“You did very well, son. You cannot fault yourself.”
“All of you put your hands in the air.”
Gabby took a quick breath when she recognized Erik’s voice. She obeyed, as did the others, and when the larger boat came alongside, she watched as Erik crossed over to their boat, followed by two soldiers with automatic weapons.
“So, I believe this must be Professor Dalton Burke,” Erik said as he stood in front of Dalton. He had drawn a Luger from his holster but kept it lowered.
“Yes, I am Dalton Burke.”
Erik stared at the man who did not look at all important enough to be the object of the High Command’s interest. What he saw was a short, overweight man in an ill-fitting uniform. His attire was ragged, and his eyes were downcast. “You will be treated well, Herr Burke, but you must go back to Berlin. You and your wife.”
He pointed his Luger at Dai. “You have a weapon, I suppose.”
“Yes, it’s in my belt.”
“Take it out with two fingers and give it to me.” Erik waited until he had the pistol. “What is your name?”
“That doesn’t matter now.”
“What is your nationality? Are you an army officer? If so, you will be imprisoned. You will be treated as a prisoner of war. But if you are a spy, you will be shot.”
Dai did not answer. He simply stood there. It was all up, and now he met the colonel’s eyes fearlessly. “Do what you must, Colonel,” he said quietly.
“I’m curious about you. You must be a top-flight agent to have gotten this far. I will question you later.”
“Hello, Erik,” Gabby said quietly.
Erik Raeder was still angry with Gabby, but he also felt something else as he faced one of the hardest tasks of his life. There was no question but that Gabrielle Winslow would be shot, as would the man who had helped her, who was obviously an English agent. “Come with me,” he directed. “I want to speak with you privately.” He moved to the bow of the boat, and Gabby followed him.
He lowered his voice. “I’m sorry it’s come to this, Gabby.”
“So am I.”
“Why did you do it?”
“I think you know why, Erik.”
“I have my orders, you know.”
“Of course.”
Erik could feel the silence of the others, and he moved a step closer. Her face brought back a flood of memories. He had known many other women but never one like this one. Somehow, at that moment in this darkness with the moon beaming down on the boat that bobbed in the sea, he felt a great sadness come over him. He had become more and more disenchanted with the methods of the Nazi regime. He was smart enough to realize that there could be only one outcome. He was like many other German soldiers, trapped in a world that was not of his making. He had been entranced by Hitler’s oratory, but now he had seen the results of the man’s madness, and as he gazed at this woman he still loved, he knew that everything about this was wrong. “Who is this man you’re with?” he asked.
“He came to help my uncle and aunt, and I agreed to help him.”
“Is that all?”
“Does it matter?”
“It matters to me,” he said, feeling the disillusionment grow in him. “I loved you once, and I . . . I thought you loved me.”
“I did love you, Erik.”
“Is love that easy to lose? What happened?”
“We believed in different things. A man and a woman have to be of one mind, Erik. I’m sure you know that. I could never be what your country stands for now.”
“And if I had not been a German, it might have been different?”
“Who can say? But I did love you once.”
Erik knew at this moment that he could not do what he had come to do. “I love you still, Gabby,” he said softly, “and I believe I will always love you.” He forced his hands to stay at his sides, although he longed to touch her.
“I’m sorry, Erik, for everything,” she whispered.
Erik nodded and then his jaw tightened. He turned and said, “You two get back in the boat.”
“Yes, Colonel.” The two men scrambled aboard as Erik went back to stand before Dai. He leaned forward and said, “Take care of her.” Then he turned and crawled back across into the waiting boat. “These are not the ones we are seeking,” he shouted. “We will search farther out.”
Dai watched in shock as the boat pulled away. “What was that?” he asked Gabby. “Why is he letting us go?”
“I think,” Gabby said slowly, “he’s two men. The one whom you saw tonight—the one who set us free—is the one I knew when I was dating him. The other is a lost man indeed.”
“He let us go because of you, didn’t he, Gabby?”
“Yes, he did.”
“Then he’s a better man than I took him for.”
“He couldn’t stand to hurt her,” Liza put in.
“I think he could have been a great man, but he’s lost,” Gabby said as tears formed in her eyes. Dai put his arms around her as they watched the boat disappear.
“He’ll be in serious trouble if word of this gets out,” Dai said.
“I don’t think he really cares,” Gabby said. She walked away and stood beside the rail, staring at the boat as it turned and pulled away. For a moment she felt as alone as she had ever felt in her life.
****
The sub found them thirty minutes later. Liza saw it first and cried out, and then all of them came to watch as the coning tower rose and then the ocean waters washed over the decks. The hatches opened, and the decks were soon filled with sailors. “Ahoy there. Give the password!”
“Operation Jonah,” Dai called out.
“Confirmed. Prepare to come aboard.”
The captain, a short muscular man with hair sprouting in every direction, greeted them as soon as they were on board. “We’ve got orders to get you back to London as soon as possible. Who’s so important here, if I may ask?”
Gabby was holding on to Dai. “We’re all important, Captain. That’s what this war is all about—to prove that all people are important.”
The captain laughed. “You’ve got me there, miss. Well, let’s get you all down below. You have a date in London.”
****
Gabby walked out of the hospital at eight o’clock. She was tired after a long shift, and the sight of so many wounded men had been demoralizing, as always. She had gotten a hospital job as soon as they had reached England, and Dai had been spending much time with his superior officers. They had helped Gabby find a small apartment, for which she was grateful. Everyone had been so helpful from the moment they had arrived in England. She prayed that those she had left behind would soon experience that same kindness and freedom from the tyranny that had brought a dark shadow over all of Europe. Her uncle and aunt had been greeted with gusto by the top men in government, and they were very happy to be safely out of Germany.
As she stepped outside, Gabby saw Dai waiting for her and went over at once. It was dark outside, for London was blacked out. Streetlights were out, and there was no light coming from any windows.
“We’d better hurry. Those bombers may come at any time.”
“All right, Dai.”
The two walked until they came to a blacked-out pub. They stepped inside and were shown to a table in the back. When they were seated, they ordered, and as soon as the waitress was gone, Dai told her, “I’ve applied for active duty—and they turned me down.”
Gabby was surprised.
“They want me in intelligence,” he continued, “so I’ll be behind a desk for the most part. That’s as active as I’ll be. I won’t ever be a hero, I’m afraid.”
Gabby felt a huge rush of relief. “You’ll always be a hero to me,” she said as she clutched his hand. She had been afraid to think of where Dai might end up. She would not be going back to Holland until the war was over, of course, and the Germans were driven out.
Gabby told him about some of her patients while they waited for the food to c
ome, and then the conversation turned lighter while they ate.
“What’s going to happen to us, I wonder?” Dai mused.
Gabrielle smiled and turned his hand over with a glint in her eye. “Let me tell you your fortune.” She traced the lines in his palm with her finger. “I see you’re going on a long journey, and you’re going to meet a beautiful lady with brown curly hair. You will love her with all your heart, and she will return your love. You will have a wonderful marriage and many children and grandchildren.”
Dai lifted her chin until she looked into his eyes. He smiled and said, “Do you see that in my hand?”
“No, I see it in your heart—and in mine.”
“That reminds me. I’ve got to start courting you.”
“Did you write that poem I asked you about when we were still back in the Netherlands?”
“Yes, of course I did. Why, I do everything you ask me to, don’t I?”
She laughed but settled down when he started speaking the words of love he had written and memorized.
Gabby leaned forward so she wouldn’t miss a word. She was happy and knew that the war might go on for a long time, but she had found her life.
GILBERT MORRIS spent ten years as a pastor before becoming Professor of English at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas and earning a Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas. A prolific writer, he has had over 25 scholarly articles and 200 poems published in various periodicals and over the past years has had more than 200 novels published. His family includes three grown children. He and his wife live in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
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