War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 315

Chapter 34: Ursula

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rsula moped around. Tom’s absence had sucked the joy right out of her bones. What good did it do that he was stationed in Germany, if she still couldn’t see him? As far as she was concerned, he could be on the other end of the world.

She balled her hand into a fist and punched it against the wall in despair. It wasn’t Tom’s fault, but right now she resented him for not standing up for her. He should go to his commanding officers, tell them they loved each other and an exception needed to be granted for them.

“It’s hard, isn’t it?” Anna had entered the kitchen.

Ursula scoffed. “I’m alternating between wanting to strangle him, his superiors, Churchill himself, or myself.”

“Don’t do any of this,” Anna said, putting a hand on Ursula’s arm.

“It’s just… I want to see him. No, I must see him. I can’t keep living without him. It’s as if my heart beats at half-pace when he’s not around. I grew so accustomed to having him around these last four days, and now he’s gone. Everything’s so empty.”

“How can a house with twenty-four people be empty?” Anna said, trying to lighten the mood, but it made Ursula sob.

“Because number twenty-five is not here. I miss him so much already, and he has no idea when or if he can return.” An overwhelming sense of solitude entered Ursula’s heart. She knew it was selfish because so many others, including Aunt Lydia and Mutter, didn’t even know whether their husbands were still alive. “I just want what every other woman has: the right to say Tom is my man and I love him.”

“I’m so sorry.” Anna put an arm around her sister’s shoulders and they commiserated several minutes in silence until Anna spoke up again. “I might have an idea.”

“You do?” Ursula looked up, a sliver of hope lightening the heavy burden on her shoulders.

“There’s no guarantee it’ll work.”

“I don’t care. As long as there’s a chance to see Tom…”

“Even when you’re in Berlin, you won’t be able to officially date him or even see him every day,” Anna cautioned her.

“Anything is better than staying here waiting for him until the cows come home. ” Ursula sent a pleading look at her sister. “Tell me your idea already.”

“Alright. Why don’t you return to Berlin with us?”

“Really?” Ursula’s entire body filled with giddiness.

“Sure. Getting a temporary travel permit to visit family shouldn’t pose a problem. And once you’re there, we’ll see what we can do.”

“Maybe Peter can pull some strings with the British administration where he works?”

Anna frowned. “I doubt he’s important enough, but… I could ask Professor Scherer. He’s best friends with all the victors except for the Soviets, who still hate his guts for leaving them to work for the Americans.”

“Oh, Anna. You’re the best sister in the world!” Ursula threw herself at her sister, hugging her tightly.

Late in the afternoon, Lotte, Richard and Rachel returned from their visit to Mindelheim and found Ursula and Katrina in the kitchen preparing the evening meal.

“Did you have any success?” Ursula asked them as she warmed the leftover soup for them.

“In fact, we did.” Lotte beamed with pride.

“But there’s a small problem,” Richard added. “We wanted to talk to Aunt Lydia first.”

“She should be here any minute,” Ursula answered. Lydia had spent most of the day with Jörg in the utility shed, fixing things.

“I’ll go and get my mom,” one of the children said and slopped into an oversized pair of boots, not even bothering to put on a coat.

“Hey, wait, it’s cold out…” Ursula smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s no use. These children… it’s about as easy as herding cats.”

Minutes later Lydia returned with an apprehensive expression on her face. “Helmut said it was an emergency.”

“It isn’t. No major catastrophe, just a question.” Lotte eased her aunt’s worries.

“A question from you, Lotte, most of the time is akin to a major catastrophe,” Lydia said, sighing. “So what is it?”

Richard cleared his throat and recounted the happenings in the town house.

“So, they locked Herr Keller and Hans up?” Ursula asked, hoping that justice would finally prevail.

“I wish,” Lotte sighed.

Richard shook his head. “I don’t know what is to become of Herr Keller and his family. But after interrogating everyone, Major Chambers decided they have to leave the Epstein farm by the end of the week.”

“Well, that’s fantastic news.” Ursula beamed, but glancing at the faces of her siblings and Rachel she shrugged and asked, “Or, isn’t it?”

Rachel sighed. “I’m not of age yet and can’t legally assume ownership of the farm. The major said I’d have to present him with someone, an experienced farmer, who accepts guardianship over me and my siblings. At the same time this person needs to guarantee the farm is tended to properly and keeps up with the food production.”

“He said he couldn’t risk losing one of the food producers in his area,” Lotte added.

Ursula felt sorry for Rachel, because the only farmers she could think of were former Nazis with their only goal to enrich themselves.

“We thought that maybe you could do this, Aunt Lydia,” Richard said.

Aunt Lydia shook her head. “What were you thinking? I barely manage to keep my farm afloat, with the labor shortages and everything. I can’t be responsible for another farm, or four more people. It’s impossible.”

Richard sought Katrina’s eyes and Ursula witnessed how the two of them exchanged an entire conversation with that one gaze. In the end, Katrina nodded and Richard smiled from ear to ear, leaving Ursula wondering what all of this was about.

“I’ll run the farm,” Richard said with a loud voice and all heads jerked staring at him. “Katrina and I have been talking about having our own farm one day and this would be a great opportunity to practice. We’ll teach Rachel and her siblings everything they need to know about farming and maintaining a house.”

“You?” Aunt Lydia said. “You don’t even know how to milk a cow.”

“But Katrina does. She grew up on a farm. She knows everything there is to know, and we’re both not strangers to hard work.”

Rachel smiled. Like everyone else she’d come to like Katrina in the short time the two women had known each other. “That would be nice.”

“But you’re not twenty-one, either,” Ursula said. “You can’t be the guardian.”

“I forgot.” Richard’s shoulders sagged as he scratched his beard, sad that his brilliant idea wouldn’t work out.

“But Aunt Lydia could. Can’t you, please?” Lotte pleaded with her aunt. “You’d be the guardian on paper only, but Richard and Katrina would do all the hard work. Wouldn’t you be happy to have them out of your hair?”

“Not really,” Aunt Lydia laughed. “Both of them have proven to be a great help and I would miss their manpower, but…” She sighed, looking around at the expectant faces. “I guess I can’t say no.”

“You’re the best!” Lotte jumped up to embrace her aunt.

“Impulsive as always. When will you learn to behave like a lady?” Aunt Lydia asked.

“Tomorrow, I promise,” Lotte said with a laugh.

“To give her credit, she showed a self-restraint I hadn’t thought possible earlier today at the town hall.” Richard helped his sister out.

“Well, then it’s settled. Rachel and I will visit with Major Chambers tomorrow and deal with the formalities,” Aunt Lydia announced.

“I’ll go with you,” Ursula said, intent on putting Anna’s plan in motion. If everything worked out, she’d soon be held in Tom’s arms again.