Wicked Deceptions - Amy Cecil Page 0,12
I will do what I want with my life, he backed down, giving me a very disappointed look. The money I earn every week ensures the rent is paid on the flat and there is enough to have food on the table. I have also paid back Gabriella and Jonathan. I know my family would be disappointed in me, but one must do what they must to survive, and I think they could understand.
Tonight, I am entertaining Malcolm Jager. This will be our third appointment. He is a member of Abteilung Mobile Division III b, and his work fascinates me. The Abteilung is Germany’s intelligence organization, and Malcolm’s division centers around counterintelligence and foreign defense capabilities focusing on, of course, France, England, and Russia. He deals with counterintelligence in operational and occupied territories, which means he recruits, trains, and works with war spies. I find his work intriguing. I hate that he is German and everything he stands for, but honestly, I really enjoy his company and believe he just may be my salvation.
December 1915
Paris, France
I still work for Madame LaRue, and I still believe I made the right decision taking this path. Malcolm has become more than a regular. He has become a friend. I’ve told him a little more than I probably should have about myself, but I feel I can trust him. He doesn’t know I am a Romanov and that I am also related to Queen Victoria, but he does know I have come from a privileged family and am educated. He knows I speak four languages: Russian, German, French, and English. I have been very selective on what I tell him and feel that is all he needs to know for now.
I live at Madame LaRue’s now. When Leonid came down with the Spanish Flu, it took all the life out of him and he could no longer fight. He passed away three months ago, and I moved in here. Gabriella and Jonathan wanted me to move in with them, but they did not need the extra burden, and living here affords me to take on more clients, which means more money. I’ve never been one to want money, but now that I have lived without it, I realize money is the most important thing in the world, and I intend to never be without it ever again.
One afternoon while we are sharing a drink in my boudoir at Madame LaRue’s, Malcolm totally surprises me when he says, “Katerina, have you ever thought about supporting the war effort?”
I laugh. “Malcolm, you know I am not a big fan of this war. Why on earth would I support it?”
“Just hear me out, please. I think I have something that could get you more respectable work. You would no longer have to sell yourself to eat.”
I have to admit, he has piqued my interest. “Oh?” I do not detest what I do, but if I could acquire something more respectable and still earn a decent living, of course I want to know more.
“Well, love, you know I work in intelligence. We are always looking for good people who can help us gain information. The fact that you speak several languages makes you a perfect candidate for what I have in mind.”
“And what is that?” I walk to the table and pour myself a cup of tea. “Would you like some?” I ask.
“No, thank you.” He walks toward me and rests his hands on my shoulders. “I would like you to spy for Germany.”
“A spy!” I scoff. “Have you lost your mind?”
“No, darling, I think you would perfect.”
I turn and step away from him. “I do not know anything about being a spy, Malcolm. I’m educated, but I don’t have the proper training for a position like that. You know that.”
He turns me around to face him. “We have people who will train you.”
I think about what he is asking of me and try my hardest to envision myself as a spy. And then I realize something. This is exactly what I have been looking for. If I become a spy for Germany, I will learn things about their efforts in the war, and hopefully someday, I will find a way to use it against them. They will think I am helping them, and I will have to do so for a time, but then I won’t and my vow will satisfied. My naïve little mind did not bother with all of the ramifications, and I find