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easier said than done.” Churchill was thoughtful. The dreadful depression that had blanketed him earlier was lifting at last; his mind was already beginning to range through the possibilities. “You are right, of course. There is nothing to be done here. It would be better if That Man had actually broken the law anywhere but damn him, everything he did was legal. He brings shame upon the whole concept of the rule of law.”
    The Duke mentally raised his eyebrows. Every time the subject of Halifax came up, Churchill went off into these diatribes. He was obsessed with revenge and it seemed he could think of nothing else. The problem was, there was so much else to think about. “Winston, it’s not just a matter of getting you out. That will be difficult enough. We have to deny the Germans as much of our technical and operational expertise as well. I’ve spoken, discretely of course, with Sir Henry Tizard about this and he’s putting together a group of his people from the Aeronautical Research Committee. They directed the development of radar, so I am told. The object is to get to the United States as soon as possible to brief them on a number of technical innovations. This has been planned for some time, so I understand, with the original aim of securing assistance in maintaining the war effort. In view of the way circumstances have changed, I believe that it will be necessary simply to give the Americans every piece of information we can.”
    “A last bequest from a dying man to his children.” Churchill’s depression was re-asserting itself. He scowled at the room in general and drained his glass. Quietly, the Duke feared for the future of his whisky supply if this visit continued much longer. “Is that what we have come to?”
    “Needs must when the devil drives, Winston. That Man has taken us out of the war; now we must hand the torch on to others. This is the reality we must face. The information we will be giving up will have immense value after the war, of that I have no doubt. Yet it is a sacrifice we must make if we are to emerge victorious. We will be a poorer and much-diminished state post-war, Winston, but it is either that or existing only as a subdivision of a Nazi empire.” The Duke suddenly exploded in anger, his pent-up frustrations bursting out through the reserve his rank and position demanded. “Damn Halifax! Damn him to hell! He’s destroyed us and he doesn’t even realize what he has done. You called the Commonwealth and America our children, Winston. Well, I hope they have learned from the sins of their father, that’s all I can say. I pray that our children will strike back with all the rage and power that we should have had but have become too enfeebled to muster.”
    The Duke stood there shaking as he tried to bring his emotions under control. He strode to the drinks cabinet, poured himself a stiff measure of rum, noted that his brandy and whisky supplies were in as sad a shape as he had expected, and drained it in a single toss. “Tizard’s party and you, Winston, should go out together. One of my relatives is coming over. An American cousin, by the name of Eleanor Gwynne. She is bringing some friends who are skilled in this kind of operation. They will arrange the departure and conduct you and the rest of the party out of this country. Exactly how they will do that, I have no idea.”
    “Eleanor Gwynne? Nell Gwynne?” Churchill smiled for the first time since the coup. “I hope she has the wits and wisdom of her ancestor and namesake.”
    “I think I can safely say that she does, Winston.”
    There was something in the way the Duke made the comment that made Churchill look at him sharply, but he shook his head and dismissed the thought. “Are you not coming with us, Osborne?”
    The Duke shook his head. “No. I will remain here. I am a peer of the realm for better and for worse. My place is here. And somebody has to organize the resistance to the night that is about to fall or