Page 17 of Echoes of Betrayal

Hildegard moved her head. ‘I am. It gives me hope, and I have you to thank for that.’

The courageous woman’s words touched Lizzie, and emotion welled within her, but she brushed it away. This was no time for sentiment. The meeting must be over within a few minutes. Lizzie didn’t know if she would see her again whilst she was here, but that was the nature of the job. Meeting endangered them both, and all who were connected to Hildegard.

‘It is we who must thank you. Your work has been invaluable, and we are grateful. If you need anything, please reach out to our mutual friend via the usual channel, and they will see that you get whatever you need.’

The agent said, ‘There is one thing I’d like to ask.’

‘Yes?’ Lizzie said.

Hildegard whispered just loud enough for Lizzie to hear. ‘Is it true Germany is losing badly, and the Allies have victory within their grasp?’

‘I believe so.’

‘How long?’

Lizzie sighed. ‘I don’t know. It seems we still have a considerable way to go, but there is reason to be optimistic.’

Hildegard said, ‘The mood of the people has shifted. The cracks are showing at home.’

‘And our friends?’ Lizzie referred to the Berliners she had become acquainted with when she was undercover.

‘Frau Fischer took the loss of her lodger hard, but they had no reason to suspect her. They interrogated her, but she had no information to reveal.’

‘Did she mention our connection?’

‘No, I don’t believe she did. There was no reason for her to suspect I was in any way involved because it was she who connected us in the first place.’

‘And the mother superior?’

‘She was questioned because of her link to the spies posing as war widows, but somehow she managed to convince them she had no knowledge of their true identity.’

Lizzie breathed, relief spiralling through every cell of her body. She’d blamed herself for endangering her contacts when the operation unravelled, and it was welcome news to hear they had made it through despite the difficulties.

‘One more thing,’ Lizzie said.

‘Anything,’ Hildegard replied.

‘Does she attend school?’

There was a brief pause, followed by a whisper. Lizzie strained to hear the words Primarschule Breitenrain. She committed the name of the primary school to memory and told Hildegard to leave first and to take care.

Lizzie turned to leave a few minutes later, and as she neared the exit of the Rosengarten, she looked back and noticed the man still lurking near the pond.

There were potential spies everywhere.

The man near the pond ground out a cigarette with his boot and nodded to the other agent who waited a few minutes before following the British woman out of the park.

CHAPTER 15

Nigel Pemberton and Lizzie stepped out of the diplomatic car when the driver pulled up in the main square in front of the Federal Palace, which was proudly emblazoned with Swiss flags. The white cross on red flapped against the building in the wind, and Lizzie was grateful that swastika flags didn’t confront her on this mission. It was a welcome change, and good to see that Switzerland honoured its neutral pledge and didn’t succumb to Nazi pressure, at least in that respect.

‘This square is the Bundesplatz,’ Pemberton informed her after he asked if she was familiar with the financial district, and she said she hadn’t visited that part of the Old Town yet.

They walked beneath the sandstone arcades of the Bundesgasse, passing under the vaulted arches that protected pedestrians from the harsh elements. It was only a short distance before Pemberton stopped outside the heavy door of a tall, regal building that gleamed with brass fittings and bore the gold lettering of Brunner & Cie.

‘Here we are,’ he said, looking smart in his dark overcoat and immaculately polished black shoes.

The wind whipped at Lizzie’s back, and she shivered despite her coat and hat. Tom said this was a mild winter, but the freeze was constant and the air bitter even when the sun showed its winter face. It was a different chill from London, and the sudden blusters of raw cold still caught her off-guard.