Page 3 of Echoes of Betrayal

Lizzie checked her watch as she entered the Baker Street building. It was only 7 a.m., but she knew Val and Jack would already be in, so she went straight to Val’s office. Her own desk in the corner was, as usual, piled high with files and papers awaiting her attention. Her demanding job as Val’s assistant was a curious mix of official translation work, deciphering coded messages from their agents in the field in French networks, and anything else that Val passed to her. The result was that it was never dull, and the hours flew by, which pleased Lizzie because the job occupied her mind, so she had less time to think about the horrors she had seen and the deeds she had undertaken on her missions. Jack constantly reminded her not to dwell on the past or blame herself for her actions in the field. They were fighting a deadly war even though she didn’t wear a uniform when she was undercover.

Val’s thick glasses had slipped down her nose as she pored over a document on her desk. Jack sat opposite her, his long legs splayed to one side of the desk and a cigarette in one hand.

‘Ah, here’s Elizabeth. Perfect timing,’ Val said.

Jack winked at Lizzie as he stood and pulled a chair over for her to join them.

‘Good morning,’ Lizzie said. ‘Perfect timing for what?’

Val pushed a file across her desk until it reached Lizzie. ‘We’ve been working on your cover identity. Elizabeth Gale is your new name. Commit all the details to memory, and if anything needs adjusting, let me know.’

Lizzie reached for the file and read a few lines aloud.

‘Elizabeth Gale is posted to Bern and her official job title will be Foreign Office translator-secretary, assistant to the Commercial Attaché.’

Lizzie raised her eyes, which shifted between Val and Jack. ‘Sounds solid. This will be my first mission where I go in as a Brit. That should be interesting.’

‘Yes, that’s why we thought you should use your first name. The simpler the better, but no one will connect you with your real identity.’

‘Gale,’ Lizzie said, rolling the name over her tongue. ‘It has a good ring to it. Elizabeth Gale.’

Lizzie knew from that moment on she would start to become Elizabeth Gale so that by the time she arrived in Bern to take up her new post, she would feel like Elizabeth Gale, and Lizzie Beaumont, or Agent Seagrove would be left in London at Baker Street.

Jack showed none of his usual dour expressions he displayed when she was about to go undercover, and she knew exactly why. An official posting to the British Legation in Switzerland was one of the safest missions you could get. No one would know she was there for any other purpose than to assist the Commercial Attaché, not even her new boss. As with all intelligence work, the fewer people involved and the tighter the circle, the safer for all concerned.

Lizzie continued reading, and neither Val nor Jack interrupted her. She could see her new fictional role take shape before her eyes. Elizabeth Gale would work at the Legation, translating French and German documents and assisting in British commercial affairs. Lizzie Beaumont’s mission was clear. She was to identify and extract evidence that Swiss banks were laundering Nazi-looted gold to finance the war machine. The Allies were applying diplomatic pressure on Switzerland to freeze German assets and stop collaborating with the Nazis. Switzerland’s actions were prolonging the war, but so far, the Allied efforts were to no avail. They needed irrefutable proof.

Lizzie was the agent tasked with providing it.

CHAPTER 3

Lizzie worked late in the cipher room and stayed at Jack’s flat that night, as she often did. She and her mother had an unspoken understanding where neither of them mentioned the obvious—when Lizzie worked night shifts she was with Jack. Official engagement presented a dubious moral line. Rose had made it clear she had no wish to discuss that aspect of their relationship with her daughter and Lizzie certainly had no wish to tread ground that risked raising questions about where she’d stayed on all the other nights she had claimed to be working when they were secrets lovers.

As her mother liked to say, some things were better left unsaid.

This was one of those occasions, and Lizzie pondered just how much the sage wisdom suited her double life. There was so much her mother didn’t know, and even if she wanted to tell her about her posting to Switzerland, the Official Secrets Act forbade it. This mission shouldn’t be as dangerous as the others, but she still would assume a false name and identity. They could take no risks of connecting Elizabeth Gale to the Beaumont family in London or to the SOE.

The following morning, Lizzie shrugged her woollen coat on and fastened the buttons. Fortunately, London wasn’t suffering freezing temperatures, but the early morning winter gloom was damp and chilly. ‘I’d better go, or I’ll be late.’

Jack wound Lizzie’s scarf carefully around her neck and pulled her closer for a kiss. ‘Enjoy Swiss Finishing School, darling, and I’ll see you this evening for dinner.’

That’s what they called the intensive training she must undergo to prepare for her mission. She was fluent in French and experienced as a translator from her stint at the War Office before the SOE recruited her, and her German was sufficient for the new role, but there were always local nuances to grasp when assuming a cover identity in a new city. Lizzie must be completely believable as a Foreign Office employee with knowledge of wartime commerce.

‘At least I don’t have to pretend to be Swiss. I don’t think I could pull that off.’

Jack scratched his morning stubble and narrowed his eyes. ‘If I were a betting man, I would put money on the fact that you could, but I admit I’m happy you won’t have to try. I’m sleeping much better just knowing you’ll be on neutral territory and won’t be at the mercy of the bastard Boche.’

‘For once, you won’t have to worry. What will you do with all that free time when I’m away?’ Lizzie teased.

‘What free time? Besides, it’s my job to make sure you are safe, and I take it very seriously,’ Jack said, lighting a cigarette and exhaling a swirl of smoke that slid towards the ceiling. ‘But it is a great relief to know you’ll be operating under the umbrella of the British Legation.’

‘Does it give me full diplomatic immunity?’ she asked.

Jack shook his head. ‘Not full. That’s only for the ministers. You’ll still have to watch your step, but that shouldn’t be a problem within the scope of your mission. You’ll be digging quietly behind the scenes, not infiltrating Nazi circles or setting up Resistance networks.’

Jack saw her off at the door. ‘I’ll follow shortly.’

It was now common knowledge they were engaged, but they were still discreet and went into work separately after they spent the night together.