“Dinner? What’s the time?”
“Nearly eight in the evening. You’ve been unconscious since I got here at four a.m.”
“What, on Monday?”
“Yes, Monday.”
“Oh shit! What did they give me?”
“I’ve no idea, but you beat it.”
“Then dinner sounds lovely.”
“I’ll make some phone calls, I’ll see you downstairs in ten minutes,” he said.
“Make it half an hour, we girls take longer.”
My headache intensified as soon as I was vertical. I took a couple of Ibuprofen, staggered to the shower and stood for ages under the hot jets. Feeling almost human, I stepped out, wrapped myself in a huge fluffy towel and dried my hair, which, due there being very little, took no time at all.
It took me forty minutes in the end, but I took extra care in applying my makeup and making myself look presentable for the colonel. I dressed in a more conservative dark dress with a red jacket, with knee length boots. It was still winter, so I felt the need for warmth on my exposed legs.
When I rejoined him downstairs, his expression was a picture. On the one hand, he responded to me as he would to any attractive female, with bags of charm and humour. However, on the other hand, he was aware of my past persona, so this appeared to cause him some conflicting emotions.
“Well, how do I look?”
“My dear, a well bred girl never should seek compliments. But as you’re asking, you look stunning.”
I grinned. “I’m hardly well bred. There can’t be many girls with a CV like mine.”
“No, that’s what I’m having the greatest difficulty dealing with. You are just so very different, and I don’t just mean in the physical sense.”
“Explain, please?”
I said, as he helped me on with my coat.
“Well, I knew Rob Curtis very well. He was loyal, dependable and as straight as an arrow, but he was also obstinate, aggressive, determined and, unfortunately for the most part, bloody miserable! In the short time Rebecca has been on the scene, many of those latter character traits seem strikingly absent, although I’m sure in the course of time we shall see them surface.”
We left the house, with Howard locking up carefully. He immediately hailed a cab, and opened the door for me.
“The Savoy, driver, please.”
This was a lifestyle I could get used to!
I had never dined at the Savoy Grill. It was a very pleasant experience. The waiters held my chair for me and even helped with the linen napkin. Enormous menus were handed to us and I settled down to select something I recognised.
“Red or white?”
“Sorry?”
“Which would you prefer, red or white wine?”
“I’m in your hands, you choose,” I replied. “I suppose a Guinness is out of the question?”
He simply arched a superior eyebrow and then smiled when he realised I was teasing.
The waiter returned and we ordered. I kept things simple and chose the prawns in garlic followed by a fillet steak. Howard ordered some red wine.
After ordering, he glanced cautiously round the dining room.
“I think after we sort you out, in a legal fashion, so to speak, we must take a closer look at the Standings,” he said.
“You want me to get close to her?”
“Either her or the son at University in Dundee.”
“I speak Russian and some Serbo-Croat, so I could be a Croatian au pair.”
“That’s a possibility. Do you feel up to going back into the field?”
“The sods tried to kill me, so of course I want to go back. Where’s Roger Whiteside?”
“Still at the facility, only we’ve taken over the security.”
“Where are the workers and staff living?”
“They’ve been allocated quarters at RAF Halton just up the road. We’ve had them all under guard since Standing did a bunk. Standing had a nice house there, but Sarah refused to move up to be with him, preferring to remain in Surrey.”
“What about Harrison?”
“The old security chief? He’s under guard at RAF Halton. He tried to leave the country, but we managed to nab him. We want to talk to him, as I believe he knows more than he’s telling. Is he the one who did you and Ray?”
“Probably. May I join you when you speak to him?”
“If you like, but don’t do anything stupid, we don’t want to give your secret away to anyone!”
“Trust me, I won’t.”
“By the way, the forensic team dug around in the sewer and came across traces of human body parts. It was old Knocker’s DNA.”
“Bastards!”
Our waiter was back and poured the wine for Howard to taste. He nodded so I was allowed some too.
“Bit poncy all this wine sipping and shit, isn’t it?”
“Rebecca, you look like a diamond, but you have the mind of a lump of coal. If you are to be able to infiltrate all levels of society, then you must learn every nuance of life at the upper levels as well. An appreciation of fine wine is a symbol of the wealthy and better bred, so you must at least play the game.”
“Is that all it is, a game?”
“Of course, but so many have been playing it for so long they don’t know any other way of living.”
The meal was superb and I enjoyed the atmosphere of the place. I was the product of another system, one without wealth or privilege. I learned to fight for what I wanted and I learned to want just what I needed, rather than desire unnecessary trinkets. Howard seemed to enjoy playing host to an attractive, yet rather gauche young woman. I felt rather like Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady.
Towards the end of the meal, after talking about many inconsequential matters relating to class differences, manners and etiquette, Howard finally focussed on the job at hand.
“Tomorrow will be a busy day for us. While you were sleeping, I’ve squared away the social services and police up in Hull, so they shouldn’t bother you again. I want you to have a thorough medical with one of our specialists. I don’t know what happened to you. I very much doubt if we’ll ever really know, but we need to know exactly whether you are radically different.”
“You mean, apart from a complete change in gender?” I asked, finishing my last piece of Stilton with a biscuit.
“Rebecca, the gender change is one thing. I just wonder how much else has changed.”
“Like what?”
“Whether your immune system is intact, whether your blood is affected, whether your vital organs are as efficient and whether your brain has been altered.”
“My body has repaired itself. My knee was shot to hell, but now it’s fine. I feel fitter and suppler than I have ever been.”
“Also, I’d like you to see the shrink.”
“Ah!”
He smiled.
“I was waiting for it,” I said.
“Well, you have to admit, passing out a strapping forty-five year old male ex-soldier, and waking up as a sexy, twenty year old nymph, it begs the question, are you okay?”
I finished the wine that was in my glass. I could hardly tell him about my hidden compulsions, could I?
“I’ve thought about this quite a lot. I guess I thought I’d have a wobbly about it later. Here I am, several days later and still feel okay. I get a hell of a surprise every time I see my reflection, and I still watch girls, but not the way I used to, oh, and there’s something else.”
“Something else?”
“It’s as if my brain is making allowances for the change, you know, under the surface, in my subconscious. I managed to react to a young man who came on to me as if it was second nature. I enjoy relating to people as a girl. I like looking and feeling desirable. I’ll see the shrink, but I’d prefer it if he or she doesn’t know about me.”
“My dear girl, I have no intention of letting anyone else know about you. You are the latest secret weapon in our arsenal. I will sort out your financial difficulties and arrange a cast iron past for you. No, the shrink is just a precaution. We don’t want you suddenly having a breakdown in the middle of a job, do we?”