"The Spy Wore Red"

"The Spy Wore Red" is the true story of Aline, Countess of Romanones, and her adventures as an undercover agent in World War II.

Aline's story starts in 1943 when Aline is twenty and working as a model in New York.  She has two brothers that are in the military and she confides to an acquaintance that she'd like to do her part for the war effort.  Little did she realize that he (John Derby - code name Jupiter) could help her realize her goal.  Aline became one of the original recruits of the newly formed OSS and was sent to Spain with the cover story that she was working for an American oil company.  Although she did work at the "company," her work was more in the line of sending and decoding messages.  Her real work was mingling with the cream of Spanish society making friends, cultivating contacts, and gathering information useful to the allies.

Although Aline's biography reads like a spy thriller, it's even more fascinating knowing that it's all true.  Her OSS code name was Tiger and she fell for another OSS agent, Pierre, that she trained with.  It was forbidden, though, to have a romance with fellow agents but when their paths crossed in the line of their work, romantic sparks flew.

As soon as Aline arrives in Spain, she is wooed by a famous bullfighter who takes her out and sends her flowers and chocolates -- not a bad way to be introduced to her new surroundings.  A fellow agent acts as her contact and introduces her to others in society who would be helpful for her to get to know.

In her time as a spy, Aline's life is threatened several times and in one instance she actually has to kill a man to prevent her own murder.  In another she happened to be away from home at just the right time.  She helps uncover a double agent and is instrumental in misleading the Germans by the information she feeds to this agent.

Aline's story doesn't end there because after the war she continues to work undercover in France and Switzerland until 1947.  At the time she resigned from the OSS to return to Madrid to marry a young man who she encountered when she initially arrived at her hotel in Madrid.  Although introductions were not made at that time, she later learned that he was the future Count of Romanones.

I loved this biography and highly recommend it - pazt!