'Praise be, you didn't! And if you love me that much surely-surely you can bring yourself to forget the wretched business?'
Suddenly she turned and grasped his arm. 'Oh, my dear. Now you’ve told me what really happened I can. But it was such a frightful shock. And from what she said it seemed impossible to believe that you had not fallen in love with her. As it is I can't even hate her any more. She saved your life, darling! She saved your rife! What does anything else matter?
Within a minute he had pulled her down a path into the nearest shrubbery and was kissing her fiercely while she wept with happiness at being once more in his arms.
Presently she said that she meant to try to put Sabine right out of her mind, as though she had no real existence, but that would not be possible if Gregory continued to be friends with her; so she wanted his solemn promise that in the future he would neither see nor write to her.
He gave it willingly, and fully restored her confidence in him by telling her that during the past three weeks he had deliberately avoided any meeting with Sabine, had seen her only once, and then not to speak to.
Soon afterwards they returned to the house and settled down comfortably in front of a warm fire. They had so much to say to one another that the afternoon sped by rapidly, and as there were no other guests staying in the house they were able to dine tête-à-tête in the little dining room of the private wing. Gregory produced the foie gras and told her about Diana. Erika was amused at his having taken the advice of a girl scarcely out of her teens, and pretended that she would find new cause for jealousy in this paragon who combined such wisdom with youth and beauty; but a minute later she added seriously that when she came to London she must meet Diana and thank her from the bottom of her heart for having sent him back to her.
It was shortly after the nine o'clock news that Gregory was called to the telephone. He was away for about five minutes and when he rejoined Erika every trace of his new happiness had disappeared.
'What is it, darling?' she asked anxiously. 'Don't tell me that you've been recalled to duty. That would be too awful.'
'No,' he said, in a somewhat bewildered way. 'No. That was Pellinore. At first I couldn't make out what he was talking about. But before he finished he made it plain enough. He rang up to tell me that Sabine Tuzolto has been arrested as a spy.'
Erika's blue eyes became round, her big generous mouth opened a little; then she suddenly sat back and gave way to peals of laughter.
'Stop that!' Gregory exclaimed angrily. 'This is no laughing matter.'
'Oh, but it is; it is!' Erika was half choking and tears of mirth were running down her cheeks. 'It is the funniest thing that has happened for years. You, my dear, Grauber's bete noire, the nightmare of the Gestapo, Britain's all-time high Secret Agent, you of all people have been fooled into bringing a Nazi spy into England and… and cream of the jest planting her in the house of the man who knows more than anyone outside the Cabinet about Britain's war secrets.'
'Very funny! Very funny indeed!' snapped Gregory. 'But may I remind you that this woman saved my life.'
Erika cast her eyes upward as though appealing to the gods against crass stupidity. 'Nonsense, you poor simpleton. Once they had decided how to make use of you your life was no longer in danger. This Hungarian tart did her big act because she was told to by Ribbentrop, and like a ninny you fell for It. Really, if there is a kindergarten for secret agents you ought to go there for a refresher course.'
'You are wrong! Utterly wrong! The one thing had nothing whatever to do with the other. She got me out of Grauber's clutches without any prompting from anyone. It was only later, after they had found out about the way she had rescued me, and ordered her into exile on that account, that the question arose of her coming to England. And, damn it all, we don't even know yet if she is guilty. She may be the victim of some stupid mistake by M.I.5. Anyway I owe her all the help I can give, and I'll have to catch the first train in the morning for London.'
Coming to her feet, Erika cried in a pleading voice, 'But darling! Only this afternoon you promised, promised faithfully, that you'd have no more to do with her.'
I can't help that. Promises have to go by the board when a proven friend is in danger.'
Erika's eyes became hard as ice. 'All right! Go if you want to! If you do, it will be the clearest possible proof that you are still in love with her. And I'll not stand for that. It will be the end between us. Do you understand? The end! The end! The final, irrevocable end!'
The Prisoner in the Tower
Chapter 22
Gregory and Erika wrangled for an hour. They got no further. At length they went up to bed. Erika in tears and emotionally exhausted, Gregory bitterly resentful at what he considered to be her unwarrantable jealousy and lack of understanding. Instead of the joyous culmination of their reunion, which they had been happily anticipating until Sir Pellinore's telephone call, they slept in separate rooms.
In the morning Gregory decided on a last attempt to make her appreciate his point of view; but he found her door locked and she flatly refused to let him in.
Four hours later he was seated opposite Sir Pellinore in the library at Carlton House Terrace, learning the details of Sabine's arrest.
'Guilty?' boomed Sir Pellinore. 'Of course she's guilty! Must have bin comin' down here and snoopin' through my papers in the middle of the night. Anyhow, M.I.5 caught her with the goods on her.'
'What sort of goods?' inquired Gregory.
'Copies of some of the key letters in my correspondence with the Turks. As you must know, I made my first big money while on the board of a private bank that specialized in loans to the Near East. For a quarter of a century I've had a lot of pull in Turkey. And once we've opened up the Med. we hope to bring Johnny Turk in on our side. I've been sounding out the big shots there. Gettin' a line on who's for us and who's against us. That's the sort of thing the Nazis would give a lot to know.'
'Then why the hell didn't you keep it in your safe?' said Gregory angrily. 'It would have served you damn well right if it had got through to the enemy.'
'Ha! What's that?' The Baronet's blue eyes popped. 'I'm not accountable to you or to any other young idiot who'd let a pretty woman twist him round her little finger. Safe's chock a block with more important stuff. Anyway, I don't expect my friends to, er… plant vipers in my bosom.'
If Gregory had not been so upset he would have laughed. As it was, he apologized. 'I'm terribly sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It has no bearing whatever on the case. But I'm half out of my wits with worry. After going through hell for the best part of a month, yesterday I got Erika to forgive me. Then you telephoned. When I told her that I must return to help Sabine, she blew up like a blockbuster. Short of a miracle, I've now done myself in with her for good.'
'More fool you, then! Help Sabine, indeed! What help can you give her? Some thug in the Moldavian Embassy evidently supplied her with a mini camera and she's bin photo graphin' my documents. Seem' that she had only just arrived from Hungary, as soon as she got herself a job with the Moldavians M.I.5 were astute enough to keep tabs on her. Yesterday they intercepted her on her way to her office and politely invited her to show them the contents of her handbag. And there were the microfilms. You're a cleverer feller than I am, Gunga Din, if you can help her to laugh that off.'