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One of the maids came out from the sitting room. 'There is some one to see you, Donna Elena. A lady.'

Her mistress paused and looked up frowning. 'A lady.'

'A French lady. A Senorita Legrand.'

Elena de Montera said calmly, 'Please show her in.'

* * *

Gabrielle paused in the French windows, then came forward slowly. 'Donna Elena?'

The old woman sat there, looking at her without expression for a while and then nodded. 'Yes, I see exactly what he meant. Now I understand everything.'

'Where is he?' Gabrielle said. 'I must see him. I've something to tell him of vital importance.'

'But that's impossible. Raul is at Rio Gallegos, flying with his squadron, or what's left of it.'

Gabrielle slumped down in a chair on the other side of the table. 'Is Linda here? He talked a lot about Linda and you.'

'I've sent her to friends in the country. It seemed the best thing to do in the circumstances.'

'What you mean is, you expect to hear he's been killed in action at any moment?'

'It would appear likely.' She lit a cigarette and pushed the pack across to Gabrielle. 'Cheap ones, the kind dockers use, but I can't smoke anything else. My son, when he returned from France, breached security completely, quite simply because he didn't care any more. He told me everything. He loves you very much.'

'I know that.'

'So much, that he discounts your activities for British Intelligence as being of no consequence, an opinion I'm certain our esteemed President would not agree with. However, Raul was deeply distressed by the fact of your brother's death. It is something he felt would always be between you.'

'But they lied to me!' Gabrielle spread her hands. 'My people lied to me, to keep me in line! Richard's fine, still a helicopter pilot on Invincible, but alive and well.'

'Mother of God.' Elena de Montera put a hand to her eyes for a moment, then looked up again. 'Were you aware that my son had your name painted on the nose of his Skyhawk?'

'Yes,' Gabrielle said.

'I have friends down there who keep me informed as to his doings. When he got back, he had an extra word added. Apparently it now reads, Gabrielle Gone.'

Gabrielle took a deep breath and placed her hands on the table to steady herself. 'I must see him. I'll go to Rio Gailegos.'

'My dear, you wouldn't get anywhere near the place. It's a restricted military area. On the other hand, General Dozo, Commander of our air force, is one of my dearest friends. Let's go inside and I'll make some phone calls.'

'If you only could,' Gabrielle said.

'Men, my love, are easy enough to handle as long as one understands their conceit.' She put an arm around Gabrielle's shoulder as they crossed the terrace. 'You look tired. I'll get Rosa to make you a cup of tea. It is tea you drink, I believe?'

As they went in through the French windows, Gabrielle started to laugh helplessly.

* * *

It was just before four o'clock in the morning when Raul Montera moved across to the windows of the operations room at Rio Gallegos and peered outside. It was pouring with rain, the apron, where three Skyhawks waited, awash with it as the ground crews worked on them in the light of the arc lamps.

The young pilots who were to fly with him filed out and Montera turned, finishing the last of his tea. The room was empty now, only the chairs, the large scale charts of the Malvinas on the wall, the cigarette smoke. Someone had left a cigar burning on the edge of an ash tray. He stubbed it out carefully, then picked up his helmet and went outside.

He was tired, more tired than he had ever been in his life before. As he took a deep breath and started towards the planes a staff car came up round the corner and pulled up beside him. The door opened and Lami Dozo got out, pulling a greatcoat over his shoulders.

'Raul, how are you?'

'It could be worse. We lost another three yesterday. What you might call scraping the barrel.'

Lami Dozo gave him a cigarette. 'San Carlos again?'

'That's right.'

'This could be