Darkest Before Dawn Episode 28
“Would you like a cup of tea?” Isobel asked as the two Czech soldiers sat at the table.
“Thank you. Yes,” Jan replied.
“Please, yes,” Stefan added.
“Coming up,” Isobel said, and she turned to put the kettle on before they saw the flush in her cheeks.
Jan and Stefan had settled in very quickly.
They both spoke very good English, and they hardly stopped thanking them for their kindness.
They had impeccable manners and were quiet, respectful tenants, who seemed to have a positive effect on Sidney.
If Edward were here, he’d be the one putting Sidney right, but Stefan and Jan were like surrogate big brothers.
They took the time to talk to him and, more importantly, to listen.
Seeing the way they always took off their boots before entering the house, Sidney had started to follow suit.
He had even started washing behind his ears!
Isobel warmed to them both, but there was something special about Stefan, who was only a year or so older than her.
He had the most stunning eyes, which seemed always to be laughing, and his smile warmed her heart.
She loved his accent, too. There wasn’t a thing about him she didn’t like.
One thing she did know was that this felt very different from how she’d felt about John – or anyone else, come to that.
She poured boiling water on to the tea leaves in the pot, then turned to face them.
“Would you like a piece of cake with your tea?”
They both smiled as if she’d offered them the most amazing treat, so she opened the cake tin.
Fortunately, Sidney hadn’t discovered the apple cake Maud had made, so Isobel cut them each a generous slice.
“Did you make this, Isobel?” Stefan asked.
“No. Mum did,” Isobel replied.
“Well, you cut it beautifully,” he said with a smile that made her knees wobble.
“I’ll pour that tea,” she said, flustered.
“I hope there’s another in that pot,” Maud said as she came in through the back door. “Hello, boys. I’m glad to see Isobel is looking after you.
“Sit yourselves down. You don’t have to stand for me.”
They both sat down.
Isobel thought they seemed a bit in awe of her mum, and they couldn’t have been more respectful.
“I’ve some nice fish for later,” Maud told them. “You boys do like fish, don’t you?”
“You are spoiling us, Mrs Pollard,” Stefan said.
When they’d finished their cake, they walked up to help Alf on his allotment, and Isobel looked up to see Maud staring at her, her arms crossed.
“You’re sweet on him, aren’t you?”
“Who?”
“Who, she says, all innocent!” Maud cried. “Stefan, that’s who!”
“Of course I’m not.” Isobel got up and went to the sink to wash up.
“You’re imagining things, Mum.”
“I’m not saying you’re wrong,” Maud went on.
“But you have to take care, Isobel. You’re still on the rebound from John.”
“I’m just being hospitable, Mum. Like you told us.”
“Well, I hope that’s all it is,” Maud replied.
“But I’ve seen the way you look at him and the way you smile when he says your name.”
Stefan and Jan were out every day for the next few days, training for something big, Sidney reckoned – not that they ever gave anything away.