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need to use brute force. By the way, what does Miss Browne know of your – what shall I call them? – your activities on behalf of the government?’
    Edward was taken aback though he ought not to have been. Verity was always seen as his weak link, at least as far as secrecy and his patriotism were concerned. As a Communist and a journalist, she would always be suspect but Edward would never contemplate giving her up on that account. In his book, loyalty to one’s friends stood above any other loyalty.
    ‘She knows I undertook an investigation for Special Branch.’
    ‘Did she give you her blessing?’ Liddell asked sarcastically.
    ‘She understood that I had to do what I could to defend my country. She is a patriot but her idea of what is good for this country may not always be the same as the government’s.’ He knew he sounded pompous but it was the truth. ‘She takes the view that Special Branch has a particular bias against Communists while ignoring the danger from the right.’
    Liddell coughed. ‘It is true we needed to combat subversive Bolshevik activities in Britain – still do for that matter. I had better tell you, in the strictest confidence of course, that we have just arrested Percy Glading, the CPGB’s National Organizer. He was working directly for the Kremlin. You know the Communist Party has a clandestine wireless station in Wimbledon? No? Well, believe me when I say that the Party is acting under direct instruction from Moscow.’
    ‘But . . .’
    ‘I know. I am sure Miss Browne is quite unaware of it. It’s for you to decide whether you want to open her eyes to what the Comrades are up to but, of course, there must be no mention of your source. Anyway, you can tell her that for the last three years most of our energies have been devoted to preparing for the war with Germany.’
    Edward cheered up. ‘Why has it taken so long? Why has Mr Churchill been a lone voice warning of German rearmament?’
    Liddell shrugged. ‘The politicians posture but our duty is to plan for the worst.’
    Throughout the conversation, Edward realized, Liddell had assumed that he would do what he was asked to do and it came to him that he was no longer an amateur – a dabbler – choosing what he would or would not investigate but a government agent. His orders might be phrased as requests but they were in reality commands. The knowledge pleased him as much as it surprised him. Quite without meaning to, he had drifted into a line of work for which he had a taste and, he was beginning to think, a gift.
    Liddell was still talking about Verity. ‘Did you know that she will be back in England by the end of the week?’
    ‘I didn’t but, from what I hear on the wireless, the situation in Austria is very tense. I assumed her days in Vienna were numbered. I mean,’ he corrected himself, ‘as a known Communist she will be in considerable danger when the Nazis take over and the sooner she is back in London the happier I will be.’
    ‘Lord Weaver has ordered her to leave, at least until her safety can be assured.’ Lord Weaver was the proprietor of the New Gazette and Verity’s employer. ‘As soon as the Nazis establish themselves in the city, the Jews will be rounded up and sent to camps and the Communists with them, if they are not shot.’
    Liddell sounded so matter-of-fact it chilled Edward’s blood but not for one moment did he doubt that what he said was true.
    ‘I’m told she’s bringing an interesting young Jew with her – a man called Georg Dreiser. Find out if he has anything of interest to tell us. I rather doubt it, but you never know.’
    ‘Yes, Miss Browne asked me to write a letter promising to support him financially until he could support himself. You know that thousands of Jews are being condemned to death because the British Embassy won’t give them visas without such letters?’
    For the first time Liddell looked uncomfortable. ‘We could be swamped if we let in everyone who wanted to