton Trilogy Book 1) by Mary Christian Payne

in her basket by the table’s side.
    “Still,” said Giselle, “I’m going to see if I can find out more about Sloan Thornton. I’ll ask Lady Celia if he was at Dunkirk, or injured his leg. Also whether ‘Sloan’ is a family name. Let’s see how many coincidences there are.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    The opportunity to ask more about the Thornton’s son didn’t present itself for nearly two weeks. Lord Rowan and Lady Celia took a short trip to London. That called for sorting through clothing and making decisions about which outfits were appropriate for the journey. It wasn’t a particularly sensible time to visit the Capital, due to the war-footing, but they were attending a funeral and didn’t feel they could decline. Thankfully, by the summer of 1941, the air raids over London had become much less intense, since the RAF had begun to take control of the skies. That, undoubtedly, influenced Lord and Lady Thornton’s decision to attend the service of a life-long friend’s son. He’d died in London, from war wounds.
    When they returned, both were tired. Giselle spent the majority of her time sorting through garments earmarked for contribution to the war effort. Thus, she didn’t see much of Lady Celia, who spent a lot of time resting. Finally things returned to normal. On a rainy afternoon Giselle and her employer took tea in Lady Celia’s boudoir. As the countess once again settled on her favorite topic, Lady Anne Whitfield and her son, Sloan, Giselle saw a perfect opportunity to investigate whether or not Sloan Thornton was the same person who’d paid a visit to Elise’s farmhouse in May 1940. She began by asking about his name.
    “Lady Celia, I find Sloan an interesting choice for a Christian name. I’ve known several English people whose surname is Sloan, but I’ve never heard it used as a given name. I’m curious about how you chose it for your son.”
    “That’s an easy question,” Lady Celia smiled. “Sloan was my maiden name. My husband’s mother’s maiden name was Rowan, which is how he came to be called that, so when we had a son, we decided to follow the same tradition. We used my maiden name. Sloan loathed it as a child, but I think he’s rather fond of it now. At least it isn’t ordinary,” she smiled.
    “No. I like it. I’ve never asked, but did Sloan go into the RAF as soon as war was declared?”
    “Yes. He couldn’t have been held back. Just like all of his chums. Not all chose the RAF, of course, but he was fascinated with the idea of flying.”
    “I imagine that worries you. So much of this war has been fought in the air. If it weren’t for the RAF, I wonder if there’d be much left of London. He hasn’t ever been wounded, has he?”
    “Yes, as a matter of fact, he was. Early on. At Dunkirk. His aeroplane was shot right out of the sky, and he was wounded in the leg. He found his way to a rural house and asked for help. Apparently a very kind, young lady, who’d been trained as a nurse, rendered first aid. He was able to get to the beaches, and a British ship picked him up. When he returned to England, the flight surgeon told him the French girl had done an excellent job on his wound. She probably saved his leg.”
    “How remarkable!” Giselle exclaimed. “And how very fortunate.”
    “Yes, it was. So, you see, we owe the French a debt of gratitude.”
     
    ***
     
    Giselle was bursting at the seams when she arrived at No Regrets that evening. Elise could tell by the look on her face that she had something important to say.
    “All right, Giselle. What is it? You look like you have a giant secret,” Elise laughed. She’d just finished feeding Chloe and had come downstairs after having tucked the baby into her cot.
    “Well, I found out that ‘Sloan’ of the farmhouse, is the same ‘Sloan’ who’s heir to Highcroft Hall ”
    “Unbelievable!” exclaimed Elise. “I had a strong suspicion. So, we have another example of a scoundrel. You know, I really took him for a