Chapter 36
On the first day of March, life felt like it had come to a turning point even if there was no big war news. New recruits showed up in the Baker Street Offices, and Elizabeth greeted them as usual while Ruby shadowed her. She was surprised by the woman, having thought her too timid for their line of work, but the other secretary brought a different focus as she welcomed the dozen-plus men.
Ruby seemed to switch on an entirely different personality, quite like George Wickham/Frank Churchill had done. She wasn't a flirt but a sort of older sister mix of kindness and efficiency—a cross between Jane and Irma. Elizabeth saw the men, especially the younger ones, just down from school, respond to Ruby in a way they never did to Elizabeth's bossiness or more blatant flirting. Lieutenant Colonel Hart had done well with his hire.
Besides the upheaval of new people in the office, there was an underlying current of tension and excitement that indicated that some mission had been successfully carried out. Even within the Baker Street Offices, the inhabitants didn't share if it wasn't related to their department, but this undertaking must have been massive as everyone's mood was affected.
When she went searching for tea, Thelma waved her over with an excited hand and asked how she was doing. They talked of their young men, typing, and Agatha Christie novels. Thelma congratulated Elizabeth on her engagement, though shared that she wasn't ready herself.
Elizabeth speculated that the other Norwegian mission scheduled to occur in tandem with their own had been successful. This was confirmed when Gene Carter stopped by her desk at the end of the day. He had appeared in the office after missing only one day of work. His experience made him strut around like the Brigadier, projecting a larger-than-life personality. The two of them had jointly reported about the mission, though Brigadier Grantley then asked Eugene to stay and answer further questions, and to give further information she assumed neither men wanted her to hear.
But Gene caught her at the day's end when Elizabeth was making her nightly sweep of an empty office.
"Did you hear the news?" he asked. She guessed what he meant.
"I know that there's good news about a Norwegian mission, so I assume that other mission that occurred in parallel to ours has finally taken place?"
"Yes. It's big, very big. I understand now why many were reluctant to sponsor ours in case we got in the way of—this." He lowered his voice. "An all-Norwegian team went in and blew up a factory and got out safely."
"I assume it's an important factory and one the RAF couldn't bomb?" she asked.
"No, the tanks were too well insulated and guarded that bombs from the sky wouldn't have penetrated all that concrete," said Gene, pulling out his pipe.
"What type of factory is it? I don't think of Norway as being focused on manufacturing unless its ore production," she murmured.
"Heavy water," he said in a mumbled voice around his pipe's stem as he puffed. She frowned as she didn't understand.
"What is that?"
"I don't understand the specifics, only that it is used in bomb-making," he said after his pipe's end glowed red. "But it's all very, very hush-hush. Best not to mention." Elizabeth thought he felt privileged to know such a critical mission; he was turning into a vain man. It may be what was needed to continue to work in Baker Street.
She had busy days. Work had its characteristic intensity; there would be no letting up until the day that the Allies declared victory. At home, there was no escaping a mother who had two daughters to marry off. Elizabeth was almost thankful for long days and late nights at the office and let herself get distracted training Ruby.
She and William wrote letters back and forth. Suddenly, Elizabeth was less censorious of Jane and those days when Charles wrote. Her sister would run upstairs to read them before drifting around for days on a cloud of unfettered happiness. She now did the same thing.
Because she was engaged, Elizabeth could insist that her mother not open her letters or insist on reading them. It ruffled Frances Bennet's feathers, just like her long days of work did, or Lizzy's limited ability to shop for wedding clothes.
William agreed to a double wedding after contacting his friend. He privately expressed his reservations to Elizabeth about her not being the center of attention. She pointed out to him that it meant one less day of enduring Mrs. Bennet's frankness. Weddings weren't always about the bride. As his mother seemed just as excited about this union as Frances, he must have understood the comment.
Both women were eager to meet. Mrs. Bennet berated Elizabeth about Mrs. Darcy's Derbyshire address, but Elizabeth insisted that she meet William's mother first, and finally let slip that Mrs. Darcy wanted to help shop.
Her work schedule didn't allow for flexibility, so on the first Saturday in March, a short two weeks before the agreed-on wedding date, Ana came to town, and the fateful meeting took place. William wrote that he was healing well and that his mother felt secure enough to be away for the weekend. She would take the train to London and meet Elizabeth, Jane, and Mrs. Bennet on Oxford Street.
Frances was furious that Elizabeth insisted on working her regular half-Saturday. Lizzy didn't know what her mother envisioned she do. Ana Darcy would be on a train in the morning; she might as well work. Keeping her mother from playing hostess or letting her attempt to gain a sort of upper hand was Elizabeth's priority. There needed to be equity between the two mothers.
She locked up the safe, gathered her personal items, and headed downstairs to the main entrance. The afternoon plans called for Elizabeth to meet both mothers on a particularly swanky street at two, and she figured a taxi was warranted. This allowed sufficient time to arrive and calm her nerves before the fateful meeting. Elizabeth stepped outside and noticed a taxi across the street, so she briefly leaned to the side to see if it was free. A figure opened the door, and William stepped out.
A tightness in her chest eased at the sight of him. Traffic rumbled in the street, and they both had to wait for it to clear, but he ran across to swoop her in his arms, pulling her off her feet.
"Your shoulder!" she cried. William pressed a multitude of kisses on her lips and cheeks.
"I've missed you. God, I've missed you," he groaned. "I came down with my mother. I figured it wasn't fair to let you deal with this on your own." His arm came around her and guided her across the road to the taxi. There were two figures inside.
Once on the pavement, but just before he opened the door, she whispered, "you realize a groom can't go shopping with his bride for her wedding dress?"
"I know, but I can mitigate some of this," he said and opened the door.
"Elizabet! My darling girl!" cried Ana Darcy, shortening her name in her effusiveness at greeting her daughter-in-law. Elizabeth climbed in to sit next to Mrs. Darcy, who wrapped her in a wild hug. "I am so thrilled, so excited, about today and the wedding. And Guilelmus deserves happiness, and I'm convinced you have made him the happiest man in the world!"
When she was able to sit back, Elizabeth assured Mrs. Darcy that she was equally happy to marry William. She looked over at Georgia, who had come as well. Her eyes gleamed, though she wasn't as uninhibited.
"I'll leave you three to your shopping and meet you at the Savoy for tea," said William, leaning in to catch Elizabeth's eyes.
"The Savoy!" she exclaimed. That was a luxury she had never experienced.
"Chuck and I will meet you at 5:30, don't be late." He smiled and shut the door.
Jane hadn't mentioned anything to her about Charles having leave; it must be a surprise. On the way to the dressmakers, Ana Darcy did most of the talking, sharing her feelings about her happiness at having another daughter. Georgia managed to add a sentence or two about her own.
Elizabeth's apprehension about the fateful meeting between the mothers was soothed in a way as she realized they shared the same effusiveness, even if dissimilar in other ways, especially their backgrounds. They were two mothers excited about their children marrying, what could be more wonderful?
Her family was waiting on the pavement when the taxi pulled up. Mrs. Bennet was wearing The Hat. The one she wore for 'special' occasions—it had been worn to Bill and Charlotte's wedding, but Elizabeth hadn't thought it's embarrassing landscape would appear for a shopping expedition until she spied its garish colors.
It was a pillbox hat constructed of sunset-colored silk brocade and covered in black netting. That might not have been so terrible if Mrs. Bennet hadn't decided to add artificial flowers to it, white daisies, and yellow black-eyed Susans. It was a gardeners' nightmare; it was her daughters' nightmare—one of the few things all five Bennet daughters universally agreed was revolting. But no amount of cajoling could convince Frances Bennet that it was hideous.
Mrs. Bennet and Jane turned to eye Mrs. Darcy and Georgia. Elizabeth almost felt like an umpire at a sports event, but the introductions were made.
"My dear, may I call you Frances?" asked Mrs. Darcy.
Frances Bennet hesitated for a fraction. Elizabeth watched as the slightly more petite blond Fanny eyed the dark Ana, who stood about an inch taller. She supposed that her mother had expected a small woman with rough skin and a heavy accent, not an elegant, aristocratic figure. The Hat bobbled for a second as Frances readjusted her thoughts; perhaps she shared some of her brother-in-law's views about foreigners, then she burst into tears.
"Our babies!" cried Frances, surprising the young women, but not Ana. The two mothers threw their arms around each other and hugged, cried, and exclaimed about losing their children. Elizabeth turned to Jane in bewilderment; then she looked at Georgia. The girl's amusement over this unexpected turn was evident.
"Are we ever going to get to the shopping?" she whispered. Georgia shook her head; her shoulders shrugged as if this was an unprecedented situation.
Eventually, the two mothers linked arms and guided the others into the first of many dress shops. Mrs. Darcy was the expert here, and Mrs. Bennet allowed herself, oddly, to be led. It seemed that once convinced she wasn't an uncouth foreigner but an elegant, genteel woman, she could rely on Ana's sense. Elizabeth couldn't make heads or tails of the two.
Instead, she and Jane focused on selecting a dress or a pattern. Both had been thinking of a short, sensible skirt, and something that could be purchased with whatever coupons they could pool together. But it appeared that Ana Darcy had connections, and no mention was made at any of these high-end dress-shops about coupons or rationing.
Mrs. Darcy insisted that she pay for Elizabeth's dress, then on seeing the sketches that Jane eyed, she insisted on paying for Jane's. Elizabeth was to wear white; her sister chose cream. Both dresses were long with small trains, though in deference to rationing cut slim and without full skirts.
Frances Bennet insisted on lace veils; they were yards long and entirely impractical. When she started to talk about tiaras for the veils, both Elizabeth and Jane put their collective foot down and said that a simple headband would do. It was nearing the time for tea, and Elizabeth was anxious to see her groom, though the mothers then began to discuss what they would wear. They only got as far as deciding on colors—resolving that Mrs. Bennet wear blue, and Mrs. Darcy would wear peach, before flagging down a taxi to take them to the Savoy.
"What about you?" Elizabeth asked Georgia.
"I have so many dresses at home that I'll find something," the young woman answered as they followed the ever-talking mothers into the hotel. "I'm so happy this is finally happening." Something about the remark made Elizabeth turn to look at her. She assumed that, in time, she would get to know her new sister better, but the two older women had dominated the afternoon.
"Finally?" she couldn't help prompting.
Georgia blushed a deep red. "I…I knew about you and William back in 1940." Elizabeth felt her stomach flip a little, and not simply because she was hungry. She didn't ask how, as the young woman kept speaking. "After we came back from Greece. We spent one night in his flat before we returned to Derbyshire. I…I went through his drawers and found letters." She turned an even brighter red.
Jane had eagerly followed the others inside, but Elizabeth stared at Georgia as she finished her story. "It was wrong to read them, but he's always been so mysterious, and I was curious. At first, I just wanted to know what he did for the war effort, but then I found out about you, only to discover he'd lost you somehow."
"We had a misunderstanding," said Elizabeth, who didn't want to touch on their past betrayals. She assumed the letters that Georgia referenced were the ones she had written to him when he was in Paris in '39. "But we found each other again, and we will be late if we don't hurry up."
There would be time enough in the future to figure out what to share with Georgia about their past mistakes. For now, there was tea to look forward to.
Elizabeth's delay outside with Georgia meant she missed Jane's reaction to the surprise of finding Charles waiting for her, but the glow on her cheeks said everything (almost rivaling the color of Georgia's earlier embarrassment). The meal was fantastic, from the quality of the tea to the different finger sandwiches to the peach melba (even if it was made with tinned peaches). When she could tear herself away from William, she noticed her mother looking sleepy and content.
"I'm back now," he indicated as he escorted them across the lobby's black and white tiles to get a taxi home. "After I see Mama and Georgia home, we can meet and discuss other details, like a honeymoon, and next steps." Elizabeth looked suddenly at him. No discussion of what he meant to do next had been brought up on the phone or written on paper. But the time for a decision had come.
No kisses were given with so many eyes watching, but Elizabeth and Mrs. Bennet stepped into a taxi and headed for home. Charles, on a short pass, took Jane out dancing. William and his family disappeared after loud goodbyes between the two mothers.
William called on Sunday evening to say his mother and sister had returned to the country. Ana passed on a message saying what a delightful weekend it had been, and that she was looking forward to seeing Elizabeth and her delightful family again.
They had already established that speaking on the telephone wasn't viable since Mrs. Bennet parked herself in the kitchen or lounge doorway to listen. Her exhilaration about hearing Elizabeth's end of a conversation was visible; it vibrated almost as if a bomb about to explode whenever he called. They soon hung up.
On Monday morning, at nine, feet could be heard in the stairwell outside her office. She turned at the familiar sound and watched William walk through the door.
"Good morning," she sang.
"Good morning," he answered, grinning. Elizabeth had so little opportunity to speak to him, let alone kiss him, that she wanted to fling herself into his arms, but Hart and Forster were at their desks. And following behind William came the clerk, Stanley. "I'll need a place to sit for two weeks." He came to stand on the other side of her desk.
"Right," she said and stood.
"I'm doing some research, a project for the Brigadier," he explained.
"Right."
"I've got this note." He passed her a piece of paper. Elizabeth looked at it.
I authorize William Darcy to have access to the Special Ops library. Lt. Col. Darcy.
She looked up quickly but wasn't able to perceive the underlying message, whether his promotion meant he had a new role in Special Operations (one that might keep him at home) or was he transferring to the army?
"I see," she answered in a loud voice though her insides were aflutter. "I believe you know the rules?"
"No removing anything," he said.
"Yes," she nodded. He took off his hat; his outer coat was draped on his arm.
"I'll leave these over a chair and go search for tea," he said.
They managed to sneak away together, but luck was against them finding a private place to kiss as it appeared that a continual stream of people walked past. Mrs. Annesley handed them teacups, and they headed towards the stairs. Elizabeth was thoughtful, wanting to know about this elevation in rank. With one foot on a tread, she paused to look at him. No footsteps sounded in the stairwell.
"Lieutenant-Colonel?" she prompted in a whisper.
"I've been promoted," he answered, waiting as a gentleman does for a lady to precede him up the stairs.
"But where?"
William leaned forward, but two voices called to her, seeming to appear out of nowhere, and Elizabeth answered training questions. Ones that required her to run up two flights to handle, and she didn't see her beloved until lunch.
A/N: This is the penultimate chapter. Prepare yourselves.
Peach melba at the Savoy is THE dessert, FYI.
The OTHER Norwegian mission was code-named Operation Gunnerside if you want to Google it (the atomicheritage site has an excellent article).
It was a huge deal that isn't often mentioned, and I never heard about it until doing research for this story. But there was a Norwegian plant making heavy water which is a key ingredient in making nuclear bombs (part of the reason Germany invaded Norway is because of heavy water production). This critical mission in cutting off the German's only source of heavy water and essentially stopped the Nazis from making a nuclear bomb.
An amazing follow-up to this mission is the team that sunk a ferry with Germany's last heavy water supplies, lead by Knut Haukelid in 1944. Their sneaking on to the boat to plant time-delay fuses and then escape is an incredible story.
