Page 22 of Love in the Shadows

“The kommandant is waiting for you, Frau Neumann.”

She walked past him, through the dining room, and past Nanny who was eating dinner at the kitchen table.

“Fraulein Brun. Could you make some bread and jam for Astrid?” She turned to Nanny. “And would you take it to her? She can eat in her room tonight. And, Nanny, can you stay with her, please? She’s feeling very unsettled with us going out.”

Fraulein Brun prepared the food and put it on a tray. She added a cup of warm milk and put the tray on the kitchen table.

“Thank you, Fraulein.”

Nanny frowned. She would hate that Johanna showed gratitude to the Frenchwoman. Johanna smiled at her to make the point that kindness cost them nothing.

“Thank you, Nanny. We are leaving now.”

“Very well, Frau Neumann.” Nanny finished her dinner and picked up the tray.

“You may go home, Fraulein Brun.”

“I will clear the dishes first.”

Johanna felt gently caressed by the softness in her gaze.

“If that’s okay, Frau Neumann?”

“Hauptmann Müller is staying here. Don’t be too long.” Johanna smiled, pleased that she had been able to warn Fraulein Brun.

“I understand. Thank you.” Fraulein Brun started clearing away Nanny’s plate. She glanced beyond Johanna along the line of the dining room to the foyer. “You look nice,” she said.

Johanna couldn’t stop the heat expanding from her chest and into her cheeks. “That’s kind of you to say so, thank you.” They stared at each other, as if neither wanted to break the spell that linked them in a way that wouldn’t be safe, that made them both vulnerable to the other.

“Be safe, Frau Neumann.”

Johanna broke eye contact and strode to the foyer, her heart racing. She hoped Fraulein Brun got back to the cottage quickly. She addressed Müller in the foyer. “You are not to leave the house. My daughter’s safety is your only concern. Do I make myself clear, Hauptmann?”

“Of course, Frau Neumann. The kommandant has already given his orders.”

His words fuelled her anger. She swallowed it down.

He held the front door open for her and closed it before she reached the car. She stared up at Astrid’s shuttered window and prayed that she would eat her food and play with Lakritze and not worry about them. Though God knew she would worry about Astrid until they returned safely home.

It was a few miles on the other side of town to the generalmajor’s house. The streets were empty of people and light. Under the half-moon, a heavy mist hung, obscuring any stars that might have brightened the sky. The snow had turned from white to a speckled brown and sludge at the side of the road. Outside town, a patrol passed their vehicles heading northeast to Strasbourg no doubt. She watched through the windscreen, the spotlights up ahead getting closer.

The driver slowed their car. “A checkpoint, Kommandant Neumann.”

Gerhard huffed.

Lights suddenly flashed in various directions, as though spotting a moving target. Machine gun fire rang out, piercing screams, and then suddenly there was silence.

Johanna gasped and clutched her chest. She turned to Gerhard who seemed unmoved. “What was that?”

“They were probably trying to pass with false papers.”

Her skin crawled and her palms became clammy at the matter-of-factness in his tone. “So they were shot.”

He turned to her. His eyes were as empty as the streets they’d just driven through, and his features fixed in annoyance as though everything was an inconvenience, especially her.

“Of course. What do you expect?”

She moved towards the door, as far away from him as she could get. She wanted to scream, complain, ask questions, find a better solution, but she said nothing because anything she said would make her a target too.

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