Vandam laughed again. Elene thought: I could get fond of that laugh.
He said: 'Well, mundane though it is, will you do it?'
'I don't know.' But I do know she thought; I'm just trying to prolong the interview, because I'm enjoying myself.
Vandam leaned forward. 'I need people like you, Miss Fontana.' Her name sounded silly when he said it so politely. 'You're observant, you have perfect cover and you're obviously intelligent; please excuse me for being so direct-' 'Don't apologize, I love it,' she said 'Keep talking.'
'Most of my people are not very reliable. They do it for the money, whereas you have better motives'
'Wait a minute,' she interrupted. 'I want money, too. What does the job pay?'
'That depends on the information you bring in.'
'What'! The minimum?'
'Nothing.,'
'That's a little less than what I was hoping for.'
'How much do you want?'
'You might be a gentleman and pay the rent of my flat.' She bit her lip: it sounded so tarty, put like that.
'How much'
'Seventy-five a month.'
Vandam's eyebrows rose. 'What have you got, a palace?'
'Prices have gone up. Haven't you heard? It's all these English officers desperate for accommodation.'
'Touch&' He frowned. 'You'd have to be awfully useful to justify seventy-five a month.'
Elene shrugged. 'Why don't we give it a try?'
'You're a good negotiator.' He smiled. 'All right, a month's trial.'
Elene tried not to look triumphant. 'How do I contact you?'
'Send me a message.' He took a pencil and a scrap of paper from his shirt pocket and began to write. I'll give you my address and phone number, at GHQ and at home. As soon as I hear from you I'll come to your place.'
'All right.' She wrote down her address, wondering what the major would think of her flat. 'What if you're seen?'
'Will it matter?'
'I might be asked who you are.'
'Well, you'd better not tell the truth.'
She grinned. 'I'll say you're my lover.'
He looked away. 'Very well.'
'But you'd better act the part.' She kept a straight face. 'You must bring armfuls of flowers and boxes of chocolates.'
'I don't know---'
'Don't Englishmen give their mistresses flowers and chocolates?' He looked at her unblinkingly. She noticed that be had gray eyes. 'I don't know,' he said levelly. 'I've never had a mistress.'
Elene thought: I stand corrected. She said: 'Then you've got a lot to learn.'
'I'm sure. Would you like another drink?'
And now I'm dismissed, she thought. You're a little too much, Major Vandam: there's a certain self- righteousness about you, and you rather like to be in charge of things; you're so masterful. I may take you in hand, puncture your vanity, do you a little damage.
'No, thanks,' she said. 'I must go.'
He stood up. 'I'll look forward to hearing from you.'
She shook his hand and walked away. Somehow she had the feeling that he was not watching her go.
Vandam changed into a civilian suit for the reception at the Anglo-Egyptian Union. He would never have gone to the Union while his wife was alive: she said it was 'plebby.' He told her to say 'plebeian' so that she would not sound like a county snob. She said she was a county snob, and would he kindly stop showing off his classical education.
Vandam had loved her then and he did now.
Her father was a fairly wealthy man who became a diplomat because he had nothing better to do. He had not been pleased at the prospect of his daughter marrying a postman's son. He was not much mollified when he was told that Vandam had gone to a minor public school (on a scholarship) and London University, and was considered one of the most promising of his generation of junior army officers. But the daughter was adamant in this as in all things, and in the end the father had accepted the match with good grace. Oddly enough, on the one occasion when the fathers met they got on rather well. Sadly, the mothers hated each other and there were no more family gatherings.
None of it mattered much to Vandam; nor did the fact that his wife had a short temper, an imperious manner and an ungenerous heart. Angela was graceful, dignified and beautiful. For him she was the epitome of
