Red Devils

14

Despite his utter exhaustion, sleep hadn’t come easily to Wilkins. Nervousness kept him awake for much of the morning. That and the constant noise and activity in and around the manor house. He admitted defeat just before lunchtime. He emerged from the room where they’d left him in a makeshift (and bloody uncomfortable) cot, and left the building through a large glass door which opened out onto a raised courtyard area. The room he’d been resting in had originally been a ballroom, though he thought it had probably been a long time since there’d been any kind of jollities to be had here. Times past this grand house would have been alive with a different kind of activity every day: socialising and drinking, dancing and swinging, all without a damn care in the world. Wilkins leant against the stone balustrade and lit a cigarette, flicking the spent match into an ornamental fish pond below, wondering if there would ever be a return to such carefree, innocent times.

‘They told me you were sleeping,’ she said.

He froze when he heard her voice. Didn’t want to turn around in case he was dreaming or if it was a cruel trick his sleep-starved brain was playing on him.

But it wasn’t.

It was her.

He turned around and saw her watching him. She looked every inch as beautiful as he remembered. Even in her Wrens uniform and with little make-up and her hair unkempt she was stunning. He ran over and grabbed hold of her. The two of them embraced, neither wanting to ever let go of the other. Their lips met with unbridled passion.

‘I’ve missed you,’ he whispered when they finally parted.

‘And I missed you too, Robert. It’s such a relief to see you again.’

They kissed again, but this time Jocelyn pulled away slightly. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

‘I heard a nasty rumour that you’re not staying for long. Tell me it’s not true.’

‘I’m sorry, my love. I have to go.’

‘When?’

‘Tonight.’

‘That’s what I’d heard, but I’d told myself I wasn’t going to believe it until I’d heard it from you directly.’

‘If I had any choice…’

‘If any of us had any choice…’

‘If I could—’

‘—then I know you’d stay. Are things really as bad as they’re saying, Robert?’

He turned away, not wanting her to see the hopelessness in his eyes. ‘Worse,’ he admitted.

‘We’re hearing all kinds of things, my love. Fantastic things. Horrific things.’

‘All true. In fact, I’ll wager you haven’t heard the half of it. And that’s why I have to go back.’

‘But why you? There are plenty of other men.’

‘Regrettably not. It seems I’ve acquired some kind of expertise in the colonel’s eyes. There really is no choice.’

‘It’s so damn unfair.’

‘I know, Jocelyn, but…’

‘What?’

‘But I fear if I don’t do this, I might not have a home to come back to before long. There’s an evil army fighting its way through mainland Europe, borne of the Third Reich, but having no place on Earth.’

‘I want to ask you more, but I fear I wouldn’t want to hear what you would tell me.’

‘This is a foe which has an immeasurable advantage on the battlefield, an enemy which adds to its number with every fresh kill. And it’s not just soldiers… ordinary people caught up in battle through sheer bad luck and geography… the innocents who…’

He stopped speaking. Tears were running freely down Jocelyn’s cheeks.

‘Stop, Robert… please. No more. I can’t bear the thought of you going back into battle against these creatures. I’m terrified that next time you won’t return.’

‘Nothing and no one will stop me getting back to you, Jocelyn. It’s the thought of us being together which will keep me alive and keep me fighting. I’ll come home, my love, I promise.’