Spy

lt;b>Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world s most popular authors, with almost a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include Child s Play, The Dark Side, Lost and Found, Blessing in Disguise, Silent Night, Turning Point, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina s life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children s books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.

Chapter 1

Thinking back on it later, the summer of 1939 was the last normal summer Alexandra Wickham remembered. It had been five years since her celebrated first London Season at eighteen, an event her parents had anticipated with excitement and expectation since she was a little girl. She had looked forward to it as the experience of a lifetime, a defining moment when she would be presented at court with all the other daughters of aristocratic families. It was her official entry into society, and since 1780 when the first Queen Charlotte s Ball was held by King George III to honor his wife, the purpose of coming out and being presented had been to allow aristocratic young ladies to catch the eye of future husbands. Marriage was supposed to be the result in a relatively short time. Although modern parents in the 1930s were less earnest about it, the hoped-­for outcome hadn t changed.

Alex had been presented at court to King George V and Queen Mary, and had come out at Queen Charlotte s Ball, in an exquisite white lace and satin dress her mother had had made for her by Jean Patou in Paris. With her height and delicate blond looks, Alex had been a stunning beauty, and she didn t lack for suitors. Her older brothers, William and Geoffrey, had teased her mercilessly about being a debutante, and her subsequent failure to land a husband within the early months of the Season in London. Being at parties, balls, and social events was a major change for Alex, who had been horse-­mad, like the rest of her family, since her earliest childhood. She d been taunted into being a tomboy by her brothers, as a matter of survival. Wearing elegant gowns every night, and proper dresses at every luncheon in London, had been tiresome and sometimes even hard work for her.

She d made many friends among the other debutantes, and most of them had been engaged by the end of the Season, and married shortly after. Alex couldn t imagine herself married to anyone at eighteen. She wanted to go to university, which her father thought unnecessary, and her mother inappropriate. Alex was an avid reader and student of history. A flock of diligent governesses had given her a thirst for knowledge and a love of literature, and honed her skills with watercolors and intricate embroidery and tapestry. Her own gift for languages had helped her learn French, German, and Italian almost flawlessly. She spoke French and German as well as she did English, which no one considered remarkable, and her Italian was almost as good. She enjoyed reading in French and German. She was also a graceful dancer, which made her a highly desirable partner at the balls she attended with her family.

But there was more to Alex than the quadrilles she danced effortlessly, her love of literature, and her gift for languages. She was what the men she met called spirited. She wasn t afraid to voice her opinions, and had a wicked sense of humor. It made her a wonderful friend to her brothers male companions, but few of them could imagine marrying her, despite her beauty. Those who wanted to accept the challenge, Alex found fatally boring. She had no desire to be locked away in Hampshire where her parents manor house was located, doing needlepoint by the fire at night, like her mother, or raising a flock of unruly children, like her brothers had been. Maybe later, but surely not at eighteen.

The five years since her London Season in 1934 had flown by quickly, with Alex traveling abroad with her parents, riding in the local hunt or others she was invited to, visiting her friends who had married and even had several children by then, going to house parties, and helping her father on their estate. She had more interest in the land than her brothers, both of whom had fled to London. William, the oldest, led a gentleman s life and had a passi