Chapter 9
Lizzie checked her watch for what seemed the hundredth time. The grey light was fading fast, and Hannah had still not arrived. Lizzie had walked around the station several times to see if she could spot her, and each time returned to their meeting point at the café.
If Hannah didn’t come soon, Lizzie would have to board the train without her.
She tried not to think about all the things that might have befallen Hannah on the journey from Toulouse, but ugly thoughts stabbed at her as she finished the tasteless, watery soup.
From what she knew of wartime trains, this would be her last chance to eat before Berlin, so even though she was too nervous to have much of an appetite, she fortified herself for the long night ahead.
Lizzie left the station café, casting furtive looks around her as she walked, but she didn’t see anyone who looked remotely like Hannah. She was ready for whatever disguise the Resistance chameleon might have used, but no one caught her eye.
Darkness had fallen like a black, starless cape over Strasbourg, and the station was only dimly lit for travellers to find their way to their platforms. The concourse was crowded, and Lizzie estimated the train would be packed with Germans travelling to Berlin.
Everywhere she looked, there were symbols of Nazi rule.
Flags fluttered in the wind, and swastikas adorned the exquisite architecture like a stark reminder of how quickly beauty could turn ugly.
Lizzie bought a ticket at one of the counters under the watchful gaze of a military policeman patrolling nearby. The German announcements for various trains rang out loudly, and although it was cold, there was an unpleasant smell of mingled sweat and smoke in the air.
Lizzie wasn’t short of money, but she bought a second-class ticket after the man told her there were no sleeper berths available for purchase.
They were reserved for high-ranking officials and the military only.
As she moved away from the counter, she felt eyes on her and turned slightly to see what she recognised immediately as a pair of Gestapo men in long leather coats and fedoras.
The irony was that the Gestapo aimed to blend in by wearing civilian clothes, but their expensive leather coats were uniforms of terror.
Lizzie didn’t falter although all her senses were on fire as she passed them and headed towards her platform.
Her hand clutched a steel knitting needle in her pocket, ready to spring into action if she were apprehended.
She had improved her knitting skills as part of her war widow cover, and her needles were sharpened to serve as lethal weapons.
This was a mission where she had no hope of access to a radio or even a gun, and so the innocuous object combined with deadly spy combat was all she had at her disposal.
The tension dissolved as the distance between her and the Gestapo lengthened, and she released her grip on the knitting needle.
After passing through a dark tunnel, she emerged onto the correct platform to await the overnight train.
The atmosphere was tense, as if no one trusted one another, and the cold wind pummelled her again.
It had begun to drizzle, and she leant against a metal pillar as she sheltered beneath the glass roof, but the sideways rain fell harder into her face.
Lizzie drew her dark red wool scarf over her mouth.
She was grateful for the raincoat that kept her body dry even though the cold was biting through the thin material.
She had chosen a brown gabardine raincoat for this mission because it was the most versatile and light to carry in all weathers and was standard for a woman to blend in as she travelled through Germany.
Lizzie was superstitious about what she wore on her missions and chose her clothes carefully with the help of the SOE wardrobe experts.
Her thoughts drifted back to her lucky yellow scarf, which she had worn on her first undercover assignment in occupied France.
After several missions, it had been ruined, and she could no longer wear it like a talisman.
A guard gave her ticket a quick check and nodded before wishing her a pleasant journey.
They weren’t all bad, Lizzie reminded herself.
Some Germans were just trying to make it through another endless war and wanted no part of Hitler’s evil web of destruction.
The difficult part was sorting out who was who.
Lizzie waited as the minutes ticked by, and there was still no sign of Hannah.
Disappointment settled in her chest like indigestion as she faced the reality that she would take this dangerous train journey alone, surrounded by Nazis.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the hiss of the locomotive, and staring into the distance, she saw the large shape of the train clanking towards them.
Steam billowed into the cold, wet air, mingling with clouds of cigarette smoke as impatient passengers passed the time.
The train slid into the platform and screeched to a halt in front of Lizzie.
Casting one last regretful look around her, searching for any sign of Hannah, she boarded quickly as people flooded through the doors onto the train and searched for seats.
Lizzie moved through the corridor with her small case, which contained everything she had.
As usual, the SOE had packed her belongings in ingenious ways, and wads of money were stashed in secret compartments in the lining.
She also carried notes in her brassiere, which had become another lucky trick she liked to employ.
That way, even if her case was confiscated or lost, she wouldn’t be penniless.
People piled into their seats, and Lizzie located hers and placed her case on the nearby rack where she could keep a careful eye on it during what would undoubtedly be a long night.
Three-quarters of the seats in the compartment were already claimed, and Lizzie studied her fellow passengers as surreptitiously as her cramped position next to the window allowed.
The rain fell in heavy sheets as she settled into her seat, touching a knitting needle with one hand.
It seemed like forever until the shrill sound of the whistle and a German announcement echoed through the train.
Lizzie tried to relax in her seat and sent up a silent prayer that Hannah was safe, and that she would join her soon in Berlin.
They had made a rendezvous point there too as a backup, so the following day she would make her way to the Tiergarten park at the agreed time.
She hoped that for some reason Hannah had gone ahead and would be waiting for her in the city.
The doors slammed, and the train lurched forward as Lizzie scanned the faces of the surrounding passengers.
An old woman’s eyes were struggling to stay open in her crumpled, weary face, and Lizzie guessed the woman would fall asleep as soon as the train found a steady rhythm on the rails.
The dim light and the darkness outside as she sat amid strangers was eerie.
It would be an arduous journey and she must make the best of it, whilst staying alert for danger.
The train rattled out of the Strasbourg station, and Lizzie continued her examination of the others in the compartment.
A woman had her pretty little daughter balanced on her knee.
The girl was fretful and kept staring at Lizzie with tired brown eyes.
About ten minutes into their journey, Lizzie raised her head when the door opened.
She could barely believe it. There stood a black-haired Hannah, her blue eyes resting on Lizzie.
She jumped up to welcome her, grateful that they would now travel openly together.
‘Else! Here you are. I thought you must have missed the train,’ Lizzie said, slightly breathless with emotion.
They embraced stiffly in the confines of the compartment as the strangers eyed them curiously. Lizzie helped Hannah stash her case overhead.
A priest, draped in a long black cassock and a white Roman collar, which identified him as Catholic, offered to move to the other vacant seat so they could sit next to each other, and they both thanked him.
Hannah sat next to Lizzie, and relief was reflected in both their eyes as they squeezed each other’s hands. Lizzie was filled with joy as she gazed at her undercover sister-in-law.
Braving the poisonous belly of the Reich wouldn’t be quite as scary with the indomitable Angel by her side.