“Your mother hasn’t been able to reach you. She misses you terribly. Please stay and help her.”
“I can’t, Dad. This is the only time we will be able to come here.”
“I don’t understand. Why the secrecy? Why are you here in the middle of the night?” When neither of them answered, his eyes widenedand went to her abdomen. “Are you in trouble? Has something happened?”
She almost laughed. Was he suggesting she might be “in trouble” because of Gus? “No, Dad. It’s nothing like that.” Beside her, Gus smiled but said nothing. “It’s just something we can’t talk about.”
From downstairs Dot heard the old grandfather clock strike one, slightly muffled by the ceiling. Time was running out for all of them.
“Does it… have to do with the war?”
Of course he’d keep asking, and of course he would try to figure it out. As would she, in his place. All she could do was refuse to answer, and that was getting more difficult by the second.
“Dad, I—”
Gus put his hand on her shoulder for reassurance, then he crouched beside her, his expression set in stone. “Mr. Wilson, Dot and I work for a secret government agency.”
Her heart stopped, hearing him say the forbidden facts out loud. Was he trying to get them both killed?
“Dot is a miracle worker when it comes to codebreaking and intercepting enemy signals, and I am a field agent who trains resistance groups in France, among other things.” She saw his throat move as he swallowed. “We both signed oaths of secrecy, sir, which is why we need you to never say a word of our visit to anyone. By telling you this, and by being here without permission, we risk placing ourselves in front of a firing squad.”
Gus turned to her, his face no longer hard. His eyes were dark with sorrow, and his grief hit her all at once. He believed her father would take their secrets with him to the grave, and very soon. She looked down at her father in anguish. This couldn’t be happening. Her father couldn’t simply be gone. Except it was, and he would be.
And when he is gone, she thought reluctantly, his pain will go as well.
A hint of a smile returned to her father’s dry lips. “Heroes. You are both heroes. I knew all three of you would do big things. I could not be more proud.” He looked at Gus, then back at Dot. “Your secret is safewith me. Now that I’ve sworn my own secrecy oath, can you tell me about your life?”
She’d kept everything inside her for so long it was difficult to get going, but Gus made a comment about how the Intelligence Department was fortunate to have Dot, and that helped her open up. She tried to sum up the past year, going into a little bit of extra detail about the codebreaking work, then she gave him a brief insight into the magic that was Hydra. Despite their weariness, his eyes lit up at the things she said, as if he could see his treasured puzzles once more.
When her stories ended, his gaze returned to Gus. “Young man, there’s something I have always wanted to say to you, and I’m ashamed I never did. I want you to know that taking you into our home was our greatest decision. It has been our privilege to raise you to be the man you are today. Secret agent, indeed! Your father would have been so proud. Thank you for coming tonight, and for bringing my daughter.”
Gus’s jaw set against showing emotion. “You were the father I never had.”
“And I know your weakness.” A crafty grin spread across her father’s face, astonishing her. “I have trouble seeing you as a spy, Gus. You were always a terrible liar.”
“I’m better at it now,” Gus said, his own smile shy.
“Perhaps. But I still see it.”
Dot frowned. “See what, Dad?”
He winked, looking pleased with himself. “Ask him.”
Dot and Gus exchanged a glance, then Gus looked away. She frowned at them both, puzzled, but her father’s eyes suddenly opened wide.
“There’s someone on the stairs,” he whispered urgently. He squeezed Dot’s hand, and though it was weak, it meant so much. “Thank you for coming. Tonight was the greatest gift you could have given me. I love you both with all my heart. Now go.”
Gus drew her away when she couldn’t move, and they crept soundlessly toward the window. For a heartbeat, she stood in confusion, feeling lost. When she glanced at the bed, she tried to imagine a peacesettling over her father, but she couldn’t see him in the dark. Everything in her ached to rush back and check, but Gus gently took her elbow, then he helped her through the window and onto the branch.
Along with the cool night air came moonlight and a sense of panic. Nothing felt real anymore. Seeking clarity, she tried to label all that she felt. Loss. Dread. Guilt. A need to push past Gus and go back in, to be with her father.
But Gus slipped the window closed then moved ahead of her on the branch. “Keep moving. We have to get out of view.”
“I can’t. How can I leave him?”
“Climb down, Dot. Follow me.”
She knew he was right. It would do no one any good if they were to end up in front of a firing squad. Except… She looked back at the window, visualizing her father—
