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insulin.
    'Which shift?' Jon asked.
    She snatched away her hand and stared at him in disbelief.
    Jon laughed. 'Relax. I spoke to Robert ages ago. He agreed.'
    She gave a groan of resignation. Jon grabbed her hand and put it back over his eyes.
    'I didn't say it was your birthday though,' he said. 'If I had, I'm not sure he would have agreed.'
    'Why not?'
    'Because he's crazy about you, and you know it.'
    'That's what you say.'
    'And you don't like him.'
    'That's not true!'
    'Why do you always go stiff whenever I mention his name then?'
    She laughed out loud. Must have been something in Bronx . Or Queens .
    'Did you get a table at the restaurant?' she asked.
    'Yes.'
    She smiled and squeezed his hand. Then she furrowed her brow. 'I've been thinking. Someone might see us there.'
    'From the Army? Out of the question.'
    'What if they do?'
    Jon didn't answer.
    'Perhaps it's time we went public,' she said.
    'I don't know,' he said. 'Isn't it best to wait until we're absolutely sure that—'
    'Aren't you sure, Jon?'
    Jon moved her hand and looked up at her in dismay: 'Thea, please. You know very well that I love you above all else. That's not the point.'
    'What is the point then?'
    Jon sighed and sat up beside her. 'You don't know Robert, Thea.'
    She gave a wry smile. 'I've known him since we were tiny, Jon.'
    Jon squirmed. 'Yes, but there are things you don't know. You don't know how angry he can get. He takes after Dad. He can be dangerous, Thea.'
    She leaned back against the wall and stared into the air.
    'I suggest we defer it for a while.' Jon wrung his hands. 'Out of consideration for your brother, too.'
    'Rikard?' she said, surprised.
    'Yes. What would he say if you, his own sister, announced your engagement to me right now?'
    'Ah, I see what you mean. As you're both competing for the head of admin job?'
    'You know very well that the High Council sets great store by high-ranking officers having a respectable officer as their spouse. It's obvious that the right thing to do from a tactical point of view would be to announce my marriage to Thea Nilsen, the daughter of Frank Nilsen, the commander's right hand. But would it be morally right?'
    Thea chewed her bottom lip. 'Why is this job so important to you and Rikard?'
    Jon shrugged. 'The Army has paid our way through Officer Training School and four years for an economics degree at a school of management. I suppose Rikard thinks the way I do. You have a duty to apply for Salvation Army jobs seeking your qualifications.'
    'Maybe neither of you will get it. Dad says no one under thirty-five has ever been appointed head of admin.'
    'I know.' Jon sighed. 'Don't tell anyone but actually I would be relieved if Rikard gets the job.'
    'Relieved?' Thea said. 'You? You've had the responsibility for all the rental property in Oslo for over a year now.'
    'That's right, but the head of admin has all of Norway, Iceland and the Faeroes. Did you know that the Army's property company owns over 250 plots, with three hundred buildings in Norway alone?' Jon patted himself on the stomach and stared at the ceiling with a familiar concerned expression. 'I saw my reflection in a shop window today and it struck me how small I am.'
    Thea did not seem to have heard. 'Someone told Rikard that whoever gets the job will be the next Territorial Commander.'
    Jon laughed out loud. 'I definitely do not want that.'
    'Don't mess about, Jon.'
    'I'm not messing about, Thea. You and I are much more important. I'm saying I'm not interested in the admin job, so let's announce our engagement. I can do other important work. Lots of the corps need economists, too.'
    'No, Jon,' Thea said, horrified. 'You're the best we've got. You have to be employed where we need you most. Rikard is my brother, but he doesn't have . . . your intelligence. We can wait until the decision has been made to tell them about the engagement.'
    Jon shrugged.
    Thea looked at the clock. 'You'll have to leave before twelve today. In the lift yesterday