Olivia shook her head. “I haven’t decided yet.”

Sadie and her baby were not far from Olivia’s mind as she drove the car into Lynchburg. Driving alone, she found herself second-guessing each twist in the road. Several times she took a wrong turn and was forced to turn around. Once she found herself on a hill and had a devil of a time. But she kept driving until—at around two o’clock in the afternoon—she pulled up in front of the hospital in Lynchburg.

As she sat in the car and stared at the place, she sensed a darkness emanating from the bricks and mortar. Her husband was a good man. She had seen pure kindness in his eyes.

After Sadie’s visit to the house, Olivia had quizzed Edward more about this place and why he had chosen this line of work. He had sidestepped her questions and, in the end, had only said, “If not me, then who?” Then as now, she sensed in her bones that terrible things happened within the brick walls.

She set the parking brake and shut off the car. After reaching for her purse, she opened the compact and checked her hair and makeup. She reapplied the red lipstick, taking care to contour the lines. After adjusting the collar of her dress, she opened the door and rose. She carefully smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt before reaching into the back seat for a picnic lunch.

Drawing in a breath, she stared at the bleak building. It reminded her of an attic—full of unwanted items that could not be tossed away.

She walked up to the front door and rang. Footsteps echoed inside before the door opened to a stern man with a thin face. She gripped the handle of the basket and, forcing a smile, walked up to the front desk, where an older man dressed in a frayed dark suit sat. “I’m Olivia Carter. I’ve come to see my husband, Dr. Edward Carter.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The man appeared both curious and hesitant. “Does Dr. Carter know that you’re coming?”

As with the first time, she was hit by the smell of unclean bedding and the musty scent reminiscent of the London hospital during the bombing raids. As much as she had scrubbed and cleaned herself after her shifts on the ward, there had been no getting rid of the bleak smell.

“He does not,” she said. “It’s a surprise. And before you tell me that he is busy, I must tell you that I know he finishes his surgery by two each day.”

The old man raised the black telephone receiver to his ear and stuck a bent finger in the zero on the rotary dial. Next came the nine. Then the two.

Olivia’s burst of bravery waned as she heard the ringing of a phone on the other end. Edward would be glad to see her, of course. Then he would wonder how she had gotten here. And then she would tell him she could drive and had been driving and was responsible for the accident with Sadie.

The old man nodded and then hung up the phone. “He’ll be right down. You may have a seat.”

She moved to a small wooden chair and sat, resting the picnic basket on her lap. The lobby was quiet, and there was not the fast-paced comings and goings of people that would be expected in a regular hospital. It was an eerie stillness, as in the moments after the air-raid-shelter doors had closed in London while everyone sat in silence, awaiting the rain of bombs.

She had hated those quiet, in-between moments the most. In those gaps, the past, present, and future would be irrevocably changed for so many.

“Olivia, darling,” Edward said as he pushed back a lock of his dark hair. “What are you doing here?”

She raised her gaze to her husband’s bemused expression as she stood, allowing him to kiss her on the cheek. “I have brought you lunch. Roast beef and fresh bread.”

“That’s marvelous. I’m starving.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her toward the door. “But how did you get here?”

“I drove.”

His eyes brightened, as if she had told him a joke. But when she did not deliver a punch line, he grew serious. “Darling, how could you have driven here? You don’t drive.”

“I do, as a matter of fact. And I’m fairly good at it. Though getting into first gear on a hill still vexes me somewhat.”

He took her elbow in his hand and guided her out the front door to the porch. “Who taught you how to drive?”

The crisp fall air did little to cool her warming cheeks. “Sadie.”

“Sadie.” The softness hardened into disapproval. “When?”

“Over the spring.” Though tempted to take a step back, she held her ground. “I was the one driving the car when we crashed. Not her.”

He held her hands in his grip, tightening slightly. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Cover for that girl. I know you had a fondness for her. You have always worried about the less fortunate. It’s one of the things I love most about you. But she’s not the kind of person worth your time.”

“I do have a soft spot for the girl, but I’m not covering for her. I was driving when we crashed. The front tire hit a slick spot and then seemed to have a mind of its own. Once in the ditch, I took the coward’s way out and asked her to switch places. She agreed.”

He pressed his long fingers to his temple. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“I don’t want you to blame her for anything. She’s a good girl.”

He drew in a slow and steady breath, as if he was trying to control his annoyance. “I’ll not be rehiring her, if that is what you’re asking.”

“I understand that is not possible, but I would like to visit her from time to time.” She nodded toward the Pontiac.

“I don’t like this or the effect she is having on you.”

“The only consequence of my knowing Sadie is that I have a friend, and I can drive. I could have visited her without consulting you. However, I would rather have your blessing.”

“Why do you want to visit the girl?” he demanded.

“Her mother is ill, and her brothers are away at war, fighting for my country. I don’t see why it would be so terrible for me to try and help out the family.”

“The girl is trouble. Malcolm has warned me a couple of times, but I didn’t listen.”

“Malcolm.” Anger rose up in her, chasing away any uncertainty. “I wasn’t aware you had seen him lately.”

“He’s my cousin and calls me from time to time.”

She tugged at the pearl button on the cuff of her sleeve. “And what did he say about Sadie?”

“That she is a wild girl. He saw her at the spring dance unescorted, which is exactly the kind of thing I would expect from a girl like her. Johnny would be mortified. This was after I had fired her, so I didn’t give it much thought. She was out of our lives, so it all worked out for the better.”

“It seems Malcolm knows quite a bit about Sadie.”

“All I know is that he has sound judgment, and I take him at his word.”

“So he was at this dance alone and drinking as well, I presume.” She tugged at the edge of her white glove, flexing her fingers against the soft cotton.

“You and I both know it is different for men than women.”

That Olivia knew all too well. “Where is Malcolm these days? I haven’t seen him since that March weekend.”

“He’s in Richmond finishing up his law degree. He’s smart as a whip and already has several job offers.”