Involuntarily, she backed away from him, feeling a mixture of horror and bewilderment at the venomous bite of his words. For a moment she was speechless as she tried to gather her thoughts. She swallowed back the stinging retort that rose in her throat, though, finding the sleeve of her coat gripped by a firm hand. Turning, blinking back the furious tears that had flooded her eyes, she found Mairi standing beside her.
‘Come on, Flora,’ her friend said, tugging at her arm. ‘Let’s go and get our orders.’
As they walked towards the semicircle of huts surrounding the parade ground, Mairi said to her, ‘What was all that about? I could see from the way you recoiled that he’d said something to hurt you. He’s still no more accepting about you and Alec, is he?’
Flora shook her head, biting her lip so that the tears wouldn’t fall. She was determined not to give him that satisfaction.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said, once she could trust her voice not to break. ‘Alec is back, that’s all that counts. I’ll see him soon enough.’ She shot Mairi a grateful glance. ‘Thank you for coming along when you did. I was about to say some things that certainly wouldn’t have helped the situation.’
Mairi shook her head. ‘There’s not much point in arguing with a man like that. He’ll not hear what you say, in any case. Give it time. Everything will be different once this war is over, you’ll see.’
Flora sighed. ‘Even more time . . . how are you and I supposed to bear it? I feel as if our lives have been on hold for years already.’
‘I know, but there’s progress being made. Did you hear about the Tirpitz? Bridie says there’s been a secret mission to Norway and they just received word yesterday that it was successful. Apparently they used midget submarines and got to her in the fjord where she’s been hiding. They reckon she’s been put safely out of commission for months now. So cheer up, that’s one less danger for us to have to worry about when Alec and Roy are out there next, isn’t it?’
Flora smiled wanly. ‘You’re right. Every day that goes by we’re one day nearer to them coming home for good.’
‘And don’t you dare forget it, Flora Gordon!’ Mairi gave her a quick hug. ‘If you’re not going to let Mr Hitler beat you, then you can’t let Sir Charles do so, either. Now let’s get on with doing our bit to make that day come around a little sooner.’
As the year reached its final short-lived days, Flora tucked pine branches along the top of the mirror in the entrance way so they would fill the cottage with the scent of the forest, and wove a wreath of scarlet-berried holly to hang on the front door. She felt she was going through the motions, but she needed to make an effort at some sort of cheerful normality to lift her spirits.
It had been good having Alec home for a few weeks, even though, in the times they’d been able to snatch together, she’d been a bit subdued and distracted in the wake of Sir Charles’s brutal threats. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to tell Alec what his father had said to her, knowing it would only put him in an even more impossible position. Alec was already at breaking point. And now he was away again, and his Christmas Day would be spent in the Arctic twilight as he looked out across the steel-grey sea, constantly on watch for enemy attacks.
Last night the Aultbea Songbirds had sung carols in the packed hall. Flora had sensed the audience of men and women were putting on a brave face, covering up their longing to be at home with their families by raising their voices together to sing the familiar words of the yuletide songs. Today, thick fog shrouded the ships anchored in the loch and Flora could feel the weight of it pressing on her lungs, as stifling as the fear that shrouded this fifth war-torn Christmas.
As she pushed the roasting tin containing the brace of pheasants into the oven, she wondered how many more Christmases this war could last. Each member of the community of Aultbea was exhorted by the posters pinned to the noticeboard outside the post office to help with the war effort: Make Do and Mend, A Clear Plate Means a Clear Conscience (Don’t Take More Than You Can Eat)),