Chapter 44
Over dinner, Jack couldn’t take his eyes off Lizzie, and they sat shoulder to shoulder, wedged next to each other at the table they shared with Henry and Hannah.
Every second Lizzie was away from him was torture. He smiled at his sentimental thoughts, but it was all true. Jack had never imagined feeling like this about anyone, but Lizzie had captured his heart in the most extraordinary way.
As soon as this war was over, he would ask her to marry him and take her on the most spectacular honeymoon to all their favourite places in France.
He didn’t hide their relationship from his brother. What was the point when Hannah knew the truth? Jack didn’t have the heart to hide his feelings from Henry. Life was too short. He enjoyed the moment and revelled in their good fortune at them each having the woman of their dreams at their side.
Henry was overjoyed for Jack. ‘I can’t tell you how good it is to see you in love. We thought you’d never find the right one!’
Jack laughed. ‘I confess I thought the same. ’
‘Does Maman know?’
Jack said, ‘Not yet. I’ve wanted to tell her, but we must keep our relationship secret at work, so it’s simpler to keep it between us for now. You’ll be back in the sky soon, so you’re an exception. Keep it under your hat.’
Henry promised Jack’s secret would remain between them. ‘We can have a double wedding when this damned war is over.’
‘Sounds perfect, little brother,’ Jack said, patting Henry’s shoulder.
After dinner, Jack made a toast. ‘Here’s to winning the war and to all of us being reunited again soon.’
They chinked their glasses, and the band played a popular Swing song, prompting Jack to offer his hand to Lizzie. Henry followed suit with Hannah and soon they were all on the busy dance floor.
Jack delighted Lizzie with his thoughtfulness. Amid the chaos of returning from the operation in occupied France, with his brother on leave, and Hannah in London, he still somehow planned a perfect magical evening for the four of them. Lizzie had never felt more blessed, and the evening passed in a flurry of drinks, dancing, and laughter.
Hannah winked at Lizzie as they crossed paths, and Lizzie winked back. They were both in love with a King brother and the happiness showed on their faces for all to see. Henry held Hannah tenderly as they swayed together, carefully keeping her sore arm away from the other dancers.
Seeing Hannah and Henry so in love was like a balm for Lizzie’s soul after the terror of their recent days in Paris. Her mind flickered back to the moment she shone the torch into the cupboard at German High Command. Thank God she hadn’t found Hannah there. It would have been a very different ending to their story.
When Lizzie could barely keep her eyes open any longer, they said goodnight to the lovebirds and Jack led her upstairs. They climbed into bed in the luxurious suite and fell fast asleep in each other’s arms without stirring until morning.
The following evening, Lizzie arrived home at the Regent’s Park house to a cacophony of gleeful welcomes from her mother and sisters.
‘Why didn’t you warn us you were coming?’ Rose asked. ‘I would have organised a celebration dinner.’
Lizzie hugged her mother and assured her she was thrilled to be home for whatever dinner was on the menu.
‘I’m relieved to see you,’ said Rose, dabbing her shiny eyes with a handkerchief and clearing her throat. ‘I was so worried.’
‘Did you get my postcards?’ Lizzie asked.
Rose strode to the mantelpiece and pointed to two pretty pictures of Henley-on-Thames propped against the mirror.
‘Oh, I’m pleased.’
‘Will you be returning to the nursing home?’
‘I’m not sure yet, Ma, but I’m home for a while, anyway. I’ll work in London as usual until my next posting, whenever and wherever that may be. It may well be back to Henley, but I don’t know.’
‘You’re as thin as a matchstick. You’d think they’d have fed you some decent meals in a nursing home. Weren’t you eating?’
‘There were decent meals, and I ate, but I suppose I’ve been doing a lot of running around,’ Lizzie said, trying to make light of how much weight she’d lost.
Lizzie hugged her sisters, Juliet and Evie, and turned to her father as he entered the room.
‘There she is,’ he said. ‘The wanderer returns. How good to see you darling Lizzie.’
‘It’s good to see you too, Pa. I’ve missed you all so much.’
‘We have a wonderful surprise for you,’ Rose said after dinner, and she left the table and returned flapping a piece of paper that she handed to an intrigued Lizzie.
‘What is this?’ Lizzie turned it over in her hands like a clue from one of her missions. She peered at the handwriting. ‘It’s from Nan!’ she exclaimed, rustling the paper.
The family had sent a note via the Red Cross Message Service shortly after Christmas and had been waiting anxiously for a reply.
Lizzie read her grandmother’s words aloud, which were written on the reverse of the form:
Dearest Reginald,
We were so happy to hear from you. Miss you all terribly. We are well. Take care.
Love to everyone,
Nan & Pops
Tears streamed from Lizzie’s eyes as she raised her head. ‘Oh, thank God. They are alive and well!’
There wasn’t a dry eye around the table as Reginald explained how the message had been forwarded from the Red Cross and arrived on his desk at the War Office. ‘You’re only allowed to write twenty-five words, you know! ’
‘I wondered why it was so short,’ Lizzie said. ‘Not like Nan, at all!’
After dinner, Reginald knocked on Lizzie’s bedroom door and entered her room, overlooking the snowy park. The blizzards seemed to have followed them from Paris, and Lizzie pulled on an extra cardigan.
‘How was it, Lizzie?’ her father asked, his eyes sombre. ‘Was the mission, whatever it was, a success? I know you can’t tell me the details.’
Lizzie nodded. ‘Yes, it was, Pa. I’m so happy to be home, but we did good work.’
‘I’m proud of you, my love.’
Apart from Reginald, the rest of the family believed she was a translator in a government office on Baker Street. Lizzie told them her work was all very dull, and fortunately, they believed her. Loose tongues cost lives and even one’s family and dearest friends couldn’t be trusted not to say the wrong thing when so much was at stake.
They had convinced Hannah to stay on for a week to recuperate and she and Henry spent a relaxing couple of days at the King family home, which delighted Jack’s mother, Nicole. Henry had already returned to his base a few days earlier, and after a tearful lover's parting, Hannah was eager to get back into action.
It was a bright, freezing morning and Lizzie and Jack walked hand in hand through Regent’s Park, picking their way around the clumpy remnants of the previous evening’s ice and snow. When Lizzie said her lips were chapped from the chill winds, Jack told her this winter was one of the coldest in years.
They had fallen into a daily routine of Jack waiting for her in the park so they could spend some time together before work. Lizzie had said it was out of his way, but he insisted, and now they both looked forward to seeing each other every morning before the SOE gobbled up the day.
Lizzie pointed towards the sky. ‘I know they are there to protect us from enemy aircraft, but goodness, they are ugly.’
Jack agreed the large, silver barrage balloons floating high over the park were an eyesore, but said he was grateful for them.
Several bombs had exploded in the park recently and what had been a tranquil oasis in London before the Blitz was now littered with rubble, and steel cables supported the anti-aircraft installations.
‘It’s just as well it’s freezing,’ Lizzie said as they neared the gate.
‘Why’s that?’ Jack asked.
‘No one will ever recognise us in all this paraphernalia! It’s my best disguise yet.’
Jack laughed, and they held onto each other, so they didn’t slip on the icy tufts of grass. They both wore heavy coats and winter hats, and thick scarves partially covered their faces.
‘Come here!’ Jack said, pulling Lizzie into his arms and planting a kiss on her cold nose. ‘That’s all I can see of you.’ They stood holding each other, knowing the inevitable moment for them to part had arrived. ‘Will you come to the flat tonight?’
‘Of course,’ Lizzie said. ‘I’ll see you around seven. Make sure you are home!’
Jack had a habit of losing track of time when he was working.
‘How could I not when I know you’re coming?’ Jack kissed her again, and they parted reluctantly, each taking a different route to Baker Street.
Jack entered the SOE building three minutes before Lizzie. This was how it had to be for now. Seagrove and Raven lived secret lives, but they both agreed that as long as they had each other, all was well in their world.