have been in love.' She watched his face in the moonlight, and was gratified to see the shadow of displeasure flicker across his expression. 'When I was seventeen, there was a steelworks dispute in Chicago. I was very political, in those days. I went to help, as a volunteer, carrying messages and making coffee. I worked for a young organizer called Jack Largo, and I fell in love with him.'
'And he with you?'
'Goodness, no. He was twenty-five, he thought of me as a kid. He was kind to me, and charming, but he was like that with everyone.' She hesitated. 'He kissed me once, though.' She wondered whether she should be telling Luke this, but she felt the need to unburden herself. 'We were alone in the back room, packing leaflets in boxes, and I said something that made him laugh, I don't even remember what it was. 'You're a gem, Ellie,' he said - he was one of those men who shorten everyone's name, he would have called you Lou for sure/Then he kissed me, right on the lips. I nearly died of joy. But he just went on packing leaflets as though nothing had changed.'
'I think he did fall in love with you.'
'Maybe'
'Are you still in touch with him?'
She shook her head. 'He died.'
'So young!'
'He was killed.' She fought back sudden tears. The last thing she wanted was for Luke to think she was still in love with the memory of Jack. 'Two off-duty policemen, hired by the steelworks, got him in an alley and beat him to death with iron bars.'
'Jesus Christ!' Luke stared at her.
'Everyone in town knew who had done it, but nobody was arrested.'
He took her hand. 'I've read about that kind of stuff in the papers, but it never seemed real.'
'It's real. The mills must keep rolling. Anyone who gets in the way has to be rubbed out.'
'You make it sound as if industry were no better than organized crime.'
'I don't see a big difference. But I don't get involved any more That was enough.' Luke had started talking about love, but she had stupidly moved the conversation on to politics. She switched back. 'What about you?' she said. 'Have you ever been in love?'
'I'm not sure,' he said hesitantly. 'I don't think I know what love is.' It was a typical boy's answer. Then he kissed her, and she relaxed.
She liked to touch him with her fingertips while they kissed, stroking his ears and the line of his jaw, his hair and the back of his neck; Every now and again he stopped to look at her, studying her with the hint of a smile, making her think of Hamlets Ophelia saying: 'He fell to such perusal of my face, as a would draw it.' Then he would kiss her again. What made her feel so good was the thought that he liked her this much.
After a while he drew away from her and sighed heavily. 'I wonder how married people ever get bored,' he said. 'They never have to stop.'
She liked this talk of marriage. 'Their children stop them, I guess,' she said with a laugh.
'Do you want to have children, some day?'
She felt her breath come faster. What was he asking her? 'Of course I do.'
I'd like four.'
The same as his parents. 'Boys or girls?'
'A mixture.'
There was a pause. Elspeth was afraid to say anything. The silence stretched out Eventually he turned to her with a serious look. 'How would you feel about that? Having four children?'
It was the cue she had been waiting for. She smiled happily. 'If they were yours, I'd love it,' she said.
He kissed her again.
Soon it became too cold to stay where they were, and reluctantly they drove back towards the Radcliffe dorms.
As they were passing through Harvard Square, a figure waved to them from the side of the road. 'Is that Anthony?' Luke said incredulously.
It was, Elspeth saw. Billie was with him.
Luke pulled over, and Anthony came to the window. 'I'm glad I spotted you,' he said. 'I need a favour.'
Billie stood behind Anthony, shivering in the cold night air, looking furious. 'What are you doing here?' Elspeth asked Anthony.
'There's been a muddle. My friends in Fenway have gone away for the weekend - they must have got the dates mixed up. Billie has nowhere to go.'
Billie had lied about where she was spending the night, Elspeth recalled. Now she could not return to her dorm without revealing her deception.
'I took her to the House.' He meant Cambridge House, where he and Luke lived. Harvard men's dormitories were called 'Houses'. 'I thought she could sleep in our room, and Luke and I could spend the night in the library.'
Elspeth said: 'You're crazy.'
Luke put in: 'It's been done before. So what went wrong?'
'We were seen.'
'Oh, no!' Elspeth said. For a girl to be found in a man's room was a serious offence, especially at night. Both the man and the woman could be expelled from the university.
Luke said: 'Who saw you?'
'Geoff Regeon and a whole bunch of men.'
'Well, Geoffs all right, but who was with him?'
'I'm not sure. It was half dark and they were all drunk. I'll talk to them in the morning.'
Luke nodded. 'What are you going to do now?'
'Billie has a cousin who lives in Newport, Rhode Island,' Anthony said. 'Would you drive her there?'
'What?' said Elspeth. 'But it's fifty miles away!'
'So it will take an hour or two,' Anthony said dismissively. 'What do you say, Luke?'
'Of course,' Luke said.
Elspeth had known he would comply. It was a matter of honour for him to help out a friend, regardless of the inconvenience. But she was angry all the same.
'Hey, thanks,' Anthony said lightly.
'No problem,' Luke said. 'Well, there is a problem. This car is a two-seater.'
Elspeth opened the door and got out. 'Be my guest,' she said sulkily. She felt ashamed of herself for being so bad-tempered. Luke was right to rescue a friend in trouble. But she hated the thought of him spending two hours in this little car with sexy Billie Josephson.
Luke sensed her displeasure and said: 'Elspeth, get back in, I'll drive you home first'
She tried to be gracious. 'No need,' she said. 'Anthony can walk me to the dorm. And Billie looks as if she might freeze to death.'
'Okay, if you're sure,' Luke said.
Elspeth wished he had not agreed quite so fast.
Billie kissed Elspeth's cheek. 'I don't know how to thank you,' she said. She got into the car and closed the door without saying goodbye to Anthony.
Luke waved and drove off.
Anthony and Elspeth stood and watched the car recede into the darkness.
'Hell,' said Elspeth.
.
6.30 A. M.
Stencilled on the side of the white rocket is the designation 'UE' in huge black letters. This is a simple code -
HUNTSVILEX
1234567890
- so UE is missile number 29. The purpose of the code is to avoid giving clues as to how many missiles have been produced.
