The next morning was crisp, and a gentle mist hung in the air softening the pale blue light. Ursula and Tom awoke tangled in the white bedsheets, holding onto each other like castaways in the ocean. They got up and dressed in silence. Now that the end of their time together approached, no words were the right ones.
They walked the three miles to the harbor of Sassnitz. From far away, they discerned the Swedish flag fluttering in the wind high up on one of the ships.
Ursula’s nerves were tied into knots. They were so near to success, yet so much could still go wrong. Tom walked by her side with the confident stride of a wealthy merchant untouched by the war raging across Europe.
A small smile tugged at her lips at how well he’d lived up to the different roles he’d been forced to play. Bu
