“I’ve been working on something,” he said, which was all that he could manage. An irritated look crossed Doris’s face, and he quickly held up a hand. “I’m sorry. You’re right, that’s a lame excuse.” He took a deep breath, tried again. “I’ve been involved in an Army research project that Dr. Goddard had been running at the university. Very secret, stuff no one’s supposed to know about…”
“I know that already, remember?” Doris reached for the sugar dispenser, sifted a little into her coffee. “You said it was something you couldn’t talk about, so I let it go at that…”
“And I appreciate it. I really do.” Henry sipped his coffee. After the long, cold trip he’d made in the canoe, it was exactly what he needed to warm himself. He probably could have used a sandwich, too, but his stomach was full of butterflies. “You let me get away with… y’know, not telling you everything, so…”
“So now I need to know.” Doris didn’t look up as she added a dollop of milk to her cup. “I’m sorry, Henry, but you’re going to have to be a little more candid.”
“Doris…”
“No. Listen to me.” She slowly stirred the coffee, turning it light brown. “The last time we saw each other… last day of September, remember?… you said you were tired of sneaking around behind everyone’s backs and that it was time we had a real date together. You wanted to take me out to dinner, then go dancing or to a show, then”—a reddish glow appeared on her cheeks, but she still didn’t look at him—“well, whatever. And I said, yeah, sure, let’s pencil it in for next Saturday night. You said fine, we’ll do that…”
“And I meant it, too. Doris…”
“And then you kissed me good-bye right outside the library and went off to the Science Building, and that’s the last I saw of you. Not even a note or a phone call, just… nothing, no explanation. You vanished.”
Henry started to speak again, but she held up a hand. “Let me finish,” she said, and although her voice was still soft, it now had an unmistakable quaver. “You disappeared without a trace. When I didn’t hear from you for a few days, I went over to the Science Building and asked around, and people told me that Dr. Goddard had taken a leave of absence… health problems, they said… and that the advanced-level course he’d been teaching had been canceled. Then I went over to the place on Birch Street where you were staying, but the FOR RENT sign was up, and the landlord told me that everyone who’d been living there had just moved out.”
She started to pick up the coffee, but her hand shook so much that she had to put it down again. She took a deep breath, nervously adjusted her glasses, and went on. “Do you know what that did to me, Henry? Finding someone who I really like… and I got to tell you, I’ve always had a hard time trusting men, but you… and then you just dropped me like… like…”
“Doris, I’m sorry.” Henry reached across the table and tried to take her hand, but she jerked it away. Behind him, the cowbell dangling from the door jangled and he felt a cool breeze against the back of his neck. “Really, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t want to go away, but… look, something came up, and I didn’t have a…”
“Hello, Henry,” a familiar voice said. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Henry felt the blood rush from his face. Doris’s eyes widened as she stared past him at the woman who’d just come in. Henry looked around and found Esther Goddard standing next to the table.
“Esther,” he murmured, not quite believing she was there. “What are you…?”
“This isn’t a coincidence.” She smiled, hands in the pockets of the plaid wool hunting jacket her husband had bought for her shortly after they’d relocated to the hunting lodge. “I followed you. In fact, I’ve been trailing you since the minute you got in that canoe.”
The tiny spark he’d spotted from the direction of the Goddards’ cabin, like someone’s lighting a cigarette. The headlights behind Doris’s car all the way from Rindge. No other explanations were needed, except…
“Who else is here?” Henry turned his head to peer out the window. “Is Bob…?”
“No. He was asleep when I stepped out for a smoke, and I don’t think he woke up when I took the car. Insomnia sometimes has its advantages, don’t you think?”
“Who are you?” Doris was glaring at her, confusion wrestling with anger. Her gaze shifted to Henry. “Is this why you…?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ve introduced myself.” Esther offered a hand. “I’m Mrs. Robert Goddard. I’m a friend of Henry’s… an old friend.”
“Yes, I’m sure you are.” Doris didn’t take her hand, and there was no mistaking the suspicion in her voice.
Coarse laughter from the two drivers seated nearby. They’d turned their heads a little, indiscreetly observing the confrontation. “Guy’s got dame trouble,” one of them muttered. The waitress kept her back to them, chatting quietly with the cook through the kitchen window. Esther glared at the drivers until they looked away, then she returned her attention to Doris.
“A friend and nothing more,” Esther said, “so whatever you’re thinking, it can’t be further from the truth. May I sit down, please?”
Doris didn’t budge, so it was up to Henry to slide to one side and give Esther a place at the table. “You must be Doris, right?” she said once she’d sat down. “I’ve heard about you… not from Henry, I might add, but from the… well, the people who’ve been assigned to protect us.”
“Protect you?” Doris stared at her. Her anger was dissipating, but she was still confused.
“Uh-huh. Him, me, my husband, and everyone else who came up here from Worcester.” The waitress started to approach the table, but Esther shook her head and waved her off, and she retreated to the other side of the counter. “When they found out about you and Henry,” she went on, leaning forward a little and lowering her voice, “they checked up on you, just to make sure that… well, you’re what you appear to be and nothing else.” A quiet smile. “I’m glad you are. Henry’s needed to find someone like you for quite some time now. I just wish we could have met under different circumstances.”
Doris said nothing for a few moments. “And what are our circumstances now?” she asked at last. “Why is Henry here? Why does he or anyone else need protection?”
“Please listen to me and try to believe that what I say is true.” Esther slowly let out her breath, then dropped her voice even more. “There’s very little either he or I can tell you, except that Henry is working with my husband on a high-priority military project. A project so secret that, if anyone finds out that you know anything about it… even that it exists… then you could probably find yourself sitting out the rest of the war in a prison cell. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Doris’s face had become pale. “I think so.”
“Good.” Esther nodded. “Then I’ll let you know a couple of more things. First, the reason why they’re up here is so that they can be kept safe while they continue their work in privacy. That’s why Henry had to leave so suddenly. Worcester wasn’t safe for them anymore, so they had to go. I’m very sorry he couldn’t let you know, but…”
Esther stopped herself, then went on. “Second, when this is all over, you’ll know the whole truth.” A smile appeared. “And believe me, if this works out the way we hope it will, you’ll be so proud of Henry, you’ll forget you were ever mad at him.”
“I kinda doubt that,” Henry murmured.
“No.” Doris shook her head. “You’re wrong. If what she says is true, then… well, I suppose I’ll get over it.” A tentative smile. “If it’s really that important, then yes, I’ll be proud of you for being part of it.”