George looked at her and smiled. ‘I agree with every word of that, but enough of the war. You are home safely and on leave. Take the time to clear your mind. Try not to dwell on the past or the future. The past is gone and we can’t change it, and the future is yet to come. All we can have is this moment, so live it, Grace.’
She gave a little laugh. ‘You sound just like my mother.’
‘She’s a wise woman.’
For ten days Grace slept, went to the cinema, read several books, and did all the normal things. She didn’t talk about her experiences and her parents never asked. It would have helped if Helen had been home as well, but her family said she hadn’t been on leave for some time. James and Tim were evidently away somewhere so she spent the time with her parents or on her own, but this time she didn’t mind. It was just the kind of quiet time she needed. Every day she had hoped that Stan would come with news, but he never did.
The time at home had been a chance to get back to something like normal life where she didn’t have to keep hiding for fear of being caught, but she was pleased to be back at Aldershot. At home there had been too much time to think and she needed work to keep her occupied. Potter had left everything neat and tidy for her and a folder full of reports to bring her up to date.
Stan marched in looking preoccupied, as usual. ‘Good morning, sir.’
‘Is it?’ he muttered, not breaking his stride. At the door of his office he stopped and turned his head. ‘Good Lord, have ten days gone already?’
‘They have.’
‘Ah, you look better. Did you enjoy your leave?’
‘I did, thank you, sir.’
He nodded. ‘Make a strong pot of tea and bring it to my office. We have work to catch up on.’
He was right, and it took them a week to deal with everything. Grace was finishing off the last report when the office door opened, and the words ‘Can I help you’ died on her lips. Standing there grinning was the man she had never expected to see again.
‘Bill!’ Overcome with joy she threw herself at him, laughing as he gave her a bear hug.
‘Don’t I get one of those as well?’ asked a familiar voice.
‘Harry! Oh, this is wonderful!’ Grace was not normally a demonstrative person, but this was too much for her, and she cried out with pleasure as she rushed to greet him.
‘What the devil’s going on here?’ Stan boomed, standing in the doorway. ‘Where the hell have you been?’
‘That’s a pretty good description of the last few weeks, wouldn’t you say, Harry?’
‘Close enough.’
Stan couldn’t hide his relief at seeing Bill again and slapped him on the back before approaching the other man and shaking his hand. ‘So you’re the mysterious Harry. I suspect we have a lot to thank you for. We really thought we’d lost these two. Grace! No more work today. We are going to celebrate! Come in to my office. I’ve got a bottle of whisky I’ve been saving for a special occasion.’
Stan only had two glasses so they used cups, but no one cared. They were all too happy.
‘When did you arrive back?’ Stan asked when they were settled.
‘About two hours ago. We hitched a lift on a plane from Switzerland.’
‘How on earth did you get there, Bill?’ Grace asked.
‘With difficulty,’ Harry said dryly.
‘But why come that way?’ Stan wanted to know. ‘You were closer to Spain, surely?’
‘We tried that, but after the damage I’d caused they were determined to catch me, and brought in extra troops. Harry managed to get you to Spain before the area was flooded with more troops and tracker dogs, Grace. It was too risky to go that way so we had to head for Switzerland. Harry had to come with me because he’d borrowed a home-made wireless set and tried to send a message. The SS nearly caught him. He managed to get away, but not before they had seen him. He had to disappear after that.’
‘That answers the puzzle of the strange message we picked up. What was in the chateau, Bill?’
‘I found a huge, well-camouflaged building in the grounds. It was a communication centre, full of the finest equipment I’ve ever seen, and the men in there were very busy. There’s no telling what information they were gathering. I couldn’t leave that so I found an armaments store and made a bomb. It went up beautifully, and should put them out of action for some time.’
‘How did you get out of there?’ Grace wanted to know.
‘I couldn’t, but fortunately the grounds were huge and I was able to dodge the search parties for several days. I survived on grapes, berries, and anything else I could find. Once the frantic activity had quietened down I stole an ordinary German uniform from the sleeping quarters and jumped on a lorry leaving the chateau.’
‘That’s how I found him,’ Harry continued. ‘I guessed he must still be in there and was searching for a way in when I saw a soldier jump off a lorry and dive into the undergrowth by the road. I crept up on him and there was Bill sitting in a ditch.’
Bill grinned. ‘That’s the second time he nearly shot me. I don’t think Harry likes Germans.’
‘Of course I don’t! They invaded my country.’
‘Your country?’ Stan frowned. ‘But you’re English, aren’t you?’
‘I was educated at Cambridge University, but I’m French. Free French.’
Grace stared at him, absolutely stunned. ‘I’d never have guessed it. Your accent is perfect. I have a friend who is working as an interpreter for the Free French. Helen, you might have met her.’
‘Not that I recall, and if she’s as beautiful as you I would certainly have remembered.’
Grace laughed. ‘You didn’t pay me compliments like that when I arrived back at the farm scratched and filthy.’
‘I was so relieved to see you I thought you were the most beautiful girl ever.’
‘Stop flirting with Grace,’ Bill reprimanded. ‘You’ll have to stand at the back of a long line.’
‘There he goes again!’ Grace shook her head. ‘He’s only just arrived back and is talking nonsense already.’
‘And now you are back you’ll have to attend a debriefing.’
‘Not me,’ Harry told them and standing up. ‘I have my own outfit to report to.’
‘I’ll need your name for my records,’ Stan said.
Harry bent and kissed Grace’s cheek. ‘See you again sometime, lovely one. And Bill, try not to get into trouble again. Oh, and my name is Harry. Just Harry.’
Wiping the sweat from his eyes, Dan paused and looked around. How many of his men had he lost in that battle? It had begun with an enormous gun barrage that had lit up the night sky and shattered the silence of the desert. What had followed had been twelve days of fierce fighting. They had finally won the battle of El Alamein and Rommel was in full retreat.
Dan spotted a few of his men slumped down on the ground and leaning against a wall. When he approached they began to stand up. ‘Stay where you are,’ he said, sitting down beside them.
The sergeant among them grinned. ‘We’ve got Rommel on the run this time. He’ll have a job to come back from this beating.’
‘They’re badly weakened and we should now be able to push them out of Africa.’ Dan studied the men all around, looking for any he could recognise. It wasn’t easy, though, because they were all dirty and dishevelled. ‘Have you any idea how many of ours have survived, Sergeant?’
‘We haven’t done a tally yet, sir. Would you like us to do that now?’
‘No, get yourselves sorted out first. When you’ve cleaned up and had something to eat, come and find me. We’ll do it together.’
‘Right you are, sir.’
Dan hoisted himself up and strode towards the hastily set up operations section. The loss of even one man was too many in Dan’s opinion, and he feared that battle had been costly – but a huge success. He would need to keep reminding himself of that. They had taken a battering at home with Dunkirk, the desperate fight in the air and the Blitz. A
victory was badly needed and now they had one. The once considered invincible had been shown to be vulnerable, and that should give a spark of hope to everyone.
‘It’s such a long time since we’ve heard that sound.’ Grace smiled up at George as they stood outside listening to the church bells ringing. To mark the victory at El Alamein, Churchill had ordered all church bells to be rung. They had been silent since the outbreak of war.
Bill joined them. ‘Dan’s out there, isn’t he, George? Have you heard from him yet?’
‘I expect he’s been in the thick of the fighting. It will be a while before we hear from him. He’s not much of a letter writer anyway.’
Stan came out of the office just as the last peals faded away. ‘Clever idea to ring the bells. That gives everyone a taste of victory, making them even more determined to finish the war off.’
‘It will be back to Europe next,’ Bill remarked.
‘There’s a lot to be done before that,’ George pointed out. ‘When we go in again there will be no turning back. There cannot be another Dunkirk, so everything must be carefully planned. I would say there’s no chance of launching an invasion for at least a year.’
Chapter Twenty-Seven
When Grace looked back she couldn’t believe eighteen months had passed since she had returned from France. Preparations for the invasion were well under way, and the country was crowded with troops and equipment, and more were still pouring in. Camps were springing up everywhere; tanks were hidden in trees and ships waiting in the harbours around the coast. Efforts were being made to camouflage as much as possible, but it was a huge task. An even greater concern was how to keep all this activity a secret, especially the location of the proposed landings. A great deal of work and thought had been put into the need to trick Hitler into believing the invasion would be in a different place to the one planned.
Stan and Grace were returning from an intelligence meeting when they were waved off the road. They got out of the car and watched as a convoy of lorries came past carrying newly arrived American troops. When they saw Grace they began to whistle and shout out to her. Laughing, she came smartly to attention and saluted them. This caused even more hilarity.
The convoy seemed never ending, and following them were tanks.
‘My God!’ Stan murmured. ‘There isn’t room on this small island for any more, surely. It’s going to need a miracle to keep this build-up a secret. If Hitler doesn’t already know then he must be asleep!’
‘Let’s hope he is. We’ve had a few miracles in this war so far, like plucking the army off the beaches at Dunkirk, beating the Luftwaffe in the air, surviving the Blitz, and not forgetting El Alamein and the seamen in the Atlantic. We’d have starved without their bravery.’
Stan looked down at Grace and smiled. ‘All true, but you forgot one. The miracle of getting you and Bill back from France.’
She shrugged. ‘I would say that was luck on my part and Bill’s skill at undercover work. Will he be going over with the troops?’
‘He’s going in with the second wave where he can be of the most use. Dan’s back from North Africa and will be going in first, as usual. He’s a colonel now.’ Stan grinned. ‘George is trying hard to be included and he’ll probably succeed. He’s younger than me and has battle experience.’
‘James and Tim arrived home last month after serving in Malta for a while. They’ll be needed. It looks as if the two of us will be the only ones left behind.’
‘We’ll have our part to play, though. Have you seen your friend Helen lately?’
‘Not for nearly two years. It’s worrying, but if anything had happened to her we would have been told.’
‘That’s true. Ah, the road is clear at last.’
When they arrived back at Aldershot, George marched into the office, all smiles. ‘Come to let you know I’m leaving here today.’
‘Where are you going?’ Grace asked.
‘Now you know I can’t answer that, Grace.’
‘Of course not. Silly question.’
‘You’ve got your wish then, George?’
‘Yes. I got thrown out of Dunkirk and I want to go back. You two take care of yourselves while I’m away.’
‘And you be careful.’
‘I will, Grace.’ He kissed her cheek, shook hands with Stan, and left.
‘We are going to have a lot of people to worry about, aren’t we?’
‘I’m afraid so. Before you start typing up the report of today’s meeting, put the kettle on, Grace. I’m gasping for a cup of tea.’
‘I expect you’re finding the weather a bit different from North Africa,’ Bill said to the tall man standing beside him.
Dan nodded and gazed up at the dark, leaden sky, feeling the rain on his face. ‘Wish it would clear enough for us to get going. I hate hanging around like this. It’s unsettling for the men to be sitting on the ships for so long, not knowing if we’re going tonight or not.’
The harbour was filled with men and ships, as were many others along the coast. Bill sighed. ‘Just look at that! The Germans must know we’re coming. Assembling such an enormous invasion fleet can’t have gone unnoticed, surely. This country is groaning under the weight of troops and armaments.’
‘They know we’re coming but let’s hope they have believed all the misinformation you’ve been feeding them so they don’t know where or when. Surprise is the key to success for this operation.’
‘Well, they won’t be expecting us in this kind of weather. Though it doesn’t seem quite as bad …’
Suddenly there was activity everywhere and a soldier ran up to Dan. ‘H-Hour now, Major Chester!’
Dan was immediately moving. ‘See you in Berlin, Bill.’
‘I’ll be there!’
Long legs took Dan with speed to the ship, glad all the waiting was over. He was going back at last. And they damned well wouldn’t drive him out again! This time they would be staying. Retreat was out of the question.
Bill stayed where he was and watched the huge armada making its way out of Southampton and knew the same was happening at Dartmouth, Portland, Portsmouth and Shoreham. He would be going with one of the follow up-forces. He knew Germany was now a very different country to the one he and Dan remembered, and he hoped they both survived to meet up and see for themselves. It would be painful and sad, no doubt, but Hitler and his regime had to be defeated.
It was nearly dawn but Stan and Grace were still in the office waiting for news. When the phone rang Stan snatched it up eagerly, and Grace waited, hardly able to breathe with the tension they were feeling.
‘It’s underway!’ he said, replacing the phone and looking at the calendar. June 6th. ‘You might as well get some sleep now. There’s nothing else for us to do and there won’t be any news for a few hours.’
‘I don’t think sleep will be possible. What are you going to do, sir?’
‘Rest for a couple of hours and then go to the ops room and wait for the reports to start coming in.’
‘Can I come with you?’
‘Admittance is restricted or the place would be full to bursting. I’ll write you up for seven days’ leave.’
Grace knew it was useless to refuse. She wouldn’t be needed for a while. All she could do was wait, and she might as well do that at home with her parents. They would be excited, but she knew too many men involved in this invasion to be able to relax. She had seen a little of what conditions were like in France and could picture the opposition the troops would probably face.
Stan was already writing out the leave authorisation and when he handed it to her he smiled. ‘By the time you return we will have a clearer picture of the situation. Go home and try to relax. The build-up to the invasion has been a trying time.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
There wasn’t any need to rush home because Grace knew both of her parents would be out, so she hung around for a while and arrived home near six o’clock that evening. She was pleased to find her mother at home.
It was nice to be greeted instead of walking into an empty house.
‘How wonderful!’ Jean exclaimed, giving her daughter a hug. ‘How long have you got?’
‘Seven days. Is Dad at work?’
Jean nodded. ‘He won’t be home until later. We’ve just heard the exciting news that the invasion is under way. Let’s have a nice cup of tea before you unpack your bag. I do miss our little chats.’
Grace laughed, feeling some of the tension of the last few days easing away.
‘You look tired, darling,’ her mother remarked as she poured the tea.
‘We’ve been busy and haven’t had much sleep. I’ll catch up on it while I’m home.’
‘I expect you’ve known about the invasion for some time.’
‘Yes. The bad weather held it up which was worrying for everyone, but they were finally able to go ahead.’
Jean sighed. ‘Everyone is naturally very excited and is saying that the war could be over by Christmas. I hope they are right, but I can’t help thinking about all those young men. You probably have a better idea than most of us, so do you think it could be over that quickly?’
‘It’s too soon to say, Mum. I don’t think it’s going to be that easy, though.’
‘No, you are right, but we can hope for a speedy victory. Tell me what you’ve been up to. The last time you were on leave you were worried about someone you’d been working with. Is he all right now?’
Grace raised her eyebrows.
‘Don’t look at me like that, Grace. I know you weren’t allowed to tell us anything, but I’m not daft. One night you were restless and I sat by your bed for a while. You cried out the name “Bill”. You were very distressed.’
‘You didn’t tell me.’
‘No, darling. I haven’t mentioned it to anyone – not even your father. Whatever it was, you needed to come to terms with it yourself, and I knew you would. Can you talk about it now?’
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