A Valiant Deceit by Stephanie Graves

Author:Stephanie Graves [Graves, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2021-10-19T00:00:00+00:00

Have made contact with the local resistance. They are a dedicated group and have done some good work but are desperate for supplies and assistance to proceed with bigger targets. There is a fuel depot nearby and an aerodrome. I have attempted to draw out a map. We are in need of explosives—limpet mines in particular—money, and more agents to best capitalise on all targets. French-speaking is best. Have located a secure safe house and will begin transmitting soon.

She frowned, lost in thought, and turned the page over to glance at the map on the back. It highlighted the targets mentioned, along with the landmarks of the Bocq River, Château de Spontin, and the Ardennes.

She heard the motor car in the drive and glanced at the clock on her bureau; it had been precisely fifteen minutes. Olive flew out of the house to meet him. The moment Jamie was out of the car, she took his hand and tugged him toward the river path. Sheltered in the confines of a willow tree, she handed him the canister and the decoded message.

She waited while he read over her translation and then carefully extracted and unfurled the original rice paper to look over the map.

“The message seems off,” she finally said.

“What do you mean?” he demanded, glancing at it more closely.

She shrugged. “It doesn’t sound like the men I met—any of them.”

“It likely wouldn’t. They’re under tremendous pressure over there,” he reminded her.

Her shoulders dropped. “Yes, perhaps that’s it. It’s only that they were so invested in the pigeons. I would have thought they’d at least have mentioned them. They did in the first message.”

“I’m sure they’re doing the best they can, Olive. But you must remember, nothing ever goes exactly as planned. At times it’s an utter cock-up, and they’ve got to improvise. And we have to adjust our expectations accordingly—it’s part of the job.” He looked at her pointedly, brows raised. “So don’t worry?”

She nodded and let Jamie walk her back to the lodge.

“This map,” he said consideringly, “is very useful indeed, so three cheers for Robin Hood.” So saying, he tucked everything into his pocket and set off for Brickendonbury.

But as Olive stared after him, she couldn’t help but wonder and worry.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.