Part 16 (1/2)

He waited for her to respond to that, and then, when she did not, went on, ”Obviously, I was wrong. The only response to my letter was the telephone call just now. When Whittaker left here, after telling me that I was 'out of my mind' for having you in the school, he said that he was going to see the colonel. I had the impression he meant both about his coming here and about you.”

”He's known Colonel Donovan all his life,” Cynthia said softly.

”And so have you,” Baker said.

Cynthia looked at him.

”You want me to go to Colonel Donovan?” she asked.

”I thought you might consider it,” Baker said. ”For what a fraternal organization would call 'the good of the order.' ”

”I'm going to see Colonel Donovan,” Cynthia said. ”I intend to graduate from this school.”

”I thought perhaps you could make it clear to him why this whole sequence of events is so distressing to me,” Baker said.

Cynthia's mind was rus.h.i.+ng ahead.

”If I'm to go to Was.h.i.+ngton in the morning,” she said, ”what do I do about turning in my equipment, settling things?”

”I'll take care of that for you myself,” Baker said.

2.

It had taken a long time for Cynthia to go to sleep, and she had gone to sleep angry.

And she had awakened still angry, and had grown angrier with the realization that there was not going to be time to pack and dress and eat breakfast, too, and that she was just going to have to miss breakfast.

There was a small silver lining to the black cloud, she thought. It would be the first time that Greg had seen her dressed up in anything fancier than a skirt and a sweater, or wearing any makeup except a faint touch of lipstick. She had a moment to enjoy that before thinking that it probably would be better if he didn't get to see her that way. It would fuel what she suspected he felt for her.

When she carried her luggage downstairs, he was in the entrance foyer. It was the first time she had seen him dressed up, too. He was in his pink-and-green lieutenant's uniform, wearing his new silver parachutist's wings.

He smiled when he saw her.

”Baker said you would be going to Was.h.i.+ngton,” he said. ”He didn't say why, and he didn't tell me how pretty you are in your civilian clothing.”

”Good morning, Greg,” she said.

She wondered what his destination was, and when they had pa.s.sed the checkpoint, she asked him.

”I don't know,” he said.

Cynthia leaned forward and asked the driver, ”Where are you taking Lieutenant Hammersmith?”

”The house on Q Street,” the driver replied. ”He's to see Chief Ellis.”

”What's the 'house on Q Street'?” Greg Hammersmith asked.

”It's a mansion near Rock Creek Park,” she said. ”We use it as both a safe house and sort of a hotel for transients.”

”You've been there before, I gather.”

”I used to run it,” she said.

”And am I permitted to ask where you're going?” he asked.

”I'm going there too,” she said.

”And am I permitted to ask why?”

”No,” she said. ”I'm sorry.”

”Then, in the short time remaining to us, Miss Chenowith-” he began.

”Don't, Greg,” she said. ”Please don't-”

”What I was going to say, you have apparently figured out all by yourself,” he said.

She looked at him and met his eyes, then averted her eyes and avoided looking at him on the rest of the way to Was.h.i.+ngton.

When she walked into the kitchen, she asked the cook if Chief Ellis was around.

”In the dining room with Captain Whittaker,” the cook replied.

”Come on, Greg,” Cynthia said, aware that her temper was up and not caring.

Captain Whittaker and Chief Ellis were eating either a late breakfast or an early lunch. They were having eggs with their steaks, she saw, so it had to be breakfast.

”I think you know Miss Chenowith, Chief,” Whittaker said when he saw her. ”Otherwise known as 'Super-woman. 'And I don't know the name of the gentleman with her, but he is the one who almost came to her aid when I publicly humiliated her.”

”d.a.m.n you!” Cynthia flared.

”My name is Hammersmith,” Greg said coldly.

” 'My name is Hammersmith, Sir, Sir,' ” Whittaker said. ”We try very hard to observe the military amenities around here, don't we, Chief?”

”Yes, Sir,” Ellis said. ”That we do, Sir.”

”Sit down, Cynthia,” Whittaker said. ”Take a load off. Have a bite to eat. We have several hours to kill.”

Glowering at him, she walked to the head of the table and stabbed the call b.u.t.ton on the floor with her toe.

”For a moment, there, I thought she was going to slug me with her purse,” Whittaker said. ”Didn't it look that way to you?”

”You sonofab.i.t.c.h,” Cynthia said.