someone had been watching. She whispered the mission password, ‘Aztec.’
The door opened wider and Natalia went in, the others following. For a moment they were in complete darkness. Then a light was switched on and they saw they were in a small room with battered furniture, photographs on the mantelpiece. A stocky man in his forties in a heavy blue jersey stood in the middle of the room. His face was lined and weatherbeaten, stubble on his seamed cheeks, but his small, dark eyes were sharp and alert as he looked them over. ‘Any problems?’ he asked quietly. His deep voice had a strong country accent.
‘None,’ Natalia said.
‘Anyone about?’
‘Nobody.’
‘We’ll go through to the back.’
They followed him into an untidy kitchen, smelling strongly of fish. He drew a pair of dirty curtains shut and waved them towards a wooden dining table where hard chairs and a couple of stools had been drawn up. ‘Sit down.’ He joined them at the table, gnarled hands clasped together.
‘All right,’ he said. ‘Give me your first names.’
They told him. ‘I’m Eddie. I’m a fisherman,’ he said. ‘I’m going to row you out to the submarine. I’ve a big old rowing boat, I’ve left it down at the beach. Some of you will have to help me row, we’re going out about a mile. I’ve got the bearings and a red torch to flash out to sea, when we get near. You’ll see the sub as we approach; it’s big. They’re expecting us at one a.m., we need to get rowing out by twelve thirty. It’s only just gone half past eleven, we’ve plenty of time.’ He nodded to the darkened kitchen window, and gave them a gap-toothed smile, his first sign of friendliness. ‘You need to know exactly where you’re going if you’re in a boat, there’s an old submerged pier out there. I’ve fresh clothes for you here, heavy dark clothes. You’ll need them, it’s going to be very cold out at sea. Understand?’
They all nodded silently.
‘We’ve had people walking up and down on the cliffs since morning with binoculars, there’s no sign of anything unusual out to sea. And the village has been quiet all day.’ He looked round them once more, his eyes lingering on Frank, as most people’s did. ‘Is everyone ready?’
‘Yes,’ Natalia said.
‘Has anyone any experience of rowing?’
David said, ‘I rowed for Oxford. Haven’t done much since, but it’ll come back.’
‘Good.’ Eddie picked up a pair of binoculars and slung them round his neck. ‘Go on up, then,’ he said. ‘Up and change. Men to the left room, women to the right.’
They went upstairs. Frank and David and Ben changed into thick sweaters in a tiny bedroom, then heavy trousers, boots and peaked caps. When they were finished Ben put his cap at a jaunty angle, grinned at them, and said, ‘All right, me hearties?’ in a mock-Long John Silver accent. David managed the flicker of a smile. He looked at Frank. ‘We’re going to be all right. We’re almost there now.’
Frank nodded. ‘You haven’t said much since we arrived,’ David said. ‘Sure you’re okay?’
‘Yes,’ Frank answered quietly.
They went back outside. Eddie took the lead. They walked down the main street in silence, then at a signal from him they crossed the coast road, which ran at right angles to the High Street. There was a hotel opposite, a sign hanging from a pole creaking gently in the light breeze from the sea. Next to it a sharply angled stone path led down towards the water, between high concrete banks. They followed Eddie down. At the bottom of the path was a promenade, bounded by cliffs on both sides. Steps could be seen leading down from the promenade to the little beach. Eddie said, ‘Wait here a moment. I’ll look around. Get your eyes accustomed to the dark.’
He went forward, the rest of them standing at the end of the path, between the high banks. There was no light now, apart from the half-moon which made a long pencil of silvery light on the sea. Frank, looking at the others, felt a sudden sense of distance, as though none of this were anything to do with him any more. He thought suddenly of his flat in Birmingham. He would never see it again. He realized he didn’t care.
He heard Sarah speak quietly to David. ‘I was just thinking of Mrs Templeman. I don’t know why. I suppose I wonder what she’d think of it all.’
‘She’d think we were doing the right thing.’
‘And Charlie?’
‘A great adventure.’ There was a catch in David’s voice.
Eddie returned. ‘It looks all clear,’ he said quietly. ‘We’re going to cross the promenade and go down the steps to the beach. Come on now, follow me. Slowly now, one at a time, don’t rush.’
David watched as Ben followed Eddie out onto the promenade. Frank was next, then Sarah. He was about step forward himself when he felt Natalia’s hand on his arm. He looked round. He couldn’t see her face properly in the shadowed mouth of the pathway but it looked serious, grave.
‘Listen, David,’ she said quickly. ‘We’ve only a moment. I’m not coming with you.’
He stared blankly. ‘What do you mean? You must—’
‘I don’t want to go to America. That’s not where the struggle is. It’s here, in Europe, the climax is coming at last. I have to be part of it. I’m going back to London. And you – you belong with your wife.’
‘But why—’
She put her finger to his lips. It tasted of the salty air. Her brown hair stirred in the breeze. ‘Your friend Frank came to see me.’ She smiled wryly. ‘What he said tipped the balance. And – I could never settle to a safe life again, even with you. Every time I thought I had one, you see, it was taken away.’
Footsteps could be heard coming back from the promenade; the others would be wondering why they hadn’t appeared. Natalia said, ‘Ben is in charge from now on.’ She grasped David’s arms and kissed him quickly. He saw tears shining in those slightly slanted eyes. She said, quietly, ‘
He held her. ‘What did you say?’
‘It’s what your mother said to you. It means “I love you”. Forgive me for not telling you before.
‘It’s Natalia,’ David said. ‘She’s not coming, she’s staying behind.’
‘Jesus.’ Ben hesitated for a moment, looking up the path.
‘She said you’re in charge now. Come on,’ David added, quietly, a catch in his voice. ‘I never even knew her last name.’
‘Naebody did.’
Then Sarah appeared at the mouth of the pathway, Frank and Eddie beside her. Eddie asked anxiously, ‘What happened?’
‘Natalia’s stayin’ behind,’ Ben answered.
Sarah looked at her husband. ‘Why?’
Ben said, ‘Never mind. She’s gone. I’m in charge now. Come on.’
The five of them crossed the promenade and descended a flight of stone steps, clinging to a slippery metal rail. The whispering line of the surf was surprisingly close, the tide high. Eddie pointed over to a large, dark, concrete groyne about twenty yards away. The moonlight cast a shadow beside it. ‘The boat’s over there,’ he said quietly. ‘Let’s go and get it upright. It’s gone a quarter past twelve.’
They walked the short distance to the boat, their feet crunching on the shingle. It was hard keeping their balance in the dark; Sarah almost slipped and David took her arm. She looked at him and nodded thanks.
Then all hell broke loose. The boat heaved up from below, knocking Eddie and Ben to the ground. A sudden blur of dark figures surrounded them and strong arms grasped David’s hands, pulling them behind him. Looking wildly to his left and right he saw that Sarah and Frank were similarly pinioned, held by men dressed in black clothes, with black balaclavas and blackened faces. A fourth man was dragging Eddie to his feet, while another struggled on the ground with Ben. Ben was strong but his assailant was stronger and a moment later he too was hauled to his feet, arms behind him.
There was a sixth man with them, stouter than the others. He stood by the boat, looking round. ‘There’s one missing,’ he said in a German accent. ‘The Resistance woman.’ He walked over to David, looked at him, nodded briefly. ‘Mr Fitzgerald. I recognize you from your photographs. Where is she?’
‘Who?’
