Uncommon Enemy by John Reynolds Read Free Book Online

had no business attacking you like that! And,” she paused and her smile had an edge, “I told him so!”
    “Well done. What was his reaction?”
    “He, he tried to order me not to see you again.”
    A light breeze brushed the hair from left side of her face.
    “Carol, what’s that?”
    His hand reached out but she quickly drew back pushing the hair back in place.
    “It’s nothing.”
    “Nothing? That mark on the side of your face. It’s a bruise.”
    Involuntarily her hand went up to her face.
    “It’s nothing, Stuart. I fell against the cupboard when I was getting out of the bath last night.”
    His eyes narrowed. “You fell?”
    “Yes, I fell against the cupboard. It’s nothing. The swelling’s already going down.”
    He tried to hold her gaze but she quickly looked away.
    “Carol, if I thought for one moment that he---.”
    “You’d be wrong,” she interrupted quickly. “It was a simple accident. That’s all.” She put her hand on his arm. “Now, as I was saying, I told Hamish that we’re good friends and that I had a right to choose my own friends.”
    “Good friends?” He smiled, and reaching out his hand, lifted her chin. “Obviously a mistress of the understatement, Miss Peterson.”
    He was momentarily startled by the look of intense bleakness that filled her eyes before she stepped back and smiled brightly at him.
    “Shall we sit here? We can share my lunch. It’s not much but we can make the most of it.”
    As they both sat down on the grass he murmured. “If it’s loaves and fishes we could pray for a miracle.”

Chapter 8
    The days that followed were full of excitement and challenge for Stuart. He and Carol started meeting for lunch in Albert Park on a regular basis. Although puzzled by her occasional bleak flashes he had come to the conclusion that in the meantime he was content with the pleasure of her company and to let matters take their course. She had told him that Hamish continued to disapprove of their lunchtime meetings but that she had refused to stop them. Yet, whenever he tried to further explore her relationship with Hamish she immediately changed the subject so he finally let it drop. With the memories of the librarymeeting still fresh in his mind he had twice hinted that they should arrange another evening rendezvous, but on each occasion she had again quickly changed the subject.
    Nevertheless the regular meetings with her buoyed his spirits. He made peace with his family and informed them of his scholarship. Their congratulations were mixed with their obvious relief over his exemption from military service. His father was clearly pleased that his son would not have to join the already expanding armed forces. Yet the government-funded research position would enable him to hold up his head when telling his neighbours, friends and church members why his son was remaining in New Zealand while others were going overseas on active duty.
    Stuart’s excellent exam results further lifted his spirits. After hearty congratulations Professor Sterling lost no time in finding him a small office and assigning him a series of research tasks. His weekdays became rapidly filled with combing through books, archived newspapers, letters, official government documents and communiqués. As some of the material was in German Stuart was also able to persuade his mentor to hire Brendan as a part-time translator.
    Superficially Stuart’s existence was idyllic - a challenging position, a developing relationship with Carol, and relative harmony at home. Yet clouding his horizons were the continuing reminders that there was a war on. Increasingly military uniforms began to appear on the streets. Patriotic speeches from “Where-Britain-goes-we-go” Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage and other MPs filled the pages of the newspapers, alongside photographs of young Kiwis training and marching in readiness to join the brave boys overseas. Increasingly however, the initial optimism at home was