A Beautiful Spy by Rachel Hore

Author:Rachel Hore [Hore, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Published: 2021-02-18T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-three

Minnie’s anxiety about Monday drove out all memories of her lovely weekend. She woke early with a throbbing headache, still in the clutches of a frightening dream, and it was a minute or two before she could steel herself to stumble from her bed in search of aspirin.

Her hand shook as she poured tea and she felt too nauseous to eat breakfast. She toyed with the idea of reporting sick, but rejected it. The postponed rendezvous with Miss Roberts was due to take place after work and the day’s Party meetings were important ones. She’d be letting everyone down if she went back to bed, the people she was spying on and most of all, Max. She thought about the bizarre nature of these opposing loyalties as she applied an extra layer of powder to disguise her drawn features. The aspirin had dulled the headache and she managed to nibble on a biscuit before leaving home.

Minnie was exhausted by the time she left the office to meet Miss Roberts. The day had been physically and mentally gruelling, and her headache had returned with full force. Several times she’d had to interrupt a meeting to check what had been said, and she hated the way everyone had stared at her as she blurted out an apology.

She met Miss Roberts at six in the noisy anonymity of the Corner House on Shaftesbury Avenue. Having fallen behind with written reports, she recounted her recent observations and picked at a teacake while the woman took notes.

As the meeting drew to a close and Miss Roberts packed away her notebook, Minnie asked, ‘Please, do you know how M is?’ She had not liked to telephone in case Ethel answered.

‘He’s still off sick, that’s all I know,’ the woman answered. She sounded tetchy, as though Minnie had no business to be asking, but Minnie didn’t care. Being cut off from Max made everything much worse. Her work had begun to feel pointless.

‘Pointless, pointless,’ she repeated to the rhythm of the dripping tap as she lay in a hot bath later, feeling sorry for herself. It was Max she wanted, his advice and encouragement, not the cold professionalism of Miss Roberts who listened to everything she had to say and wrote it down but offered nothing, no gratitude or direction in return. She made Minnie feel worthless, nobody.

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