Perhaps I should do it, Alfred, Madame Hase interrupted. I am the only person here who is fluent in both English and Czech.
Kendall winced. It was the first time she had called him by his Christian name. He was both offended and thrilled by the careless intimacy it implied. He was the natural person to chair this meeting; but, on the other hand, Madame Hase was the cousin of the Slovakian countess whose husband owned this immense place.
Madame Hase briskly reviewed the military and political situation. Bohemia and Moravia were solid with German troops, particularly in the major cities and along the frontiers. Slovakia, now nominally independent, had asked for Hitlers protection; the Wehrmacht, ever obliging, was already crossing the border. A new government had been announced which consisted solely of Nazis from Berlin or the Sudetenland.
And you, my friend, she said to Kendall, are going to find it very difficult to leave the country. It will be just like Austria after the Anschluss. Foreigners will be one of the first targets the Gestapo choose. And you have already compromised yourself by your activities in the last few weeks.
As she translated what she had said to Jan and Bela, Kendall gnawed his lower lip. He felt a pleasant sense of superiority: the others were so afraid of the Germans and of the Gestapo in particular. No doubt they posed a problem, but there was no need to be theatrical about it. When Madame Hase had finished, he leaned forward, tapping the table to draw their attention.
Look here, its about time you decided whether or not youre going to trust me. You cant dither any longer. You need funds and England can supply them. But we must have cooperation in return. And that means information, not to mention a way of getting me out of your blasted country.
Madame Hase blinked. She talked rapidly in Czech for a moment.
Jan shrugged his heavy shoulders and said slowly in the same language, We need money now, not promises, Pan Kendall. I trust you as far as I can see you. Maybe we can get you out of the country but how do we know you will come back?
Very well. Kendall had only one thing left to offer. I can give you three more diamonds. And I give you my word as an English gentleman that I will be back within a few weeks.
Jans head was lowered. He shook it slowly from side to side. Bela glanced quickly round the table and then out of the window.
Good faith thats what it comes down to. Madame Hases beringed hand wrapped itself around Kendalls wrist. Alfred! I have an idea. Theres only one way you can prove to our friends that you really mean to return. Leave the boy behind in Prague.
High above him, from the ridge of Hradcany, the great bell of St Vitus Cathedral tolled midnight. In the still air, he could hear other bells broadcasting the same message. Tomorrow had already become today.
Kendall shivered and stepped from the balcony into his bedroom. He closed the window with difficulty the wood was warped and drew the heavy curtains. The room seemed as cold as the outside world. He knew he should try to sleep but the bed, despite its imposing appearance, was as hard as concrete; he had already discovered that the sheets were damp.
It was hardly worth going to bed in any case Bela would be collecting him at four-thirty. Kendall preferred not to think about the journey ahead of them. For the first time in his brief secret service career, he would be adopting a disguise and actually breaking the law.
For the first time, he was afraid.
The plan was very simple. Bela, though he had lived and worked in Prague and Brno for many years, was a Slovakian. The authorities were used to him paying regular visits to his family in Presov. Kendall, suitably equipped with false papers, was to play the part of Belas half-witted cousin. Once they reached Presov, Bela would be in his home territory; he had access to the smuggling routes through the mountains into Hungary.
It was obvious that the faster they moved, the better their chances would be. Germanys control over its new Protectorate and its Slovakian satellite was not yet complete. In a way, Kendall was glad that they had to hurry it left less time for reflection.
Time and again, he told himself that he had no option but to leave the boy behind. Stanhope-Smith had strictly forbidden him to contact the Prague Embassy. If the Kendalls tried to leave the country under their own names, the Gestapo would pick them both up at the border. Kendall was left with a choice between two evils: either he stayed with Hugh, in which case his mission would be a failure and the two of them would be fugitives in Prague; or he returned to England, in which case the mission would succeed. Hugh would be in good hands and he would only be alone for a few weeks. Kendall was sure that Stanhope-Smith would send him back to Czechoslovakia in the circumstances. In the meantime Hugh would be safer than if he and his father tried to escape on their own initiative.
He imagined how he would put it to Stanhope-Smith and possibly even to Muriel: It wasnt an easy decision, of course. But when one took a common sense view, patriotic duty and ones paternal responsibility really left one with no alternative. Perhaps he would add as a casual afterthought: I left Hugh at the Michalov Palace the Countess is Madame Hases cousin, you know.
Kendall felt a little more cheerful. He removed his jacket, tie and waistcoat and put on his dressing gown. His clothes and the rest of his luggage would have to be left behind Bela would be bringing him the clothes and possessions appropriate to a labourer at a Brno munitions factory. Madame Hase had assured him that his own belongings would be safe in the cellars of the palace.
A wing armchair in front of the empty fireplace looked more comfortable than the bed. He settled into it with a pillow and a couple of blankets, intending to smoke a last pipe before blowing out the candle. Just as he had succeeded in insulating himself from the main draughts, there was a tap on the door.
His instinctive reaction was to panic. But, even as he was struggling to free himself from the blankets, it occurred to him that the Gestapo would be unlikely to knock.
Alfred! Madame Hase rattled the handle. Let me in.
Kendall unbolted the door. She burst into the room, despite his half-hearted attempt to keep her on the threshold. His sense of propriety was outraged: what would the servants think?
Madame Hase had discarded her fur coat, for the first time in their acquaintance; she wore a pink quilted dressing gown and a pair of pale blue mules with two-inch heels. The smell of musk was stronger than usual.
She put down her candle next to his on the wine table and settled herself into the armchair.
Sit down. She pointed to a footstool. We must talk there will be no time in the morning.
It is the morning, Kendall pointed out. Where have you been all evening?
Making arrangements about Hugh. He cant stay here the servants would talk and it might be difficult if my cousins return. But Ludvik Spiegel is willing to take him for a month.
What about his neighbours? They must know that Hugh is an English boy.
Madame Hase shook her head. Spiegel sees very little of his neighbours. Most of them are young, working-class couples and theyre out to work when Hugh is there. Besides, if we give Hugh a haircut and another set of clothes, he wont look English any more.
But hell need identity papers and so forth, wont he? The Boche run a tight ship.
True. Jan may be able to help with that. I think he knows a clerk in the Ministry of the Interior. But there might be an easier method. Hugh could become my nephew.
Kendall sucked angrily on his pipe. He said, with exaggerated patience, But everyone would know
Its not so foolish as it sounds. My sister married a Hungarian, a banker. They had a son he was born in twenty-seven. The whole family died in a car crash last year near Budapest, where they lived. The shock of it killed my father.
So the boys dead?
Madame Hase patted his knee. The point is, Rudi had dual nationality. His death was never registered in this country. It was done in Hungary, of course, but not here. With my father dying, I had too many things on my mind. Hugh could use Rudis identity. I have all the papers. Perhaps Jans friend at the Ministry could help bring them up to date.
Anyone who talked to the boy would immediately see he was English.
Foreign, yes; but not English necessarily. If everyone thinks he spent most of his life in Hungary, that would be quite understandable. It may not arise Ludvik says that Hugh is making very rapid progress in Czech.
Hugh? Nonsense the boys as thick as two short planks.
As you say. But you must not worry: we will equip him well enough to pass a street check, if need be. It will only be for a few weeks.
There was a moments silence, during which Kendall fervently wished his hostess would leave. But she settled herself deeper in the armchair and fumbled in the pocket of her dressing gown.
Here. She passed a silver flask to him. It is cognac. We must drink a toast to your safe return.
Kendalls face brightened. Ill get you a glass. Ill use the cap.
They drank to a safe return; they drank to England and Czechoslovakia; Kendall poured another drink and they drank damnation to the Nazis.
Then Madame Hase proposed another toast: To us.
Kendall blushed and drank.
The conversation took a personal direction. Madame Hase talked about her husband, a young German of good family whose political career had been cut short with tragic finality by tuberculosis in 1931. Had he lived, she implied, neither Germany nor Czechoslovakia would be in its present appalling condition. She dropped tantalizing hints about her own familys connections with the old nobility of Bohemia and Saxony.
The trouble with people like Jan and Bela, she said confidentially, is that they cannot appreciate what was good in the old values; and that means they dont understand the poetry of communism.
Kendall didnt understand it either, but he nodded nevertheless; it seemed to be expected of him. In any case he was watching her rather than listening to what she was saying. The candles were kind to her: her skin lost its pallor; the lips were no longer flabby but sensuous; her plumpness might almost be described as voluptuous.
Desire stirred within him, engendered by the sheer romance of his surroundings. What would it be like, he wondered, with a beautiful aristocrat in a Bohemian palace?
Madame Hase leaned forward, holding out her glass. Is there more in the flask?
Of course, Madame. As he took her glass, her hand brushed his. He nearly dropped the glass.
I call you Alfred, she said with a touch of petulance. Why do you not call me Josefina?
I very well. Kendall cleared his throat and took the plunge. Your glass, Josefina.
When she took the glass, her hand again touched his. She put it untasted on the table. Kendall refilled the cap. He was very conscious of her presence; out of the corner of his eye, he could see that a tendril of black hair was swaying only inches away from the sleeve of his dressing gown.
Tell me, Alfred, she whispered huskily. Are you really a senior officer of SIS? The head of the Central European Section?
Of course. Kendall sipped his cognac. At this moment he almost believed he was. In any case, it was essential to maintain the pretence, both to Madame Hase and to Jan and Bela. His safety and Hughs depended on him being able to play the part convincingly. Do you really think a job like this would be handled at a lower level?
Ah.
Madame Hase suddenly slumped forward on to her knees. Her dressing gown fell open, revealing a nightdress of black silk, trimmed with lace. She clasped Kendalls legs and rubbed her body against him.
Love me, Alfred.
Good God! Kendall leaped to his feet and broke away from her. She tried to seize him again, but he palmed her away. Alfred, milacek
Madame, I must ask you to leave. Kendall backed away and took refuge on the far side of the bed. These foreigners were sex-mad. I insist that you go, he pleaded. Josefina, please.
Madame Hase stood up; she was lopsided because one of her slippers had fallen off in the struggle. She refastened her dressing gown, found the missing slipper and picked up her candle. Kendall hastened to open the door for her.
You must understand, Josefina, he said as she passed him with her face averted. I am married; I am here on duty
You English. She looked up at him. The candle turned the tears in her eyes to glints of fire. You have no romance in you.
Dansey lowered himself with great care into the armchair nearest the fire. Just imagine Im not here.
That wont be easy, said Michael drily. Would you like a drink?
No, thank you. If you have to introduce me, call me Mr Hayward. Has the report from Moravec come in yet?
Michael nodded. The DB can confirm at least half of the information from their own sources. They seem to think the rest is at least plausible.
But none of it is particularly significant?
Well, no. It identifies a few names which were new to the DB on the provisional regional committees. Theres a sort of shopping list which starts with gold and ends with tanks. But theres no firm information about what the Bolshies plan to do.
That is probably because they dont know themselves.
Dansey fell silent and glanced round the small sitting room. Michael cringed inwardly: this was the first time Dansey had visited his rooms in Dover Street and Michael felt that his possessions and hence his private self were unfairly at the mercy of Uncle Claude. He wished he had removed his own paintings to the bedroom. But that would have been worse: Dansey would have noticed the lighter patches on the wallpaper and drawn his own conclusions.
He was suddenly ashamed of the shabby, comfortable room with its oversized furniture. The furniture was part of his past he had kept back a few pieces from the sale after his mothers death but most of it looked ridiculous here.
Extraordinary, Dansey said. He was looking at a painting over the sideboard. First he looked through his glasses and then over the top of them. Not one of yours, I hope?
No, sir. Chap called Chagall.
Glad to hear it. Ive known children with a better sense of perspective. And I wonder why he found it necessary to give the man green hair. Dansey changed the subject without warning, or even altering his tone. Hows Kendall taking it?
Better than Id expected. Of course he thinks the information he brought out was vital perhaps thats some consolation. I think I was more upset about the boy than he was. Hes one of these people who keep their emotions very tightly battened down.