The Pearl Locket by Kathleen McGurl Read Free Book Online

horizon, and then up to the night sky, to where the moon hung, huge and full. That was where the moonlight trail led. Off this planet, away from its wars, and across the universe to a peaceful, untroubled world. She wished she could step onto the sea and follow it.
    ‘Where will your heart lead you, Joan?’ His voice broke into her thoughts. She leaned back on the bench, and his arm slipped around her shoulders. She nestled into his warmth.
    ‘To tell the truth, Jack, I don’t know. I’m only seventeen. My life is ahead of me. The only thing I’m certain of is that you are right—we must all follow wherever our hearts lead. When my heart calls to me I shall follow. I promise you that.’
    He smiled at her. For a moment she thought he was going to try to kiss her, and she wondered how that would feel. Not like Freddie’s rough, urgent slobberings, she guessed. Jack would be gentle and considerate. But he turned his face away, and she felt an unexpected shiver of disappointment.
    ‘You’re cold. Here, take my coat.’ He shrugged off his thin tweed jacket and tucked it around her shoulders. She pulled it close around her neck. The collar smelt of wool and spice, as though his aftershave had rubbed off on it.
    ‘Thank you. You are very kind.’
    ‘It’s my pleasure.’
    They sat in silence for a few minutes more. Joan was still considering what he had said about doing his part in the war. Could it really be that a small action from one person could change the whole course of the war? She supposed it was like dominoes—as a child she had spent hours standing her set in a row up on their ends, then gently flicking the first one and watching as the whole series tumbled down. Maybe what Jack meant was that he might be the first domino. Some action of his in the future could be like the toppling of that first domino, and could lead ultimately to the toppling of Hitler. It was the most compelling reason she’d heard yet for why a man would want to join up.
    ‘I wonder if perhaps I should take you home, now?’
    Joan wished she could sit there on the bench gazing at the moonlit sea, with Jack’s arm around her shoulders, for ever. But no doubt he was cold without his coat, and it must be getting late. She nodded, and stood up, handing him back his jacket. ‘I shan’t need that while I’m walking, but thank you so much.’
    He slipped it on, and she held out her hand to him. After a moment’s hesitation he took it. His hand was surprisingly warm despite the chilly evening. They walked in step along the prom, under the cliffs, and finally up a zigzag path that led to the clifftop. ‘This is my road,’ Joan said, as they turned away from the sea.
    ‘I’d better say goodbye to you here,’ said Jack, stopping on the corner. ‘In case your parents are looking out of the window. I don’t want you to get in trouble for walking home with a boy.’ He let go of her hand and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
    ‘Goodbye, then, and thank you, again, for saving me from that horrible thug.’ On a whim she put her hands on his shoulders, reached up and kissed his cheek, before turning and running along the street and back to her house. At the garden gate she looked back. He was still standing there on the corner, shoulders hunched, watching her. He lifted a hand to wave. She waved back, and darted into the house by the back door into the kitchen.
    Mother was sitting at the kitchen table. She wagged a finger at Joan. ‘There you are! Margaret was back ten minutes ago. I know you were at the dance with her and not at the WVS, so you needn’t try to pretend you weren’t. Thankfully your father went out to his bridge club and isn’t home yet, or you’d be in real trouble, my girl. You’re very lucky.’
    ‘We walked back separately. I came along the prom as it is such a beautiful evening. I stopped to look at the moonlight on the sea.’ Best to be as truthful as possible, Joan reasoned, but no need to say she’d