“The British have come!” he cried, a grin spreading over his face. “They’re here!”
Philip and Sal stopped and turned to look while Erik stared at him in astonishment.
“What?”
“Five British destroyers sailed into Narvik, trapping the German ships. They sank two of the German destroyers!”
“At Narvik?” The soldiers came forward quickly. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. It sounds like the British suffered losses as well, but two of the Germans ships have sunk.”
“What about the others?” Erik asked quickly.
“No word yet, but it’s a beginning.”
“Yes, it is,” Anna said, coming out behind him. “That’s fantastic news.”
“How did you come by it?” Erik demanded. “How did you hear this?”
“I’ve been listening to the Norwegian army frequency since last night,” Peder told him.
“You’ve been what?!”
Peder flushed and ran a hand over his hair, smoothing it down self-consciously.
“I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you’d look at me like that,” he said. “You never did like it when Kristian and I listened in on things you thought were none of our business.”
“That’s because it always landed you both in trouble and I had to get you out of it,” Erik retorted. “How did you get onto their frequency?”
Peder shrugged and turned away. “I’m not telling you,” he said over his shoulder. “Anyway, even if I did, you wouldn’t understand a word of it.”
Evelyn bit back a grin, eyeing Anna’s brother out of the corner of her eye. He looked somewhat dumbfounded.
“What else have you heard?” Philip asked. “Have you heard anything about Trondheim?”
“The Germans still have it, but there are pockets of fighting around it.” Peder paused in the door of the barn. “Most of your troops are making their way north.”
“Peder?” Erik stopped him when he would have continued into the barn. “Did you hear anything about the German positions?”
“I know they’re holding Trondheim and moving west and north along the fjord.”
“And south? Are they moving south as well?”
“Not that anyone’s said. There’s a formation moving up from Bergen, but they haven’t crossed Sognefjorden yet.”
Erik nodded slowly. “Good. That’s good.” He turned to look at Philip and Sal. “Go find the others. I want to get going.”
They nodded and turned once more to leave. He turned back to Peder.
“Keep listening, Peder. If we can find out where the Germans are, we can avoid them.”
Peder grinned. “That sounds good to me.”
He ducked into the barn and Evelyn glanced at Erik.
“Do you think we can avoid them and get through Trondheim?” she asked.
“Doubtful, but we may be able to navigate through their lines and go around.”
“If the British have ships in Narvik, they may also have ships going to Trondheim,” Anna said. “Maybe the Germans will be forced out.”
“If they are, they will be forced right into our path,” he replied grimly. “I don’t think we want that.”
“No, but this is still good news,” Evelyn said slowly. “Ships are already arriving with troops and supplies. You’re not alone anymore.”
He gave her an unreadable look. “Perhaps.”
“Oh Erik, stop being so dramatic,” Anna exclaimed. “You’re always looking at the bad side of things. Two German destroyers were sunk! This is a reason to celebrate, not look like we’re about to be shot.”
“I’ll celebrate when we kick the Nazis back to Germany.”
“That’s a fair statement,” Evelyn said. “Two sunk destroyers are good, but more would be better.”
“Oh don’t you start as well!” Anna threw up her hands. “Am I the only one who thinks this is fantastic news?”
“No. I think it’s wonderful news, but I can see your brother’s point,” Evelyn said with a shrug. “If all the German ships were sunk in Narvik, then we’d be going in the right direction.”
“This is a start!”
“Yes, it is.” She turned to go into the barn. “I’ll get my things together. Do you have everything ready to go?”
“Yes. I just have to grab my bag.”
“Hurry and get ready to leave,” Erik said. “The others will be back any minute. If you’re going to make Namsos by Sunday, we have a lot of ground to cover.”
London, England
Bill looked up when his office door opened and raised his eyebrows in surprise when Montclair walked in.
“Jasper!” he exclaimed, setting down the communication in his hand and standing up. “I thought you’d gone up to Whitehall for a meeting.”
“I did,” Jasper replied, walking over to one of the chairs before the desk. “I’ve just come back.”
He sat down and looked at Bill, his eyes sharp and keen. “How are you, Bill? Have you had lunch?”
Bill retook his seat and looked at him quizzically.
“It’s a bit late for lunch now,” he replied. “I’ll wait for dinner. I’m dining with Marguerite at Claridge’s.”
“I’ve heard from Wesley and a few of the others that you’re putting in long hours every day.”
“So are you. We all are. There’s a war on.”
“And it won’t be ending any time soon, not if Adolph Hitler has anything to say about it,” Jasper said, crossing his legs. “We’re in for the long haul, and exhausting ourselves this early in the game won’t do our people any favors. How many agents do you have abroad now? Ten?”
He nodded.
“I wonder if it won’t be best to move a few of them over to another handler. I don’t want you becoming overwhelmed and burned out, nor do I want Marguerite to begin to hate me. And she will, you know. The less she sees of you, the more she’ll resent me.”
“It’s only been a few days, Jasper. This is hardly business as usual. The Jerries caught us all off-guard with Norway, and I’ve got two agents still in Copenhagen. Marguerite understands that my work will keep me away at times. This is one of those times.”
Jasper studied him for a long moment. “This will become business as usual if we allow it to,” he finally said. “How many agents do you have in France?”
“Five, if you’re not counting people like Josephine Rousseau, who work for the Deuxième Bureau.”
“And Jian will make six?”
“Yes.”
“Where are the others?”
“Two in Copenhagen, one in Switzerland
