26

‘You need to rest,’ Anya insisted. Mildred was wincing with every step she took.

‘We can’t stop now; we are too close to the meeting point,’ she gasped, stopping to lean on a fence and catch her breath. ‘Can you see up ahead?’

Anya held a hand up to shield her eyes against the morning sun. ‘There seem to be some buildings up ahead that look like warehouses. Is that what you mean?’

‘Yes, that was our original destination before the storm took us off course. Domino will be there in just over one hour. He will have news of our target.’

‘Target? What is it with these strange words and false names?’ Anya huffed. ‘I am Anya, not Monique. You are Mildred, not Nancy, and Domino is not a proper name.’

Mildred sighed. ‘Believe me, it is important we continue to use our aliases. If the Germans catch up, we need to stay in character and never give anything away. Surely this was drummed into you during your training. You were given certain items to help you if you should be captured, weren’t you?’

‘I never completed the training; I was required to be here much sooner than anticipated. I learnt a little Morse code, but only up to the F, so that is not much help; I can also scramble over a high wall if there is someone to give me a bunk up. This may be of more aid to me,’ Anya said, pulling a long hatpin from her felt hat. ‘But no use against a gun or a knife . . .’

‘Were you given a pill?’

‘With which to kill myself if I’m found in a dangerous position? I threw it overboard on the way here. I am not a coward,’ she said, giving Mildred a hard stare.

Mildred was too tired to explain to Anya what could be done to her if she were to be captured. She would do her best to keep the woman safe and get her back to Ramsgate in one piece. It had been a bad idea, she felt, for her to accompany someone she already knew; it risked compromising the mission and putting the whole team in jeopardy. It was bad enough that Domino . . .

She pushed the dark thoughts from her mind. Patting the pocket of her jacket, she took comfort in knowing she had something that would do more to save them than a hatpin ever could. ‘Just keep walking,’ she huffed, deciding not to continue a conversation she found depressing.

As they approached the cluster of buildings, Anya could see they were set around an inlet of water. Several small vessels were moored nearby, along with rowing boats. The buildings had seen better days, with some of them being little more than slats of wood attached to posts lying at angles.

‘It is very quiet,’ she said, peering carefully from around a small shed.

‘It is Sunday, which is a help; for many it is a day of rest,’ Mildred replied while consulting the scribbled map Alphonse had given her. ‘I have been here before . . . follow me.’ She moved as fast as her injured feet would allow. ‘There should be a double gate at the back of one of these buildings, and that is where we have to wait.’

‘Out in the open?’

‘No, we can tuck ourselves away inside and await his arrival.’

Anya gave a triumphant laugh. ‘So it is a man. At last I know something about this person.’

‘He is certainly that,’ Mildred smiled knowingly. ‘After he arrives, I believe it will only be an hour or so before you can identify your friend and we can head for home.’

‘I will be home in time to tuck my son up in his bed,’ Anya beamed as her spirits lifted.

Mildred didn’t say anything as she lowered her ample frame down to sit on a couple of straw-filled sacks. In her opinion, nothing went to plan, and she thought it unlikely that they would really be home in good old Blighty by evening. After gingerly pulling off the rags wrapped around her feet, she closed her eyes, keeping her hand on her pocket. Who knew what dangers lurked nearby?

They sat quietly, and eventually Mildred dozed for a while until Anya nudged her. ‘I can hear footsteps,’ she murmured close to Mildred’s ear.

Mildred got to her feet, forgetting the excruciating pain for a moment as she crept closer to the rickety doors. Putting her ear close to the wooden slats, she listened, putting a finger to her lips in case Anya spoke.

‘Nancy . . . it is Domino.’

Mildred kept her hand close to her pocket and pulled the door open slightly. ‘Thank goodness you are here,’ she said, letting a man inside and closing the door behind him after looking out to see if he was being followed. ‘This is Monique,’ she said, going through the formalities.

Anya stood with her mouth open in astonishment. ‘I know you, but not as Domino. You are John Bentley who used to visit Flora at Sea View – although you were much more presentable in those days,’ she added, taking in his unshaven chin, dishevelled hair, and clothing that would have been suited to farm labour.

‘I said this wouldn’t work,’ he told Mildred in exasperation. ‘Never have I worked with people I know; it is far too dangerous.’

‘We had no choice,’ she said, trying to pacify him as she moved back to where she’d been sleeping and sat down; the pain in her feet was getting worse.

‘What is wrong?’ he said, kneeling in front of her to examine her swollen feet.

‘Oh, you know what women are like, wearing the wrong sized shoes.’ Mildred tried to laugh, at the same time fighting back tears. ‘Domino, I don’t know if I’m able to complete the mission; I could hold you back.’

‘I tried my best to bandage them for her,’ Anya said, looking over his shoulder. ‘But we’ve walked so far . . .’

‘You’ve done a good job,’ he replied, inspecting the wounds under the ragged fabric.

‘Thank you. What can you do to help her?’ Anya asked, wincing at the sight of the sores as he let the air get to them.

‘I have a small kit of items that may help.’ He pulled a hessian bag from his shoulder. ‘It isn’t much, but after a night’s rest we can hope Mildred – Nancy – feels well enough to continue.’

‘Tomorrow?’ both women exclaimed.

‘I have bad news,’ he started to say as he cleaned Mildred’s wounds with a bottle of clear liquid, making her curse out loud. ‘The pain will lessen now. I will dress the wounds in a little while.’ He took a package out of his bag, along with a thermos flask. ‘Vegetable soup: not exactly delicious, but warming and filling. The bread is rough but will do.’

‘We are used to the bread,’ Mildred said, trying to laugh. Her face was pale and her voice weak.

Domino passed them small tin cups of soup and drank his from the lid of the flask. They bit into the lumps of bread he tore from a small loaf.

‘When we get back, I will treat you both to a slap-up meal in a Joe Lyons teashop,’ Anya said with a faraway look in her eyes. ‘Please, tell us what you know and why we cannot continue today for me to identify this woman? Not that Mildred doesn’t need the rest.’

‘I’m afraid our plans have changed. Anouska moved on today; she is now in Vaux.’

‘Blast that storm, it’s played havoc with our plans,’ Mildred muttered. ‘What shall we do now?’

‘It will be a half day’s journey to Vaux, but I will find transport, never you fear. We will not leave you behind. Now rest and regain your strength; we will need you to get us back across the Channel,’ he said, assisting Mildred to relax against the sacks of straw.

He drew Anya across to the other side of the room, where they stood looking out at the darkening sky. ‘It is a great service you are doing for England,’ he said as he lit a cigarette, offering one to her.

‘No, thank you. I was led to believe it would be a simple task,’ she said, looking back to where Mildred was starting to nod off. ‘I insisted Mildred should rest all day; now I want to get this done and go home to my son.’

He turned away slightly, but not before she saw the expression that flickered across his face.

‘Why do you look like that?’ she asked, grabbing his sleeve. ‘Has something happened that you are not telling me? Is it a bomb – has something happened at Sea View?’

‘Nothing has happened to Sea View. As soon as you are back, you’ll see that everything is the same as it was when you left,’ he said. He hated to deceive her, but a distraught woman would not help the situation. They had a job to do, and he would tell her later what had happened to her boy.

‘I am relieved, as I’ve had such dreams about my son. It has worried me.’

‘Just concentrate on the task ahead,’ he replied.

‘Are you able to tell me more about what will happen?’

‘It should not take long once we are in the vicinity of where Anouska is staying. We want you to be able to have a good look at her and be sure she is the same woman you knew back in Poland.’

Anya was pensive. ‘It has been a while since I travelled with her when we left our homeland. I hope I can confirm it is her. What I don’t understand is why I must do this, and what will happen to her – you don’t intend to kill her, do you? I could not be party to murder.’

He shook his head. ‘I’m surprised you weren’t told more. There again, if you’d been caught, it could have been dangerous for you to know more – and for our target, if you had been interrogated.’

Anya shuddered at the thought. ‘What can you tell me now?’

‘Very briefly, all we know is that after you left your friend in France she made her way to Paris. She married quickly once she met up with her elderly father. He introduced her to a colleague, an eminent scientist some years older than her, but who could offer her security in this turbulent time.’

‘I could never do that . . .’ Anya murmured before indicating for him to continue.

‘Like many women of her status, she took a lover. In her case, it was a high-ranking German officer.’

Anya was so angry. ‘How could she do such a thing after what they did to our beloved country?’

‘Lower your voice. We have to be careful in case there is someone nearby.’

‘I’m sorry. I cannot believe she would have sold herself to the enemy.’

‘She hasn’t.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ Anya hissed back at him.

‘She has sent a message to us that she has secrets about army movements that she wishes to share, on the understanding she and her father will be given safe passage to England.’

Anya fell silent, trying to digest what he was saying. ‘Why do you need me?’

‘This may all be a trick by the enemy, an attempt to have one of their spies infiltrate our circle. That is why we need you to identify her. So few people know her from before the war.’

‘And will we be bringing her back to England with us?’

‘No; your mission is only to identify her, so that we are sure she is who she claims to be. We won’t bring her back until the time is right. It must be planned carefully, so her lover doesn’t find out until she is on home soil.’

‘Where is she staying in Vaux? Will I be able to see her without being spotted?’

‘They are to attend a banquet being held for a high-ranking officer . . . no, I’d rather not say who it is,’ he said, as Anya opened her mouth to ask.

‘How will I be able to get close enough to identify her?’

‘With your training at the Lyons teashop, we plan to have you work at the banquet. There will be two other women working undercover with you, so you will not be alone.’

Anya let out a burst of laughter before slapping her hand over her mouth. ‘I am a trained Sally for Joe Lyons,’ she said.

‘I don’t understand?’

‘I am trained to sell bread and cakes at the counter in the teashop. I have never been a Nippy or served a single cup of tea, let alone a meal for grandiose people. Besides, I do not speak the language.’

He looked dismayed. ‘Someone’s made a blunder. I will see what can be done. Now, get some sleep; you have a busy day tomorrow.’