‘Which,’ Cal growled, ‘was perfectly obvious a year ago to anyone who looked at a map.’
‘Politicians are strange creatures. Chamberlain is now acting as if Munich was a deliberate policy to gain time to rearm, instead of what it really was, the worst piece of diplomacy our country has ever engaged in.’
‘What did you do about McKevitt?’
‘Treated him as a hero externally and a warning internally. No point in washing our dirty linen in public, but he has served to remind those who incline to ill discipline that the end result is unpleasant.’
‘What drove him?’
‘Ah, what else but that madness which afflicts Irishmen on occasions? He was sure those machine guns were going to the IRA and he set out to stop it by diverting them to the Jeunesses Patriotes.’
‘Who would have used them on their own government.’
‘A notion which did not bother McKevitt one bit!’ Quex snapped. ‘Then I became the target of his ambition, an affliction which progressively warped his judgement, I fear.’
‘He’s not unique in SIS?’
‘Sadly no; but anyway, now to business, because you cannot stay here until you are fully recovered. The Germans will move into Eger within days.’
‘I’m feeling pretty good,’ Cal said.
‘Your physician does not agree. What we are planning to do is employ an ambulance to get you both back home and your doctors will travel with you, all covered by diplomatic immunity.’
‘That’s a lot of money, sir.’
‘On the contrary, Peter, the doctors have no desire to be here when the SS arrive, both being social democrats. They and their wives, who will be designated as nurses, will be much happier domiciled in England and for that their services are free. Their children we will get out by normal channels.’
There was a pause to allow him to be smug. ‘And now we come to you, Mr Jardine.’
‘The Tower, I expect.’
‘An amusing and tempting idea, but not sound.’ There was another pause, to gather his thoughts. ‘You are the possessor of skills that are in short supply and, I might add, skills we are going to need very sorely in the coming years. It has occurred to me that having someone of your ability inside the tent might be better than having you running around outside.’
‘Are you offering me employment?’
‘Don’t pay him,’ Peter snapped, ‘he doesn’t need it.’
That got a thin smile. ‘There is a war coming, Mr Jardine, and we can do nothing to avoid it. I am too old to be entering such a cataclysm. Peter will prosper both through his brains and his judgement.’
That got a raspberry from Cal.
‘But you and your type are needed, Mr Jardine.’
‘Type?’
‘Killers. Or should I say imaginative eradicators of human vermin.’
‘You should look after General Moravec, he’s got some good people and he is, as I know to my cost, a wily old bugger.’
‘Already arranged; he will come to England when the Germans take the rest of the Czech lands.’
‘His agents?’ Cal was thinking of Veseli.
‘His to decide on.’ Quex stood. ‘Now I must go and seek to advise a government intent on adding to their foolishness.’
‘Not possible.’
‘Oh it is, Mr Jardine. They are talking about guaranteeing Poland’s borders.’
‘Vince, in my bag is a fortune in German marks. Could you do me a favour and take it to Prague and then fly home from there? Give it to Elsa Ephraim at the Jewish Emigration Centre and tell her it comes from the Reichsbank. She will be tickled to think she’s using their money to get her people to freedom.’
The last person to talk to was Corrie and she was very mature. ‘You’re not free to marry and I’m not willing to give up my career.’
‘So how do we stay in touch?’
She tapped her forehead. ‘Up here, Cal, up here, where there are good memories. And – who knows? – we are flotsam who gravitate towards war zones. We both like trouble, so I guess we will meet more often than you think possible.’
‘I hope you believe me when I say I want that.’
She bent forward and kissed him. ‘Take care, Doc.’
About the Author
JACK LUDLOW is the pen-name of writer David Donachie, who was born in Edinburgh in 1944. He has always had an abiding interest in history: the Roman Republic, Medieval warfare as well as the naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which he has drawn on for the many historical adventure novels he has set in these periods. David lives in Deal with his partner, the novelist Sarah Grazebrook.
By Jack Ludlow
THE ROADS TO WARSERIES
The Burning Sky
A Broken Land
A Bitter Field
THE REPUBLIC SERIES
The Pillars of Rome
The Sword of Revenge
The Gods of War
THE CONQUEST SERIES
Mercenaries
Warriors
Conquest
Written as David Donachie
THE JOHN PEARCE SERIES
By the Mast Divided
A Shot Rolling Ship
An Awkward Commission
A Flag of Truce
The Admirals’ Game
An Ill Wind
Blown Off Course
Enemies at Every Turn
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
13 Charlotte Mews
London W1T 4EJ
www.allisonandbusby.com
First published Great Britain in 2012.
This ebook edition first published in 2012.
Copyright © 2012 by DAVID DONACHIE
(writing as JACK LUDLOW)
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–1176–5
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
EPILOGUE
About the Author
By Jack Ludlow
Copyright