Free Ashton Park by Murray Pura Page B

sir.”
    “Forgive me then.”
    “No, I don’t mind answering. But I shouldn’t say, should I? And we shouldn’t be in this hut alone either. But we’re here. And you’ve asked. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never left off praying for you…there was the photograph every time I cleaned your mother’s room…you looked…so fine in your officer’s uniform on the deck of the ship and those great guns sitting just there over your shoulder…every time I saw your face I prayed for you…”
    “That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
    “I shouldn’t be thinking such thoughts. Fancying you like a schoolgirl.”
    “But you prayed.”
    “I did, sir.”
    “I find that odd.”
    “I suppose it is.”
    “Kipp was always the lady’s man. Blond hair. Green eyes. I’d have thought you’d have daydreamed about him.”
    “I met your brother at Mistress Emma’s wedding last June. He does look every inch the Royal Flying Corps type, if you know what I mean. But I much prefer your looks, sir. I apologize for being bold. You’re darker, and warmer, and, somehow, deeper.” More blood filled her face. “I’m sorry. I’m speaking rubbish.”
    Wind and rain cracked against the hut.
    “Look at that,” said Edward quietly. Water flooded the outside surface of the windowpane. “They said I’d soon be over it—the two sinkings. That war is war. I was unconscious the first time. After the Queen Mary blew up. The cold of the water and the heat of the burning oil gave me quite a jolt. I came to, and then swam for my life. The crew of the Tipperary hauled me on board. The second time I had both eyes open when I went into the sea. The Tipperary was breaking up behind me. I saw the German ship coming to pick up survivors and I swam away from them. Can you imagine? The water was like ice, it was night, I was five or ten minutes from drowning, but I swam away from the people who could save my life because I didn’t want to be a prisoner of war. So the Royal Navy saved me instead. But what will my life accomplish in the end? There won’t be another fleet action. All we’ll do is hunt U-boats.”
    “Ah, don’t say that, sir. Your mother and father thank God you’re alive. Why, the whole household was rejoicing when they knew you’d been saved. It was not long after that I started looking at your picture. You’re this young maid’s daydream, if that pleases you, sir.” She bit her lip and shook her head and yanked the hood back up. “I’m prattling. It means nothing.” She put her hand on the door latch.
    “Please—don’t head back just yet, Charlotte.”
    “I must. I’ve been acting the fool. I must go.”
    “Please don’t.”
    “Mrs. Seabrooke—”
    “I’ll handle Mrs. Seabrooke.”
    She stood at the door. “What do you want with me, sir?”
    “It’s…pleasant…and comforting to speak with you. You choose your words very well.”
    “Thank you, sir. We were poor but Da was always a great one for the newspapers and whatever books he could lay his hands on. We children were always reading something. Sometimes out loud to Da and Mum.”
    Edward rubbed his hands up and down over his damp face. “I’m…I’m not one for using words well…for talking.”
    “Many fine ladies come to Ashton Park. Once you spend time with them you’ll not have any more trouble with your talk.”
    “I think you could outdo them all, don’t you?”
    “Oh, no, sir, I don’t have the polish.”
    “You have a red rose North England beauty. It’s rare.”
    “Sir. We shouldn’t be talking like this. It will come to nothing. We don’t know each other. You’re of noble birth.”
    “Don’t you believe attraction can sometimes…cross boundaries of class and race and religion?”
    The hood brim shadowed her eyes. “I don’t know, sir. You shouldn’t be dallying with me. I’m dirt-poor. My family’s dirt-poor. It’s the ladies from the manor houses you’ll want. The ones with the estates.”
    Edward stepped closer and