Page 128 of The Last Night in London
“I’m ready.” She leaned forward.
“Listen carefully.” He glanced behind her before returning his attention to Eva, who nodded, exhilarated and alarmed at once.
“A week from Thursday, there will be another Blackout Ball at the Savoy. Tell Alex that you wish to go. Alex’s car has been confiscated because he was caught using rationed petrol, so you will take a taxi. That means there will be no Jiri, which is good. When Alex brings you back to your flat, invite him upstairs. To your bedroom.”
She hid her revulsion at his implication. “What if there’s an air raid?”
“Then we will make adjustments. You will need to be prepared.”
“And Precious? She’ll be in the flat. I won’t do this unless I know she’ll be safe.”
“Sophia will invite her over for dinner and will then convince her to stay in case of an air raid.”
Eva nodded, ready for his next words. “And then what?”
“You won’t need to worry about anything after that. Just get Alex upstairs. Someone will be waiting for him. David will be downstairs in a car with Precious. He will drive you to the train station, and you will take the train to Dorset. To your mother. You will be safe from Alex forever.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Because it is. But ask yourself—can you do this thing?”
She thought of Alex’s face in the dim light inside his car, calling her Ethel. Giving her the diamond bracelet because he knew she wouldn’t say no. And she thought of Graham saying she was strong and brave. She met Mr. Danek’s eyes. “Yes. I can.”
He looked over her shoulder as the woman and the little girl stood to leave, and noisily pushed in their chairs. “Good.” Turning back to Eva, he said, “There is one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“You will need a weapon to protect yourself. I have a gun for you. Meet me tomorrow morning at fifteen past six in the ruins of St. Giles Church in Cripplegate. Don’t be late. You may need to walk far, because there is so much bomb damage in the area. I will show you how to use the gun, make sure you can fire straight and not shoot yourself. Be sure you are not followed. I will try to make sure Jiri has another place to be, but our mutual friend has many associates.”
She nodded. “I understand. I’m not frightened.”
Mr. Danek’s eyes darkened. “You should be. Being brave isn’t the same as not being frightened. Being brave is feeling frightened and still doing what needs to be done.”
Eva hesitated, then stood. “When this is all over, will Graham know where to find me?”
“He’ll know. He has made you a promise, yes? To keep you safe. He is a man of his word.”
Eva felt the sting of tears at the mention of something she and Graham had shared, how he’d thought it important enough to tell someone else. But determined to be strong, she blinked them back, nodded, then left.
Outside, she paused on the sidewalk and looked over her shoulder, through the window. Mr. Danek was watching her. She almost ran inside to tell him not to, that it meant he wouldn’t see her again. But she turned instead and headed down the sidewalk, hoping that what she’d told him and Graham was true.
CHAPTER 38
LONDON
MARCH 1941
On their way to the Blackout Ball at the Savoy, Eva smiled at Alex in the back of the taxi as it slid along the darkened streets. Not too much; she didn’t want him to be suspicious, but enough that he wouldn’t be taken by surprise when she touched his leg on the ride home. When she asked him up to the flat. When she invited him inside.
She didn’t think about what would happen next. Somebody would be waiting in the flat, Mr. Danek had said. All she had to do was go back downstairs and get in the waiting car with David and Precious. She had already given her valise to Sophia, had sewn in her mother’s address label. She’d filled it mostly with all the evidence of her life in London—the ticket stubs from the theater, restaurant menus, and the like—to show her mother that she wasn’t Ethel Maltby anymore. That she had managed to be more than that.
Eva had also sewn a jewelry pouch into her underpinnings so she could hide the money from the sale of the furs and jewelry Alex had given her. She’d found particular satisfaction in the knowledge that he was helping her escape yet would never know.
Tonight, she wore the bracelet and her new diamond earrings,even though it was gauche; the society ladies never wore anything so showy. But Alex would notice and be pleased. She hoped it would make him amenable. Slipping on her mask, she smiled, like an actress playing the most important role of her career.
The only potential snag in the plans was Precious, who’d complained of not feeling well and thought she might stay in instead of going to Sophia’s. Eva stopped short of begging her, not wanting to make Precious question her urgency. In the end, she had reminded Precious that their next-door neighbor Mrs. McCormick had a telephone, and that Precious should call Eva at the Savoy if she didn’t feel better within the next hour.
Worry over this unexpected complication nagged at her, and Eva decided she would find David at the Savoy and let him know of the potential problem. Sophia had told her that he’d be there for the earlier part of the evening to make sure everything was in place. He’d know what to do about Precious. Because nothing—nothing—could go wrong tonight. She pressed her hand against her belly, worried Alex might hear the excited flutter of butterflies as she contemplated her escape.
