Page 77 of The Unknown Birds

So she stayed behind with Rook.

“I owe you,” he said.

“What crawled up his shorts and bit, I’d like to know.”

“Guarantee you wouldn’t. What’s the word from the Old Man?”

“They’re none too pleased.”

“We can survive that. Anyway, the Germans won’t be giving us any trouble. Don’t seem to have much fight in them, to be honest.”

“Fat and slow from too many Christmas pies,” Ash teased. “He said it was worth it.”

“He’s all right, Davies. You’d be hard pressed to find a better man. And as we’re not likely to have a Christmas next year…” He trailed off but tilted his head as if to say, Why not enjoy ourselves now?

“You reckon not? Think we’ll still be fighting a whole year from now?”

Rook looked at her, his eyes so deep with pity she couldn’t see the bottom, and Ash realized his full meaning. The war would end or it wouldn’t, but eventually their luck would all run out.

“Right,” was all she could think to say, a sudden chill running through her as if someone had walked over her grave.

“There you are,” Tom called, coming up behind them with the others and carrying a large urn of tea.

They hunkered down near Rook and Merle, drinking for warmth as much as the ceremony of it. Stewart took a flask from inside his coat and added a healthy tot of whisky to each cup.

“Compliments of my Uncle Hugh,” he said. Then he lifted the flask in toast and took a long swig.

“1918,” TomTom said, raising his drink. “May it be better than the last.”

“May this be the year that ends it,” Cooper agreed, and they all snorted cynically at such an optimistic thought.

“And may we be here to see the end,” Ash added, eyeing Rook with another shiver.

“What’s your gran say, Stew?” Blake asked.

Stewart smiled the soft, faraway smile of a man who had given up hope. “My gran… She was partially right about it all being over by Christmas. Only off by a year. She passed… three weeks ago. For the rest of us—who knows?”

“You never said,” Ash gasped.

He hadn’t been able to look at them through the whole exchange, and they couldn’t face him after, but Ash edged her boot close and pressed it up against his so he wouldn’t feel alone, and Maxie licked his hand.

“I’m sorry, pal, that’s… bad luck,” Blake said, with such genuine regret in his voice that Ashley’s heart ached twice as hard.

They sat in silent companionship until a few minutes before midnight, when they were given orders to stand on the fire step once more, guns at the ready. As the hour struck, they fired salvos into No Man’s Land, one-two-three all up and down the line, announcing the arrival of the year.

When all was quiet again, Tom went off to check the barbed wire as ordered, and the rest turned back to their tea.

“Cooper,” Captain Davies called, then paused an uncomfortably long time.

“Do allow me to help, sir,” Lieutenant Hawkins said, snatching a message from the captain and turning gleefully, almost shoving Cooper as he pressed the paper into his chest. “Transfer orders. Get your kit together. You leave tonight.” Then he turned on his heel and headed down the trench towards Rook.

“Cap?” Cooper asked, unfolding the message. “British West Indies Regiment, sir?”

“HQ think you’ll be more… comfortable there.”

“Comfortable? Do they know what we’re doing out ’ere?”

“Likely not.”