“Mother tutored him too.”
“Good.”
“You were saying something about our enemies?”
“They employ intelligence-gathering against us. The Brits have been reading other gentlemen’s mail for centuries, and they’re quite good at it. They’re ‘bringing us along,’ a phrase they would use. We’re the juniors in this new venture, so we need bringing along.”
“I see. I have to admit, what I did in Germany for you—"
“It was for your country.”
“Right. It was very thrilling, dangerous. Reminded me of old times, flying through a thunderstorm or going over the Rockies. But that letter from the Lux Corporation—it’s a new start, a new plane. It’s going to get me back,” she pointed at the sky, “up there.”
“I see, Aubrey. I understand. You were born to soar. The question is where and for whom.” He stopped walking and patted her shoulder. “Well, I must go, I have a telephone call to make.”
“We have a phone in the house.”
“Official business, I’m afraid. I can’t call from here. You and your father are going into town later today?”
“Yes.”
“Why not join me for dinner at my hotel? I’m staying at the Birchmount.”
“We’ll meet you there, say five o’clock?”
“You seemed relieved.”
“Do I? Its just…” She trailed off.
“Tell me.”
“I thought you were going to propose.”
That caught Arthur off guard, and he blushed. She’d never seen a reaction like that from him. Then he started to laugh and she joined him in the joke.
“You know, that’s not a bad idea, but in the end, I don’t think we’d be well suited.”
She hooked her arm in his and steered him back to the house. “Why’s that?”
“You’re too much of a free spirit, like me. Your father never could rein me in when I served with him. A union between the two of us? I’d have the same difficulty. Maybe it would be just punishment.”
They laughed all the way back to the house. As they approached, they saw Colonel Endeavours standing in the front window, holding onto an empty whisky glass. Their laughter fell off as they saw his face. He was looking through them, like they weren’t there. It was a terrified, vacant look.
“Oh, dear. He looks terrible,” Aubrey whispered.
“He’s back there, Aubrey. Back in France, at least in his mind. It’s my fault. I started him drinking when I arrived.” He looked at the colonel, then back at Aubrey. “Does he do that often? Stare like that?”
“I don’t know,” she said, and suddenly the letter from Lux and Arthur Colins’ offer of employment seemed ugly. She would be leaving her father when he needed her the most.
Colonel Endeavours appeared to have recovered when they walked into the house. He came out of the study and said goodbye to his friend after confirming that he and Aubrey would be in town later and would meet him for supper.
After Arthur had driven off, Aubrey went over to her father and asked him if he was feeling alright.
“Just fine,” he said. “We only had the one scotch.”
Aubrey nodded. “Was there anything you wanted to talk about?”
“What did you think of his proposal?”
“He told you?”
“Said he had work for you. For a second I thought he was going to ask my permission to marry you.”
“Funny, I thought the same thing.”
“So, about the job?”
“He couldn’t give me a lot of details.”
“That’s the nature of his work. You’ll understand if you agree to it.”
“What do you think I should do?”
“There’s nothing like serving your country, Aubrey, even in some small part. It fills you with a feeling of accomplishment, of pride.”
Edmundson Endeavours looked back into his study, toward the window. Aubrey followed his gaze.
“Father,” she said gently, “we saw you standing there. It was like you were someplace else.”
“I saw him—Arthur—out there walking, and it brought back a memory is all. It’s over now, past. What’s in the past remains there.”
Her father called to her just after lunch. They had to hurry; the bank closed at three. While he got the Ford started up, she went into the barn to see about Ferguson. He nickered while she rubbed his muzzle, scratched his blaze.
The ride to town was half an hour. They turned out of the drive and passed by the Millerson homestead, but saw no one in the front acreage. Aubrey decided that before she went away on her promotional tour, she would have to stop in there and talk to Hillary Millerson about her father, ask her to watch over the place—and him. She made a mental note to be honest with Mrs. Millerson. She was going to tell her all about her father; the peculiar spells of late. The drinking.
The town of Sacred was home to two thousand people. The main street was bustling with cars and pedestrians. They found a parking spot right in front of the bank. Aubrey and her father split up in front of it. She explained that she had to visit the post office and Western Union. He was going to the bank and then the John Deere dealership to see about a part for their tractor. They would meet up later in the lobby of Arthur’s hotel at the end of the main strip.
Aubrey had a letter to the airplane magazine all made out, with a cheque enclosed; she just needed a stamp. After that was taken care of and the letter was on its way, she crossed the street to the Western Union office, where she paid three dollars and twenty cents to send an expedited telegram to the Lux Corporation. She couldn’t contain the joy she felt when she handed the card across to the telegraph operator. It was a fella she’d gone to school with, Kevin Baker.
“New York city, huh, Aubrey?” Kevin said.
“You bet; they’re going to send me around the country. I’ll be getting a plane again.”
“Try not to crash it this time. My father says you were lucky to live through that.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “Don’t worry, I’ll buzz your house when I
