Page 85 of Love in the Shadows

Nancy put her arm around Astrid’s shoulder. “Don’t be. Madame is kind and she will look after us.”

Fabienne could see that Johanna was trying to be brave, but she too looked seconds away from tears. “Come on, we should get the girls out of here.” She took Astrid and Nancy by the hand and smiled. “Listen, you will be safe with Madame Guillaume, and we will be fine here. And when this is all over and we are back together, we can have a big tea party to celebrate. What do you say?”

Nancy beamed. “Can we make a special cake?”

Fabienne ruffled her hair. “Absolutely.”

“And berry cordial, Mutter?” Astrid asked.

Johanna’s lips quivered as she smiled. “Yes. We will make a big jug of berry cordial.”

Mamie ushered the girls out the door.

Fabienne collected the can of fuel she had acquired from the side of the woodshed, and she and Johanna headed back to the house. She doused the beds in the annex with a little petrol, then moved through the ground floor, dousing the boxes in the foyer, the dining table, the curtains, the piano, and then across the kitchen surface and table, taking care not to splash any on her clothes. The last thing she needed was to be smelling of petrol when the Germans arrived. Johanna cut a towel into strips.

Together, from the annex to the kitchen, they moved swiftly through the house, lighting the strips and throwing them onto the furniture and the floor. The blaze would attract attention for miles, but it would take a vicious hold within a few minutes and be impossible to put out. In the kitchen, they went into the cellar and out through the tunnels, closing the false door behind them. They ran and didn’t stop until they reached the old barn.

Johanna stood with her hands on her hips, puffing hard, her face flushed, her blue eyes darker and more vibrant.

Fabienne went to her and kissed her firmly. “We did it.” She indicated the blazing inferno and smoke streaming into the sky in the near distance, the crackle and creak of wood as it collapsed. The heat reached them in waves, or maybe it was the balmy summer evening. Fabienne couldn’t tell and she didn’t care.

Johanna put her arm around Fabienne’s waist. “We really did it.”

Fabienne indicated to the bag that she’d lodged under the hay earlier in the day. “There is enough food for a few days, a change of clothes, and your new ID. She picked up the bag and took out the card that read Juliette Brun. There is also a dye for your hair. Do that as soon as I leave. Behind the barn is a stream. Mamie will leave Astrid’s ID with Madame Guillaume for when we pick up the girls.”

Nancy had been excited that Astrid would be living with them at the cottage. Fabienne had never felt as much love as she did in this moment, and the happiness in Johanna’s eyes brought her to tears.

Johanna came to her and held her tightly. “We owe you our lives,” she whispered. “And I give you mine forever.” She cupped Fabienne’s face and kissed her.

The depth of passion made Fabienne weak, but now wasn’t a good time to lose concentration, though she could easily have curled up with Johanna in the barn and stayed with her for the night. She had to get back to the cottage. She had to try and help put out the fire. “I must go. I will come for you once they’ve gone to Berlin and once I know you will be safe. Dye your hair. When I come back, I will cut it.”

Johanna kissed her.

Fabienne ran back through the woods as fast as she could and watched the blaze from the side of the cottage as she caught her breath. Two fire trucks had arrived, and the men were doing their best, but the upper levels were solid timber and already consumed by wild flames. The roof had partially collapsed, and it wouldn’t be long before the rest caved. She ran to where the trucks had stopped, some distance from the front of the property.

“I need to help,” she said. She was brushed aside by the fire commander, a Frenchman she recognised.

“Is there anyone inside?”

“Yes. Frau Neumann and her daughter Astrid were living there.”

He shook his head. “No one will have got out of that.”

Mamie arrived in the van, parked outside the cottage, and approached Fabienne with her hand pressed to her mouth. “Oh my God. Where are the kommandant’s wife and child?”

The commander indicated to the house. “They will have perished. It’s gone up quickly.”

“But how?” Fabienne said. She paced back and forth with an expression of confusion and concern.

The commander shrugged. “Who knows. There should be an investigation, but it will take months if it happens at all. There’s nothing we can do here. You need to stay away from it. We have more important things to tend to.” He went to his men and instructed them to stop fighting the fire. They got into their vehicles and made their way back to the main road.

Fabienne watched the fire blaze, with Mamie beside her. The heat burned her face and stung her eyes. It wasn’t too long before she spied the black car heading towards them. Clearly, word had got out about the fire and Nanny had left the meeting earlier than planned. Fabienne braced herself for what she knew was coming next.

Hauptmann Schmidt strode up to her. “What’s happened? Where’s Frau Neumann and the child?”

Being subjected to the heat had caused Fabienne to sweat, and her eyes to burn enough to release tears naturally. She would look a mess and distraught. She rubbed her cuff across her face. “I don’t know.”

Nanny approached them and glanced from Fabienne to Mamie. She didn’t appear distraught or even shocked. An understanding passed between them.

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