chunks of coal. She put together this entire soiree for me.”
Surrounded by four officers, Ellie did indeed shine like a pearl in head-to-toe white, but next to her Kat dazzled like an emerald.
“Quite a boon for you.”
“Ja. Dr. Goebbels sent me a telegram an hour ago expressing his sorrow at being unable to attend but delighted in our magnificent success for the Fatherland tonight.”
“Too bad I missed the movie, though I wouldn’t have understood a word.”
“Frau Chekhova’s performance transcends language barriers. You can see, even now, her vivid facial expressions and articulate gestures enrapturing her audience.”
Barrett ducked as Eric’s arm swept in front of him to indicate the small woman who had joined Kat’s group. Her back was turned, blocking her vivid expressions from view. “Oh, aye. I see what you mean.”
Sam swung the band into another song with an upbeat tempo. They’d been given only a week to learn all the requested new German songs but sounded as if they’d played them for years. Sam had fallen out of his chair howling with laughter when more than one arrangement required an accordion and an alphorn.
“I didn’t get a chance to thank you for recommending the Stag.” The words didn’t stick as bad as he’d thought. Without realizing it, Eric had shoved his compatriots into the wolf’s lair.
“I was pleased to hear Schmidt’s report after his inspection. One can never be too careful with the locations of such significant events.”
Such as giving him, his workers, and his fighters another scare? The Germans might as well set up camp with the number of times they’d plowed through his door. “Happy to oblige his curiosity.”
“To tell you the truth, it was upon Eleanor’s insistence. She wouldn’t hear of any other venue for the honor, and I couldn’t bear disappointing her.” Eric set his unfinished glass on the bar and smoothed a hand over the worn wood. “I believe she did it for Kathleen’s sake. Quite a bond they have. Makes me jealous sometimes.”
The catch in the man’s voice took Barrett off guard. Feelings were the last thing he’d suspected Eric of having. “You really care for her, don’t you?”
“Does that surprise you?” The lines on Eric’s angular face softened, making him almost bearable to look at. “Perhaps you saw the uniform and interpreted only coldness.”
“You haven’t given me much else to go on.”
“Perhaps that will change.”
Tigers never changed their stripes. Uniform or not, a Nazi was a Nazi even if he fancied himself in love. More likely, Eric was trying to cozy up to keep him close. At least they had the same game plan. “We’ll see.”
Across the room, Kat rolled her eyes at him as the officers continued to drone in her ear. How easily she fit into this party world, nodding politely at the men around her, smiling when appropriate, and laughing without a care in the world. Yet the straight line of her shoulders and pushing back of her hair gave away her complete boredom. At least to him. He’d seen the stance every time she was around Eric.
Excusing herself, she looped her arm through Frau Chekhova’s and pulled her through the crowd to him. “I couldn’t listen to any more about airplanes and their individual wingspans.”
Barrett shifted, brushing his shoulder against hers. An act he found himself doing more and more. “Flyboys like to talk, especially to pretty girls.”
“Yes, they certainly do.” A faint smile flitted over her lips. Barrett fought the urge to grab her in his arms and tilt her back on a big kiss, the wee kipper. She’d gotten more out of them than airspeeds and wind gauges.
Feeling the need to defend his countrymen’s antics, Eric straightened and lowered his brow as a schoolmaster would to an unruly pupil. “Captain Gurtner and Lieutenant Sudman are two of the Luftwaffe’s finest pilots. Count yourself lucky, for they do not recite their exploits to just anyone.”
Unimpressed, Kat patted a curl behind her ear. “Really? Because they’re over there telling anyone willing to stand within earshot.”
Eric’s chin notched up. “Well, they have much to be proud of.”
“Or they’ve had one too many. Yes, that’s probably it. Come morning, I’m sure their pride will revert back to revered stoicism.” She turned to the woman next to her with a conspiratorial wink. “I’m glad we got away when we did. Aren’t you, Olga?”
Olga waved a ringed hand dismissively. With thin eyebrows, sleepy eyes, and wide cheekbones, she hardly stood out as the darling actress of the Third Reich. “Men and