Page 86 of Summer of Fire
His palm curled around her fingers. ‘No, no, you did absolutely the right thing. If he’d have hung around, which could quite easily have happened, it would have been too late, and the pilots would have arrived. The mission would have been a lot more dangerous and probably been scuppered completely. Like I say, you saved the day in so many ways.’
Lizzie’s cheeks flushed with a combination of heat from the wine and warmth from his words. They finished their meal and lingered a while longer, talking about Pierre and Camille and what had happened after Lizzie left.
‘The roads were blocked, and I couldn’t get back to the farm, so I decided it was best to get out of Reims whilst I could. I made it back to my contact in the Free Zone. Hannah was there actually, so it all worked out for the best.’
‘That makes sense. I bet the Germans went crazy after the explosion and then they would have found the general’s body.’
‘Yes, Pierre said the city was on lockdown for the best part of a week. Every day they expected a knock on the door, but somehow, we pulled it off. That’s why I couldn’t get back for so long. Sometimes it’s better to wait it out before you make a move.’
‘How is Hannah?’ Lizzie asked. ‘Did you have time to tell her you heard from Henry?’
Jack nodded. ‘She was overjoyed to hear he is well, and Ibrought a letter back from her. I will arrange for it to be sent to his base as soon as possible. He will be relieved.’
‘That is lovely,’ Lizzie said.
‘You are a romantic, aren’t you?’ Jack said, his lips curving into a smile.
‘I suppose so. It seems like Hannah deserves a happy ending after going through all that dreadful stuff with her family.’
‘Agreed. Unfortunately, we are far from the point of a happy ending. Hitler is still on the offensive and Hannah is determined to stay on with the Resistance. But the longer she stays in operation, the less chance she will make it to the end of the war.
That’s the brutal reality of resistance and SOE work. We need her skills, so I should be pleased she’s so committed, but I’m always torn when it comes to my agents.’
‘I understand,’ Lizzie said. ‘You care about your people.’
‘There is one of my people in particular, I realised when I was away I care about a lot more than the others,’ he said, his eyes like lasers boring into hers.
‘Oh really? And who might that be?’
‘Well, as much as I care about Hannah, and I do, it isn’t her. Obviously. And it isn’t Mary or whatever my made-up date’s name at the Ritz was…’
Lizzie blushed, remembering how jealous she had been and how it had eaten away at her. ‘I thought you and Hannah were in love.’
‘I know,’ he said. ‘You added two and two and made seven.’
‘In my defence, everything pointed to you being involved with her. You were so devastated about her going missing and you kept talking about her.’
Jack ran his fingers over his stubble. ‘You’ll see if you everrun an agent of your own, how hard it is, and how much you care about them surviving. It’s a tough business.’
‘Yes. I’m glad we straightened it out, and sorry I jumped to conclusions.’
‘It’s easily done. Intelligence work overtakes normal life, and personal relationships are hard. That’s why I’ve been single for so long.’
He paused and seemed to search for the right words. ‘About Hannah—I was consumed by guilt and didn’t realise how it all must have sounded to you. It was thoughtless of me. I’m sorry.’
Lizzie gazed at him, realising he had opened up to her in a way that clearly wasn’t normal for him. Her heart swelled.
She didn’t know what their future held, or even if they had a future together, but they would take it one day at a time. That’s all they could do in these precarious circumstances.
By the time they approached Lizzie’s house, it was late, and Regent’s Park was deserted in the blackout.
‘Thank you for seeing me home,’ Lizzie said, turning to Jack, and looking up at him. Lizzie paused a few doors before they reached hers. ‘They’ll all be in bed by now, but better to be on the safe side or there will be awkward questions from my nosy family in the morning.’
‘It’s wonderful to see you again, Seagrove,’ he said, and they looked at each other, neither wanting to break the spell of being reunited. Jack touched Lizzie’s cheek and leaned down to kiss her gently on the lips. She returned his kiss and soon they were in a passionate embrace.
‘I’d better go in,’ Lizzie said, breaking away.
‘Yes, goodnight beautiful. I’ll see you in the morning.’
