Page 72 of Summer of Fire
They clung to each other, and then he released her. ‘Go, before I change my mind and don’t let you.’
Lizzie kissed him once more and jumped on the bicycle. She turned at the gate and waved. It was no good. Tears rolled down her face, and she dabbed them with her yellow scarf.
‘See you tonight,’ Jack called, waving as he followed her out of the yard. Looking back as she cycled down the lane, she saw he was still standing there watching her until she disappeared around the bend, and she could no longer see him.
Please God, let it all go to plan and bring him back to me tonight.
She muttered the prayer as she whizzed down the lane. Lizzie kept praying all the way until she approached the barricade and saw a soldier she didn’t recognise standing guard. She had hoped to have a quick entrance like on the previous mornings.
She slowed the bicycle and jumped off, grateful to have something to hold on to as she clutched the handlebars.
‘Guten morgen,’the soldier said, his tone flat but polite.
‘Bonjour,’ Lizzie replied.
The soldier asked for her identity papers, and she did her best to steady her shaking hands when she produced them from her bag and passed them to him.
He studied the papers carefully, turning them over several times and holding them up to the light.
Lizzie tried to act casual, but her throat was tight, and her heart drummed so manically, she could barely catch her breath. She smiled at the soldier and asked if everything was to his satisfaction.
She heard Jack’s voice in her head:Act like you have nothing to hide and the chances are they will believe you.
After what seemed like forever, the soldier lowered the papers and handed them back to her.
Lizzie thanked him.
Then he pointed to her bicycle and moved towards it. She stood aside as he rifled through the basket. His hands touched the package of sandwiches Jack had made for her. There was nothing for him to find that would incriminate her, and her hands stopped shaking.
Eventually, he waved her into the base and wished her a good day.
Lizzie took several deep breaths and her heartbeat gradually slowed as she realised, she had passed the first test of operation day.
CHAPTER 34
The clock hands crept by slowly and Lizzie struggled to concentrate. The general came in around eleven and his footsteps paused near her desk. Her fingers hovered over the typewriter keys as she felt his presence behind her. The fine hairs on her neck stood up.
‘Mademoiselle?’ he said finally.
‘Yes, Herr General. How may I help you?’
‘A cup of coffee would be nice,’ he said.
He wore a grey-greenuniform, and his jacket was heavily decorated with rows of war medals. The infamous Nazi golden eagle with the swastika nestled ominously on his chest.
Lizzie hurried in to boil the water to make him a coffee. The waiting for the day to pass unnerved her, so she was pleased to have a distraction. During her schooldays, when she had to do something like stand up in front of the school at assembly, she would always volunteer to be first. It was less scary to get it done first rather than hang around dreading the moment when it was her turn.
That’s what today felt like as she watched the waterbubble to boiling point. She glanced out of the window and saw two Luftwaffe pilots cross the airfield. Jack said most of the pilots arrived later in the evening to prepare for their night raids, which explained why the base was almost deserted during the day when she was here.
Soldiers were billeted all over the city and they had moved into people’s homes by order of the army. The pilots rested in their quarters during the day and didn’t sleep on the makeshift base which had only recently been erected for the Blitz.
Lizzie walked towards the general’s office door and knocked, the steaming coffee cup in her other hand.
‘Enter,’ said a commanding voice.
Lizzie placed the cup on his desk. He thanked her, and she turned to leave.
‘Mademoiselle, please take a seat.’
