Page 84 of Summer of Fire
‘Good timing. I’ve received a message from Bletchley.’
‘Oh, yes?’ Lizzie said, her heart thudding. It was a difficult balance to keep her tone keen, but not to reveal how eager she was to hear about Jack.
‘It’s a message from Raven asking for a pickup. It’s already been verified as authentic and we’re organising a plane for tonight.’
‘That is good news,’ Lizzie said. She perched on a chair near the desk, her legs suddenly weak.
‘It’s felt like an age waiting to hear from him, hasn’t it?’ Val said.
Lizzie nodded, fighting to control her emotions as relief flooded through her. She hadn’t realised how tightly wound she’d been until she heard Jack was safe. ‘The waiting is more difficult than being in the field in a strange way, isn’t it?’
Val studied Lizzie’s face. ‘Agents often say that. All I do is wait, so I’ll have to take your word for it. It’s not the easy part, though, that’s for certain. But then, none of this is easy.’
‘What else did the message say? Any update on progress with the Resistance?’
Val shook her head. ‘No, it was classic Jack. Short and sweet. We’ll have to wait for the debrief, I’m afraid. Hopefully, he’s in good shape and has updates on Resistance activity.’
The phone shrilled, piercing the silence that descended on them as they both considered the dangers their people faced in occupied France.
Val spoke for a few minutes and Lizzie sat there in a daze,her head spinning at the prospect of Jack coming home tonight. Butterflies darted through her stomach as she envisaged his face in her mind.
He was alive.
Val ended the call. ‘Want to come with me to see our new HQ? We’ve got to get set up for the move. It’s happening sooner than we thought.’
Lizzie sprung up, eager to keep busy. ‘That’s exciting. I’d love to come.’
They grabbed their coats and hurried down the stairs to the waiting car at the entrance to the hotel.
‘Baker Street, please,’ Val said, and the car slid away from the curb and joined the thick morning traffic.
The car jerked along, but Lizzie didn’t notice. A wonderful warm feeling permeated her whole being as she sank back against the seat and, for the first time since her return, she felt light and happy.
Jack would be home soon.
CHAPTER 39
It was a week since Jack walked into SOE HQ at St. Ermin’s after his extraction from Reims. Lizzie had felt his presence before she turned to see him looking at her from across the busy main ops room. It was all she could do to stop herself from running and flinging her arms around him.
Instead, she held herself in check and smiled at him. He winked at her, and her stomach fizzed. Then Val whisked him off into a meeting with the boss, and Lizzie didn’t see him again for the rest of the day.
Every time someone entered or left the room, which was a hive of sustained activity, her eyes strayed to the door, hoping to see Jack. The wait was intolerable, and her nerves were in tatters by eight that evening, but there was still no sign of him. Lizzie resigned herself to going home without seeing him and packed her papers away and grabbed her coat.
‘Seagrove. Let me walk you home.’ Jack appeared behind her, and the hairs on her neck stood up.
She spun around. ‘There you are! I was waiting to see you, but you’ve been tied up all day.’
He rubbed his tired eyes. The lustrous beard was gone and the dark stubble on his chin reminded her of their night in the barn when they first kissed. ‘Let’s go,’ he said. ‘If you’re ready? I’ve had enough for today. I’ll meet you outside the French bistro around the corner.’
Lizzie nodded and spent a few minutes shuffling her papers around before following him out of the building and into the street. As she approached the bistro, her stomach growled. She’d not eaten since breakfast, but she was so excited to see Jack, she didn’t know if she could eat.
‘I’m starving,’ Jack said. ‘Want to grab a bite?’
Lizzie smiled. ‘Me too. Yes, that would be lovely.’
They walked down the stairs to the charming cavern-like restaurant and the smell from the kitchen made Lizzie’s mouth water.
‘They still put together an excellent dinner here, which is something of a surprise, given the rationing situation.’
