N Or M? Part 25

"Do you really?" said Sheila. "I can't think why. I've been perfectly foul to you both."

She paused and murmured: "But I am grateful."

Tuppence said: "We must find a nice partner to dance with you."

"I don't want to dance. I loathe dancing. I came just to see you two."

"You will like the partner we've asked to meet you," said Tuppence, smiling.

"I -" Sheila began. Then stopped - for Carl von Deinim was walking across the floor.

Sheila looked at him like one dazed. She muttered.

"You -"

"I, myself," said Carl.

There was something a little different about Carl von Deinim this evening. Sheila stared at him, a trifle perplexed. The colour had come up in her cheeks, turning them a deep glowing red.

She said a little breathlessly: "I knew that you would be all right now - but I thought they would still keep you interned?"

Carl shook his head.

"There is no reason to intern me."

He went on.

"You have got to forgive me, Sheila, for deceiving you. I am not, you see, Carl von Deinim at all. I took his name for reasons of my own."

He looked questioningly at Tuppence, who said: "Go ahead. Tell her."

"Carl von Deinim was my friend. I knew him in England some years ago. I renewed acquaintances.h.i.+p with him in Germany just before the war. I was there then on special business for this country."

"You were in the Intelligence?" asked Sheila.

"Yes. When I was there, queer things began to happen. Once or twice I had some very near escapes. My plans were known when they should not have been known. I realized that there was something very wrong and that 'the rot,' to express it in their terms, had penetrated actually into the service in which I was. I had been let down by my own people. Carl and I had a certain superficial likeness (my Grandmother was a German), hence my suitability for work in Germany. Carl was not a n.a.z.i. He was interested solely in his job - a job I myself had also practised - research chemistry. He decided, shortly before war broke out, to escape to England. His brothers had been sent to concentration camps. There would, he thought, be great difficulties in the way of his own escape, but in an almost miraculous fas.h.i.+on all these difficulties smoothed themselves out. The fact, when he mentioned it to me, made me somewhat suspicious. Why were the authorities making it so easy for von Deinim to leave Germany when his brothers and other relations were in concentration camps and he himself was suspected because of his anti-n.a.z.i sympathies? It seemed as though they wanted him in England for some reason. My own position was becoming increasingly precarious. Carl's lodgings were in the same house as mine and one day I found him, to my sorrow, lying dead on his bed. He had succ.u.mbed to depression and taken his own life, leaving a letter behind which I read and pocketed.

"I decided then to effect a subst.i.tution. I wanted to get out of Germany - and I wanted to know why Carl was being encouraged to do so. I dressed his body in my clothes and laid it on my bed. It was disfigured by the shot he had fired into his head. My landlady, I knew, was semi-blind.

"With Carl von Deinim's papers I travelled to England and went to the address to which he had been recommended to go. That address was Sans Souci.

"Whilst I was there I played the part of Carl von Deinim and never relaxed. I found arrangements had been made for me to work in the chemical factory there. At first I thought that the idea was I should be compelled to do work for the n.a.z.is. I realized later that the part for which my poor friend had been cast was that of scapegoat.

"When I was arrested and faked evidence. I said nothing. I wanted to leave the revelation of my own ident.i.ty as late as possible. I wanted to see what would happen.

"It was only a few days ago that I was recognized by one of our people and the truth came out."

Sheila said reproachfully: "You should have told me."

He said gently: "If you feel like that - I am sorry."

His eyes looked into hers. She looked at him angrily and proudly - then the anger melted. She said: "I suppose you had to do what you did..."

"Darling -"

He caught himself up.

"Come and dance..."

They moved off together.

Tuppence sighed.

"What's the matter?" said Tommy.

"I do hope Sheila will go on caring for him now that he isn't a German outcast with everyone against him."

"She looks as though she cared all right."

"Yes, but the Irish are terribly perverse. And Sheila is a born rebel."

"Why did he search your room that day? That's what led us up the garden path so terribly."

Tommy gave a laugh.

"I gather he thought Mrs Blenkensop wasn't a very convincing person. In fact - while we were suspecting him he was suspecting us."

"Hallo, you two," said Derek Beresford as he and his partner danced past his parents' table. "Why don't you come and dance?"

He smiled encouragingly at them.

"They are so kind to us, bless 'em," said Tuppence.

Presently the twins and their partners returned and sat down.

Derek said to his father: "Glad you got a job all right. Not very interesting, I suppose?"

"Mainly routine," said Tommy.

"Never mind, you're doing something. That's the great thing."

"And I'm glad mother was allowed to go and work, too," said Deborah. "She looks ever so much happier. It wasn't too dull, was it, mother?"

"I didn't find it at all dull," said Tuppence.

"Good," said Deborah. She added, "When the war's over, I'll be able to tell you something about my job. It's really frightfully interesting, but very confidential."

"How thrilling," said Tuppence.

"Oh, it is! Of course, it's not so thrilling as flying -"

She looked enviously at Derek.

She said, "He's going to be recommended for -"

Derek said quickly: "Shut up, Deb."

Tommy said: "Hallo, Derek, what have you been up to?"

"Oh, nothing much - sort of show all of us are doing. Don't know why they pitched on me," murmured the young airman, his face scarlet. He looked as embarra.s.sed as though he had been accused of the most deadly of sins.

He got up and the fair-haired girl got up too.

Derek said: "Mustn't miss any of this - last night of my leave."

"Come on, Charles," said Deborah.

The two of them floated away with their partners.

Tuppence prayed inwardly: "Oh, let them be safe - don't let anything happen to them..."

She looked up to meet Tommy's eyes. He said, "About that child - shall we?"

"Betty? Oh. Tommy, I'm so glad you've thought of it, too! I thought it was just me being maternal. You really mean it?"

"That we should adopt her? Why not? She's had a raw deal, and it will be fun for us to have something young growing up."

"Oh, Tommy!"

She stretched out her hand and squeezed his. They looked at each other.

"We always do want the same things," said Tuppence happily.

Deborah, pa.s.sing Derek on the floor, murmured to him: "Just look at those two - actually holding hands! They're rather sweet, aren't they. We must do all we can to make up to them for having such a dull time in this war..."