10 September 1945
Dear Scarlet and Ellie, I’m sending this exact letter to both of you, which is why I’ve addressed it as such. I’d best keep it short, otherwise my hand will be cramping when I have to write the second copy out!
Would you believe that Jack turned up on my doorstep? I mean that literally. He sat there in the cold outside our house until I agreed to see him! So much has changed, so much has happened, but the one thing I know for sure is that I want you both here on our wedding day. Yes, you heard that right. He proposed to me, and we’ve already set a date, and I want you both as my bridesmaids. I have friends I’ve had my entire life, who I love dearly, but none of them know me as well as you do. We went through so much together, and I want us to be together when I marry Jack. I wish I hadn’t pushed you away, Ellie, with your baby on the way and all, but I was so down about my injuries, about my scars, and everything that had happened. I will forever be sorry, truly sorry, that we haven’t seen one another during the last months since I returned home. After your visit I think I was too ashamed to write to you, and now I’m worried I’ve missed news of your baby, Ellie! You must have had your little one by now, and I can’t wait to hear all about him or her. And Scarlet, I hope all is well with you. You’re in my thoughts constantly.
I do hope this letter finds its way to you both easily enough, because if not, well, Jack will be furious as I’ve told him that without you both being able to attend, there will be no wedding. We survived the war, girls. We did it and we served our country well. Now it’s time for us to just be friends. Three young women with their lives ahead of them, even if we do carry memories enough for a lifetime of nightmares.
Keep the date free, ladies: New Year’s Eve. I want us to celebrate the new year together. Please write back to me when you can.
Much love,
Lucy
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Scarlet
Three months later
‘It’s so lovely to see you again, James,’ Scarlet said, letting him kiss her cheek as she greeted him with a quick hug, before smiling at his parents and greeting them with hugs and kisses, too.
James winked at her, only for her eyes, and she knew a hot red flush had spread up her neck and no doubt across her cheeks. The first six weeks had been the hardest, full of tears and hatred, regrets and loneliness, but she was ready to smile again. She was ready to accept her feelings for James again now without guilt weighing so heavily on her shoulders.
‘It’s wonderful to see you looking so bright,’ his mother said, bustling past her and through into the sitting room.
‘Well, I feel like I’ve mourned until I can’t cry any longer,’ Scarlet told them, without a hint of a lie. The fact that she was in love with James had nothing to do with the terrible grief she’d suffered over Thomas. She still cried for the man she’d once loved, furious that he’d had to lose himself during the war, but she no longer felt sorry for herself or blamed herself for what he’d done. She couldn’t, because then she’d become lost, too, and the men she nursed each day were suffering through so many traumas, many of them no longer physical, that she was gaining a stronger understanding of how affected these former soldiers were from what they’d seen.
She cast a quick glance at James and saw he was watching her, and she was certain his mother had seen it this time. At least some time had passed now, and besides, Ellie had probably been right. She was starting to see that a new relationship with James might even be welcomed, so long as they went about it the right way, because as much as his parents were still grieving deeply for their lost son, they adored James and only wanted him to be happy.
‘James has been telling us that you nursed him at the front,’ his father said, stroking his moustache as he often did when he was talking. ‘It sounds as if he was rather fond of his pretty sister-in-law-to-be.’
Scarlet did blush then, but it was only right that she did. James had been making it more than obvious that he enjoyed her company, and she was starting to feel more comfortable about it herself.
‘How about we let you two young people talk,’ his mother said, making a gesture at her husband for him to get moving. ‘We do want to walk in the garden and get some fresh air, don’t we, Roger?’
Poor Roger looked as if he had no idea what was going on, and Scarlet stifled a laugh as he grunted and followed his wife, doing as he was told. It was freezing cold outside, which made it beyond obvious that they were being left alone on purpose. She stood still, not moving, hardly breathing until the room was empty, except for her and James standing on the far side. A door shut, the bang making her jump, but still she didn’t move forwards.
‘I think my parents are starting to understand my intentions,’ James murmured as he strode towards her, footsteps light on the carpet. ‘My mother gave me a very knowing smile earlier.’
‘And what exactly are your intentions, James?’ she asked in her most demure tone.
‘To have my wicked way with you,’ he muttered, one hand lost in her hair as the other wrapped around her waist, tugging her to him.
‘I’m not sure this is what your mother had in mind when she decided to leave us alone together.’ Scarlet laughed, lips finding his and kissing him hungrily.
‘Let’s not waste time then,’ he said, pulling away for a moment before kissing her again, the warmth of his lips, the press of his body making her want even more of him. They’d gone weeks without seeing one another after the funeral, but he’d been calling on her in the past several weeks, and she’d loved every moment with him, loved feeling like herself again after so long.
‘James, stop,’ she whispered back, hearing a noise and pushing him away. She ran her hands against her hair to check it was in place around her face. ‘I’m pregnant.’
James went silent, stepping back as his mother cleared her throat in the hallway, obviously wanting to alert them to the fact that they were about to be disturbed.
‘Lovely garden out there, my dear,’ she called out. ‘It will be delightful in spring.’
James was still staring at her and Scarlet didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him. She’d never seen a man look so shocked.
‘Mother, Father,’ he called out, standing straighter and no longer looking so daunted by the news she’d just shared with him.
His father ambled into the room, followed by his mother.
‘Scarlet and I have news to share,’ James said.
Scarlet shook her head. He wasn’t? Oh no, surely he wouldn’t . . . ‘James,’ she cautioned.