36 LisetteMuscheln
36
Lisette
August, 1942 – Paris
Lisette walked briskly to the apartment. Thoughts crisscrossed her mind like a shuttle working on a loom. She had to balance Seraphin’s plan to poison the dinner with her desire to prevent Christoph from coming to any harm. The Kommandant’s attentions complicated things, but she wouldn’t let them distract her. The apartment would provide a temporary refuge for her and Christoph. The thought of meeting him there, the promise of what would happen, sent warmth sliding down her body. The kisses had only been the start.
When she arrived, an elderly concierge sat in the courtyard reading a newspaper.
‘ Bonjour ,’ Lisette said. ‘I’m renting number fourteen.’
‘These apartments change hands every five minutes,’ the concierge complained. He rustled the newspaper. ‘We like it quiet here.’
‘I like it quiet too.’ She laid some eggs on the table, purloined from the larder, as Seraphin had suggested.
He glanced up and smiled, clearly appreciating the gift. ‘Top floor on the right.’
The apartment was tiny, but it was enough. There were four rooms: a bedroom overlooking the courtyard, a tiny bathroom and a kitchen which opened on to the living room.
Lisette put her bag on the table and took out the ingredients she’d brought from the hotel. She set a pan of water to boil on the stove.
Nerves made her hands tremble. He’d be here soon. Was she doing the right thing? If Johnny’s loss had taught her one thing, it was that moments like these were to be treasured.
She wrapped the artichokes in slices of poitrine fumée, secured them with string, and plunged them into a deep pot of boiling water. Then she heated some oil in a frying pan and fried the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and shallots. Something to eat afterwards. Lisette swallowed, light-headed at the thought of what was to come.
At last, the doorbell rang. Christoph was here. She checked her face in the mirror, her cheeks flushed, and opened the door.
It was like seeing him for the first time. He stared at her with such longing it took Lisette’s breath away. He strode towards her and gathered her up in his arms.
‘God, the minutes went so slowly,’ Christoph said, his fingers teasing her hair. Her scalp tingled with pleasure. ‘I just wanted to be here with you.’
Lisette’s body unfurled. All this time, all this waiting. She pressed against his firm chest. He groaned and backed her up against the wall of the hallway. His kisses enflamed her, undoing all her senses. She could feel how much he wanted her.
She led him to the bedroom at the back of the apartment, amazed at her own boldness. His hands touched her skin and a flame burned within her.
He gently turned her around, then undid the zip at the back of her dress. She stepped out of it, feeling the heat that radiated from his stare.
‘You’re beautiful,’ he said. He kissed the slope of her shoulders, the swell of her breasts, unfastening, clasp by clasp, her brassiere.
‘Your turn,’ Lisette said. She opened his belt buckle and unbuttoned his shirt. He yanked his trousers off. She ran her hands over his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin.
‘Are you sure you want this?’ Christoph said.
Lisette nodded, filled with urgency. In three days’ time, she’d never see him again.
‘More than anything,’ she said.
Christoph picked her up and laid her down on the bed. She saw fragments of him: the light in his eyes, the curve of his nose, the shadow at the base of his neck. Longing overwhelmed her. She drew his body against hers. He groaned and kissed her, kisses that seemed endless. He was so near, growing closer and closer until, at last, she gasped, opening to let him in, heat burning, wanting him deeper and deeper.
He drove himself into her. She moved against him, his moans answering hers, building to a crescendo. The world shrank to a place of murmurs and shudders: a molten core between them. The delay in it erupting was exquisite. When it came, bursting over her like a wave, it was beyond anything she’d ever experienced. She cried out, holding on to him as the aftershocks of pleasure rippled between them. Gradually, her breath subsided.
‘I didn’t know it could be like that,’ Christoph said.
Lisette ran her fingers over his collarbone. ‘Nor did I.’
He kissed her, long and slow. She closed her eyes and curled up next to him.
‘Sylvie,’ Christoph murmured.
‘Hmm.’ She was aware of nothing but the sensation of his body against hers.
‘Thank you.’
Later, she woke, throbbing and aching, her body filled with a new kind of contentment. She rolled over. Christoph wasn’t there. She frowned, put on her shirt and went to look for him. He was already awake, sitting at the kitchen table, his jacket hung over the chair, a letter in his hand. He gazed at her, a look of anguish on his face.
‘What’s wrong?’ she said. ‘Has something happened?’
‘This letter arrived from my mother. I was on my way to meet you here when it was delivered. I put it in my pocket, and I’ve only just read it now …’ His voice trailed off, and his face was ashen. ‘It’s the most awful news, Sylvie.’
Lisette sat down. ‘Tell me, what is it?’
‘Last week there was a round-up in the village. Until now, they’ve left my sister alone. But this time, soldiers came banging on the door. My mother tried to stop them, but they hauled Lotte out.’
‘Oh, Christoph, that’s terrible.’
‘But what’s worse, Sylvie, is that she couldn’t answer their questions.’ He screwed the letter up in his hand and banged the table with his fist. ‘My mother was ordered to prepare a suitcase of clothes, and say goodbye, and the bastards took her away.’
Lisette put her hand to her mouth, shocked. ‘Can anything be done? Could you speak to the Kommandant?’
Christoph took a deep breath. ‘He won’t do anything. I know his views on the matter.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘He’s said many times that it’s better for the nation to be “purified of these useless lives in order to ensure that our race thrives and remains the strongest”.’ Christoph clenched his fists. ‘You know, I’ve never bought into that ideology, Sylvie, never. Somehow, I thought Lotte would be safe. She’s a kind, thoughtful girl who never did anyone any harm.’
Lisette squeezed his hand.
‘Try not to lose hope,’ she said.
She gathered him in a silent embrace. A feeling of urgency drove through her. Time was rushing by, not just for her and Christoph, but for everyone they loved.
‘Is it right that I should want you now, in the middle of all this desolation?’ Christoph whispered.
Lisette cupped his face in her hands. ‘I think seizing moments like this is the only way to cope.’