Page 58 of Summer of Fire
Lizzie thought Charlie was rather nice, and if her heart hadn’t already been stolen by a certain agent, she would probably jump at the chance of dancing with him. As it was, she didn’t want to lead him on, but it would be rude to decline.
Dinner passed in a whirl of courses and conversation. Considering there was a war on, SOE had pulled out all the stops and must have used every available ration book at their disposal.
She was seated far away from both Anna and Charlie and was next to a colonel who she guessed must be around her father’s age. He told her he had fought in the Great War and had to sit this one out because of a gammy leg. He was confined to a government desk job and didn’t seem happy about it.
On her other side was a girl she hadn’t spoken to much during the training. Her name was Mary, and she chatted almost non-stop and seemed quite drunk by the time dessert was served. Lizzie humoured her with a reply here and there, but was careful not to reveal any personal information. She didn’t want to give Charlie any reason to fail her, and you couldn’t be too careful even at this late stage.
‘Who brought you in?’ asked Mary. ‘Was it Raven?’
Lizzie’s ears pricked up at the mention of Jack’s codename. ‘No, never heard of him,’ she said.
‘I thought he interviewed most of the SOE candidates for France,’ Mary continued. ‘That’s what he told me when we went on a date, anyway.’
Lizzie’s pulse raced. ‘Lucky you. I didn’t get to go for a drink with anyone. It was a woman who interviewed me—Sarah Jones, as I recall.’ She plucked a name out of nowhere in case this was a trap.
‘Oh yes, we had a wonderful time. He said he’ll take me out again when I get back from France.’
‘How exciting,’ Lizzie said, her mood sinking. ‘Where did he take you?’
‘The Ritz, it was such a romantic night,’ Mary said, starry-eyed, as she reached for another glass of wine and took a large gulp. ‘Mind you, it was the least he could do after side-lining me for the Reims mission. I wanted to go there because my aunt lives there, you see. Where are you going, by the way? Oh dear, you’re not the one he chose for Reims, are you?’
The girl hiccupped and Lizzie turned her attention to the dessert, which was a delicious chocolate cake. ‘This is the best I’ve tasted since the war,’ she said, completely changing the subject.
Talking about Jack was dangerous. One more word, and she would be in danger of betraying her feelings. Her heart throbbed at the thought of him flirting with Mary and taking her to the Ritz. When he interviewed her, he hadn’t selected her for the job initially, never mind taken her on a fancy date.
The colonel on her right was now the object of the girl’s continuous chatter, and they spoke over Lizzie as she ate and tried to calm her frantic thoughts.
‘And where will you be going on your SOE adventure, my dear?’ asked the colonel.
The direct question startled Lizzie. She had assumed the guests were all vetted by the government and invited for one reason or another, but forthright talk about what they were here for didn’t seem right.
‘I’ll be going to Vichy France. I haven’t been there for years, but I was born there. Like I was telling Lizzie, I had wanted to go to Reims but someone else was selected.’
‘Splendid. I hope they won’t be throwing you into too much danger,’ he said.
‘I’ll be undercover as a secretary,’ she said with a heightened sense of self-importance. ‘I don’t think there is any SOE work that doesn’t put you in great danger.’ She chattered on as if she was talking about the weather and not revealing detailed Military Intelligence secrets.
Lizzie tapped her arm and shot her a warning look. The girl didn’t respond and continued talking to the colonel. She must be so drunk by now she didn’t realise she was contravening the Official Secrets Act.
‘Let’s go and dance,’ Lizzie said, tugging her by the arm and sweeping her away from the table. ‘Please excuse us,’ she called over her shoulder to the colonel.
‘You’re going to get into a load of trouble, telling people what you’re doing like that, and you won’t be accepted for SOE.’
The girl stared at her. ‘Why? What did I say?’
‘What didn’t you say? You’ll get yourself killed,’ Lizzie said, wondering what on earth Jack was doing accepting her as a candidate.
The girl swayed and turned white. ‘I think I may have overdone it with the wine,’ she said. ‘I feel sick.’
Charlie approached Lizzie to claim his dance, but she whispered to him that Mary was unwell, and he said he would escort her to her room.
The night passed quickly, and Lizzie avoided dancing with Charlie. The ladies swarmed him, so it wasn’t difficult.
Lizzie excused herself and went up to her room. She wanted a good night’s sleep. The following night, she would leave for Reims and would snatch just a few hours at Jeanne’s if she was lucky.
The more she tried to sleep, the more restless she grew. The music had wound down, but there was still chatter outside as the guests left. Finally, the house fell silent, but Lizzie’s thoughts allowed her no respite. All she could think about was what Mary had told her.
It was bad enough she didn’t know what Jack’s relationship with Hannah was. But even worse, was she a complete fool and just another woman he had kissed to amuse himself?
