that you’d help us. You see, this cause is beginning to mean something to me. It’s more than … more than something I’ve been obligated to do. I feel that it’s my duty, just as Colm and Toby are doing theirs. As you’ve done yours.”
There was a moment of silence, and I wondered, for the first time, if he was going to refuse me.
Then he looked up and gave me a smile, a genuine one this time. “How can a man say no to a woman of principle?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
We left the tearoom and found that Jakub was outside, waiting for us with the car. It wasn’t far to the office; Major Ramsey must have sent it in deference to Felix’s leg.
“Rather luxurious, this,” he said as we settled in the backseat. “Using rationed petrol to be toted about.”
“Yes, I’ve taken the Tube to get to and fro before, but the major does send the car sometimes. It’s just that he’s usually in a hurry for me to arrive.”
Felix glanced at me. “The major?”
“Yes, he’s … he’s in command of the operation.”
He was looking at me closely now, and I found that, for some reason, I couldn’t meet his gaze.
We reached the office a few minutes later and went inside. Oscar looked gloomier than ever, though I saw him shoot a curious glance at Felix. “He’s expecting you,” he told me, and there was a note of foreboding in his voice.
“Are my uncle and Kimble still here?”
He shook his head. “Major Ramsey sent them away.”
I had rather hoped to have Uncle Mick and the bland Kimble as a buffer, but there was no help for it now. I only hoped the major would be pleasant when meeting Felix. After all, we needed Felix’s help.
I led Felix down the long hall toward Major Ramsey’s office, hoping that this meeting would go well.
My hopes were in vain.
I had known they wouldn’t like each other. They weren’t at all the same sort of men. But I hadn’t really expected the aura of instant antagonism that seemed to exist when we stepped into the room. Major Ramsey stood as I closed the door behind us, and the two of them looked at each other for a long moment.
Then Major Ramsey came out from behind his desk. “Miss McDonnell. This is Mr. Lacey, I presume?”
“Yes, this is Felix Lacey. Felix, this is Major Ramsey.”
Major Ramsey stepped forward and shook his hand. “How do you do, Lacey.”
“How do you do?” Felix had a pleasant enough expression on his face, but I recognized it well enough. It was the one he used when he was going to try to fleece someone.
“Miss McDonnell tells me you’re a man who can be counted on.”
“I hope so,” Felix said.
“She went over the details with you?”
“Such as they are. It’s all a bit vague, isn’t it?”
“At the moment. I’m afraid this is one of those games you have to decide whether you’re in or out before the cards are dealt.”
“I’ve always been fairly lucky at cards,” Felix said lightly.
“Well, then. Let’s hope your luck holds.”
I could sense an undertone of something beneath this friendly conversation. They were, for some reason, both determined to dislike each other and doing only a haphazard job of trying to hide it.
I looked at the two of them. They were so different. Major Ramsey was tall and fair and rigid. His blond good looks and impressive build might have made him a fitting model for some Viking hero of days gone by. He had the air of a warrior, too, always on his guard, always watching, ready to take action.
In contrast, there was something very easy about Felix. He didn’t slouch, but there was a kind of languidness about him at all times, even when he was standing. Dark-haired and suave with his trim mustache and easy smile, he had a cinema star quality. It was only in the sharp watchfulness of his eyes that one had the impression there was much more going on beneath the surface.
“Sit down, will you?” the major said.
I took one of the seats in front of Major Ramsey’s desk, and Felix dropped into the other one, crossing one leg easily over the other.
“Do you mind if I smoke?” he asked.
“Not at all,” the major replied.
Felix took his cigarettes from his coat pocket and offered one to Major Ramsey, who shook his head.
“I may as well be blunt with you,” the major said. “We could use your services. As Miss McDonnell has