14

‘There’s a problem,’ Kenneth Parry said, throwing himself into a chair opposite Ruth in the lounge of the training centre where Ruth had come to visit Anya. He pulled out his pipe. ‘Domino informs us the target will be moving on. The mission will have to be brought forward in case it becomes too risky.’

‘It has always been risky,’ Ruth replied, reaching for a cigarette. ‘We need at least another week; she’s not ready.’

‘She will have to be, we have no option. She goes the day after tomorrow, or we call off the mission.’

‘For goodness’ sake, we can’t do that, and you know it,’ she spat back at him. ‘So far it has only been gossip and hearsay about the damned woman.’

‘Winston’s expecting a confirmed sighting so our operatives can move in and do their stuff. If Hitler gets wind of Anouska being Jewish, he could arrange to obliterate her at any time, and then we’d be no further forward.’

‘But Anya isn’t ready . . .’ Ruth repeated as she thought about how close she had become to the Polish woman. A voice deep inside had warned her this would never work out well; Anya was much too close to Rose’s circle of friends, making her almost feel like a part of Ruth’s extended family.

‘She’s only got to go in and take a look at the woman to confirm it is someone she knew from the old days in Poland, then get out.’

‘She doesn’t know any French. That was to be the next stage of her training . . .’

‘She will only be in France for a matter of hours, and our courier will be with her. The château is close to the sea where they will be dropped off; what can go wrong? Anya just needs to confirm the identity of the woman, and then she can return to Ramsgate and forget she ever left our shores.’

‘Shall I tell her, or shall you?’ Ruth asked as she weakened. She knew it would be a feather in her cap if they could pull this off. Anya’s part in the operation was small but crucial.

‘You can tell her she will be on the boat the day after tomorrow, in the evening. We can give her the information we have just before we take her to meet the courier.’

Ruth shuddered. ‘That soon? In that case, I’ll take her. My brother’s back in town and I don’t want to miss him.’

‘Take a few days off, you deserve it. We can cover everything from here.’

‘Don’t talk to me as if I don’t pull my weight,’ she snapped.

He raised his hands in surrender. ‘No offence meant. I know if my brother was only home for twenty-four hours, I’d like to see him.’

Ruth gave a mocking laugh. ‘You know everything, don’t you? I only said he would be home, but still, you know the details . . .’

‘It’s my place to know everything,’ he said, giving her a crafty wink. ‘I’ll tell Anya to come in and see you. I spotted her sitting in the garden with a book.’

Ruth shook her head as he left. She liked Kenneth a lot, but his apparent knowledge of everything that went on gave her the shivers. What else did he know about her, she wondered, as she opened the folder he’d given her containing details of Anya’s mission. She was deep in thought when the Polish woman entered the room.

‘Mr Parry told me to come straight in,’ Anya said, looking worried. ‘Have I done anything wrong? Everyone seems to shout at me in this place,’ she said glumly. ‘Perhaps it is best if I go home to Ramsgate and my son.’

‘Sit down, and stop feeling so sorry for yourself,’ Ruth said, giving Anya a gentle smile. ‘You’ve been through a lot these past days; we’ve rather thrown you in at the deep end.’

‘Deep end? I am drowning! I honestly cannot do this; you picked the wrong woman.’

‘Oh, Anya. You can be certain that we have picked the perfect woman for the job,’ Ruth assured her, thinking it was more that there was no other person who could carry out the mission. ‘However, you will be pleased to know your training is nearly at an end.’

Anya frowned. ‘How can it be, when I have yet to learn how to kill someone with a knife, I have yet to understand any of the French language, and I only know six letters in the Morse code?’

‘Let’s just hope they are the right six letters,’ Ruth said, and both women burst out laughing. ‘Seriously, your mission shouldn’t involve killing anyone or sending messages by Morse code. You simply have to confirm the identity of the woman you will see and then report back to us, so we have up-to-date identification.’

‘It sounds simple when you say it like that, but I know there will be more. When will I know who this woman is, and why she is so important to the British?’

Ruth closed the folder in front of her and reached for her cigarettes, offering them to Anya, who refused. ‘All I can tell you at the moment is: the day after tomorrow, in the evening, you will be driven to the coast, where you will be taken over the Channel and dropped off at a point where you will be met. The person who meets you will take you to where you will watch and wait until you see the woman we need to identify, and then you will carry out your mission.’

Anya stared into Ruth’s eyes. ‘You make it sound simple . . . will it be simple? Will I see my son again?’ she asked, reaching into the pocket of her cardigan and bringing out a photograph. ‘This was him as a baby; he has grown so much and looks so like his father. I fear he will be an orphan soon.’

Ruth’s heart ached for Anya. She’d done very little to find out about Henio and vowed to start hounding her contacts. ‘The mission should be simple, but we must be realistic, because there is so much that could go wrong. You will have the best people with you; I promise they will take care of you. Your knowledge will do much to help bring an end to this war.’

Anya was thoughtful. ‘I’m not afraid to die. I just need to know if my Henio is alive. Katie and Jack will be good parents to my boy if he is left alone. I wonder, would you . . .’

‘I’ll do anything at all if it will give you peace of mind,’ Ruth promised, knowing Anya would need to be single-minded during her mission and not be thinking about her son.

‘I would like to write letters to my husband and my son, in case I should not return. Also, I want to write to Katie and tell her more about Alexsy. Perhaps one day she can take him to visit his homeland . . .’ Anya said, gazing past Ruth towards the window, where the sun shone down on the mansion’s extensive gardens.

‘I can take your letters and make sure they get to the right people if . . . if anything should happen to you. But I expect you to return, and then we will burn the letters together and forget you ever undertook this mission. Do you agree?’

‘I agree,’ Anya said through glistening tears. ‘I’m not crying,’ she added as she cuffed her eyes, giving Ruth a broad smile. ‘Let us get on with defeating the enemy who killed my family and brought destruction to my beautiful country. I want revenge,’ she said forcefully.

Ruth reached into a drawer in her desk and passed writing paper and envelopes to Anya. ‘Use these to write your letters. Shortly you will be given a new identity and clothing suitable to your task. Do not talk to anyone apart from those supervising your mission; we can never be too careful at this stage.’

‘Do not worry,’ Anya said, getting to her feet. ‘No one here speaks to the strange Polish woman.’

Ruth watched her go before lifting the telephone receiver. It was time to contact the people who would be assisting Anya in her task.

Katie let herself into Captain’s Cottage. It was late evening, and after a long day she wanted to sit down and rest for a while. At least Jennie and Lily would have put the children to bed, and it would be peaceful. As much as she loved the two little ones, she was grateful someone else would be caring for them this evening.

She hung her coat and hat on the hallstand, hooking her gas mask holder on top of the coat where it could be grabbed at a moment’s notice. Kicking off her shoes, she walked into the living room in her stocking feet to be brought up short. ‘Jack?’ she whispered before shrieking in delight and throwing herself into his arms. ‘I knew you’d be home soon but didn’t expect to see you today. Oh, I’ve missed you,’ she cried before being silenced as his lips sought hers.

Several minutes passed before she stepped back, gasping for air and trying to calm her beating heart. ‘Oh my goodness; I can’t believe you are here,’ she said, taking in his shining blue eyes and sandy-coloured hair. He only stood a few inches taller than her, but in Katie’s eyes he was a giant among men. And she loved him dearly. ‘But where are the others? It is past the children’s bedtime.’

Jack took her hand and led her to the comfortable settee, pulling her onto his lap. ‘They are upstairs. When they heard the gate open, they all decided to help put the kids to bed so I could greet you on my own.’

‘Bless them all, but they can’t stay upstairs,’ she giggled. ‘As much as I want my husband all to myself, I should call to them to come down.’

‘In a couple of minutes,’ he said, nuzzling her neck and kissing her throat.

‘Why, Jack Jones, I’ve never known you so keen. I suppose it is having a girl in every port; I’ve heard about you sailors.’

Jack laughed before holding her at arm’s length to gaze at her. ‘Why would I even look at another woman when I have you to come home to?’

‘Oh, Jack,’ she sighed. ‘I’ve been looking forward to you being home, but we have a houseful of people; it’s not very romantic, is it? Perhaps we could book into a hotel for a couple of nights – that’s if we can find one that’s not too expensive?’

‘Rose is one step ahead of you. She’s arranged for Mildred to drive over and pick them all up; they are staying at Sea View for the two days I’m home.’

‘She is such a good friend. But I still have my work.’

‘Ha! No, you don’t,’ he grinned. ‘Lily is going to cover for you while Jennie, Flora and Miss Tibbs take care of the children.’

‘I can’t believe this has been planned in such a short time. Our friends are so good to us. That must be Mildred,’ Katie said as there was a loud thumping on the front door. ‘You can all come downstairs,’ she called out as she went to let Mildred in.

Lily, Rose and Jennie rushed down the stairs, full of excitement, hugging Katie and congratulating her on having her husband home. Mildred walked in and shook Jack’s hand, welcoming him back. ‘Come on, ladies, let’s get you and the children loaded in my van and get on our way. Are the children awake?’

‘Alexsy is out for the count, but Mary is awake,’ Lily said. ‘I’ve packed a bag for them, and they’re in their nightclothes; we can wrap them up in blankets and hold them in our laps. That way they can be popped into bed as soon as we get to Sea View.’

‘Are you sure Flora doesn’t mind everyone descending on her like this?’ a worried Katie asked as everyone began filing out the front door towards Mildred’s van. ‘Perhaps we two should go to Sea View instead?’ she said, pausing on the doorstep and turning to Jack. He blanched at the suggestion.

‘No,’ Rose almost shouted. ‘The idea is for the pair of you to have some time alone before Jack goes back to his ship. Besides, I’m off to London tomorrow to meet my Ben at his mother’s home, so there will be more than enough room for this lot,’ she said, nudging Lily to agree.

‘Yes, have a great time,’ Lily grinned, giving them a wink, which caused Katie to blush.

‘We certainly will,’ Jack replied as he took his wife by the hand and led her inside.