changed a great deal for many of us.”
I still could not place his accent. “You’ve come to London recently?” I asked.
“I come from Poland,” he said.
“Oh,” I said. There was not more I could say, not when I knew that his homeland had been so ruthlessly overrun by the Germans.
“My wife and I, we left before the Germans come,” he went on. “Many we knew were not so fortunate.”
“Yes, I imagine so,” I said, my heart going out to him.
“My sons … I do not know what has become of them.”
“I’m sorry,” I said softly.
“One of my sons is missing, too,” Uncle Mick said. For the briefest moment, there was the heaviness of shared loss around us.
“But we hope for the best, don’t we?” Uncle Mick added in that cheery, genuine way of his. “If there’s one thing we’ve a lot of in this country, it’s hope.”
The driver smiled at us in the mirror. “That we do, sir.”
For not the first time since this dreadful war had started, I had the sensation that I was bound to people who might otherwise have been perfect strangers, that we were all connected by some invisible strings that pulled us together in ways we might never have imagined.
“My name’s Ellie, and this is my uncle, Mick,” I said. “What’s your name?”
“Jakub,” he said.
“I’m glad to have met you, Jakub,” I told him, and I meant it.
We reached the major’s office. It was the first time I had seen it in the daylight, and I thought that, for all their pretenses of being a secret organization, they didn’t seem to be all that secretive in their movements.
Then again, this was not the sort of building that would call attention to itself. That is, it was no more ostentatious than any of the other houses in Belgravia. Several of these buildings had been lined with sandbags, and there was nothing to much differentiate this particular house from any other. I supposed one never knew what went on behind closed doors.
We bid Jakub farewell and made our way up the front steps. The door was locked—one had to take some precautions as a clandestine government agency, I supposed—but when I rang the bell it was opened almost immediately by the same glum young man. I wondered when it was that he slept. Perhaps that was why he always looked down in the mouth. They ought to let the poor boy rest.
“The major’s asked to speak to you alone, Miss McDonnell, before he speaks to both of you.”
I glanced at Uncle Mick and he gave a shrug. “Waiting is something I’m good at.”
The young man looked relieved, as though he had expected us to protest. I had the impression he was always waiting for disaster.
“We haven’t been properly introduced,” I said, extending my hand. “I’m Ellie.”
He looked surprised but instinctively reached out to shake my hand. “Miss McDonnell.”
I shook my head. “Ellie. We’re friends around here, aren’t we?”
He gave me the barest smile, the first I had seen on his face. He looked suddenly very young. “If you say so. My name’s Oscar. Oscar Davies.”
“It’s good to meet you, Oscar.”
Uncle Mick introduced himself, too, and I felt we were now all one big, happy spy family.
“If you’ll just follow me,” Oscar Davies said, immediately falling back into his role as nervous secretary. I knew the way well enough, as I had been here not twelve hours before, but I let him lead me to the door at the end of the hallway. He knocked on it once.
“Enter.”
He pushed the door open. “Miss McDonnell to see you, sir,” he said, without fully entering the room. Then he stepped aside and left me standing in the doorway.
Major Ramsey had risen from behind his desk.
“Miss McDonnell. Good morning. Come in, won’t you? And close the door. Davies is always neglecting things.”
I looked behind me and saw that the young man had disappeared. Hopefully Uncle Mick would be able to put him at ease. He had a knack for that.
I entered the room and pulled the door shut behind me.
“Please, sit down,” he said, motioning to the chairs before his desk. I moved forward and took the seat I had used earlier this morning. It seemed days ago that we had sat here discussing the murder and the missing documents, as though sleeping and breakfast had faded the memory into something hazy and indistinct.
The major, on the other hand, looked as though he hadn’t slept, and if I’d had to bet