Page 36 of The Secret Librarian

Chapter Eighteen

Avery

‘You look beautiful.’

Avery frowned at her reflection in the mirror.

It wasn’t that she didn’t think she looked nice, because she had put a huge effort into her appearance, but she wasn’t convinced about going out at all.

Ever since finding out about James a few days ago, she’d found it hard to be interested in doing anything other than work, and she’d rather curl up on her bed and eat dinner with a book balanced between her knees than go out.

‘Thanks. I just, I don’t know, I wish I hadn’t said yes. It doesn’t feel right.’

‘Avery, look at me,’ Camille said. ‘You’re going to have a wonderful night out with a gorgeous man. Just enjoy it. You deserve it.’

Avery nodded.

‘I know you’re still feeling distraught about it all,’ Camille said. ‘But you need to give William a chance. He’s shown himself to be kind, and he’s rather gorgeous to look at. James fooled you, don’t you forget that, so you shouldn’t waste any time thinking about him.’

Avery knew Camille was right, but she still found it almost impossible to believe that the man who’d kissed her beneath the street light, the man who had made her laugh whenever she was with him, was capable of such duplicity.

Because of that, she wasn’t convinced she was the best judge of character, or that she should be going out with any man.

‘You saw Kiefer this morning, before he left?’

‘I did. It was strange saying goodbye to him, I had this overwhelming sense of relief when he walked away from me. Like that part of my life, pretending to be someone I wasn’t, was finally over.’

‘That you no longer had to keep up the charade?’

Camille nodded. ‘I suppose that’s what it was. But also that all of this, the search that’s driven me almost crazy, is almost over. That it will soon come to an end.’ Her eyes met Avery’s in the mirror.

‘What does that mean?’ Avery asked. She hadn’t actually imagined what Camille might do to James if he ever came back to Lisbon.

She hated what he’d done, her stomach turned whenever she thought of how easily she’d fallen for the man, yet her heart still hurt when she thought about him.

‘You’ve never actually talked to me about what you’ll do next. ’

‘Nothing. Just, nothing. Please don’t worry about it,’ Camille said. ‘Now come on, otherwise you’ll be late.’

Avery hesitated, staring at Camille, wondering what she could possibly mean by that, but a quick glance at her watch told her that she would indeed be late if they didn’t hurry.

She’d wanted to ask her how careful they would have to be going forward, now that Kiefer wasn’t there to offer at least some degree of protection, but that could be a conversation for another day.

She’d agreed to meet William outside the hotel and Avery was going to chaperone her there.

What James had said in jest that first night, about not letting a spy know where she lived, had stopped her from giving William her address.

Camille might believe that William was trustworthy, but Avery had decided to be much more careful moving forward.

Tom was sitting in the living room, his feet up on the coffee table, and she gave him a cursory glance as she passed. She reluctantly stopped when he cleared his throat, clearly trying to get her attention.

‘Avery, you have a letter from Washington,’ he said. ‘I left it on the table for you.’

She raised a brow. ‘You didn’t open it for me?’

He let out an audible breath. ‘No, Avery, I didn’t open it for you. Of course I didn’t open it.’

She turned to Camille. ‘Can I meet you downstairs?’

Camille didn’t need to be asked twice, and Avery saw how Tom kept glancing at her friend.

‘She’s the bookshop owner?’

‘She is indeed. Her name is Camille.’

‘She’s the one I’ve seen with a Nazi.’

Avery laughed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. ‘So have I, Tom. Anyone who doesn’t live under a rock would have seen her with a Nazi at the hotel. We all do what we have to do, no?’

He looked uncomfortable and she almost felt sorry for him, but she still hadn’t forgiven him for the threats he’d made, and she didn’t want to let him off the hook too easily. She used a knife to slice the envelope open, taking out the letter, which appeared brief.

Avery, excellent work. I don’t know how you’re sourcing these maps and other documents, so I won’t ask questions.

Washington wants to commend you, so from now on please preserve your film and focus only on your most recent work.

I’m certain you’ll know what I’m referring to.

You were certainly the right person for the job.

Stay safe. Kilgour.

She looked up, seeing that Tom was watching her intently.

‘Everything alright?’ he asked.

‘Everything is just peachy,’ she said. With no thanks to you .

‘Avery, about what happened the other night, about what I said ...’

She folded her arms and waited for him to finish.

‘I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I was out of line, threatening you like that, but I am worried about you,’ he said. ‘I would hate for something to happen to you, that’s all, and I felt like I owed it to you to keep you safe. To preserve the integrity of what we were sent here to do.’

‘I appreciate your concern, but I know what I’m doing,’ Avery said. ‘All I’ve ever wanted was to do this job to the very best of my ability – to prove that it wasn’t a mistake, my being chosen to come here.’

‘That letter confirms that for you?’ he asked.

She nodded, not able to resist a small smile. ‘As a matter of fact, it does.’

‘Well, then I’m pleased for you. Whatever you’re doing, it must be worth the risk,’ he said.

Avery slipped the letter back into the envelope and placed it in her purse, deciding she didn’t want to leave it on the table for any prying eyes, despite the contents being so glowing.

‘Avery?’

She glanced back at Tom.

‘I want you to know that I’m here for you. Whatever was said between us, we’re on the same side. You can always come to me if you need me, no questions asked.’

‘Thanks, Tom,’ she said, smiling as she walked past him and heading down the stairs and out the door to where Camille was waiting. It would certainly be nice not to have so much tension between them, and she knew it couldn’t have been easy for him to back down like that.

‘Nothing you couldn’t handle?’ Camille asked, offering her arm.

Avery slipped her arm through Camille’s as they set off down the road. ‘Nothing I couldn’t handle,’ she repeated.

And she meant it. When she’d been picked for the job and sent to Lisbon, she’d wavered between being excited and wondering how anyone could possibly think she had the right skills for the job.

But she no longer felt like that. Avery knew she was the right woman for the job now, and so long as she could keep finding exclusive material to send back to Washington, she knew that she’d never doubt herself again. Or at least she hoped so.

‘I have to say, I was surprised when you agreed to see me tonight.’

Avery glanced up, her hand on the stem of her wine glass. William had been nothing other than charming and sweet so far, and she was pleased she’d come, although it was abundantly obvious that he was interested in being more than just friends.

‘Why were you surprised? I’m fairly certain you don’t have a problem with ladies agreeing to dates.’

He grazed her hand with his knuckles, and she fought to hold his gaze. He was bold, and she wasn’t used to bold. She slowly pulled her hand away to put some distance between them.

‘Let’s just say that I thought your interests might be elsewhere,’ he said. ‘Either way I’m very pleased to be spending the evening in your company.’

Avery had already had a glass of wine, and she was being careful not to take more than tiny sips of her second, but she feared that if their dinner didn’t come soon, she would start to feel light-headed.

Certainly she was going to wait until she’d had her first course before she attempted to stand and walk to the bathroom.

William was well through his second drink and had already waved the waiter over for another.

‘My sources tell me you’re rather good at acquiring newspapers and the like,’ William said, as their dinner finally arrived.

The plate of food in front of her smelt amazing, and Avery stalled by taking a small mouthful as she tried to figure out how to reply. He was certainly very direct, but she was used to telling her cover story and he wasn’t going to rattle her so easily.

‘Your source is correct,’ she said. ‘I’m here to acquire books of interest from all countries, as well as relevant newspapers, to ensure that our central library at home has a full record of the war.’

‘Our government has a similar initiative, although I do wonder if it’s slightly more clandestine than they care to admit.’

‘Really?’ She purposely let her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. ‘That’s interesting, because my instructions are very clear, and I’m to ensure zero involvement in anything covert, so to speak. It’s all very much above board and transparent.’

‘I take it you’ve heard about the Allied operative arrested in Spain?’

Avery swallowed, her food suddenly very dry in her mouth. ‘When you say operative ...’

‘Sorry, my terminology was too loose. She may well have had a job similar to yours. I believe she did something called microphotography, although I may have the terminology wrong. Anyway, she was arrested just last month on suspicion of being a spy for some of the materials she’d managed to acquire. I thought you would have heard?’

William spoke as if he were talking about the weather or some other trivia, and she had the distinct feeling that he’d told her to see how she would react.

She immediately thought of the maps of Kiefer’s that she’d copied. ‘Will she be released, once they realise it was all a misunderstanding?’

William picked up his knife and fork and took a mouthful, as she sat frozen still, her fork hovering over her plate with a piece of warm ham on it.