Jess pulled up near the bar she and Dan had chosen because it was small and quiet and not frequented by press hounds. She said goodbye to Meg, went inside and ordered a drink while she waited. Half an hour later she ordered another one, and some food, unperturbed because arrangements in wartime were as flexible as elastic. After two more hours she gave up, knowing something had happened and he’d come to see her whenever he could.

She arrived back at the press camp a little subdued, only to run into Meg, also returned. “Your night didn’t work out either, I take it?” Jess said ruefully.

Meg shook her head. “He was a jerk. And I know why yours didn’t work out.” She passed Jess a scribbled note which read, Message for Jessica May: Lieutenant Colonel Hallworth in hospital. Jeep accident.

The note fell to the floor, swaying gently down as Jess turned and ran back outside, cursing herself. She never should have said yes to Dan. This was what happened in a war zone when you made someone a promise.

Twenty-six

She’d never been more relieved in her life than when she saw Dan on his feet at the main desk of the hospital.

“Dan!” Her cry echoed loudly and he whipped around, revealing a black eye with a bandage above, most likely obscuring a nasty cut, and minor scratches on his face and arms, but nothing more as far as she could see.

All her desire of concealment fled as she ran to him and he folded her in his arms, holding her so tightly she could barely breathe. After a moment he bent his head down to kiss her and Jess vaguely heard Anne’s voice behind them say, “About time.” Heard a GI’s voice say, “Well done, Sir,” and another say, “Ten bucks is mine.”

Jess drew back a little, unable yet to smile at the jesting around them until she’d made certain of one thing. “You’re all right?”

He nodded. “I am. But…”

His voice trailed off and Jess’s stomach squeezed with dread. Not Jennings. Not now.

“Your friend Amelia…” He began to talk and the dread inside her twisted into foreboding.

Dan spoke haltingly about spending the afternoon clearing out a village where there’d been reports of sniper fire, of a band of rebels still fighting for their now dead Führer. Amelia had been there too; somehow the Major General had got it into his head that she was a fluent German speaker and she’d come to translate but they’d all discovered very quickly that the few German words Dan and his men had picked up in the last month made them better speakers of the language than Amelia.

The Major General had been disgusted, Amelia’s legs and smile not being enough to placate him, and he’d roared off soon after they’d discovered that the reports of sniper fire were false and the whole mission had been a waste of everyone’s time. But the Major General had brought Amelia with him to the village, which left her without a ride back to the ATS lodgings. Dan had been in his jeep with Jennings, about to drive off, when Amelia appeared, simpered at Jennings, and asked if he would give up his seat for her and squeeze into another jeep instead. Of course Jennings, being Jennings, had stuttered, blushed and jumped out of the jeep before Dan could stop him.