“No.” Audrey felt unaccountably stubborn. “This is my home. Yours too, considering all the years you and your mum worked here. We’re going to use the front door.”
“Good job standing up for yourself,” Eve said with a grin. “I hope you’re prepared to be ogled and pinched.”
“They wouldn’t dare. And I’d better not hear any Hey, babys, either.” They marched forward. The men stopped talking and watched them approach. Audrey stared straight ahead, her chin lifted, refusing to meet their gazes.
She was almost to the door when a soft masculine voice said, “Audrey? Is it really you?”
She turned in surprise. “Robert! What are you doing here?”
“I’m stationed here,” he said with a little laugh. “I’m assigned to the new airfield they’re building a few miles away. What are you doing here?”
“I live here. That is, I do when I’m not in the Army. Wellingford Hall is my family’s home. I grew up here. Eve and I have a two-day furlough, so we decided to come home.”
“Gosh, it’s good to see you again.” He looked as though he wanted to embrace her but they both held back. “I didn’t think we’d ever meet again. They transferred Louis and me a few days after I met you.”
“Are you enjoying Wellingford Hall?”
“It’s beautiful! . . . I mean, I can see that it used to be beautiful before the war.”
“I’m appalled by all the changes, and I haven’t even been inside yet.”
“Allow me,” he said, opening the heavy door. “And I apologize in advance for what my countrymen may have done to your home.”
“No, don’t. England might well be lost by now if it weren’t for you Americans.”
The Americans kept the blackout curtains closed all the time, and the foyer was very dark, as were the sitting and dining rooms on either side. For a moment, Audrey felt disoriented in the gloom. Then Robbins appeared, and he seemed cheered to see her. “Miss Audrey! Welcome home. When you called to say you were coming, we were all pleased. Very pleased. And, Eve—” Before he could say more, Eve dropped her duffel and went to him for a hug, making Audrey envious. “How are you, Eve, my girl?”
“I’m super. I hope you don’t mind me using the front door. Audrey said I could.”
“Nonsense.” He picked up their duffels. “I’ll carry these upstairs and we’ll get you both settled in. Mrs. Smith made up your bedroom, Miss Audrey.”
“Thank you,” she said as they climbed the stairs. “I can’t wait to put on civilian clothes. And what about Eve? Perhaps she’d like Alfie’s room?”
“If you don’t mind,” Eve said before Robbins could reply, “I think I’d prefer my old room on the third floor. If no one is using it, that is.”
“Are you sure?” Audrey asked. “It isn’t necessary, you know.”
“I’m hoping Mum left a few of her things. I couldn’t bear to look after the funeral, but now I’m hoping that she didn’t take everything with her to London.”
“You’re welcome to it, Eve,” Robbins said. “We haven’t changed a thing in there.”
“Good. But first I want to get out of this uniform and go for a walk in the woods like I used to do when I was a girl. Do you think it would be all right? With the Americans, I mean? They aren’t tromping through there shooting rabbits for target practice, are they?”
“As far as I know, they’ve left the woods untouched,” Robbins replied. “We billeted the American officers in the west wing, not this side of the manor.”
“Want to come to the woods with me, Audrey?”
She shook her head. “I think you’d be happier alone.”
“See you later, then.” Eve left Audrey outside the door to her room and hurried to the servants’ door to the third floor. Audrey heard her footsteps racing up the wooden stairs.
“Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss Audrey?” Robbins asked as he carried her duffel bag inside.
“No thank you. I’m fine.” He nodded and left the room, closing the door. Her childhood bedroom should have felt familiar to Audrey but it didn’t. The books and keepsakes on the shelves seemed to belong to a different person. She opened the doors to her wardrobe and found it filled with clothes more appropriate for her former life than for wartime. She used the washroom to freshen up from her trip, then changed from her uniform into a pair of wool slacks, a silk blouse, and a cashmere sweater, the most casual clothes she could find. She glanced out the window and saw Eve striding across the cultivated field toward the woods. Audrey closed her eyes and whispered a prayer that Eve would find the carefree, young girl she’d once been. When she opened them again, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Audrey saw a stranger. She quickly looked away, frightened by the unfamiliar image.