A Devil Is Waiting - Jack Higgins [26]
He flung his arms wide and stood to greet her, removing his reading glasses. “My dearest girl, how wonderful to see you.”
They hugged for a few moments. “I love you so damn much, Granddad,” she said fiercely.
“Such language,” he told her. “You’re bringing tears to my eyes.” He took out a hanky to dab at them. “What will your friend think?”
“That you’re a lucky man to have such a beautiful granddaughter, Rabbi.” Holley held out his hand. “Daniel Holley. Sara and I are colleagues.”
“Is that so?” Nathan Gideon led the way across to the fireplace, where two sofas faced each other across a glass coffee table. He sat down with Sara in one, Daniel facing them. The door opened and Sadie Cohen pushed in a trolley.
“Do you also work at the Ministry of Defence, like that nice Major Roper who came to hear my sermon?” the rabbi inquired.
“Now and then, if I’m needed,” Holley said. “I’m also in the shipping business.”
“But somehow a colleague of my granddaughter who’s a captain in the Intelligence Corps. This I don’t understand.”
He accepted the cup of tea Sadie handed him, and Sara said, “The thing is, I won’t be wearing the uniform much anymore.”
“Except if you have to go to the Palace to get your Military Cross,” Holley said.
The news was received with astonishment, Sadie missing a cup entirely while pouring more tea.
“The Military Cross?” Nathan Gideon was amazed. “Sara, you never said a word.”
“I only just heard,” she said. “And it was totally unexpected. Frank, my sergeant, deserved it more.”
“I don’t think he’d agree,” Holley told her. “It was his account of your actions that night that led to you being put up for the award in the first place.” He stood up. “Look, sir, you’re a sensible man and I get the impression that Mrs. Cohen is pretty smart, too, so please listen. Major Roper, Sara, myself, and a few other people work for a top secret intelligence unit, responsible only to the Prime Minister.”
He turned to Sara inquiringly and she nodded in agreement. “What Daniel says is true, Granddad. But you know you can’t say anything about this, right? Neither of you. It’s under the Official Secrets Act.”
Her grandfather gaped at her in astonishment as Sadie said, “So no more wars, no more Afghanistan?”
Sara smiled and then said, “Sadie, I’d be perfectly happy if I never have to clap eyes on the place again.”
“So you will be living at home? That’s good. Now, you get that tea down you, and I’ll see to the trolley when you’re finished.”
She went out, and Nathan said, “I’d like to thank you for clearing the air about all this, Daniel. We all know where we stand now, and you can rely on me and Sadie to play our parts.” He smiled mischievously. “Such as they are.”
Holley said, “I’ll get out of your way, because I know you must have a lot to talk about, and I know you’re going out later.”
“That’s true. A big fund-raiser with a speech, unfortunately. But I suspect we’ll be seeing each other again.”
They shook hands, and Holley followed Sara out to the hall. “He’s a rather wonderful man, isn’t he?”
“You could say that. And very special to me after what happened to my parents.” His tie had loosened, and she reached up and adjusted it. “Thanks for what you told him. It needed doing, and I didn’t know how.”
The rush of tenderness he felt at that moment was a totally new experience. He said to her, “Doing things for you comes easy.”
She went back along the corridor to the study. The door of the cloakroom opened and Sadie came out with towels. “Still here?”
“Just leaving.”
She nodded and moved closer. “She’s a lovely girl. Do anything to hurt her—”
Holley cut her off. “I know, you’ll kill me,” he