could not be happy to say goodbye to Edward.”
“I know.”
Her eyes shone with hope. “And now we are happy for her…and so grateful to you all. I worry about her more than Kurt and Helmut. The boys can take better care of themselves. We shall be thinking of you.”
“And we shall be thinking of you.”
“Yes, I know. This has not been just a holiday…a brief stay with friends, has it? What happened the other night has been significant. I do not want Gretchen to grieve for us. Our people have been persecuted throughout the ages. It has made us strong. We have suffered in the past and we shall in the future. But we shall survive. We always have.”
She took me into her arms and we embraced.
She was right. What had happened—deeply shocking as it was—had brought us all together.
Soon after that we said our final farewells and left.
We crossed the Channel that night. The sea was calm and we sat on deck, huddled in rugs, for the night air was chilly.
The stars were brilliant against a dark blue velvet sky. There were not many people on deck. The majority of the passengers had decided to stay below. Not far from me sat Gretchen and Edward, their chairs close. I saw that they were holding hands. And then there was Dorabella and Dermot Tregarland. To her delight, Dermot had traveled with us.
So much had happened during that brief holiday. Love was much in evidence. I thought the course of four people’s lives had been changed—five if I considered my own, for what touched Dorabella must be of importance to me, too. Romance and love were charming, and on this occasion they had blossomed among much which was ugly.
I felt apart. Looking up at the stars, I was aware of the enormity of the universe. I felt alone and rather sad, shut out in a way. Edward and Gretchen…Dorabella and Dermot…
I wondered if this was significant and whether love was destined to pass me by.
The Cornish Adventure
W E PARTED FROM DERMOT in London. He went to Paddington to get his train to Cornwall, and Dorabella, Edward, Gretchen, and I caught the first train to Hampshire.
From London I telephoned home to ask them to meet us and to take the opportunity to explain that Gretchen would be with us.
I spoke to my father. I was glad he answered, for he always accepted what we did as a matter of course. My mother might have been inclined to want explanations.
“We’re home, Daddy,” I said.
“Wonderful.” I could never hear his voice after an absence without emotion. “What time is your train, darling?”
I told him.
“Daddy,” I went on, “we’ve got someone with us. It’s Kurt’s sister. We want her to stay for a while. Tell you all about it when we meet.”
“That’s fine,” he said. “I’ll tell your mother. Can’t wait to see you. It seems a long time.”
I was smiling when I put down the telephone. I was thinking of all we had to tell them.
Gretchen said rather apprehensively: “Did you tell them I was with you?”
“I did.”
“And…er…do they mind? What did your mother say?”
“It was my father. He just said, ‘That’s fine.’ They’re used to our bringing people home from school, aren’t they, Dorabella?”
“Oh, yes,” she said. “Without notice, too. They never minded.”
She was looking a little bereft because she had had to part with Dermot, although they had made arrangements to see each other very soon. He was going to be asked to visit us. I knew it would not be long before the invitation would be issued. My parents would be very eager to see him.
They were both at the station to greet us. Dorabella and I flung ourselves at them, and we all hugged each other as though we had been apart for months. There were tears in my mother’s eyes.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” she said. “And you are looking well.” She glanced at Dorabella. Her perceptive eyes had recognized that something had happened.
I said: “There are lots and lots of things to tell you.”
“Well,”
“I know.”
Her eyes shone with hope. “And now we are happy for her…and so grateful to you all. I worry about her more than Kurt and Helmut. The boys can take better care of themselves. We shall be thinking of you.”
“And we shall be thinking of you.”
“Yes, I know. This has not been just a holiday…a brief stay with friends, has it? What happened the other night has been significant. I do not want Gretchen to grieve for us. Our people have been persecuted throughout the ages. It has made us strong. We have suffered in the past and we shall in the future. But we shall survive. We always have.”
She took me into her arms and we embraced.
She was right. What had happened—deeply shocking as it was—had brought us all together.
Soon after that we said our final farewells and left.
We crossed the Channel that night. The sea was calm and we sat on deck, huddled in rugs, for the night air was chilly.
The stars were brilliant against a dark blue velvet sky. There were not many people on deck. The majority of the passengers had decided to stay below. Not far from me sat Gretchen and Edward, their chairs close. I saw that they were holding hands. And then there was Dorabella and Dermot Tregarland. To her delight, Dermot had traveled with us.
So much had happened during that brief holiday. Love was much in evidence. I thought the course of four people’s lives had been changed—five if I considered my own, for what touched Dorabella must be of importance to me, too. Romance and love were charming, and on this occasion they had blossomed among much which was ugly.
I felt apart. Looking up at the stars, I was aware of the enormity of the universe. I felt alone and rather sad, shut out in a way. Edward and Gretchen…Dorabella and Dermot…
I wondered if this was significant and whether love was destined to pass me by.
The Cornish Adventure
W E PARTED FROM DERMOT in London. He went to Paddington to get his train to Cornwall, and Dorabella, Edward, Gretchen, and I caught the first train to Hampshire.
From London I telephoned home to ask them to meet us and to take the opportunity to explain that Gretchen would be with us.
I spoke to my father. I was glad he answered, for he always accepted what we did as a matter of course. My mother might have been inclined to want explanations.
“We’re home, Daddy,” I said.
“Wonderful.” I could never hear his voice after an absence without emotion. “What time is your train, darling?”
I told him.
“Daddy,” I went on, “we’ve got someone with us. It’s Kurt’s sister. We want her to stay for a while. Tell you all about it when we meet.”
“That’s fine,” he said. “I’ll tell your mother. Can’t wait to see you. It seems a long time.”
I was smiling when I put down the telephone. I was thinking of all we had to tell them.
Gretchen said rather apprehensively: “Did you tell them I was with you?”
“I did.”
“And…er…do they mind? What did your mother say?”
“It was my father. He just said, ‘That’s fine.’ They’re used to our bringing people home from school, aren’t they, Dorabella?”
“Oh, yes,” she said. “Without notice, too. They never minded.”
She was looking a little bereft because she had had to part with Dermot, although they had made arrangements to see each other very soon. He was going to be asked to visit us. I knew it would not be long before the invitation would be issued. My parents would be very eager to see him.
They were both at the station to greet us. Dorabella and I flung ourselves at them, and we all hugged each other as though we had been apart for months. There were tears in my mother’s eyes.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” she said. “And you are looking well.” She glanced at Dorabella. Her perceptive eyes had recognized that something had happened.
I said: “There are lots and lots of things to tell you.”
“Well,”
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