‘At this time of night?’
‘Yes.’ He turned and left the room.
She went to the drinks cabinet and poured herself a stiff whisky, then sat down and lit a cigarette. So Harry had been unmasked. He would have hated that. But perhaps he deserved it.
The telephone rang shrilly in the hall. ‘Hell,’ she breathed, ‘what now?’ She waited for Pilar to answer it then remembered the girl was gone. The ringing went on. Why didn’t Sandy answer it on his extension? She went into the hall and picked up the receiver.
‘Señora Forsyth?’ She recognized Luis’s voice at once, hoarse and breathless. She stared round the hall frantically, terrified Sandy might appear from upstairs and ask who it was.
‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘What is it? Why are you ringing here?’
‘Forgive me, señora, I had to.’ He paused. ‘Is it safe to talk?’
‘Yes. But if you hear a click that’ll be him on the extension, stop speaking.’ She spoke in a frantic whisper. ‘What is it? Be quick.’
‘I have just heard from Agustín. We have an arrangement he can telephone me at a bar I go to in the evenings—’
‘Yes, yes, please be quick.’
‘The staff rota has been changed. Agustín will not be with Piper at the prison quarry on Saturday.’
‘What, oh God—’
‘It will have to be Friday, can you come to Cuenca the day before? The same arrangement, meeting Piper in the bushes by the bridge at seven? Agustín has gone into Cuenca, to see the old man at the cathedral.’
‘Yes, yes, all right, yes.’ She frowned. Would Harry be able to get Friday off from the embassy?
‘I know we are meeting tomorrow, but I wanted to let you know, señora, as soon as possible. In case there were arrangements you had to change.’
‘All right, yes, all right. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘Goodbye.’ There was a click and the phone went dead, the whirr of the dialling tone filling her ear. She replaced the receiver. She went back into the salón but she couldn’t settle. She went out again and mounted the stairs. The hallway was dim and she remembered when she was a child going up to bed, her fear of the dark at the top of the stairs. She thought suddenly of Carmela, the woolly donkey she had left in the church.
There was a strip of light under their bedroom door. He had gone in there, he was opening and closing drawers. What was he doing?
She went back into the salón and sat smoking and drinking. After a while she heard his footsteps on the stairs. She tensed, expecting him to come to the salón, but then heard the front door close, followed by the car starting up. It drove away. Barbara ran upstairs to her bedroom. He had taken some clothes, a suit and a shirt. She looked out of the window. A fog had descended, the weak streetlamps showing through as a faint yellow haze. Where was he going? What was he doing? It wasn’t safe weather for driving.
She sat at the window for hours, smoking, alone in the house.
Chapter Forty-Three
IT WAS QUIET in the restaurant by the Royal Palace. Barbara ordered a coffee from the plump little owner; she could tell he remembered her from the day she was here with Harry. Only a few weeks ago, though it seemed like a lifetime.
It was just after two o’clock. Harry and Sofia were not due for another hour, but Barbara had had to get out of the empty house. Sandy had still not returned. The daily had arrived at nine and Barbara set her to clearing the kitchen. Then she walked through the silent rooms, no sound apart from her own footsteps and the ceaseless dripping from outside. The snow was almost gone. She went into Sandy’s study. Everything appeared normal, all the pictures and ornaments still in place. She opened the drawer in his desk where he kept his bank books. It was empty. He’s gone for good, she thought, he’s left me. She felt strangely downcast, discarded. She shrugged off the feeling, telling herself not to be silly, it was what she had wanted. She reflected with a strange detachment that not so long ago Sandy having an affair with the maid, let alone leaving her, would have left her prostrate, all her worst feelings about herself confirmed.
The restaurant was filling up with lunchtime customers by the time Harry and Sofia arrived. They both looked serious.
‘Is everything all right?’ she asked them.
‘Yes.’ Harry sat down. ‘Except Sandy was supposed to turn up for a meeting at the embassy this morning, and he never arrived.’
She sighed. ‘I think he’s gone. Cleared out.’ She told them what had happened the night before. ‘Some of the funny things he said make sense now. I think he’s gone off with Pilar.’
‘But where would they go?’ Sofia asked.
‘Lisbon, perhaps,’ Harry said. ‘He told us last night about some committee to help Jewish emigrants from France; they took gold in return for visas to Portugal.’
‘So that was it,’ Barbara said. ‘So that was why he helped them.’
‘They crushed the heirlooms up to make gold to doctor their samples with.’ Harry told her what he had learned the night before: that the gold mine was a fake.
Barbara sat staring at him for a second, then sighed. ‘Everything was a fake, then,’ she said. ‘Absolutely everything.’
‘I expect Sandy’s gone off with a false passport.’
‘My God.’
‘Hillgarth said he half expected it, he thought Sandy wasn’t someone who’d buckle down and take orders.’
‘No,’ said Barbara, ‘that’s true.’ She sighed. ‘So that’s that. I wonder what he’ll do now.’
Harry shrugged. ‘Set up in business somewhere, I expect. America perhaps. I wonder why he didn’t take the chance to get back to England.’
‘He said something about it stifling him. And he was afraid he’d be locked up.’
‘I don’t think he would have been. They wanted to use his – talents.’ Harry grimaced. ‘And yet – he said it all started off because he really wanted to help the Jews. Oddly enough, I believe him.’
Barbara was silent.
‘What will happen to your house?’ Sofia asked.
‘Sandy got it rent free from one of the ministries. I expect they’ll want it back. I’ll camp out there for the meantime. It won’t be for long.’ The waiter appeared and Harry and Sofia ordered coffees. They still had nearly an hour before she was due to meet Luis; the café was a fifteen-minute walk away. Sofia looked at her closely.
‘How do you feel, about his leaving?’
Barbara lit a cigarette. ‘I would have left him in a few days anyway. I wonder how long Pilar will last. They must have been cooking this up for a while.’ She blew out a cloud of smoke.
‘It makes things easier for us,’ Sofia said hesitantly.
‘Yes.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Listen, there’s another problem. Luis rang last night. His brother’s rota’s been changed, it’ll have to be brought forward a day. It’s going to have to be Friday.’
Sofia frowned. ‘Why have they changed his shift at the last minute?’
‘They’ve changed rotas at the camp. I didn’t go into that. I was standing in the hall terrified Sandy would come down any minute,’ she added with irritation, ‘We can ask Luis when we meet him.’
Harry stroked his chin. ‘I’ll have to change my car booking. I’ve got one for Saturday – one of the little Fords the junior staff are allowed – said I wanted a run out to the country at the weekend. But it shouldn’t be a problem, I’ll say the arrangements have changed. I’m on duty tomorrow – there’s a Christmas bash for the translators at the Spanish Academy and I don’t want to go, I’ve put my name down to cover the office. But Friday’s free.’
‘And I will go sick at the dairy on Friday instead of Saturday,’ Sofia said.
Barbara looked at her. ‘I’m sorry I snapped just then. I suppose we’re all getting edgy.’
Sofia nodded, then smiled back. ‘It’s all right.’
They were silent for a few moments. Harry smiled and took Sofia’s hand. ‘We’ve got our special licence. We’re getti
ng married on the nineteenth. A week tomorrow. Then we’re off to England by plane on the twenty-third. We’ve got a visa for Paco.’
‘That’s wonderful.’ She smiled. ‘I’m so glad.’
‘Paco has taken our family name on the form,’ Sofia said. ‘It is strange to see it. Francisco Roque Casas.’
‘Thank God one child can be got out of here. How is he?’
‘He does not really understand what going away means.’ A shadow crossed her face. ‘He is still sad Enrique is not coming.’
‘You couldn’t get him over?’
‘No.’ Harry shook his head. ‘We’re going to try again from England. But I think it’ll be impossible while the war lasts. We were lucky to get places on the plane.’
‘I’m so pleased for you.’
‘Have you booked anything?’
‘No. I’ll trust to luck, I’m not planning anything till Bernie’s inside the British Embassy and it’s settled he’s going home. I’m worried there might be problems because he’s a Communist. From what you’ve said about Hoare I wouldn’t put it past him to give Bernie back to the Spaniards.’
Harry shook his head firmly. ‘No, Barbara, the embassy has to take him in. Whatever Hoare might like to do he was a prisoner of war, he was held illegally under international law. And my guess is the Spanish authorities won’t make a fuss. It’d look bad for them. But you must keep out of it.’ He thought a moment. ‘But don’t take him in at the front. If he’s escaped, the civiles on the door might have been told to watch out for him and they could seize him; he won’t be on British soil until he’s actually inside the embassy.’
‘I’ll take him to a phone box in the centre of Madrid. He can phone the embassy from there and get them to fetch him. He can say he stole the clothes and hitched a lift to Madrid, like we agreed. They can’t disprove it.’
Harry laughed. Barbara thought it was the first laugh of genuine pleasure she had heard from him since they met again. ‘It’ll be the talk of the embassy the next day; I can say I knew him at school. Then I can help him get back to England.’ He shook his head in wonderment. ‘He may even come on the same plane as us.’
‘It sounds as neat as clockwork,’ Sofia said. ‘But remember things may go wrong, we may have to improvise.’ She looked at Barbara sharply again. ‘Are you all right? Do you have a cold?’
‘It’s nothing. It’s better today,’ Barbara said. She was surprised at how Sofia seemed to be taking charge now.’
‘I have a gun,’ Sofia said. ‘Just in case.’
Harry leaned forward. ‘A gun? Where did you get it?’
‘It was my father’s, during the Civil War. It has been in the flat since then.’ She shrugged. ‘There are many guns in Madrid, Harry.’
Barbara looked horrified. ‘But why do you want to bring a gun?’
‘In case we have to run. As I said, we may have to improvise.’
Barbara shook her head vehemently. ‘Guns just make things worse, make more danger—’
‘It is only for an emergency. I do not want to use it.’
‘Have you bullets?’ Harry asked hesitantly.
‘Yes, and I know how to fire it. Women were trained to shoot during the war.’
‘Will you let me take it?’ Harry asked. ‘I know how to fire a gun too.’
Sofia hesitated, then said, ‘All right.’ She turned to Barbara. ‘This is not a peaceful thing we are involved with, you know.’
‘All right. All right, I know.’ Barbara ran a hand over her brow.
Bearing arms went against her every instinct but Sofia was right, she was the one who knew life here.
‘I still don’t think you should come,’ Harry told Sofia. ‘There’s more danger for you than for either of us.’
‘It will make things easier,’ she said firmly. ‘Cuenca is an old medieval town; it is not easy to find your way around.’ She turned to Barbara. ‘Should you not go and meet the guard now?’
‘Yes. Give me a quarter of an hour, then follow.’ When she got up her legs were shaking.
THE AFTERNOON was damp and raw, the streets wet with melting slush. There was still a trace of last night’s fog and some shops already had their lights on. The first Christmas displays had appeared in the windows, the three wise men standing round the crib with their gifts. Barbara wondered what sort of Christmas Sandy would give Pilar in Lisbon.
Real Madrid were playing a football match and there was a little crowd round the counter at the cafe, listening to a radio. Luis sat at his usual table. His nervous air irritated her today.
‘You gave me a fright last night,’ she said brusquely as she sat down.
‘I had to let you know.’
‘Why did the shift change?’
He shrugged. ‘It happens. One of the guards was ill and everything had to be adjusted. It will be exactly the same arrangement, only on Friday instead of Saturday.’
‘Friday the thirteenth,’ she said with a brittle laugh. Luis looked at her uncomprehendingly.
‘It’s supposed to be an unlucky day in England.’
‘I had never heard that.’ He ventured a smile. ‘It is Tuesday the thirteenth that is unlucky in Spain, señora, so do not worry about that.’
‘It doesn’t matter. Listen, will the snow be melting in Cuenca too?’
‘I should think so. The radio said the thaw is happening all over the country.’ Luis looked round, then leant forward. ‘The escape will be at four, as we said. Your friend should reach the bridge by seven. If there is heavy snow and he is not there by nine, or in the cathedral if the bridge is guarded, you will know they have decided to call it off because of the weather.’
‘Or he’s been caught.’
‘In either case there is nothing you can do. If he does not come you should drive back to Madrid. Do not stay the night in Cuenca – details of all hotel visitors go to the civiles and an Englishwoman staying alone would be noticed. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, of course I understand.’ She gave him a cigarette and left the packet of Gold Flake on the table.
‘I think you may be lucky. Despite this Friday the thirteenth. The snow will stay on the high mountains but in the lower part of the Tierra Muerta it should be gone.’
‘I’ve been lucky in another way,’ she said, looking him in the eye. ‘There’s an old English friend of Bernie’s here in Madrid, he’s going to get me a car. He’s going to drive me there with his Spanish fiancée. She knows Cuenca.’
‘What?’ Luis looked horrified. ‘Señora, this was supposed to be secret. How many people have you told?’
‘Only them. They can be trusted. I’ve known Harry for years.’
‘Señora, you were going to go alone, that was the agreement. This complicates things.’
‘No it doesn’t,’ Barbara replied calmly. ‘It makes them easier. Three of us on a day out won’t be as noticeable as a woman alone. And anyway, I couldn’t get a car without Harry. What are you so scared of?’
Luis looked utterly disconcerted. Through the window Barbara saw Harry and Sofia crossing the road. ‘There’s no point arguing, they’ll be here in a minute.’
‘¡Mierda!’ Luis gave her a trapped, angry look. ‘You should have told me.’
‘I didn’t tell them until two days ago.’
‘You should have spoken to me first! On your own heads be it, señora.’ He glowered at Harry and Sofia as they entered the cafe. There was a shout from the crowd as someone scored a goal.
Sofia and Harry came over. Luis shook their hands unsmilingly.
‘Luis isn’t very happy,’ Barbara explained. ‘But I’ve told him it’s all settled.’
Luis leaned forward. ‘This is a dangerous venture,’ he said angrily.
‘We know,’ Harry replied, his manner reasonable, authoritative. ‘Why don’t we go over things and see if there being three of us makes matters more difficult in any way. Now, we drive to Cuenca, get there by four, and leave the car somewhere, yes?’
L
uis nodded. ‘Agustín spent an afternoon tramping the lanes to look for the best place. There is an abandoned collective farm just outside the town, and there is a field screened from the road by some trees just beyond the sign saying you are about to enter Cuenca. You should leave the car in the field, it will not be seen.’ He leaned forward. ‘It is important you leave the car there, it is the nearest hidden place to the town. Few people have cars in Cuenca; yours could attract attention from the civiles if it’s just left parked in a street.’
Harry nodded. ‘Yes, that makes sense.’
Luis looked at Barbara through narrowed eyes. ‘Agustín put a lot of work into this. And if it fails he could be shot.’
‘We know, Luis,’ Barbara said gently.
‘And then we walk up to the old town, to the cathedral?’ Harry continued.
‘Yes. It will be dark by the time you get there. You wait in the cathedral until seven, then cross the gorge by the bridge, to the stand of trees. There will be few people around, if any, at that time on a winter night. But the old man, Francisco, is expecting only Señora Forsyth.’
‘Then we can explain,’ Harry said. ‘I think I should be the one to fetch Bernie. You two can wait in the cathedral.’
‘No,’ Barbara replied quickly. ‘It should be me, he’ll be expecting me alone.’
Luis threw up his hands. ‘This is what I mean. You cannot agree even on this.’
‘We can sort that out later,’ Harry said. ‘Barbara, you’ve got the clothes?’
‘All packed up. He changes behind the bushes, we cross the bridge to the cathedral, then we all walk back to the car.’
Harry nodded. ‘Like two couples on a day out. It’s very plausible.’
‘Can this old man in the cathedral be trusted?’ Sofia asked.
‘He needs money desperately. He has a sick wife.’
‘The cathedral.’ Sofia hesitated. ‘I expect like most cathedrals in the Republican zone they will have the names of priests killed during the Republic listed there.’
Luis gave her a puzzled look. ‘I expect so. Why?’
‘I had an uncle who was a priest there.’