“I’ve…offered him fine jewels on occasion. An occasional piece of art. It’s kept me welcome amongst higher-ranking officers at the Ritz. And just as importantly, kept me welcome in the kitchens at the Ritz.”

“Ah.”

“What do you need in that radio room?”

Sophie was drumming her fingers on the mantel. “It’s the codebooks I’m after, though I can’t steal them, not even just to copy them. I can’t take the chance that they will be discovered missing, and then returning them adds additional risk. Under no circumstances can the Germans think that their codes or encryption device have been compromised.”

“I understand.”

“I had always thought that the best approach would be to take photos of the device and then the pages because to copy codebooks by hand would take hours. I have a camera—a Riga. It’s small, easily concealed.” Sophie hesitated. “I practiced before I left for France. With the camera, that is.”

“How long?” Estelle pressed, her mind racing.

“Assuming I can get through the locks with efficiency, maybe twenty minutes. Maybe less. Get in and get out and leave no trace.”

“And what happens when you’ve done that?”

“I’m to smuggle whatever information I’m able back to London.”

Estelle let out a bark of laughter. “You make it sound like you’ll simply board the next ferry heading back to Southampton.”

“I’m to make my way back to my original drop site on the next full moon. Where I met Vivienne and her network.”

“That’s still weeks away,” Estelle protested.

“Yes. Until then, I’ll need to disappear. Evade capture.”

“You don’t say,” Estelle muttered.

“At that point in time, they’ll send a Lizzie to fetch me. If not, I’ll figure something else out.”

“Who’s Lizzie?”

“Not who, what. A tiny plane they use to recover agents.” Sophie grimaced. “Though they are rather hit and miss, I’ve been warned. It’s harder than you might think to land a plane in a field in the dark in the middle of a country crawling with Nazis.”

Estelle looked back out the window.

“But that part is secondary at the moment. Of greater concern is how I will get into the Ritz undetected, get into the Imperial Suite undetected, stay there for twenty minutes undetected, and get back out. Undetected. We need a plan.”