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After a pot of teafollowing their meal, Meg took Geoffrey’s arm, and they crossed the road and strolled along the Strand. With little moonlight to show the way, they stayed on the edge as they followed the road north. Waves shushed as they ran up the unseen sand, and a steady onshore breeze tousled Meg’s hair, tugging several tendrils loose from her hairpins. The dark night surrounded them, stars filled the sky, and Geoffrey made no further reference to them. For the first time in what felt like forever, Meg relaxed.
‘Thank you for a lovely evening, Geoffrey. You’re good company, and so easy to talk to.’
‘It’s my pleasure, Margaret. I’m only sorry I’ve been unable to see you before now. My intention was to be there for you.’
‘You were, through your letters. They helped to show me I had wonderful friends who cared.’
His arm jerked a little and he sucked in an audible breath. ‘Sorry, I mis-stepped. The path is rockier than I thought.’
‘Maybe we should head back?’
‘If you wish, or we could sit under the tree up ahead. I’m sure I saw a bench when I drove along here today.’
‘Then let’s find it and sit. It’s nice to catch up, and you haven’t finished telling me about your work.’
‘As I said, there’s satisfaction in starting a hospital from scratch. I like building a team that works together like clockwork.’
‘I imagine that’s even more important if you’re operating under fire?’
‘Fortunately, we haven’t been that close to a front line yet, if you don’t count our side firing rockets over our heads. But I vet every staff member carefully for their ability to remain cool under pressure. After that nurse who fell apart last year—’
‘Eva.’ Meg shuddered. ‘Not that she could help it, but she’d be a nightmare if you had someone with her problems on staff.’
They found the bench and sat looking out over the ocean. Soothed by the sounds of water, a sense of peace filled Meg. ‘I can just make out the outline of the island. Thank goodness it’s not a bomber’s moon tonight.’
‘Have there been any more bombing raids since last July?’
‘Not that I know of, and I’m sure Gerry would have mentioned it if there had been.’ Or maybe she wouldn’t if anything had happened after the news of Seamus’s death. Both Gerry and Vera had been so protective of her.
‘That was quite a night.’
She liked hearing his voice and feeling the deep tone wrap around her, while remaining invisible to him. She’d had enough over dinner of being careful about what her expression might reveal, although she missed seeing the warmth in his gaze when they’d sat across the table from one another. Glancing in his direction, she caught a faint glint from his signet ring as his hand settled beside hers. ‘Yes, it was quite a night all right.’
‘In a way, I’m glad we shared that experience.’
‘You’re glad we were bombed?’ Despite the lack of light, she turned and leaned towards him, as though she could part the darkness and reveal his expression. ‘That sounds—’
‘Crazy, I know. What I mean is—’ He stopped.
She could hear every breath. Even feel the light puffs of air as he exhaled. The silence between them was charged, like waiting for a summer storm to break. She waited for him to go on. Now he’d begun she needed him to explain.
‘When I thought we might die, I was glad my last moments on earth were with you.’
Geoffrey wasn’t a poet, but the strange sentiment was poetic. Meg’s stomach did a flip. Darkness was seductive. It drew her confession to the surface, ready to spill from her mouth. ‘I’m glad—I wasn’t alone.’
It wouldn’t take any effort to move her hand; just a small movement and she would touch his finger. A small shift forward and their lips would meet. Why was it so easy to consider such actions when no one could see her? When Geoffrey couldn’t see her?
His breath whispered across her cheek. Was she going to act on her thoughts? Was he?
‘Margaret, I—’
Nearby, an engine revved and brakes squealed.
Bang!
They sprang from the bench. Locating the source of the crash by a pair of headlights tilted up at an odd angle, they ran towards the accident.
‘Margaret, check the passenger side. I’ll get the driver out.’
