She tried to stand. “I should go to Audrey. She’ll need me.”
Louis made her stay seated. He sat down on the bed beside her, pulling her into his arms. “Bob is with her. She’s hanging on to him—and to hope. You can’t lose hope, Eve.”
She closed her eyes. Why hope for something she could never have? Whether Alfie lived or died, he would never be hers. And neither would Louis. “I loved Alfie . . . ,” she said as her tears came. She pulled away and looked into Louis’s eyes. “But I’m in love with you. And you’re going into battle. You’ll be in danger and . . . and I can’t bear to lose you, too!”
Neither of them said a word as they yielded to each other’s arms.
22
LONDON, MAY 1945
The commotion in the streets below Audrey’s window grew louder and more joyous by the minute, but she sat by the radio in her tiny flat, afraid of missing the latest news. Especially if it concerned places where Robert and Alfie were. Victory in Europe would be officially proclaimed today—May 8. VE Day. Victory in Europe. The Nazis were defeated. Thousands of Londoners had started celebrating last night in anticipation. Today, the revelry exploded.
Ever since Robert left last fall, Audrey had remained glued to the radio whenever she wasn’t working, anxious for news of the war. The Allies achieved stunning victories and suffered bitter defeats throughout the long winter, keeping her permanently on edge. After the plaster cast came off her leg, Audrey returned to work as a dispatcher in London to be near Eve. “Why didn’t you apply for an easier posting?” Eve had asked. “The Nazis are firing V-2 rockets on London now, and they’re even deadlier than the V-1 that nearly killed you.”
“We’ve been in this together from the start,” Audrey replied, “and we’ll finish together, too.” Besides, she would hear news from the battlefront sooner in London. The Red Cross still hadn’t found Alfie. He wasn’t on the prisoner of war list with his mates and was officially missing in action. Surely they would find him now that the fighting had ended.
As the Allies had pushed toward Berlin and news of Nazi atrocities surfaced, Audrey’s fear for Robert nearly consumed her. “If anything happens to me,” Robert had said before leaving, “I’ll be waiting in heaven for you.” Audrey prayed ceaselessly for the people she loved, including Eve, who had lost her faith.
Audrey was adjusting the tuning to clear out the static and better hear the broadcast when Eve strode over and switched off the set. “What are you doing?” Audrey asked.
“Come on. We’re getting out of this flat. We’ve waited nearly six years for this day—six long years of our lives! We need to celebrate.”
“You’re right,” Audrey said after a moment. “I’ll grab my jacket.”
“No, put on your uniform. We played a part in this victory.” Audrey dutifully changed into her uniform and cap, then followed Eve down the steps and out into the street. “We’ll take the Underground to Trafalgar Square,” Eve said, pulling her along. “They’re going to broadcast the king’s speech from loudspeakers.”
People jammed the Underground, all heading to Trafalgar Square. They got off at Charing Cross and made their way through the joyous crowds to the square. Thousands of people filled the streets, cheering and waving flags—Audrey had never seen so many flags! People climbed onto the statues and flower-strewn monuments, rejoicing. Men and women in uniform were everywhere, representing the many roles that citizens had played in this fight, and Audrey was glad Eve had insisted she wear her ATS uniform. She smiled, remembering how she’d hated the ill-fitting uniform when it first was issued to her. She thought of all the bloodstains it had absorbed, including her own, and wore it proudly.
Someone shoved miniature flags into their hands and they joined the waving and cheering. Children rode on their parents’ shoulders, little ones who had never experienced peacetime. She saw smiles on people’s faces but also tears. Everyone had lost someone. At least no more people had to die. Audrey nudged Eve to get her attention, raising her voice to be heard above the tumult. “This doesn’t seem real!”
“Can you believe the war is finally over?” Eve shouted back. Audrey remembered Dunkirk and Coventry. The technical college in Liverpool. The Guards’ Chapel in London. The people who’d perished in all those places weren’t here to celebrate. But perhaps some of the people she and Eve rescued were.
“I haven’t seen the streets this crowded since we watched the king’s funeral procession,” Audrey said. “Remember?” It had been a cold January day, not a mild spring one like today. The streets had been silent and somber, fitting for royalty. Today was for the ordinary people, the victory they celebrated was theirs. When the loudspeakers in Trafalgar Square broadcast the official announcement, Prime Minister Churchill echoed Audrey’s thoughts. “This is your victory,” he said. “The war is at an end. Long live the cause of freedom. God save the king!” The war wouldn’t end for Audrey until Robert and Alfie were home. The Allies still battled the Japanese, and Audrey feared Robert would be sent to the Pacific front.
A hush fell over the crowd as King George VI began to speak in his soft, halting voice. The king offered thanks to God, “our strength and shield,” and said we must “thank Him for His mercies.” Afterwards, Audrey and Eve joined the crowd that surged toward Buckingham Palace to cheer him and the royal family. Across the plaza behind the iron gates, the king and queen, along with Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, stood on the royal balcony waving to the cheering people. King George wore his military uniform, Princess Elizabeth an ATS uniform like theirs. “I daresay her uniform fits her better than ours do,” Audrey said, laughing.
Eve grinned. “I’d like to know if she’s wearing those horrible regulation knickers!”
People danced in the streets as the afternoon wore on. Eve pulled Audrey into a conga line. Bonfires illuminated the darkness as night fell, turning back the gloomy years of the blackout.
“Ready to go home?” Audrey asked as it grew late. Eve nodded. They walked arm in arm to the Underground to keep from being separated. “I suppose our jobs with the ATS will be ending soon. What then?”
“I’ll stay in London and work for as long as they let me,” Eve said, her voice hoarse from cheering. “It’ll give me time to figure out what to do and where to go.”
“Then I’ll stay, too, while I wait for Robert.”
Three days later, the telephone rang as Audrey prepared for bed. She and Eve didn’t get many calls and it unnerved her when it rang. She picked up the receiver, her heart pounding.
“Hello, Miss Audrey? . . . Robbins calling, from Wellingford Hall.”
She sat down on the edge of the bed. The tremor in Robbins’s voice was a bad sign. She remembered how he’d accompanied her to London after the town house was bombed and how she’d found comfort and strength from his steadfast presence during that long, terrible ride. She held her breath, wishing Robbins were with her now.
“I’m so sorry to tell you, Miss Audrey, but your father received news of young Master Alfred. . . . They have confirmed that he died in battle. . . . I’m so very, very sorry.”