beneath my nose, something out of the usual, I mean. None of you could hide a thing from me since the day you were born, so don’t try now. I suppose you’ll tell me about it in good time.”
It wasn’t a rebuke. Nacy had always known that there were certain things she was better off not knowing. She didn’t ask questions unless she was sure she wanted to know the answers.
Pulling at the bits of green growing up around the vegetables, I wondered if she was right. Was Uncle Mick as eager to go on with all of this as I was? I had been a bit disappointed that he hadn’t had any information to give about Major Ramsey and his operation. He had had very little to relate about his time in custody at all, as he had remained in his makeshift cell. He had been kept out of the operation, but, like Nacy, I had the impression he intended to go forward, not back.
We finished the weeding in a comfortable silence, and then I rose, brushing the dirt and bits of greenery from my clothes.
“Do you need help with anything else, Nacy?” I asked.
“No, go and get some rest, love. I can see you’re all in.”
I hadn’t been able to hide that from her either.
Returning to my flat, I put the kettle on. I was tired, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest. Not yet. I almost wished that Felix would show up again, as I could use some of his charm to distract me.
I had just finished drinking my tea when there was a knock at the door. Had Felix read my mind? It wouldn’t be the first time he had done such a thing.
When I opened the door, however, I was not met with Felix’s smiling face. Instead, an older man in a dark suit stood on the step. “Miss McDonnell?” he asked politely. In just those two words I caught the hint of an unfamiliar accent.
“Yes,” I answered cautiously.
“Major Ramsey sends his regards and asks that you accompany me to his office.”
I somehow suspected the major hadn’t put the request exactly in those polite terms, but this gentleman was too kind to phrase it as the command it was. He was somewhere around sixty, with a shock of white hair and a merry twinkle in his brown eyes that couldn’t be disguised by his formal bearing.
“If you’ll give me just a moment…” I said. I had, of course, bathed and dressed before eating breakfast, but my hair had begun its revolt early today, aided by the breezes in the garden, and I certainly hadn’t applied any makeup.
“Certainly, miss. Take your time.”
He turned and went back to the front of the house, and I spent a few moments making myself presentable, running a brush over my hair and putting on a bit of lipstick. Then I left a note for Nacy or Uncle Mick on my table where they would be sure to see it if they came looking for me. I felt as though the major might have telephoned me rather than sending someone, but I supposed it had been his intention to make it a difficult request to refuse.
The car was parked in front of Uncle Mick’s house, not the same big black car in which we had ridden last night, but still conspicuous enough.
“Did he ask for me and my uncle?” I asked, as I reached the driver. It occurred to me that, if we were going to continue to aid the major, he might want to see both of us.
The driver opened the door for me, and I could see that Uncle Mick was already in the backseat. “Looks like the adventure continues, eh, lass?”
“I suppose so,” I said.
I got into the car, and the driver closed the door.
“Looks like rain,” Uncle Mick said to the driver as we pulled away and began the drive toward the major’s office.
I was glad he had taken up talking to the man. I wasn’t accustomed to being chauffeured about, and it felt strange to either talk to Uncle Mick and ignore the man in the front seat or to ride in silence with someone else at the wheel.
“Yes, sir. That it does.”
“We’re not used to having a driver,” I said. “We used to drive ourselves, before all this started.”
“Got an old car, but we don’t need it enough to use up the petrol,” Uncle Mick said.
The driver nodded. “I’m afraid the war has