Part Seven: An Intriguing Cynthia
While most of the Vichy embassy staff was compromised, either in the pay of one or another of America's or England's intelligence services, provided Cynthia a measure of security. Further, the rifts and political unease within the embassy among Vichy loyalists proved disruptive. That helped, too. But even within and embassy shaken by division, the risks of Cynthia's operation were enormous. Failing to return the code books before the embassy opened the next day might create an international incident. The uproar would have been far worse with the British Prime Minister on American soil.
Months in the planning, Cynthia's break-in was not especially urgent. It could have waited until after Churchill had returned to England. But it went forward. Both the American and British spymasters pressed on. Had Cynthia been captured or exposed, French propagandists would have played the event like a scene from Madame Bovary.
Part Eight: Politics and Break-ins
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