Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
T he next morning, Lizzie stirred and turned to face Jack as he slept. His arms were still wrapped around her, and she snuggled into him, revelling in their closeness. The touch of his bare skin against hers was intoxicating, and she marvelled at how pleasurable their lovemaking had been.
After the fumbles she’d shared with her Jersey boyfriend who was a virgin like her, she hadn’t dared imagine it could be that amazing. Jack was a skilled lover, so there were benefits to falling for an older, experienced man, she reflected happily. Little shoots of elation surged through her tummy. If this was to be her last day alive, it was a good way to go, and she had no regrets.
‘Stop staring at me,’ Jack said, his eyes still closed and a smile spreading lazily across his full lips. He really was the most beautiful man. Beautiful, yet so masculine. No wonder the ladies fantasised about him taking them on dates.
‘How do you know I am?’ she asked, a playful note in her voice .
He opened his eyes and laughed when his eyes met hers. ‘Got you.’
‘Alright, I give up. I was thinking about our conversation yesterday.’
He groaned. ‘Not more questions when I’ve barely woken up?’
‘Just one.’
‘I can think of much better things to do than answer more questions,’ he said.
‘Only one, I promise.’
He held up his hands. ‘The Jerries have nothing on you with your interrogation methods. They’d better hope they don’t capture you!’
Lizzie laughed at his light-hearted teasing but was undeterred. ‘What did you mean about Mary saying you took her to the Ritz, being some kind of test?’
His eyes narrowed. ‘It’s the oldest spycraft trick in the book.’
‘Is it?’ Lizzie was fascinated by the world of espionage she was being drawn further into each day. ‘I don’t understand. What was the point of it?’
‘Charlie was there, correct?’
She nodded.
‘He is famous for his tests. He will have been testing you. We must know agents can hold their drink and not be tempted to reveal details of a mission. He comes from Military Intelligence like me and is setting up SOE training systems.’
His deep voice was gravelly and sent a shiver spiralling through her. She ran her fingers over his bare chest. ‘You mean Mary was only pretending to be drunk so she could ensnare me into spilling secrets about you?’
‘That’ll be it in a nutshell,’ he said. ‘That’s my best guess, anyway. ’
‘I wondered where she disappeared to the next day,’ Lizzie said.
‘On to snare her next victim, I imagine!’
‘You weren’t at the Ritz with a girl recently?’
‘No Lizzie Beaumont, Chief Interrogator. I’ve never been on a date with anyone called Mary. Come to think of it, I’ve not been on a date with anyone since before the war.’
Lizzie waited for him to continue.
‘The last time I went to the Ritz, I was with your boss. We went to meet a potential recruit. As it is, she didn’t turn up, anyway.’
‘I hadn’t realised he brings you potential recruits regularly.’
‘Oh yes. He’s one of our finest talent spotters.’
‘Why did you not trust him when he brought me to you in the beginning, then?’
‘I did trust him. I do trust him.’ He stroked Lizzie’s hair and planted a kiss on her pert nose. ‘The truth is, you were so innocent. Not to mention heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and just off the boat from Jersey. I couldn’t bring myself to recruit you for such a dangerous job. For all we knew, the entire network was blown.’
He raked his hand through his messy hair. ‘What you did was bloody incredible. Going in like that and retrieving the film and keeping your head when the pickup failed. Many first timers would have lost it, but you stayed calm. That’s when we knew you are natural for SOE.’
‘We?’ Lizzie’s cheeks tingled and flushed.
‘Val was so impressed.’
‘But on that first day, it just all seemed wrong to me. Hannah had recently disappeared, and I was torturing myself over it. I was barely sleeping. Blamed myself for tasking her with that mission when I knew the chances were high she would be caught. ’
‘But you recruit women all the time for dangerous work. What was different about me?’
‘How long have you got?’ he said, making her blush more fiercely at his over-the-top praise.
‘Let’s see,’ she said, looking at her watch. Then she sat bolt upright in bed. ‘Not long at all. I must leave for the job in thirty minutes, or I’ll be late.’
Jack groaned. ‘Where did the night go?’
‘I have to get ready. Can’t afford to be late today of all days.’
She moved to leap out of bed, but Jack caught her and imprisoned her in his arms, kissing her passionately. ‘Lizzie, whatever happens today. I want you to know you are amazing.’
‘You’re afraid we’re going to get killed, aren’t you?’ Lizzie said, her eyes solemn.
‘It’s a possibility. A very real one. What we’re doing is so daring, the Nazis wouldn’t even imagine it. Well, let’s hope they wouldn’t, or we’re stuffed before we start.’
‘Which is why we stand a good chance of pulling it off,’ she said when she pulled away from him reluctantly.
‘Who’s the mentor here? You’re so good at this, you’re going to surpass me soon.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ she said. ‘I’m absolutely terrified and don’t know what I’m doing.’
‘And that’s exactly why you’ll do well. Follow the plan as closely as you can, but if something changes, follow your instincts. You can always rely on them.’
She dressed in a hurry, and she felt his eyes on her every move. Her heart swelled with love, but she couldn’t allow her emotions to distract her. She flashed him a radiant smile as if they weren’t about to blow up a Luftwaffe base in Nazi-occupied France.
The thought flitted through her mind that before this summer of fire, when everything changed, she had still been an innocent child. In the spring, the war felt unreal, like a mirage in the desert. Old Lizzie swam in the sea every morning and read books in her favourite window seat at Seagrove, overlooking the bay. Old Lizzie popped into her grandparents’ wing of the house for tea and scones and played cards with Pops in the evenings.
The pain stabbed at her when she thought of them and what they must be going through in Jersey without them.
‘I like your hair like that,’ Jack observed as she rolled her chestnut hair and gripped it into place around her face.
‘Thank you. This style is all the rage.’ Lizzie applied her red lipstick and turned to click the blade to show Jack. ‘Remember this little beauty?’
‘Ah, you still have it. Good. I hope you won’t need it. All going to plan, you’ll walk out of that office as if you’ve no connection whatsoever to the Resistance, and they won’t know what’s about to hit them.’
‘And if they suspect me?’
‘Don’t hesitate to use it,’ he said, his voice like cold steel. ‘Do whatever you need to do to escape. There is no room for mercy in war.’
Lizzie was about to leave the room, Jack close behind her, when he tapped her shoulder and twirled her around. ‘I loved last night,’ he whispered. His lips skimmed hers and his touch made her quiver.
‘Me too,’ she said, leaning into him. ‘I loved every minute.’
There was only time for a rushed coffee, and then Jack walked outside with Lizzie and retrieved Camille’s bicycle from the shed. ‘Here, hop on,’ he said, patting the seat.
Lizzie walked over to him and thought that although they would both walk into the devil’s lair today, she had never felt such a rush of happiness. They stared at each other, and she was certain she saw love in his eyes .
They hadn’t spoken of love, but you didn’t always need words. It showed in his every look and action as he tucked a pack of hastily made sandwiches into the bicycle basket.
‘Be safe, Seagrove. See you tonight, God willing. Remember, if I’m not back by ten, set off. Do not miss the plane. Go without me if I’m not back. I repeat, go without me and I will see you in London.’
Lizzie’s eyes welled up, and she swallowed hard. It wouldn’t do to fall apart now. She was already running late and would have to cycle like the wind to arrive on time. ‘I will,’ she said. ‘But please be there.’
‘I’ll move heaven and earth to be back with you, but I want you to promise you won’t stay here if I’m not.’ He pulled her into his arms, his look fierce. ‘Promise me, Lizzie.’
‘I promise,’ she said, holding back the tears.
They clung to each other, and then he released her. ‘Go, before I change my mind and don’t let you.’
Lizzie kissed him once more and jumped on the bicycle. She turned at the gate and waved. It was no good. Tears rolled down her face, and she dabbed them with her yellow scarf.
‘See you tonight,’ Jack called, waving as he followed her out of the yard. Looking back as she cycled down the lane, she saw he was still standing there watching her until she disappeared around the bend, and she could no longer see him.
Please God, let it all go to plan and bring him back to me tonight.
She muttered the prayer as she whizzed down the lane. Lizzie kept praying all the way until she approached the barricade and saw a soldier she didn’t recognise standing guard. She had hoped to have a quick entrance like on the previous mornings .
She slowed the bicycle and jumped off, grateful to have something to hold on to as she clutched the handlebars.
‘Guten morgen,’ the soldier said, his tone flat but polite.
‘Bonjour,’ Lizzie replied.
The soldier asked for her identity papers, and she did her best to steady her shaking hands when she produced them from her bag and passed them to him.
He studied the papers carefully, turning them over several times and holding them up to the light.
Lizzie tried to act casual, but her throat was tight, and her heart drummed so manically, she could barely catch her breath. She smiled at the soldier and asked if everything was to his satisfaction.
She heard Jack’s voice in her head: Act like you have nothing to hide and the chances are they will believe you.
After what seemed like forever, the soldier lowered the papers and handed them back to her.
Lizzie thanked him.
Then he pointed to her bicycle and moved towards it. She stood aside as he rifled through the basket. His hands touched the package of sandwiches Jack had made for her. There was nothing for him to find that would incriminate her, and her hands stopped shaking.
Eventually, he waved her into the base and wished her a good day.
Lizzie took several deep breaths and her heartbeat gradually slowed as she realised, she had passed the first test of operation day.