The news of Haig confronted him with an obsession to replace what was still only a tentative urge. Vera’s first stark sentence told him everything. “Haig’s gone active!” She needn’t have used the exclamation point, much less the anxious words that followed. Nevertheless George marveled once more at her quick, sure understanding. She knew Haig as well as he did.
“He won’t tell me exactly why he changed his mind,” Vera wrote. “But it’s pretty obvious that everything about it has been a nightmare for him. All I know for certain is that he’s broken his engagement with Barbara Ransome, or more likely it was she who broke it. Haig’s so hurt and defensive about it that all he’s given me is a hint that Barbara still refused to let him go active. I’m pretty sure it was just the opposite. She could
