The Paris Affair

17 Lisette

July, 1942 – Paris

Leutnant Baumann waited in the lobby. Lisette had hoped to go to the boarding house alone and somehow get word to Seraphin of what had happened. Instead, she was obliged to have an escort. The lieutenant seemed to crave some acknowledgement of his humanity. She refused to give in to such a need. A man like Leutnant Baumann had fired the bomb that had sunk Johnny’s boat. She lifted her chin and walked downstairs; he would get no empathy from her.

Christoph crossed the rue de Rivoli and into the Tuileries. Lisette walked next to him in silence, not questioning the diversion. She inhaled sweet, scented air under the shade of the chestnut trees.

At this time of day, before the midday sun had risen, women were out with their children, sitting wearily on iron chairs around the pond, watching them play in the gravel. The women’s faces were pinched with worry. One woman glanced up at Lisette, scowling when she saw her walking next to a German soldier. Lisette pursed her lips, wishing she was alone.

Just before they went through the gate and out on to the street, Leutnant Baumann stopped.

‘I wanted to say earlier that I understand how trapped you must feel,’ he said.

His eyes regarded her earnestly. Was he serious? He had no idea how trapped she was here.

‘Thank you,’ she said, trying to keep her voice even, ‘but I’m not sure you can truly understand.’

‘Because I’m the enemy?’ he said.

‘I didn’t say that.’ She glanced around the gardens. They must look odd standing here, and she didn’t want to attract any further attention. ‘Let’s just keep walking.’

‘You didn’t need to say it. I know I’m one of thousands of men who belong to the German army and, collectively, we are the enemy of France. I was in the Hitler Youth too, just like everyone else. I had to swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler,’ he said, his face flushed. ‘But I did it out of necessity. To protect my family. None of this is my choice. I was conscripted. We shouldn’t be here, I don’t want to be here, and after what I’ve seen and heard, I don’t believe in what my country is doing.’

His eyes were moist with tears. His face white with anguish. Lisette floundered. Surely he knew that such a speech, if overheard, could have him court-martialled. She needed to calm him down and get to the boarding house. People were staring. He looked so wretched it was unbearable.

‘Herr Leutnant, I’m sorry if what I said offended you.’

‘You didn’t offend me,’ he said, breathing out a sigh. ‘It’s me who has offended you. I’ve stood by, so many times. Even yesterday, when I heard the suffering in Le Vel’ d’Hiv, I walked in the other direction. I don’t know how to fight against it. Forgive me.’

Lisette bit her lip. Christoph’s compassion unnerved her, but it was dangerous.

‘Please,’ she said, trying to soothe him, ‘don’t concern yourself. It’s not your fault. You’re just a soldier following orders.’

‘It’s not that simple,’ Christoph said. ‘I’m trapped here too. My sister, Lotte, is what the Nazis call a “degenerate”. She doesn’t fit the mould of a perfect, German fr?ulein. If I deserted, they would punish her, and my mother.’

Lisette wished he would stop. With every word he uttered, her certainty faltered. She didn’t want to hear all this. It made things harder. Black and white, good and bad. That’s what she needed things to be.

‘Herr Leutnant, I don’t want either of us to get in trouble for being out too long,’ she said. ‘Can we please just get my belongings?’

It had been a mistake to talk to him. He wasn’t like the others, and that raised questions in her mind, questions that didn’t belong in a war. He was the enemy, and nothing would change that.

Christoph’s face closed over; his emotion suppressed. ‘Of course.’

Lisette asked Leutnant Baumann to wait outside the boarding house while she went up to her room. She’d leave a note for Seraphin; he must be wondering where she was by now. She unlocked the door and stared in shock. The room was in disarray: mattress slashed, drawers flung out of the chest, floorboards prised up.

She had barely registered the situation when someone grabbed her arm.

‘Did you give names?’ It was Seraphin. His voice possessed a harshness she’d never heard before. He pressed her up against the wall.

The weight of him squashed her ribcage, his hands circled her neck. What the hell was he doing? She tried to push him off.

‘Nobody walks out of Avenue Foch and into a job at Le Meurice,’ he hissed. ‘Only a traitor.’ His hand squeezed, cutting off the air to her lungs.

‘I gave them nothing,’ Lisette said, gasping for breath. ‘How could you think that?’

Seraphin’s hold tightened. ‘Hélène was executed. Did you know that?’

‘No.’ Nausea rose in her throat.

‘Then why did they release you?’ His piercing blue eyes searched her face.

‘Apparently my crème br?lée was the talk of the town,’ she said.

His grip slackened. ‘What?’

Lisette rubbed her neck. ‘They sent the Kommandant’s right-hand man, Leutnant Baumann, to collect me from Avenue Foch and take me to Le Meurice. They’ve put me to work as a chef in the kitchens. Leutnant Baumann has been instructed to keep an eye on me, but I can’t work him out.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘On the way here, he got very emotional and told me that he doesn’t believe in what Germany is doing. It’s like he wants my sympathy. It’s unnerving.’

Seraphin considered her words. ‘Interesting. The Kommandant’s a very important man in Paris. The intelligence that passes through Le Meurice would be extremely valuable.’

‘I know,’ Lisette said. ‘I’ve already considered that.’

Seraphin pulled over a chair. ‘Here, sit down. I’m sorry about the rough treatment. But I couldn’t take any risks. I’ve been waiting here for you to come back.’

‘You really thought I’d turn traitor?’ Lisette said.

‘No, of course not, I know how much you hate the Germans, but I had to check. I spoke to my contacts in London yesterday. We agreed that if you were still on our side, then we must continue to make the most of you. This is too good a chance to miss.’

‘What are my orders?’ Lisette said.

‘Ah,’ Seraphin smiled, ‘remember what I said about exploiting the cracks in German hearts. I know that you excelled at clandestine missions in your training. That’s what this will be.’

‘You mean spying?’ Lisette said. ‘I thought the SIS took care of that.’

‘The Secret Intelligence Service has got involved, given your circumstances. For now, they want you to stay put at Le Meurice, gather as much information as you can, and use any means necessary to get it.’ He smiled. ‘You know, I happen to think very highly of you and your skills.’

‘I won’t shirk my duty.’

He patted her hand. ‘Good. This intelligence will be of the highest importance. What you’ve told me about Leutnant Bauman presents you with the perfect opportunity. But it will take all your nerve to carry it out.’

Lisette looked at him closely. ‘There’s no limit to my nerve.’

‘In that case, this is what you must do. You need to cultivate this Leutnant Baumann’s affection. Be courteous, seductive and bleed him of secrets.’

Lisette swallowed. ‘I’m not sure I’m capable of that.’

‘Think of all the people you’ll be helping,’ Seraphin said. ‘I know it will be difficult, but this is what you’re trained for: to use whatever means you have at your disposal to disrupt the Nazis.’

Lisette nodded. He was right. ‘I understand,’ she said, thinking of the lieutenant’s words in the Tuileries, how he had exposed his true feelings to her. ‘Sabotage isn’t just blowing things up. It’s possible to sabotage a man’s heart too.’

‘Exactly,’ Seraphin said.

This was the mission of a lifetime, but she wondered how she could pretend to like Leutnant Baumann, given how much she hated the country he was from. The image of Johnny rose up in her mind, the thought of how much he’d loved her. Perhaps this was the best way to punish the Germans: by putting her hatred aside and finding her way into the secret cracks in Lieutenant Baumann’s heart.