‘I was coming to see you,’ he said. He pulled his cap off and tucked it under his arm. That blond hair, still cut the same. Self-consciously he put his cap back on.
‘That’s not what I mean and you know it,’ she chastised.
He sighed. ‘I know.’
‘Well?’ she said. ‘Ten years, Stefan. Not a word from you. And then …’ She gestured towards the airport laden with Luftwaffe aircraft and at him in his uniform. ‘And then this,’ she finished simply.
He paused before answering. ‘I thought you might be pleased. Was that stupid of me?’
‘Pleased?’ she answered a little too loudly. ‘About the Nazis being here? Have you taken complete leave of your senses?’
‘No, not about that. I knew you would not be pleased about that. But about me being here. I thought you might be a little relieved to see an old friend.’
She looked away from him, towards the airport, remembering what had happened between them on the cliff. Was he remembering too? ‘Ordinarily I would, Stefan. But not like this. This is—’ she grasped for her words ‘—this is not a bit like visiting old friends.’
He nodded. ‘I appreciate that,’ he said. ‘But I was offered the opportunity to be of use here and I am not ashamed to admit that I wanted very much to return to Guernsey—’
‘To be of use?’ she interjected, narrowing her eyes. ‘To help do what, exactly?’ She recalled the words of the orders on the front of the newspaper. ‘To help enforce our good behaviour?’
‘No,’ he said simply. ‘That is not my role here.’
‘Not your role? What is your role then?’
‘I’m a translator. At the moment I am carrying out different administrative tasks for theFeldkommandantur, involving a lot of paperwork. I am what your father would have called a pointless bureaucrat.’
They stood in silence and another car passed them. Persey watched the uniformed driver nod to Stefan and he nodded back. Something about the silent exchange disgusted her.
‘Persephone, I wanted to see you all.’
‘But not to tell us it was you?’
‘The first time I came you were all so upset. My condolences to you again. It was not the time to say anything.’
Persey exhaled and shook her head to prevent him saying anything else on the subject of her mother’s death. ‘And the second time? When you came to appraise our house? You waited for me to realise it was you when you knew it was me the whole time?’ she said.
‘Yes, but not at first. I had never been to Deux Tourelles during those summers and when I saw you … I don’t know why but I became … I am not sure nervous is the right word. The shock of seeing you all together, I felt it would be … inappropriate. I think I knew I had to speak to you alone first.’
She looked around to indicate there was no one else present. ‘Well, here we are,’ she said.
He looked at her and allowed a small smile. ‘Well, here we are.’ And then, ‘There’s too much to say now, here in this lane. Might I drive you home and perhaps we can talk there?’
‘I’m not going home,’ she said. ‘I’m going to the undertaker.’
‘May I drive you there?’
‘No. You may not. I have my bicycle and besides I can’t get in a car with you, Stefan. I can’t be seen in a German officer’s car, regardless that we used to know each other once upon a time. You must realise that? What would people say?’
He nodded, crestfallen. ‘Of course. I will wait at your house for you to return.’
She stared. ‘No,’ she said slowly. ‘No, you won’t.’
‘The island is only about fifteen kilometres long.’ He laughed. ‘We can hardly avoid each other in the foreseeable future.’
‘We can if you keep away from us,’ Persey declared. The words had left her mouth before she’d had a chance to think them through.
‘Is that what you want?’ he asked. ‘Truly?’
Persey looked past him, aware whatever she said in haste now would be remembered forever. By both of them.
