Oh, good, there’d be time. “Is Mr. Dunworthy in his office?”
“I believe so,” Mr. Purdy said. “I only just came on duty, but Mr. McCaffey said Mr. Davies came through an hour ago looking for him, and he’s still here, so I assume he found him.”
“Michael Davies?”
Mr. Purdy nodded. “Miss Churchill, you have a message from Colin Templer. He said to tell you he’s looking for you and-”
“He found me,” Polly said, “but thank you. Eileen, I’ll tell Mr. Dunworthy to ring you at Props-”
She shook her head. “I’m coming with you.”
“But I thought you were going over to Props.”
“I am, but first I want to ask Michael if he’s doing VE-Day, and if he is, if he’ll swap assignments with me. Or he may know who is.” She started across the quad with Polly in her wake.
Michael was sitting on the steps of Beard, tapping his foot. “Are you waiting to see Mr. Dunworthy, too?” Polly asked.
“Yes,” he said impatiently. “I’ve been waiting for an hour and forty-five minutes. I can’t believe this. First he louses up my assignment, and now-”
“What’s your assignment?” Eileen asked.
“It was Pearl Harbor, which is why I sound like a damned American-”
“I thought you sounded odd,” Eileen said.
“Yes, well, I’ll really sound odd in Dover. I’m doing the evacuation of Dunkirk. With less than three days’ prep. That’s why I’m here-to see if he’ll move it back-”
“But-” Eileen said confused. “They evacuated children from Dunkirk?”
“No. Soldiers. The entire British Expeditionary Force, as a matter of fact. Three hundred thousand men in nine days flat. Didn’t you attend any of your first-year history lectures?”
“Yes,” she said defensively, “but I didn’t decide on World War II till last year.” She hesitated. “The evacuation of Dunkirk is in World War II, isn’t it?”
Michael laughed. “Yes. May twenty-sixth to June fourth, 1940.”
“Oh, that’s why I don’t know about it-”
“But Dunkirk was one of the major turning points of the war,” Polly interrupted. “Isn’t it a divergence point?”
“Yes.”
“Then how can you-?”
“I’m not. I’m observing the organizing of the rescue in Dover and then the boats as they come back with the soldiers.”
“You said you were supposed to go to Pearl Harbor,” Polly said sharply. “Why did Mr. Dunworthy cancel it?”
“He didn’t,” Michael said. “He just switched the order around. I’m doing several different events.”
“Is one of them VE-Day?” Eileen asked.
“No. I’m observing heroes, so it’s all crises-Pearl Harbor, the World Trade Center-”
“Are any of them near VE-Day?” Eileen asked. “In time, I mean?”
“No, the Battle of the Bulge is the closest. It was in December of 1944.”
“How long will you be there for that?” she asked.
“Two weeks.”
Then he wasn’t the one doing VE-Day. “Do you know of any historians who are doing assignments in 1945?”
“Nineteen forty-five…” he said, thinking. “Somebody told me somebody was doing the V-1 and V-2 attacks, but I think those were in 1944-”
“Did Mr. Dunworthy’s secretary say how long it would be before you could get in to see him?” Polly interrupted. “He needs to approve driving lessons for Merope-I mean, Eileen-and Props is only open till five.”
“No,” Michael said. “All Mr. Dunworthy’s new secretary said was, was I willing to wait. I thought he meant a few minutes, not the whole damned afternoon, but it can’t be too much longer, even if Dunworthy’s reaming out a historian.”
“Why don’t you go over to Oriel and reserve the Bentley, Merope-I mean, Eileen?” Polly said to her. “We can tell Mr. Dunworthy he needs to ring Props and authorize your lessons, and they can ring Transport. It will save time all around.”
“I will,” Eileen said. She turned to Michael. “You don’t know anyone else who’s observing 1945?”
“No. Ted Fickley was supposed to be doing Patton’s advance into Germany, but Dunworthy canceled it.”
“Why?” Polly asked with that same alertness.
“I don’t know,” Michael said. “Ted said he couldn’t get any reason out of the lab. All I know is Dunworthy’s switched four drops and canceled two others in the last two weeks.”
Eileen nodded. “I was just over at the lab, and Linna said he’d made over a dozen schedule changes. Gerald was there, and Mr. Dunworthy had just postponed his drop.”
“Where was he going?” Polly asked her.
“I don’t remember. It was something to do with World War II as well. Not VE-Day, though.”
“Are all the drops he’s changing World War II?” Polly asked Michael, sounding worried.
“No. Jamal Danvers was going to Troy. And my roommate, Charles, is scheduled to go to the lead-up to the invasion of Singapore, and Dunworthy hasn’t changed his.”
“And he hasn’t changed either of ours, Polly,” Eileen said. “Polly’s doing the London Blitz,” she explained to Michael. “She’s going to be a shopgirl in a big store in-where did you say?”
“Oxford Street,” Polly said.
“The Blitz?” Michael said, sounding impressed. “Isn’t that a divergence point?”
“Only certain parts of it,” Polly said.
“But it’s definitely a ten. How did you talk Mr. Dunworthy into it? I had a hell of a time talking him into letting me do Pearl Harbor, especially after what happened to Paul Kildow.”
“What happened to him?” Polly asked sharply.
“He got hit by shrapnel from a cannonball at Antietam,” Michael said. “It was nothing, only a superficial wound, but you know how over-protective Dunworthy is. He refused to let him do any of the other battles in his assignment.”
“Perhaps that’s why he’s been canceling drops,” Eileen said. “Because he decided they were too dangerous. All the ones he’s canceled are battles and things, aren’t they?”
“I need to go,” Polly said abruptly. “I’ve only just remembered, I was supposed to have a fitting this afternoon. I must get to Wardrobe.”
“But I thought you were going to show me how to open the Bentley’s doors and-”
“I’m sorry, I can’t. Perhaps we can do it tomorrow.”
“But I thought you had to report in to Mr. Dunworthy,” Eileen said. “Do you want me to tell him-?”
“No. Don’t. I’ll come back after my fitting. I really must go. Michael, good luck at Dunkirk-I mean, Dover,” she said, and hurried off.
“What was that all about?” Michael asked, looking after her.
“I’ve no idea. She’s seemed distracted all afternoon.”
“She is going to the Blitz.”
“I know, but she’s done heaps of dangerous assignments. She’s much more likely to be worried that Mr. Dunworthy will cancel her drop. At least I needn’t worry about him canceling mine because it’s too dangerous. Unless Alf and Binnie set fire to the manor or something.”
“Alf and Binnie?”
“Two of my evacuees. I’m observing the children who were evacuated from London.”
“Which was when?”
“September of 1939 to the end of the war. Didn’t you attend any of your first-year history lectures?”
He laughed. “I meant, when are you there?”
“Till May second, which is why I didn’t know about Dunkirk.”
“If the evacuation lasted till the end of the war,” he said, “maybe you can talk Dunworthy into letting you stay on to do VE-Day. Or you could just not come back.”
She shook her head. “The retrieval team would come after me. And even if I could elude them, staying would mean I’d have to put up with Alf and Binnie for another five-”
“Merope!” someone called.