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After the annexation of Sudetenland last year, the German army invaded Czechoslovakia and declared it a German province of Moravia and Bohemia. The Czech president, Emil Hacha, had granted free access to the German troops after a meeting in Berlin with Hitler. Allegedly, Hitler threatened to bomb Prague unless Hacha allowed his troops into the country without opposing any resistance. After Hacha had fainted due to cardiac problems, he’d been taken care of by Hitler’s staff, and then he’d agreed to the Führer’s requests.
“He did it,” I muttered, lowering the newspaper. “Hitler claimed moreLebensraum, more vital space for his people, as he promised.”
“As I said. He’s looking at east Europe.” He slid on his jacket, colour returning to his face. “It can’t be a coincidence.”
“What?”
“Germany’s move on Czechoslovakia and the bombing of the mill.”
“How are they connected?”
He loomed over me, the weakness of a moment before gone. My fingers itched to brush his dark locks from his face, to make him feel safe and cared for, to tell him that it was all right to need comfort. How silly was that? The last person who needed that type of cuddle was Roy. Or was he?
“Germany threatens to start a war, and England loses the chance to produce more of her formidable warriors. How can it be a coincidence?” he said.
“I met Nathan. He said that a beast escaped last night after the explosion. They suspect the French.”
He scoffed. “Rubbish. No one is missing from Raven Park, and the French would never attack us.” He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. “I need you to distract one of the guards at the mill.”
“Me? How?”
He finished dressing. “Use your charm. Do whatever it takes. But the chap needs to be distracted long enough for me to sneak inside and then outside the mill without being noticed.”
“My charm? What charm?”
He didn’t smile. “Now, now. Don’t be silly.”
“I’m not. I’m serious.”
“So am I.” He stretched out an arm to touch my tiger pendant. “And you volunteered for the job.”
I frowned. He talked about charming people and snooping around as if it were easy. “I did, but this goes well beyond keeping our eyes open.”
He shot me a ‘how naïve you are’ look. “When Allen said that, he meant to dig deep. The special team from the Ministry of Defence isn’t going to tell him anything. He wants to know what happened. So do I.”
“Why don’t you turn into a chicken and sneak inside?” I waved a hand around.
He arched a brow. “First, I don’t turn into achicken. If I want to be a bird, I’ll transform into an eagle or a raven. And second, I tried, but my injuries have weakened me more than I thought.” He rubbed his chest. “I feel too much pain when I transform.”
That mollified me a little. Confound it. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Okay. I’ll be your charmer.”
~ * ~
MY CHARM MY foot. I hadn’t even known I was charming until Roy mentioned that. And even after that, I doubted he meant what I meant. Did I think I was an ugly hag? No. But I wasn’t Clare. Oh well. I wasn’t confident about my charm, that was all. But yes, I’d wanted to work with him, so I was ready to do the darn thing.
I tugged at my shirt as Roy and I walked along the path towards the mill. My white uniform was nothing special, baggy even, loose over my waist and hips. My red dress would give me a boost of confidence, but Roy had said that we didn’t need to attract attention, and that if I had worn that dress in the middle of a crisis, I would have attracted too much attention.
“I’m not sure about this,” I said, glancing at the metal fence. It had been hastily repaired with pieces of mismatched metal, but gaps dotted it. “I don’t think the chap will be charmed at all. Look at my hair. It’s all tangled.”
A soft chuckle came from him. “You really underestimate yourself, which is rather endearing, but not helpful when you’re a spy.”
I turned towards him. “Am I a spy now?”
“You surely are on the way to becoming one.”
Interesting piece of news. Pity that I didn’t know what to do with it.
“What am I supposed to say?” I asked.
