Redemption - Leon Uris [199]
It was apparent that Lieutenant Jeremy was in need of a friend at this moment. He didn’t seem to hang around with the officers and certainly didn’t hide his feelings about his brother. Yet, despite the closeness of the gaffer squad, non-fraternization rules between officer and enlisted men made intimate conversation extremely difficult.
“What happened, Lieutenant?” Rory dared ask.
Jeremy wanted to dump the centuries of ancient military tradition but merely shook his head.
“You’re hurting, sir,” Rory continued boldly. “We all feel very strongly about you, Lieutenant. You can trust us with your life. If we didn’t have you between us and the Major, we couldn’t have gotten our work done.”
“I’m flattered, but you are exaggerating.”
“May I say something that will never leave this room?”
“Go ahead.”
“That’s a real fine battalion the Major has built out there…but…enough is enough. If he pushes them any further he may be asking for trouble. Well, thank God the gaffers didn’t have to deal with him. He would have flicked up our squad to a point where the entire battalion’s training would be in trouble. We pushed through this manual and training schedule because of your protection.”
“That’s treason, you know. Mutiny,” Jeremy said, smiling. “Let me tell you something, Serjeant. The last time I felt so good was when I was with men like you playing on the Boilermaker rugby squad. If I could have only held that moment of life, captured it, and put it in a bottle. Only time in my life I really felt like a…man…was with those mates. One of them in particular was my mentor, a big brother…even more.”
Rory’s heart raced.
“We do have a magical group of men: you—Tarbox, Chester, Modi…I really like Modi. Yurlob will come around. Bloody crime we just can’t all go into Cairo and get pissed together.”
“That would be a blast. You can count on us, Lieutenant, on duty or off. We’re here for you. Excuse me, sir.”
“Serjeant.”
“Sir?”
“Don’t go. I feel very comfortable and very strongly about the friendship you and I have developed. Jesus, I’ve got to unload.”
Rory slipped into a chair and Jeremy soon closed his eyes and spoke as if in a trance. The silent friendship had already begun by Jeremy’s censoring Rory’s letters. He was in on Rory’s life. It was not difficult at all to suddenly find himself speaking about his own past.
Jeremy slowly wove the talk of his love affair with Molly O’Rafferty, his betrayal of her, his betrayal by mates of his own class, his years of drunken remorse. He spoke of the loss of his mother’s love and the regaining of it. Time and again Conor Larkin’s name came up, but in vain. Conor had already gone into an underground life when Jeremy and Molly ended their affair.
Jeremy then realized that this was the first time he had ever spoken the story aloud to anyone.
“This came today,” Jeremy said, sliding the letter over the desk. “Please read it.”
My Dearest Son,
Life for me has been a new morning fresh with dew cobwebbed on the rose trellis and a feeling of loveliness all about. Our peace and your devilish and charming letters have helped me emerge from Grandfather’s second stroke (he still does his cognac and cigars) and the never-ending sadness of my failed marriage.
Life is grand again. I am a busy lass these days trying to build and launch a ship or two, tending your growling grandfather, and much more laughter with Gorman, a mad Irishman who gives me the peace and warmth I’ve craved.
“She writes beautifully,” Rory said.
“She writes as she is,” Jeremy said. “She’s a glorious woman, Rory.” On hearing his first name spoken by the officer, Rory knew their relationship would not be as officer to enlisted man, except when on duty. “Call me Jeremy.”
“I’d like that, but Jaysus, if I slip up in front of anyone.”
“Fuck it, call me Jeremy.”
“All right, cobber, Jeremy it is.”
“Please read on.”
…As you know we have searched for Molly. I did not want to write to you about slim clues and hopes that would turn out to be false. However, we got on to something solid. A trail was warm but lost because of the