The Very Thought of You Read Online Free Page B

up.’
    â€˜Ah,’ he coughed. ‘Long story with which I won’t bore you.’ He turned to Catherine and took her hand. ‘How d’you do, Mrs Fletcher? I wonder if we might have a little chat.’
    â€˜Is it about my husband?’ she asked. ‘Has he been found?’
    â€˜I’m afraid not,’ he said, and gave her an odd smile. ‘I don’t suppose that you’ve heard from him and not told us?’
    â€˜No,’ Catherine said, astonished, and glanced at Frances to see what she thought of Mr Lennox’s suggestion. Frances was frowning. ‘No, I haven’t,’ Catherine insisted. ‘That is a ridiculous suggestion.’
    Robert nodded. ‘Yes, of course you would have let the authorities know. Sorry. But there is something else.’ He glanced over to Frances. ‘Fran, d’you mind? This is rather private.’
    She looked surprised, but giving Catherine’s arm a squeeze, turned and left, closing the door behind her.
    â€˜Now, Mrs Fletcher, shall we sit down?’ He indicated the seat in front of the desk, and he took the wing commander’s chair on the other side. ‘I understand from Major Bennett that you are half French. Is that so?’
    â€˜Yes,’ Catherine nodded. ‘My mother is from Amiens.’
    â€˜And you are bilingual?’
    Again she nodded.
    He spoke rapidly to her in French, making a remark about her act and asking how she’d started singing. She answered him, a little hesitantly at first, and then more confidently, using the language that was as much used when she was growing up as English.
    â€˜Very good,’ Mr Lennox smiled. ‘I would say accentless.’
    Catherine was bewildered. Did they want her to sing in French as part of her act? That was fine: she could do that. She knew quite a few ballads and had sung Rina Ketty’s ‘I Will Wait’ often.
    â€˜The thing is, Mrs Fletcher, I work for a department in Whitehall that – how shall I put it? – er … gathers information.’ He leant back in the chair and took off his glasses, then polished them on his tie. Without them, his face was younger, cleverer, not so owlish. ‘Now, Catherine … May I call you that? When you go abroad with the Bennett Players, you could be very useful to us.’
    â€˜But how?’ Catherine was alarmed. ‘Surely we’ll only be going to the places that have been liberated?’
    â€˜Yes, officially. But with your ability to speak the language, there’s no reason why you couldn’t do some work for us.’
    She stared at him, confused. What on earth was he saying? Did he want her to go into occupied France and spy for him, putting her life in danger?
    â€˜I couldn’t,’ Catherine said. ‘It’s out of the question, Mr Lennox. I have a little girl. And with my husband missing … I couldn’t possibly do anything like you’re suggesting.’
    Robert steepled his fingers under his chin. ‘I know about your daughter, Lili,’ he said. ‘I know that your mother – Honorine, is it? – looks after her when you’re away. Since Beau mentioned you, we’ve done some investigations and you seem to be perfect for our purposes. And the singing is excellent cover.’
    Catherine gazed at him. He knew her mother’s name and that of her little girl. He or someone else must have been watching her. Watching her home, and maybe even following when she went to the shops or on the bus to the church hall for rehearsals. Suddenly she felt angry. How dare he? Haven’t I got enough to contend with?
    Robert must have noticed the change in her expression because he replaced his glasses before saying slowly, ‘But, of course, Mrs Fletcher, nobody intends to make you do something you aren’t comfortable with.’
    Catherine stood up. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Lennox. This isn’t something that I’m