Beneath the Dover Sky (30 page)

“Switzerland and the Rhine, eh? I can’t compete with that on Royal Navy pay.” He straightened his hat. “I won’t take up anymore of your time. Thank you so much, Libby. I’ll be heading back to Devonport.”

“Please don’t run off. I’d like you to meet my husband and daughter. They’re down feeding the swans.”

“I don’t want to interfere with your Saturday.”

“Not at all. Michael has good friends in the United States Navy. He’s been aboard several of their battleships, including the
USS Arizona
and the
USS Oklahoma
. He’d love to meet you, and you’d have oodles to talk about. Do stay on for a bit.”

“The
Arizona
and
Oklahoma
, you say?” Fordyce grinned and shrugged. “Why not? A chat would soften this morning’s news. I can drive away with my head full of information about keels and engines and funnels and guns—at least for a while.”

She smiled back at him as she brushed damp strands of ginger hair out of her blue eyes. “That’s the spirit! Let’s head to the pond. We have two dozen swans with us this week. It’s quite something to watch.”

“Two dozen!”

“Indeed. Twenty-four down to the youngest cygnet. All under the protection of King George himself.”

My dear Terry,

I fear this will get to you too late and you will have heard about my state of affairs from other sources. You may think that out of sight is out of mind regarding you, but that is not so. I asked but there wasn’t a telegraph station within a hundred miles of Hartmann Castle. Now that I am in Vienna, there are plenty of them but I simply couldn’t send you the news that way. It was too cold. So this letter will have to do even though it will take much longer to reach you in Devonport.

Albrecht and I were married early in June. It was not an easy decision to make, but it was a decision I had to make. I dragged my heels on this matter far too long. I care for you dearly, Terry. You have a great heart and a great soul. I doubt that will make you feel better about things right now. I’m certain news of my marriage will come as a slap to the face. I was not rejecting you; I was just saying yes to Albrecht—if that makes sense.

I will continue to pray for you and your safety on the high seas. I have no idea when we shall see one another again, and perhaps that’s just as well. You will be in England and the Mediterranean, and I will be in Germany and Switzerland.

God bless you and all the best to you, my dear Terry.

Catherine

“Is the sailor man in the uniform coming?”

Libby brushed her daughter’s gleaming black hair and tied a purple
ribbon at the top. “You mean Leftenant Commander Fordyce? I don’t think so, honey.”

“But we invited him, and he said he might.”

“He’s quite a few miles from here on his big ship. It’s not so easy for him to just pop over.”

“Grandfather William is coming down from London, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“And Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Emma? And aren’t Uncle Edward and Aunt Char coming too? And all my cousins?”

“Of course! It’ll be an absolute mob. And there will be gifts from your relatives in America too. Did you see that huge parcel from Grandpa and Grandma Woodhaven that’s on the table on the porch?”

“I did! I’m so excited!”

“Hold still a moment.” Libby tied an orange ribbon next to the purple one. “There!”

Jane looked at herself in the oval mirror on the vanity. “Purple dress. Purple stockings. Purple and orange ribbons.” She grinned. “I love these colors. What about Grandmother Elizabeth? Is she coming?”

“She’s still in Germany with Aunt Vickie and your cousins Ramsay and young Timothy. It’s too bad. Grandfather William will have your present, and Uncle Ben is bringing the ones from Aunt Vickie and Ramsay. Here are your purple gloves.”

Jane tugged them on, and they went up to her elbows. “Will he really fly in?”

“Yes, he really will. Then he’ll be off again after a hug and a kiss and a piece of cake.”

“Ooh! I think I could fly without a plane! I’m so happy!”

“Here…” Libby gently arranged an orange silk scarf about her daughter’s neck. “Go show yourself to your father. He’s hanging balloons on the porch with Skitt and Montgomery.”

Jane’s smile grew sly. “Monty likes Skitt.”

“Why, who told you that?”

“No one.” Jane made circles like glasses around her eyes with her fingers. “I can see for myself.”

Libby laughed. “Is that right? And how is Skitt dealing with this bit of Dover Sky romance, Lady Jane?”

“Ha! I don’t think he knows what to do…except get tongue-tied.”

“You look smashing in purple and orange. They’re the colors of our coat of arms.”

“Indeed.” Jane curtsied. “Thank you, m’lady.”

Libby straightened and gently pulled the sides of her blue summer dress as she curtsied back. “You’re welcome, m’lady.” She opened the bedroom door. “Come, let’s go downstairs to your father. He’ll be bowled over by the beauty of his princess.”

“His
enchanted
princess.”

“Quite right. His
enchanted princess
.”

They heard car doors slam, and Jane ran to the open window.

“Leftenant Commander!” Libby heard her husband call out. “Hey! It’s great to see you here!”

“Wouldn’t miss it, Michael. Haven’t been to a proper birthday party in years.”

Jane swung her head around and laughed. “You see, Mama? He
did
come! He
does
like me.”

Libby went to the window and put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Well, that’s not really a surprise, is it? Everyone adores you, Lady Jane.”

“He’s my knight.”

“Your knight? I thought your father was your knight.”

“Dad is my father knight. Leftenant Commander Fordyce is my
knight
knight.” She stared, suddenly puzzled. “There is something different about him. I thought I had his uniform utterly memorized.” She bolted from the room and down the staircase.

“Jane!” Libby called after her. “Slow down!”

She watched from the window as Jane raced out the front door and practically came to attention in front of Terrence Fordyce.

“There’s the birthday girl!” Fordyce handed her a present wrapped in purple paper with orange bows. “For the rest of your life you’ll always have two numbers in your age. Unless you live to be one hundred, then you’ll have three.”

Jane took the gift. “Thank you, Leftenant Commander. You remembered about my favorite colors.”

“So I did.”

“Do you realize your uniform is not the same?”

“It’s not? What’s different about it?”

“I’m not sure.”

Michael walked up and put his arm around Jane. “Honey, I think it’s the same uniform Lieutenant Commander Fordyce wore last Saturday.”

“It isn’t, Dad.”

“Everything’s exactly the same.”

“No.”

Fordyce put his hands in his pockets. “Are you sure you’re not mistaken, Jane?”

Jane eyed him up and down. Then she pointed at his hands. “Take them out of your pockets.”

“Jane,” Michael soothed, “calm down. I know it’s your big day but—”

Fordyce grinned and removed his hands from his pockets. He turned them toward her, palms outward. “No rabbits, my dear.”

Libby smiled as Jane played with his sleeves and then put her knuckles to her mouth. “Oh Jane,” she said before chuckling.

“The cuffs are different!” Jane shouted.

“Jane, no yelling!” her father said.

She challenged Fordyce with the intensity of her dark-eyed stare. “They are, aren’t they?”

“Jane!” Michael corrected again.

“It’s all right.” Fordyce held up his hands as if she’d pulled a gun. “Jane’s spot on. I have three thick gold stripes on the cuffs instead of the two thick ones with a skinny one in between.”

Jane’s dark eyes glittered. “What are you now? An admiral?”

“Not quite. A commander. After that comes captain, then commodore, and then admiral.”

“Do you get your own battleship?”

“I can have a ship, Jane, but not a battleship.”

“Are you getting a ship?”

“Not yet. I am our captain’s right-hand man on the
HMS Hood
now. One of them, anyway.”

She turned his present over in her slender brown hands. “Does this have to do with the Royal Navy?”

“It does.”

“May I open it?”

Michael laughed and shook his head. “Remember the deal, Jane? First everyone arrives. Then we’ll play games. Then comes the cake and ice cream. And then—ta da!—you can open the presents.”

“But no one’s here but old people.”

“The kids are coming. And Charlie and Matt are around here somewhere.”

“They’re off doing something secret with Aunt Holly and Aunt Caroline. It’s so boring right now.”

“Jane!”

“Can’t I open this one while we’re waiting? It is my birthday after all. Please, Dad?”

Michael rolled his eyes up. “Just one, but only if
Commander
Fordyce says, ‘
Aye, aye, skipper
.’ ”

Fordyce nodded and said, “Go ahead, Jane.”

She tore the paper off and then opened the box underneath. She pulled out a naval officer’s hat. “It’s the same as yours!”

“It is, but smaller. I hope it fits you.”

She quickly put the hat on her head. “It’s perfect…only a little tight. Thank you so much.”

He saluted her. “Happy birthday, Commander.”

Jane ruled the day. Not only was she older than her nearest competitors—Jeremy and Emma’s ginger-haired and green-eyed Peter and brown-haired, brown-eyed James, neither of whom would turn ten until December—she was also taller than the other children and much faster on her long legs. After the games that included the pinning of the tail on the donkey and a hotly contested croquet match,
they consumed cake, lemonade, ice cream, and dozens of pork sausages called bangers that were roasted over a fire.

Jane soon sat surrounded by mounds of wrapping paper and gifts, her commander hat squarely on her head. Uncle Ben had dropped a basket of dolls by parachute, done a victory roll, and then zipped away. Grandfather William had arrived late with German and Swiss dresses shipped from Grandma Elizabeth on the Continent. He also had bags of Swiss chocolate for all and steel swords with blunt edges for the boys. The gifts from America included a large dollhouse that could be plugged in so the rooms lit up and the fireplaces glowed. At bedtime a raid was launched by the boys against Jane’s room. It was led by the twins and their seven-year-old brother, Billy. Charles, Matthew, and Owen were eager recruits. All brandished their steel swords from Grandfather William. But Jane had a sword of her own and no fear. A few lightbulbs were lost before order was restored and everyone marched back to their bedrooms. Skitt continued to keep an eye out as he prowled the halls long after the doors were shut.

Michael left Jane’s room and entered his through an adjoining door. He closed it and then leaned against it. He let out his breath as he looked at Libby before starting to laugh.