‘Yes,’ he said simply. ‘You have no other choice.’
‘There’s always a choice,’ Persey said. ‘You had the choice not to join up. Not to wear that uniform.’
‘You really think I had a choice?’
They looked at each other, neither willing to be the first to break the gaze.
When he next spoke it was softer. ‘Persephone, I spend my days sitting behind a desk, looking after the administrative duties that keep the force on this island moving. I do not kill. I do not persecute. I file paper. I translate documents to present to your government.’
How could he justify his job in this awful war, while his nation swept across Europe towards England, committing God only knew what kind of awful things?The trouble has mainly been caused because people put up resistance.Well of course. What did he expect? And now Hitler’s forces were in Guernsey. Did they expect the Islanders just to sit quietly, cause no ‘trouble’? She had no idea what she could do to make life hard for the Germans but she would not sit quietly while they marched all over her island, goose-stepping their way towards England.
She thought of Jack and how tonight he would leave for England, taking with him information that the British government might be able to use to their advantage. Information that she and Dido had helped collect for him. Stefan and his horrific army thought the Islanders would all toe the line, would cause no trouble; would put up no resistance.
They were wrong.
Chapter 11
The wind and rain lashed against Persey’s face as she stood, back against the sharp cliffs in the near-pitch-dark with Jack that night. The day had turned sour just as the curfew had come into place and their trek to the bay, through woodland, lanes and hedgerows towards the cliffs had been laced with the additional peril of not being able to hear a German patrol car through the noise of the beating rain. They had given up the idea of using the bicycle. It would be too risky through the uneven ground. But with such a long, wet walk, Persey’s coat clung damply to her body and she was sure she’d ripped her trousers in more than one place on branches that stuck out, catching her unawares in the darkness. She blinked rain from her eyelashes as they descended the perilous cliffs, then she looked from the choppy waters of the sea to Jack for reassurance. His gaze swept the horizon through his binoculars.
‘What do you see?’ she asked quietly.
He shook his head and continued scanning. ‘Nothing,’ he whispered but she barely heard him over the crash of the waves.
‘That’s good though, isn’t it?’
‘Yes. No boats. No Germans.’ He removed the binoculars from his face and looked at her. ‘You should go. Thank you for helping me. But I can take it from here. You are a rock, Persey. Remember the route back in the dark?’
‘Yes, of course. I know this island like the back of my hand but I’m not leaving until I know you’re safely gone.’
He put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze before looking at his watch. ‘It’s time,’ he said and then removed his torch from his pocket, aimed it out to sea and clicked it on and off a few times.
‘What are you signalling?’ she whispered.
‘It’s the letter R in Morse code,’ he said and then lowered his torch, waiting.
‘R?’ she enquired.
‘It’s just what I was instructed to do.’
Nothing.
The two were still until Persey stole a look up and back towards where the Germans often patrolled. Jack knew the times they came and went from his observations over the past week and he’d made it clear he and Persey didn’t have long from the moment of arrival.
He clicked his torch again, signalling the same letter as before and then waited. He took a deep breath and Persey could see he was as worried as she.
‘What do we do if—’ she started.
‘They’re coming,’ he said, cutting her off. ‘They’re coming.’
After a moment she tried again. ‘But if they don’t come this time,’ she said as softly as possible. ‘What’s the next date to try?’
‘There isn’t one,’ he said irritably. ‘It’s happening now.’
He flashed the torch again and the sound of an engine, unseen, out to sea made Persey breathe an audible sigh of relief. ‘Oh, thank God,’ she said. ‘I was beginning to get—’ But Jack put his hand on hers to quiet her. ‘It’s not them,’ he said after a moment. ‘They’d have flashed a signal in return.’
His face was horror-stricken as he looked at her. ‘It’s not them,’ he repeated. He ran his hand through his hair and clenched his fist within it, pulling on a clump of wet hair. She could see he was unable to comprehend what had happened. A sudden floodlight brightened the sea where the boat was and then swepttowards the beach. Jack dropped onto the wet sand, grabbing Persey by the hand and pulling her down with him. ‘Stay down,’ he said. The floodlight swept the beach and he dragged her behind a rock. The light continued down the beach as the patrol boat carried on past them, painfully slowly.
‘Is it worth using the torch again?’ Persey asked although she suspected she knew the answer.
