Eve wasn’t convinced. People hated being deceived, hated liars. “I don’t know where Robbie and I will go. There’s nothing for me to return to in England.”
“Well, I’m selfish enough to hope you’ll stay here. But I suppose the answer depends on Audrey.”
Eve’s future, Robbie’s future, rested in Audrey’s hands.
“From what Bob and Louis told me, I always thought you and Audrey were as close as sisters. How did that change?”
“We were close when we were children. Then we drifted apart . . . Then the war drew us together again.” Eve paused, remembering the endless years of war and how they had shaped the two of them, binding them close. She remembered her terror when the V-1 rocket exploded and she thought Audrey would die. “The truth is, I don’t know what happened to us. We came to a fork in the road and we chose different directions. Our friendship has survived a lot, but I don’t think it will survive this.” She rested her hand on Tom’s arm as she looked up at him. “Please, Tom. Please don’t tell anyone else the truth until I decide what I’m going to do.”
“It’s your story, Audrey—or I should say Eve? It’s not mine to tell.” He stood and offered Eve a hand to help her up. “Let’s get both of you home,” he said. He lifted the lamb and put it over his shoulders, the way the Good Shepherd in Granny Maud’s picture did. The message was as vivid to Eve as if God had spoken it aloud. He had forgiven her. And now she needed to ask Audrey for forgiveness.
“How did you get here?” Tom asked. “Where’s your car? And your shoes?”
“I parked on the road, back through the woods . . . somewhere . . .” She glanced around, not sure which direction she had come. She hadn’t followed a path.
“It might be easier to walk back the way I came, and I’ll drive you to your car. Can you manage in bare feet? Or should I carry you instead of Cloudy?”
Eve laughed. “I can manage.”
They took their time, with Eve watching where she put her feet. She was limping, her feet scratched and sore, by the time they reached the farmyard.
“Give me a minute to lock Cloudy in the barn,” Tom said. “She’ll think I’m punishing her but it’s for her own good, to keep her safe.”
The lamb protested, bleating loudly. Might the Good Shepherd also be acting for Eve’s own good?
“Climb into my truck,” Tom said when he returned. “I’ll duck in the house and get the keys.” He was carrying a small basket of strawberries when he came out. “My mother picked these this morning. She wants you and Robbie to have them.” Eve gripped the basket in both hands, tears blurring the road as they drove. They found her car a short distance away.
“I know you have a lot to think about,” Tom said before she got out. “But I just want to say . . . I’m glad you’re not Audrey Barrett, lady aristocrat and the Barretts’ daughter-in-law. It means I might stand a chance with you.” He leaned close and kissed her cheek. Tom’s words rested gently on Eve’s bruised heart as she drove home.
She arrived to find Audrey chasing their sons around the front yard, her hands and the front of her dress black with filth. “Audrey? What’s going on?”
“Mummy changed the flat tire on a great big car!” Bobby announced.
“Mrs. West’s car,” Robbie added.
“She did what?”
Audrey laughed, panting to catch her breath. “You should see your face! You look so shocked.”
“I am shocked.”
Tears filled Audrey’s eyes. “We need to talk, Eve.”
“Yes, Audrey. We do.”
30
“Have you been changing tires, too?” Audrey asked. “You looked beautifully groomed when you left here this morning, and now . . .” Eve was disheveled, barefoot. She carried her nylons, red shoes, and crinoline in one hand, the string of pearls and a basket of strawberries in the other. Her pretty red-and-white polka-dot dress was rumpled and stained, her eyes red as if she’d been weeping.
“I guess I chose the wrong clothes for a walk in the woods,” she said with a half smile.
“So I see. Good thing your friends Phyllis and Doris didn’t see you this way. They paid a visit to talk you into joining their tennis league.”
“Oh no,” Eve groaned.
“When they were ready to leave, their front tire was flat—so I changed it. They were appalled. From the looks on their faces, I might have stripped naked and danced in the street.”