This is my early Easter gift for you. I didn't think I would have enough time to write today, but here it is, hot off the press and I hope you enjoy reading it. I can't update till late next week, but will do so at the earliest opportunity. Till then, enjoy Easter and God bless. XX
CHAPTER 11
The afternoon passed quickly and on their way home, Grace and Roland talked animatedly about their plans for the new day room. They had spent over an hour discussing an outline of activities to get the project off the ground, whilst they checked the fabric of the disused room. The more Grace looked at it, the more she could see the potential for something really beneficial for the men on so many levels. Roland, too, was excited by the prospect of doing something worthwhile for the patients and, in no small measure his response was also the result of doing something in partnership with Grace. He had always seen her as his professional partner from the moment he had first appointed her back in France, but their deep personal connection had taken it to another level altogether. As she grasped his hand as he drove home, he knew he wanted to do this for her as well.
"I wonder if we could have a Summer Fair to raise money for the work, Roland," she said.
"Every little helps, my darling, so why not. It's a good idea." His voice was encouraging.
"I thought I might ask Mrs Anderson to help get some of the locals involved. It would be a good way of getting to know them a little better, too. What do you think?"
He smiled indulgently at her, seeing her mounting enthusiasm for their venture and realised that she was also fully as good a strategist as he was, perhaps even better. In one activity, she could build bridges with everyone, help the community and ease the financial burden of the work, which was needed to deliver the day room. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it lightly.
"I think I am incredibly proud to have such a wonderful partner as you, Grace. You're the most loving and caring woman I've ever met, not to mention the smartest. Getting Mrs Anderson onside would be a masterstroke. If I didn't know better, I'd have said you studied nursing at Sandhurst!"
"Roland Brett, you are a consummate flatterer, but I won't hold that against you," she replied, blushing at his fulsome praise.
"I was rather hoping you would hold something else against me," he answered, as quick as a flash.
"If you ask me nicely, I'll consider it," she stated, laughing at his riposte.
His hand moved to rest on her thigh, gently squeezing it, as he said, "I'd beg, if it meant I could hold you against me."
Grace felt the steady rising pulse of her own desire for him, but knew that they would have to keep matters calm as Mrs Anderson would be waiting for them. Indeed, as Roland parked the car, the front door was opened for them and she waited for them to enter the house.
"Good evening, Colonel Brett, Matron Carter. Did you have a good day?"
"We did, thank you, Mrs Anderson," he answered, "most productive."
"Perhaps you'd like to freshen up and I'll have some fresh lemonade waiting for you on the terrace when you come back down. Matron Carter, I've put some fresh roses in your room. It needed a few feminine touches, I thought."
"Why, thank you, Mrs Anderson; you're most kind to think of my comfort."
"It was my pleasure and they are very fragrant, so I think you'll enjoy them."
"I'm sure I shall. I love flowers and roses are amongst my favourites. I grew one against the office wall when we were in France. How it survived I'll never know, but it did and it bloomed regularly. Do you remember, Roland?"
The easy familiar use of his name escaped without a thought and, by the time they realised, it was too late to correct the position without looking ridiculous.
"May I say something, please?" Mrs Anderson asked.
"Of course," Grace answered.
"I may be speaking out of turn, but I know that people such as you, who served throughout the war, would have formed close attachments to each other. Men serving in my late husband's regiment, despite barely knowing one another when they set out for France, returned as brothers. I'm glad that you both survived that awful experience and that your friendship continues, so please, if you are used to calling one another by your Christian names, don't stop on my account. Goodness knows the Colonel here needs a friend, as his wife is a poor excuse for one and, before you say anything Colonel Brett, I speak as I find and I find nothing to like. You two, on the other hand, I like a lot, and you may rely on my absolute discretion because I think you've earned it. That's all I wanted to say."
Roland cleared his throat and said, "Mrs Anderson, I thank you on behalf of Matron Car…I mean, Grace and myself. You're right, we are attached to each other and our friendship was what sustained me during the war years, and sustains me still."
Grace looked at him in amazement.
"Well, that's that settled then. Now, if you'd like to go up, I'll fetch your lemonade. You must be thirsty."
When they reached the upper landing, Roland took Grace's hand.
"She's no fool, darling. I feel a fraud for not admitting the full extent of my feelings for you. You're far more than my friend."
"I know, my love. I wish we could just tell her. Would she be shocked, do you think?" Grace raised her eyes to meet his.
"I doubt it. She's got the measure of my marriage; you heard that yourself."
"She doesn't take any prisoners, does she? I think that's why I'm a little anxious. This is all so new to us, but strangely, it also feels as if it's been a part of us for as long as I can remember." She squeezed his hand reassuringly after she said this.
"Go and freshen up, sweetheart. I'll only be a few minutes."
Grace went into 'her' bedroom and, after washing, changed for the evening.
When she left the room, she found Roland on the landing outside. He was holding a bowl of roses.
"She left these in our room. That's why she mentioned them so specifically. She knows, Grace, and I suggest we just grasp the nettle and tell her the truth."
"I agree. It needs stating and, hopefully, it'll make life easier."
They went downstairs and out onto the terrace. The evening sunshine was warm and painted everything golden. Grace thought it might be a good omen. Two glasses and a jug of fresh lemonade were on the table, which afforded a lovely view across the garden.
"Why don't we ask her to join us, Roland?"
"I'll go," he said.
A minute later he had reappeared with Mrs Anderson and a third glass.
"It's a beautiful evening and it seemed a shame for you not to sit and enjoy this delicious lemonade with us," Grace said. "Thank you, too, for the roses. They are exquisite."
"Mrs Anderson, may I speak plainly?"
"You extended that courtesy to me, Colonel, so, of course."
"I told you that the friendship I share with Grace sustains me. It would be more accurate to say that it is Grace, who sustains me although, fool that I am, it took me an entire war, and beyond, to work out that one. She is my truest and chiefest joy. I hope you understand what I'm telling you."
"I think you just told me that it's taken you years to recognise the love of a good woman, and there was me thinking you a man of intellect," Mrs Anderson replied with a perfectly straight face.
Grace almost choked on her lemonade and Roland looked awkward although he felt he ought to elaborate further.
"You're not entirely right, Mrs A. True, I did not spot that she loved me, but I also thought to spare Grace the attentions of an older man with little to offer, so I wasn't entirely dense."
Grace could not believe that this conversation was taking place. Her face betrayed her amazement.
"Don't worry, Matron Carter. It isn't a crime to love someone and I don't see any evidence of Colonel Brett being married, in the way you and I would understand it, so he has plenty to offer and your secret's safe with me. You have my word, but for goodness sake, please stop pretending. If you only need one bedroom that's fine by me; it's one less for me to tidy up."
"Mrs Anderson, you really are a remarkable lady. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I don't know what I have done to deserve your support," Grace said.
"I'll tell you, shall I? You looked after our injured menfolk when they were far away from their homes, hurt scared and lonely. You gave them comfort, you tried to make them whole again, and you stood up for those, whose voices were drowned out by their own terror, and you're still standing up for them. So that's part of why you have my support. The other part is that the Colonel, for all my teasing, is a genuinely good man. He deserves a woman, whom he can meet on equal terms, and who'll love and be true to him. I saw those qualities in you the first time we met. I don't think his wife merits the title. You, on the other hand…." Mrs Anderson left her final point unstated.
"Married or not, Roland is everything to me, Mrs Anderson," Grace replied simply.
"I know, my dear, and I'm glad for you. Life's too short to waste." The older woman patted Grace's arm as she said this.
"We did notice the roses were in the main bedroom," Grace confessed.
"I wanted to flush you out and save you a lot of unnecessary trouble hiding the truth, which you two cannot do to any degree. You're altogether too honest and, if you'll forgive me, too in love."
"You're forgiven" said Roland, with a grin.
"Now, I think it's about time you had your evening meal and then I'll be making my way home. I won't be here tomorrow evening, but there's a freshly cooked pie in the larder for you both. The laundry is washed and pressed, too. It's all in the main bedroom cupboard and chest of drawers."
Just as Mrs Anderson rose from her seat, Roland remembered something.
"Mrs Anderson, do you know any good seamstresses around here?"
"I do as it happens; me! Why?"
Grace interjected, "I badly need some new dresses. If I buy the material, would you be able to help me? I'll pay you the going rate."
"No she won't, Mrs Anderson; I shall be doing that," Roland countered.
"It will be a pleasure. Let me know when you're ready to proceed. Dinner will be in ten minutes."
As Mrs Anderson went back indoors, Roland took Grace's hand and kissed it.
"I can't recall being as happy as this since you told me you loved me," he murmured.
"That long, eh? I'll do my best to make you happy every single day, I promise."
"You bless me just by being here and I promise to love you as you've never been loved before."
"You already do, but you can show me later when we're in our bed in our bedroom," Grace teased.
"Come on, then; the sooner we have dinner, the sooner we can retire for the night. I find I have suddenly swapped one appetite for another, my darling."
Their laughter was gentle, their love true, and their future brighter than it had ever been.
Please review when you have an opportunity. XX
