'Are the sentries here issued with ball cartridge?'
Colonel Faviell laughed. 'Good gracious, no! We've had plenty of air raids, but at least we have no cause to fear a seaborne assault by the enemy. There is little point in their being here really, now the Jewels have gone; but it is tradition that we should have them, and tradition dies hard.'
In spite of this reassuring reply, Gregory still felt that the odds on being caught, if they came down from a window, were so big that as an escape route it was not worth further consideration. They returned to the King's House, where the Governor gave him tea; then, having thanked him for a most interesting afternoon, Gregory made his way back to the West End.
Next morning he rang up the Tower to confirm that Sabine was still too ill for her interrogation to be continued, and asked that when she was better he should be notified by a message to the War Room; then he telephoned M.I.5 to inform Colonel 'Himmler' of the situation. After that as it was a Sunday, he rang up Sir Pellinore to suggest that since Sabine was no longer his guest they should resume their Sunday night suppers, and the Baronet said he would be pleased to see him.
At Carlton House Terrace that evening, as soon as Gregory had been provided with a glass of sherry, he told his host of his visit to Sabine, and that she had sent a message conveying her most abject apologies for her shocking abuse of Sir Pellinore's hospitality and her hope that, as she had been inspired by patriotic motives, he would not think too badly of her.
'Queerest apology I've ever had,' grunted Sir Pellinore. 'And I don't want any more like it. Still, shows the wench has good manners. That's more than many young people have these days. Can't help bein' sorry for her, in a way. Confounded nuisance though. You and I are bound to be dragged in at her court martial, and made to look a pair of fools. Fine kettle of fish your idiocy has landed us in.'
Gregory gave the 'soft answer that turneth away wrath' and changed the subject.
During the meal their talk, as usual, ranged over the battlefronts. The previous Sunday night Lancaster’s had carried out a terrific raid on Le Creusot, practically eliminating the great munition works there that French collaborators had been running at full blast for the benefit of the Germans. The Admiralty had announced a great increase in the strength of our Fleet, the two great new battleships Anson and Howe now being in commission, and that since the beginning of the war we had accounted for no less than 530 enemy submarines. The Germans were still hurling their troops against Stalingrad but the attacks showed signs of weakening. Moscow claimed that some of the German divisions had lost up to seventy per cent of their effectives; and it did really begin to look as if the all-important city on the Volga would succeed in holding out through the winter. On the past two nights the R.A.F. had bombed Genoa, causing great havoc among wharfs and shipping. As the port was Rommel's principal supply base, these actions were clearly designed to assist operations in North Africa; and General Montgomery's offensive had started well, some points in the enemy's main defences having been penetrated.
They took their port up to the library, and when they had settled down there Gregory told Sir Pellinore the story, as disclosed by Sabine, of her plot with Ribbentrop. The older man listened with the greatest interest, then exclaimed:
'Strap me! What a lot these Nazis are! Just think of Anthony Eden, sayin' he had a mistress, lettin' her shield a German spy, then go as a spy with him to the Fatherland in the hope of making John Anderson look a fool in front of Churchill. Berchtesgaden must be a regular thieves' kitchen. It's the gel who's got the raw end of the deal, though. And it's worse for her than it would be for a man. Prison plays the very devil with women's looks. She'll be prematurely old and no good for anything by the time she comes out.'
'That won't be the case if I can help it.'
'Eh? What d'you mean by that?'
'I'm planning her escape.'
The Baronet's blue eyes bulged. 'You're joking!'
'I'm not. I was never more serious in my life.'
'Then you're crazy. You don't know what you're talkin' about.'
'I tell you I am planning her escape. And what is more I need your help.'
Sir Pellinore sprang to his feet. 'God in Heaven, man! Is it likely! You're drunk! Barmy! Off your rocker!'
'I'm as sane as you are.'
'Then you're pulling me leg, and I don't like it. I can take a joke, but this has gone far enough.'
'It has hardly started yet,' Gregory replied calmly. 'I assure you that I am in deadly earnest. I mean to do my damnedest to get Sabine out.'
'But damn it all! You can't have realized the implications. To make such an attempt would be treason.'
T know that; but I hope to escape being tried for it.'
'You would be, if you were caught. And you will be. You can't get prisoners out of a place like the Tower. It's not some tin pot little concentration camp.'
'I know.' Suddenly Gregory smiled. 'Yesterday afternoon the Resident Governor kindly took me all over it.'
'My God, you must be made of solid gall! All the same, if you had reconnoitred the place for a month you wouldn't be any better off. To make such an attempt would be madness. It couldn't possibly succeed.'
'Probably you are right. But that remains to be seen. I am simply telling you that I mean to have a crack at it.'
Sir Pellinore sat down again, and tried sweet reason:
'Now look here, Gregory. You really must try to get your feet down on the earth. Naturally, havin' had an affaire with this young woman you're very distressed about her. I understand that. You'd be a cad if you weren't. But she is accused of having aided the enemy, and if you try to help her to escape you'll be betraying your own country.'
'I admit that it may look like that. But, after all, she is no longer a danger to us; and if she did get away she has no information of importance she could take with her.'
'That's true; but it wouldn't make your case any better.'
'Not if I'm caught; but I hope I won't be.'
'My dear boy, you positively must not take this risk. Your having been in love with the gel is no justification for it. You are not yourself. Your mind is being unduly influenced by your feelin's for her.'
'You are quite wrong about that,' Gregory sighed. 'It is Erika I am in love with. As I told you when I was last here, I have queered my pitch with her through insisting that I must do what I can for Sabine. But please put it right out of your mind that my intentions in this matter are dictated by sentiment. To use an outmoded phrase, it is "an affair of honour" or, if you prefer a more modern one, it boils down to "cutlet for cutlet".'
Sir Pellinore nodded morosely. 'You mean that because she got you out of clink in Budapest you feel that it's up to you to get her out of clink here. Sound enough reasoning in its day, but not accordin' to modern ideas. The age of chivalry is past.'
'More's the pity. Anyhow, I am going to attempt a damsel rescuing act, and you are going to help me.'
'By God, I'm not!' Sir Pellinore was on his feet again. 'If you are berserk enough to try this thing I can't stop you. But I'll not touch it. No, not with a barge pole!'
'Yes, you will. I'm not asking you to hold the ladder, or anything of that sort. In fact, I'll take special pains to ensure that you are not involved; but you have got to pull some strings to clear the way for me, and get me some highly secret information.'
'I'll see you in hell first!'