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

of us knew more about what it was they’re discussing all day, we’d perhaps be able to glean something really useful.” Anna drummed her fingers on the white tablecloth thoughtfully. “What does Daniel want you to discover, I wonder?”

“I don’t think he had anything specific in mind,” Evelyn said with a shrug. “I’m really just hoping for a bit of luck.”

The waiter came to the table then to take their order and Anna ordered dinner for them both, assuring Evelyn with a twinkle that the dinner would pack less of a punch than the drinks.

While she spoke with the waiter, Evelyn’s attention was caught by the table with the solitary bookworm. A tall, angular man had arrived and was in the process of taking the seat across from him. He appeared happy to see the newcomer and closed his book readily, a smile on his face. Interesting. She had received the distinct impression that the man was dining alone, but he must have simply arrived earlier than his companion. As she watched, he set the book aside and she noted the title on the spine. It was a worn copy of a scientific text and looked as though it had been read quite a few times. Evelyn’s lips curved imperceptibly.

The title was in German.

Evelyn laughed along with her new acquaintances, Hans and Alrick, as the latter finished sharing a particularly amusing joke. Anna had somehow managed to finagle an invitation from Alrick to join them for drinks after dinner, although Evelyn still wasn’t clear how. One minute she was finishing her dinner and the next she was joining them in the cocktail lounge. Anna really was turning out to be invaluable.

“It’s so nice to meet two such lovely ladies who can speak German so well,” Alrick said, reaching for his drink. “Don’t you think so, Hans?”

“What? Oh yes. Yes of course.”

Hans smiled and bobbed his head while still managing to avoid looking directly at either Evelyn or Anna. He looked as if he would much rather go back to his book, but manners forbade him.

“Miss Richardson, you said you’re a writer?” he asked. “What do you write?”

“Oh everything,” she said gaily. “Right now I’m writing for the Daily Mail in London. I’ve also done some poetry and a few short stories. I’m working on one right now, as a matter of fact.”

“Are you really? What’s it about?” Anna demanded. “Something exciting?”

“It’s about a girl in France who falls in love with an Austrian. I haven’t decided yet if she goes back to Austria with him.”

“Have you been to Austria?” Alrick asked, pulling out a cigarette case.

“Yes, but it was quite a few years ago and I was very young.” Evelyn smiled and declined the proffered cigarette.

“I’m afraid you’d find it very much changed,” Hans said, glancing at her. “When does your story take place?”

“In the present day.”

“How romantic,” Anna breathed, accepting the cigarette. “I’ve always wanted to visit Vienna. To see the opera there and walk where Schubert walked. Or to go to the Philharmonic and listen to Mendelssohn. It must be lovely!”

“You’ll no longer hear Mendelssohn in Austria, or anywhere,” Hans advised her sadly. “His music is forbidden by the Nazis, as is the work of so many others.”

“Forbidden? Why?”

“Because they were Jews, of course,” Aldrick said, lighting her cigarette for her. “Anything Jewish is banned.”

“How utterly ridiculous!” Anna exclaimed. “What happens if you have a record in your house?”

“You’ll be arrested for anti-party behavior,” Hans muttered. “They’ve seized all the books and records that they can get their hands on and destroyed them. I’d be very surprised if any still exist, at least in Germany.”

Evelyn took a sip of her drink and glanced at Hans. Whereas Aldrick had stated very matter-factly that Jewish music had been banned, Hans sounded as if he was disgusted by it.

“Do you mean to say you can be arrested simply for owning a record?” she asked.

“Yes. The Nazis are very adamant about only pure German art being celebrated. It is the same with the science. Many brilliant theories and discoveries have been discarded and ignored because the Nazis call it Jewry.”

“How terrible,” Anna said, gazing from one man to the other. “I’m not Jewish, but I don’t see why their work should be destroyed.”

Aldrick shrugged. “It’s just the way it is.” He looked at Evelyn and lowered his voice. “Hans is right. You’d find Austria very much changed. Unless your story is about a pure Aryan, I’d leave him in France with the French girl.”

“Why are you whispering?” she asked, lowering her own voice.

“Because you never know who is listening,” he replied seriously.

Anna laughed. “But we’re in a bar in Oslo!”

“You don’t think the Gestapo can travel?” he retorted. “They do, you know.”

Throughout the conversation, Hans had been becoming more and more uneasy. Evelyn watched as he shifted in his seat, but with Aldrick’s words, he suddenly leaned forward.

“It’s not just their work,” he said, his voice just as low as Aldrick’s. “They are not allowed to have jobs, and most have had their homes taken from them. I know a researcher who was arrested because he allowed one to stay in his house overnight. He was accused of being a traitor because he was harboring a Jew.”

“What happened to him?” Evelyn whispered, remembering vividly the man in Strasbourg who had given her the first hint of Nazi cruelty.

“No one knows,” Hans said after a moment. “He just disappeared into a camp.”

“Well, this is all very lowering,” Anna said, breaking the sudden silence that had fallen over the table. “Let’s talk about something fun. Or better yet, let’s dance!”

Aldrick grinned and got up promptly, holding his hand out to her.

“Your wish is my command,” he said with a flourish.

Anna laughed and got up, glancing at Evelyn. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Not in the least!” she replied, waving her hand with a smile.

Anna and Aldrick went off happily, leaving Evelyn alone with Hans.

“I’m sorry for your friend,” she said after a