Chapter 30
CHAPTER 30
T hey were gathered around the kitchen table after a simple breakfast. One of the network had delivered a note earlier from a member of the Resistance saying she was out of action with a broken leg.
‘I’ll do it,’ Lizzie said.
‘You’ll do what? You don’t even know what she was supposed to do!’ Pierre said.
‘I’ll take her place, whatever it is.’
Pierre shook his head. ‘No, I can’t let you do that. It’s far too dangerous.’
‘But the other woman was going to do it, so why not me?’
‘She has lived in Reims her whole life. It’s much less of a risk for her than for you. One wrong word and the Nazis will be onto you. Then it’ll be over for all of us, and we’ll lose our shot at blowing up the bomber aircraft at the airfield.’
Lizzie wondered if she would ever reach the point where she could stop having to prove herself for each new challenge. She took a sip of the now cold coffee. ‘I can do it, Pierre. I spent a lot of time in St. Malo as a child with my cousins. It’s not so different here. ’
Pierre’s forehead creased, and he ran his hand through his greying hair. ‘I don’t know. Jack won’t like it.’
‘Well, Jack isn’t here,’ she said, her voice colder than she intended.
‘No, but he will be soon. He wants to take this airfield out of action. Our aim is to cause chaos throughout the region. Reims has become one of the airfields the Luftwaffe flies from every day.’
‘Let’s say for now that Jack agrees when he gets here. What would I have to do?’
Pierre released a heavy sigh. ‘I see you are not easily talked out of something when you set your mind on it.’
‘Someone needs to do it. Who else will do it if not me?’
Pierre shook his head and looked at Camille, seeking support. She raised her shoulders and lifted her hands in the classic French shrug. ‘I’m too old,’ she said. ‘Not that I’d have the courage to do it, anyway. You must have nerves of steel, Lizzie.’
‘Alright, well, there’s no harm in talking it through, I suppose. But the last word rests with Jack. He’s in charge of the operation,’ said Pierre.
‘But you’re in charge of the network,’ said Lizzie, tilting her head to one side and throwing him a challenging look.
Pierre laughed. ‘You’re unstoppable. That’s what we need though, isn’t it? People whose courage outweighs their fear, no matter how scared they are. Otherwise, we’ll never get anything worthwhile done.’
Camille touched Pierre’s rough hand that revealed a life of farming in all weathers. ‘Why don’t we prepare her in case Jack agrees? Lizzie is right—who else is going to do it?’
‘That’s settled then,’ said Lizzie. ‘Tell me what you came up with so far.’
Pierre filled Lizzie in on all that he and Jack had discovered about the airfield. ‘There are guards, of course. Jack says we need someone on the inside to observe their daily patterns and make sure we’re not missing anything.’
‘And that’s where I would come in?’ Lizzie said.
‘The plan is for us to supply a temporary secretary to fill a place that’s come up in the office. One of our contacts let us know they need cover for a few days. That way you would learn the workings of the place and we’d plan our operation accordingly.’
‘Makes sense. Do you know whose secretary I would be?’
Pierre coughed and looked uncomfortable. ‘That’s just it. The job is personal secretary to a German general. He’s recently moved his office to the airfield. We think it must be to keep an eye on operations until the base is more established. But his work requires a French secretary for administrative coordination with the local offices.’
Lizzie stared at Pierre. ‘I’d be working closely with a high-ranking Nazi?’
‘You can still back out, Lizzie. Do you see now why I said it was too dangerous?’
She shook her head. ‘No, I’ll do it. It was a shock, that’s all.’
‘Jack told us a German soldier attacked you. No one will think badly of you if you decline. We can find someone else if we need to, can’t we?’ Camille said, looking from Lizzie and back to her husband.
A flash of doubt crossed Pierre’s face. Then he cleared his throat. ‘Yes, I’m sure we can. It’s just a matter of finding the right person at short notice.’
Lizzie said, ‘Every day we delay means more bombs targeting London. I owe it to everyone back home suffering through the Blitz to do whatever I can, even if it only slows the bastards down.
A few strikes averted can mean hundreds, if not thousands, of lives saved. And all the houses they are bombing. If you saw it, you’d be horrified,’ Lizzie said.
Images of the destruction in London since the daily bombings began entered her mind and she was more resolved to overcome her fears than ever.
The following morning, when Lizzie walked downstairs, she heard voices and held back to catch what they were saying. She mustn’t show herself if it wasn’t someone from the Resistance.
‘She’s determined to do it,’ said Pierre.
‘No, not Lizzie. She’s supposed to be on the demolitions team with me. I need to show her what to do so we can come back and forth.’
‘Yes, but the girl we had lined up is out of action.’
‘Perhaps she’ll be fit again in a few days.’
‘A broken leg isn’t going to miraculously heal overnight, Jack.’
She heard Jack curse, followed by the striking of a match.
Lizzie pushed the kitchen door open tentatively. Knowing Jack was here made her heart skip a beat as she peered around the door.
Jack pushed back his chair and stood to greet her. ‘Ah, there you are. Welcome back.’ His voice was deep and rich, and the sound of it made her spirits sing.
Lizzie threw him a stiff smile, unsure how to act after what had passed between them the last time they saw each other. Camille emerged from the pantry and served them all a cup of coffee. ‘I told you Jack would come soon, didn’t I?’ she said to Lizzie.
Lizzie took a seat near Pierre and avoided meeting Jack’s eyes that were drilling into her. She could feel the force of his gaze as she sipped her coffee.
Eventually, she gathered the courage to look at him, and the look he gave her was intense. Was she reading him right? Had he missed her too?
His skin was more tanned, and he was dressed in farmer’s clothing. A cap lay next to him, discarded on the table. The stubble on his face had become a lustrous black beard, and he fitted the image of a raven even more. He was a different version of the suave Jack she knew from London. She gulped.
‘I understand you volunteered for the secretary role at the airfield office,’ Jack said.
‘Yes, it makes sense that I step in.’
‘The plan was for you to practice demolitions in the field alongside me. Destroying the airfield is a one-off operation, but we’re only just getting started blowing up railways, trains, and bridges. We aim to create sustained chaos with Resistance targeted attacks. This is where you can be of the most value, and the reason I messaged Val to send you back in.’
‘I understand. Could I not do both?’
Jack stubbed out his cigarette and fell silent as he contemplated the ceiling.
‘One mistake and they will torture and kill you. Do you understand what you are signing up for?’
Lizzie nodded. ‘I understand and I am ready.’
‘It could work if we prepare you properly. The Resistance member worked as a French secretary before. That’s why we chose her.’
‘It’s not like I haven’t done office work,’ Lizzie pointed out. ‘That’s how you found me.’
‘True,’ Jack said. ‘How is your German?’
‘It’s passable. Not like my French, but I can get the gist of a conversation or written piece.’
Jack shook his head. ‘Drake really is going to kill me if this goes wrong. ’
‘But if we pull it off, he’ll thank you,’ Lizzie fired back.
Pierre looked uncomfortable at the sizzling tension between them and excused himself for farming duties. Camille followed him out.
They now sat alone at the table, staring at each other.
‘Why are you so angry at me?’ Jack asked, his dark eyes glittering.
‘Why are you so determined to stop me from playing my part?’ Lizzie countered.
‘I’m not—I’m only trying to keep you alive.’ He ran his hand through his hair and shook his head.
The kitchen clock ticked loudly in the silence between them.
‘It’s good to see you,’ he said after a pause, his voice dropping to a velvet caress that made her shiver despite the clammy heat in the house.
Lizzie’s heart lurched, but she stopped herself from replying. She would not be fooled into falling into his arms again, no matter how besotted she was.
She dropped her gaze and studied her coffee.
Jack reached out and stroked her wrist. His touch was like an electric force, and she jerked her hand away as goosebumps covered her skin.
‘You still haven’t answered my question,’ he said. ‘I know we had words before you left. Are you still angry at me because of that?’
Lizzie shook her head and changed the subject. ‘Did you find Hannah?’
‘No, but the wonderful news is she is alive. I crossed over to the Free Zone and found out she had been at one of the Maquis safe houses last week. I would have stayed longer to meet up with her, but I wanted to get back to see you.’
‘You must be over the moon,’ she said, an unmistakable edge to her voice even though she tried to sound neutral .
‘It is the best news. I thought we’d lost her. She was my first Resistance recruit, you know?’
The emotion clogged Lizzie’s throat and threatened to bubble into tears.
Jack rose from the table. ‘Come for a walk with me. I need some air. This heat is oppressive and if you keep shooting those daggers my way, I’ll explode before the airfield!’
Lizzie laughed involuntarily. How fierce she could be when antagonised was a standing joke in her family.
Jack crossed to the front door and held it open for her and she passed through. Then he set off across the yard and she did her best to match his fast pace.
They walked around the farm, weaving through sun-kissed golden fields and he slowed so she could keep up with him.
‘It’s unbelievable how beautiful it is here, even though we’re tangled amidst a net of pure evil,’ Lizzie said.
Jack entered the barn and Lizzie followed slowly, memories of their stormy night together, rolling over her.
They sat on a hay bale and talked about what had happened since they parted. Jack wanted to know about the Blitz and the latest goings on at SOE.
‘It seems like I’ve been away for months, not weeks,’ he said.
Lizzie relaxed her defences as she told him about the terrifying first day of the Blitz and how she’d sheltered in the Underground.
‘Now tell me the truth. Why are you still so angry at me? You’ll have to tell me because honestly, I don’t know.’
Lizzie’s fuse rekindled just as quickly as it had fizzled out. ‘You don’t know?’
Her eyes were like lasers drilling into him. ‘There are women all over England talking about their dalliances with you. And there I was—a right mug—thinking you cared for me when we kissed like that.’
‘But I do care for you, Lizzie. Why would you think I don’t?’ He raised his hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His touch skimmed the delicate skin on her neck, and she pulled away.
‘Well, you really have an odd way of showing it,’ she snapped, bouncing to her feet and striding back and forth in front of him.
He studied her for a moment. ‘Please sit back down and relax. I’m exhausted just looking at you.’
Lizzie sat down, as close to the edge of the bale as she could without falling off. He turned towards her, moving closer so his knees almost touched her legs. ‘We must work this out. You can’t go undercover in this state. This is exactly why I said we shouldn’t get involved. Because it always ends like this.’
‘Well, you’d know,’ she said, her tone cutting.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Like I said, you’re the one with the multiple dalliances. This is all new to me.’
‘For the love of God, woman. What bloody dalliances are you talking about?’ Now it was his turn to jump up and start pacing. He extracted a cigarette from his shirt pocket and stared at her, waiting for her to answer.
Now she was on the spot, she was nervous to begin. Admitting how much the idea of him being with other women hurt her was as good as telling him she loved him. And that was not a conversation she wished to have. He would think she was a stupid child to have fallen for him when he warned her they couldn’t be together.
‘Out with it. I’m waiting,’ he said.
‘Well,’ she spluttered, her chest so tight she could barely squeeze the words out. ‘There was an agent at the training. ’
‘Go on,’ he prompted.
‘She asked me whether Raven brought me into SOE, and she said you took her on a romantic date.’
Jack sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.
‘It’s unlikely that a candidate in training would know my codename. But anyway, where was this supposed date?’
‘She said you took her to the Ritz,’ Lizzie said.
‘To the Ritz!’ Jack looked genuinely mystified.
If he was playing dumb, he was a master at it.
Be careful. He is a spy, Lizzie reminded herself.
‘And you believed her, of course,’ he said, his voice dangerously low.
‘Why wouldn’t I?’ Lizzie said.
‘How about because I’ve been here for the past weeks, blowing up enemy installations, for one thing?’
‘Obviously, I presumed she meant when you were still in London.’
Jack tapped one foot on the stone floor. ‘What was the name of the girl who said this? I’ll get to the bottom of it when I return home.’
‘Her name was Mary, but as we were all using cover names, that might mean nothing to you,’ Lizzie said, her head spinning.
She couldn’t quite believe she was telling him this, but despite her embarrassment, she was relieved to tell him the truth.
‘In this fantasy, where I’m a London lothario, would I not know her cover name if I recruited her?’
Lizzie hadn’t thought about that and felt a bit silly. She was cross with herself for allowing him to draw her into this discussion. In the short time she’d known him, she’d witnessed he had an art for turning the conversation the way he wanted it to go.
He released another sigh. ‘It’s not true, Lizzie. ’
The silence loomed.
His tone was clipped when he resumed speaking. ‘It must have been a test of some kind. Aside from the fact that if I were to take someone to the Ritz before we even met, that wouldn’t be any of your business.’
The words stung Lizzie like a slap in the face, and the minute he said them, she saw the remorse in his eyes.
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound harsh. Ask me whatever you want. I have no personal life to hide, so it will be an extremely short interview. No one at SOE has a personal life. Didn’t you notice that yet?’
Lizzie stared into space, not sure what to say.
‘No more questions, Lizzie Beaumont?’ he prodded. ‘We can’t work together like this. You may as well get it all off your chest whilst we’re at it. I can’t say I enjoy being interrogated, but if that’s what it takes to make things right between us, then I’m ready to answer anything you want to know. Fire away.’
The way he talked about having no personal life caused her to doubt herself further. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding as she raised her eyes to his. ‘What about you and Hannah?’
There. She had said it. The question sounded pitiful to her own ears. The heat spread up her neck to her face, and her skin prickled with embarrassment.
All the breath went out of her like a pierced balloon, and she wished she could crawl into a hole where he couldn’t stare at her like that.
‘What about me and Hannah?’