Pale and wan, and his mother had protested quite appropriately.
If he had a romantic soul, he would have said what he truly thought—that even when peely-wally, she was bonny beyond words. That her fun-loving ways brought joy. That her impulsiveness showed she simply couldn’t imagine failure. And how beautiful that was to a man who could imagine nothing but failure.
Snow needled his cheeks, and he pressed onward.
If he had a romantic soul, he would know how to act around Cilla without his familiar prop of guarded distrust. Without it, he felt as off-kilter as the hut up ahead, tipping drunkenly in the wind.
Thank goodness, a progression of gales had kept him away from Dunnet Head ever since. But someday, he’d return. Longed for it even. Somehow, he had to learn new ways around her.
Trusting her might have freed his heart to fall for her, but a naval officer would never be allowed to date an enemy spy, no matter how loyal she was to the Allied cause. With romance forbidden, he had to prevent love from taking root in his exposed heart.
Arthur stumbled into Lachlan. “Didn’t we become officers so we wouldn’t have to do such things?”
Lachlan managed a chuckle, which turned to ice inside his scarf. “No, we became officers so we could lead. And so we lead.”
At the hut, Lachlan and Arthur joined the group of men leaning on the side of the curved steel roof and coaxing the hut back to earth.
Arthur grunted as he fought the corrugated metal. “The Italians are receiving a fine welcome.”
“Aye, they are.” He shouldn’t feel sorry for the prisoners of war, not after how the Italian army had invaded Egypt, threatening the Suez Canal and the flow of precious oil to Britain. But an Orkney gale presented a cruel welcome for men accustomed to the sunny Mediterranean, and as human beings, they deserved mercy.
“‘Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy,’” he whispered into his scarf. “‘Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.’”
After quoting the Beatitudes to Cilla, he’d read them again—and been struck.
For a dozen years, he’d been waiting to show mercy until Neil apologized. Waiting for Neil to make peace.
Lachlan had it reversed. He needed to show Neil mercy and strive for peace, regardless of Neil’s actions.
On that Sabbath Day after the fishing boat sank, he’d attempted it over dinner and asked Neil about work and about their family in Inverness. The flimsiest of olive branches. A twig. But Neil had accepted it and answered his questions in a civil manner.
All Lachlan knew was he didn’t want his brother hurt or imprisoned. Neil meant well, wanting what would benefit Scotland. But Lachlan also couldn’t let him endanger the Allied cause—because that would endanger Scotland most of all.
29
Thurso, Scotland
Friday, February 6, 1942
In the purple twilight, Cilla strolled down Thurso’s brick pavement and passed buildings of rugged dark stone.
When Yardley had granted her freedom to roam unaccompanied by guards, she’d hoped to make friends in town. She hadn’t. Partly due to frightful weather, but mostly because she hadn’t been herself for the past month since the fishing boat sank.
But Yardley had a purpose to his gift—so Cilla could do what the Germans had sent her to do—spy.
Across the street, a door opened to the corner, and a sign read “Claymore and Heath,” with a painted shield showing a sword flanked by sprigs of heather.
Cilla straightened her shoulders, tried to summon her old confidence and verve, and opened the door.
If Neil Mackenzie wasn’t there, she’d leave straightaway. A woman alone in a pub was assumed to have loose morals, and only Neil could provide an introduction to Free Caledonia.
In the corner by the window, Neil sat with a skinny youngman with a mop of dark hair and a bespectacled man with a full white beard.
Cilla caught Neil’s eye, smiled, and waved.
His eyebrows jolted high, but he stood. “Cilla? I’m—”
“Surprised to see me here?” She deepened her smile, despite her dislike for the man who had made Lachlan suffer. “I don’t see why. You mentioned your ... group meets here, and I’d love to learn more.”
