Erika, white to the lips, remained standing in the doorway, as rigid as if she had suddenly been turned to stone. Gregory, his eyes wide and his mouth a little open, sat staring at her, his mind temporarily paralysed. Sabine looked from one to the other, guessed with a woman’s swift intuition that she had unexpectedly been confronted with a rival, then riveted on Gregory a gaze in which surprise was mingled with anger. Sir Pellinore was the first to recover and he stepped into the breach.
With the bluff jovial manner that had tided over many an awkward situation, he boomed at Erika, ‘Come in, my dear, come in. Done your shopping, eh? Here’s Gregory, just back from Hungary; and the Baroness Tuposo. Daughter of a very old friend of mine. Baroness, allow me to introduce you to the Countess von Osterberg. Erika, we were just about to have a glass of wine. Glad you’re in time to join us.’
In a hard voice that Gregory scarcely recognised, Erika replied, ‘Thank you, but I’d rather not. I … I came up only to let you know that I shall not be in for lunch.’ Then she turned on her heel and walked swiftly away. The parlourmaid, sensing that something was wrong, hurried out in her wake, closing the door behind her.
‘Well, that’s too bad! But a bigger share in the magnum for each of us, eh?’ Sir Pellinore’s determination to ride out the storm never faltered. Striding over to the table, he vented on the big bottle the intense annoyance he was concealing, by seizing it in a strangler’s grip and wrenching out the cork in a single movement. As he poured the wine, Gregory joined him and took the first half-full silver tankard over to Sabine.
When the Baronet had filled his own tankard he lifted it and cried, ‘Bottoms up! Come on, first round straight down the hatch! Just what you both need after your tiring journey!’
Automatically they obeyed him, and swallowing the long draught of fine wine almost immediately relaxed the tension they were feeling. Having refilled their tankards he again sat down at his desk and said, ‘Now then; let’s hear all about your adventures.’
Suppressing all mention of his secret negotiations, Gregory, aided from time to time by Sabine, gave an account of their meeting in Budapest, and all that had followed as a result of his running into Grauber. Lunch was announced when barely a third of the story had been told and they were sitting over coffee and liqueurs by the time it was finished. When they had done, Sir Pellinore looked across at Sabine, and said:
‘Gregory owes his life to you. Not a doubt about that! And as I’m fool enough to be fond of the feller, I’m grateful. Shocking luck your being kicked out, though. No remedy for it, either. Now you’re goin’ to be stuck here in England for the duration have you formed any views yet of what you’d like to do with yourself?’
‘I gathered from Gregory that there was some danger of my being interned,’ she replied with a little grimace.
‘No, no!’ he hastened to assure her. ‘You assisted a British agent to escape from the Nazis. That’s quite sufficient to enable me to save you from any unpleasantness of that kind. But there’s not much social life in Britain these days.’
She thanked him, and went on. ‘Naturally, then, I should like to find some occupation. I am fluent in several languages so perhaps I could get work as a translator. It is only the prospect of the first few weeks that troubles me. I know no one in London but yourself and Gregory and, er …’ she shot a meaning glance at Gregory ‘… he has already told me that his duties will keep him too busy to look after me. I’m afraid that quite on my own I shall find everything very strange and difficult.’
‘Perish the thought, m’dear!’ exclaimed Sir Pellinore gallantly. ‘To cast you adrift would be no way to show our gratitude. Plenty of rooms in this great barrack of a house of mine. You’re welcome to stay here until you can find a nice little place of your own. No hurry about that either. And don’t worry your pretty head about money. I’ve more than I could spend in a dozen life times.’
Sabine gave a heavy sigh accompanied by a pale smile. ‘Oh, if I might do that! You have no idea what a relief it would be to feel that I need not start life all alone for a while. I shall never be able to repay you.’
‘Nonsense! The debt will still be all on our side. And now, after that frightful journey of yours, you must be dead beat. I’ll get my housekeeper to take you up to the room she got ready for, er … Gregory’s Hungarian friend. Bed’s the place for you, m’dear, and twenty-four hours of it. Have a good sleep this afternoon. Dinner will be sent up to you. Then after you’ve had a good long night we’ll talk again tomorrow. As a refugee you’re entitled to some clothin’ coupons. I’ll have my secretary get them for you in the morning, and in the afternoon we’ll go out together. Long time since I’ve had the fun of taking a pretty woman shoppin’.’
Desperately tired but much comforted by this concern for her well-being, Sabine agreed at once, and when she had been given into the care of the housekeeper the two men went up to the library. As soon as the door was closed Sir Pellinore said grumpily:
‘Fine mess you’ve made of things!’
‘Don’t I know it!’ Gregory muttered, flinging himself into a chair. ‘But how the hell was I to know that Erika would be here?’
‘You might have guessed. Knowin’ you were on your way home I telephoned her yesterday to come down to meet you.’
‘That was good of you; but I wish to God you hadn’t.’
‘And I wish that Hitler was dead in a ditch; but he isn’t.’
‘I wouldn’t have had this happen for worlds.’
‘It’s your own fault. I’d have thought you were old enough to realise the wisdom of bein’ off with the old love before bein’ on with the new. It was downright wicked to spring this thing on poor Erika like that. If only you had tipped me off in your telegram I would never have brought her down from Gwaine Meads. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.’
‘I am. But I had expected to have a little time in which to fix things decently.
Sir Pellinore shrugged his great shoulders. ‘Well, what’s done’s done. Perhaps to have used the surgeon’s knife may prove kinder to her in the long run.’ His bright blue eyes took on a new ruminative expression and he went on, ‘I must say, though, you’re a wizard with the women. It’s no mean feat to have taken Ribbentrop’s mistress off him. And, by jove, this Toboso girl is something. She’s a stunner.’
Gregory sighed. ‘Yes, as brunettes go I’ve never seen her equal. Still, as far as I’m concerned, she’s all yours if you want her.’
‘Eh! What’s that? If I were your age wild horses wouldn’t hold me. But I don’t want to die yet. If that wench took me on she’d kill me in a fortnight. Seriously, though, d’you mean that you’re not in love with her?’
‘No. For the past month I’ve been suffering from a glorious madness; but that’s all there is to it. And unless I’m much mistaken it’s the same with her. She hardly kicked at all when I told her that if I did bring her to England I’d be able to see very little of her. The only real love in my life has been, and still is, Erika.’
‘God bless my soul! And you’ve cooked your goose with her. She thinks you’ve thrown her over for the Trombolo gel.’
‘I’m afraid so.’ Gregory agreed gloomily. Then he added, ‘As Sabine is going to be your guest you had better get her name right. It’s Tuzolto.’
‘Oh, she must stay here. No question of that; and for as long as she likes. My offer was not made because I believed her to be your new girl-friend, but because she got you out of Grauber’s clutches. And, of course, because I knew her father. But what else can Erika think? Damn it, man, she heard this shameless little hussy gaily admit that you’d been honeymoonin’ together on the Danube.’
‘I know. Erika arriving at that moment was the worst break I’ve had for years. Still, she has never pretended to be a saint herself, and she has a most generous nature. As soon as she gets back I mean to grovel, and …’
Sir Pellinore pulled an envelope from his pocket. ‘She’s not coming back. When we went down to lunch I found she had left this note for me on the table in the hall. Here, you’d better read it.’
Gregory took the single sheet of paper. On it Erika had scrawled in pencil.
I am going straight back to Gwaine Meads. Please have my things sent after me. Tell Gregory that I do not wish to see him. If he follows me I shall leave the house at once for some place where he cannot find me.
Throwing the paper down, Gregory stood up. ‘Hell and damnation! She can’t do this! She loves me. I’m certain of it; and I love her. Of course I shall go after her.’
‘I wouldn’t, if I were you.’ Sir Pellinore shook his head. ‘Not while she’s in this state. Odds are she’ll carry out her threat if you do. Poor gel’s hit hard. That’s clear. She’ll be all right up at Gwaine Meads; but if you go chasin’ her out of it she might do something rash. Don’t want an inquest, do we?’
‘God forbid! But I can’t just leave things as they are. It would be wanton cruelty to allow her to go on believing for longer than I have to that I no longer love her.’
‘You can say that in a letter. But keep it short. Just that, and that you want to throw yourself on her mercy as soon as she feels up to seein’ you. Throw the ball to her. If she cares for you enough she’ll come round when she’s had a chance to simmer down.’
Gregory nodded. ‘Better still, I’ll send her a telegram. She’ll get it on her arrival; and it may make tonight a little less miserable for her.’
‘Good idea. Now, what about your sloe-eyed Susan. Shockin’ waste of a good thing; but I’m afraid you’ll have to kiss her good-bye if you hope to patch matters up with Erika.’
‘You’re right there. I’d meant to anyway. I’ll go up and break it to her after dinner. I had intended to ask you for a bed, but I’d better not stay in the house while she’s here. I’ll telephone Rudd that I’m back and will be sleeping at Gloucester Road.’
‘That’s sound. You can dine here though. Then, after you’ve had your show-down with that lovely piece of wickedness upstairs, if there is anything left of you we’ll have a talk about your mission.’
‘I may as well tell you about it now.’
Sir Pellinore held up a big hand. ‘No. You are overdue for a few hours’ sleep. Write out that telegram to Erika. I’ll send it off and telephone Rudd. Your usual room is ready for you. Go straight to bed. I’ll have you called at half-past seven, in time for a bath, then we’ll dine.’
When they met again Gregory was no less worried but, physically, his sleep and a hot bath had done him a lot of good. Over dinner their talk was mainly of the war, ranging in turn over the many far-flung battle fronts on which the Axis and the Allies were at death grips. Then, fortified by two glasses of Cockburn’s 1912, Gregory went up to see Sabine.
He found her sitting up in bed clad in a nightdress of dark red chiffon that she had bought in Istanbul. She still had heavy shadows under her eyes as a result of their flight from Cyprus, but the colour of the chiffon set off her dark beauty to perfection. On his entering the room her expression hardened, and she said abruptly:
‘Well, what have you to say?’
‘Very little for myself,’ he admitted, taking a chair beside her bed.
‘That lovely blonde Countess is your mistress, isn’t she?’
‘Yes. And something more than that. We are engaged to be married as soon as she can get a divorce from her husband.’
‘I seem to remember your telling me that you were not a marrying type.’
‘That was true enough when we first met in 1936; but it seems the leopard can change his spots. Perhaps that’s because I’m older now. Anyhow, for a long time past I’ve wanted to marry Erika von Osterberg, and I still do.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me that last night on the barge that you had someone in England?’
‘I meant to. But, to be honest, I funked it. I was afraid that I would hurt you, and I’d hoped …’
‘To let me down lightly, eh?’ Sabine gave him a cynical smile. ‘That was most considerate of you. And now, I take it, the chicken has come home to roost. How unfortunate for you that, being uninformed of your situation, and knowing dear old Sir Pellinore to be a man of the world, I should have admitted to our having been lovers. That must have been a horrid shock to the Countess and, I fear, put an abrupt end to your engagement. Or have you made it up with her?’
‘No,’ Gregory replied dully. ‘She has taken it very badly, and left a note in which she says she will refuse to see me.’
‘Oh, my poor Gregory. I am so sorry for you.’ Sabine’s expression had suddenly changed and she was smiling at him.
‘You … you mean that you don’t mind?’
‘Of course I mind. It is a terrible blow to my self-esteem that you should prefer any woman to myself. But I’ll be honest about it. Love and attraction are two different things. I wasn’t particularly attracted to my elderly husband; but I came to love him. On the other hand, you and I were terribly attracted to one another from the moment we met. We should count ourselves lucky that our feelings were mutual and that for two periods of several weeks we have been able to give full expression to them. It may not have been love, but we hit the high spots. That sort of thing can’t last. It never does. But we’ve had it and should be grateful. After our talk that night on the barge, when you showed reluctance to bring me to England, I didn’t suspect that there was someone else, but I did realise that we were pretty well through with one another I dug my toes in because at the time you were my only sheet anchor. Now dear Sir Pellinore has promised to take care of me that lets you out. I’ll always have a soft spot for you, but I wouldn’t want you for life any more than you want me. I’m terribly sorry if I’ve bitched things for you with your lovely blonde. I wouldn’t have done it intentionally. But she’s not exactly just out of the school-room, is she? So unless she is a very stupid woman I expect you’ll be able to talk her into forgiving you. Anyhow, I hope so.’
Gregory stood up and smiled down on her. ‘My dear, you’ve taken a great load off my mind. I would have hated to really hurt you. Thank goodness you know enough about life to see things in their true perspective. Thank you too for everything. Whatever happens I’ll always be your devoted friend. If ever you need my help in any way, you have only to let me know and you can count upon it.’
Ten minutes later he was saying to Sir Pellinore, ‘I had a suspicion that her feelings for me where just about the same as mine for her; but I didn’t expect that she would behave with such generosity. To let me out without a word of reproach was damn decent of her.’
The corners of Sir Pellinore’s eyes wrinkled up in quizzical humour. ‘I must say, dear boy, there are times when I find your still youthful conceit most refreshing. High fliers like this pretty bird may enjoy coming down now and then to peck up a hearty breakfast from the lawn. But they live among the tree tops. You need never have feared that she might pine away in loneliness for you. She has only to show her plumage to have a Duke or millionaire industrialist in tow. Now, tell me about Budapest.’
Somewhat chastened, Gregory gave an account of his stay at Nagykáta with the Zapolyas, the formation of the Committee of Magnates and the final agreement to which that had led.
‘Good show!’ said Sir Pellinore when he had done. ‘Jolly good show! That stuff you picked up from Sabine about the Nazis gamblin’ everything on Stalingrad should prove very valuable. And by Jove, Gregory, you had something in your own plan! You were dead right. If we could have brought Hunary over to our side it would have saved Russia and altered the whole course of the war in our favour.’
Gregory frowned. ‘You speak in the past tense. Does that mean that nothing can be done about it? I realise, of course, that landings on the Continent could not be made as late in the year as this, but if only Stalingrad holds out they would still pay us this magnificent dividend in the spring.’
The Hungarians have stipulated for a force of fifteen divisions. There wouldn’t be that number sufficiently trained to do the job.’
‘Damn it all,’ Gregory objected. ‘It’s two and a half years since Dunkirk. There has been an enormous intake during that time, armaments have been pouring out of the factories, and American forces have arrived here in their tens of thousands. If the new troops aren’t capable of fighting yet they darned well ought to be. One doesn’t win wars with an army that is content to sit indefinitely on its backside.’
Sir Pellinore considered for a moment, then he said, ‘I take it you’ll be reportin’ back for duty at the War Cabinet Offices on Monday?’
‘Yes, I suppose so. That is, unless Erika says I can go up to see her. Anyhow, I’ll be back there early next week.’
‘Then there’s no reason why I shouldn’t tell you what you’re certain to learn in a few days’ time. Within a month or so all our first line divisions will have left the country. Big show is being mounted now. Dead secret, of course; but you’ll hear all about it when you get back to the War Room.’
‘I don’t understand. D’you mean that we really are going to do a cross-Channel operation? I should have thought that by the end of October the risk of bad weather would be far too great.’
‘It would; and even earlier in the year I doubt if it could have succeeded. The Americans pressed it on us, particularly General Marshall. They maintained that a full-scale invasion of the Continent was the only way to draw pressure off the Russians. Right up to July they fought tooth and nail for it. At one time it looked as if we’d have to give way to ‘em—at all events to the extent of seizing the Cherbourg peninsula and tryin’ to hang on there through the winter. They more or less threatened that if we wouldn’t play they’d go back on the agreed first principle for the grand strategy of the war—the defeat of Hitler before Japan—and send everything to the Pacific. That was the last thing we wanted. But our people didn’t want a Continental landing either. They maintained that it would have been murder. I think they were right. The Yanks have plenty of guts, but are still children as far as modern war is concerned. We just couldn’t make them understand the immense difficulties of landing great numbers of men and vast quantities of stores on enemy-held beaches against heavy opposition. But, thank God, Winston managed to argue them out of it and get his own pet plan adopted. It is, with or without the consent of the French, to occupy North Africa.’
Gregory looked a little dubious. ‘I don’t see how that is going to give very much help to the Russians.’
‘Not immediately, but it will if they can hold out till the spring. The occupation of Morocco and Algeria is only the first phase. When the Anglo-American expeditionary force has consolidated it will drive east into Tunisia. Simultaneously the Eighth Army will launch an offensive through Libya, to the west. When they’ve joined up Malta will be relieved and the Mediterranean once more be open to British shippin’. It’s estimated that we’ll gain a million tons of shippin’ through no longer having to send our convoys round the Cape. Then the real squeeze on Hitler will begin. With the sea and air superiority in the Med. regained, we’ll be able to threaten the South of France, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Italy, the Adriatic coast, and the Balkans all the way round to Turkey. He’ll not dare to leave any part of that immensely long coast line unguarded. To garrison it adequately he’ll be compelled to withdraw at least forty divisions and half his air force from Russia.
‘I see. Yes; it certainly is a magnificent conception. But what are the odds on our pulling it off?’
‘Fifty-fifty,’ replied Sir Pellinore gravely. ‘No more. It’s an appalling gamble. If there is a leak and Hitler gets wind of our intentions he’ll order his U-boat packs to intercept and make suicide attacks on our convoys on their way down. That could cost us thousands of our best troops before they even reached their first objectives. When they do land, if the French decide to resist, it’ll be touch and go. Our forces will be a thousand miles from home, and with no air support except what the carriers and the one small air base at Gib. can give them. There can be no taking them off as there was at Dunkirk. If they fail to establish themselves ashore it will be a shambles.’
‘Then what it really boils down to is that everything depends on the enemy’s being kept in the dark about our intentions. Or at all events, as the cat can’t be kept in the bag once our convoys are sighted passing through the Straits of Gib., our getting ashore before the Axis has time to take counter measures for our reception.’
‘You’ve said it. Although after Gib. we shall naturally do our utmost to fool Hitler into believin’ that we mean to land somewhere other than in French North Africa.’
That night, before going to bed, Gregory followed up his telegram to Erika with a letter. But with Sir Pellinore’s advice in mind he kept it short: simply asserting that he loved her better than anyone in the world and begging her to let him come up to see her at Gwaine Meads.
Next day he put on his uniform and went to see Colonel Jacob. Sir Pellinore had said that he should inform the Colonel about his trip to Hungary, and the Colonel showed great interest in all he had to say; but, without giving any reason for it, he told Gregory that he did not think Allied Strategy for 1942-43 would permit of advantage being taken of his private negotiations with the Hungarian magnates.
On the Monday Gregory returned to the War Room. His colleagues there had been told that for the past two months he had been seconded for special duty and they were much too discreet to ask him any questions. So discreet were they in fact that although they brought him up to date with the situation none of them actually mentioned Torch, which was the code name that had been given to the North African expedition. All of them now knew about it, but they were not officially supposed to be in the secret of future operations; so they referred to it among themselves only obscurely.
However, in the course of the next few days, Sir Pellinore’s assumption that Gregory would find himself in the picture was fully borne out. The movements of troops, air squadrons and shipping, which were all recorded in the War Room, told a story. Oblique references to this and that filled in gaps. Above all, the speculations on possible enemy reactions in certain circumstances, of highly placed visitors who had the entry to the War Room, left no room for doubt about the broad outline of the plan.
Anxiously he waited for every post, hoping to hear from Erika, but in vain. As by Wednesday he had still received no reply to his letter, he wrote again, declaring that his heart was broken and that only she could mend it by allowing him to go up and see her.
At last, on Saturday morning, Rudd brought him with his breakfast a letter addressed in her well-loved writing. Eagerly he tore it open, only to suffer grievous disappointment. It ran:
From what I learned when I last saw you, I cannot believe that you have a heart worth patching up. But mine is truly broken, and with good reason. I thought that we had both long since finished sowing our wild oats, and were old enough to be faithful to one another. Anyway, I love you far too much to face a future racked with the thought that you may be secretly indulging in affaires with other women. Since there can now be no future for us I do not intend to submit to the additional pain of hearing you make excuses for your ‘honeymoon on the Danube.’ That it took place you cannot deny, for if you could you would already have done so. Should you come to Gwaine Meads you will drive me from it; so please at least spare me from having to make a new life among strangers. I hope in time to recover from the awful shock that was sprung upon me, and to be able to think again of the long happiness we had together. In the meantime I can do no more than wish you well.
Bitterly, he realised that he was in a cleft stick. His only chance of altering her decision lay in his seeing and talking to her, but if he attempted to she might do as she threatened—and with Sir Pellinore’s grim reference to ‘an inquest’ haunting his mind he dared not take that risk.
His decision to avoid Sabine had debarred him from visiting Carlton House Terrace or resuming his customary Sunday night suppers there; so he rang Sir Pellinore up and asked him to lunch at his Club. Wednesday was the earliest day the Baronet could manage and after the meal Gregory showed him Erika’s letter. The old man was much distressed and offered to act as intermediary, but added that he was so heavily involved in matters connected with the war that he could not possibly give twenty-four hours to spending a night up at Gwaine Meads during the next ten days; so for the time being he could do no more than write to her.
Gregory gratefully accepted his offer, then enquired after the lovely cause of all the trouble. Sir Pellinore told him that Sabine was still at Carlton House Terrace, and as yet had taken no steps about finding a flat for herself; but she had got a job in which she had started the previous Monday. Apparently she had run into a pre-war friend who had introduced her to the Chancellor at the Moldavian1 Embassy and, owing to her proficiency in languages, she had been taken on in the Chancellery there. As her alien status would have prevented her from working in any Government Department, and all commerce with Central Europe was at a standstill, this job in a neutral Embassy had seemed the very thing for her and she was delighted about it.
The following Monday morning Sir Pellinore rang up Gregory at the War Room to tell him that he had had a reply from Erika. But it contained no comfort for her distracted lover. She said that even if Sir Pellinore could manage a visit to Gwaine Meads during the course of the next fortnight she would not be able to bring herself to discuss the affair with him. Her mind was made up, she was doing her utmost to forget, and to reopen the matter could only cause her acute distress.
It was later that same morning, the 12th of October, that Gregory ran into his old friend of Worcester days, emerging from the Chiefs-of-Staff conference room at the far end of the basement.
‘Hello!’ he said. ‘Been called in for consultation by the mighty? You are going up in the world.’
The airman grinned. ‘No, they only meet down here now at night when there’s an air raid on. They’ve lent us their room because my little party has a global conference of its own on today. There’s something rather awe-inspiring in the thought that the top boys who do our stuff overseas for us all flew in yesterday from places as far apart as Cairo. Washington, Delhi and Cape Town, to meet us round the table. But it was essential that we should get all the loose ends tied up.’
By now, although no definite reference was made to Torch outside the offices of the Planners, it was generally recognised that everyone in the basement knew about it; so Gregory raised an eyebrow and replied, ‘You’ve left things pretty late, haven’t you? I should have thought you planning boys would have handed your stuff to the staff of the Force Commander long before this, and been working things out for landings in Norway or Burma next summer.’
His friend shrugged. ‘The STRATS and the FOPS are; and at the same time are arguing the respective merits of our going into Denmark, Holland, Cherbourg, Sardinia, Sumatra, the Kra Isthmus and lots of other places. But the little party to which I belong is operational as well; so we are in it up to the neck till the last minute. From the wars of the Ancients onward, every major operation has had to have its Cover Plan, and it’s our responsibility to pull the wool over the eyes of the enemy. I don’t mind telling you, it’s quite a headache. We could easily make a mess of things, and if we do we’ll have a hell of a lot to answer for.’
‘I see. Then I don’t envy that nice boss of yours. How d’you feel about your prospects?’
‘It’s difficult to say, because this is our first big show. I think they’re pretty good. Of course, we are copying the Germans in putting out all sorts of false rumours, and everyone who’s not in the show will be waving red cloaks like mad to draw the Nazi bull off in the wrong direction. But it’s impossible to say if they’ll fall for that. If they don’t, it may lead to about the biggest disaster with which the British Army has ever met.’
Gregory nodded sympathetically. ‘It must be worrying you out of your wits. Come along to the mess and have a drink. I’m sure you need one.’
Three days later he saw Sabine; but not to speak to. He had run into an old friend, a journalist who had become a war-correspondent, and as neither had anything on that night they agreed to dine together at the Café Royal. As they sat down in the restaurant he caught sight of Sabine only a few tables away. Her escort was a tall rather flamboyant-looking dark man, with a high bald forehead, flashing eyes and a bushy black moustache. On seeing Gregory she smiled and waved to him, and he waved back.
‘Who is your lovely friend?’ enquired the journalist.
Gregory told him, and added, ‘It’s really your job to know by sight everyone who matters. Does that cover the fellow she is with?’
‘Oh yes. He is Colonel Vladan Kasdar, the Moldavian Military Attaché. Not a bad chap as they go; but I wish to goodness all these neutral military attachés could be made to take a running jump and drown themselves in the Thames.’
‘Why do you wish that?’ Gregory asked with a laugh.
‘Because they are so damn dangerous. I’m on pretty good terms with one or two people in M.I.5, and they tell me that they have the Nazi spy system taped. If one is parachuted in or lands from a U-boat, they can nab him within twenty-four hours. So all the leaks that take place are through the neutral Embassies and Legations. Of course it’s their job to collect as much information as they can for their own Governments and most of the Swiss, Swedes, Turks and the rest are our very good friends. But there are black sheep in every flock, and the Nazis pay big money for the real goods.’
‘I see; and they get the stuff out in the Embassy bags.’
‘That’s it. The bags enjoy diplomatic privilege and are still immune from censorship; so it’s easy enough for chaps like Kasdar to slip a private note in for someone who is working with them in their own capital, and within a few hours its contents have been passed on to Berlin.’
Gregory looked thoughtful, then he said, ‘I wonder our Government doesn’t put an embargo on the bags—anyhow for a week or so before big operations are to take place.’
‘There would be one hell of a fuss if they did,’ replied the journalist, ‘but, all the same, I wish they would. And I have a personal interest in the matter at the moment. In your job you must know as well as I do that there’s a big show pending. The northern ports are positively bursting with troops and shipping. Naturally people like myself are not told where they are off to or when; but it can’t be long now because I’ve been told to stand by to go with them. And I don’t mind taking normal risks, but I’m damned if I want to drown just because some Ruritanian type, like Kasdar, is anxious to earn a bit of extra cash to lavish on luscious little dishes of the kind he has with him now.’
The following day Gregory was not due to go on duty until the afternoon and, after breakfast, when he was straightening up the contents of a chest of drawers, he came upon the three big tins of foie-gras that Levianski had got for him in Budapest. He had intended one for Sir Pellinore, one for Erika and himself, and one for the girl in S.O.E. Since his return, during most of his off-duty hours, his mind had been too distraught with unhappy brooding to do anything about them; but it occurred to him now that a good way to fill in the morning would be to deliver the one for … yes, Diana was her name.
After a short wait he was shown into her office and presented his gift. She was naturally delighted, and said what a treat it would be for her step-father, whose passion for foie-gras had inspired her to suggest that Gregory should pose as a truffle merchant in Budapest. She then asked him how he had got on there.
He told her how the identity of Commandant Tavenier had unforeseeably landed him in the soup, and that he owed his escape to her private enterprise in having provided him with a safe contact in Levianski. He added that he had come home with what he believed to be a first class coup; but unfortunately he had had all his trouble for nothing, as the Government found themselves unable to take advantage of it.
‘That is hard luck!’ She looked down for a moment and her long lashes veiled her eyes as she added, ‘I suppose they have their hands pretty full at the moment.’
‘That’s about it!’ he agreed, ‘and I expect you have too; so I mustn’t keep you.’ Then, as he stood up, he said on a sudden impulse. ‘I suppose you wouldn’t care to dine with me one night?’
The expression on her small aristocratic face remained noncommittal and she replied quietly: ‘That depends. Quite a lot of our men who have returned from doing jobs abroad ask me out to dinner. Many of them have been through a most appalling time, and they know that it will be only a week or two before they have to go off and risk their lives again. Some of them think that entitles them to expect me, or other girls in the office, to … er … play parlour games with them after dinner. I wish I could, because I feel terribly sorry for them. But…’
With a wry smile, Gregory checked her. ‘In my case you’ve no need to worry about that. I’m head over heels in love with someone already; but I’ve made a ghastly mess of things so I’m feeling desperately unhappy. I’m afraid it’s rather a backhanded compliment to anyone so young and lovely as yourself; but I was just hoping that you might be kind enough to come out with me for a chat, and so take my mind off my worries for an evening.’
Her face immediately radiated sweetness and compassion. ‘But of course I will! How beastly for you. When shall it be? I’m afraid I can’t make it tonight, but tomorrow if you like.’
‘Thanks,’ he smiled. ‘I think your heart must be the same true gold as your hair. It’s very gracious of you. Anyway, war or no war, at least I can promise you a good meal, with no strings attached.’ They arranged that he should call for her at her office at six o’clock, and he left her rather wondering at himself, but glad that he had followed his impulse.
He took her to the Hungaria, knowing that, however scarce steaks, ducks, and Dover soles might be, his old friend Vecchi could always be relied on to provide them with a good main course, instead of the awful made-up dishes which were all that restaurants could now offer to the majority of their customers.
As they drank their cocktails he told her how untouched by the war Budapest still remained and what a good time he had had there until he had had to go to earth in a hurry. She remarked how much her mother and step-father had enjoyed their visits there before the war; and from that, to their mutual surprise, it emerged that her step-father was the airman on the Joint Planning Staff with whom Gregory had been in H.M.S. Worcester. That provided them with plenty to talk about through dinner; which was a good thing in view of the unwritten law that people employed in secret war organisations should never discuss war acitivities in public places.
After dinner they danced twice, then fell a little silent. During a pause longer than usual Diana powdered her acquiline nose—which with her oval face and good forehead made her look like a small edition of Queen Marie Antoinette—snapped her compact shut, and said:
‘Now, tell me about this mess that you’ve got into with your girl-friend.’
He shook his head. ‘I didn’t take you out to bore you with my troubles.’
She had been chain-smoking American cigarettes, and lit another. ‘Don’t if you would rather not. But for some reason people who are older than I am often seem to find it helps to talk over their problems with me. I suppose that’s really only because they have got it off their chests; but, anyway, I’m a good listener.’
‘Be it on your own head, then,’ Gregory smiled, and for the next twenty minutes she interrupted now and then only to ask him to give her a fuller picture of the backgrounds of Erika, Sabine and himself.
When he had done, she said, ‘I think you were an awful fool not to have followed her to the country right away.’
‘As I’ve told you, I was terrified of her going off on her own and doing something desperate.’
‘I don’t believe she would have for a moment. She’s not a little thing just out of a convent, or a neurotic. You say she stood up to beatings by the Gestapo, and risked her life with you many times in Germany. Women who have the courage to do that never commit suicide. The worst that could happen is that she would run out on you. But what does that matter? In your position you could get the Special Branch to trace her for you within a couple of days. Then you could go after her again. And if need be keep on chasing her until she does forgive you. That is the way to convince a woman that you really love her. How can she be expected to believe you do while you just sit here in London doing nothing about it?’
‘I suppose there is something in that,’ Gregory murmured a shade doubtfully.
‘Something!’ Diana repeated, looking at him from under her long lashes with a suggestion of contempt. ‘Everything! Why, the poor woman doesn’t even know yet that you didn’t just go off the rails for fun, but got yourself into a position where you practically had to sleep with this Hungarian girl. Your Erika is a woman of the world, and if she has played tag with the Gestapo she must know that there are times when secret agents of both sexes have to do that sort of thing to save their lives. If she does love you it’s unthinkable that she would have preferred you to keep your halo and be dead.’
Gregory looked across at the small, strong beautiful face opposite to him with sudden admiration. ‘I hadn’t thought of it that way. But, of course, you’re right. I’ve been allowing my wretchedness to cloud my wits. Thank you a thousand times for letting in some daylight. I’ll go up to Gwaine Meads just as soon as I can get a night off from the office.’
The next day was Sunday and, as Gregory was due for forty-eight hours’ leave, he had no difficulty in arranging that he should take it from Monday morning. He reached Gwaine Meads soon after lunch and found Erika in her office, dealing as usual with the hospital accounts. She looked thin and ill and at once declared that she had no intention of discussing matters with him.
Imbued with an entirely new spirit since his evening with Diana, he thrust out his long jaw and said, ‘Yes you will. Like it or not you are going to listen to me. But I can’t say what I have to say where we may be overheard’ Taking her top-coat from a hook on the door he held it for her and added, ‘Come on. Put this on and come out into the garden. If you won’t I’ll carry you out as you are, then you’ll catch your death of cold; so you had much better be sensible.’
‘Very well.’ Her splendid blue eyes above the high cheek bones regarded him stonily. ‘Since you insist. But I warn you that if you remain here afterwards I shall take an evening train to somewhere where you can’t find me.’
He ignored her remark and they went out into the garden. It was October the 19th, and a cold wintry day; so not the happiest place in which to attempt a reconciliation. But he was now determined to beat down her defences, and as they began to walk up and down the lawn he plunged at once into his story. He did not attempt to excuse himself but gave a strictly factual account of the whole affair.
When he had finished she asked, ‘Why didn’t you come up here and tell me all this before?’
‘God alone knows!’ he exclaimed irritably. ‘It was really old Pellinore. He put it into my head that if I drove you into solitude you might commit suicide. I was so desperately worried that I hadn’t the sense to realise that you are much too well balanced to do anything like that.’
She gave him a quick look. ‘I very nearly did the night I got back here. It would have been easy enough to get something from the dispensary. I had half a mind to, because I really felt that I’d come to the end of everything.’
‘Praise be, you didn’t! And if you love me that much surely—surely you can bring yourself to forget the wretched business?’
Suddenly she turned and grasped his arm. ‘Oh, my dear. Now you’ve told me what really happened I can. But it was such a frightful shock. And from what she said it seemed impossible to believe that you had not fallen in love with her. As it is I can’t even hate her any more. She saved your life, darling! She saved your life! What does anything else matter?’
Within a minute he had pulled her down a path into the nearest shrubbery and was kissing her fiercely while she wept with happiness at being once more in his arms.
Presently she said that she meant to try to put Sabine right out of her mind, as though she had no real existence, but that would not be possible if Gregory continued to be friends with her; so she wanted his solemn promise that in the future he would neither see nor write to her.
He gave it willingly, and fully restored her confidence in him by telling her that during the past three weeks he had deliberately avoided any meeting with Sabine, had seen her only once, and then not to speak to.
Soon afterwards they returned to the house and settled down comfortably in front of a warm fire. They had so much to say to one another that the afternoon sped by rapidly, and as there were no other guests staying in the house they were able to dine tête-à-tête in the little dining-room of the private wing. Gregory produced the foie-gras and told her about Diana. Erika was amused at his having taken the advice of a girl scarcely out of her teens, and pretended that she would find new cause for jealousy in this paragon who combined such wisdom with youth and beauty; but a minute later she added seriously that when she came to London she must meet Diana and thank her from the bottom of her heart for having sent him back to her.
It was shortly after the nine o’clock news that Gregory was called to the telephone. He was away for about five minutes and when he rejoined Erika every trace of his new happiness had disappeared.
‘What is it, darling?’ she asked anxiously. ‘Don’t tell me that you’re been recalled to duty. That would be too awful.’
‘No,’ he said, in a somewhat bewildered way. ‘No. That was Pellinore. At first I couldn’t make out what he was talking about. But before he finished he made it plain enough. He rang up to tell me that Sabine Tuzolto has been arrested as a spy.’
Erika’s blue eyes became round, her big generous mouth opened a little; then she suddenly sat back and gave way to peals of laughter.
‘Stop that!’ Gregory exclaimed angrily. This is no laughing matter.’
‘Oh, but if is; it is!’ Erika was half choking and tears of mirth were running down her cheeks. ‘It is the funniest thing that has happened for years. You, my dear, Grauber’s bête noire, the nightmare of the Gestapo, Britain’s all-time high Secret Agent, you—of all people—have been fooled into bringing a Nazi spy into England and … and—cream of the jest—planting her in the house of the man who knows more than anyone outside the Cabinet about Britain’s war secrets.’
‘Very funny! Very funny indeed!’ snapped Gregory. ‘But may I remind you that this woman saved my life.’
Erika cast her eyes upward as though appealing to the gods against crass stupidity. ‘Nonsense, you poor simpleton. Once they had decided how to make use of you your life was no longer in danger. This Hungarian tart did her big act because she was told to by Ribbentrop, and like a ninny you fell for it. Really, if there is a kindergarten for secret agents you ought to go there for a refresher course.’
‘You are wrong! Utterly wrong! The one thing had nothing whatever to do with the other. She got me out of Grauber’s clutches without any prompting from anyone. It was only later, after they had found out about the way she had rescued me, and ordered her into exile on that account, that the question arose of her coming to England. And, damn it all, we don’t even know yet if she is guilty. She may be the victim of some stupid mistake by M.I.5. Anyway, I owe her all the help I can give, and I’ll have to catch the first train in the morning for London.’
Coming to her feet, Erika cried in a pleading voice, ‘But darling! Only this afternoon you promised, promised faithfully, that you’d have no more to do with her.’
‘I can’t help that. Promises have to go by the board when a proven friend is in danger.’
Erika’s eyes became hard as ice. ‘All right! Go if you want to! If you do, it will be the clearest possible proof that you are still in love with her. And I’ll not stand for that. It will be the end between us. Do you understand? The end! The end! The final, irrevocable end!’