After she went upstairs, I sat there considering what should be done, and I realized that I needed to tell Margaret. It was too great a matter for me to decide on my own.
I got up as Lucas came down the stairs dressed in old clothes, like those a farmer would wear to market. He carried both of the rucksacks I’d seen in Andrew’s room.
“What are you doing? Where were you last night?”
He didn’t stop walking. “I’ve been over at Cranwell and in the library on the telephone trying to reach people to tell them what happened. I couldn’t get through to anyone who knew enough to understand I needed help.” He sounded angry. “This idea of a top-secret mission has backfired spectacularly. It’s too secret.”
I followed him. “Please don’t say you are going on this mission by yourself,” I said.
He opened the door and went out. “I’m going on this mission by myself,” he called over his shoulder. “Today is the day, with or without Andrew.”
I ran after him. “If it was something you could do alone, they would have sent you alone. Why can’t you just wait until Andrew has recovered?”
He didn’t even look at me as he spoke, and he was walking so fast that I had to run to keep pace. “There is a ship convoy going tonight,” he said. “The military has been planning some other big mission for months, and it was arranged for Andrew and I to go along. It’s a way to get us partway to where we need to go. But it’s going to take Andrew months to recover, and what I have to do needs to be done now. We don’t have months.”
We had reached the part of the stable that had been converted for motorcars. Lucas opened the doors and went in, and I followed. “A ship is good,” I said. “You’re catching a ride on a ship. That’s safer than a plane.” I was confused, but I kept talking. “That’s good. But once you are in Germany, how do you think you are going to get around, speaking just minimal German?”
“How do you know I’m going to Germany?” He stopped, shock crossing his face.
“I saw the German uniform and Andrew told me. I had thought it was just you, but he said he was going too, and it makes sense. He speaks more German than you. You can’t go by yourself.”
“Some people there have to know some English.”
“I’m sure some of them do. But not many people speak English in the area around Winnefeld. And if you can’t speak German, you might as well be wearing a sign saying you are a spy. They don’t get American visitors during wartime.”
“I have to go. I’ll manage.” He threw his bag in the car and got in.
I ran around to the other side and opened the passenger door. “If you are determined to do this, take me with you,” I said without thinking. “I’ll be a big help. I’m fluent in German and French, and I know the village. I know the whole area around it.” I knew it was an outrageous idea. My heart was racing so fast, I felt like I was going to burst with excitement or fear—I couldn’t tell which. I could finally do something real. “Just wait one minute for me. I should write Margaret a note. I’ll make up something so she won’t know what I’m doing, but I don’t want her to worry.”
Lucas leaned over and pulled the door shut. “Don’t get in this car. You are not going to Germany with me. I can’t take a girl with me, especially not a girl like you.”
“What do you mean, a girl like me?”
“If you don’t know, it’s one more reason you shouldn’t go.”
“I don’t know. Tell me.”
He pushed the starter on the car. “You live in a big house and you change your clothes three or four times a day. You garden in fancy dresses and you spend your time acting in silly plays and having tea that other people make for you. You’d just be a burden, and I’m not taking responsibility for a spoiled little rich girl.”
I started to tell him how wrong he was, but he held up his hand and kept talking. “I’m not finished. There would be no one to wait on you during the trip. No maids, no cooks, nobody. So do you understand? I know girls like you are used to getting their own way, but you are not getting your way today. If you feel the need to be useful, go help nurse Andrew.”
Stunned by his outburst, I took a step back from the car. Lucas reached over and pulled the door shut, then drove off fast, gravel flying up behind the tires.
Jove came trotting into the stable yard. When he reached me, he pushed his cold nose against my hand and it brought me to my senses. Lucas had to be stopped. I was not so useless as to just let him go off on his own. I was not just a spoiled little rich girl.
He didn’t know me at all.
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
I DARTED INTO the house and ran upstairs. The nurse looked up when I ran into Andrew’s room.
“I have to talk to him,” I said. “It’s very important. It’s about his war work.”
“Only for a moment,” the nurse said. “He’s suffered a very grievous injury.” She stepped back.
“I need to see him alone,” I told her. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
She frowned. “All right, but don’t agitate him. Just for a moment. I’ll be right out in the hall.”
Andrew lay so still and his skin was so gray that I had to watch his chest to make sure he was still breathing. “Andrew,” I said softly.
He opened his eyes and gave the faintest of smiles, then closed his eyes again.
I wanted to put my hand on his shoulder to get him to listen to me, but I was afraid I’d hurt him more. I spoke louder. “Please, Andrew, wake up.” He opened his eyes, so I kept talking. “Lucas is going off on his own to Germany today. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. I need someone else to stop him.”
Andrew attempted to sit up, an involuntary moan escaping from him. He fell back. “No, he can’t go by himself,” he wheezed, sounding as if every word was a struggle. “He won’t get a mile before he’s captured.”
I tried to speak slowly enough that I wouldn’t babble. “Lucas took the motorcar. He said he’s going on a convoy tonight.” I could feel my throat tightening up and the panic rising. “I don’t understand. I thought he was flying into Germany.”
“No.” He grimaced with pain. “He’s going to Cranwell. It was arranged for us to be flown to Dover and then to go on from there.” He took a few more breaths before he spoke again. “Help me down to the library so I can make a telephone call.”
“Andrew, no! You shouldn’t move.”
“Get the nurse,” he said. “Now.”
I got her. When he told her what he wanted, she said, “Absolutely not. Only the doctor could authorize that, and I know for a fact he won’t. Let the young lady make the telephone call for you. And don’t think you are going to help him get up, miss.” She shook a finger at me. “He’ll collapse before he gets to the door.”
“I can make the call, Andrew!” I turned to the nurse. “Would you mind waiting in the hall again?”
“Only a few more minutes,” she warned. “He’s going to have a setback if he doesn’t rest.” She stomped out. “The doctor will be here any moment, and then you’ll have to leave.”
“Call the Foreign Office,” Andrew said to me. “Major Siddons. He’s our contact. He can arrange for someone to go with Lucas.”
I supposed I should feel some relief at the notion of someone taking Andrew’s place, but that meant Lucas was still going. “All right, I’ll call right away,” I said.
“Wait.” He struggled to sit up again.
“Andrew, don’t.” I leaned in close. “You don’t have to sit up for me to hear you. Just talk.”
His words came out slowly. “One of our contacts in Germany has been captured. We had to change codes. I didn’t have time to teach it to Lucas. There’s a book cipher. Lucas has to have the book.” He waved at the wardrobe. “There. The pocket.”
I opened the wardrobe. An old coat hung there. I searched the pockets until I found the right one and pulled out a small, slim book bound in dark green leather.
The sight o
f the book seemed to give Andrew some strength. His next words came out clearly. “Call Cranwell and ask for Captain Marks,” he said. “He needs to come here so I can teach him the cipher. He can take the book to Dover, to the Alexandria, and teach Lucas before the ship leaves.”
A shudder shook him. I could see sweat forming on his forehead. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
I took hold of his hand. “Andrew, you’re so weak. I can teach the cipher to Captain Marks. I know several book ciphers. Can you tell me which one it is?”
He made a writing motion with his hand. I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the desk and then held a book for him to use as a writing surface. He scratched out a few words. I could barely make out the shaky handwriting.
Arnold variation. Last number–first letter.
“I know that one! But are you sure they can’t get a copy of the book in London and get it to Dover from there? London is so much closer. There has to be someone who could take the book and teach him the cipher.”
He shook his head and wiped some of the sweat off his forehead. I held out the paper, hoping he would write yes to my idea. Instead he whispered, “Too obscure. Too long to find.” He began to cough.
“All right, don’t talk anymore. I’ll make the calls.”
I ran downstairs. Once I got through to Major Siddons, it took three tries to explain before he finally understood. Once he did, he was brief. “We’ll take care of it,” he said, and hung up the phone.
But when I called Cranwell and asked for Captain Marks, the man who answered said, “I’m sorry. Pilots are not allowed to take personal phone calls on this line.”
“You don’t understand. I must speak to him. Right now. This is Lady Thomasina Tretheway. It’s urgent.”
“I’m sorry.” He hung up. I stomped my foot, wanting to yell at the telephone. I heard the sound of a motorcar. It had to be the doctor.
I ran back upstairs. Andrew looked at me, a hopeful expression on his face. “Everything will be all right. Just rest,” I said, picking up the book. I heard footsteps in the hall.
“Tell Marks to look inside it,” he whispered. He clutched his side, his face twisted with pain. When he coughed, it turned into a terrible groan.
The doctor rushed in with the nurse. “You need to leave now!” the man said to me, red-faced and furious. He turned on the nurse. “How could you let her disturb him like this?”
I went back downstairs. If they wouldn’t let me speak to Captain Marks, I’d just have to go to Cranwell and find the man. I opened the front door, hoping I could manage to hitch Sunny to the pony cart without too much trouble, but stopped at the sight of the doctor’s motorcar. Cranwell was only a couple of miles away, and it was urgent. Lucas’s life might depend on what I did next.
That decided it. I ran out and jumped in the car, pushing the start button. My father had given me a few driving lessons—I could do this. Captain Marks didn’t need to come here. I could teach him the cipher at Cranwell. I’d be back before the doctor even noticed.
The car lurched down the drive, stalling a few times while I got back into practice. I waited to hear someone yelling at me to stop, but no one did. By the time I got to Cranwell, my hands were cramped from clutching the steering wheel so tightly. I came to a jerky stop at the gate. A guard hurried out of the gatehouse, his eyes opening wide at the sight of me.
“I need to see Captain Marks,” I said. “It’s urgent.”
“Do you have a pass?” he asked. “Only people with passes are allowed on the base.”
I hadn’t thought about that. “Can you contact Captain Marks and tell him someone has come from Lord Andrew Graham and needs to speak to him right away? Please.”
“I suppose I could try,” he said. “Wait here.”
The man came back out of the gatehouse a moment later. “Captain Marks isn’t here, miss. He’s got a short leave. Some family emergency. He’ll be back in a few hours. You can come back then.”
We didn’t have a few hours. Someone had to get to Lucas before he left. I gripped the wheel. I had a car. I could drive there, though I didn’t know how long it would take or how to get there. Or I could find someone to drive me. But who? And would I get there in time?
I didn’t know what to do. I glanced down at the book, which I had set on the passenger seat. A piece of paper was sticking out of it. Andrew had said Marks should look in the book. I opened it, then took out the paper and unfolded it. There were only a few words on it: Operation Prometheus. Highest Priority. By order of the Secretary of State for War, the Earl of Derby. It was signed and stamped.
A motorcar pulled up behind us and I heard a cheerful familiar voice. “Hallo there! Do you mind pulling over and letting me pass?”
I looked back. It was Captain Rigall from the train. I jumped out of the car and ran back to him.
“Lady Thomasina?” he said. “You are the last person I expected to see here. Is something wrong?”
I pushed the note at him, hoping it was as important as it looked. “I’ve got to get to Dover. Read this. I’m part of Operation Prometheus. Can you arrange for someone to fly me there?”
He was so stunned that I had to repeat myself a few times. He kept looking down at the paper and then at me. “Climb in,” he finally said. “I don’t know what this is all about, but I’ll do what I can.” He called to the guard. “Move that motor, will you? She’s riding with me.”
“She doesn’t have a pass,” the man said.
“Show him the paper,” Captain Rigall said. When I did, the man’s eyes widened. He handed the paper back to me and nodded.
Captain Rigall hopped out of his car and came around to open the door for me. “Come with me. I’ve got to notify my squadron commander. I can’t take off without his permission. You understand we don’t see orders like this. This is very unusual. I don’t suppose you’d like to tell me more?”
I shook my head as I got in. “I can’t, but it really is urgent. I do have to get to Dover as quickly as possible.”
He got back in the driver’s seat and looked over at me as we headed into the base. “On second thought, why don’t you give me the note?” he said. “I’ll show it to the commander and explain that the passenger is outside, but it’s probably better that he doesn’t see you. He doesn’t think much of women in planes. In fact, he doesn’t think much of women in general. I’ll just happen to forget to mention that my passenger is female. We’ll get out of here much faster that way.”
I wanted to hug him. “Thank you!”
He grinned. “No need to thank me. This will be much more entertaining than my usual missions.”
We drove up to a small building. “Are you going to get into trouble if he finds out?” I asked. The captain seemed to have almost as carefree an attitude as Lucas.
“Not much.” He chuckled. “They need us to keep flying. I’ll be back in a tick.”
I hoped the commander would not think to check into Operation Prometheus. One telephone call to the right person and he’d find out I wasn’t part of it at all. And if I did get found out? What would they do to me? I shivered. Did they put girls in prison for something like that?
Captain Rigall came back out, a wide smile on his face. “We’re set. Ready?”
Seeing his face made me pause. Should I really be the one doing this? I’d wanted to do something important, but this affected more people than just me. I had to make a decision. Teach Captain Rigall the cipher and hope he understood, or go myself?
“Ready,” I said.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
“EXCELLENT! The plane is all fueled up and ready to go.”
I followed Captain Rigall to a rather battered plane. My face must have showed my dismay because he said, “All our machines lose their shine quickly, but this old bird is far more reliable than most. Have you ever flown before?”
I shook my head, not sure I could speak without sounding terrified. It was one thing to want to fly. It was a c
ompletely different thing when one was about to climb into an aeroplane.
“You may find you enjoy it. Many people do, but I warn it will be noisy. If you feel sick, just lean over the side.” The captain looked around and then yelled at a pilot who had just landed. “Cobby! Can this young lady borrow your scarf and your jacket? We’re going up.”
The pilot climbed out of his machine and jogged over, unwrapping the scarf as he came toward us.
“How do you get the good jobs?” the man asked, handing the scarf to me and then unbuttoning his coat. “I am condemned to take up elderly staff officers instead of lovely ladies.” He handed the coat to me.
“I have better manners than you,” Captain Rigall said. “Now, go away.” He turned to me. “You’ll need to wrap the scarf over your mouth. The engine lets off a spray of castor oil and you certainly don’t want to drink it. It’s rather revolting if you do.”
“Th-thank you,” I managed to stammer to the other pilot. The scarf smelled of hair oil and motor oil. I thought that was revolting enough. When I was properly outfitted, the captain showed me how to climb aboard his aeroplane into the seat behind his. Once he was in the pilot’s seat, he reached down behind it to pull out a spare set of goggles, handing them back to me.
The takeoff was smooth, but I immediately felt the cold, and the rush of air on my face was like being in a major windstorm. At first I didn’t want to look down, but then I told myself I could at least be brave enough to look over the side. I was surprised to see church spires everywhere. I’d known that Lincolnshire had a tremendous number of churches for such a sparsely populated county, but I’d never realized exactly how many. One of the villages we flew over reminded me a little of Winnefeld. If I hadn’t been so worried about getting to Dover in time, I would have enjoyed the view.
By the time we landed, I was very cold and my stomach was very unsettled. As we taxied to a stop, I could see a motorcar waiting at the side of the runway.
All Is Fair Page 13
