A Soldier of No Importance [ Band of Brothers ] 1

THIRTY NINE

September 15, 1943

Aldbourne, England

As Alice strolled down the relatively quiet street in the small town of Aldbourne, she shifted her backpack and readjusted the duffle bag in her right hand. In her left, the small slip of paper with the address of her billet became harder and harder to see as the sun sank in the sky. Cloud cover obscured what remained of daylight. Beneath the address, the name Mrs. Milicent Bratt had been scrawled in neat cursive by one of the aids of the officers of the Royal Army Service Corps.

Requesting to stay billeted in a house separate from the lodging being used for Easy's enlisted had come as a surprise to the men. She guessed most of them still didn't know what had happened on the Samaria. By now the bruise on her neck had faded to a light pink.

Her anger had cooled, replaced by a wariness she'd not felt since the early days of Toccoa. Alice still talked to the enlisted, still took her meals with them if invited. But she found herself placing barriers between her emotions and their companionship. Some barriers were on purpose, others she put up without even thinking. On the other hand, Alice did her absolute best to avoid the other officers as much as she could. She'd gone straight to Colonel Sink to request the private housing. Sobel had heard it from him, and she guessed the other officers would hear it from Sobel. Frankly she didn't care.

Her boots hit the pavement methodically. The numbers on the quaint houses started dropping. Before long, she found herself standing in front of the house she'd been assigned. The white brick house had several windows lit, though soft fabric obscured her view inside. The dark door had a bell to the right. Alice looked at the reddish-brown slanted roof. She decided she liked it.

Alice knocked on the brown door three times. She adjusted her stance, waiting. Footsteps pounded down the hall and a voice echoed inside, female. The door swung open. Inside, a teenage young woman with deep brown hair and blue eyes stared at her, light flooding the darkened street. Alice squinted a bit.

"Madeleine Rose, I've told ya' a thousand times not t' open the door without me!"

The girl, Madeleine, just smiled at Alice. Behind her appeared another woman, the one who had spoken. She also had dark hair and blue eyes, and stood several inches taller than Madeleine. In her arms, a young boy of maybe two squirmed.

"Ah! Ya' must be Lieutenant Alice Klein?"

Alice smiled. "Yes. Milicent Bratt?"

"Millie. Nobody calls me Milicent but my gran." She shifted the boy in her arms. "Madeleine, get ya' backside outta the way for her!"

Madeleine rolled her eyes, but moved aside. With a smile, Alice stepped into the house. Floral wallpaper and large plank wood floors greeted her. A few lights lit the hallway and the room to the left, a living room with couches and an oriental rug.

"I must say, when the Yanks said they had a lady for us to quarter I thought them mad," Millie rambled on. "What with all the men queuing up from the docks and not one lady among 'em. But we're happy to house ya'."

"I appreciate it."

The boy in Millie's arms squirmed to be let down. The woman rolled her eyes but set him down. "This is my son Percy. He says no to just about everything these days. And that girl who blocked your path was Madeleine, my younger sister."

Alice smiled as the boy darted down the hall, his light brown hair bouncing behind him. He disappeared around a corner, and soon laughter from both Percy and Madeleine could be heard. Standing next to the door, before a large staircase, Alice shuffled in place.