At the reception for the viewers of the private showing of Les Visiteurs du Soir Saturday evening, conversation paused at the entrance of the handsome Colonel Derrick Albrecht and the new dazzler on his arm, Mademoiselle Veronique Colbert, an instructor of foil said to be his match on the piste. Victoria in her ivory satin gown and Derrick in the black jacket and white-lapelled formal uniform of the SS made quite a stunning pair. Victoria’s beauty outshone even that of the film’s starring actress, Arletty, as, cocktails in hand, they made the rounds of the Nazi elite, Victoria feeling as if she were moving in a den of snakes dressed in formal attire. A tense moment came when she and Colonel Albrecht encountered the commander in charge of the Abwehr in France, on his arm an extremely attractive woman introduced as Madame Adeline Gastain. Their two organizations were known to hate each other, and the men would have crossed metaphorical swords had the ladies not responded warmly to each other’s introductions, complimented each other’s gowns, and expressed enthusiasm for the film.

Victoria worried how the evening would conclude. Would Derrick Albrecht invite himself to her apartment to share one of the bottles of the Bordeaux delivered with the boxes of food? How would she handle him? But at the door of her hotel, under the eye of the concierge peering through the glass from her station inside, Colonel Derrick Albrecht merely bowed over her hand, clicked his heels together, and said, “Thank you, Mademoiselle Colbert, for the most enchanting evening of my life. Regrettably, I am afraid that I have a pressing matter to attend to tomorrow and will be unable to keep our scheduled appointment. I will look forward to our bout Sunday next. Bonne nuit.”

*  *  *

Sunday in Bern, Major Alistair Renault felt a special need to spend the day in a church where he might find a moment’s peace while he waited to learn Dragonfly’s fate. Any day he expected to receive word that one or all of the team had been arrested. Henri, his ubiquitous eyes and ears in Paris, had reported that Victoria had been seen escorted by Colonel Derrick Albrecht to a cinema premiere and that Sister Mary Frances had notified him that the beat policeman had turned against Bridgette. The classified list that Brad had passed on from Konrad March’s desk Alistair now suspected to be too much of a windfall.

“The general’s tired.” Wild Bill had made light of Alistair’s suspicions that Brad and Chris might be under surveillance. “Fatigue makes us sloppy, which he’s already demonstrated once. Sometimes even I am slack in giving due diligence to classified material.”