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while he was doing so, she would use him. She had no choice. The Chief had made that plain enough.
    She said now, “It’s always nothing, Leon. But you can’t take chances just because you want to protect me.”
    His feigned sleep fell away and he rolled onto his back so that she could see his profile. It was one of the angles from which she saw him as extremely handsome. He said, “A minor difficulty, Lenore. What seemed easy in San Francisco does not appear so now that I am here. But I will work it out.”
    â€œWithout my help? You took help from me before. Why not now?”
    â€œHere it is dangerous. Here there are more than the subtle persecutions I suffered there.”
    Rising to one elbow, she reached across him for cigarettes and the lighter on the night table. He responded as always, taking the lighter from her and sitting up so that he might hold it better for her.
    She inhaled deeply and blew a thin cloud of smoke. “It wouldn’t be dangerous for me, Leon. I couldn’t do enough to get myself really involved, anyway. But I can help like I did before.” Her voice became more intense. “I may not be a part of your country, but I am part of you. Can you deny me the right to go on being part of you?”
    Sitting up now, he could no longer hide his expression. She saw a wariness there. He was not the actor she hoped she was being.
    â€œEven your knowing me is dangerous—for you, Lenore.”
    Her answer was quick, “Who knows about me? Whom have you told?”
    â€œNo one, Lenore. Why would I tell anyone?” He was on the defensive. The indication was subtle, but it was there in the timbre of his voice.
    She relaxed. “Then I am in a position to help, Leon. And in a fairly safe position, too.”
    His reluctance was plain. She could see that he did not quite know how to approach this opportunity. She reasoned that he knew she had been ordered to watch him, to work against him, and he also reasoned that she did not know that he knew about her. Obviously, he must maintain their relationship; therefore, he could not deny her too much or appear too reluctant.
    It was a pretty problem, she had to admit. She rather enjoyed seeing Leon work on it.
    His expression changed slowly. “Yes, what you say may be true. It may even be the answer.” He turned so that he was looking into her face. “Lenore, you must be careful. For your sake, I must be careful. We cannot afford to see each other too much. You must go away from London, make our next meeting appear only casual.”
    â€œOur next meeting?”
    â€œYes, I will come to you soon. I want you to go to a certain place and work for me. It is also a place where you can work on your studies. I will come to find out what you have learned.”
    Her first thought was that he was trying to get rid of her. Then he would be free to act. But the thought did not stay long. The Chief had explained that Leon was not ready to act; otherwise, he would not have tried to kill a man in order to have the freedom he needed. No, Leon still had to wait. And, judging from the anxious expression in his eyes, she had the feeling that her decision would be important to him.
    She said, “Go away—when we’ve just come together again?”
    He smiled gently and his hand reached out to touch her reassuringly. “My dear, I promise that it will not be for long. A few days. A week at the most.”
    â€œBut how can I help—if I’m not with you?”
    The veiled look crossed his face. Had she gone too far? Sounded too naïve even for the Lenny Corey he had known in San Francisco?
    â€œBut you can. As I told you, you must work for me. I want you to go to a certain seaside village. There you will find a woman who calls herself Portia Sloane. She is an artist. She is also a very dangerous woman.”
    â€œDangerous to you, Leon?” There was just enough mockery in her tone to make him