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Commander Fleming raised an eyebrow and nodded. ‘That’s helpful,’ he said. ‘Thank you, Miss Buchanan. We’ll make sure this information gets through to those at the very top.’ As I left the Cottage, I asked Mavis, ‘How is Mr Knox?’ She shook her head, her eyes filled with sadness. ‘Not very good, I’m afraid. But he still insists on working. I’ll be visiting him at his home tomorrow. He’ll be very interested to hear everything you’ve brought back from your mission.’ ‘Please pass on my best wishes to him. If you think that’s appropriate?’ She smiled. ‘I will. He’ll be glad to know you’re home safely.’ Then the door shut behind me and I made my way back to Hut 8. It was only years later, in the 1950s, when I read a book called Casino Royale about the escapades of a Secret Intelligence officer called James Bond, that I recognised the author’s photograph. The man I’d met in the Cottage that day was 007’s creator, Ian Fleming. And I couldn’t help but wonder just how much inspiration for the characters of Vesper Lynd and Miss Moneypenny he’d drawn from his encounters with women like Mavis and me while he was working at Bletchley Park.
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