The Skylark's Secret(50)
Mairi had to nudge Flora to get her attention. She’d been distracted by the sight of a destroyer waiting out near the mouth of the loch as the tugs manoeuvred the boom nets to allow it to enter the harbour. She couldn’t make out which it was, but was hoping Alec might be on board.
Mairi nudged her again. ‘What do you think?’
‘Hmmm?’
‘About chaperoning Bridie with the Yanks tonight?’
‘Oh yes, all right. I’ll see if Ruaridh can come, shall I? He’d enjoy meeting the Americans, too.’
‘Good idea. And there’s safety in numbers, in case one of them tries to sweep Bridie off her feet and take her away to New York.’
‘Chance’d be a fine thing!’ Bridie retorted, although the hopeful look on her face gave away the fact that she’d already been imagining exactly such a scenario.
As they came in out of the frosty night, a cosy fug greeted them in the packed tavern, the atmosphere heavy with beer fumes and cigarette smoke. Ruaridh pushed his way through the throng, the girls following close on his heels. Men were standing three-deep at the bar and the cacophony of voices was a rich blend of accents and languages: Flora picked out Scots, English, Welsh, American, Polish and French, as well as some other foreign languages she couldn’t identify. Just as they were despairing of finding a seat, they heard a shout of, ‘Miss Macdonald! Over here!’
A tall, blond-haired American was waving them over to a table in the corner that he and several friends had commandeered. Three of the men stood, offering their chairs to the girls, as Bridie’s new friend made the introductions.
‘It’s swell you came. Quite a joint you got here. We weren’t expecting Scotch hospitality to be like this!’ The sailor pumped Bridie’s hand enthusiastically before turning to Flora and Mairi. ‘Hal Gustavsen, pleased to meet ya. That’s Stan, Greg and Ralph. And that there’ – he gestured towards an even taller young man with the same flax-coloured hair – ‘is my big brother, Roy.’
Hal insisted on buying the next round of drinks, refusing Ruaridh’s offer. ‘No way, buddy. The drinks are on Uncle Sam tonight.’
The Americans’ easy manners and generosity had infected the whole room. Several merchant ships were in port and their crews were happy to have a few days’ respite after the perils of the Atlantic run. The Arctic journey loomed ahead, but tonight they could relax and enjoy themselves. Hal monopolised Bridie, and Flora and Ruaridh chatted with the others, answering their questions about the best places to play golf and the best beaches to walk to in the area.
‘February’s not exactly the best month for exploring, though,’ Ruaridh pointed out.
‘After our Midwest winters, this feels like kinda gentle weather you got here,’ laughed Ralph, undaunted. ‘We’re more used to snowdrifts as high as your head. And we’ve been cooped up on that ship for weeks. It’ll be good to stretch our legs on dry land for a coupla days.’
In the corner, Mairi sat next to Roy, who seemed a good deal quieter than his exuberant younger brother. But they soon discovered a mutual interest in dairy cattle – Roy and Hal having lived on their parents’ farm in Wisconsin before volunteering for the Merchant Marine when America joined the war – and were deep in conversation by the time Hal and Stan fought their way back to the table with the second round of drinks. The farm boys had grown up surrounded by an ocean of land. Mairi and Flora were fascinated as Roy described the endless prairies with their seas of waving wheat. ‘We’d never seen so much water as the day we embarked from New York. We thought Lake Michigan was big until we saw the Atlantic! There were days when I thought we’d never see land again.’
‘You must miss the farm,’ Mairi said.
‘Sure do. But we have a job to get done, helping you Brits keep the Russkies supplied so they can stop Mr Hitler in his tracks. Besides, when Hal here volunteered, there was no way I could let my baby brother pull such a crazy stunt on his own. I promised Mom and Pop I’d keep an eye on him for them.’ His face grew serious as he described what it meant to them to be playing their part. ‘My grandparents emigrated to the States from Norway. So it’ll be good to sail past the old country, even if it is occupied by the Nazis now. All the more reason to do our bit to free them again. Those are our people, right there, and it hurts real bad to know they’re suffering.’
Late in the evening, the revellers began to disperse back to their ships and their homes. Hal and Roy insisted on walking Bridie and Mairi home, even though Flora and Ruaridh were passing their doors on the way back to Keeper’s Cottage. Ruaridh had promised to walk up to the lochan to fish for grayling the next day with the brothers and whoever else was free.
Flora glanced back after they’d taken their leave at Mairi’s gate. In the darkness, she could just make out the figures of Mairi and Roy, still deep in conversation.
She smiled to herself as she walked on. Because she couldn’t have sworn to it, and maybe it was a trick of the shadows, but it looked as though Roy had reached out and taken both of Mairi’s hands in his, his fair hair gleaming pale in the moonlight as his head bent towards hers.
Lexie, 1978
We’ve all arranged to meet at the bar tonight and Davy and the band will be playing as usual.
Bridie comes to babysit. ‘Have fun celebrating,’ she says as I pull on my jacket.