But she wouldn’t want to laze away the whole day, would she? After a moment of pursed-lipped staring at the fresh pile of film that had apparently been delivered for her yesterday, she scooped half the stack into her bag to process at home. Mama might be suspicious if she disappeared out of the house for hours, but she’d think nothing of her vanishing into her own darkroom at home.

Satisfied, she opened the door—and squealed.

The admiral jumped a bit too and chuckled as he lowered the hand he’d apparently just lifted to knock. “So you really are here. Mr. Pearce said he thought he’d seen you, but I didn’t quite believe it. Oughtn’t you to be getting ready for the wedding?”

She slid the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “I ought, yes. I was just on my way home—and am already later than I meant to be. Ivy will be champing at the bit, eager as she is to help me get ready.” She smiled, though it faded back to neutral when she saw he had a manila envelope in his hands. “Did you need something?”

He blinked. Regarded her for a long moment. And then backed up to let her out of the doorway, shaking his head. “Nothing that can’t wait until Tuesday, I’m certain. Let’s just enjoy the evening, shall we? After all, it isn’t every day that we get to witness the nuptials of two of our own.”

Another day, she might have pressed him. Today, however, she tended to agree. They fell into step beside each other and set a quick pace down the corridor, toward the stairs. “Was the photograph I sent up on Friday all right?” She’d spent painstaking hours working on taking an aerial photograph of one of their new Royal Air Force aerodromes and making it look a great deal busier—and fuller of planes—than it really was. Major Camden had even spent several hours at her side, advising her on where to insert tiny, blurred people, how to arrange the fictional planes, and so forth. She’d been rather proud of the result, which she had to think was being leaked even now to the German Luftstreitkräfte.

Hall chuckled. “It was perfect, of course. But that is hardly what you should be thinking about just now.”

Maybe not, but she wasn’t exactly going to gush about her hopes and dreams concerning Zivon with DID. “I grabbed some of the new film to process at home tomorrow, if that’s all right.” She’d taken work home with her before, though on rare occasions. She had to assume he wouldn’t have a problem with it now when he hadn’t then, but she’d rather be certain than face his anger.