“Arnie would go steady with a different girl every hour,” Robert said, smiling. “You ladies would really need to watch out for him.”
“Where is Arnie now?” Eve asked.
“I’m not really sure. He studied to be a veterinarian, so the Army decided he should become a medic or something.”
“Arnie also understands German,” Robert added, “so I’m sure Uncle Sam will put that to good use.”
Eve swallowed the last bite of cake and stood. “Let’s dance, Louis. Want to?”
The band had returned from their break and the dancing resumed in full swing. Then, as the clock inched closer and closer to midnight, the music slowed. “If I give you a compliment,” Louis said as they danced to “When the Lights Go On Again,” “you won’t smack me for it, will you?”
Eve grinned. “Why, do I seem like the smacking type?”
“You were a little scary when Bob and I first came to your table.”
“Go ahead. Compliment me. I’m immune to American sweet talk.”
Louis stopped dancing and smiled down at her. “You have the most beautiful freckles I’ve ever seen in my life. They remind me of those little spots on a baby fawn.” For the second time that night, tears filled Eve’s eyes. She turned her head away but it was too late. Louis had already seen them. “Hey, I’m sorry, Eve. Go ahead and smack me if I’ve said something stupid.”
“You didn’t,” she said, wiping them away. “It’s just that my boyfriend loves my freckles, too.”
“And you’re missing him?” Eve nodded. Louis pulled her close for a brief hug. “I understand. Sometimes I can barely remember what Jean’s laughter sounds like or how it felt to hold her in my arms. This stupid war has messed up everybody’s life, hasn’t it?”
“Let’s not talk about the war,” Eve said, putting on a brave smile. “Let’s just dance.”
Audrey couldn’t get over how easy Robert Barrett was to talk to. She had never felt this relaxed with a man in her life, especially one she had just met. Maybe it was the fact that neither of them had any expectations. She wasn’t being appraised or analyzed as a potential match among her mother’s social contacts. Robert knew nothing about Wellingford Hall or how wealthy Audrey was. He wasn’t interested in her aristocratic lineage or her father’s financial holdings. Robert was intelligent and well-spoken and seemed, from what he’d told her, to come from a well-to-do family. His dark good looks and olive-black eyes would set any woman’s heart aflutter, but he didn’t seem aware of how handsome he was. He had a quiet intensity and a way of focusing on Audrey as he listened that made it seem as though he could peer into her soul. She’d never met anyone like him.
“So what do you do in the Army?” he asked after Eve and Louis returned to the dance floor.
“I drive an ambulance.”
“Really!” He seemed taken aback.
“We also drive lorries or escort fancy officers around in their staff cars if needed, but we both prefer driving ambulances.”
“And the Army taught you to do this? Surely you didn’t drive for a living before the war.”
“No, I didn’t do much of anything before the war except try to please my mother by socializing with the aristocracy. My parents’ goal was for me to attract a husband who was a good social match—nothing less than an earl, mind you. Now I can change tires and do routine maintenance and repairs on any vehicle in the fleet. And I also drive casualties to hospital, of course.”
“Forgive me if I sound rude, but if you came from an upper class, weren’t there other jobs the Army could have given you? You seem too petite and delicate to be changing tires.”
“I could have had a desk job, but Eve and I wanted to drive. Army service was voluntary when we enlisted. Conscription began in December of ’41, and service is now mandatory for all unmarried women between the ages of twenty and thirty. In fact, King George’s daughter, Princess Elizabeth, enlisted in the same branch as Eve and me. She wears a uniform and changes lorry tires just like the rest of us.”
“That’s amazing.”
“I think it’s more an indication of how desperate England is. We’re fighting for our very lives, so every able-bodied man and woman must do their bit. Even the aristocracy.”
“You didn’t mention a boyfriend, but I imagine that a woman as lovely as you must have one.”
Audrey blushed at his flattery. He didn’t seem the type to make a pass at every girl who walked by. His compliment felt genuine. “No boyfriend, I’m afraid. It turns out I’m hopeless at making small talk with earls and dukes—much to my mother’s dismay. As you may have guessed, Eve is the outgoing one and I’m the tagalong.”
“It’s the same with Louis and me. He plows forward and I follow in his wake. And the reason I haven’t asked you to dance is because I’m terrible at it.”
“I’m hopeless at dancing, too. Louis mentioned you have a longtime girlfriend back home?”
“Right. Linda.” He paused and Audrey waited for him to say more. Most people lit up with gushing smiles when asked about the person they loved. It seemed unusual that Robert didn’t. “Linda and I have been together since junior high school. Our parents are old friends. Everyone has always assumed we’d be married, someday.”
“You don’t seem too enthused by the idea. May I ask . . . are you in a situation similar to mine, needing to meet parental expectations?” He hesitated again, so Audrey quickly said, “I’m sorry. It’s rude of me to pry into your personal life.”
“No, no. It isn’t that. It’s just that no one has ever asked me that question. Even Louis, and he’s my best friend. Everyone just assumes that Linda and I will always be together . . . It’s what she wants, what our parents want . . .”
“But you aren’t sure.”
“I’ve never even kissed another girl. I used to see Arnie with a different girl every few minutes and I would wonder what it would be like to get to know someone else besides Linda. I once told her that I wanted to take a little break, and—I never told anyone else this—but she was almost suicidal. She said she didn’t want to live without me.”
“Robert, that’s no reason to—”
“I know, I know. But there was a lot more to it than that. You’re right—it’s that whole business of parental expectations. If we broke up, her family and mine would work overtime to make sure we got back together. I know that must make me sound weak-willed, but—”
“Not at all. I know exactly how it is. I’ve been trying all my life to please my parents, even at the cost of who I am and what I want. They’ve never been pleased with me, of course, but I continue to try. My mother died in the Blitz, but the funny thing is, I’m still not free. I find myself doing the things that would have pleased her and earned her approval. It’s the only thing I know. If this war ever ends, I’ll probably end up marrying the second son of some earl who I don’t love and who has nothing in common with me, and we’ll carry on with our separate, empty lives.”