Free Day Will Come by Beryl Matthews Page A

watched the closing door with amusement. Tiger was indeed apt.
     
    ‘You wanted to see me, George?’
    ‘Oh, you’ve decided to pay us a visit, have you?’ He studied his nephew carefully. Even as a child, Dan had beena force to be reckoned with, and since his experiences in France and Dunkirk, that quality was even more noticeable. ‘Got what you wanted, have you?’
    ‘I’m off to Lower Barracks, Winchester, on Sunday.’
    ‘Have you told Grace?’
    ‘Not yet.’
    ‘Then you had better do it today, Dan. If I’d known you were going to return to active duty so soon, I would have tried to find her a different position. Assigning her to you was a mistake.’
    ‘No, it wasn’t!’ Dan exclaimed angrily. ‘I told her right from the beginning that the job probably wouldn’t last long. She’s an intelligent girl. She understood. I’ve done what I could for her. She’s had the very best driving instruction it’s possible to get. I’ve also tried to find her another job here, without success. What more do you and James expect me to do? There’s a bloody war on, Colonel, and I’m going back to my regiment where I belong!’
    Dan surged to his feet, ready to storm out of the office and stopped in mid-stride. He was looking into the face of a girl who was not at all happy about what she had just heard.
    Grace was not only furious – she was hurt, as well. Her gaze was icy as she looked at the two men. ‘No one has the right to believe they can decide my future! I am quite capable of finding my own way in life, without interference from you. How dare you presume what I should, or should not, do! And you are wrong, Colonel. You didn’t make a mistake – I did. James should have told me you were almost family. I didn’t want to keep the appointment he had made for me, but, out of loyalty to him, I came. He also had noright to believe I needed looking after. I’m good at my job, and will make my own decisions.’
    Grace stepped round Dan, picked up the telephone and dialled a number. ‘General Norton, I have Major Chester for you.’
    She turned and thrust the phone into Dan’s hand. ‘He wants to speak with you – urgently.’
    As Grace swept out of the office, Dan hesitated, not wanting her to leave like this, but he was trapped. With a frustrated growl, he put the phone to his ear.
    ‘Chester, sir.’
    It turned out to be a lengthy call, and by the time Dan arrived back in his office, there was no sign of Grace. He swore fluently, and spun round, nearly crashing into his uncle.
    ‘It’s no good tearing after her, I tried to catch her, but she’s gone.’
    ‘Damn and blast!’
    George grimaced. ‘At least that’s milder than the last lot of expletives you used. Stop fretting. Anyone would think you had formed an attachment to the girl.’
    ‘You’re letting your imagination run away with you, Uncle. She’s been good while she’s worked for me, and hasn’t flinched, no matter what I have thrown at her. I don’t want to leave with a bad feeling between us. That’s all.’
    ‘There isn’t much we can do tonight, so leave it until tomorrow. She’ll come back. She’s too professional to leave without giving proper notice.’
    Dan shook his head. ‘You know I’ve never been able to leave things unresolved. And she’s right. We have no right to interfere in her life, or try to protect her as if she was a child.If James hadn’t sent her to us, would we be acting like this?’
    ‘I doubt it. James was so insistent in his letter that we look after her, and out of our affection for him that’s what we have been trying to do. A clumsy effort, as it turns out.’
    ‘Unnecessary and unwanted, as well.’ Dan prowled the office. ‘I didn’t see that before. She was always willing to please, tackling every task I gave her with good humour and at my side whenever I needed her. In that composed, softly spoken girl, there is a strong, independent woman. And I never saw it.’
    ‘No, and I don’t