“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.”
Audrey let out a sob. Eve moved beside her and clutched her hand. “How . . . how is Father taking the news? Shall I come? Does he . . . does he want me to come?”
“Your father isn’t here, I’m afraid. He left Wellingford after receiving the news. Mrs. Smith and I . . . we thought we should call you.”
“Yes, I see.” Her father was the only family Audrey had left now, but they would be no comfort to each other. Alfie was gone. She couldn’t comprehend it. She couldn’t picture him dead, but only alive, with his mischievous smile and teasing voice, his hair blowing in the wind as they sailed together. How she loved him!
“We’ll be here if you decide to come home, Miss Audrey.”
“Thank you, Robbins. . . . I’ll . . . I’ll let you know.” She hung up the receiver as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
“Alfie is gone, isn’t he,” Eve said.
Audrey could only nod, her throat so tight she could barely breathe.
“I knew he was. I already felt his loss.”
Audrey had never been so grateful for Eve as she was in the days that followed the unthinkable news. Eve had loved Alfie too. They grieved together, as they shared memories of him, weeping until their eyes were swollen and red. They had lost their mothers together, and now they’d lost darling Alfie. Audrey would never see him again. Her grief seemed bottomless.
Four months later, in early September, Robert wrote to say he was returning to London. The war in the Pacific was over, and he would be among the first troops to be demobilized and sent home to America. Audrey hadn’t seen Robert in nearly a year. Eve rode on the Underground to Victoria Station with her for the reunion.
American soldiers jammed the train, jostling and laughing and hooting with joy. Audrey watched them pile from the coaches and spotted Louis first, standing taller than the others, his ginger hair shining. And there was Robert, right beside him. Audrey dropped the overnight case she was carrying and ran to him, weaving between the other soldiers. Robert’s duffel bag fell from his shoulder as he swept her into his arms. Audrey had never felt such joy in her life.
“I’ve made reservations in a hotel nearby,” she told him after they’d kissed. “We can finally have a proper honeymoon.”
“Let’s go.” They retrieved their bags and walked to the hotel, arms entwined. Audrey never wanted to leave their room again. At last, she knew what it was to be loved.
Later, they talked about their future as they lay beneath the covers and nibbled from the room service tray. “I never asked how you felt about leaving your home and moving to America,” Robert said.
“My home is wherever you are.”
“My parents promised their support. They’re eager to welcome you into our family.”
“I admit it will be hard to say goodbye to Wellingford. And it will be horrible to say goodbye to Eve. She’s like a sister to me.”
“We’ll come back to visit. And Eve can visit us whenever she wants.”
“I’ll tell her that.” Audrey smiled at him. But one matter was still unresolved before they could move on. She hated to spoil their bliss by bringing Robert’s former girlfriend into the conversation, but she needed to. “What about Linda? Has she adjusted to the news that we’re married?”
“It seems so,” he said with a sigh. “My parents don’t mention her, and Linda stopped writing to me. I hope we can remain friends. Would that bother you, Audrey?”
“Not at all.” She nestled against his shoulder, secure in his love. It was the most amazing feeling in the world.