Page 118 of The Stranger in Room Six
‘Not at all. I’m surrounded by people who care for me.’ As she spoke, she saw Cook bustling across the lawn, handing a plate of warm scones to a young couple. The man was an amputee, his plane having been shot down over France. This was their honeymoon. But the girl was laughing as if all her dreams had come true. Mabel would feel the same if Antonio came home, however badly injured he might be.
‘What about you?’ she asked, trying to regain her composure.
He spoke without emotion, in the way people sometimes do when they’re hurting inside. ‘My father was killed in an air raid too. My mother passed away from tuberculosis when I was a child.’
‘I’m so sorry. Do you have brothers or sisters?’
‘No, but I do have my work.’
‘What do you do?’ she asked, having mentally put him down as an engineer or maybe a teacher.
‘Before I was called up, I was a scientist.’
Mabel had never really understood science, either at school or when her aunt had been helping her. In fact, they’d skipped those particular lessons together.
‘How very clever,’ she said, impressed. ‘I’m afraid my education suffered horribly during the war, although I do read a great deal.’
‘So do I,’ he said eagerly. ‘I’m enjoying a wonderful book at the moment, by an author called Hermann Hesse. Have you heard of him?’
‘He sounds German,’ she said hesitantly.
‘Half-German, actually. But that shouldn’t stop us reading good books.’
Mabel agreed. ‘I’m reading a book by Virginia Woolf. It’s calledTo the Lighthouse.’
‘I’ve never read any of hers.’
‘Well, you must borrow my copy if you’d like,’ she said.
‘Thank you. I’d like that.’
Over the next fortnight – the usual period of a guest’s stay – Mabel began to spend more and more time, checking that the young man, whose name she learned was Michael, was comfortable and enjoying his visit.
Although she sensed a vulnerability under that assured manner, she didn’t like to ask what had happened to him in the war. But one day, as they took a slow walk down to the sea – he was coming to grips with his crutches now – Michael began to tell her.
‘You’ve been very good not to inquire into my situation, but I would like to tell you.’
‘Only if you want,’ she said quickly.
‘I do.’
He took a deep breath. ‘I joined the RAF before the call came out. It gave me a wonderful freedom. As a child, I used to think that my mother was in the clouds, and even as an adult, I liked to imagine she was still there.’
I understand that, thought Mabel.
‘Then one night, our plane took a hit and we had to bail out over the sea. I was rescued by some Norwegians. They hid me for a short time but then word came out that the Germans would kill anyone who assisted the enemy. So I gave myself up and was sent to a POW camp until the end of the war.’
‘What was it like?’ she asked, thinking of Antonio’s camp and how he was able to come and go as he pleased.
Michael’s lips tightened. ‘Horrible. I tried to escape but was shot in the leg, which explains this.’ He glanced down at his crutch. ‘When the army were on their way to liberate us, one of the guards shot himself in front of me. His brains splattered around us. I knew I should feel grateful he couldn’t hurt us any more, but I also felt sorry for him. This war … it’s conjured so many mixed emotions.’
‘I know. I feel the same.’
He reached out for her hand. ‘Please forgive me if this is too forward but I can’t help telling you how much I admire you. I’ve been watching how kind you are to everyone and thinking about how marvellous it is that we can talk so easily. I’m aware we haven’t known each other long but the war has taught us all that life can be short. The truth is that I have fallen in love with you, Mabel.’
Mabel stepped back. This was the last thing she’d been expecting. She’d seen Michael as just another young man who needed help and comfort.
‘I’m so sorry if I’ve given you the wrong idea,’ she stammered. ‘But my heart belongs to someone else.’
