“When he’s finished, we need to get moving,” Anna said as she joined her again at the car. “You do understand why I’m so reluctant to go directly to the border?”
Evelyn nodded. “I understand. It is a risk I can’t afford to take, not until we have some kind of idea of how the Swedish government will react.”
“I wish I had a better plan to offer you. At least we’re moving north and towards higher ground. The mountains will offer more protection in the short term, until we can form a better plan of action.”
“What of Carew?” Evelyn glanced at her. “Have you contacted him?”
Anna shook her head. “When he finds out what’s going on, if he hasn’t already, he’ll know I’m helping get you to safety. There is nothing else I can do. I’ll be of no use to him now.”
“He’ll be evacuated to England. The entire embassy will be. They will be safe. They’re protected by international law.”
Anna let out a short laugh. “Yes, if Herr Hitler still respects that.”
Evelyn shrugged. “He did with Poland.”
“Probably because he doesn’t want to fall afoul of the United States.” Anna exhaled loudly and looked up at the sky. “God, what a mess. This is really not how I thought this night would go. When we left the hotel, I had no idea what we were in for.”
“Nor did I.” Evelyn was quiet for a moment, then she looked at Anna. “At least we had one last good meal.”
Anna was surprised into a laugh. “Very true. And Else was kind enough to put together that big basket of food for us. God bless her for that! Who knows if we’ll be able to get food as we go.”
Evelyn nodded, watching as Peder packed up his radio and came back towards the car.
“It’s done,” he told them. “Now we go?”
“Yes.” Anna nodded and turned to open the passenger door. “Let’s get out of here.”
Evelyn took one last look at the silent, dark water of the fjord. Beyond the shores, lurking in the darkness, were the forces that had been spawning warnings from all around Europe for weeks. Warnings that ambassadors and leaders alike had dismissed as unfounded and not credible. Warnings that had been ignored. A wave of anger went through her, making her inhale sharply as her hands clenched at her sides. Now German ships waited menacingly offshore to violate Norway's precious neutrality. Here was the invasion that everyone said was unlikely.
And she was stuck right in the middle of it.
Chapter Eighteen
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5 am
The door to the office swung open with force and Daniel Carew strode in, stripping off his gloves as he went, his face creased into lines of anxiety. He flipped on the light and tossed his gloves and hat onto a chair.
“What do we know?” he demanded, unbuttoning his coat. “Aside from the obvious fact that Jerry is banging on the front door, that is.”
“At 4:20, the old Oscarsborg Fortress on Drøbak Sound fired on a German cruiser,” his assistant said, following him into the office. “They hit the lead ship, the first of four so far. The shots caused heavy damage, but the ship continued on until it passed the torpedo installation of the fortress. The Norwegians fired two torpedoes, hitting the cruiser again. As of the last report, it is critically damaged and sinking.”
“And the other ships?”
“They’ve retreated and are landing troops outside the range of the Oscarsborg batteries.”
Daniel tossed his coat over the back of the chair and ran a hand over his face.
“And so it begins,” he said. “Do we have any word from the palace yet? How about the installations on the west coast? What else do we know?”
“Not much yet,” the young man replied. “The phones and machines are going berserk with sightings and landings, but it’s all rather a mess. This is all we have so far.”
He handed him a stack of messages. Daniel took them and strode around his desk to his chair, flipping through them as he went.
“The King has issued orders to resist,” he said unnecessarily, dropping into his seat. “Good. That will give London and Paris time to respond.”
“Yes, sir.” His assistant cleared his throat. “Because the battery at Drøbak slowed down the initial landing in Oslo, it gives the King and his government time to evacuate before the Germans arrive.”
Daniel glanced up and nodded.
“Thank God. If the Jerries get hold of King Haakon, it’s all over. It’s amazing those old weapons at Drøbak are still functioning. Stroke of luck, that was, especially considering the entire fortress is manned by trainees and fresh recruits.” He finished scanning the messages in his hand and then tossed them onto his desk, exhaling heavily. “You’re right. These are a mess. I can’t make head or tail of where the Germans are right now. According to these, they’re everywhere.”
“Yes, sir.”
Daniel stared at the top of his desk pensively for a long moment, then looked up at his assistant.
“The Norwegians won’t be able to hold out for long,” he finally said, “if at all. The city is protected by unseasoned soldiers. All of those with any experience and training are in the north. We have to assume that Oslo will be occupied by the end of the day. We’ll proceed with the appropriate protocols. Gather anything sensitive from your office and bring it here. We’ll go through it all and destroy what we can. I’ll do the same in here.”
“What about the civilians who work with us?” The assistant asked. “Like Miss Salveson?”
Daniel glanced up and a fleeting smile crossed his lips.
“Worried about her, are you?” he asked. “Yes. I can see why. Send someone round to her apartment to get her. She will be better served to flee the city, but if she chooses to stay, she can hunker down here with us. Perhaps we can get her out when we go.”
The young man nodded and turned towards the door. Before he had gone
