We'll Meet Again (26 page)

‘At least they will have plenty of toys,’ said Meg, chuckling.

‘You don’t know how good it is to see you laugh again.’ He drew her into his arms and kissed her.

Meg sang as she entered the house through the scullery door. She chuckled to herself as she recalled the narrow escape they had had when Pearl and her mother returned from the cinema earlier than expected. Actually, Meg thought, feeling her face flushing at the memory, it was more that Rayner was late leaving. If it had not been for Buster leaping up suddenly and barking, Pearl and her mother might
have come into the drawing room and caught them in a passionate embrace. As it was, Rayner had slipped out of the French windows just as the door opened, and Meg had bent over Buster and fussed over him to hide her blushes. Mrs Tostevin had lowered herself into her chair by the fireplace and had begun to chatter happily about the film they had just seen. Pearl had raised her eyebrows and shaken her head.

‘You’ve been with him again. I can tell by the silly smile on your face,’ Gerald said, jumping to his feet as Meg entered the kitchen. He slammed his mug of mint tea on the table so violently that it spilled over, leaving pools on the scrubbed pine.

‘Can’t you let it drop?’

‘No, I bloody can’t. You’re risking everything for a man who’s our sworn enemy.’

‘I’m not going to argue with you, Gerald. Can’t we be friends again?’

‘Friends?’ His voice broke with emotion. ‘I don’t want us to be friends, you know that.’

She walked slowly towards him with her hands outstretched. ‘I know I’ve hurt you and for that I’m truly sorry, but we have to stick together.’

‘Not while you’re having an affair with that Kraut.’

Meg stared at him, her patience suddenly evaporating as he used David’s old nickname for Rayner, making it sound somehow obscene. ‘What I do is my business. Perhaps you should worry more about what your sister is doing.’

‘My sister is a slut. I thought better of you.’

‘Interesting,’ said Nordhausen, sauntering into the room. ‘And just how many sisters have you, Herr Colivet, or should I say Herr LeFevre?’

Meg stared at him, struck dumb with fear, but Gerald leapt to his feet, knocking his chair over as he turned to face Nordhausen. ‘You’re talking rot.’

Nordhausen smirked. ‘Well, I really seem to have hit on the truth at last.’

‘You don’t know what you’re saying.’

‘Don’t I?’ Nordhausen leaned nonchalantly against the door post.

‘You’ve got it all wrong,’ Gerald said hastily. ‘I am David Colivet.’

‘Ask Simone,’ Meg found her voice at last. ‘You’re so friendly with her. Ask her if this is David Colivet or her brother Gerald.’

‘I think I can prove that this man is Gerald LeFevre without involving his sister any further. She’s already told me more than she realises. And as for you, Fräulein Meg, I think Hauptmann Dressler will be very interested in what I have to tell him about a certain captain.’

‘This is nonsense,’ Meg said, putting on a show of bravado despite the fact that she was quaking inwardly. ‘You can’t prove a thing.’

‘I don’t have to. We shall see what Hauptmann Dressler has to say.’

Nordhausen turned and walked away, slowly and deliberately, his footsteps echoing on the stone-flagged
floor and then fading into a deathly silence. Meg could hear a rasping sound and realised it was her own harsh breathing. She spun round to face Gerald. ‘You stupid, jealous fool. You’ve ruined everything.’

‘If you hadn’t gone off with that Kraut—’

‘Don’t you dare blame me. If your little tart of a sister hadn’t slept with half the German army we might have had a chance.’ Meg ran to the door with some vague idea of stopping Nordhausen and begging him to reconsider, but the sound of Major Jaeger shouting for someone to find Captain Weiss made her stop and clutch at the door frame for support. ‘Oh, my God! Now see what you’ve done.’

‘I’m going to find your father. We need his help to settle this.’ Gerald pushed past her and strode off in the direction of the study.

Meg followed him but the sound of Hauptmann Dressler’s voice raised in anger made her hesitate outside the drawing room. Unable to grasp more than a few words of his rapid German, she strained her ears to catch the sound of Rayner’s voice, but it was obvious that Dressler was not giving him a chance to defend himself. She could hear Major Jaeger’s calm tones, but he was being out-shouted by his superior. Nordhausen’s higher-pitched voice only seemed to add to the Hauptmann’s fury. Tears of desperation ran down her cheeks. She was on the point of rushing into the room, regardless of anything other than the desperate need to be with Rayner, when Gerald emerged from the study and
beckoned furiously. She hesitated, as common sense battled with her instinct to fight for the man she loved. Reluctantly she joined Gerald and her father in the study. Charles was seated behind his desk but he rose to his feet as she entered the room. ‘My dear, Gerald has told me what’s happened.’

‘Please, Pa. You must do something to help Rayner.’

He shook his head. ‘I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do or say that will make any difference.’

‘They’ll send him to the Russian front and that’s what he deserves,’ Gerald said, scowling.

Meg turned on him like a fury. ‘And what do you think they’ll do to you when Nordhausen tells them who you really are?’

He paled visibly and cast an appealing look at Charles. ‘Sir?’

‘We’re not going to get anywhere by fighting each other. We must stick together.’

‘It’s a bit late for that, Pa,’ Meg said tiredly. ‘Nordhausen has wheedled the truth out of Simone and Gerald all but admitted it just a few minutes ago.’

Gerald eyed her coldly. ‘None of this would have come out if you hadn’t fallen for a bloody Kraut bastard.’

Charles held up his hand. ‘That’s enough. I won’t have that kind of language in my house.’

‘Well, it’s true.’ Gerald turned away and began to pace the floor.

‘You’re just jealous,’ Meg said bitterly. ‘The real blame lies with you because you can’t control your temper.’

‘Stop it, both of you. This has gone far enough.’ Charles sank back on his seat, holding his head in his hands, and Meg hurried round the desk to put her arm around his shoulders.

‘I’m sorry, Pa. I never meant it to end like this.’ She shot an angry glance at Gerald. ‘See what you’ve done.’

He bowed his head, clenching his hands at his sides. ‘I love you, Meg. You know I love you. I thought you loved me too.’

‘Meg, is this true?’ Charles gazed up at her with an agonised look. ‘Were you leading the boy on?’

‘I told Gerald then that it was a mistake. I’m very fond of him but I don’t love him and I never could.’

‘It’s worse than I could ever have imagined.’ Charles gazed at Gerald, shaking his head. ‘What have I done by allowing you to remain here, my boy? I knew it was a risk but I’d no idea it would turn out this way.’

‘I never intended all this to happen, sir.’ Gerald glanced anxiously at Meg. ‘I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you.’

‘It wasn’t all your fault,’ Meg said with an attempt at a smile.

‘I need to see your mother, Gerald,’ Charles said in a hoarse whisper. ‘I can’t do anything to help Captain Weiss, but I may be able to save you.’

‘I don’t understand, sir.’

‘You will. Now do as I say and hurry.’ Charles leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Gerald opened the door and the sound of angry voices filtered into the room. Meg clenched her fists, digging her fingernails into her palms as she strained her ears to hear Rayner’s measured tones as he defended his actions.

‘Hurry,’ Charles said, motioning Gerald to leave. ‘Fetch Marie quickly, boy.’

Gerald left the room, closing the door behind him.

Meg studied her father’s ashen face and was overcome by the need to unburden herself. ‘I’m so sorry about this, Pa. I tried not to fall in love with Rayner but I couldn’t help myself. It all started in Oxford at the May Ball, but we could never have imagined it would end like this.’

Charles gave her a half-smile. ‘I understand, believe me. More than you think.’

She laid her hand on his and a shiver ran down her spine. He looked ill and frail and she felt a surge of panic rising in her throat. If only Mother were here, she would know what to do. ‘You should rest, Pa. Let me help you to your room.’

‘No, I need to speak to Marie. You go, my dear. I’ll be all right. Marie will look after me.’

There was nothing Meg could do or say to make him change his mind, and she went out into the hall, almost colliding with Nordhausen.

‘You will not be seeing Captain Weiss again, I think.’ He smiled triumphantly.

‘What have you told Hauptmann Dressler?’

‘Simply the truth, Fräulein Meg.’

He was obviously enjoying himself and it took all her self-control to remain calm. ‘And what was that, may I ask?’

‘Hauptmann Dressler does not approve of officers defiling the daughters of prominent States officials.’

‘And does that include your relationship with Simone?’

‘Simone is nothing to me. You on the other hand are the daughter of an important man in the eyes of the natives. But even your father’s influence won’t save the fellow who pretends to be your brother.’

‘You can’t prove anything.’

‘Don’t be too sure of that. There is also the matter of my friend Grulich’s supposed accident. Don’t think I have forgotten my comrade.’

‘I know nothing about that.’ Meg looked him in the eye. She was trembling, but she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was desperately afraid.

He leaned closer. ‘You had better be nice to me, Fräulein. I control everything that happens to you and your family now that your lover Captain Weiss has been ordered to the Russian front. He cannot save you. No one can, except yourself.’

Meg hardly slept at all that night. She drifted off just before dawn but soon after the first rays of sun filtered through the early morning haze she was
awakened by the sound of an approaching motor vehicle. She peered out of the window as a German staff car drew up outside and the driver leapt out, saluting the officers waiting on the steps. From above Meg could only see the tops of their peaked caps but she would have known Rayner anywhere. She watched helplessly as he climbed into the staff car, followed by Major Jaeger. One of the privates slammed the door and stood to attention while the driver started the engine and the vehicle drove off. She watched it until it was out of sight. He had gone, taking the most vital part of her with him. Rayner held her heart in his hands and she was left an empty shell.

She dressed hurriedly and crept downstairs to the kitchen. Corporal Klein had just finished preparing breakfast for the officers. He poured coffee into a tin mug and handed it silently to Meg. She gave him a tired smile.

‘Better drink up and keep out of the way this morning, Fräulein,’

‘What’s going on, Corporal?’

‘Captain Weiss has been transferred to another unit. I don’t know where. I think Major Jaeger has gone too. There’s talk about the Russian front, but you know how soldiers love to gossip.’

Two days later, Nordhausen was promoted to the rank of captain and soon after that Major von Eschenberg arrived to take Major Jaeger’s place. Meg found it almost impossible to sleep and her appetite
deserted her. She blamed herself for Rayner’s fate. If she had kept him at arm’s length instead of allowing her emotions to overrule common sense, he would not have been sent away. Then there was Nordhausen who had the power of life and death over Gerald, but seemed to be enjoying a cat and mouse game with them. Days passed and then weeks without the dreaded summons from Dressler’s office.

Von Eschenberg appeared to be coldly indifferent to the family, and the small privileges they had enjoyed under Major Jaeger, and interpreted liberally by Rayner, vanished overnight. Nordhausen was left in charge of the day to day running of the manor and he did not bother to hide the fact that he enjoyed making their lives hell. He was too clever to force himself on Meg, but he waged a private war of attrition by constantly shadowing her, making lewd suggestions when no one could hear, and barring her way in the narrow corridors, fumbling her breasts or buttocks and then pretending it was purely accidental. She knew that it was only a matter of time before he carried out the threats of sexual violence that he whispered in her ears. If she had known fear before, she knew now what real terror was and it stalked her by day and night.

Nordhausen had ruthlessly abandoned Simone. Meg might have felt sorry for her had she not taken out her spite on the rest of the family and made everyone suffer with her constant bad moods and tantrums.

It would have helped if Meg had been able to confide in Gerald, but she knew that his hatred of the Germans simmered below the surface like magma beneath the earth’s crust; one careless word, one hint of the torture she was enduring and he would erupt like a volcano, bringing disaster upon them all. She had to live with the knowledge that this was exactly what Nordhausen wanted. She would have liked to tell her father, but his health had begun to deteriorate again as the soft autumn mists were replaced by the chill wind from the Atlantic and October gales wrapped the island in a blanket of rain.

Charles took to his bed in the middle of the month, racked with bronchitis and bouts of fever. Lack of heating and food had worn them all down to thin shadows. Maud and Bertrand had lost so much weight that they reminded Meg of two old tortoises. Folds of skin hung from their throats and their hooded eyes stared bleakly at the miserable fires of
wet twigs or sawdust and the inevitable bowls of cabbage soup.

Pip spent most of his time hiding in his tiny attic room, venturing downstairs only at mealtimes. The Germans had obviously decided that he was a simpleton and had grown so accustomed to his odd appearance and mannerisms that mostly they left him alone. Jane worked hard doing the extra laundry duties allocated to her by Nordhausen and complained very little nowadays. She seemed to have found a new purpose in life in looking after Jeremy and was all the better for it. Simone remained a problem. Meg was just about at her wits’ end when Dr Gallienne suggested that Major von Eschenberg might allow Simone to return to work. There was, he said, a desperate shortage of trained nurses. Perhaps Simone’s moody presence had even sunk into the consciousness of the aloof von Eschenberg as, to Meg’s surprise and considerable relief, he signed the permit without raising any objections. Simone returned to the hospital, living in the nurses’ quarters and visiting her son occasionally on her days off.