‘Never mind that – it suffices that I do know. Thalia – sweetheart, won’t you put me out of my suspense?’
‘You will – will not fear me as a wife?’
‘Fear you! I shall just adore you. You have told me you love me and—’
‘I love you so much,’ she whispered, ‘that it hurts. It will be the greatest of all bliss, I think, to be your wife.’
Without further hesitation, he swept her into his arms, and their lips met in a wonderful, ecstatic kiss.
How long they remained thus, utterly oblivious to the passing of time, neither of them ever knew. At length she stirred in his embrace; her hand caressed his cheek as she pushed him gently from her.
‘Raymond, my love,’ she asked softly, ‘why was it you spoke in English when you told me you loved me?’
He stiffened apprehensively.
‘Did I?’ he asked.
‘Yes; as if it was natural to you. You spoke with great emotion, and I think – yes, I am sure – it was your mother tongue that came to your lips. You are not an Austrian – you are English, are you not?’
It would have been absurd under the circumstances to deny it.
‘I am,’ he admitted.
‘Why did you deceive me?’ she questioned in reproachful tones.
He sought desperately for some way out that would not betray his calling, but the more he thought the deeper became his difficulty. Then suddenly came a surprising interruption.
‘I think, Hill,’ drawled a quiet, attractive voice in English, ‘that Miss Ictinos has proved that she is worthy to know the truth.’
Thalia started violently, and a little cry of fear broke from her lips. Hill stood dumbfounded; then:
‘Great heavens!’ he exclaimed forcibly. ‘It’s Sir—’
‘S’sh!’ warned the voice from the darkness. ‘Don’t mention my name please. Even trees can hear sometimes.’
‘Who is it?’ gasped Thalia.
A slight figure stepped forward from the deeper gloom. The girl felt her hand grasped, dimly discerned the newcomer bending over it.
‘Our last meeting was under rather unfortunate circumstances,’ he murmured. ‘It gives me immense pleasure now to make the acquaintance of the – shall I say – real Thalia Ictinos. My name is Wallace – I am afraid you will remember me without a great deal of gratification.’ Her exclamation of astonishment was stifled by the hand he placed gently on her mouth. ‘Forgive my taking such a liberty,’ he begged, ‘but it is better not to speak too loudly. Now I’m going to congratulate you, if I may.’
Thalia was the first to recover from the profound surprise Sir Leonard Wallace had given her and Hill. Her eyes flashed her pleasure.
‘You approve?’ she asked eagerly.
‘I do,’ returned Sir Leonard; ‘very much so. You have guessed then that Mr – Herr Kirche is a member of my department?’
‘But of course. The manner of your coming, the name by which you called Raymond, and your remark that I was worthy to know the truth – all made me guess that he also was of the British Secret Service.’ She sighed, as memory of the manner in which she had introduced Hill to Shannon, and the way her lover had deceived her into believing he was an Austrian, recurred to her mind. ‘It is very bitter to think,’ she murmured, ‘that the man who loves me so much could not trust me.’
‘Thalia, I could not—’ began Hill in imploring tones.
‘You must not blame him, Miss Ictinos,’ interposed Wallace. ‘He could not do otherwise. In our job we cannot think ever of ourselves or even those we love, when we are on duty. He has only done his duty – you must not blame him for that. Without my permission he would never reveal his real identity.’
‘I understand,’ replied the girl impulsively. ‘For a little while there was a pain in my heart, but now it is gone. I am very much happy again now.’
‘You won’t mind marrying an Englishman instead of an Austrian?’
She laughed softly.
‘I do not mind what he is – I love him,’ she replied simply.
She felt the pressure of Hill’s hand on her arm, and responded gladly to it.
‘I must apologise,’ declared Sir Leonard, ‘for being present at a very intimate event, but you will both forgive me, I hope, when I assure you that I had no idea it was about to happen.’ His hearers were both very grateful at that moment for the darkness. ‘To be quite frank,’ he went on, ‘I was not quite convinced of the wisdom of your coming out here to talk. You were watched as you met in the hall, and I rather expected you would be followed, but the man who was watching you apparently decided it was no more than a lover’s meeting. He returned to his flat. I followed you, and kept my eyes and ears open, however, in order to ensure that you would not be overheard by any dangerous person.’
‘Who was the man, sir?’ asked Hill.
‘General Radoloff, I think he is called.’
‘Oh,’ murmured Thalia in tones of impatience, ‘he pesters me with his attentions. Now that I go so much with Raymond he is very jealous I think.’
‘And, therefore, all the more to be guarded against,’ commented Sir Leonard. ‘A jealous man can be dangerous at even the most innocent of times.’
‘When did you arrive in Rome, sir?’ asked Hill who, it must be confessed, had an uneasy feeling that he had not shown up too well. He was rather afraid that Sir Leonard would consider that his lovemaking and proposal might have been delayed for a more auspicious occasion.
He need not have worried. Sir Leonard had a very great understanding of human nature. He did not expect his assistants to be mere machines, altogether devoid of feeling.
‘I have been here three days,’ he replied in answer to the ex-doctor’s question. ‘I came actually to assure myself that Miss Ictinos is in reality the very gallant lady Captain Shannon described her in a report he sent me.’
‘You have been watching me,’ she accused.
‘I have,’ he returned frankly. ‘And I may add that I endorse in every way the remarks of Captain Shannon.’
‘Oh, thank you,’ she murmured gladly. ‘I am so happy to think that, Sir – that you have now that opinion of me. It is wonderful when—’
‘We have forgotten the past,’ he interrupted her. ‘You must forget it also.’
‘It will be very, very difficult,’ she sighed. ‘The name Ictinos is not good, and I bear it.’
‘You will soon cast it aside for ever,’ whispered Hill.
‘That day I will thank the good God with very much sincerity.’
‘I think you had other things to tell Hill,’ Sir Leonard reminded her.
‘Yes. Tomorrow it is proposed that, in small parties, Messieurs Plasiras, Bikelas and the others, except Kyprianos and Michalis, creep quietly from Rome and hide somewhere in the country. Kyprianos and Michalis with Padakis, the spy, search for Captain Shannon and, when they find him, intend to murder him. You heard me tell Raymond how it is to be done?’
‘I did, but I don’t think we need bother about that. As a matter of fact, I saw you go to the Hotel Splendide this afternoon, and gathered you had news to give him. Afterwards I saw Shannon come out, and became aware at once that he was being followed. I, therefore, followed his trackers, ready to go to his assistance if required. I was not required,’ he added drily. ‘If you will tell me what it was you told Shannon in the hotel, Miss Ictinos, it will save time and bring me right up-to-date.’ She was about to commence, when he added: ‘Wait a minute. I will just make certain everything is all right.’
As noiselessly as a shadow, he glided away. She gave a little gasp.
‘How is it he can move without sound?’ she whispered to Hill. ‘And for three days he has been here watching everything, especially me, and I did not know. It is wonderful. You did not know he was in Rome – no?’
‘No; I did not, neither did Shannon – I don’t suppose he does yet. If Sir Leonard Wallace does not want his presence to be known, you can take it from me that it won’t be.’
‘My father was a fool to think he could win against a man like that. When I think back, it is so—’
‘You must not think back, dear,’ he insisted.
‘No; I must not – I will remember. Oh! What was that?’
They heard a dull thud, a low groan and, it seemed to their startled ears, the sound of a heavy body falling. Hill was about to dart in the direction from whence the sound came, when Sir Leonard’s voice reached them from a short distance away.
‘It’s all right – don’t worry! I am afraid,’ he went on, and the girl jumped as she found he was by her side, ‘that General Radoloff was more inquisitive than I expected. At all events I saw him approaching from the direction of the house and, as there wasn’t time to warn you, I hit him on the head with the butt of a revolver. He will be quite safe where he is for the present. There is nobody else about. Now, Miss Thalia, perhaps you will go on.’
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The Man in the Flat
The utter unconcern in his voice did more to still her alarm than anything else could possibly have done. She suddenly felt an inclination to laugh. Everything that had previously seemed so deadly and dangerous appeared somehow almost trivial now that Sir Leonard Wallace had come on the scene. His manner was so delightfully casual, she thought; it was that which made the desperate affairs in which she was involved lose a lot of their fearsomeness.
‘Can you see in the dark?’ she asked curiously.
‘Well, now you come to ask,’ he returned, ‘I suppose I can fairly well. I have never thought of it before.’
She told him in a low voice of her visit to Shannon at the Hotel Splendide and of the news she had imparted to him there. She also spoke about the report she had written at his instigation, of their discovery of the waiting Baltazzi in the corridor, and Shannon’s plan, which had enabled her to get away without her presence there being suspected. Hill had, of course, heard the story from his colleague’s own lips.
‘What did you do with that report?’ asked Wallace, when she had finished.
‘I sent it by a special messenger from the English library of Miss Wilson near the Spanish stairs. I knew it would be delivered with safety, if it went from there.’
‘Excellent,’ approved Sir Leonard. ‘Now I think I am au fait with everything.’
‘You will see that Captain Shannon is warned about the plot to kill him?’ she asked anxiously.
‘I am going to him now,’ he assured her.
‘Do you know where he is?’ came eagerly from her.
‘No; but I rather suspect Mr Hill does.’
‘Do you, Raymond?’
‘Yes; it was him I dined with this evening,’ was the response.
‘Oh!’ She suddenly realised that she, as a secret agent, must seem very much of a novice to these experts, who appeared to accomplish everything they did with such ease and celerity. ‘Then, Raymond, you will tell Sir Leonard, and he will warn Captain Shannon.’
‘It is very much to your credit, Miss Ictinos,’ declared Wallace, ‘that you are filled with so much anxiety on Captain Shannon’s behalf. I am far more concerned about you.’
‘About me!’ she echoed. ‘Why?’
‘Well, the unconscious body of Radoloff lying over there has rather complicated matters, hasn’t it? Whether he suspected you and Hill of conspiring against him and his companions, or merely came out after you because he was jealous does not make any difference. Either you or he must not go back. I am rather inclined to think it had better be you. We don’t know if he said anything to the others about his intentions, do we?’
‘But I must go back,’ she insisted. ‘You would not have me neglect my duty now that danger threatens, would you?’
‘No; I would not, but I suggest you have done all you can do. Won’t you leave the rest to us? If I may criticise your government, I think it was unwise to give you such a task. You have done magnificently, but the time has arrived, as it was bound to arrive, when it becomes a man’s job. At least you should have had a man in the background somewhere to assist you.’
‘They were not to know it was so big and desperate a plot.’
‘No; I suppose not. And you really feel you must go back, even though there is little you can accomplish now?’
‘I must. There are things I can, perhaps, overhear, as I have overheard them today.’
‘That’s true. Well, I will not attempt to dissuade you further. It means that Radoloff must not go back. He won’t know who hit him on the head, but he will certainly think it was Hill, I’m afraid.’
‘Then will it not be better,’ she asked him anxiously, ‘if Raymond disappears for a little while?’
‘And leave you to face his wrath and suspicions alone!’ commented Hill. ‘Not likely.’
Sir Leonard laughed quietly.
‘You might almost have been forgiven then,’ he remarked, ‘if you had said that as Mrs Patrick Campbell said it in Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion”.’
Hill indulged in one of his comfortable-sounding chuckles, which Thalia had learnt to love. She did not understand what her lover and Sir Leonard were amused about, but again she reflected upon the light-hearted manner in which they seemed to take matters which appeared to her to be so deadly serious.
‘May I make a suggestion, sir?’ asked Hill somewhat diffidently.
‘Of course. What is it?’
‘I think T. will find a way of hiding Radoloff until everything is cleared up. Shall I go and ring him up and explain? He can take charge of the Bulgarian then, as soon as he recovers consciousness, force him to write a note to his companions saying that Shannon is on his track and, rather than lead him to the building where they live, has retired, for the time being, to the house of a compatriot.’
Sir Leonard considered the suggestion.
‘Yes; it might do very well,’ he declared presently, ‘especially as today’s events have made it necessary for us to act at once.’ He turned to Thalia. ‘You have no reason to think that they suspect Captain Shannon of knowing their address?’ he asked.
‘I do not think they do,’ she replied.
‘That settles it. Go and telephone now, Hill, but not from your flat, of course. I hope you will find T. in. It is not very late, and he goes out a good deal. See Miss Ictinos back to her flat, and continue your delightfully open method of being seen together. May I request though,’ he added, ‘that your goodnights are not prolonged on this occasion. Au revoir, Miss Ictinos. As soon as there is the slightest hint of danger to yourself, leave your rooms without delay, and go to Hill. I think he will accept the role of protector with a good deal of alacrity.’
‘Goodnight, Sir Leonard,’ she murmured, ‘and I thank you very much for your kindness to me. There is just one little request I would like to make. The name Ictinos I hate more and more every day. Do I ask you too much to drop it, and call me – just Thalia?’
‘Not at all. Goodnight, Thalia. Don’t fall over the general, Hill.’
With another comfortable chuckle the ex-doctor escorted the girl back to the building in which they both lived. Sir Leonard walked to the place where General Radoloff still lay unconscious. He had been struck by a hard blow expertly delivered. Sir Leonard calculated that he would not recover his senses for another hour at least. Hill was gone a little more than ten minutes; came back to announce that he had been fortunate enough to find Tempest at home, had delivered the message, and received the assurance that the Rome agent of Lalére et Cie would be on the spot very shortly. Hill then acquainted his chief with the plans Shannon had conceived for the early hours of the morning. Wallace listened attentively. At the end he approved heartily.
‘That puts a different complexion on this Radoloff business,’ he added. ‘It will not be necessary to make him write that note. If all goes well, they should be under lock and key tomorrow by this time. I shall not visit Shannon after all. I’ll wait in your flat for his arrival.’
Hill went to the road to watch for the
arrival of Tempest’s car. He had not long to wait. A great eight cylinder Lancia purred to a standstill a few yards away from him.
‘OK, Hill,’ came a voice. ‘Will it be all right to stop here?’
Hill stepped towards the driving seat, and peered within. Tempest was sitting at the wheel and, by this side, a man whom the ex-doctor recognised as a stalwart retired English soldier, who acted as general factotum to the Rome branch of Lalére et Cie.
‘No; don’t remain here,’ replied Hill. ‘There is too much traffic. Go on by the gardens for fifty yards or thereabouts, and you come to a private road leading to the houses behind.’
‘I know it.’
‘Well, drive up about twenty yards, and wait for me.’
Tempest nodded, and the big car moved quietly away. Hill returned to Sir Leonard, informed him of the arrival of the others; then went to meet them at the spot he had indicated. Within three or four minutes he was back with them. The ex-soldier was carrying a roll of strong cord and a gag. At a word from Wallace, he and Tempest, assisted by Hill, proceeded to bind the still senseless Bulgarian general, who was then conveyed to the Lancia, and placed on the floor of the tonneau.
‘Where do you propose to take him?’ asked Sir Leonard of Tempest.
‘I have a large loft over my flat, sir,’ was the reply. ‘It will be an ideal place, and Merryweather and I can attend to him ourselves.’
Wallace rubbed his chin dubiously.
‘He must not know where he is,’ he observed, ‘and it will be wiser if he does not see you. On no account must any suspicion be raised that the firm has a connection with the British Intelligence Department.’
‘He won’t know where he is, sir, and, when he is removed, we’ll blindfold him.’
‘You’d better wear masks when you attend to him. It sounds rather melodramatic I know, but I don’t want him to see your faces. At all events, you will only have to keep him there for a short while. When you have put him safely in the loft, Tempest, come back with Merryweather, and wait somewhere close by. I should think this is as good a spot as any. If an emergency arises, we may want your help, but don’t let yourselves be seen.’
Microbes of Power (Wallace of the Secret Service Series) Page 25