War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 323

Chapter 42: Ursula

“T

om Westlake denied everything,” Blake told Ursula when he and his partner returned about an hour later. Meanwhile it was approaching 6 a.m. and soon her mother would get up and notice that Ursula hadn’t returned home last night. She didn’t know what was a more frightening prospect: arrest by the British military or the wrath of her mother.

Her face must have shown her fear, because Blake motioned for his partner to leave the room. He settled on the chair beside her and said, “If you think you’re protecting Tom, you’re not. Since there is a witness who saw you climb out of his window, he’ll be tried for lying, breaking base rules and possibly treason.”

“Oh, no.” She hid her face in her hands, guilt sweeping over her. It was her fault, and hers alone, that he was in this situation. She should have been more careful when making her exit, shouldn’t have run away like a headless chicken, shouldn’t have fallen asleep – shouldn’t have agreed to come with him in the first place. It was only her unfulfilled wanton to have privacy with him that had caused this entire mess. What kind of awful woman was she?

She should forget about him, for the sake of everyone involved. Hadn’t even the wise Confucius said, “If you love somebody, let them go free”? Tom would soon forget about her, find himself a swell Englishwoman, one he could present in public, and he’d live happily ever after. But the mere thought of him in the arms of another woman burned like fire in her gut.

“Look, Tom’s a friend and I’d hate to see him discharged dishonorably or worse.”

Ursula glanced up, a sliver of hope entering her. “I’ll do anything to exonerate him. This entire situation is completely my fault.”

“So you did climb out of his window.”

“Yes.” She cast her eyes downward, too embarrassed to look at him because she knew what he was thinking now. A tart. Selling her body for amenities. “It’s all my fault. I should never have come here.”

“Why did you?”

“I can’t tell you,” she whispered. “But Tom is lying to protect me. He probably assumes I’m home already.”

“Why would he want to protect you?”

Ursula fought an inner war whether to expose their big secret or not. She didn’t want to aggravate Tom’s situation any further. “Sir, would… I mean, will you promise not to tell anyone else if I tell you?”

Blake furrowed his brows. “I can’t really promise this, because if it’s a crime then I have to prosecute—“

“No! No!” Her hand flew to her heart. “It’s nothing bad. I mean, maybe it’s kind of bad.” She observed his frown deepening and hurried to explain, “At least not worse than me staying in his quarters.” A heated flush burned her cheeks. “It’s actually the very reason why I was even there.”

Blake relaxed. “Just tell me and I will keep quiet if at all possible.”

“Tom and I have been in love since we first met years ago.”

“Wow! So that’s the reason…” Blake obviously hadn’t expected her answer, because he leaned back, looking at her with wide-open eyes.

“Reason for what?”

“That he’s never shacked up with one of the Fräuleins.” He cocked his head and said, “If you really love him, you have to convince him to admit to inviting you to his quarters.”

She could feel her flush intensifying. The entire base would know that she had spent the night with Tom. But she courageously nodded. Whatever it took to get him out of the mess she had created.

“I have to warn you, though, it might not be pleasant. You might be questioned about… about what you were doing in his quarters. And you’ll definitely have to answer about your expired stay permit.”

“I don’t care. I’ll do anything. Can I talk to him?”

“Not now.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “My shift ends at 6 a.m. Return here at noon and ask for me at the gate. Corporal Ken Blake.”

“Thank you, Corporal. So…” She looked around unsure whether she should get up. “You’re letting me go?”

He chuckled. “Yes. I’m not in the business of arresting beautiful young women in love.”

“Won’t you get into trouble for this?” she asked.

“Let that be my problem. I’ll take you to the gate.”