Into the Darkest Day: An emotional and totally gripping WW2 historical novel by Kate Hewitt

Author:Kate Hewitt [Hewitt, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781838885090
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2020-05-13T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

March 1944

In the days after the air raid, Lily walked around in a daze, her mind a welter of indecision. One moment she was certain she should report Matthew to the proper authorities, show the paper she’d tucked in the back of her underwear drawer, and let those in charge take care of the matter. The next moment she told herself to stop being so silly, of course Matthew wasn’t some sort of spy, and she should destroy the slip of paper and simply get on with things.

She thought of trying to translate the few words on the paper, as if that might make a difference, but she didn’t know any German speakers, and she was afraid to ask for a German dictionary from the library, if they even had one, in case it aroused suspicion. Who wanted to know German these days? Then once again she’d tell herself to stop being so ridiculous.

Then she’d walk past one of the posters by the Underground, and see the stern warnings about careless talk costing lives, “Tell Nobody—Not Even Her”, and a shudder of apprehension went through her, and she knew she had to do something.

“Do you think there are many spies in London?” she asked Iris during their lunch break. Iris was prising apart her sandwich and licking off the potted meat, something Lily found revolting, especially when it was accompanied by one of her drippy sniffs.

“Spies? You mean Germans?”

“Yes, what other kind would there be?”

“Oh, I’m sure there are heaps,” Iris said in the lofty tone of someone who liked to think they knew what they were talking about. “Ever so many. One hears things, doesn’t one?”

“Hears things? What do you mean?”

“Well, one only has to look at the posters,” Iris said with a shrug. “A single word and—boom! A plane goes up.”

“Yes, but that’s just to scare us, surely.” Lily was quickly realizing that, as usual, Iris knew no more than she did. She just liked to talk as if she did. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“They wouldn’t put all the posters up if they didn’t have reason, would they?”

“I suppose, but surely they’re just being cautious.”

“Why are you asking, anyway?” Iris leaned forward, her eyes alight. “Do you suspect someone? I’ve always wondered about Miss Challis.”

“Miss Challis!” Lily gave a huff of disbelieving laughter as she quickly checked to see if their supervisor was listening. “Oh Iris, don’t be absurd.”

“She’s so keen. It’s obviously a cover.” Iris let out a hoot of laughter before she licked her bread again. “So who do you suspect?”

“No one,” Lily returned sharply. “I was just wondering.”

“Back to work, girls,” Miss Challis called out, and Iris gave Lily a laughing look before turning back to her typewriter with a sniff.

A few days ago, the HMS Spartan had been sunk by a Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb, with a loss of five officers and forty-one enlisted men. Their trays were full, and there was no time to worry about spies.

As the days passed without

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