by Lynn Austin
“We’ve taken in children as well,” the female warden said with a lift of her chin. “And we don’t have servants helping us, do we?”
“Of course. I’m sorry.” Audrey couldn’t have said why she was sorry, but she felt the need to apologize.
“It’s going to be a different sort of war, Miss Clarkson,” the husband added. “We’re all in the fight this time, not just the soldiers. Women and children too. Like it or not, everyone must do his bit for the duration because we have to win. Otherwise . . . well, it’s unthinkable to have Nazis goose-stepping through our village and taking all our food like they’re doing in Poland.”
She thought of Alfie again, enduring the untold horrors of war, and her stomach did a slow turn. “Yes, of course. I do understand. Thank you.”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to fine you for failing to comply,” he said, handing her a piece of paper. “And there will be another fine tomorrow night if you don’t get it done. Good evening, Miss Clarkson.”
She watched the wardens head back to the village, shuffling slowly, heads lowered as they plodded home in the utter darkness. She remembered yelling at the children today and demanding that they obey and knew she would have to become much tougher and braver if she was going to survive the days to come. No matter what, Audrey would make sure Wellingford Hall still stood in all its glory when she welcomed Alfie home from the war.
9
LONDON, MAY 1940
“Kindly wait for me,” Audrey told the taxi driver. “I won’t be long.” Clouds filled the late-afternoon sky, mirroring her mood as she hurried up the crumbling steps to Eve’s boardinghouse. She searched for a doorbell and, not seeing one, pounded on the front door. Nothing happened. What if Eve didn’t live here anymore? More than four years had passed since Audrey had come here with Eve after King George’s funeral. Please, please, she silently begged. She regretted not staying in touch with her. In spite of their many differences, she still considered Eve her closest friend, the only person who truly knew her without the facade Audrey was required to keep in place.
Voices drifted from inside. She pounded on the door again. The girl who finally opened it looked annoyed. “You don’t have to knock, you know. Just come in.” The tinny sound of a news broadcast echoed in the front room. The girl seemed eager to hurry back to it. “Who are you looking for?” she asked over her shoulder.
“Eve Dawson.”
“In here.” She pointed to the crowded parlor, where girls huddled around the wireless, filling the chairs, the sofa, and every inch of floor space. “Eve, someone’s here for you.”
Eve looked up from the middle of the group and the color drained from her face. “Audrey! What’s wrong? Is it Alfie?” She sprang up and picked her way through the seated girls as gracefully as she’d once hopped from stone to stone to cross the creek. “Have you heard from Alfie?”
“He’s fine as far as I know,” she said when Eve reached the parlor doorway. “He was in Belgium with the BEF the last we heard, but now that they’re in retreat, we have no idea what’s become of him.”
“I haven’t heard, either. He hardly ever writes. And even when he does, he can’t say where he is.”
“Listen, I spoke with my uncle who’s in the House of Lords—”
“Shh!” one of the girls hissed. Audrey drew Eve into the foyer, peering outside to make sure the taxi was still waiting. It was. She needed to hurry while there was still enough light to drive.
“Have you heard what’s happening in France?” Audrey asked.
“Of course! It’s horrible, isn’t it? The Nazis are crushing Europe. We’re the only ones left.”
“I don’t have time to go into all the details, but could you please, please drive me down to the coast in our car? The taxi won’t take me that far. Please, Eve. I’m desperate to help Alfie and the other soldiers, and you know how to drive.”
“Is this for the rescue operation they’re talking about?”
Audrey lowered her voice so the other girls wouldn’t overhear. “The public doesn’t know how dire the situation is, but my uncle says our troops are pinned down on the French coastline with their backs to the channel.”
“I can’t drive you all the way to France, Audrey.” Her grin was typically Eve. “I may not have finished school, but I do know my geography.”
“Just take me down to the coast. Father keeps a boat there. They’re asking for every available ship to help evacuate our soldiers—fishing boats, ferries, even pleasure craft like ours.”
Eve nodded as she seemed to grasp the situation. “Alfie took me out on your boat a few times. Let me grab my coat and my purse.” She bolted up the stairs and returned moments later, shoving her arms into her jacket sleeves. Audrey’s fear eased slightly. She had an ally to help rescue Alfie. For the first time, she was grateful for Eve’s relationship with her brother—whatever it was. They hurried outside and climbed into the taxi. “Where are we going?” Eve asked.
“Back to the town house to get the car.” Audrey willed herself to remain calm. They would have a long drive ahead of them to get to the sea. “There’s so little real news in the paper or on the BBC that I’ve been going mad with worry up at Wellingford. My uncle says the Nazis have driven our army and most of France’s army to the coast. The men are surrounded and pinned down on the beach and will be taken prisoner or killed unless we bring them home. When I heard about the evacuation, I immediately thought of our boat. The Navy can use it if I can get down there and turn it over to them. But Father is away, making sure his factories and railroads are running at full steam, so it’s up to me. I need your help, Eve.”
“They were asking for boats on the radio right before you came.”
The taxi arrived at the town house, and Audrey told the driver to take them around to the garages in back. Alfie’s car and the one Williams drove were parked side by side in the former stables. “Can you believe it?” Audrey asked. “Two perfectly good cars sitting here and none of our servants know how to drive them. That’s why I thought of you. I used to watch from my bedroom window when Williams gave you driving lessons.” She glanced at Eve and saw a ghost of a smile. “Don’t say it, Eve.”
She laughed, the same warm, bubbling laugh as on the first day they’d met in the woods. “Don’t say what?”
“That Williams would have taught me, too, if I wasn’t such a coward.”
“I wasn’t thinking that at all. I was thinking you had no reason to drive because Williams took you everywhere. Have you heard from him, by the way? Mum told me he joined the Auxiliary Fire Service.”
“No, I haven’t.” She fought the urge to apologize for not knowing more about her former driver, for seeming not to care. “Which car do you want to take?”
“Not Alfie’s. He’ll murder us. Besides, I have more experience driving Williams’s car.” Eve opened the door and slipped behind the wheel, taking a moment to settle in, running her hands around the steering wheel, adjusting the mirrors. She started the engine, released the brake, and rolled out of the garage. Audrey closed the garage door behind them and jumped in. “Do you know how to get down there?” Eve asked as she pulled into the London traffic.
“I think so. We should have enough petrol coupons since no one has used our cars since Alfie left. The boat is docked in Folkestone, and hopefully the Navy will have people there. I’m sorry, but we may need to spend the night in Folkestone. Unless the sky clears and there’s a moon, we won’t be able to drive home in the blackout.” Nervous energy and fear fueled Audrey’s babbling. Eve seemed calm, as usual, concentrating on the road and the busy traffic. Silvery barrage balloons hovered in the sky above them, swaying from their tethers as Audrey directed Eve southeast through London.
“I never drove this car in the city before,” Eve said, dodging around a red bus. “Just so you know.”
“I trust you.” Rain began falling as they reached the city’s outskirts. “Oh no,” Audrey moaned. “Rain will slow us down even more.” The w
hir and swish of the wipers grated on her nerves as if whispering, Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry! According to her uncle, Great Britain would be forced to surrender if the Army wasn’t rescued.
Eve leaned forward in her seat as if trying to get a better view of the road through the steady rain. “Alfie used to speed down to the sea in less than two hours,” she said. “He drove so fast he scared me half to death! It’s no wonder nothing looks familiar to me—the countryside used to go by in a blur.”
“Thank you for agreeing to drive me. You—” Audrey started to say she considered Eve a good friend, someone she could always count on, but the words died on her tongue with the realization that she hadn’t been a very loyal friend to Eve. She probably wasn’t doing this for friendship’s sake. “You must care a lot for Alfie to just drop everything and do this for him,” Audrey said instead.
“I’m in love with him.” Eve said the words so softly that Audrey barely heard them above the roar of the motor and the noisy wipers. “I would gladly spend the rest of my life with him if he would ask, but I don’t think he ever will. I know he sees other girls besides me.”
“I’m sorry for not being more helpful. I honestly can’t think of a better wife for him than you.” Eve gave her a questioning look before turning back to the road. “I mean it, Eve. My brother deserves the best, and you have so much more character and . . . and vitality than the other girls he knows. And certainly more courage. But to be perfectly honest, he would have to defy both of our parents in order to marry you. Mind you, Alfie always does what he pleases. And he gets away with a lot, knowing he’s the heir. But he will likely cave in to their pressure in the end. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“It’s too late for that. I already love him. Whatever happens now, when it finally does happen, it’s going to hurt.” She pulled a handkerchief from her coat pocket, and Audrey thought she was going to use it to wipe away tears. Instead, she cleared moisture from the inside of the windscreen.
“Let me do that,” Audrey said, taking the handkerchief from her. “Listen, I hate to sound trite, but surely there must have been a queue of other men interested in you before they all went off to war. You’re so beautiful, Eve.” It was true. Eve had an unspoiled beauty that didn’t require cosmetics and hair waves, a girlish innocence enhanced by her wild sandy hair, clear gray eyes, and endearing freckles.
“Well, your charming brother has ruined all other men for me,” Eve said. “I’ll hold out for him as long as there’s hope, even though I know he’ll probably never marry me. I never finished school, my mum is a maidservant, and I work as a typist with a dozen other girls who are going nowhere.” She released a sigh, then said, “What about you, Audrey? Is there a man in your life?”
“Hardly. The courtship process in my world is so artificial that it’s impossible to fall madly in love. And that’s what I want to do—fall madly in love with a man who loves me and not my father’s money. It’s very hard to distinguish the difference, I’m afraid, since the men I know have been trained to go through all the proper motions and say all the right things. Alfie flouts the rules, and I hope he finds true love someday, but his peers are afraid to stray from the narrow field of women their parents have chosen for them.” And in the end, Audrey would dutifully marry the man her mother chose for her.
“Mind if I open my window a bit?” Eve asked, turning the crank. “It’s getting muggy in here.”
“No, go ahead. The air might keep the windows from fogging.” Audrey had been wiping steadily for several minutes with Eve’s soggy handkerchief.
“So what’s going on at Wellingford Hall these days?” Eve asked. “The last I heard you were housing evacuated children from London.”
“We did house them. Thirty, at one point. The village was thick with them, too. But all of ours are gone, now.” Thankfully, she wanted to add. “And most of the ones in the village, too.”
“What happened to them?”
“The war didn’t seem to be going anywhere, so they all drifted home. Within four months, we were down to only eight children. Some of them got homesick—they said it was too quiet in the country. Some were called home because their mums missed them. But a lot of them went home because their parents were required to pay six shillings a week for their board, and why waste all that money when the bombs weren’t falling as everyone feared?”
“Well, we’re in for it now. We’re the only ones left to fend off the Nazis.”
“Which we can’t do without an army. We have to rescue every man we can.” Again, Audrey forced back her panic, willing herself to be calm. Fear twisted her stomach into so many knots these days that she could barely eat. She drew a steadying breath, releasing it slowly. “Sorry, but I never asked how you’ve been, Eve. You mentioned working as a typist?”
“Right . . . but I’ll probably be sacked when I don’t show up for work tomorrow.”
“Oh, Eve! I’m so sorry! I never should have presumed you could get away on such short notice.”
“It doesn’t matter. To tell you the truth, I hate my job. It’s dead boring. All I do is type memos and invoices all day. I hate being cooped up inside all day. At least as a scullery maid I could nip outside once in a while and wander George’s gardens—Wellingford’s gardens, I should say.”
Audrey sympathized but knew her murmurs of pity would sound false. She hated city life too and longed to return to the peace and quiet of Wellingford Hall. But at least she could return.
The road grew darker and murkier as night approached, the lowering clouds thicker near the coast. The reality of war struck Audrey as they passed spiky strings of barbed wire and piles of sandbags blocking off side roads and farmers’ fields. Guards stopped them at three different checkpoints to search their car. By the time they reached Folkestone, where the boat was moored, the car had slowed to a crawl, the road barely visible. Twice, they stopped to ask directions to the marina. Audrey recognized it once they arrived, and exhaled in relief, glad to have accomplished her mission. “We’ll hand over the boat and be done.”
Eve parked and cut the engine. She leaned back in her seat, rolling her head as if to relieve the tension in her neck and shoulders. The air was cool and thick with moisture as they got out of the car. Audrey tasted salt on her lips.
“I recognize this place now,” Eve said. “Looks like a lot of activity down there by the water’s edge.” They walked toward the dark shapes milling near the dock, and Audrey was relieved to see men in Royal Navy uniforms. The officer issuing orders looked weary and disheveled, as if he hadn’t slept or shaved or changed his clothes in days.
“Excuse me, I’m Miss Clarkson and this is Miss Dawson. We heard the appeal for ships and came down from London to offer my family’s boat. It’s berthed in this marina and is large enough to ferry quite a few men.”
“Thank you, Miss Clarkson. We’re just now putting a flotilla together. I trust you can sail it as far as Dover for us?”
“Well . . . no . . . I—I—”
“We’re very short on captains, you see.”
Audrey couldn’t reply. Someone from the Navy was supposed to take it from here. Her fear surged like the waves that were crashing against the pier at the prospect of sailing it herself.
“Of course we’ll sail it,” Eve said, stepping forward. “Tell us what to do.”
“If you could bring it alongside these other boats, you can join the flotilla. It’s only a dozen miles to Dover from here. Shouldn’t take long. We’ll wait for you, if you wish.”
“Yes, thank you,” Eve said. “We’ll fetch the boat and be back straightaway.” She linked arms with Audrey before she could protest and pulled her toward the slip where the boat lay moored alongside several dozen others. “You know how to sail it, don’t you?” Eve asked as they stumbled along. “Alfie said he taught you how.”
“I don’t think I can—”
“You have to try, Audrey. This was your idea, remember? We have to rescue Alfie and his mates. They’re
stranded over there.”
“I—I can’t.” She had been dragging her steps the entire time, but when she halted in place, Eve grabbed her shoulders and gave her a little shake.
“Don’t be such a coward, Audrey! You told me yourself how desperate the situation is. This is more than just saving your brother’s neck. Who’s going to guard England and your precious Wellingford Hall if all our men are captured and killed by the Nazis? We’re the only free nation left and we’ll be next!”
“I know, I know, but I don’t have your courage.”
“Then tell me how to start the ruddy boat and I’ll do it myself.”
“Eve, you can’t!”
“Watch me.” She marched forward and stepped onto the floating dock, peering in the darkness at the gently rocking boats, mere silhouettes in the gloom. Audrey hesitated, then followed, less sure of her steps. “This is it, isn’t it?” Eve called. “The Rosamunde?”
“Yes.” Audrey tried to remember a time when her mother had sailed on the boat named for her, a time when the four of them had sailed together as a family—and couldn’t. Eve had already leaped across the gap from the pier to the deck by the time Audrey got there. Eve held out her hand. “Come on, jump. I’ll catch you.”
Alfie had always helped Audrey on board, and the memory of her brother’s tanned, smiling face impelled her forward. She crossed the rolling deck to the wheelhouse and sank down in the captain’s chair behind the windscreen. The boat seemed bigger than Audrey remembered. Alfie had taught her the steps to take in order to start the engine and navigate it out of the slip, and she struggled to remember what they were.
She felt victorious when the engine sputtered and rumbled to life with a belch of oily smoke. Eve cheered. She seemed to know how to unfasten the ropes from the bollards and push away from the dock. Audrey felt the boat drift free. She peered out at the black sky and dark water, indistinguishable in the gloom, and gasped. “Oh, my! I can’t see a thing!”