Only Love Can Heal

by Rosie Harris

  ‘Watch out or I shall be spilling these drinks,’ she giggled as she deftly side-stepped out of reach.

  ‘Come here!’

  ‘Let me see to this order, then I’ll be back,’ she promised.

  He leaned back against the bar, watching her make her way between the tables with the loaded tray. Lust stirred within him as he studied her shapely buttocks jiggling beneath her skimpy tight skirt. As she bent over the table to hand out the drinks, his gaze fastened on the cleavage between her plump breasts and he smiled fatuously, recalling the lush feel of their ripeness, eager to hold her again.

  Fortified by the sandwiches and coffee Maria brought him, Robert began to sober up. Once the world was back in focus he remembered Kate wasn’t coming to Germany after all and felt unbearably depressed.

  He had been looking forward so much to them being together at last. He had been allocated a splendid apartment. The rooms were spacious and well furnished and there was a well fitted kitchen and an elegant bathroom. He had thought it would be an excellent start to their life together. A compensation for all the many problems they had faced ever since they had decided to marry.

  He tried to think dispassionately about Lady Dorothea and her illness. He knew she couldn’t fake a heart attack and yet it did seem strange that each time he and Kate planned to do something she was taken ill.

  It was all part of the strained relationship between himself and Kate’s parents, he thought wryly. Sir Henry was slowly coming to terms with the situation and seemed to be prepared to accept him, as long as he made a satisfactory career of the army. But Lady Dorothea was quite a different matter.

  The more Robert thought about it the more he felt sure that Mabel Sharp’s influence lay behind Lady Dorothea’s intense dislike of him. Kate’s old nanny still regarded him as an intruder because he wasn’t from the ‘county set’ and resented the fact that he was taking Kate away from the family.

  By the time Maria eventually finished work for the night, Robert was morosely sober.

  ‘But I thought you were taking me home,’ she pouted when he told her he was leaving.

  ‘It will be all I can do to take myself,’ he observed.

  ‘Perhaps we should see each other home then,’ she retorted archly as she linked her arm through his and smiled up into his face.

  Once outside in the fresh air, Robert felt decidedly groggy.

  ‘You had better lean on me,’ Maria giggled as he staggered down the steps of the Club. ‘Tell me where you live and I’ll get a cab.’

  ‘Yes, put me in a cab, that is the best thing to do,’ he muttered thickly. ‘Apartment eight … Hanstrasse,’ he said hesitantly.

  ‘You don’t seem to be too sure about it, perhaps I should come along as well to make sure you have the right address,’ Maria suggested slyly.

  ‘I’ve only just moved in there,’ he mumbled, ‘but I’ll know if it is the right place when I see it.’

  ‘And your wife, she is at this address waiting for you?’

  ‘If she was, I wouldn’t be out drinking on my own and getting pissed out of my mind, now would I?’ he snarled as he slumped onto the back seat. He lay back, closing his eyes, trying to control the waves of sickness that invaded his throat.

  ‘Then where is she and why are you living on your own?’ Maria questioned and listened wide-eyed while he explained what had happened.

  After they had paid off the taxi, she took his key and helped him into his apartment. Leaving him in the bathroom, and closing the door so that she could no longer hear him retching, she made a quick inspection of the rooms. When he staggered into the living room, white-faced and sweating, she handed him a cup of strong black coffee and steadied his hand while he drank it. Then she mopped away the beads of sweat from his brow before helping him through to the bedroom.

  She helped him to remove his shoes, and to take off his jacket and trousers, before he collapsed onto the double bed. Then, she covered him over with the duvet and left him to sleep.

  ‘Well, Captain Campbell, how do you feel this morning?’

  Robert groaned and covered his eyes with the back of his hand as someone whisked up the blind and sunshine flooded into the room bringing a promise of a crisp autumn day.

  For several minutes he lay perfectly still, wondering where he was and why his eyes and head hurt so much. He was confused because it was a woman’s voice that had asked the question and not one of the orderlies.

  Cautiously he opened his eyes again, shielding them from the sunshine, and looked around him. At first he didn’t recognise the spacious room with its double bed, and floral duvet that matched the frilled drapes at the window.

  He levered himself up onto one elbow, groaning as sharp pains shot through his head.

  ‘Here, drink this, it will work wonders.’

  Blindly he reached out. It was not coffee as he had expected but something in a small glass that had a sharp acrid smell.

  ‘Drink it!’

  Obediently he tipped his head back and swallowed the contents. A shudder ran through him at the bitterness of the concoction. He tried to remember where he was and what had happened. It was not Kate’s voice … and yet the face seemed to be familiar.

  ‘Is there any coffee?’

  ‘In a minute. Let that do its work first.’

  He lay back, eyes closed, trying to remember where he was and how he came to be there. Slowly his brain began to clear.

  ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ he asked, sitting up and frowning at Maria.

  As she came over and perched on the side of the bed, he noticed that she still had on the skimpy, tight black skirt she had been wearing at the restaurant the evening before.

  ‘Have you been here all night?’ he asked suspiciously.

  ‘Of course!’ She smiled, lightly running a forefinger down his cheek.

  ‘Where did you sleep?’

  ‘There, with you,’ she nodded to the pillow alongside his own and as he turned to look he could see an indentation where a head had rested.

  ‘Do stop worrying, Robert Campbell. Nothing happened. You were out of this world. You fall dead asleep as soon as you lie down and you snore all through the night. After working all evening I, too, was very tired so I lie there and sleep alongside you. This morning I wake early, I shower and dress then wait for you to wake up. It is now lunchtime so I am hungry. We will go somewhere and eat. Yes?’

  ‘I have to get back to Barracks …’

  ‘No, that is not so. You told me last night that you had taken some leave to be with your wife when she arrived here from England, only she never came. So, you have much time to spare. You will take me for lunch. Yes?’

  ‘I am not hungry,’ Robert scowled.

  ‘Perhaps not, but I am. And since I looked after you last night, when you were so very drunk, I expect you to buy me lunch now,’ she told him firmly. ‘First though, we go to my place so that I can change my clothes.’

  ‘Just leave me alone, I feel awful,’ Robert groaned. He lay back on the pillow, his eyes closed, longing for a drink, yet knowing that if he had one he would probably be sick. If only Maria would just go away and leave him in peace, he thought wearily.

  ‘Come!’ Briskly, she yanked the duvet off him. ‘Take a shower. The draught of bitters I gave you will have worked by now.’

  Reluctantly, Robert dragged himself out of bed. The stinging jet of water acted like a tonic. By the time he had showered, shaved and dressed he was feeling almost normal. His head had cleared and only a raging thirst was left to remind him of his drinking bout.

  Maria had the rest of the day free and she was quite determined that they should spend it together. At first Robert felt guilty about taking her out but by the time they returned to his apartment after lunch not only had he come to accept the situation but was enjoying her company.

  ‘If you are lonely then perhaps I should move in with you,’ she smiled provocatively.

  ‘Christ, no! What the hell are you th
inking of.’

  ‘Better than for you to be here on your own,’ she said with a deprecating little shrug.

  ‘I won’t be staying on here in married quarters now that Kate is not joining me.’ He looked round the elegant lounge, mentally comparing it with his room back in the Barracks.

  ‘You don’t have to give up this wonderful apartment right away though, do you,’ Maria whispered persuasively, settling lightly on his knee and sliding her arms around his neck. ‘No one knows your wife so why don’t we stay here together?’ Her breath was warm and soft on his cheek as she raised her mouth temptingly to his. ‘Just for a few days … to help you get over your disappointment.’

  He made to push her away but as his hands came in contact with her body the resolve went out of him.

  He never knew how they came to be in bed, naked. One minute they had been in the lounge and the next they were making love with a passion and fervour such as he had never known.

  Maria brought such a wealth of sexual experience that he was almost delirious with anticipation. There was no tenderness, no love. It was more like an athletic encounter, but it sent his pulses racing and left him hungry for more. And Maria seemed as eager as he was.

  Whereas with Kate their lovemaking had been gentle and almost wordless, Maria was talkative and filled his mind with erotic images. There was an eagerness about every movement of her body, a kind of gutter ecstasy that inflamed him into a savage and fierce taking, as if his body was seeking some sort of carnal vengeance.

  Afterwards, although he felt abased by what had happened he was eager for Maria to stay. He had never known such wild sexual pleasure. Her fiery emotions had roused all his pent-up longings and he was filled with tremendous anticipation of what new thrills still awaited him.

  His resentment because Kate was not joining him was replaced by the euphoria of almost unbearable excitement. With her glinting sea-blue eyes, lustrous black hair, inviting red lips and curvaceous figure, Maria seemed the most desirable, infatuating creature he had ever known.

  In comparison, Kate appeared as timid as a country mouse. Everything about her, from her straight brown hair and big trusting brown eyes to her delicate colouring, soft skin and sensitive mouth, was so gentle and understated.

  Her elegant bearing, controlled graceful walk and air of refinement, the things which had initially attracted him to her, now seemed pretentious when compared with Maria’s exciting earthiness.

  He kept thinking of what Maria had said about not vacating the apartment right away. She was quite right, why shouldn’t they stay on there … at least for a while. A bizarre sense of excitement welled up inside him. No one had ever seen Kate so how were they to know whether Maria was his wife or not. As long as he never took her to any army functions, and warned her not to talk to anyone else in the apartment block, who would even know they were living together?

  And it wouldn’t hurt Kate, he argued with himself. It wasn’t as if he was in love with Maria. She was simply a diversion because he was lonely. And it was Kate’s fault that he was on his own, he reminded himself. If she had arrived as planned he would never have met up with Maria.

  He grinned to himself, running a hand through his hair, it was as if Fate was taking a hand again, he thought complacently.

  Chapter 13

  ‘Promise me you won’t stay away long … not more than a couple of days,’ Lady Dorothea’s voice was faint and two bright spots of colour stood out on her cheekbones like dabs of rouge.

  ‘I’ll be back within the week,’ Kate promised, gently kissing her mother’s damp brow and pushing the strands of lank grey hair back from the raddled face. ‘Nanny will take care of you while I’m away, won’t you?’ She turned with a warm smile to Mabel Sharp who was hovering close by.

  ‘Case of having to, isn’t it,’ Mabel Sharp sniffed. ‘Just you make sure you do come back, that is all,’ she added ominously.

  ‘I will, I promise.’

  Refusing to be deterred by either of them, Kate walked quickly out of the room. She felt desperately guilty about leaving her mother but it had been almost five months since she had seen Robert and some instinct warned her that all was not well between them even though he wrote regularly.

  She tried to explain this to her father while he was driving her to the station but he was less than sympathetic.

  ‘You knew there would be difficulties when you married into the army,’ he grunted. ‘When you were a child there were times when I was on an overseas tour and didn’t see you or your mother for months. I suppose you have forgotten all about that.’

  ‘No, I fully understand that we will be parted from time to time. But we had only just married when Mother was taken ill. It was the very first day of our honeymoon, if you remember. And we haven’t seen each other since Robert went back to Germany.’

  ‘He should have had some leave by now,’ Sir Henry snapped. ‘Check it out when you get over there.’

  Her father was right, of course. The same niggling doubt had been festering in her own mind for many weeks now. It was one of her reasons for deciding to make a surprise visit.

  She mulled over the problem as she journeyed to London for her flight from Heathrow to Hanover. She still felt she was not to blame for their separation and that under the circumstances her priorities had been the right ones.

  When she arrived in Germany it was raining and as she struggled to remember the smattering of German she had picked up from phrase books she wished she had phoned Robert to let him know she was coming.

  Finally, she decided there was only one thing to do, phone the Barracks and ask Robert to come out to the airport.

  ‘Captain Campbell? He is not here at the moment. I can give you his home number, you may be able to contact him there.’

  Hurriedly, Kate noted down the figures before the line went dead. It was a number she had never heard of before and, as she sorted through her purse for the right coins to make the call, she wondered if the man had made a mistake and confused him with someone else. Still puzzled she dialled. A woman’s voice answered in German.

  ‘Do you speak English?’

  ‘Yes. What is it you want?’

  ‘I am not sure if I have the right number …’

  ‘This is apartment eight, Hanstrasse.’

  ‘I am sorry to trouble you. I am trying to contact Captain Campbell …’

  ‘Captain Robert Campbell? Yes, this is his home …’

  Kate dropped the receiver back into its cradle. Her hand was shaking, waves of heat sent sweat trickling down the back of her neck.

  ‘Captain Robert Campbell … this is his home … this is his home,’ the words echoed over and over in her head. What could it mean? The only address Robert had ever given her was the Barracks. Utterly bewildered, she reached out for the phone to ring again, then changed her mind. Picking up her suitcase, she went in search of a cab.

  ‘Apartment eight, Hanstrasse.’

  She had no idea in which direction they were going and when the cab finally pulled up in front of a block of modern flats she made no move to get out.

  ‘Wir halten sie hier.’ The driver spoke to her in German but Kate shook her head, shrugging her shoulders to try and indicate she had no idea what he was saying.

  ‘You English?’

  ‘Yes,’ she nodded eagerly.

  ‘This is apartment eight, Hanstrasse. Do you want me to wait?’

  ‘Yes. Yes, wait until I know if it is the right place.’

  Leaving her case in the taxi, Kate went up the steps and into the building. It was quite easy to find apartment eight. She hesitated briefly before ringing the bell, hoping she had not made any mistake. Her confusion increased when the door was opened by a plump, black-haired girl.

  ‘I am looking for Captain Robert Campbell …’

  ‘You phoned?’ The alert sea-blue eyes held hers.

  ‘That is right. I am not sure if I have the right address though …’

  The girl smiled,
her teeth a gleaming white against the bright red of her lipstick. ‘He is not here yet but should be soon. You will come in and wait?’

  Still wondering what she ought to do, Kate tried to see into the living room beyond. In her smart red velour pant-suit, the girl didn’t look like a maid or a cleaner and yet she seemed to have the run of the place.

  ‘I have left my suitcase in the taxi …’

  ‘Why don’t you go and collect it. I will make you some coffee to drink while you wait for Robert. He will be here any minute.’

  Bemused and still unsure who the girl was, Kate nodded her agreement. The taxi driver beamed at her generous tip and pushed a card with his address and telephone number on it into her hand, assuring prompt service night or day.

  As she carried her case back to the apartment, Kate heard footsteps behind her. The tall broad-shouldered figure in officer’s uniform would have walked right past her had she not said his name. As he came abruptly to a stop, Robert tried to shutter the shock m his green eyes as he recognised her.

  ‘Kate … it can’t be … what in heaven’s name are you doing here!’

  ‘Robert! It is the right address, then.’

  She was in his arms, conscious of their strength as they clasped her. Nothing else mattered. The surprise that had so nearly turned into a nightmare was over. Then she was suddenly aware that he was frowning as he looked at her.

  ‘I wish you had let me know you were coming,’ he said hugging her. ‘I am still trying to puzzle out how you managed to find this place.’

  He had stopped outside the door of apartment eight, was searching for the keys.

  ‘Your maid said she would leave the door open,’ Kate told him and gave it a push so that it swung inwards.

  ‘Aah! So you have found each other.’ Maria’s sea-blue eyes scrutinised them both questioningly.

  There was an uneasy silence as Kate looked from Robert to Maria and back again.

  ‘I’d better introduce you,’ Robert said awkwardly. ‘Maria, this is my wife, Kate. Maria is using our apartment temporarily,’ he added quickly turning back to Kate. ‘If I had known you were coming over then, of course, she would have found somewhere else.’