Beneath Gray Skies (26 page)

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V
irginia came into the room about an hour later. She said nothing, but looked at Christopher and nodded significantly in Henry’s direction. Christopher nodded back.

Henry caught the exchange and smiled. “Virginia, Christopher’s already told me the good news. I can’t decide who’s the luckier of the pair of you, but I’d like to wish you both every happiness for the future.”

“Why, thank you,” replied Virginia, and came over to kiss the blushing Henry on the cheek.

“I’m going to change the subject completely, if you’ll forgive me,” said Henry. “For your information, Virginia, it appears that the Confederate airship base is going to be in Cordele, Georgia.”

“That’s really interesting,” said Virginia. “How lucky that we have someone who knows the town and the area,” and she smiled at Christopher, who smiled back.

“You do realize, you two, that I’m going to have to tell London about the approaching nuptials, don’t you? It’s going to be one of the most difficult reports I’ve ever had to write in my entire life, and I can tell you, I’ve had some real stinkers.”

“Poor Henry,” soothed Virginia. “But I’m sure you’ll manage.”

“I’m sure I will,” agreed Henry. “But before I do that, I want to know all about Cordele. I know it has railways running through it, but I want to know what else is interesting about the place, and what we should know about it. Come on, Christopher, let me know everything there is to know about Cordele.”

“
I think I understand you, sir.”
“I hope you bloody well do.”

C
 put the report from Washington down on the polished desk.

“This Service is getting more and more bizarre by the day. Curiouser and curiouser, wouldn’t you say, Parkes?”

C’s assistant, who had read Dowling’s report before passing it over, shook his head in agreement. “I have to agree with you, sir. I thought I’d seen most things in my time here, but this really does take the cake.”

“I must say, I liked the look of that Pole chappie when he was over here. Nicely spoken and a quick mind, and I have to say that I’m delighted to hear that he’s done so well for himself. If he does take over his wife’s job in this liaison business, then that’s a real plus for us, having someone who owes us a few favors, and will help us when we need it.”

“What about the other big surprise?”

“Oh, Bloody Brian, you mean? Officially, he’s nothing to do with us any more, ever since that fiasco in Berlin. But it really is an incredible coincidence, his being in the very house where Dowling was visiting Pole’s—what do I call this Miss—” he peered at the report again “Justin?”

“Ex-mistress sounds a bit bawdy, I think, sir, and ex-owner makes him sound like a piece of property.”

C’s voice was angry. “God damn it, Parkes, that’s exactly what the poor beggar was—property, like a horse or a chair or something.”

“A clever idea of Dowling’s, using the delivery of a wedding invitation as an excuse to get down to Cordele for a dekko, you must admit, sir.”

“Yes, it was.” C was not to be deflected from his tirade. “And there are millions of other poor souls in the same position as Pole used to be. That’s why we don’t have too many ties with those bastards in the Confederacy. We need some representation, I suppose, which is why we have a Legation in Richmond, but I would be most upset if we were ever to send a full ambassador there, or to accept their ambassadors here. So, I am happy to say, are our lords and masters. Every time it comes up in Cabinet it is promptly shot down in flames.”

“A happy metaphor, if I may say so, sir, considering the matter under discussion.”

“Oh, you mean the airship business, don’t you? Let’s come back to that later, shall we? Now where was I before you sidetracked me? Oh yes, Dowling meeting Finch-Malloy, who’s disguised as a Cajun or something. Do you know what one of those is, by the way?”

“It’s a term used to describe a French-speaking inhabitant of Louisiana who came down from Acadia in Canada in the 18th century. The term ‘Acadian’ got corrupted to Cajun.”

C looked at his assistant curiously. “Did you know that already, Parkes?” he asked.

“No, sir. I had to look it up,” he confessed.

“So did I, Parkes,” admitted C. “I wonder what the accent sounds like? Bloody Brian shouldn’t have much problem there. How many languages does he speak?”

“The file says five fluently, and ten to a lesser degree.”

“Hmph. Most people who speak a number of languages are only good at languages. Finch-Malloy does have other talents. I have to admit. Turning up in unexpected places and causing a certain degree of chaos wherever he goes seem to be two of them.”

“If you say so, sir.”

C was off again. “That little place seems to be taking on a lot of importance, ever since the Germans selected it as their airship terminal. Full of Germans and Confederate Army, it seems. And their slaves. Can you imagine, Parkes?” C’s voice rose in disbelief. “Can you imagine an army that runs itself using slaves?”

“No, sir, I have to admit that I can’t.”

“It makes my blood boil to think about it. Anyway, there’s this enormous shed going up near the river there, like the ones at Cuxhaven in the war, if you remember them. And they’re building a pipeline from Texas to Cordele, and then they’re going to get this special gas out of it to fill up the Zeppelins. That’s a lot of work, all happening at very high speed, it seems. And a lot of strange people in town.”

“No wonder Dowling was able to get all the details of this information so easily. There must be a lot of strangers in town to talk to.”

“Hard to hide a project that size, Parkes. It’s not a big town. What with the soldiers and the Germans, the population’s probably doubled overnight. Everyone must be talking about it.”

“Anyway, Dowling must have had the shock of his life, walking into this woman’s house and seeing Finch-Malloy sitting there, sir?”

“I’m sure he did, Parkes.”

“It’s extremely convenient for us, isn’t it, sir?”

“It would be convenient, I suppose, if their bloody police weren’t watching the place night and day. But it’s much too risky for Finch-Malloy to have anything to do with us. Even if he was officially connected with us, which I must remind you once again that he isn’t,” C added sternly. “I’m most surprised, I admit, that Dowling was able to get permission from them for this Miss Justin to travel up north for the wedding. I assume he had to lie through his teeth to get it to happen. Just how, I have no idea, and I don’t want to know. Henry Dowling can be a very tricky bugger when he chooses to be, Parkes. Be thankful that he is on our side, just like Bloody Brian. I wouldn’t want him to be working for the opposition.”

“Going back to this airship business, sir? What do we do now the Germans have started to build this terminal at Cordele, and the Confeds have started their gas production plant there?”

“I really have to agree with Dowling. It’s an enormous propaganda coup to have a fast, safe regular airship service across the Atlantic. It makes both Nazi Germany and the Confederacy look legitimate and respectable. And I don’t like the idea of legitimizing either of them. Speaking personally, of course, Parkes. As a servant of HM Government, of course I don’t hold any political views. But as an ordinary human being, what I hear about both those places makes my blood boil, and I would welcome almost any chance to humiliate them.”

“So Dowling’s idea of wrecking the airship service before it starts is to go ahead, sir?”

“I didn’t say that, Parkes,” snapped C. “I don’t like the idea of Dowling starting to play around with this kind of thing, or even worse, allowing the Yankees to do it for him. I know that what he’s proposing is a bloodless sabotage operation against the machines and facilities, and not against the people, but let us suppose there was some kind of accident in which many people were killed, and the blame was shifted to us? Where would we be then?”

“Would we care? Especially if the Nazi bigwigs were on board the airship?”

“Don’t tempt me, Parkes. Don’t tempt me. Yes, I saw that report from Berlin, and it is a very interesting thought indeed. What on earth do you think is the big secret about the cargo they’re sending over?”

“I really have no idea.”

“Nor me. However, there is no way I can give any official sanction to any such idea of sabotage. Nor can I give any official sanction to Finch-Malloy working for us in the future.” C stressed the word ‘official’ both times.

“I think I understand you, sir.”

“I hope you bloody well do, Parkes. Make sure my position is carefully explained to Henry Dowling in Washington as soon as possible.”

“
What would I like in a perfect world? A great fiery explosion, destroying the pride of the German airship fleet, and taking all the top Nazis with it.”

“
I
really don’t know how you Britishers do it,” exclaimed Vernon Gatt. Dowling had just informed him of the presence of Brian Finch-Malloy in Cordele at a private meeting where only the two of them were present. “You people get everywhere without us noticing. So what are we going to do about this latest amazing piece of good fortune down in Cordele?”

“Alas, my hands are tied,” exclaimed Dowling theatrically, spreading them wide to indicate the opposite. “My instructions from London made it perfectly clear that our ex-agent was not to be employed by me in this business.”

“But if he were to be employed by someone else?” half-suggested Gatt, gazing out of the window at the street below. “Is that going to be possible?”

“He is, after all, an ex-agent of my Service,” Dowling reminded him. “He is no longer employed by us. We have no claim on what he can and cannot do after he leaves our employ.” This was not strictly true, thought Dowling, when he considered the manifold complexities of the British Official Secrets Act. Arranging for Christopher to leave the British Service and join the American counterpart, which would happen in a few weeks, had taken all of Dowling’s considerable skills in bureaucratic infighting.

“I hear you,” said Gatt, making an indecipherable hieroglyphic note in his notebook.

“Vernon?” asked Henry. “Don’t be offended, but I would like to know how many men you have in Cordele right now?”

“The only answer I am allowed to give to that question, my friend, is ‘not nearly enough of them’. And don’t ask me questions like that, or I might be tempted to ask how many agents you have in the White House. I sure envy you your people’s ability to get into the places where you’re not meant to be.”

“The man’s not one of ‘my people’ any more,” pointed out Dowling significantly. “And we had nothing to do with his being there right now.”

“How would you get in contact with him if you had to do so? I’m speaking totally hypothetically, you understand.”

“I think the easiest way would be to sound out Miss Justin when she comes up for Christopher and Virginia’s wedding next week and see if she would act as some sort of go-between on our behalf.”

“Ah, yes. That.” Vernon Gatt frowned. “Tell me, Henry, what do you really think about all this wedding business?”

“With all my heart, I’m delighted for Christopher. And Virginia, of course,” Dowling added quickly. “I don’t think you’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to him as I have. He’s a charming young man with a first-class mind, Virginia seems to be a delightful young lady who likewise enjoys a lively intelligence, and to my mind they make a wonderful couple. If anyone is stupid enough to make any criticisms on the grounds of his race or her race, that’s their affair. I have to admit that I am personally most curious to meet Miss Justin, who seems to be responsible for bringing out the best in Christopher.”

“I fear that you are a lot more tolerant about this matter than the Wassersteins’ friends and acquaintances are likely to be.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about that. Virginia is perfectly capable of giving as good as she gets in that regard. Speaking cynically, money is one of the great levelers, you know, and that’s something that they’ll never be short of.”

“I suppose you’re right there, Henry. Cigar?” Gatt offered a fine Cuban cigar, which Dowling accepted. The two men took their time preparing and lighting their cigars and sat back.