The Oslo Affair (Shadows of War, #2) by CW Browning (read after .txt) 📗

“Very carefully, m’dear,” Rob said with a laugh. “It usually doesn’t end well, or so I’ve heard.”

“What will you do in the morning if the plane isn’t fixed?” Evelyn asked Miles. “How will you get back?”

He shrugged. “The CO made it sound as if I’m staying here until it’s fixed. But the ground chief I spoke to didn’t seem confident they’d have it ready tomorrow.”

The server returned with their drinks and set them down and Rob picked up his pint.

“Well, here’s to an unexpected couple of days leave!” he toasted to Miles. “Enjoy it while you can!”

Miles grinned and picked up his glass. “I already am,” he said, glancing at Evelyn.

She smiled and sipped her cocktail, casting an eye over the menu.

“Oh, I wouldn’t speak too soon, if I were you,” she said cheerfully. “You have no idea what dull company we Ainsworth’s can be. We don’t come from the fun branch of the family.”

“Lord no,” Rob agreed.

“And who’s the fun branch?” Miles asked, glancing from one to the other.

“My cousins in France have that honor,” Rob told him. “A more jolly pair you’ve never met. They’re twins, you know.”

“You have family in France?” Miles looked interested. “So do I. What part?”

“The family seat isn’t far from Toulouse, but they spend a lot of time at their house in Paris,” Rob said. “Isn’t that right, Evie? She was there last summer, and went back again this spring.”

Miles glanced at her. “I can see you in Paris,” he said thoughtfully. “It would suit you.”

She laughed lightly. “Really? I do love it there, but I’m always glad to come home again.”

“My family is near Pau. I haven’t been in a few years. It’s beautiful country there.” Miles set his menu aside and pulled out his cigarette case. “Are your cousins concerned about the war?”

“Of course, but they’re very realistic about the whole thing. The French tend to think about things differently than we do.”

“No point in getting upset yet,” Rob interjected. “The whole thing will be over by Christmas if it keeps on like this. So far, this has been a most anti-climactic start to a war.”

Evelyn looked across the table at her brother and blew smoke into the air. It was true that the nothing much had happened since Germany invaded Poland at the beginning of September, but she was very much afraid that it wouldn’t last. Hitler wouldn’t stop now; there was no reason to.

“I think we need to be careful about getting too complacent,” Miles said slowly, lighting his cigarette. “I don’t think Hitler is finished just yet.”

“Well, I wish he’d hurry up and get on with it. The hours of relentless training and waiting are killing me.” Rob motioned to the server hovering nearby. “Let’s order. I’m starving.”

After they had given their orders, Miles looked at Evelyn.

“And you? What do you think about this war?” he asked.

She put her cigarette out in the cut-glass ashtray on the table and pursed her lips thoughtfully.

“I think it was inevitable,” she said slowly. “I know people are saying it will all be over in a few months, but I’m not so sure. I think Germany was allowed to build up their military to such an extent that now they’re feeling very confident. Why should Hitler stop? Look at what they did in Poland. They reached Warsaw in three weeks and decimated the Polish Air Force and Army. They were unstoppable, and worse, now they know it.”

“The Poles also sent men on horseback to meet tanks,” Rob pointed out. “Of course they were unstoppable. A horse can’t stop a tank. And the Germans did have help from the Russians in the end.”

“Yes, but the German army was more than capable of carving through Poland, regardless. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.”

“Your father was there, wasn’t he?” Miles asked after a moment. “When they invaded?”

Evelyn and Rob looked at each other, then she nodded.

“Yes. He was in Warsaw on the 1st when they began their invasion. He evacuated on the 7th and escaped to Switzerland before the troops reached the city.”

“Didn’t do him much good, in the end,” Rob said glumly, picking up his glass. “Still, I suppose we can’t pick our time to go.”

“Lord, I’m sorry,” Miles said. “I didn’t mean to bring it up.”

“Never mind,” Evelyn said, standing and holding her hand out to him. “Come dance with me and make me forget about it.”

Miles grinned and pushed his chair back. “How do you know I dance?”

She raised an eyebrow and twinkled up at him. “Women’s intuition.”

“And is that ever wrong?” he asked, taking her hand.

“We’re about to find out.”

The figure moved carefully through the pitch black streets, murmuring apologies as he bumped into others in the darkness. The blackout really was a nuisance. By law, there could be no light at all after nightfall. Thick black curtains shrouded windows in businesses and homes alike, and street lamps were doused. Even headlights on cars were covered to direct their beams downward so as to minimize light as much as possible.

It fell to the neighborhood wardens to enforce the strict blackout, and they did so with enthusiasm, checking each window for even the minutest gleam of light. The result was that moving around in London was decidedly tricky after dark, and the rate of accidental deaths had skyrocketed as people were hit by cars or fell and injured themselves in the darkness. If something wasn’t done soon, there would be no need for the Germans to attack England. The blackout would take care of it for them.

With that thought, the figure looked both ways before jogging across a side street and going towards a telephone box on the other side. He opened the door and stepped inside, closing it firmly behind him. Picking up the receiver, he unscrewed the mouthpiece. It came away easily and he tipped the handset over his other hand. A rolled strip of microfilm