and she turned her face away. “Oh, Mary, I can’t bear to see him brought so low!”
“Please don’t despair, Lily,” I begged, grasping both her hands in mine. “This isn’t really your brother—it’s just his fever. We will have him back. I know it.”
Lily looked at me, lifting her wet lashes to stare at me hopefully. “I believe you care for him, Mary. And so I trust your words.”
I flushed with embarrassment at Lily’s directness—and at my own transparency. I longed to explain my feelings but could not find the words.
Luckily, Lily required no explanation. “Tell me, Mary, when the fever passes…?”
“He will be the brother you have always known and loved,” I promised, hoping with all my heart it was true. “You must not give up. Lieutenant Shaw needs you to be strong.”
Lily nodded. “Then I shall be.” She slipped her hands from mine, wiped her eyes, and returned to the cell.
She shed hardly a tear as she sat at his bedside. She tried so hard to be brave and cheerful, but I saw her tears once more as she bade me goodbye.
How terrible it must be to have a loved one treat you as a stranger.
I must confess to feeling something of this myself. For Lily is right. I have come to care for John Shaw—yet I’m not sure he even knows I exist.
16
S EPTEMBER 1916
John remains locked in his own dark world. But today, as I left his cell, he commented, “I believe we’ve been visited by an angel, Jenkins. Did you see her golden hair? Her hands were so soft…. I wish she would stay….”
His words made my heart swell. I know that every day we are together, he moves further from the horrors that pursue him.
LONDON CHRONICLE
18TH SEPTEMBER 1916
Woman Attacked on Quayside
A Miss Nancy Merrick of London was found unconscious on the docks yesterday evening, victim of a mysterious attack. Miss Merrick was found lying beside a warehouse by a young private who had recently disembarked from his troopship. Private Collins reported that he saw Miss Merrick’s body in the moonlight and was startled by the sight of a great black hound running from her.
“I thought at first the fleeing dog must have attacked her,” he said. “But I was mistaken. Aside from being weak and pale, the only injury Miss Merrick appeared to have on her person was a scratch on her neck. I only called a constable because I was worried about such a dog being loose in the area.”
Miss Merrick said she remembered no such dog, only the man she’d been taking a stroll with on the quayside. She described him as being, “tall and proper handsome, with glossy black hair.” Miss Merrick also told police, “He had the most piercing eyes. Sent me right lightheaded when he bent close to me, they did. I think I must have fainted. Then that horrid hound came along. Thank heavens Private Collins noticed me when he did!”
Letter from
Captain Quincey Harker
THE ARMY AND NAVY CLUB
36-39 PALL MALL
LONDON
18TH SEPTEMBER 1916
Dear Miss Shaw,
How gracious of you to write. Your letter caught up with me here at my club in London, as I left the front shortly after your brother’s own departure. I have business at the Foreign Office and shall be in England for some while.
I assure you I could have done no less than save your brother’s life and know it was his dearest wish to return home to his beloved sister.
It is good to hear that John is getting the best of care at Purfleet Sanatorium. It sounds as though he is in good hands. You make Miss Seward sound like a guardian angel.
I plan to visit John shortly and do hope that I shall have the pleasure of meeting you as well.
Yours sincerely,
Captain Quincey Harker
Journal of
Mary Seward
20TH
S EPTEMBER 1916
John was particularly restless today, twisting himself into his sheets and struggling against his restraints. I didn’t want to leave him and asked Sommers to take a message to Father on his way home. I scribbled a few lines, telling him that I would
“Please don’t despair, Lily,” I begged, grasping both her hands in mine. “This isn’t really your brother—it’s just his fever. We will have him back. I know it.”
Lily looked at me, lifting her wet lashes to stare at me hopefully. “I believe you care for him, Mary. And so I trust your words.”
I flushed with embarrassment at Lily’s directness—and at my own transparency. I longed to explain my feelings but could not find the words.
Luckily, Lily required no explanation. “Tell me, Mary, when the fever passes…?”
“He will be the brother you have always known and loved,” I promised, hoping with all my heart it was true. “You must not give up. Lieutenant Shaw needs you to be strong.”
Lily nodded. “Then I shall be.” She slipped her hands from mine, wiped her eyes, and returned to the cell.
She shed hardly a tear as she sat at his bedside. She tried so hard to be brave and cheerful, but I saw her tears once more as she bade me goodbye.
How terrible it must be to have a loved one treat you as a stranger.
I must confess to feeling something of this myself. For Lily is right. I have come to care for John Shaw—yet I’m not sure he even knows I exist.
16
S EPTEMBER 1916
John remains locked in his own dark world. But today, as I left his cell, he commented, “I believe we’ve been visited by an angel, Jenkins. Did you see her golden hair? Her hands were so soft…. I wish she would stay….”
His words made my heart swell. I know that every day we are together, he moves further from the horrors that pursue him.
LONDON CHRONICLE
18TH SEPTEMBER 1916
Woman Attacked on Quayside
A Miss Nancy Merrick of London was found unconscious on the docks yesterday evening, victim of a mysterious attack. Miss Merrick was found lying beside a warehouse by a young private who had recently disembarked from his troopship. Private Collins reported that he saw Miss Merrick’s body in the moonlight and was startled by the sight of a great black hound running from her.
“I thought at first the fleeing dog must have attacked her,” he said. “But I was mistaken. Aside from being weak and pale, the only injury Miss Merrick appeared to have on her person was a scratch on her neck. I only called a constable because I was worried about such a dog being loose in the area.”
Miss Merrick said she remembered no such dog, only the man she’d been taking a stroll with on the quayside. She described him as being, “tall and proper handsome, with glossy black hair.” Miss Merrick also told police, “He had the most piercing eyes. Sent me right lightheaded when he bent close to me, they did. I think I must have fainted. Then that horrid hound came along. Thank heavens Private Collins noticed me when he did!”
Letter from
Captain Quincey Harker
THE ARMY AND NAVY CLUB
36-39 PALL MALL
LONDON
18TH SEPTEMBER 1916
Dear Miss Shaw,
How gracious of you to write. Your letter caught up with me here at my club in London, as I left the front shortly after your brother’s own departure. I have business at the Foreign Office and shall be in England for some while.
I assure you I could have done no less than save your brother’s life and know it was his dearest wish to return home to his beloved sister.
It is good to hear that John is getting the best of care at Purfleet Sanatorium. It sounds as though he is in good hands. You make Miss Seward sound like a guardian angel.
I plan to visit John shortly and do hope that I shall have the pleasure of meeting you as well.
Yours sincerely,
Captain Quincey Harker
Journal of
Mary Seward
20TH
S EPTEMBER 1916
John was particularly restless today, twisting himself into his sheets and struggling against his restraints. I didn’t want to leave him and asked Sommers to take a message to Father on his way home. I scribbled a few lines, telling him that I would
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