Chapter 28
When I woke up, Archie was gone. I’d drifted out of sleep once during the early hours and seen him sitting beside the window, scribbling in his notebook.
I watched him for a minute or two as he looked out over the dim city, with his chin in his hand.
But then my eyes had closed again, and when I woke properly, the apartment was empty.
On the pillow next to me was a note.
‘I have to go to Spain,’ Archie had written. ‘Back as soon as I can.’
I felt a little off kilter as I washed and dressed, ready for the day ahead.
I was no doe-eyed schoolgirl with a crush; I’d had romances in the past, though they were largely short-lived.
But none of the men I’d been with before had made me feel like Archie had …
I paused in the middle of brushing my hair, lost in memories of the night before.
Why had he gone without saying goodbye in person?
Was he regretting it already? Should I be regretting it?
I thought about that for a moment and realised that I was not regretting it one bit.
Even if everything fell apart right now and I had to leave Lisbon, or Archie moved on, I’d always be glad we’d had that one night.
This whole Parrish business could compromise the escape routes poor Archie had spent so long setting up.
No wonder he’d been up half the night. He had an enormous mess to sort out, and I understood why he’d gone to Spain.
He had a lot of contacts there who could make their way up the escape line and check it was secure.
But my heart ached to see him. And I felt horribly guilty too.
Perhaps if I’d been nicer to Parrish. Let him down gently.
Not humiliated him. Perhaps if I’d done that, none of this would have happened.
But I knew deep down that however I’d turned Parrish down, he’d have reacted badly. And if I hadn’t fought him off, he would not have listened when I’d said no to him.
I allowed myself a moment to think about how all this had gone so horribly, awfully wrong, then I snapped myself out of it.
‘Come on, Cassie,’ I said aloud. ‘Look lively.’
I finished brushing my hair, picked up my bag and went to work. Professional as ever, and ready to face whatever was coming my way.
The office was empty. I wasn’t sure where Henry was. My nerves were jangling and I felt like I was hanging by a thread as I looked at the maps on the wall, tracing the escape routes with my finger and wondering where Archie was now. It was a long drive to Spain.
And then Digby arrived.
He stuck his head round the door and nodded to me. His face was stern. ‘Can I see you in my office, Cassandra?’
I nodded, getting slowly to my feet. ‘Right behind you, sir.’
Was this it then? The end of my career with Digby’s department.
Yes, he’d been supportive yesterday but presumably he’d now spoken to the top dogs in London, and they weren’t likely to be so forgiving.
Plus there was the risk he’d be in trouble for letting me back into Section D too early.
The likelihood was that all this – my irrational behaviour – would be blamed on Jamie’s death.
I’d be dismissed as overemotional. Not up to the job.
I’d probably be packed off back to England, or sent to work in the basement like Parrish.
The thought made me gasp – an audible, juddering breath and Digby turned to look at me. ‘All right?’
I nodded again. I was glad Archie wouldn’t be in Digby’s office, waiting to witness my humiliation. The memory of him pushing back my hair and kissing my neck swam into my mind and I felt my legs go a little weak at the thought. Honestly, I was falling to pieces.
Archie wasn’t in the office, of course, but Henry was there. He was standing looking out of the window, biting his lip.
‘Ah, Hughes,’ said Digby. ‘Take a seat, both of you.’
‘Where’s Valentine?’ asked Henry.
‘He’s gone to Spain,’ I said, then as I saw Digby’s puzzled face, realised I’d said too much. ‘I assume,’ I added weakly. ‘It’s the obvious place for him to go.’
I felt my cheeks flame.
‘Parrish is on his way to the airport,’ said Digby. ‘He will be met in London by the police and his punishment will be severe.’
I swallowed. ‘But he won’t hang?’
‘He could,’ said Digby. ‘But no, probably not.’
‘Digby, I’m so sorry about all this,’ I said.
He gave me a sharp look. ‘I do not want to hear you saying sorry for a situation this worthless man forced you into,’ he said. ‘In fact, if you apologise once more, I’ll send you back to clerical.’
Chastened and very relieved, I sat back in my chair, glancing at Henry, who looked amused.
‘There is no doubt that this is a problem,’ Digby said. ‘Parrish’s little outburst has compromised our contacts in Paris. Valentine – and others – are working hard to make sure he hasn’t damaged the escape routes.’
‘Parrish knew Frances Reed was helping airmen escape, but he didn’t know how,’ I said. I’d gone over and over our conversation in the office since we discovered Parrish had been listening. ‘We didn’t actually mention the books, we just said she was distributing information.’
Digby nodded. ‘That’s what Valentine said, too.’
Archie and I had discussed that, but I didn’t say so.
‘The French have good measures in place to ensure the safety of the lines,’ said Digby.
‘Good,’ I said. ‘That is good news.’
‘In the meantime, we’re trying to send communications to our agent in Paris. The chap who’s been liaising with Frances Reed at the library.’
‘We need to get to them before the Nazis do,’ Henry said.
Digby made a steeple of his fingers. ‘I know.’
‘God, this is awful,’ I said. ‘Poor Frances’s life is at risk and she doesn’t even know.’
‘We have good people in Paris,’ said Digby. ‘Brave people. And they are doing everything they can to get to them before the Nazis do.’
‘So what can we do?’ I said.
‘I’m afraid the only thing we can do now is wait.’