Enigma (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Victoria watched as the farm house became obscured through the thick trees. Her family disappeared from view as James placed his hand on her knee. Glancing towards him, she gently took his hand and held it in her lap. He felt a tremendous amount of guilt but he was simply doing his job. In time, the ache and hurt would end and Victoria would have a good relationship with her mother again. It would simply take time.

"You know that you've done nothing wrong, right?" Victoria asked him softly as he turned onto the main road. "You are simply doing your job. It might not be the easiest task, but it is necessary. My mother and father know that deep down."

 

[KiwiD82]

James was grateful to Victoria for breaking the silence. She always seemed to know just the right thing to say.

"I know," he nodded as he drove through a small country village. "And I know your father knows, too."

He squeezed her hand gently as she held it in his lap. Her skin was warm and he always felt calmed when they touched.

"I just hope your mother understands."

James knew Ruth's discomfort was not merely that Robert Stirling was not Victoria's birth father, but that her other daughters were not Victoria's full sisters.

James was sure Victoria must have known that - she was the smartest person he knew and a brilliant puzzle solver - but it hadn't been mentioned, so he wondered if it didn't particularly bother her.

 

[heartofcourage]

"In her own way, she made peace with what happened a long time ago. She just wasn't prepared to tell me." Victoria said as Jim took her hand and held it tightly. "I suppose I will come to the same conclusions in time. There are other things to think about right now. Like what we are going to do when we get back to London."

She let out a long sigh and glanced towards her fiancee. "You have to tell your bosses what you know. No matter what happens, that is your duty in all of this. No secrets because it will only be worse in the end if they find out you withheld information."

 

[KiwiD82]

James nodded. Victoria was the most intelligent person he knew, and as usual, she was right. Even when he knew it too, she had a knack for confirming it and giving him the confidence to follow through.

As he squeezed her hand in gratitude, his thumb found the engagement ring that fit perfectly on her finger.

"We'll have to tell them about our relationship, too," he spoke matter-of-factly.

James tried to appear confident but in reality he wondered what would become of him and Victoria. Would he be reassigned away from suspected German spies? Would Victoria lose her job at Bletchley?

Just how much more of a personal toll was this war going to take on them and their loved ones?

 

[heartofcourage]

"Agreed." Victoria murmured as James mentioned telling their employers about their relationship. "It doesn't change anything between us. We simply owe it to them to explain the situation using the information that we know."

She glanced down at his hand as he rubbed his fingers over the engagement ring that she had been so happy to receive the day before. Such a happy moment was now overshadowed by the darkness of the war. She hated it.

 

[KiwiD82]

James said nothing. He simply lifted Victoria's ringed hand to his lips and kissed it gently, before placing it gently on her lap and letting go so heb could shift gears as they left the small village and moved onto the open road.

It was dark by the time they got to London. James had dimmed his headlights because of another blackout and he guided the car to Victoria's residence. The streets would have been almost pitch black, were it not for the light of a full moon.

It was a sudden reminder that the illusion of safety that existed in the country did not extend to the capital.

They would both need to face the music the next morning, but they still had the evening to spend as they pleased, be it together or alone.

 

[heartofcourage]

As James pulled up in front of her apartment building, Victoria felt weary. She hadn't wanted to return to reality so quickly, especially not after the lovely moments of their engagement just a day earlier. The city was dark, lonely, and she found herself wanting the solitude of the country.

"Shall we leave the luggage for the morning?" Victoria asked as the car shut down and she looked at James across the dark interior. "I could do with a soak in the tub and a good night's sleep."

 

[KiwiD82]

With the engine stopped and the headlights off, every noise and shadow within the car was magnified.

When Victoria spoke, the tone if her beautiful voice betrayed how tired she was. James had been inclined to disagree with her; to say that they should take the luggage into the house then and there, but her suggestion of a bath distracted him.

"Is that an invitation?" he cheekily quipped.

The thought of Victoria's gorgeous form soaking in hot water quickened his pulse, but he didn't expect her to want to do anything but soak and rest.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Do you want to take that as an invitation?" Victoria asked, looking across the dimmed interior to James as he smiled at her with that cheeky grin. "I was thinking you could make us dinner while I soaked. Do something useful with your time instead of ogling me."

She leaned across the seat and kissed his cheek before she unbuckled herself and slipped out of the car. Exhaustion didn't even begin to describe how she felt. Hollow might have been the correct term. She felt hollowed out on the inside. A key piece of her was now gone and she wasn't sure that it would ever be easily fixed again.

 

[KiwiD82]

James couldn't help himself. He laughed when Victoria gently chastised him.

"I have a whole life to spend ogling you, I suppose," he quipped as she climbed out of the car.

James did likewise, and only when he had left the inviting cocoon that was the cockpit did he feel the weight of London again. The city was dark. The streets were quiet. Tension rested heavily like a thick cloak over the capital.

He locled the car then walked around the bonnet to his waiting fiancé, taking her hand.

"Come on," he said, his tone quiet and bereft of his previous cheekiness. "Let's get you into that tub."

 

[heartofcourage]

The building was dark and quiet as they entered. It seemed that everyone was elsewhere or occupied with other things during the blackout. It seemed to add to the gloominess of the moment and Victoria let out a long sigh as she passed James the key to her apartment to unlock the door.

"Something simple for dinner would be nice. I don't know if I can stomach much right now." Victoria said as she moved to light her candles as James opened the door for the both of them. "I'm going to take a bath. I'll be back soon."