found herself barraged with invitations. She had her choice of lunches, dinners, trips to
Europe and bed. She accepted none of the invitations, partly because she was not
interested in any of the men but mostly because she felt that Fraser would not approve of
her mixing business with pleasure. If Fraser was aware of the constant opportunities she
declined, he said nothing. The day after she had had dinner with him at his home he had
given her a ten-dollar-a-week raise.
It seemed to Catherine that there was a change in the tempo of the city. People were
moving faster, becoming more tense. The headlines screamed of a constant series of
invasions and crises in Europe. The fall of France had affected Americans more deeply
than the other swift-moving events in Europe, for they felt a sense of personal violation, a
loss of liberty in a country that was one of the cradles of Liberty.
Norway had fallen, England was fighting for its life in the battle of Britain and a pact
had been signed between Germany, Italy and Japan. There was a growing feeling of
inevitability that America was going to get into the war. Catherine asked Fraser about it
one day.
“I think it’s just a question of time before we get involved,” he said thoughtfully. “If
England can’t stop Hitler, we’re going to have to.”
“But Senator Borah says…”
“The symbol of the America Firsters should be an ostrich,” Fraser commented
angrily.
“What will you do if there’s a war?”
“Be a hero,” he said.
Catherine visualized him handsome in an officer’s uniform going off to war, and she
hated the idea. It seemed stupid to her that in this enlightened age people should still think
they could solve their differences by murdering one another.
“Don’t worry, Catherine,” Fraser said. “Nothing will happen for a while. And when it
does happen, we’ll be ready for it.”
“What about England?” she asked. “If Hitler decides to invade, will it be able to
stand up against him? He has so many tanks and planes and they have nothing.”
“They will have,” Fraser assured her. “Very soon.”
He had changed the subject, and they had gone back to work.
One week later the headlines were filled with the news of Roosevelt’s new concept of
lend-lease. So Fraser had known about it and had tried to reassure her without revealing
any information.
The weeks went by swiftly. Catherine accepted an occasional date, but each time she
found herself comparing her escort to William Fraser, and she wondered why she bothered
going with anyone. She was aware that she had backed herself into a bad emotional