“He does all this without a calculator?” Haley marveled.
“That’s right.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Catherine was impressed with Atanas Stavich. The young boy was the hardest worker she had ever seen. He was at the office when Catherine arrived in the morning, and he was there after everyone else had left. He was always smiling and eager to please. He reminded Catherine of a trembling puppy. Somewhere in his past, someone had badly mistreated him. Catherine resolved to talk to Alan Hamilton about Atanas. There has to be some way to build his self-confidence, Catherine thought. I’m sure Alan could help him.
“You know the kid is in love with you, don’t you?” Evelyn said one day.
“What are you talking about?”
“Atanas. Haven’t you seen that worshipful look in his eyes? He follows you around like a lost sheep.”
Catherine laughed. “You’re imagining things.”
On an impulse, Catherine invited Atanas to lunch.
“In—in a restaurant?”
Catherine smiled. “Yes, of course.”
His face flushed. “I—I don’t know, Miss Alexander.” He looked down at his ill-fitting clothes. “You would be ashamed for people to see me with you.”
“I don’t judge people by their clothes,” Catherine said firmly. “I’ll make a reservation.”
She took Atanas to lunch at Lyons Corner House. He sat across from her, awed by his surroundings. “I—I’ve never been in a place like this. It is so beautiful.”
Catherine was touched. “I want you to order anything you want.”
He studied the menu and shook his head. “Everything is too expensive.”
Catherine smiled. “Don’t worry about it. You and I are working for a very wealthy man. I’m sure he would want us to have a good lunch.” She did not tell him that she was paying for it.
Atanas ordered a shrimp cocktail and a salad, a roast chicken with fried potatoes, and he finished off his lunch with chocolate cake with ice cream.
Catherine watched him eat in amazement. He had such a small frame. “Where do you put it all?”
Atanas said shyly, “I never gain weight.”
“Do you like London, Atanas?”
He nodded. “What I’ve seen of it, I like very much.”
“You worked as an office boy in Athens?”
He nodded. “For Mr. Demiris.” There was a note of bitterness in his voice.
“Didn’t you enjoy it?”
“Forgive me—it is not my place to say it, but I do not think Mr. Demiris is a nice man. I…I do not like him.” The young boy glanced around quickly as though he might have been overheard. “He—never mind.”
Catherine thought it best not to pursue it further. “What made you decide to come to London, Atanas?”
Atanas said something so softly that Catherine could not hear him.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I want to be a doctor.”
She looked at him, curious. “A doctor?”
“Yes, ma’am. I know it sounds foolish.” He hesitated, then went on. “My family comes from Macedonia and all my life I have heard stories about the Turks coming into our village and killing and torturing our people. There were no doctors to help the wounded. Now, the village is gone and my family was wiped out. But there are still many wounded people in the world. I want to help them.” He lowered his eyes, embarrassed. “You must think I’m crazy.”
“No,” Catherine said quietly. “I think that’s wonderful. So you came to London to study medicine?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m going to work days and go to school nights. I’m going to become a doctor.”
There was a ring of determination in his voice. Catherine nodded. “I believe you will. You and I are going to talk more about it. I have a friend who might be able to help you. And I know a wonderful restaurant where we can have lunch next week.”
At midnight, a bomb exploded in Spyros Lambrou’s villa. The blast tore out the front of the house and killed two servants. Spyros Lambrou’s bedroom was destroyed, and the only reason he survived was because at the last moment he and his wife had changed their plans and decided to attend a dinner party given by the mayor of Athens.
The following morning, a note was sent to his office reading, “Death to capitalists.” It was signed: “The Hellenic Revolutionary Party.”