Page 131 of Strangers in Time

“That’s rubbish,” blurted out Charlie. “You owe us the whole bloody truth, you do.”

Bryant began in a severe tone, “Now see here, young man, while I understand—”

“They’re right, Scott. I know you can see that,” interjected Oliver.

“What I can see, and what my oath of secrecy dictates, are two very different things, Ignatius,” Bryant countered.

“Still, we can tell themsomething. They’ve been through a truly horrific experience. They deserve to know certain things.”

Bryant let out a sigh. “Oh, all right. But you both must swear to carry all that I tell you to the grave.”

Molly and Charlie quickly nodded.

Bryant settled back and began. “I operate an intelligence programwith the Security Service called the Double-Cross, a counter-espionage and deception scheme. The Germans have continually dropped spies into our midst, by plane, boat, submarine. Almost all of them were ill-trained, inept—worthless, really. We had broken the German Enigma code and other ciphers before Germany started sending spies here. Indeed, we’d often pick the gits up as they walked ashore! So the Germans got very little out of it. But we began exploiting that advantage byturningthose very same agents and feeding to the Germans false or, more accurately, some truthful intelligence mixed in with enough tosh so that it looked like their spy effort was working. And we gained quite valuable intelligence on the German spy network in the bargain. But that’s not to say the Germans didn’t keep trying. And this Cedric bloke was better than most. In fact, we’d never have gotten on to him without help.” He looked at Oliver as if to say,Okay, mate, I’ve done my bit.

Oliver took up the account. “When the war started, Imogen was as loyal as anyone to her country. Then, when the Blitz happened and so many died, including some of her dearest friends, something changed inside of her. When Paternoster Row with all its books was incinerated, that change became complete. I don’t know why that particular event did it, but I think she saw the collapse of all she loved in the destruction that happened that night. And she began going to meetings, and those meetings led to her consorting with certain people, who were determined to exploit connections that she had.”

“What sorts of connections?” asked Molly.

Bryant said, “Her father, John Bradstreet. Before he retired and bought this bookshop, he was a long-serving statesman of the top tier, including at the War Office, the author of serious political works, and a welcome visitor in the homes of many distinguished public servants. After he died, Imogen was still very much a welcome guest in those places. She was astonishingly bright and as engaging a conversationalist as you would ever encounter.” He looked once more at Oliver.

“Yes, well, it got to the point, you see,” said Oliver, “that she began working for the Germans.”

When Molly looked shocked, Oliver said quickly, “Oh, she had no love of Hitler and his disgusting fascism, Molly. She had convinced herself that she was doing the right thing byEngland. By helping Germany so that the bombings and the destruction and the dying… would stop. Remember, this was before the Americans entered the war, and we were fighting virtually alone. She truly believed that England would remain free and autonomous even if the Nazis took over all of Europe.”

“I see,” said Molly. “But this information helped Germany. People died because of it.”

“Yes, they did, Molly, a fact that Imogen had to eventually confront. Anyway, she performed this work for quite some time. And I was apparently too much of an idiot to see it. But she was ever so much smarter than I am.”

“You probably could never believe that she would do that,” said Molly quietly, watching him closely.

“I certainly couldn’t equate the loving, caring, highly intelligent woman whom I loved dearly being complicit with the Third Reich.” He paused and rubbed a hand over his forehead. “And then one day she had me come in here and sat me down in this very chair. And she took my hand and she told me… everything. All of it. Her spying, her treachery, all of it.”

He looked up at Bryant, who stared stolidly back at him.

“A shock for you, old man,” the major said.

“And incredibly painful for her to confess,” noted Oliver.

“What did you say to her?” asked Molly.

“I don’t quite remember, Molly. It’s all rather a muddle in my head.”

“What’d youdo, guv?” asked Charlie.

“It was not so much whatIdid, Charlie. But what Imogen proposed that I do.”

“What was that?” asked Molly.

“Help her spying efforts.”

“I… don’t understand,” said Molly, clearly taken aback by this statement.

Oliver glanced at Bryant.

The major said, “Imogen was one of only a very fewBritishspies working for the Germans, at least that we knew of. And the Germans needed people like her. They exploited her, but now Imogen, having gained their full confidence, was going to exploit themback.”

“That sounds like a very dangerous scheme,” said Molly.

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