The Courier
CW Browning
About The Courier
Before there is war, there are those willing to fight...no matter the cost.
France, 1938. While Hitler rebuilds Germany, and French and English leaders focus on appeasement, one man risks everything to smuggle information out of Munich – and into the hands of a young woman.
Evelyn Ainsworth is enjoying a carefree summer with her relatives in the high society of Paris. When her father stops to visit on his way from London to Prague, she never dreams that one favor for him will change her life forever. For beneath the glittering gaiety on the continent, a menacing shadow is growing. While many choose to look the other way, there are some who are desperate to combat the growing evil.
And others even more desperate to empower it.
Offered a chance to make a difference, Evelyn is drawn unexpectedly into a world she didn’t know existed. A world where war is much closer than anyone thinks, information is gold…
…and no one is safe.
Author’s Note:
In 1938, England and France were trying desperately to avoid another war. Still reeling from the long-lasting effects of the First World War and the Great Depression, neither country wanted another expensive military conflict. With unemployment at an all-time high, and their citizens increasingly looking to communism and socialism for answers, both governments felt that it was in their best interest to appease Adolf Hitler, rather than oppose him. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain believed fervently in the policy of appeasement, trusting Hitler’s promises of peace for Europe, and guided England accordingly.
Not all members of the British Parliament were convinced. A few stood firm in the belief that another war with Germany would be inevitable if Hitler were not stopped. With little encouragement from the government, and even less funding, it was left to them to try to prepare for a war while the rest of the world actively tried to avoid it. They were not alone, however. The coming conflict would ultimately be won by the ordinary men and women who stepped up to do extraordinary things in defense of their countries and their freedom – often at the cost of their own lives.
It is to the memory of those fearless men and women that this series is dedicated.
Table of Contents
The Courier
Author’s Note:
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
About the Author
Note from Author:
“Whoever lights the torch of war in Europe can wish for nothing but chaos.”
~ Adolph Hitler, Speech to the Reichstag in Berlin May 1935
Prologue
Tai Po District, Hong Kong: 1930
Two young people raced across the grassy clearing, ducking behind a row of thick hedgerows along the outer edge, breathing heavily. The girl’s hair had partially slipped out of her ponytail and the boy looked at her, trying to catch his breath.
“No fair!” he exclaimed. “You cheated. I wasn’t ready!”
“Sssshhhh!” The girl shushed him, pulling him down further behind the bushes. “Do you want them to hear you?”
“Who?” the boy obediently lowered his voice. “What are you talking about?”
“This is what I wanted to show you,” she whispered. “Look!”
She pointed through a break in the hedge and they both peered through the greenery. An immense garden was on the other side, and in the center, a large square area had been marked out with gray stones and the grass inside was worn down. There, within the square, twelve people were dressed in identical robes and stood in four rows. A taller man stood facing them in the front, his hands clasped behind his back. His garb was different from the others, similar in style but a different color.
The boy glanced at her. “What is it?”
“Some kind of class,” she whispered back. “Watch!”
The boy made a face but turned his gaze back to the strangely dressed people on the other side of the shrubbery. He still wasn’t used to the way they dressed here. He and his parents had been here for three months now, but he still thought it looked like the local people wore pajamas.
All thoughts of their strange clothing disappeared a second later as he watched the twelve people move in unison, lunging forward on their left leg and raising their hands in what looked like some kind of weird pose. He watched in awe as they went through a series of motions that were unlike anything he’d ever seen before.
“What is it?” he finally whispered, tearing his gaze away to find his companion watching intently, enthralled.
“I think it’s some sort of ancient fighting technique,” she whispered back. “I heard the one in the front instructing them the other day and was able to make out a few words.”
The boy stared at her, the class momentarily forgotten. “What? You understood him?”
She shrugged, never taking her eyes from the spectacle on the other side of the hedge.
“A little. Only a few words.”
“Does your father know that you come here, spying on the locals?” the boy demanded. “And that you’re trying to learn Cantonese?”
She looked at him, her blue eyes flashing.
“He knows I’m learning Cantonese. He encourages it. He says I have an ear for languages.”
“And does he also encourage you to sneak away from your tutors and leave the property to come spy on…on…whoever these people are?”
“Stephen Mansbridge, just because you’re fourteen doesn’t mean you can boss me around!” she said hotly, tossing her head. “I’m not hurting anyone.”
“What if you get caught?” Stephen asked, glancing at the people in the clearing. “That man watching from the back of the house doesn’t look very nice.”
The girl turned her gaze to the older man who sat on a stool under a tiled awning, watching the class in progress.
“I haven’t quite made up my mind who he is,” she said thoughtfully. “I don’t know if he’s another teacher, or if he’s like a patron. He never speaks,
