by Julie Rowe
“You’re John’s sister?”
She nodded with an expectant smile.
Maria didn’t know where to start. Should she talk about the German soldiers searching their hospital for any reason they could find to arrest them? The long hours in surgery? The dead they had to bury behind the buildings?
“It’s not exciting.” She meant to say more, but that’s all she managed to get out before her throat closed up.
Genevieve’s smile slowly died. “It isn’t?”
“No. I saw death nearly every day, and it became impossible to get the stain and smell of blood out of our clothes. Sometimes the German soldiers who came to search our hospital would take our food or even attempt to…assault us.”
The other woman now looked horrified.
“We often hid British or Belgian soldiers, and if we had gotten caught, we would have been shot. In fact, that’s why I had to leave and return to England. A German officer caught me hiding a British soldier.”
“So, everything Father said is true?”
“I don’t know what he told you, but it’s not romantic or heroic. It’s terrible and sad and frightening.” Maria cleared her throat. “Sometimes I wonder if I will ever feel safe again.”
“Thank you.” Genevieve stuck a smile on her face, but it was nowhere near as sunny as before. “I’ve been so looking forward to meeting you. John hasn’t stopped talking about you since he returned to England.”
“He hasn’t?” Could this get any worse?
When Maria didn’t say anything more, Genevieve’s grin turned rueful. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, of course, just…” What could she say to this sweet young woman who obviously believed in happy endings? “It’s a lot to take in.”
“I understand,” Genevieve said, getting to her feet and coming around the desk to hug Maria. “I’m so glad we’ve met. I can tell we’re going to be great friends.”
Maria did the only reasonable thing. She hugged her back and managed to present her with a watery smile. “Yes, great friends. I wonder, however, if you know what I’m to do next? I received a summons about answering questions regarding our flight from Belgium.”
At this, Genevieve clapped her hands together and laughed. “Yes, yes. I’m sorry. I insisted on speaking with you first. Stay right here and Captain Lawrence will be with you shortly.” She went out the door, the sound of her cane echoing for several seconds.
Maria sighed and stared at her hands. A great part of her wanted to leave. Finding out John had told his family about her hadn’t changed anything. She still couldn’t be with him. They were from two different parts of society, and society was unforgiving—no matter what John or Genevieve thought.
The door opened behind her and a large uniformed man filled the doorway. “Maria Hunt?”
She rose. “Yes.”
“Captain Lawrence.” He shook her hand.
“Please excuse the mess. Genevieve hasn’t had time to straighten all this out yet.”
“How long has she been working for you?”
“About a month.” Captain Lawrence went around the desk and sat, lifting papers until he found the ones he was looking for. “So. I’ve read your report. It’s well done, but I would like to ask some clarification questions and also for more detail on some of the events.”
“I shall answer as best I can.”
The next few hours were intellectually and emotionally draining. By the time their interview ended, Maria had a new respect for Captain Lawrence. The man was perceptive in a way few people could match.
“Would you be willing to write up the medical elements of your adventure for use in training stretcher-bearers and other Red Cross personnel?”
“Of course, but they were mostly common sense and old home remedies, not something I learned working at the hospital.”
Lawrence snorted at her response. “There’s nothing common about common sense.”
Eventually, he ran out of questions, put down his pen and stared at her for a moment. “You must be hungry.”
“Are we finished?”
“If you mean am I done asking you questions, no. But I’m done asking them for today. I’ve arranged lodging for you and trust you will find it comfortable. I expect you back here at nine o’clock in the morning. At that time we’ll discuss your thoughts on how we can support Nurse Culver’s activities.”
“Yes, sir.”
He stood and strode toward the door. “Wait a moment for your escort.”
“Certainly.”
She sat down to wait for whoever would escort her out of the maze of hallways, corridors and offices. She hoped they’d stop somewhere to buy a meal before taking her to her lodging.
The sound of booted footsteps gave her about three seconds warning before a man appeared in the doorway. But no amount of time could have prepared her for the impact of seeing him.
John.
* * *
“Hello, Maria,” he said pleasantly, as if they were old friends and nothing more. “Let’s be off. I’m sure you’re starving. Lawrence doesn’t realize how much his interrogations take out of a person.”
“You’re my escort?” She looked as if someone had smacked her with a wet fish.
“Of course, come along.” He took a step out of the doorway then glanced over his shoulder.
She rose slowly and followed him down the corridor and out into the larger hallway. He stopped and offered her his arm, which she took after a short hesitation. Her touch went from light to tight as the number of people rushing about the building, all in a great hurry, grew significantly.
They exited through the main doors and he led her to a sleek black carriage pulled by a single black horse waiting at the curb. He helped her into the coach, took the seat next to her, and they were off.
She clasped her hands together, but he could still see how badly they shook.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, thank you,” she answered in a rush. “Have you? How is your leg?”
“Excellent. The surgeon who examined it was impressed with your stitches and your treatment.” He flexed his leg to show her.
“Captain Lawrence made a similar comment, though I can’t imagine why.”
“You effectively treated a potentially dangerous wound under adverse conditions, that’s why.” Captain Lawrence wasn’t the only man who found her medical treatment to be interesting and valuable.
“Your recovery had as much to do with the condition and strength of the patient as the treatment.” There was pride and admiration all over her statement.
She did still love him.
A grin popped on to his face. “I do believe that’s the most interesting compliment I’ve ever been paid.”
She scowled at him and he had to resist laughing at her expression.
“May I ask where you’re taking me?”
“Certainly. The captain was adamant that you be housed in lodging appropriate to your station and in recognition of your contributions to England.”
Maria made a frustrated sound. “I don’t understand. I’ve done nothing worthy of recognition.”
“Luckily, there are a great many people who disagree with you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Have you been carrying tales?”
He chuckled and leaned toward her. “To everyone who would listen.” He glanced over her shoulder. “Ah, excellent. We’re here.”
“Here” was his family’s home in London.
“What is this place?”
“Your home away from home.” He jumped down from the carriage and held his hand out to her.
“Will you ever give me a proper answer?” she asked as she stepped down from the carriage.
He tucked her hand into the crook of his arm again and they walked toward the front door. The door opened to reveal their butler, Giles, awaiting them.
“When have I ever given you an improper answer?” John asked as he took Maria’s battered cape, the same one she’d
worn on their race to escape Belgium, and handed it to Giles.
Maria rolled her eyes and said pleasantly, “Would you like the entire list?”
He smiled at her and offered his arm again.
She sighed and took it.
He led her down a carpeted hallway and into a large drawing room where perhaps a dozen people were chatting, some seated, a few standing. All conversation ceased when John and Maria came to a stop inside the doorway.
“Father, Mother, all.” He bowed to the group, waved a hand at Maria and said, “Allow me to introduce Miss Maria Hunt, the nurse who saved my life…and hopefully the woman who will soon be my wife.”
Maria gaped at him and tried to pull her hand away
He refused to let her go.
No one spoke for several seconds, then his father got to his feet and approached them.
“You’re the young lady John has been telling us about, are you?” He gave Maria a look that would have had most men stuttering.
She raised her chin and looked him dead in the eyes. “I have no idea what John’s been saying about me.”
“You saved his life.”
She nodded once. “That’s true.”
“If it weren’t for you he’d have died of infection.”
“Also true.”
His father continued to glower at her. “A true heroine,” he said with more than a little sarcasm.
She snorted. Snorted. “Did he also tell you I made him sleep in a chicken coop? With the chickens?”
His father’s eyebrows rose and John nearly burst out laughing at his amazed expression.
“No, he didn’t mention that.”
She turned her narrowed gaze on him. “I’m sure he left out many things, such as the fact that I refused to marry him.”
That had his father’s jaw dropping. John found it to be merely irritating.
“Not that again.”
“Yes, that again.” She successfully yanked her hand away from him. “How dare you keep announcing to people that we’re engaged?”
“Because I won’t accept anything less than having you for my wife.”
“I will not be your wife.”
“Well I certainly won’t ask you to be my mistress.”
She smacked him.
“I want you for my wife for a very good reason.”
“What possible reason could you have?”
“You love me!” He hadn’t meant to yell it quite so loud, but her continual arguing made him somewhat angry.
Maria flinched, then she wrapped her dignity around herself and very deliberately said, “Irrelevant.”
“Irrelevant? It’s everything,”
“No, the girl is right,” his father said. “It’s only a valid reason if you love her as well.”
John threw his hands in the air. “I do.”
His father’s response was to look thoughtful and hum.
The room was silent as everyone waited expectantly for an explanation, until his cousin spoke to the gentleman beside her in French. “Her dress is hideous and her manner masculine. She wouldn’t last a day in society.”
Maria looked directly at her and said, also in French, “I regularly spend hours in surgery assisting in the amputation of limbs, removal of bullets and stitching of holes no man should ever have in his body.” She drew herself up and settled an unseen mantle on her shoulders. “In my world, you wouldn’t last an hour.” She gazed at the roomful of shocked faces then turned on her heel and walked out.
“Maria, wait.” John grabbed her hand and pulled her to a stop in the hallway. “I’m sorry. My cousin Stella is something of a spoiled brat.”
She shook her head and attempted to pull her hand loose.
He held tight and urged her to follow him into his father’s office. “Please give me a chance to explain.”
He closed the door behind them and finally let go of her hand. She walked backward toward a small settee and sat on the very edge. Her face was flushed and her small hands were curled into fists.
He took a seat in a chair opposite her.
She looked as if he’d stabbed her in the gut with a knife. Tears hovered in her eyes and she sat silently, waiting for him to say something, he guessed.
How was he going to convince her that he would never give up?
Finally she asked, “What explanation can you give for publicly humiliating me?”
Chapter Thirteen
John braced his elbows on his knees. “I didn’t intend to make you feel uncomfortable.” He gave her the same small, intimate smile he’d given her over and over on their dash for the border. “I told my family about you, about all of our adventures, and they insisted on meeting you.”
“But why did you ask me to marry you in front of them?”
“Because I thought it was less likely you’d say no if there were witnesses.”
“You know I can’t accept.”
“We could be married in a matter of days if you say yes.”
Oh, John.
She sighed and shook her head. “It’s customary to ask a woman for her hand in marriage and receive a yes from her before you plan the ceremony.”
“You’re right.” He nodded, stood and paced away two steps. “We’ve been doing everything backward since the moment we met.”
“Yes.”
He spun around. “But I would do it all again. All.” His eyes filled with pale green fire. “Would you?”
She had to remind herself to breathe. “Yes.” Then she shook her head. “But, that’s no excuse for your rather large assumption—”
“You said you loved me,” he interrupted. “Do you?”
She struggled to fill her lungs, to admit her feelings. “Yes, but—”
“I’m a fool. I wanted to do this before, but had no time.” He released a deep breath. “I should have made time.” He got down on one knee and took her left hand in his. “Maria Hunt, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. Please, not this.
She said nothing, she couldn’t. Grief and longing blocked her throat.
His grin slowly disappeared. “What’s wrong?”
“Honour, that’s what this is about,” she said, the words tearing a hole in her soul. “But I can’t marry you for honour alone.”
“What?” He blinked several times. “Is that what you think? That I’m asking because I’m a gentleman?” He didn’t wait for her answer. “Yes, of course you do. Or you wouldn’t be looking like some damned martyr.”
“I’m being practical, sensible and fair,” she shouted. Why wouldn’t he listen? “There’s no reason for you to shackle yourself to—”
“Shackle?”
“—a woman whose station is so far beneath yours.”
He looked her up and down, his eyes burning. “Beneath me is exactly where I want you.”
She sucked in a shocked breath.
He jumped into the pause without hesitation. “I’ll wager you’d throw yourself on a sword if I had one handy.”
She turned away, her voice shaking with sadness and shame. “There’s no reason for this marriage. No real reason.”
He stepped around her into her line of vision. “There are three reasons for this marriage. One, you could be with child.”
She stared at the floor. “I’m not.”
“Two, you love me. And three, I love you.”
“That was said in the heat of passion. I won’t hold you to it.”
“But I hold myself to it.” He took a firm grip on her shoulders. “Listen here. I love you and no amount of arguing or passage of time is ever going to change that. If you don’t want to marry me now, well, then I’ll wait until you’re ready.”
He was willing to wait? But that wasn’t the only problem.
“I’m still not the right sort of woman to be your wife.”
“Bah, are you talking about what my cousin said?”
“Yes, and she’s not the only one who’ll feel that wa
y.”
“I don’t care what other people think.”
“What about your parents? Your father?”
“You impressed him just now.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“There aren’t many people who will stand up to him. You did. And my mother will be ecstatic about the prospect of having someone in the family who actually likes to speak French.”
She opened her mouth, but he spoke first.
“You can’t get rid of me, Maria. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove I want you, not once in a dark corner, but every day for the rest of our lives.”
He looked so sincere and stubborn she couldn’t deny what was in her heart. “Oh, John, I want that, so much it hurts. But I have to be sure. I have to know you’re not offering marriage to satisfy your honour. I need your love. Without reservation. Can you give me that?”
“You have it. I want a home, children and a life with you. I love you. Please say yes.”
“Only if you make me a promise first.”
He leaned close and said against her lips, “Done.”
“You don’t know what it is yet.”
“It doesn’t matter, I’ll do whatever you ask of me. Capture Jason’s Golden Fleece, battle Hades in the belly of hell, beg God for one more day with you. Whatever task you set, I will do.”
Breathing was no longer important, only him. She’d thought a relationship between them would be impossible, but it seemed she’d been wrong.
She couldn’t lose him. Couldn’t stand the thought of the long, lonely years ahead without him. “No matter what happens, no matter where they send you. Come home to me. Come home to me alive.”
“As to that, I’ve already been reassigned.”
Dread dimmed her joy. “You’re returning to the front?”
“No, I’m with the Expeditionary Force in a different capacity now. Intelligence. My new post will be near the border of Belgium and the Netherlands under Captain Lawrence.”
So far away. “When do you leave?”
“In a few weeks, after my partner has been properly trained.”
It wasn’t long enough. “I see.” She would not be one of those blubbering women who cried and clung. She’d make sure not a moment was wasted. “We can spend some of the time at my parents’ home, if you like,” she offered with a tentative smile.