Felix had found a bottle of red wine. He passed out glasses. “The red wine of La Rioja. You will like this.” He offered a glass to Megan. “Sister?”
The last time Megan had tasted wine had been at communion. “Thank you,” she said.
Slowly she raised the glass to her lips and took a sip. It was delicious. She took another sip and she could feel a warmth moving down her body. It felt wonderful. I must enjoy all this while I can, Megan thought. It will be over soon.
During dinner, Jaime seemed unusually preoccupied.
“What’s troubling you, amigo?” Felix asked.
Jaime hesitated. “We have a traitor in the movement.”
There was a shocked silence.
“What—what makes you think that?” Felix demanded.
“Acoca. He keeps getting too close to us.”
Felix shrugged. “He’s the fox and we’re the rabbits.”
“It’s something more than that.”
“What do you mean?” Amparo asked.
“When we were going to blow up the dam at Puente la Reina, Acoca was tipped off.” He looked at Felix. “He set a trap and caught you and Ricardo and Zamora. If I hadn’t been delayed, I would have been captured with you. And look what happened at the parador.”
“You heard the clerk telephoning the police,” Amparo pointed out.
Jaime nodded. “Right. Because I had a feeling that something was wrong.”
Amparo’s face was somber. “Who do you think it is?”
Jaime shook his head. “I’m not sure. Someone who knows all our plans.”
“Then let’s change our plans,” Amparo said. “We’ll meet the others at Logroño and skip Mendavia.”
Jaime glanced at Megan. “We can’t do that. We have to get the sisters to their convent.”
Megan looked at him and thought: He’s already done enough for me. I mustn’t put him in greater danger than he’s already in.
“Jaime, I can—”
But he knew what she was going to say. “Don’t worry, Megan. We’re all going to get there safely.”
He’s changed, Amparo thought. In the beginning he wanted nothing to do with any of them. Now he’s willing to risk his life for her. And he calls her Megan. It’s no longer Sister.
Jaime was going on. “There are at least fifteen people who know our plans.”
“We have to find out which one it is,” Amparo insisted.
“How do we do that?” Felix asked. He was nervously picking at the edges of the tablecloth.
Jaime said, “Paco is in Madrid doing some checking for me. I’ve arranged for him to telephone me here.” He looked at Felix for a moment, then looked away.
What he had not said was that no more than half a dozen people knew the exact route that the three groups were taking. It was true that Felix Carpio had been imprisoned by Acoca. It was also true that that would have provided a perfect alibi for Felix. At the propitious moment, an escape could have been planned for him. Except that I got him out first, Jaime thought. Paco is checking on him. I hope he calls soon.
Amparo rose and turned to Megan. “Help me with the dishes.”
The two women began to clear the table and the men went into the living room.
“The nun—she’s holding up well,” Felix said.
“Yes.”
“You like her, don’t you?”
Jaime found it difficult to look at Felix. “Yes. I like her.” And you would betray her along with the rest of us.
“What about you and Amparo?”
“We’re cut from the same cloth. She believes in the cause as much as I do. Her entire family was killed by Franco’s Falangists.” Jaime rose and stretched. “Time to turn in.”
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep tonight. Are you certain there’s a spy?”
Jaime looked at him and said, “I’m certain.”
When Jaime came downstairs for breakfast in the morning, Megan did not recognize him. His face had been darkened, he was wearing a wig and a moustache, and he was dressed in scruffy clothes. He looked ten years older.
“Good morning,” he said. His voice coming out of that body startled her.
“Where did you—?”
“This is a house I use from time to time. I keep an assortment of things here that I need.”