Henrik guided his bicycle off the bridge. What had Gaffel been thinking leaving that message at the boardinghouse to arrange an emergency meeting about the strike? Gaffel wasn’t supposed to know Anker’s real name or address—or use it. And announcing a Sunday meeting at a jeweler’s shop? Picking up a watch? A man like Hemming Andersen didn’t own a watch.
Sloppy mistakes like that had gotten too many men killed.
At least Else had covered for Henrik. Over dinner she’d asked if his uncle’s watch was fixed and mentioned how kind Hemming was to bring it to the city for repair.
Clever Else.
Dinner with Else, Laila, and Fru Riber was a poor substitute for a seaside rendezvous alone with the woman he loved, but it had to do.
After dinner, Fru Riber had gone upstairs to her quarters, and the ladies had tuned the radio to the BBC while Henrik watched the door. Although the Germans still hadn’t banned the Danes from listening to the British station, they didn’t approve—and neither did the landlady.
The broadcast answered Henrik’s nagging question about the explosions he’d heard. As soon as the Germans declared martial law, they’d interned all members of the Danish military and occupied all Danish military bases, including the naval base at Holmen in Copenhagen Harbor.
Refusing to surrender their warships, the Danish navy had scuttled the fleet, setting off explosions that sank the ships. Rumors were, several Danish vessels had escaped to Sweden. The Germans had captured only a fraction of the fleet, mostly small patrol boats.
The navy had taken much criticism for not firing a single shot when German ships sailed into Copenhagen in 1940. Now they’d redeemed themselves, and pride in Denmark surged in Henrik’s heart.
When he arrived at the shipyard, he parked his bicycle.
By the gate, a sabotage guard smirked at the workers and stroked his machine pistol.
Henrik ignored him. Someday soon the guard would regret his actions.
The Soviets were advancing in the east, the British and Americans had secured Sicily, and the Allies grew stronger each day, bolstered by US production. The tide of war had turned, the waters were receding, and soon the Nazis—and the Danes who’d sided with them—would be stranded.
In the shipyard, fresh scaffolding surrounded ships on ways, and the scent of damp lumber filled Henrik’s nostrils.
Before starting work, he had to find Gunnar Skov and apologize.
Why had apologizing to Skov never occurred to him? Else had seen the need in him and had nudged it into the open. She sawHemming’s goodness in Henrik—believedit resided in him—and that belief made Henrik see it too.
Skov stood talking with Rasmussen and Beck by a stack of lumber. Perhaps Henrik should wait until he could talk to Skov in private.
Why? Although a reprimand deserved privacy, an apology deserved a public airing.
Henrik stepped closer and cleared his throat. “Excuse me.”
Skov sneered at him. “What do you want?”
Henrik removed his cap. “I’m sorry I was mean. I should not have called you names.”
“Names?” Skov barked out a laugh. “Did you fellows hear what he called me? He had the nerve to call me an idiot. The shipyard idiot calledmean idiot.”
Rasmussen and Beck glanced away as if embarrassed for Skov.
Henrik’s chest burned, not for being called an idiot—a reputation he’d cultivated—but for having his apology thrown back in his face.
Skov sauntered over. “Know what I think of you? Huh, idiot? Huh?” He spat, hitting Henrik’s cheek.
The burn in his chest crackled into flame, but Henrik merely wiped his cheek with his sleeve, never breaking his gaze.
Then something swelled inside. Compassion for a man who had been slighted, a man full of pride and insecurities. A man not unlike himself.
The burn cooled. His voice softened. “Iamsorry. I hope you can forgive me.” He left before Skov could further embarrass himself.
Lightness flooded him, elevating his eyes toward the office building, to the top floor, where a man sat, full of pride and insecurities. A man who’d never been known to apologize.
Did Far think apologizing would mean he’d lowered his standards? Did he think it would diminish him?
