‘Frightfully clumsy.’
I was surprised that Eduard would give me an alibi instead of exposing my lies. I forced a weak smile, hoping Claudine didn’t see through it.
‘Coffee?’ I offered, although I wasn’t sure if I wanted either of them in my home.
Claudine winced. ‘I’ll make it.’
She pottered around my kitchen while I retreated to my parlour. Eduard sat in the armchair, watching while I paced around the room. I didn’t know how to react. His absence had been a palpable force and I wasn’t certain how things stood between us.
I halted in front of him, standing with my good hand on my hip.
‘Why are you here?’
‘The door was open.’
‘That’s not what I asked. Why are you here, Eduard?’
I jerked my head to the kitchen, asking why he’d given me the alibi. He shrugged and gave my half-empty glass a flat look. Damned if I’d let him judge me, I drained the blasted thing. And refilled it. Let him comment on that. Sensibly, he refrained.
‘You should have sent word – I would have picked you up at the hospital.’
‘After our last conversation?’
He raised an eyebrow, as if that was an answer. It wasn’t. We sat in awkward silence until Claudine bustled into the parlour and set the tray on the table. The rich smell of coffee wafted through the room and I breathed deep enough to cause a stab of pain to shoot through my ribs.
‘Careful,’ Eduard murmured.
‘So what news, Herr Major?’ Claudine asked. ‘I heard there was quite a bit of excitement at the embassy the other day.’
I closed my eyes, allowing their words to wash over me. Sipped the coffee and expected to hear news of Italy.
Instead Eduard said, ‘Yes, Bendixen was quite inconvenienced by it.’
‘By what?’ I asked, suddenly interested.
‘Oh, that’s right. You were in the hospital,’ Claudine said. Eduard remained silent as she explained. ‘The PVDE raided his home, and the villa next door. It would seem they found evidence that he had people watching the ports and relaying information to the Luftwaffe.’
People like Bertie’s contact Pires. Was this before or after Rios Vilar issued his last warning? That raid would have upped the stakes between the Germans and the Allies, perhaps causing the increased tensions he noted? I made a note to contact Bertie and see what he knew of this.
‘Ah,’ I said, my voice calm, although my mind raced. ‘Didn’t someone mention that at a party not too long ago?’
‘Well, of course,’ Claudine said, ‘we all knew about it, but for the Portuguese to have evidence? Now that Mussolini has been deposed? It not something Dr Salazar can ignore.’
Eduard’s face was still closed, but the way he watched me made me wonder if he thought I’d had a role in the raid. For that matter, so did I. Had Matthew taken my news seriously enough to act on it so quickly?
‘What sort of evidence could they have found?’ I asked.
‘Copies of what appeared to be transmissions,’ Eduard finally said.
Ah. Well then, God bless German efficiency. Duplicates and triplicates of everything.
Another thought, less welcome, came to mind.
‘Eduard, what will this mean for you?’
‘The raid on Bendixen’s villa?’ He shrugged. ‘Nothing, as far as I know. I am with the Abwehr, not Naval Operations.’
‘What do you think will happen?’
‘I would guess that a case will be made at the Portuguese High Court. If the evidence is solid and if the case goes against us, those whose involvement can be proved will be evicted.’
Would Bertie’s name be on any list or was he too small fry?
Claudine flapped her hand. ‘It’s happened before – a slap on the wrist. Nothing more.’
‘As you just commented, the political climate is changing,’ he reminded her. ‘No assumptions can be made.’
‘Pah. You’ll see – Salazar will have it all thrown away.’
I shared a glance with Eduard, sensing that he lacked Claudine’s certainty.
‘Well,’ she said, standing up, ‘I’ll leave you then. You most likely have some catching up to do.’
And she had gossip to spread. Eduard saw her out of the door and locked it after her. I waited in the parlour. He hadn’t told Claudine the truth, but he was part of the Abwehr. Had he told anyone there about me?
I started with the easier question: ‘Why did you lie to Claudine?’
He didn’t answer at first. Took my brandy glass, sweating near the piano, and emptied it out of the window.
Not a good sign.
‘What lie? Did you not fall down the steps in the old castle?’ His voice was too cool, and I half-expected the next question. ‘What did you see at Bendixen’s villa, Solange?’
I made a face. ‘Haydn Schüller. Having your countess in the bushes.’ My eyes snapped open. ‘Haydn? He was coming from the other villa when he met Laura. Is he involved in this, then?’
Eduard shrugged. ‘Why were you following her?’
‘Following her?’ Sometimes a half-truth was useful. ‘Why on earth would I do that? It was warm inside. I went outside for a breath of fresh air. Only it wasn’t so fresh, and I came back inside rather than interrupt them.’ My moue of distaste was genuine enough. ‘Did I miss something interesting?’
‘More interesting than that? I should think not.’
I cleared my throat. ‘Then why did you ask? Do you think someone shot at us because they thought I saw something? Neither Laura nor Haydn have made any attempt to keep their affair a secret. What? You can’t possibly think someone was shooting at me?’
‘In truth, I did not.’ He leant against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. ‘But after your “accident” in the ruins, I do not know.’
‘Laura was outside as well. If someone shot at us because of something I may have seen, do you think they went after her too?’
Not for a moment did I believe that. Not when someone had shot at me at the monastery before Bendixen’s soirée. But Eduard
