but he said they’re almost south of Jan Mayen Island already. If this weather holds they’ll be here within the week. And they’re getting close enough to Iceland now for our battleships to defend them. That should deter the Germans, too.’
Automatically, Flora’s hand went into the pocket of her jacket where she kept the sweetheart brooch when she was on duty. It was her link to Alec out there on the unforgiving seas and she clutched it as tight as a lifeline. For the first time in a month she allowed herself to breathe a little more easily, as a swell of hope surged in her heart with the thought that she’d soon see him back home safely.
It took an age for Alec to disembark when the Isla finally tied up alongside the pier at Mellon Charles. Flora had just finished her shift and she stood on the damp sand at the corner of the bay waiting for him to appear, as the crew made the ship fast and finished up their duties on board. She pulled the sweetheart brooch from her pocket and pinned it to the lapel of her jacket, then blew on her fingers to warm them.
Everyone on the base was overjoyed that the first convoy to leave from Loch Ewe had been successful and all the ships had returned safely. That afternoon, the tugs that operated the boom had drawn back the nets, and the line of ships had sailed slowly into the calm waters without ceremony. The merchantmen dropped anchor on the far side of the island and Mairi and Bridie had cycled off to welcome back Roy and Hal.
The evening chill seeped from the ground through the soles of Flora’s shoes and she stamped her feet, to dispel her impatience as much as to keep her circulation going, as she scanned the faces of the disembarking seamen searching for the one that would make her heart leap with joy. And then there he was at last, and in a few strides he’d covered the final yards between them and was holding her tight. She breathed in the smell of the journey from his thick duffel coat – the damp salt of the sea mingled with the chemical tang of fuel oil – as she lost herself in his kiss.
‘Come back to the house with me,’ he said. ‘I can’t bear to spend another evening without you. It was bad enough being miles away out at sea, but it’ll be torture knowing you’re just down the path while I’m at Ardtuath.’
She hesitated, freezing at the thought of going back there. ‘Will that be all right with your parents?’
He took her face in his hands and kissed her again. ‘It’ll have to be. I’ve been thinking about it – being on watch at two in the morning gives you quite a bit of time for that. My father’s going to have to get used to the idea of us from here on in.’
Ardtuath House was completely dark as they walked up the drive, its turrets black against a sky hung with stars. Flora felt herself tensing in anticipation at having to face Sir Charles on the other side of the blackout and reached for Alec’s hand. But the front door was locked and Alec’s knock echoed in the darkness, met with a resounding silence.
‘Looks like they’re not here,’ he said. ‘Come on, we’ll go round the back.’
He unlocked the kitchen door and they stepped into the stillness of the empty house. The range had been left to go out and it was barely warmer inside than out.
‘Perhaps they’re at the Urquharts’,’ Alec commented. ‘Come on, let’s light the fire in the library and see what we can forage in the larder.’
Half an hour later the logs were blazing cheerfully in the hearth and they’d spread out a makeshift picnic before it. The atmosphere in the house was completely different when Sir Charles wasn’t there. Flora eased off her shoes and knelt on the rug to toast some slightly stale bread on the flames, wriggling her toes in their thick stockings as she luxuriated in the warmth. Once each slice had browned, she removed it from the toasting fork and passed it to Alec to spread with butter while she made the next piece. They ate it with slices of ham and washed it down with a couple of bottles of ale that they’d found lurking in a forgotten corner of the larder.