Absolute silence lasted for about two seconds before people began clapping and cheering. Bertie looked dumbfounded as the captain handed the telegram to him and shook his hand.
“You should ask for a knighthood,” Inga enthused, and Bertie grinned.
“I’m an American, so I can’t be a knight.”
“Then become a congressman,” Benedict said, “maybe a senator. Washington could use a truly great man like yourself.”
Bertie flushed a little. “Perhaps someday,” he said modestly.
Inga moved to the sideboard. “This calls for a toast,” she announced.
It appeared that, in addition to celebrating the midpoint of their journey, they were also celebrating the king’s message. More corks were popped, and more cigars emerged.
Delia fought to keep the pleasant expression on her face, but she hated the stench of cigar smoke. Benedict looked equally annoyed. Perhaps this was her chance. She strolled to his side and asked, “Can I have a few moments of your time? The air is easier to breathe up on the main deck.”
If Benedict was surprised, it didn’t show on his aloof face. He merely gestured toward the door, and she led the way.
The air was indeed fresher up on deck, but it was also cold and windy. She should have brought a coat but wouldn’t risk leaving Benedict alone to dart off to her cabin. She hugged herself against the chill and faced him.
“Well?” Benedict said, lifting a quizzical eyebrow.
“If we can secure access to the Port of Rotterdam, would you be willing to intercede on behalf of Mathilde Verhaegen?”
“Once again, Miss Byrne, my answer is no. It’s a hopeless case.”
“I’ve been studying treaties, and I believe there is hope. Article forty-six of the Hague Convention of 1907 emphasizes the protection of civilian rights.”
Benedict remained unmoved. “The Germans will say her work distributing enemy propaganda made her a combatant.”
“No, the Hague Convention outlines the criteria for enemy combatants, and Mathilde doesn’t qualify. I found it very persuasive. Of course, it would sound better coming from you.”
“No doubt. However,Acta est fabula,plaudit.”
Delia narrowed her eyes. She’d heard Wesley quote the classic Latin phrase enough to know it meant that the show was over, applaud and be done with it.
“The show isnotover, and I won’t applaud,” Delia said. “I’ll do all the research. You just have to show up and present it to the German authorities in Brussels. You will be a hero. Think of it.”
“Tua causa est desperato.”
Delia rattled through her memory bank of Latin legal terms but came up empty. “What does that mean?”
“It means your cause is hopeless. Give up.”
She wanted to shake him. Benedict hadn’t been any warmer on her earlier attempts, and it was hard to keep flattering him. “I shall never forgive you for marrying Inga.”
He shrugged. “Half the male population of New York hasn’t forgiven me for marrying Inga, so I shall not wither beneath your disapproval.”
“You are completely unworthy of her.”
His firm mouth quirked a bit. “At last, Miss Byrne, we are in complete agreement.” He turned and departed, leaving Delia alone in the moonlight with a handful of long-shot legal arguments that might work but with nobody to champion them.
27
“I can’t believe you want me to eat boiled snails,” Finn said. He sat across from Theo Montgomery in a French café, where they lounged in wicker chairs on a patio overlooking the Moselle River. They were in Toul, home of the American 1st Pursuit Group. This was where a number of Finn’s former comrades from the Lafayette Escadrille had been assigned.
Finn and Theo had always been like-minded when it came to appreciating a view and so had chosen a table on the patio despite the chilly April evening. The clinking of silverware from inside the restaurant, as well as the Frenchwoman bringing in her laundry off the lines across the street, were touchstones of blessed normality.
“Escargot isn’t boiled; it’s simmered,” Theo said, piercing a glossy black snail with a tiny fork and gesturing with it. “They’re steeped in a broth of wine and herbs, then finished with a dash of garlic butter and parsley. They’re delicious. You should try it.”
