Secret Warriors (Men at War 2)

"I guess," Jamison said uncomfortably, "it's not such a hot idea," "Now," Canidy went on, "Captain Whittaker could probably get away with it. And he could probably figure out how we could keep it after we stole it. Where is he?" Jamison smiled.

"Playing billiards," he said. "How do you plan to get to London?"

"With the message-center car," Jamison said. "I am going to hold you responsible if Captain Whittaker returns from London with a social disease," Canidy said.

"With that caveat, you have my permission to have at it. But you should keep in mind that I will follow sacred OSS tradition in this.

If you get caught, I never saw you before in my life." He handed the requisitions back to Jamison, and they went looking for Whittaker.

Canidy had dinner with Admiral de Verbey, and they played chess for an hour afterward; then Canidy went to his room. The ducal chambers, which Canidy had claimed for himself, were large, beautifully furnished, and had an alcove with a desk and telephone he used as an office. Both for reasons of protocol and because he liked the old man, Canidy had originally planned to put the admiral in the ducal chambers, but Lieutenant Jamison talked him out of it. The apartment had so many entrances that guarding the admiral there would be more difficult than it would be in a smaller apartment with only one door. Whittaker was in the connecting apartment, where the duchess of Stan field had slept.

Despite the warning Canidy had received from Colonel Stevens, Her Grace had not appeared at Whitby House, and neither had the British Army officer who was supposed to "liaise" with him. Canidy wasn't sure exactly what that meant; and so far as he was concerned, he hoped neither ever showed up. n Chambers a letter-exactly the same letter he had writhe wrote An ten her every day since his first night in Whitby House: "Having a smashing time, wish you were here. Love, Dick." The letters, all bearing the return address "Box 142, Washington, D.C.," were sent to London, where they were put in a pouch and flown to the States. They would be stamped with a Washington postmark and mailed.

Presumably, eventually there would be letters from Ann. He was smugly pleased with the idea of sending her what amounted to a daily postcard the censors and letter readers could find no fault with. Ann's incoming mail was not supposed to be intercepted, of course-actually, he was not entirely sure about that-and she would, he told himself, understand why he was not writing more than he was. He was sure she'd get the message that he was indeed thinking about her at least daily.

The truth of the matter was that he was thinking of her all the time, like a lovesick high-school kid. And the simple act of sitting down and writing those very few words to Ann had become enormously important to him.

Having finished this day's letter to Ann, he decided to take a drink from one of the bottles of Chesly Whittaker's twenty-four-year-old Scotch he had "borrowed" from the library in the house on Q Street just before they'd come to England. He was sitting in a brocade-upholstered armchair with the almost untouched drink in his hand, his mind full of the myriad physical charms of Ann Chambers, when there came a knock at his door. "Come!"

It was the officer of the guard, a southern second lieutenant with a double chin.

"Thcah's an officer he ah wants to see Loo-te

nant Jamison, " the officer of the guard said.

"An English officer. I mean an English lady officer."

"Lieutenant Jamison isn't here. Mat does she want?" Canidy said. As he spoke he realized what was up: Damn! Jamison's gone, and now, of course, the missing British officer with whom I am supposed to "liaise'finally shows up. "Ah don't know, Suh. But she's got the right pass to get inside the inn uh perimetuh, Majuh."

"Would you ask her to come in, please?" Canidy said. The captain marched in, came to attention, and saluted crisply. "Sir!" the captain barked, with an accompanying stamp of his boot heel. The captain, Canidy judged, is about five feet four, weighs maybe 125 pounds, is about thirty-two, give or take a couple of years, and under that really ugly Women's Royal Army Corps cotton uniform obviously has a splendid set of teats. "I'm Major Canidy," he said. "I'm sorry to bother you, Major. I had hoped to report to Lieutenant Jamison."

"The lieutenant's off stealing a car in London, I'm afraid," Canidy said. Not willing to believe what she heard, the captain said: "I am reporting for duty, Sir. I am to haise with you." That sounds vaguely obscene, Canidy thought, and became aware he was smiling. He was greatly tempted to pursue that line of thought, and gave in to it.

"You were expected a couple of days ago, Captain," Canidy said, "I might as well tell you right now, Captain, that when people liaise with me, I expect them to be on time. There's nothing I dislike more than working myself up to haise and having no one to liaise with." The captain did not find that at all amusing. "I'm sure the major will find my orders are all correct," she said. She handed them to him, and he tossed them on the desk. She has remarkable eyes. Very light blue.

They disturb me, as if she read my mind and knew I was thinking about her body. Which, come to think of it, I am not supposed to be doing anymore, And what the hell, that was a lousy joke, and she's probably scared half to death of the American barbarians. "As it has been explained to me, Captain," Canidy said, "you have a dual mission here.

You will handle the English for us, and for the English you will do your best to preserve this ancestral mansion from the ravages to be expected from the barbarians from across the sea."

"Oh, I don't think you're all barbarians," she said with a little laugh, "but that's about the size of it, yes."

"Your first responsibility, Captain," Canidy said, "deals with duty A."

"I don't quite understand," she said. "We were supposed to be graced with a visit from the duchess herself a couple of days ago, when we expected you. I don't suppose you have any idea where the old bat is, do you?"

"I do know exactly where she is, Major," the captain said. "Great!"

Canidy said.

"At my best, I would not be very good dealing with an elderly English noblewoman. I'm a simple American boy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and we have very few noblewoman out there. And this one is apparently a holy terror."

"Why do you say that?" 44 my colonel warned me to handle her with kid gloves," Canidy said. "I am herewith delegating that responsibility to you. You handle the old lady when she shows up. Tell her that we shall guard her furnishings as if they were our own, thank her for the use of this monstrosity, and then get rid of her as politely as possible."

"I understand completely, Sir," she said. "Jamison handles room assignments," Canidy said.

"There's a couple of rooms set up on the first floor, more or less for transients. I suggest you put up overnight in one of them, and then Jamison can place you where he wants you in the morning" "I believe I saw them as I came in," the captain said. "The lieutenant who brought you up here can show you," Canidy said.

"If you need anything, ask him."