A Story of War

I go over to Heemsteede to see Trat but she is out, so I leave a message that I shall be back on Saturday and drive home – 50 minutes jeeping. Next night I take Sue Newall to a party at MRES and then on to a dance at Schreveningen Casino, but she is still a bit stand-offish – I kiss her though. Saturday I go to Heemstede with half a bottle of whisky and we sit and talk and smoke until midnight when I drive home. Nothing much doing, it seems, and so I arrange to go back to dinner on Monday. I go there and find one Yon Winser who was with her at that Amsterdam party, is living in the house, and has been since he was hidden there by the Underground in 1943 – presumably her lover – what a blow. However, I seem to make a little progress and have arranged to take her to Meerut on Thursday, if nothing prevails in the meanwhile. She definitely has charm, despite her glasses and broken teeth, but this lodger is more than I can compete with!

The other day I decide to go for a walk on the beach and call up Luki Dam, who says she is willing. We walk up and down, sit on a piece of driftwood, she snuggles around, so eventually I give her a kiss good and proper as I cannot hold it any longer. The result is astounding, and she is hotter than anything I met in the Hague! But she is engaged to Robert Van Gudder, an Old Harrovian acquaintance of mine, and so that’s that – one day the day will dawn I hope.

I see Lily Otto in the club – having told me she was going to Amsterdam and would write to me from there.