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Cambridge Five Spy Ring — Part 10
Page 21
21 / 74
husband return to London
for psychiatric treatment.
In May, 1850, he flew honte
{,and shortly afterwards Melinda
and her mother took the
‘children tor ; a” holiday
(, Spain,
<; Early in Seatember,
they had been apart for nearly
“four months, Melinda received a
Pe curious letter from her hus-
when
band. it was in somo way a letter
fof renunciation, suggesting that
She was nat the man for her, and
that they would be well advised
* On recelving this letter Melinda
decided to end her Spanish holi-
day. $ha took her mother and
her children to Paris and flew
|] over to London te ste him,
The talks she had in Engiand
with him, with some of his
* relatives, and with the psychia-
4\trist. were probably the most
[momentous Meunda had ever
had, for they again obanged the
k course of her fife.
TOGETHER AGAIN
She was asked and advised to
resume ordinary married tife
Rwitn him, After acute heart
-p.searchings, Melinda apresd.
* They spent a fortnight together
En London before Donald decided
; that they would ilve together
again, Melinda returned to Paris
} ta fetch the children.
(“TRE "Meotted they would tive
a.
Mocked at himself
= at hims
in the country near enough to
London for Donald to go up and
down to the Foreign OMce each
day, but far enough away so that
‘if he were to reach heme
reasonable tims for dinner th
could be no Joitering in bar
Five days before Christmas,
1850, they moved Into Beacon-
shaw, in the little village of
Taisfield, not far from Wester-
ham, in Kent. i
OUTBURST
The first twa or three monihs
At Beaconshaw were among the
happiest In Melinda's married
life. But by the spring Maclean
began first to miss the early
irain, and then to miss the train
ailogether and spend the night in
own
Early in May, Melinda's sister ~
Harries and her husband Jay
Sheers came over from Parla to
Spend a few days at Bescon-
shaw, and it was during, this
week-end that Maclean re~
vealed to some extent what he
was thinking and feeling in an
(extraordinary conversation with
her and -her-husband.
First, he openty supported
communism, and although he did
{ot setwaty on
{Communi
._, Harriet dig not at the times take
this ‘outburst seriousiy; in the
past be had trequently teased har
and she fait he might be going
40° again, But later on this
Conversation took on a new and
axtromely important ilght,
‘Then Maclean took Jay Sheers
to have « drink In the local pub,
and there he railed bitterly at
his life and his Job; he mocked
self as ® ahi amongst
hordes of other sheep, going off
to London every day with his
black hat and neat black sult and
fittle Diack brief case, He sald
that he was sick of It all and
longed to “out adrift
‘The next day, however, Mac-
an ssemed his parmal seit.
And In London Maclean was
impressing his friends with an
unaccustomed serenity as he
want through the daily routine of
work at his Foreign Office desk,
juncheon partlas and even occa~
sional drunken évenings. But the
end was now very near.
On May 25, 1951,
| Maclean and Burgess
| disappeared. The story
| of that extraordinary
| night was recounted in
| an earlier instalment,
TODAY is told how:
Melinda gradually
realised the troth
le
ONALD had bc
when Christ:
Christmas withc
New Year.
It was about this time -
to accept the fact that he
The months of suspense
were changing Into no less
unhappy. months of uncer-
tainty: what should she do
for the best ?
She could ‘not make up he:
mind. She remained con
stantly Joyal to him, so far a
the outside world was cor
cerned, “but: did she- ti) lov
him?
Later events seem to me {
prove that Melinda never real
stopped loving him entire!
but there is no doubt that fro
early 1952 onwards she oft:
said she no longer loved hi:
and undoubtediy at the tin
she thought this was the ca.
In the spring she spent thr
weeks in a London hospit
where she underwent a mir.
operation. During these rait
tedious weeks she talk
freely to a friend.
Melinda sdmitted ope:
that she was no Jonger in |
with Macieat! and-Mtended
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