The Secrets of Latimer House by Jules Wake

Author:Jules Wake [Wake, Jules]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008408978
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Chapter Twenty

Betty

‘Morning, Betty.’

She jumped out of her skin. ‘Sir!’ She’d been absorbed in her reading, frowning over a particular passage, trying to remember another transcript where a prisoner confirmed the same details about a U-boat gun emplacement.

Major Carl Wendermeyer grinned down at her from his lofty six-foot-plus height and even though she’d been feeling fragile of late she couldn’t help smiling back. He was still the most handsome man she’d ever seen and he smelled good – clean, and of fir trees or something like that.

‘How’s that hand of yours?’

‘Much better, thank you. And thank you for the iced water. That was … er … very thoughtful.’ She hadn’t known that a man could be thoughtful and as she stared up at him, she was a little disconcerted by the sudden softness in his blue eyes when he sat down on the edge of her desk.

‘Mighty glad to be of assistance. And if there’s anything else I can do, I’d only be too happy to oblige.’ He crossed his legs as if he were preparing to make himself comfortable.

‘I don’t think you or anyone else can help,’ she said with a brittle smile. ‘But thank you for offering.’ She was pinning all her hopes on Evelyn’s brother’s service revolver, but that would only keep her safe for so long.

‘Are you sure? A problem shared is a problem halved, so they say.’

‘I’ve never heard anyone say that before,’ she said honestly.

‘I think it’s a Stateside thing, but I also happen to think it’s true. Sure you can’t unburden yourself to me?’

When he lowered his voice in that confiding way, it was so tempting, but what could she possibly say that didn’t show her up for what she was? A nobody from the village. So instead she firmed her lips in a prim line, smiled prettily at him and shook her head, not willing to trust her voice.

And God forgive her, but she couldn’t help being a touch gratified to see that he looked a little disappointed.

‘OK then, so we’d better get down to work. There’s a meeting I’d like you to attend with me. They’re discussing recent intelligence reports and I think you might find it interesting.’

‘If you’re sure, Sir,’ she said doubtfully. While she found her work fascinating and compelling, she wasn’t very experienced yet and all these people working here seemed very smart and well-to-do. The Major glowed with health and had that sheen of rich people. She wasn’t easily intimidated but he was something else, like a comet or a star, hundreds of miles out of reach.

‘Yes, I’m certain. Major Smith and I have been mighty impressed with the quality of your work. You have a great eye for detail and an extraordinary memory. We were just saying that you piece things together like no one else.’

‘But it’s easy,’ she said with a quick shrug. ‘When I’ve seen something, I can remember the page that it was on. Like a picture in my head. So, if I’ve read

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