Her gaze flicked from Rick to her friend. “Of course. I need to see the housekeeper about a matter anyway.”
The click of the door echoed through the now-silent room. Rick took Mel’s empty seat and reached for Chaisley’s hand.
“You’re making me nervous.” Chaisley’s voice shook. “Are you about to tell me you want to call off the wedding? I know this was sudden, but...”
Rick closed his eyes. Her vulnerability sliced through his heart. “Never!” The fierce whisper burst from him as he squeezed her hand. “But I do have something to tell you, and I pray you’ll give me time to explain everything before you ask questions.”
He cleared his throat and began telling her about that night outside of Berlin when he met Agent Fairsworth. He explained what he had been doing for his superiors as an agent of Section D and the news Fairsworth shared about Hitler.
Chaisley withdrew her hands from his and grew still. She was scared. It was written all over her face.
Father, I hate hurting her.“I have to leave within the hour to finish my part of the mission. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all of this once we were engaged. Frankly”—he rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants—“I didn’t want to put a damper on the sweet time we were having. But ... we need to postpone the wedding.”
Her brow was etched with a deepV, her eyes dark. “You should have told me.”
Never had he seen her so hurt. Never. And he’d done that. Hewanted to wrench his own heart from his chest. Why had he kept it from her? “My reasoning at the time doesn’t make sense to me even now. I’m so sorry. I’ve been a fool.”
Her face turned toward the window. “I never asked you to divulge the secrets of your work, Rick. I only asked you to tell me the truth. Why was it so hard to tell me that you had a mission but you couldn’t give me the details? I would have understood.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks and the sight of them was a knife slicing through him.
She placed a hand over her heart, as though trying to press the pain away. “You’ve had almost two weeks to tell me. Did you not trust me enough to let me carry this burden with you? Even if I didn’t know the details, I could still walk with you in it. Pray with you. That’s what hurts.”
He moved to sit beside her and pulled her into his arms. Her shoulders shook with soft sobs. “I was wrong. I’m so sorry. I thought we had more time...”
Why had he ever thought there would be more time? They were in the middle of watching a dictator spin out of control. “I’m so sorry.” The words sounded inadequate and stupid to his own ears.
Her sobs stopped, and her breathing calmed. After a few moments, she sat up and pulled away. One thing she was definitely good at—composing herself for an audience. “You have to leave right away?”
Something inside him felt snapped in two as she put on the brave show for him. “Yes.”
She patted his chest. “You have no idea when you will return?”
“No. I’m sorry.” Watching her pull herself together and knowing the inward struggle it was made him want to volunteer for a good flogging.
Her face grew stoic.
But blank.
“We will pray for you, Rick. Every day.”
He’d crushed her. “Thank you. Chaisley, I—”
“No more apologies. I will look forward to your safe return, and we will have the wedding then. Grandmother has been rallying, so that is good news. The end of my two-week hiatus is almost up. So I will find another driver and go back on tour.” Her words were all business. No emotion.
He placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her close. Kissing her gently, slowly, he trailed a few kisses along her jawline and whispered, “I love you.”
Her eyes closed and a single tear slipped out. “I love you, too. Please...” She choked back a sob. “Please come back to me.”
Germany—Friday, November 4, 1938
It had been twenty-one hours since Rick last slept and fourteen hours since his last meal. Hunger and exhaustion were now the least of his worries though.
As soon as the SIS implemented their plan in earnest, the Germans had been quick to get on the defensive.
He’d had to set out on foot to stay off roads, paths, trails, and any other detectable way to hit his targets. So far, he’d sabotaged or destroyed every target on his list except for two. And if what he’d overheard from the last German checkpoint was true, his fellow agents had succeeded as well.
But the Germans were a strong force. With additions to their army every day, it wouldn’t take them long to rebuild. Which meant the SIS would have to continuously attack if they wanted to accomplish anything. How long could they keep this up?
