Page 127 of The Last Night in London
Eva ducked her head to hide her face, the tears that threatened to fall. “Did Graham say anything else?”
A small smile formed on David’s lips. “He wanted me to tell you that he’s started drawing the plans for a house by the sea. He said you’d know what he meant.”
—
The following morning, Eva entered Horvath’s, wearing the practiced smile of an actress looking for nothing more than conversation and something to drink and eat off ration. She wore an old frock she’d once modeled at Lushtak’s to give her confidence, and she was clearheaded.
Ever since that night in the Savoy’s basement with Graham, during all the interminable waiting for something she could not name to happen, she’d been drinking less. She’d stopped drinking entirelyduring the day, wanting to be alert. To be ready. For what, she didn’t know.
She was relieved to find Mr. Danek at his usual table, facing the door. He worked the evening shift at the Savoy, and she had half hoped to see him. His expression didn’t change as she entered the café, as if he’d been expecting her. He signaled for a coffee as she sat down across from him.
“You’re looking well,” he said.
“Thank you.” She glanced around the room, unsure what or whom she was supposed to be looking for. Wishing that she could do more than simply look the part, that she could be strong and smart. Brave. But she was none of those things. All she knew how to do was pretend that she was. That was the one thing she was very, very good at.
Mr. Danek took a long drag on his cigarette before putting it out in the overflowing ashtray. He sat back in his chair, regarding her. “I hear the seaside is beautiful this time of year.”
She looked at him sharply. “Is it? I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Yes, you have. You’ve been thinking about going for a while.”
Eva kept her eyes on his, wishing David had given her some sort of script. “You’re right. I want to go to Dorset. To visit my mother.”
“And why haven’t you gone already?”
She looked into his calm eyes, felt a small tremor jumping in her fingertips. “Even if I knew where she was, I worry about Precious—she’ll need to come with me, but she shouldn’t travel now.” She pulled out her cigarette case. Mr. Danek’s hand fell on it, trapping it against the table’s surface.
He tapped on the Latin inscription. “‘Betray before you are betrayed.’ Have you ever wondered why he chose this for you?”
She didn’t remark how Alex’s name wasn’t spoken aloud. She swallowed. “He told me that I would one day find the words as useful as he found me to be.”
Mr. Danek picked up the case and took a cigarette, then held the case open for Eva. He spoke very quietly, as if murmuring to himself, so that Eva had to lean forward to hear. “And have you?”
She considered Mr. Danek’s new position at the Savoy, and Alex’spart in securing it and Graham’s instructions to come to Horvath’s began to make sense.
“Yes.” She swallowed. “And you, Mr. Danek—are you useful to him?”
He held smoke in his lungs for a long moment, then exhaled slowly. “Not as useful as he thinks.”
She placed her hand on the cigarette case, but he stopped her, his strong fingers encircling her wrist. “Be careful, Eva. A tiger is most dangerous when he knows he is trapped.” He looked behind her at the almost-empty tables around them, his gaze settling briefly on the only other occupants of the café: a woman and a young girl having tea and sharing a sliver of the sweet Czech breakfast cakebublanina, a rare treat because of sugar rationing.
“I don’t...” She wanted to tell him that she didn’t understand what he was saying, that there were no tigers. But she did understand. He was wrong, though. Alex had always been dangerous. She’d just been too weak to believe she could fight back. Until the night Graham had made her almost believe she was both brave and strong enough to choose sides.
Mr. Danek spoke softly. “What would you do to be free of him?”
She’d thought of her answer many times. It never wavered. “Anything.”
“Anything,” Mr. Danek repeated. He tapped his cigarette against the ashtray, then looked at her with an unfamiliar intensity. “Whose side are you on?”
She answered without thinking. “The good side.”
A hint of a smile traced his lips. “I am happy to hear it.” He blew out small smoke rings that drifted toward the ceiling. As if he were talking about the weather, he said, “You need to pack a bag for yourself and Precious, and be ready to go at a moment’s notice. We might not have the luxury of waiting until the baby is born. Do you understand? I will find out where your mother is, and when I tell you, I want you to write her address inside your bag, somewhere not obvious, yes? Take it to your friend Sophia. She will keep it safe until you are ready to leave.”
Sophia?She didn’t let the question reach her lips. Of course Sophia. Graham’s sister. David’s wife.
She pulled the cigarette case to her side of the table, keeping her eyes down, as if it were the focus of their conversation. “How do you know you can find this information?”
“Because I have at times been useful to our friend, and he trusts me. As does Jiri. I don’t know for how much longer, however. We will need to move fast.”
