“Audrey . . . ?” Eve waited for her to look up. “I checked the board today and there’s an ATS post near Wellingford that needs drivers.” Audrey stared at her, a million miles away. “We should take it. You could go home whenever you have time off.”
“Would we go together?”
“Absolutely. I had fun dancing with Louis.” And for just a little while, Eve had been able to stop worrying about Alfie being in danger and about her uncertain future with him. She could dance with Louis and have fun and forget the war. Louis didn’t ruin each evening by drinking too much. He was always a perfect gentleman, always faithful to his wife and daughter. “You could see Robert more often,” Eve added, testing her reaction. Audrey smiled. Her face shone brighter than the bedside lamp. Oh yes. Audrey might not realize it yet, but she was falling in love with Robert Barrett.
The pair continued writing to each other in spite of the busyness of the war and the move that Eve and Audrey made to the new post. After settling in and finally earning a two-day leave, they went to Wellingford. Both Robert and Louis arranged a day off and the four of them decided to take the train to London. “We’ll give you a guided tour of all the sights,” Audrey promised. She and Robert had their heads together the entire journey, planning what they would see and do. Eve watched them closely, her certainty growing. They cared deeply for each other.
Everyone claimed to have a grand time, but for Eve, the visit to London felt bittersweet. She remembered her first trip to London and seeing the Unknown Warrior’s tomb with Audrey. And like that visit, which had changed from excitement and anticipation to overwhelming sadness, this journey began to change for Eve, too. The sorrow she felt wasn’t only for her daddy and for her mum, who had died here in London, but also for the city itself, so ravaged by war. Eve hadn’t taken three steps from the train station before seeing signs of destruction from Nazi bombs and incendiaries. Craters and rubble and broken, boarded windows. Antiaircraft guns and barrage balloons. Piles of sandbags. Shattered glass. The grand department stores all suffered from the bombing and from lack of merchandise. Nearly every landmark they visited had sustained damage, from St. Paul’s Cathedral to Buckingham Palace, from the Guildhall to the Chamber of the House of Commons. Bombs had even damaged Eve’s beloved Westminster Abbey. And everywhere—on the streets, crowded onto buses, in the tea shops, and seated at lunch counters—were American soldiers and American MPs in their white helmets and gaiters, trying to keep the GIs in line. This wasn’t the London Eve knew. She felt like a stranger here, and she longed to go home. But where was home?
In spite of the cold, wintry day, Audrey decided they should walk through St. James’s Park to Buckingham Palace. As Eve strolled along the edge of the icy pond, the others laughed at something funny Louis said, their breath visible in the cold. But Eve felt tears stinging her eyes. When they reached the plaza in front of the palace where the Queen Victoria Memorial used to be, she left the others and walked toward nearby Green Park, trying to decide what the odd white lumps in the once-lovely park were. Approaching on one of the paths, Eve realized they were sheep. Sheep! In London! Grazing untended on the wintry-brown grass. She didn’t understand. Where was the shepherd? Had he abandoned his sheep in this perilous, stricken city? She longed to shout her question out loud—“Where is the Good Shepherd in all of this suffering and loss?” She felt as abandoned as these sheep, deserted by Him. Eve turned away, wiping her tears. She shoved her hands deep into her pockets as she rejoined the others, determined not to let them see her pain and confusion.
The train compartments were all crowded on the journey home, mostly with American soldiers. Unable to find four seats together, they split into two pairs. Audrey and Robert sat together, deep in conversation. Eve leaned against Louis’s shoulder and closed her eyes, tired from walking and still upset by all the destruction. And by the sheep.
“Look at the two of them,” Louis murmured after a while. “They look like two lovebirds, don’t they?”
Eve opened her eyes. She sat up. Audrey and Robert bent close, their faces radiant even in the darkened railcar.
“You’re right. They do!” Eve’s sadness had driven away all thoughts of Audrey falling in love, but here was proof, right in front of her. And it also was obvious that Robert was in love with Audrey. “Louis, tell me about Robert’s girlfriend back home.”
“Linda? She and Robert have been together forever. I can’t remember a time when they weren’t.”
“Are they happy? Do they seem well suited for each other?”
“Well . . . Jean and I are good friends with Bob and Linda, you know? I’d hate to talk about them behind their backs . . .”
“Louis, look at Audrey and Robert. They’re glowing! Did he and Linda ever look like that?”
Louis gaped at them. “Um . . . not that I can remember. To tell you the truth, they never seemed well matched to me. Linda is moody. She can be happy and full of fun one day, flying high as a kite, then she crash-lands and lies in bed for days on end and won’t go anywhere. Bob was always trying to figure out what he did wrong and how to make it up to her. Because when Linda gets mad—watch out! I never told Bob, but in a way, I would hate to see him stuck with her for the rest of his life.”
“But he loves Linda, doesn’t he?”
Louis was thoughtful for a moment. “I never heard him say it in so many words. But he’s a gentleman and much too nice to tell her to get lost. I know that both sets of parents hope they’ll get married someday.”
“But look at him now, Louis. I’ve known Audrey for a long time, and I’ve never seen her this happy. She’s always been so serious. But she beams like a searchlight when she gets a letter from Robert. Did you know they’ve been writing to each other?”
“I’ve seen him writing letters but I figured they were to Linda.”
Eve shook her head. “Audrey gets at least two letters a week from him. And she actually smiles as she writes back to him.”
“They sure look happy now.”
“Yes, Louis, my friend. They do.” And Eve decided to do something to nudge Audrey along the path of love. The train pulled into the station and they all linked arms to keep from stumbling in the dark as they walked up the road to Wellingford Hall. Inside the foyer, Robert took both of Audrey’s hands as they parted and kissed her cheek. She closed her eyes as if savoring rich, sweet chocolate. “Did you see that?” Eve whispered to Louis.
“Wow! I guess I’ve had my head in the sand. I’d better have a talk with Bob.”
“Wait.” Eve grabbed Louis’s arm to stop him. “Whose side are you going to be on when you have this talk—Audrey’s or Linda’s?”
“I’m on Bob’s side,” he said with a mischievous grin. He paused, leaving Eve in suspense. “Which means I’m rooting for Audrey.”
“Me, too.”
They all said good night and goodbye, knowing they wouldn’t see each other again before Audrey and Eve returned to their base in the morning. Eve trailed Audrey up the main staircase to her room, then followed her inside instead of continuing up to the third floor. “We need to talk,” she said, closing the door. Eve had been inside Audrey’s stately room before, but tonight she felt uncomfortable for some reason, as if the room didn’t belong to either of them and they were intruders.