Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
L izzie shot up from the sofa at the sound of a light tap. She froze near the back door as she listened for clues of who might be outside.
Had someone followed Margot and knew she had moved the family? Lizzie crept towards the kitchen counter and silently withdrew a knife from the wooden stand that sheathed its sharp blade. Then she heard another louder knock, followed by a third, and she rushed to the door to open it.
‘My God! Why didn’t you knock three times straightaway? I nearly had a heart attack,’ Lizzie said, her voice low despite her state of panic.
There were no nearby neighbours, but she’d learned to communicate as if someone might always be listening.
‘Sorry, sorry,’ Hannah said, wiping her boots on the mat and raising her eyes to meet Lizzie’s. Her nose and cheeks glowed red from the cold air. ‘It’s icy, and I lost my footing. I didn’t mean to scare you.’
‘I’m so relieved you’re home. It seems like a lifetime since you left this morning!’ Lizzie said .
‘It’s been a long day. You can put that away now,’ she said, assessing the big knife Lizzie clutched.
Lizzie rolled her eyes. ‘I had visions of having to stop the Gestapo from raiding the place.’
Hannah shrugged out of her coat and moved into the kitchen in search of warmth.
‘It’s late. I didn’t know what to think. Have you eaten? I can warm up the rest of the soup if you haven’t.’ Lizzie paused, smiling wryly. ‘I sound just like my mother.’
‘Well, it’s been a long time since I had any mothering, so I don’t mind at all. I’ll just take some tea though if there’s some on offer. I’m not hungry—I ate in the canteen, so at least that’s something good about working in that hellhole.’
‘Was it awful?’ Lizzie asked as she crossed back to the counter to replace the knife and make more tea, her heart gradually beating to a slower rhythm.
‘It’s not my idea of a nice day out, that’s for sure, but it’s quite a triumph for us to infiltrate their High Command. I’ve been thinking of this day for months.’ Hannah accepted the tea, and they sat at the table as she warmed her hands on the cup.
‘ You infiltrated their High Command. The rest of us can’t take credit for any of it. Honestly, I don’t know how you pulled it off. I’m not sure I would even imagine such a bold plan.’
Hannah sipped the tea. ‘Tell me what you’ve been up to all day. I kept thinking about you and Francois. How did your meeting go?’
Lizzie reassured her that all was fine with Francois, and the next railway sabotage operation was planned for the following week.
‘Excellent. Not a bad first day holding the fort then? Well done, you. I know it’s a lot to expect of you to pick up my activities like this. ’
Lizzie shifted in her seat and lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘I’m happy to do it, but there’s something I must tell you.’
‘What?’ Hannah asked, matching Lizzie’s whisper. ‘Are you alright?’
Lizzie nodded. ‘I’m fine, it’s not about me.’
‘What then?’ Hannah asked, frowning.
‘Your contact, Margot, was here early this morning, not long after you left for work.’
Hannah’s blue eyes widened, no longer hidden behind her thick glasses. ‘I told her not to come unless it was an emergency.’
‘That’s just it. It was an emergency,’ Lizzie said. ‘I didn’t feel I had any choice, and I couldn’t reach you to check.’
‘Tell me what happened.’
‘It’s probably better if I show you,’ Lizzie replied, grabbing the small torch from the table. She stood and beckoned for Hannah to follow her down the steps to the basement. The cold was oppressive, the lower they went, and she hoped she had given the family enough blankets to keep warm.
Lizzie shone the torch in front of them until they both stood by the door.
‘What’s going on?’ Hannah whispered. ‘Is it the wireless? Do you need me to help you send a message to Raven? It works best from the attic.’
Lizzie shook her head and tapped on the door. ‘May we come in? I’ve brought someone to see you.’ A muted voice replied, and Lizzie opened the door and peeped her head into the damp basement. She entered, and Hannah followed.
Lizzie turned to look at Hannah and gestured towards the family, who were huddled on the floor in the pile of blankets. Steam rose into the biting cold air as Lizzie breathed.
‘Who do we have here?’ Hannah asked, surprise on her face, as her eyes focused in the dim light and she made out the silhouettes of the visitors. The little girl moved slightly, clutching her teddy bear, her rosy cheeks like red apples as she continued sleeping.
The man stood and introduced himself and his wife. ‘Thank you for letting us stay. Margot said we could trust you. We know you’re taking an enormous risk helping us.’
Lizzie explained the situation to Hannah, who spoke briefly to the couple and assured them they were welcome, and they would do all they could to keep them safe.
After a pause, Hannah continued, ‘The thing is, you can’t stay here for long. They’ll be searching for you.’
The scientist looked wretched as he ran his hand through his messy, dark hair. ‘I will give myself up. They won’t search for my family—it’s me they want. I’ve turned this over and over in my mind and it’s the only thing I can think of to keep them safe.’
His wife made a sound like a wounded animal and touched his arm. ‘No, Isaac…’ Tears filled her eyes, and Lizzie saw she was at breaking point. Who knew what this family had already suffered?
‘You promised we’d stay together,’ she continued, finding her voice and speaking with conviction.
‘My love, I know,’ Isaac said, His voice cracked as he clasped his wife’s hand. ‘But I don’t see how we can. If I give myself up, they’ll leave you in peace.’
‘No, mon chéri . Please, no.’ The tears streamed down her face now as she beseeched her husband not to leave them.
The tears spilled from his eyes too, and Lizzie was overcome with emotion, and swallowed several times to keep her composure.
Hannah’s voice sounded low and clear. ‘Isaac, I understand why you think that. In any other situation, it might be so, but not now. We are dealing with monsters. There is no safe place for Jews in France and even if you surrender to them and give them what they want, it’s only a matter of time until they come for your wife and children, too. When you’ve given them what they wanted....’ Hannah’s voice tailed off and she cleared her throat. ‘Believe me, I wish it weren’t so, but this is history repeating itself.’
Isaac looked at Hannah, questions in his eyes.
She uttered just one word. ‘Germany.’
And he nodded, immediately understanding the significance of what had befallen the German Jewish communities and others the SS labelled as undesirables in the thirties.
‘The same will follow here, then,’ he said, his voice hopeless and flat. ‘We have heard the stories, of course. Some of the Jews who got out of Germany fled here, so now the same horror is to befall them all over again?’
Hannah nodded. ‘I’m sorry, but there’s no easy way to say it. We must get you and your family out of France before it’s too late.’
‘Maman,’ muttered the little girl, her sleepy eyes opening as she searched for her mother, who bent down to stroke her daughter’s hair and soothe her back to sleep.
‘How can we escape? Is there even a way? We don’t have any money. We had to flee our home and leave behind everything we own. If I go to our bank, they will report me to the authorities.’
Hannah touched his arm. ‘I know of a way to get you out. Let us all rest now and talk about it in the morning.’
When they climbed the steps back to the kitchen, Hannah turned to Lizzie. ‘Now I understand why you were expecting the Gestapo. Goodness, what a first day you had.’