“I have the history books.”
“Yeah, well…” he stammered.
“Dolly said she was taking me to an ice cream parlor at eleven.”
“Good, then you won’t be here alone.” He let the water out and dried his hands. “I better go.” He went upstairs and returned a moment later with a handful of papers. “Have you seen my briefcase?”
“Here it is, honey,” she said, mocking Bonnie’s answers to Larry.
J.T. laughed as he walked forward to take it from her. “See you tonight, baby,” he said, then caught himself. He smiled. “I mean, Your Royal Highness.” He left the house.
Aria leaned against the door and smiled. “I think I like ‘baby’ better,” she said.
Dolly arrived exactly at eleven. “Is that what you wear to an ice cream parlor? You look like Merle Oberon.”
“I have nothing else. It isn’t suitable?”
“If you were meeting a grand duke, it would be great.” Dolly was watching Aria’s eyes. “Come on, we’ll go to Gail’s first and see what we can scare up for you to wear. J.T. already go to the base?”
“Yes.”
“Well, maybe we can fix that. I have a surprise for you today. The others aren’t meeting us until three.”
Aria had no idea what Dolly had planned but she followed her out the door.
* * *
J.T. looked at the stack of papers on his desk. There were new plans for changing a ship into a water distillation plant, other plans for installing English radar in an American ship, and other plans for something else under those. He rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t slept well last night, not after Her Royal Highness had sat down on the edge of his bed wearing some exotic scent and two thin layers of silk. And this morning he had watched her awhile before waking her.
He had a job to do, he told himself. He was to teach her to be an American and then get rid of her. That meant no involvement with her personally—and definitely not physically. But there were times when all he could remember was the time on the island when he had stepped around the path and seen her standing nude in the pool. She wasn’t built bad for a princess. Hell! Who was he kidding, she wasn’t built bad for Miss America.
But staying away from her had been easy so far. She was so damned haughty, so cold and inhuman. But this morning she had thawed a little. He smiled at the memory of her imitation of Patty’s walk.
What a strange person she was, he thought. So helpless but at the same time so fearless. Why hadn’t she said a word when she had burned her hand? And the eggs he had cooked! He seemed to remember now that eggs didn’t take as long as bacon to cook but he had put the eggs on, then the bacon, and taken them out at the same time. They were awful but she had eaten them just the same.
“J.T., you still here?”
J.T. was on his feet instantly and saluting smartly to Commander Davis. “Yes sir, I’m still here.”
“I heard you just got married.”
“Yes sir, three days ago.”
“Then why are you here now? Why aren’t you home with your new bride?”
“I wanted to go over the radar plans and the—”
The commander waved his hand. “I’m glad you’re so conscientious but there are other aspects of life besides work—even in wartime. Now this is an order, Lieutenant: go home and spend the rest of the day with your new wife.”
J.T. began to smile. “Yes sir, I’ll obey that order immediately.”
* * *
Aria looked at her reflection in the mirror as if she were hypnotized. She didn’t know the young woman who looked back at her. She put her hand to her hair, now a shoulder-length bob that felt so light and cool. Instead of a somber silk suit she wore a yellow-and-white-print cotton sundress that exposed her arms and shoulders and neck.
“Well?” Dolly asked. “You like it?”
“Very much,” Aria said breathlessly, then held out her skirt and turned about. “It feels so free, so…so…”