Page 10 of Tides of Resistance
‘Afternoon, Captain,’ called Charlie. ‘Good to see you’re honouring us with your presence.’
Charlie liked to rib Jack, so Jack gave him a playful punch on the arm. ‘Mr action-man himself,’ he quipped. ‘Shouldn’t you be out shooting stag or something? This seems altogether too civilised for you.’
They laughed, and each lit a cigarette, falling into comfortable chatter. Lizzie had been one of the early recruits Charlie had trained in physical combat, so Jack couldn’t knock his skills. The six-foot-tall mountain of a man was built like a brick shithouseand was one of the SOE’s most effective trainers.
That night when he retired to his room, he consoled himself thattwo weeks would pass in a flash, whilst secretly fearing each day would continue to drip by as slowly as treacle,now he knew the end of his banishment was in sight. Jack reached to open the drawer of the bedside cabinet, and his hand searched the contents. He withdrew the soft velvet pouch and placed it on the blanket that covered his legs as he sat propped against a pillow.The rain pummelled the exterior of the house in the dark night, and trees blew wildly, branches tapping against his windowpane like something out of a horror film.
Jack loosened the tie on the pouch and unfurled the tissue paper inside. His eyes lit on the diamond engagement ring he had bought for Lizzie on a recent trip to Inverness. Warmth permeated his chest as he looked at the beautiful ring and imagined Lizzie’s face when he asked her to be his fiancée. They were all but married, albeit in secret, and the separation had only intensified his desire to make it official.
In other circumstances, he might have asked his mother for his grandmother’s engagement ring. She told him and Henry some time ago that as Uncle Luc, her brother, was childless, whoever married first could claim it for their bride. As his and Lizzie’s engagement would have to be strictly top secret until after the war, he had decided on impulse to buy a ring so he could slip it on her finger as soon as he arrived back in London. Besides, Henry and Hannah had been engaged for years already but separated by war. He would happily see their grandmother’s ring belong to his brother’s fiancée and his longest-serving Resistance agent. God willing, they would both make it through the war and be reunited.
His mind skipped to a vision of a future dinner with Lizzie at their favourite bistro near the old HQ in St. Ermin’s Hotel. They loved to dine there and had shared many special moments in the cavern-like French restaurant. Lizzie’s green eyes would glow as brightly as the diamond when he showed her the ring. The moment he spotted it in the Inverness jewellery store, he knew it was the one for his girl.
Slipping it into the pouch, he tucked it back in the drawer, turned out his nightlight and tried to fall asleep to the sounds of the raging winds and branches bashing against the window.
Eventually he drifted off to sleep and dreamt he and Lizzie were back in Toulouse, sipping brandy with dear Uncle Luc on the terrace overlooking the Garonne Valley in Toulouse.
CHAPTER 6
Events moved quickly and the days raced by once Val confirmed the details of Lizzie’s mission.
Approval was forthcoming from the War Cabinet at Whitehall. Lizzie was whisked into an intensive training course of cold-water sea swimming over several days where she was plunged repeatedly from a rowing boat in the depths of the night into the dark churning waters off the coast of Brighton, as close as they could get to the Brittany conditions she would face.
The swirling, freezing water was far from that of the pleasurable swims at Portelet Bay near her family home, Seagrove in Jersey, but she was a competent swimmer, and she managed well.
Lizzie was still physically fit despite not being active in the field for a while, but her muscles burnt as she fought the swell of the Channel. The real test was staying in control of her mental state, and she was well prepared after her many undercover missions in enemy territory.
On the drive back to London, Val turned to face her. ‘Are you ready?’
Lizzie nodded. ‘Yes, as ready as I’ll ever be. It’s fortunate I’ve been a serious swimmer since I was little.’
‘Indeed, otherwise we’d have to parachute you in and that would be more risky, given the level of German military presence in the area.’
That night, Lizzie tossed and turned in the big bed alone at Jack’s flat. There were other preparations to make before she could leave but Val said, she would embark on the mission one week from today if the weather conditions were appropriate. It was the earliest they could get the submarine, or she would have gone in sooner.
At work the following morning, Val said, ‘It’s just as well Jack will be back just after you go. You’ve become indispensable in keeping an eye on the agents in his absence, and he can pick up where you left off.’
Lizzie tried to smile but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, and she shifted in her seat.
That was it then. Jack would return only after she had gone, and they wouldn’t see each other for even a brief encounter like ships passing in the night. Frantically, she thought how to contact him, but all the protocols were against her. It was one thing, Jack sending the occasional specially coded message to her as his subordinate, but he was her commanding officer, and if she sent a message to the training base in Scotland, the chances are one of the cryptographers would decode it before they passed it to him. What could she possibly say that wouldn’t sound too personal? No, it was too dangerous. She had no good reason whatsoever to use SOE resources to let him know she was leaving on a mission.
Lizzie was troubled as she drifted off to sleep. This was one of those dreadful times when she had to push her feelings for Jack firmly aside and choose duty over love. It was the only way they could both serve their country and not go mad with pining for each other.
The morning at the Regent’s Park house passed slowly when the big day arrived. Her stomach churned, and she tried not to think about what she would be doing that night. It was all too terrifying if she let herself dwell on it, so instead she thought back to how wonderful it had been when she and Jack went on their last mission together.
This time she would be alone again, and the adrenaline rushed through her veins whenever she thought about the imminent operation.
‘Lizzie, Earth calling Lizzie,’ her mother said, setting down her teacup and fixing her daughter with a piercing stare.
‘Sorry, Ma. I was thinking about work, that’s all.’
‘It’s no wonder. The way they expect you to go off at a moment’s notice is beyond me. I said to your father, he should have a word with them. It’s not right.’
Lizzie couldn’t help laughing at her mother’s interference. ‘No, Ma. I can’t be known as the daddy’s girl who gets her father to pull strings for her because he works at the War Office.’
‘Well, I don’t see why. You’ve already gone far beyond the call of duty. You’ve spent months away from your family languishing God knows where since you got that job. I can never understand what is so urgent that they can’t give you more notice.’
Lizzie knew there was no point going head-to-head with her mother, who was fierce when it came to protecting her children, so she expertly changed the subject.
