‘Just joking. I’m on a twenty-four-hour pass, and I’ve been scrounging for some decent food. The folk around here are pretty kind to soldiers. I offer to chop wood or do some odd jobs, and just like that I’m eating again.’
‘What kind of food?’ Ellie asked, moving towards him. Scarlet did the same, staying close to her friend but feeling more relaxed even though she’d never spent a lot of time with strange men before.
‘Just some fruit. A little bread,’ he said with a shrug. ‘One lady cooked me an egg.’
Scarlet couldn’t help but smile at the sweet expression on his face. She would love to eat anything half-decent right now, and fruit would be heavenly. ‘How did it taste?’ she asked, quickly looking away when he caught her gaze.
‘After months without it?’ There was a twinkle in his eye that made her want to look away for good, made her uncomfortable and drew her to him all at the same time. Why was he spending so much time looking at her instead of Ellie? ‘Like heaven on earth.’
‘I think you need to escort us to this place,’ Ellie announced, linking her arm through his like she’d known him for ever and it was the most natural thing in the world for her to do, even though he was still smiling at Scarlet, his gaze trained on her eyes. ‘How about you take a couple of tired nurses to the house with all the food?’
The soldier laughed, gallantly holding out his other arm to Scarlet. His eyes dipped to her mouth for a moment, before returning to her eyes, and she felt a hot flush grace her cheeks.
‘Come on. It’s only proper for a gentleman to escort you both safely. I promise I’ll look after you.’
She took his arm gingerly, not as sure as Ellie, but hearing in his well-heeled accent that he clearly thought it his duty to look after them. She only hoped he wasn’t fooling them.
‘I’m dying for a bath,’ Ellie moaned.
He turned to Scarlet again, almost ignoring Ellie. ‘And you? You must be missing the comforts of home, too.’
‘I think I’d rather a bath than food,’ Scarlet admitted, certain that he’d already figured out that she was missing luxuries more than her friend, her accent surely giving her away.
‘Perhaps you lovely ladies could bathe, and I’ll try to rustle you up something to eat. Although I might need you to join me if I’m going to make anyone believe that the extra food is for nurses and not me.’
‘I’m Ellie,’ Ellie said, ignoring his suggestion and leaning forward, giving Scarlet a stern look that she couldn’t decipher. She sighed as if she was waiting for Scarlet to do something.
Scarlet realised Ellie had been prompting her to introduce herself, but the soldier had her rattled. She had to admit that he was handsome. His hair was dark and thick, his cheeks clean-shaven. He had a golden hue to his skin, no doubt from hours being under the sun since he’d joined up, and when he smiled at them his eyes crinkled just a little at the sides.
‘You know, soldier, you haven’t even told us your name,’ Ellie said.
Scarlet smiled to herself, wishing she was as confident as Ellie.
‘How rude. I’m James,’ he said. ‘It’s my pleasure to meet you both.’
Scarlet stared at the man whose arm she was holding, wishing she could stop studying his features. Now that he’d stopped staring at her, she was doing the same back to him.
‘Well, James, this here is Scarlet. She seems to have lost her voice.’
Scarlet reluctantly kept hold of his arm even though she was feeling uncomfortable about being so close to him. She shouldn’t be liking his smile or his eyes, or losing her words. She was engaged to Thomas, and that meant she should be immune to the charms of other men, surely!
‘Well, m’ladies, we’ll be at the house shortly. Perhaps you’ll permit me to escort you to the doorstep.’
James turned, a wide smile on his face, Ellie still attached to his other arm.
Scarlet giggled. She couldn’t help it. It was like speaking to one of the boys from home. ‘Thank you. It’s very kind of you to spend your precious free time escorting us to this house,’ she said.
His smile made heat flush her skin again.
‘So, who’s going first for the bath, and who’s going to sit out here and keep me company?’ James asked, grinning.
‘Me!’ Ellie announced, swinging away from him. ‘I’m first, which means you can enjoy chatting to my beautiful friend.’
Scarlet was ready to kill her now. ‘Ellie!’ she hissed. She had better not tease her about the soldier once he was gone.
‘You young ladies looking for a hot bath?’ an old man called from his front doorstep nearby. Scarlet thought the big brick house looked like it had seen better days.
‘Yes, please!’ Ellie called back. Then in a quieter voice, ‘I’ll leave you two to have fun. See you soon!’
Scarlet watched as Ellie ran towards the house, scared of turning and looking into the eyes of the man who was making her body betray her. Why did she keep flushing hot and cold, and why did he keep giving her such a look, as if he knew exactly what effect he was having on her?
‘You know, it’s nice to hear a familiar voice,’ he said, smiling, and somehow managing to make her relax a little. ‘Meeting you has made me feel like I’m back at home, which was unexpected. Almost like I’m at one of those interminable dances my mother made me go to, only a whole lot nicer.’
She smiled. ‘I know exactly what you mean.’ The familiarity between them was reassuring.
‘So, how are you enjoying Sussex?’ he asked, dropping down to the dry grass and beckoning for her to do the same.
She did, but she purposely sat further away from him, keeping her distance. She forced a smile even though she was nervous.
‘I suppose it could be worse,’ she said honestly, folding her hands in her lap.
‘Worse than what you’re used to at home?’ he asked, plucking at the grass as he watched her, his eyes never leaving hers.
‘You could say that.’ She laughed, and liked that he smiled straight back at her. Scarlet forced her shoulders to relax, took a deep breath, and tried to let go of whatever it was that was making her feel guilty. He was a soldier and she was a nurse, and if she couldn’t talk to one friendly soldier, then how would she ever be able to treat hundreds of them? ‘You could say that my parents never expected either of their daughters to ever lift a finger, let alone do work like this. My sister followed my father’s wishes, she’s volunteering close to home. But the longer the war has gone on, the more compelled I have felt to do something more.’
‘Ahh, I see. It sounds like our families are similar.’
She met his gaze this time. ‘You have sisters?’
‘No, but the world we come from would definitely mean that if I did, their making the decision to nurse away from home would have been frowned upon.’ He let go of the small handful of grass he’d gathered. ‘Good on you for putting your name forward. It must have taken some courage to go against your family’s wishes.’