A Last Goodbye
Page 30
Ellen allowed herself a small smile when she remembered her body flattened against the wire in a futile attempt for closeness with the man she loved. She thought of that one and only occasion when the gate was opened, allowing Josef a temporary escape to ‘make the most’ of their impossible predicament. It was a memory against which she had, for many months, firmly closed the barriers, for to think about it would bring only sadness and longing.
Her thoughts were disturbed by the low murmur of voices. Looking to her right, she could see the dark outlines of her father and Margaret, as they turned the corner of the cottage and came slowly towards the bedroom window. Margaret’s arm was through her husband’s and her hand was enclosed in both of his. They stopped in front of the window, not noticing Ellen’s silent presence. Ellen heard the rise and fall of her father’s voice, more animated than she could ever remember it. Margaret laughed and Ellen heard Duncan’s low chuckle in return. They turned and strolled back towards the door.
The surge of pleasure she felt came as a surprise to Ellen. Previously she had fought to stave off the jealousy that had accompanied the seeming transfer of his affections. Now though, she rejoiced in her father’s happiness at being with the woman whom he had loved for so long, but who had been denied him until now.
It came to her then in a flash, that a sea crossing and the problems of making herself understood in a foreign land were all that stood between herself and happiness. Such a small difficulty, compared with what her father had faced all these years. Her father would, of course, object. She would need to explain. Even then she doubted that he would be happy with what she proposed to do.
Late that night, when her father and Margaret had retired to bed, she got out pen and paper and settled down to write.
My dear Josef,
I was overjoyed to get your letter and to hear your news.
Of course I have a photograph for you, but I will not send it. I have a better idea. I will bring it myself. I have enough money to book a place on the boat for all three of us. I will spend Christmas and Hogmanay with my father. Then I will come.
There is nothing now to stop us being together.
From your loving friend,
Ellen.
She wrote the envelope, enclosed the letter and placed it, for safekeeping, in the drawer of the bedside cabinet. She would go to the post office tomorrow.
Unable to sleep, she pulled on her coat, slipped her feet into her boots and silently left the house. She made her way through the deep darkness and looked back at the cottage. Leaving her father would be a wrench. Forsaking the land she loved would be difficult – though hadn’t Josef said that her hills reminded him of his own homeland? A tremor of excitement rippled through her body at the thought of what she was about to do. With the certainty of Josef’s love awaiting her, she felt invincible. A lifetime of happiness awaited them.
She stood until the insidious creep of frosty air caused an involuntary shiver. Then she ran recklessly across the floor of the valley to her home, while, overhead, a million twinkling stars tried and failed to pierce the dark unknowing of her path.
We hope you enjoyed this book.
Dee Yates’ next book is coming in spring 2019
More addictive fiction from Aria:
Find out more
Find out more
Find out more
For more information, click the following links
Acknowledgements
About Dee Yates
Become an Aria Addict
Sign up to our newsletter
Acknowledgements
My thanks go to:
Andrew and Heather Craig for their hospitality, for showing me the practicalities of sheep farming, answering my endless questions, giving me a copy of the ‘Lanarkshire (Middle Ward District) Waterworks1919’ and reading and commenting on the first draft of my book.
The Long Long Trail: The British Army 1914 – 1918. (Chris Baker 1996 - 2008) Internet Publication. http://www.1914-1918.net/recruitment.htm
U-boat attack 1916; Battle of the Atlantic 1914 – 1918 (EyeWitness to History 1997) Internet publication. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com
Jeremy Belk for advice on the German character and for correcting my ‘O’ level German vocabulary which had been in mothballs since 1961.
Thanks as always to my daughters, Rachel, Wendy and Liz, for their interest in and support of all my writing projects; particular thanks to Wendy for reading my first draft and enthusiastically giving suggestions.
A big thank you to my youngest sister Sarah who suggested to her publishers, Aria, that they might like to read my book. If it were not for her, this story would never have seen the light of day.
About Dee Yates
Born and brought up in the south of England, the eldest girl of nine children, DEE YATES moved north to Yorkshire to study medicine. She remained there, working in well woman medicine and general practice and bringing up her three daughters. She retired slightly early at the end of 2003, in order to start writing, and wrote two books in the next three years. In 2007 she moved further north, to the beautiful Southern Uplands of Scotland. Here she fills her time with her three grandsons, helping in the local museum, the church and the school library, walking, gardening and reading. She writes historical fiction, poetry and more recently non-fiction. Occasionally she gets to compare notes with her youngest sister Sarah Flint who writes crime with blood-curdling descriptions which make Dee want to hide behind the settee.
Become an Aria Addict
Aria is the new digital-first fiction imprint from Head of Zeus.
It’s Aria’s ambition to discover and publish tomorrow’s superstars, targeting fiction addicts and readers keen to discover new and exciting authors.
Aria will publish a variety of genres under the commercial fiction umbrella such as women’s fiction, crime, thrillers, historical fiction, saga and erotica.
So, whether you’re a budding writer looking for a publisher or an avid reader looking for something to escape with – Aria will have something for you.
Get in touch: aria@headofzeus.com
Become an Aria Addict
Find us on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
Find us on BookGrail
Addictive Fiction
First published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Dee Yates, 2018
The moral right of Dee Yates to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (E) 9781788545112
Aria
c/o Head of Zeus
First Floor East
5–8 Hardwick Street
London EC1R 4RG
www.ariafiction.com