Bouncing Betty

by Liliana Hart

  The blueprints didn’t tell me a lot about what I’d be walking into tonight. It showed me the structure, which was helpful, but it told me nothing about Wagner. Which Wagner would I meet tonight? The romantic gentleman who sent flowers? Or the crazed madman who wanted to see my reaction to the deaths he’d caused?

  “I’ve been to the fourth floor extensively when I met with Helene and the other women,” I said. “There’s no place the Cordiers could be hiding there. There are no other rooms on these blueprints. Someone has been to every area.”

  “Except for the servant stairs,” Graham said. “Homes like these typically have false walls or hidden rooms that wouldn’t be in the plans.”

  “It could take hours to find a hidden room in that house,” I said.

  “Which is why it’s important you keep Wagner busy long enough to do a thorough search,” George said.

  I avoided Graham’s gaze because I hadn’t gotten around to asking him if my mission bothered him. I could seduce a man. I could do whatever I needed to do to save the innocent. But I was torn between becoming the spy I’d been born to be, and losing my chance to have the kind of relationship I’d never had. I thought my choices seemed heavy for a seventeen-year-old woman who’d never quite fit in wherever she was.

  “I’ve got it,” I said. When I looked up, I caught Esther’s eye, and I could see the worry there before she quickly masked her expression.

  “I think it’s time to get you ready,” Esther said, coming forward and taking me by the arm. “Presentation is going to be important tonight. Appearances are important to Wagner, as important as setting the scene correctly.”

  I let my gaze meet that of each of the men, letting them know I wasn’t afraid to do my job and that they could count on me. I had the power to do something none of them could accomplish, and I needed to remember that. Auguste and John Armstrong both gave me a respectful nod. And George, bless his stiff-necked heart, tried to smile, but only managed to move his mustache slightly off-kilter.

  And then I turned to Graham and arched a brow, hiding my feelings behind a cocky grin. He held out a hand and I put mine in his, and he shook it firmly as if I was just one of the guys. And then he jerked me forward and planted a kiss on my lips that had the others hooting with laughter.

  “Don’t get killed,” he said. “And don’t ever relax your guard. Men like Wagner can smell weakness, and he’ll go in for the kill.”

  I nodded and followed Esther through the fireplace and into the secret tunnel that led back to her home.

  She laughed when the door closed behind us. “I’ve heard that Henry Graham’s kisses are legendary, but to see the look on your face I have to wonder what I’ve been missing all these years. I can tell you no man has ever put that look on my face before. You’ve got to pace yourself. You’re young, so you don’t want him to ruin men for you for the rest of your life. You’ll always be searching for that feeling that doesn’t quite live up to what Graham gave you.”

  I didn’t tell her that Graham and I would be heading to Belgium on our next mission, and that if I had my way, we’d be partners in every part of life before we were done. Considering Graham had just gotten his appointment to take command at the Alliance headquarters in Belgium, I wanted to safeguard his secret until he was ready to tell the others.

  Formal dinners were much later in the evening than I was used to back home, and it’s not like I’d be able to eat anyway on a nervous stomach. But Wagner had sent another bouquet of flowers with a note telling me to dress in my finest for dinner and that he was sending a car to pick me up at nine o’clock.

  French couture clothing wasn’t as easy to come by as it had been even a few months ago, but Esther knew a seamstress who’d lost her shop when Paris had been bombed the week before and she’d escaped with not much more than the clothes on her back and come to stay with her family in Marseille.

  Esther led me to her personal quarters. They were lush and opulent, and I wasn’t even able to open my mouth in protest in time to stop the maids from stripping me down to nothing and scrubbing me within an inch of my life. I was shaved and perfumed, and my hair was curled and piled stylishly on top of my head.

  I was wrapped in a soft silk robe and placed in a chair, and then cream was slathered on my face before they darkened and smudged my eyelids and painted my lips the color of rubies.

  “Stunning,” Esther said, clapping her hands together excitedly. “Absolutely stunning. If he’s able to form a sentence I’d be surprised. This should be the easiest job you’ve ever had.”

  A small, birdlike woman walked into the room at that moment with dress bags over her arm. Her hair was jet black and pulled back from a pointed face with a hawkish nose. She wasn’t an attractive woman, but she commanded the room.

  “Stand,” she said in crisp French. “Take off your robe and stand over here.”

  “Scarlet,” Esther said. “This is Madame Blanche. You are very lucky to be wearing one of her creations.”

  Seconds later, I found myself standing on a small platform completely naked. She opened the dress bag and pulled out a long column of scarlet, and I was mesmerized by the richness of the color.

  It was simple in design until I stepped into the column and she brought it to my waist, tucking and pinning as she went. Two swathes of silk hung down in front of me and she pulled them up, arranging the silk over one shoulder, tucking only one of my breasts behind the opaque fabric.

  Esther sighed. “I’ve dreamed of having a body like yours. The damage I could do to the male population with breasts like those.”

  My lips twitched. “Is this the new style?” I asked. “To leave one breast completely exposed? I’ve heard stories of the French, of course, but this seems like it might be asking for trouble in a drive all the way across town.”

  Esther laughed, and Madame Blanche swatted my hands away and clucked her tongue as if dressing me was beneath her. To be honest, it probably was beneath her. Clothes like these were completely wasted on me. I’d much rather something comfortable that I could move quickly and freely if I got in an interesting situation.

  Madame Blanche had a needle and thread in her mouth, and she held an embroidered strip of sheer cloth in the same vibrant red. She tucked and stitched the piece and then brought it up over my bare breast, attaching it at my shoulder where the other fabric met.

  “Oh, my,” Esther said. “Just lovely.”

  When I turned to look at myself in the mirror I didn’t recognize the woman standing there. It certainly didn’t look like the girl from Whiskey Bayou I’d once known.

  The shade of red she’d chosen complemented my skin. My eyes were smudged at the corners and my lashes full and long. And that one scrap of sheer material with the embroidery made a simple dress exceptional. A flower had been sewn strategically into the fabric and kept the dress from being indecent. Just barely.

  Madame Blanche knelt at my feet and sewed the hem of the dress so it stopped at the tip of my shoes. And then she stood up and stuck her various pins and needles back in the pincushion, gathered her things, and looked at Esther expectantly.

  “Thank you, Madame Blanche,” Esther said. “This is exceptional work on such short notice. It’s close to curfew. You’re welcome to stay in our guest suite.”

  “I have time to make it home,” she said. “My driver is still sitting out front.”

  Esther nodded, and without a goodbye, the tiny woman walked out of the room.

  “How do you feel?” Esther asked once we were alone.

  “Like I hate to waste this dress on someone like Friedrich Wagner,” I said. “I feel like Graham would be much more appreciative. I supposed I shouldn’t worry that Madame Blanche didn’t give me any underthings to put on.”

  Esther smiled. “A dress like this is not meant for underthings.”

  “That’s what I thought,” I said, holding the skirt and swishing it back and forth. “It has good movement. But I don’t have a place for my knife.”
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br />   I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone anywhere without it, and I stepped off the platform and went to my trousers the maid had folded and put on the dresser. I felt in the pocket and pulled out the leather sheath and the sharp blade. It was a security blanket of sorts, the only sentimental thing I’d brought with me from home.

  “Yes, that will definitely leave a line in a dress like this,” Esther said. “The skirt is somewhat transparent in the light as you walk. You’ll have to keep it in your handbag. Go ahead and tie it to a garter so you can slip it on if you need to move quickly.”

  “Good thinking,” I said, giving her the knife. Neither of us mentioned that my hands shook slightly as she took the knife from me.

  “I’m not used to going into a situation like this unprotected,” I said. “Between the sheerness of the dress and my knife not readily available, it makes me very vulnerable to Wagner. He could overpower me in a moment and that would be that.”

  “But he won’t, because you’ll be so convincingly seductive that he’ll be a puddle at your feet,” she said. “Something I’ve learned over the years is the faster you can get a man naked the less suspicious they become of you. They can only think with one brain at a time. But just in case, I think I have the perfect finishing touch for you.”

  “What is it?” I asked, watching her take a locked leather case from the bed.

  “Sometimes women need a little ingenuity for safety reasons,” she said, smiling. “This should do nicely.”

  Esther unlocked the case and opened the center compartment, and then opened the two side compartments so the entire case was displayed. “Goodness,” I said, eyeing the ruby-and-diamond-encrusted hairpin. It was long and thin like a chopstick, and Esther pulled at the cluster of jewels and it detached from a small scabbard, revealing an ice-thin pick.

  “Good for a sneak attack,” Esther said. “Especially if you find yourself trapped beneath someone you don’t want to be under. A quick stab in the kidneys usually gets them to move off you pretty fast.”

  “I can imagine,” I said, watching her place the hairpin back in the scabbard. Then she slid it carefully into my elaborately coiffed hair.

  “Perfect,” she said. “Now for the finishing touch.” She held up a gold tube and then opened it, twisting the bottom so red lipstick appeared. “You can use it. It matches the lipstick you’re wearing now.”

  Esther put the lid back on and then turned the tube over. She pressed it with her thumb and the bottom cap came off, revealing a small set of silver lock picks. “You never know when you’ll need to pick a lock.”

  “And a great color,” I said, placing the lipstick in my handbag along with my knife. I took my heart-shaped locket from on top of my pile of clothes and fastened it around my neck. It was a small silver heart and the chain was short and thin, so it rested at the hollow of my throat. It wasn’t as fancy as other jewelry I could’ve worn to accentuate the dress, but it was dainty and feminine and didn’t detract from it either. Besides, I never left home without it.

  “You have everything you need,” Esther said. “But never forget the best tool you have is right here.” She touched her finger to my temple. “All you have to do is get through the night. Tomorrow will be a whole new world.”

  I nodded and looked at myself again in the mirror, straightening my shoulders. “Dressing to kill is going to have a whole new meaning after this experience.”

  Chapter 7

  The driver appeared in front of the Smithers’ home at exactly nine o’clock, and I waited patiently as the driver came to collect me. A white fur stole completed my attire, and I clasped my lethal handbag and followed the driver to the car.

  The drive didn’t take as long as I’d have liked it to, but it was well past curfew and the normally busy streets of Marseille were empty. There was a light summer breeze from the gulf and the smell of the sea ushered me to the front door of what had once been the Schwartz residence.

  I tried not to think of Graham and how it had only been a few short days since I’d hit him with my car at this very spot. The driver escorted me up the walk and up the stairs, and the door opened before I could get there.

  It was the first time I’d seen Wagner out of uniform, and I had to admit it would be easier to do my job without staring at the repulsive insignia on his arm. He wore a traditional tuxedo, and his hair was combed back from his face and his mustache trimmed.

  “My God,” he said, his mouth dropping open slightly. “I’m not sure this world is meant to hold beauty like yours.”

  I beamed at him and moved away from the driver, navigating the stairs myself so I could meet Wagner halfway. “Oh, don’t you look handsome.” I placed my hands on his chest in an intimate gesture and let him kiss me softly.

  “Thank you, driver,” he said. “That will be all.”

  The driver clicked his heels together sharply and saluted, “Heil Hitler,” he said, and Wagner repeated the gesture.

  I kept the smile on my face even as my skin crawled, and Wagner led me into the house and closed the doors behind us. As he’d said, there were two guards in the front entryway of the home, both at attention, neither of them looking in my direction. It was as if I weren’t there at all.

  “Absolute discretion,” he assured me, putting his hand to the small of my back and leading me toward the stairs.

  I knew those two officers would be dead come morning, and I tried not to think about Graham, Auguste, and John Armstrong breaking into the house without being detected.

  “Don’t they get tired of standing?” I whispered innocently. “It must be terribly hard to be an officer.”

  Wagner chuckled condescendingly. “They don’t always stand still,” he said. “They walk the property and check the entrances to make sure no one is around who shouldn’t be. It’s a very important job.”

  “I can imagine,” I said. “You must trust them very much if they’re your personal guards.”

  He nodded and followed closely behind me on the stairs, trailing his fingers along the bare part of my back.

  “Considering my recent staffing problems,” he said. “I took the liberty of procuring the services of Jacque Allard. I brought him in from Paris this morning after you agreed to be my guest. He set everything up beautifully so we can serve ourselves. We’ll have no prying eyes and ears tonight. It’s just you and me.”

  “I’d like that very much,” I said, ducking my head slightly so he could see my nerves.

  When we reached the second-floor landing the space opened up just as Graham had said. I was surprised to see how homey the room was. Wagner had used his time in Marseille to move in more than a few of his personal things. The walls had been freshly painted and rugs put on the floors. The furniture was heavily ornate and dark.

  Bookcases filled with books lined the walls, and my eyes were immediately drawn to the large table and the maps that sat upon it. Small figurines and pins dotted the maps, but I let my gaze move over them to the rest of the space. There was a desk and a pair of swords crossed and attached to the wall behind it.

  “I’m afraid I spend too much time in my office,” he said. “I’ll confess, I’ve even fallen asleep at my desk a time or two.”

  I looked at him coyly from beneath my lashes. “Well, maybe I can keep you from working tonight.”

  “A man needs to take a night off every now and again.”

  My smile spread and I looked at him boldly. “I said I’d keep you from working. But I’m also going to keep you from sleeping.”

  He inhaled sharply through his nose and I turned away from him and headed toward the smell of food. It was my turn to gasp. There were candles everywhere. And in the middle of the room was a large bed that had been turned down. He’d even gone so far as to sprinkle rose petals on the sheets.

  “It’s beautiful,” I said, touching his hand, and he took my wrap from my shoulders.

  When I turned back to face him, I was bathed in the candlelight and I could see Wagner’s ex
pression clearly. Madame Blanche was worth her weight in gold. And my only regret was that it wasn’t Graham who was looking at me like a blind man seeing for the first time.

  Wagner put his hand to his chest.

  “Are you all right?” I asked, moving toward him.

  “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he said. “I just wanted to check and see if my heart was still beating. The sight of you takes my breath away.”

  “Flattery will get you everything,” I said seductively.

  “I had a gift for you,” he said.

  “Had?” I questioned.

  He nodded to a long box tied with a red ribbon that sat in an armchair against the wall. “I’m afraid it’s a useless gift.”

  “I love gifts,” I said. “Especially when they’re useless.” I made my way to the chair and picked up the box, slipping off the ribbon so I could lift the lid. Delicate tissue paper lined the box, and underneath it was a sheer black negligee that would’ve had Madame Blanche blushing.

  “I was thinking I’d like for you to slip into this before dinner, but I’ve changed my mind,” he said. “You’re perfect as you are. Are you hungry?”

  “Starving,” I said, giving him a coy smile and then moving around his personal space, inspecting the smattering of pictures he had sitting on top of his dresser.

  He’d made himself quite at home in someone else’s house, and it reminded me that he wasn’t a man to underestimate. He didn’t have a conscience, and there was no reasoning with the Devil.

  “Is this your family?” I asked, watching him move to the sideboard and pour two glasses of wine.

  “Yes,” he said, shooting me a sheepish grin over his shoulder. “I’m afraid you’ll find me quite sentimental when it comes to family loyalty.”

  “I think that’s a good thing,” I said. “Do you ever think about having a family of your own?”

  “My career has always taken precedence when it comes to my priorities in life, but lately I’ve found myself wanting something different. Something more. I believe that’s why we’re here tonight.”