Maisie Dobbs

Maisie travels to see her father, who is worried about her ability to support herself during her studies. He fears that Maisie will “forever be betwixt and between” however much she succeeds academically (131). As proof of his support, Frankie offers Maisie the money he has saved for her.

By August 1914, men are leaving for the wartime front. Lady Rowan summons Maisie because she no longer has staff to care for her prized horses. She asks if Frankie might be interested in taking on the work. To Maisie’s surprise, Frankie accepts the offer, eager for a quieter stage of life and to offer his services to the family that supported his daughter. Frankie quickly becomes a favorite of Lady Rowan.

Days before Maisie departs for Cambridge, Frankie finds a way to truly support Lady Rowan, as the government is planning to requisition all the horses, including, perhaps, Persephone. Frankie concocts a plan, telling Lady Rowan to avoid the stables until the government officials arrive and that he will let her know what story to tell them.

Days later, Lady Rowan informs the officials her horses have taken ill. Thanks to Frankie’s plan, she is truly shocked by the condition of the animals, who all show signs of profound illness. The government officials offer condolences and leave. Lady Rowan touches her horses, realizing that the whiteness of their eyes has been exaggerated by chalk. Frankie intentionally sickened he horses, but he and Maisie treat them as soon as the guests are gone. Lady Rowan expresses her deep gratitude for the results of the ruse.

The night before Maisie’s departure, the servants have a dinner for her and present her with a leather document case—the same one she carries in the present-day stage of the narrative. They toast to her success and to victory in the war. At the train station, Maisie is surrounded by departing soldiers and their families, particularly struck by a young man saying farewell to both his father and his beloved dog.

Maisie arrives at Cambridge, finding that Maurice has already sent her a package containing a journal for her to record her thoughts and observations in her new life. Maisie finds her days consumed by study, except for weekends spent knitting or packaging supplies for soldiers at the front. She thinks of the war as a “distraction, something she just wanted to be over so she could get on with her life at Cambridge” (142). Maisie befriends her garrulous roommate, an upper-class girl named Priscilla Evernden, whose irrepressible personality somewhat reminds her of Enid. Priscilla has little aptitude for either academics or knitting socks for soldiers, instead focusing on a joyful social calendar, often violating curfew.

Priscilla urges Maisie to go to a party with her, reminding her that the “sackcloth and ashes” she wears as though life is only study is not the only meaning to be found in life (145). Priscilla herself is determined to have fun while her brothers are in the misery of war. Maisie herself is sensitive to the critique, as she feels others judge her for remaining in college rather than devoting herself to war service as other women are. Priscilla admits to Maisie that she is soon facing expulsion for her poor performance and rule breaking. She plans to go to the front as an ambulance driver, as she can no longer bear to be in England while her brothers are facing danger in France.

As that year’s academic term draws to a close, Priscilla persuades Maisie to accompany her to the home of family friends, the Lynches. They are having a party for their only son, Simon, a newly trained doctor leaving for the Army’s medical corps. Priscilla loans Maisie an elegant blue gown, making her promise to keep it. Priscilla even teaches Maisie to dance for the gathering.

Maisie is nervous about attending a formal party among the upper classes but blends in well. When Simon Lynch introduces himself, Maisie feels a flash of her usual intuition, a “shiver that began in her ankles and seemed to end in the pit of her stomach” (149). Maisie soon enjoys herself, charmed by Simon and his banter with Priscilla.

Maisie waits for her train back to Chelstone, remembering the sober note beneath the gathering, as all present know that the war is going badly, resulting in many deaths. At the London station, Maisie catches sight of Enid saying farewell to James Compton. Maisie is struck by the couple’s devotion. She recalls that Enid now works in a munitions factory. The two women notice each other, and Enid later finds Maisie in the station’s tea shop. Enid is uncomfortable that Maisie knows her secret and mocks Maisie’s new status as her “very clever little friend” (153). But when Maisie asks for peace, Enid weeps, admitting that her bluster is truly about her fear for James. Enid is slightly cheered by her certainty that the class system is growing less rigid, though she despairs that the Comptons continue to “look down their noses at me” (154), despite her dangerous job making munitions.

As the two say farewell, they watch wounded men arrive at the station. Maisie is struck by the sight, and she tells Enid to be careful, as she is now working with more volatile explosives. Enid tells her to focus on how she, too, can contribute to the war effort.

On her long train journey, Maisie half-dreams of Enid and of Simon Lynch kissing her hand. Frankie meets Maisie at Chelstone, and when she tells him of her meeting with Enid, he tells her there was an explosion at the factory, killing many girls. Maisie is struck by Enid’s last words to her and reflects that they are now a “haunting challenge. ‘You worry about what it is you can do for these boys, Maisie! You worry about whatever it is you can do’” (167).