42
As Sophie closed the book, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place, and she knew at last what it all meant. Vivienne hadn’t died at the hands of her lover. She had taken her own life somehow, had sacrificed it for her country and to protect whatever she and Vonstein were doing. She had taken the fall. That’s why she’d reminded Marcus of the name of the story at the moment of her death.
She pondered Vivienne’s story on those terms. What if he hadn’t wanted to execute her? What if she’d forced his hand somehow, reminding him of her sacrifice? Though Sophie didn’t know all the pieces of the puzzle from so long ago, she knew one thing: her great-aunt had not been a victim, nor a sacrifice after a casual affair. The coded meaning was clear: she had been doing work for her country. Vivienne had never quit being a spy.
Sophie took the book to the front of the shop.
‘Did you want to take that old thing?’ asked Mr Kersley with a sniff.
‘I do. It’s the last piece to a puzzle that is extremely important to me.’
He smiled, looking pleased. ‘Well, in that case, I’ll even wrap it for you.’ He took out some brown paper and covered the book then taped it and handed it to her. ‘That will be five pounds, Sophie.’
She handed him the money and placed the book in her bag, thinking how this one small purchase for such a paltry amount of money had the potential to change the story of her family’s history.
And that of another person’s family too. A person who was on her mind. Alex.
Sophie had been so hard on him when she’d left, so harsh with him, and he hadn’t deserved that. Taking it out on him because she was starting to have real feelings for him and she despised herself for that. She had driven him away because she didn’t want her heart to get hurt again.
But now Sophie wanted to share all this news with him. She texted him straight away, telling him she thought that she’d found some more answers to the story. She noted then, with sadness, that he read it but didn’t respond. Maybe she’d blown it with him. The thought made her feel miserable, because even though they were just at the beginning of something, it had felt sincere and loving.
Sophie decided the next day she would go to the National Archives and present them with the information that she had and see if they had anything there that would help bring about a conclusion.
She made an appointment with a Mr Scullin, and when she arrived armed with all of her material, she felt like a schoolgirl summoned to the headmaster’s office. He was a man of little levity and listened as she plunged into her story. He was impressed when she showed him the decoded message and his eyebrows only quirked once, when she mentioned her findings in ‘The Call of the Swallows’. He took notes as she explained Frau Strauss’s claims.
‘Was there someone with you to witness her story?’ he asked, looking down at his paper.
‘Yes, Alex Vonstein, Marcus’s great-nephew, and Frau Strauss’s granddaughter, Chloe, were both there.’
‘If she is able, we’d want a written confirmation from Miss Strauss of what she witnessed to be able to look at this case. And if you can give me contact details for the other two, that would be very helpful.’
Sophie realised then it wasn’t as straightforward as presenting the facts. They had to look into this and confirm them for themselves.
She must have looked disheartened, because as she put her hand out to say goodbye, he shook it saying, ‘I’m sure it’ll all work out. There were many loose ends left dangling at the end of the war, stories like yours that are still coming out. The MOD is very open to making sure people get the recognition they deserve for what they did. Let us look into all the facts we have on our side and we’ll be in touch.’
Sophie felt a little heartened by his words, but still, it was frustrating that it would take even longer. She wanted the record put straight so she could go back to Cornwall. This was the journey she was most looking forward to. Tom needed to know what his sister had done, that she hadn’t been the person they had all suspected.
Travelling home, Sophie felt a little deflated and wished more than anything she could talk to Alex. Looking at her phone, she noted he had still not texted back. With this kind of information, if they’d been in France, maybe they would have opened a bottle of wine and celebrated.
With a sudden awareness she realised she really missed him.
43
Sophie received a call from the National Archives two weeks later. ‘We have some extremely exciting news for you. We are planning on bringing all of our members together so you can share what you have. We will present what we know, and then we can attempt to put some of these records straight. It appears that we have evidence that backs up your claim about your great-aunt Vivienne. Could you come in here on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and present what you know about her story? It doesn’t have to be particularly long, but just tell us everything you know.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Sophie answered with a new sense of excitement.
As she turned off her phone, she thought of Alex. He’d replied to her text eventually but they hadn’t spoken since she’d left France, and she found she was still missing him terribly. In that brief time he had been such a great friend to her, and this had been their story to pursue, not just hers. She shared her good news with him, texting him about her appointment straight away. He texted her back saying it was incredible and thanked her for telling him, though adding that perhaps he wouldn’t share anything with his mother until there was something he could show her in writing.
A week later, Sophie made her way to the National Archives, into a spacious office with tables and desks filled with people – amateur historians, and other World War Two archivists –with notepads and phones poised to record. The man who had organised the event came to the front of the room and introduced her. There was great excitement as she presented her facts and they listened attentively, taking notes.
Then they turned out the lights so they could show a short film featuring some clips all about SOE work. It also highlighted the story of the betrayal of F-section, otherwise known as the Physician Network. There was still a mystery about how the network had been exposed. Many people believed one of the operatives in France, a man called Henri Déricourt, had acted as a double agent; the other rumour was that the British government sacrificed their agents to protect the Normandy landings. Lucky to have escaped alive, Vivienne Hamilton had evidently been there, working under her code name, Sparrow, when many operatives had been captured and eighty killed.
Sophie sucked in a breath. Thinking again about the picture Vivienne had painted for her uncle Tom.
The man at the front pulled up some photographs. ‘It appears that Vivienne had escaped from France and SOE at the very time that the cell was being uncovered by someone working for the Germans who was betraying those in the Physician Network. Many of the agents undercover, like Vivienne, took the blame for what was happening, wondering if somehow it was their own incompetence, a wireless discovered, or their coding being inadequate that had caused the fall of the cell, when all the time it was someone else who was sabotaging the network.’
Sophie wondered if her aunt had felt responsible for her cell being discovered.