ever stop being dotty?’
And she said she wouldn’t, then asked him to kiss her again.
Keth blinked open his eyes, looked questioningly around him, then realized he was in a castle in Scotland and that he was home!
‘’Mornin’, sir.’ His batman had opened the blackout curtains and placed a large mug of tea at his bedside.
‘’Morning, Lance Corporal.’ Keth stretched, then swung his feet to the floor, making for the window. All around were wooded hills and in the distance, the glint of early-morning sun on water. The loch they had passed on their way here, perhaps?
‘What did you say this place was called?’
‘I didn’t, sir, but you’ll doubtless be told. It’s Castle McLeish.’
‘And it’s – where?’
‘Somewhere in Scotland, Captain, though if you was to press me, I’d tell you it was in deepest Argyll and more than that I’m not prepared to say.’
‘And who lived here, before the Army took it?’
‘A gentleman who made his money from whisky. He passed the business on to his two sons, then came here to spend the rest of his days in peace and solitude – or so he thought. But now he lives in a croft about five miles away and both his sons are in the Navy. It’s a funny old world, isn’t it?’
‘A funny old world, Lance Corporal.’
And a wonderful world with Daisy only hours away. Argyll. On the west coast of Scotland and directly north of Liverpool by about two-hundred-odd miles! So near, and if only he could find a telephone she would whisper that she didn’t believe he was home again and it was true, wasn’t it? He really was home? And when was he getting leave and when would they be married?
‘When you’re shaved and dressed, sir, I’ll explain the geography of the castle.’
‘Oh – er – yes. Think you’d better.’
‘It’s a rambling, up-and-down sort of place. You could get lost in it and not be found for days. You’ll want the mess, then the adjutant’s office. One in the east wing,’ he said, mournfully, ‘the other in the north tower. Them stone floors play havoc with your feet.’
‘I’ll survive,’ Keth grinned.
‘Yes, sir. Let’s hope so. Some do.’ And some didn’t. His melancholy was on him again. He’d seen them come and he’d seen them go and all of them fine, upstanding young men. Yes, and women, too, which wasn’t right, to his way of thinking. ‘They’ll be serving breakfast now, if you’d like me to show you the way …?’
When Keth returned to collect his cap in readiness for his visit to the adjutant, he found his bed made, his room cleaned and the windows open to the September morning.
And it was a beautiful morning, he thought, breathing deeply on the brisk, tangy air. His whole world was set fair and if he was not to be given a posting to England, then this beautiful part of Scotland would suit him very nicely – once he had sorted a few things out, like where and with whom he would be working – and phoned Daisy or, at the very least, written her a letter. Somewhere in Scotland, he would head that letter, and when she opened it her cry of disbelief would be heard on the other side of the Mersey.
He straightened his tie, brushed away a speck, then tucking his cap under his left arm, made for the north tower and the adjutant who would answer all his questions and explain the intricacies of phoning your girl and why there was such an air of secrecy over the place. He found the north tower with no trouble at all and knocked firmly on the door marked ‘Adjutant’.
‘You’ll be wondering why you are here,’ Keth was asked when pleasantries had been exchanged and hands shaken.
‘Not really. I put in a request for a posting home and I suppose I’ll be doing what I did before. What I really want to know is how I can phone my fiancée, and I’d like an address to give her when I write. She doesn’t know I’m back, you see, and –’
‘And you’re impatient to get in touch? Well, I’m sorry, but there’ll be no phone calls and no letters – at least, not with this address on them. You can write,’ he hastened, prompted by the agonized expression on Keth’s face, ‘but you will have to write your letters exactly as if you were still in Washington. No hints that you’re in UK; nothing to give the game away.
‘This office will have them censored and appropriately franked, and your young lady will receive them in due course and be none the wiser as to your whereabouts – and that’s the best we can do, I’m afraid.’
‘But I don’t understand. I used to work at Bletchley Park and I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, because it’ll all be on my service sheet. And I imagined – wrongly, it seems – that I would take up where I’d left off. Before Washington, I mean …’
‘Yes, it’s all here.’ The adjutant opened a drawer, taking out a bulky folder. ‘You have a knowledge of, er, Enigma?’
‘As much as the next man. Nobody knows, really, what’s going on in that direction – not all of it,’ Keth said guardedly.
‘But you are familiar with Enigma?’
‘I’ve done my fair share of code-breaking.’ Watch your tongue, Purvis!
‘Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe codes – yes. But how about the U-boat codes? How familiar are you with them?’
‘Now look here,’ Keth flung, all at once on his guard, ‘I signed the Official Secrets Act not so long ago, so if you want to know what went on, I suggest you quiz someone else.’
‘Your attitude does you credit, Captain, but I know what goes on at Bletchley; I know there’s a fair amount of success with the German army and air force codes, but I know they can’t break the naval code and it’s become a raging priority. Orders from the Cabinet Office, in fact.’
‘We did break the U-boats’ code – sometimes,’ Keth offered uneasily. ‘It took a lot of doing, though, for some reason. Only managed it a couple of times a week and very often what we gained was yesterday’s knowledge.’
‘Exactly. And we’d rather like to be more up-to-date on it. Either that,’ he shrugged, ‘or we’re going to lose the entire merchant fleet in the Atlantic, and Hitler will have done what he wanted to all along: bring us to our knees by starvation. Our shipping losses are phenomenal and we can’t go on losing ships the way we are. We think there is a variation between the machines used by the Army and Air Force on the one hand and the Navy – which includes U-boats – on the other, and that is why you are here, Captain.
‘From now on your sole preoccupation will be the breaking of the U-boats’ code and that is all I can tell you at the moment. During the next few days the MO will take a look at you, assess your fitness. It’ll be likely you’ll need a day or two toughening up. Your file indicates that you’ve done a small-arms course and the usual rifle drill and are fairly familiar with other forms of self-defence.’
‘Like what?’ Keth scowled.
‘Like using a hand grenade and a basic knowledge of booby traps and explosives.’
‘Self-defence? Sounds more like commando stuff to me. But yes, I did go on one or two courses, though what use they were was always a bit of a mystery.’
‘You’ll find out – in time. Meanwhile, I’ve fixed you an appointment with the medical officer. Be there at ten. It’s likely he’ll prescribe a spot of PT and a few cross-country runs. Oh, and see the dental officer, will you? Best that you should.’ He folded the file with a finality that indicated that the interview was over, then rose to his feet. ‘And don’t look so perplexed. It’ll all be crystal clear by the end of the week.’
Indeed, thought the adjutant, it would have to be.
‘End