The Unlikely Allies

by Gilbert, Morris

  “I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “Not too many people are going to venture out in a storm unless they have a good reason.”

  The two fell silent, and for a time the only sound was the whining of the wind and the sleet striking the truck.

  “That wind sounds like an angry beast trying to get in,” Derek said.

  “It does, doesn’t it?”

  They sat in silence for several more minutes. “Well, we’re going to have to use our body heat—just like the Lapps do in their tents.” Derek smiled despite the difficult situation.

  “I didn’t mean to laugh at you the other night,” Mallory said.

  He moved over and put his arm around her, and she leaned against him. “It didn’t hurt me. I’d never seen anything like it, though. I guess all Lapp families are really close. They have to be.”

  “They’re lovely people. They have a keen sense of humor. I think they were enjoying your discomfort. You looked so funny.”

  “I felt ridiculous too,” Derek said with a laugh, “but I enjoyed meeting them.” He adjusted his arm behind Mallory. “I think I understand a little better now why you left your home to come to these people. I didn’t before.”

  “Most people don’t understand at all, but I think you have to remember that God doesn’t have any favorites.”

  “What an odd thing to say!”

  “Well, we all have favorites. We think kings are more important than chimney sweeps, but they’re not. Not in God’s sight.”

  “You’re a strange woman, Mallory Winslow.”

  “Not so strange.”

  Even in their thick winter coats, Derek was very conscious of Mallory’s body pressed against his as they huddled together in the cold. “Here,” he said. “Let’s get the other blanket.” He struggled to turn around and pull the extra blanket they had brought and arranged it over them. He carefully tucked it in and then settled back with his arm around her again. “Is that better?”

  “Yes. I’ll be all right. Don’t worry about me.”

  Derek found himself unable to think of anything except the closeness of this woman. Since he had lost Rachel, he had been a lonely man, and now his attentions were drawn to Mallory almost as if she were an angel sent to save him. He turned, and she caught his gaze and held it, her eyes as direct as his own. He became vividly aware of the good and warm things he felt for her. She had a woman’s spirited fire beneath the soft depth of her femininity. He knew she would not reveal these things deliberately and thought that it must be his own desires that made them so plain.

  Mallory smiled frankly at him, and it gave him a feeling of pride that she showed no fear of him. As they gazed at each other, he felt a powerful warmth in her presence and saw that she felt the same. He couldn’t be sure in the darkness, but it looked like her cheeks were redder than usual. He pulled her close, and as she lifted her face to his, he felt a great rush of desire. The touch of her lips was like a wild sweetness, stirring him deeply with his longing for her. He did not want this moment to end, and he was shocked when she abruptly pushed him away.

  “You shouldn’t have done that, Derek.”

  He was flustered at her reaction. Hadn’t she wanted him to kiss her? “No . . . no, I know I shouldn’t. I’m sorry.” He blamed himself for misreading her like that. He watched her as she drew back, leaning against the door of the truck. “Do you hate us so much—the German people?” he asked.

  “No, I think your country is wrong, but I don’t hate you.” Mallory was disturbed by what had just happened and didn’t want to talk to him just now. “I think we’d better try to get some sleep.” She turned away from him, drew the blanket closely around her, and shut him out. She did not, however, go to sleep, for she was deeply shaken. She knew he had not kissed her against her will. She had been more than willing to receive his kiss and had in fact invited it. But this wasn’t love, she insisted. It couldn’t be. She didn’t want to fall in love with a German officer. Yet what they shared was the beginning of something. She simply could not understand what. Desperately wishing she hadn’t kissed him, she told herself vehemently, No matter what I’m feeling, nothing good can come of this!

  ****

  Derek got out of the truck and reached up to hand Mallory down. She took his hand and stepped out without speaking.

  “Thanks for the ride,” Derek said to the driver of the truck that had picked them up at dawn. He had hitched up the broken-down vehicle to his own and towed them all the way back to Oslo.

  “That’s all right, Major,” the driver said. “I hope your truck’s not broken completely.” He got out to unhitch Lars’s truck and leave it outside the Karlstads’ place.

  “It’ll be all right, I’m sure. Thank you.”

  The truck had come along as the storm was winding down, and thankfully the driver had spotted them and stopped. He didn’t seem to have much to say, and during the long drive back to Oslo, the three had spoken very little.

  Derek watched as the truck pulled away, then turned and said suddenly, “I behaved badly, Mallory.”

  “We both did.”

  “No, the fault was mine.” He struggled to find the words that would explain himself but could not. Finally he shrugged and said, “I’m a lonely man, Mallory. I hope you can forgive me.”

  “Of course, Derek.”

  “May I see you again?”

  She hesitated. She had not been able to get her mind off of that moment of intimacy they had shared. She could not understand her response to him. She had been kissed several times before but had never felt as she had at that moment. It had touched a deep well in her that had suddenly overflowed. She realized that she longed for such intimacy as much as anyone else, and that if the conditions had been a little different, she might have surrendered more of herself. The thought troubled her, but knowing that the fault was at least half hers, she forced a smile and said, “Yes, of course you may see me again.”

  ****

  Colonel Ludwig Ritter sat bolt upright behind his desk looking up at Derek, who had come to give a report. Ritter had been waiting for an opportunity to dress him down, and now he said, “I’m disappointed in your work, Major.”

  “What bothers you in particular, Colonel?” Derek asked quietly. He knew he did not have the heart for what Ritter required of him, but he met the man’s eyes squarely. Most people collapsed under Ritter’s iron scrutiny, but Derek stood upright and challenged his superior officer.

  “This resistance. It’s getting out of hand, and you’re not helping a great deal.”

  “I’m sorry you think so, sir.”

  “You’ve got to crack down. These people don’t understand softness. You’ve got to put the fear of God in them—or at least the fear of Germans.”

  Derek never dropped his gaze, and finally when Ritter dismissed him curtly, he wheeled and left the room without another word.

  Ritter was irritated, his feelings bruised by the dressing down he himself had received from headquarters in Berlin. He was a hard man, demanding instant obedience, and Derek Grüber’s insolence angered him. If he had been just another officer, he would have cracked down harder, but Grüber’s father was a national hero. One did not strike out at men like that with impunity!

  The door opened, and Stahl entered with a sheaf of papers. “These just came in from Berlin.”

  “What are they?”

  “The usual demands. They can’t understand how stubborn and bullheaded these Norwegians are.”

  “I’d like to see Herr Göring in charge here for a week. Then he would see what it’s like.”

  “What about Major Grüber?”

  “He’s soft, Stahl. Not like his father.”

  “No, sir, I don’t believe he is.” He hesitated, then said, “He’s been seeing that American woman Winslow. I don’t trust her.”

  “Do you have any hard evidence against her?”

  “No, but I’ve got a man watching her. Sooner or later she’ll make a slip.” He snorted a
nd shook his head violently. “All this nonsense about preaching to the Lapps! She’s a liar, and I’ll expose her sooner or later!”

  Ritter nodded but had turned his focus to the papers. “Have you read these?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “We’ve got to implement this.” He tapped the paper on top. “We’re ordered to deport all Jews. Ordinarily I’d ask my second-in-command to take care of this, but I don’t trust Grüber to do it. You and I will take care of it.”

  Stahl was pleased, for he disliked Grüber. “I’m glad you trust me, sir, and believe me, it will be a pleasure to get rid of those filthy Jews!”

  ****

  Mallory carefully packed the battery units into what appeared to be a wicker-covered carboy. It looked, for all practical purposes, like a jug to hold liquid, usually wine, but when the top was removed, an oversized battery was fitted into it. She closed the top carefully, then turned to the large brown leather case. It looked rather like the case a lawyer or an accountant would carry, but she lifted the top and checked the wiring of the large radio concealed within it. Anyone opening the case would know at once it was a radio, but she trusted that no one would think to do that. She turned then to the book, which, according to the cover, was a cookbook. But when she opened it, she gazed with satisfaction at the revolver that lay inside. She had carefully cut out the pages using a razor blade until finally there was a hollow space just large enough to contain the revolver. She picked it up, checked the load, and put it back down again. Her last encounter with the gestapo had made her more careful and apprehensive.

  Closing all the cases and the book, she moved outside and saw that it was starting to rain. She had covered the case with the radio and the carboy with an old raincoat and stuffed them all into the wicker carrier she had made for the back of her bike. The rain began coming down harder, and it was starting to freeze. She had not gotten clear of town and was thinking of the project that she and James St. Cloud were working on. The new radio was more powerful than any she had been able to build, and now it was becoming more and more necessary to have more radio contact with Ajax. She heard a vehicle approaching and pulling over to one side, but when it stopped, she saw it was a German army vehicle and she thought at once of the revolver. She stopped and sat on the bicycle as the cold rain sifted down. She debated how she might get out the revolver if necessary.

  Then she saw that it was Derek who was driving the vehicle. He came around, wearing a slicker over his uniform, but the rain immediately soaked the black peaked cap he wore. “You’re going to freeze to death in this weather, Mallory,” he said. “Come on. Where are you going?”

  “I’m going out to see my friends, the Sorensens.”

  “Get in the truck.”

  “I can’t leave my bicycle.”

  “We can put it in the back. You get in. I’ll handle this.”

  Mallory tried to think of some way to object, for the radio was heavy, but nothing came to her. “All right,” she said. “Here, let me take these things out of the carriers.” Quickly she picked up the case and the carboy and watched as he lifted the bicycle and placed it in the trunk.

  “Do you want to put those things in front so they won’t get soaked?”

  “Yes, if there’s room.”

  “Plenty of room. Come along.”

  Mallory quickly opened the door and got in. She placed the case on the seat beside her and the carboy down on the floor.

  “What’s all that?” Derek asked as he got behind the wheel and slammed the door.

  “Just some things I’m taking out to the Sorensens. They don’t get into town very often.”

  “You’ll have to tell me how to get there.”

  Mallory sat tensely in the seat directing Derek, acutely aware of the incriminating radio and the concealed battery. She was planning ahead how she would run inside with them as soon as she got there and was only partially listening to Derek.

  “There it is right over there. The stone farmhouse.”

  “Who are these people?” Derek asked as he turned and headed for the house.

  “Just some friends of mine. They’ve helped me a great deal with my work with the Lapps—raising funds and things like that.”

  Derek stopped the truck, and Mallory promptly jumped out and grabbed the case and the carboy.

  “I’ll help you with those things.”

  “No, if you’ll just get the bicycle out, I’ll be ready.”

  “Don’t be foolish. That looks heavy.”

  Mallory turned, but Derek was already beside her, and she could not, without making a scene, help but surrender the case. He picked it up, and his eyes widened. “It’s heavy.”

  “Yes, it is. But I can take it.”

  “What is it—wine?”

  “Oh, just something they asked me to pick up for them,” Mallory said evasively. The two walked toward the house, the rain soaking them. Derek’s cap was sodden, and the kerchief that Mallory used to protect her hair was also soaking wet. The door opened as they approached, and Einer Sorensen stepped outside. “Why, I didn’t expect you, Mallory.”

  “I thought I told you I’d be here. I brought the things you asked me to get.” She handed the carboy to Einer and then said, “This is Major Derek Grüber. Major Grüber, this is Mrs. Sorensen.”

  “This is rather heavy. Shall I put it inside for you?”

  Einer shot a quick glance at Mallory, who nodded imperceptibly, then said, “Come in. You’re both soaked.”

  When they stepped inside, Mallory found Bernhard and James St. Cloud sitting at the dinner table. James had on a black-and-red checkered wool shirt with the tail out. She knew he had a pistol under it and said quickly, “Let me introduce you, Major. This is Mr. Sorensen, and this is Mr. St. Cloud.”

  “I’m happy to know you.”

  “Here. Let me take that,” Einer said quickly. She had put the carboy over against the wall and now came to take the case.

  “I’m afraid it’s gotten a little damp. It looks like fine leather. Water sometimes spoils good leather like that.”

  “I’ll take it and dry it off,” Einer said, hurrying from the room, much to Mallory’s relief.

  “I was about to get drowned when Major Grüber saw me on the road and gave me a ride.”

  Mrs. Sorensen came back and said, “We were just having dinner.” She hesitated, then said, “Would you care to join us?”

  “Oh, that would be an imposition!” Derek protested.

  “Not at all,” James said. “There’s plenty here.” He was wearing a black stocking cap on the back of his head and looked somewhat like a farmer. Mallory had noticed before how smooth his hands were, not the hands of a farmer, and hoped he’d have sense enough to keep them concealed.

  “Sit down, Major,” Bernhard said.

  “Well, if I won’t be any trouble.”

  “No, there’s plenty,” Einer said. They all sat down, except Einer, who served them all. The meal consisted of kjottkaker, Norwegian meat balls, served with creamed cabbage. There was also a nutty Norwegian bread to go with it, and Derek ate more than the others. “This is very tasty, Mrs. Sorensen. You’re an excellent cook.”

  “Thank you. I learned to cook when I was a little girl.”

  “What do you hear about the war?” James asked. “We get very little news here.”

  Derek looked up and studied the man, wondering about him. He did not look particularly Norwegian and seemed rather thin to be a farmhand. “About as usual,” Derek said noncommittally. “You farm this land quite a bit?”

  “Lately I have.”

  “What kind of crops do you find grow best here?”

  Mallory was stiff with fear, for she knew James hated farming and cared nothing about crops. She spoke up quickly, “If you want to know about farming, you should ask Bernhard. Everyone says he’s the best farmer in the country.”

  Derek turned his attention to Bernhard, and the distraction gave a great relief to everyone else.

&nbs
p; When the meal was over, Derek thanked the Sorensens and then said to Mallory, “It’s still raining hard. Are you going back to town?”

  “Well, eventually. It’ll probably stop soon.”

  “I doubt it. Why don’t you come with me. It’ll be no trouble. I’m going back anyway.”

  The others watched as the two put on their coats, and as soon as they left, James removed the pistol from where it was stuck in the waistband of his trousers. He walked to the window and looked out, muttering, “I don’t like this. That man’s no fool.”

  “What did she bring in the case?” Bernhard asked.

  “A radio, I think. She was supposed to be getting a very powerful one, and that’s probably the battery for it.”

  “If he had opened that case, she would have been exposed,” Einer said, fear gleaming in her eyes. “She’s playing a very dangerous game.”

  “She is, and I don’t like it. It’s putting us all in jeopardy.” James shook his head and moved out of the room. “I’ve got to check that radio.”

  ****

  As Derek and Mallory pulled out of the drive and headed back toward town, Mallory breathed more easily. “What have you been reading lately?” she asked.

  “I’m interested in an American female writer now—Emily Dickinson.”

  “Yes, I’ve read some of her things. They call her the ‘Nun of Amherst.’ ”

  “Why do they call her that?”

  “Because she never married. She lived in the little town of Amherst, Massachusetts, and led a very cloistered life, so they say. Supposedly, she fell in love with a man, but they didn’t marry, and she spent her life grieving over him.”

  “Look. I brought the book with me. Open it where I’ve got the bookmark and read the poem there.”

  Mallory picked up the book that was on the seat and opened it to the marked page, then read slowly out loud,

  “My life closed twice before its close;

  It yet remains to see

  If immortality unveil

  A third even to me.

  “So huge, so hopeless to conceive

  As these that twice befell.