Page 30 of Shadows In Paris
‘Yes, there’s not much in the way of antiques or artwork. My guess is the Germans stripped the place of anything valuable like they did in Jewish homes in Germany and Poland. Paris is one enormous art collection for the Nazis to loot. They are plundering everything they can and transporting it all to the German treasure chest to fund more of their vile plans.’
Lizzie frowned. ‘I heard something about that on the radio at home a while ago. It all seems so distant when you’re in London, but to see it in action like this is shocking.’
Hannah said, ‘They stole our apartment when they arrested and sent my parents away during the Kristallnacht pogrom and I was left homeless.’
‘It’s hard to believe this is allowed to happen in a civilised world,’ Lizzie said, her heart hurting for Hannah as she talked about the disappearance and possible death of her close family.
Hannah said, ‘There is nothing civilised about this world. People pretend there is, but when evil gets a grip, there are always those greedy enough to relish in the spoils of other people’s efforts.’
‘Do you still have friends in Germany?’ Lizzie asked, her tone gentle.
Hannah sighed, and the sadness tore at Lizzie’s emotions as she watched the pain on her face. ‘No, I doubt it. I’ve beenliving like a rat in the sewers for years. No one in Germany can know my real identity, or I wouldn’t be able to operate there.’
Lizzie listened to her every word, transfixed by the awfulness of it all.
‘Following Kristallnacht, I stayed with friends for a while, and I spied on our apartment from a distance and watched as a German family moved in. Then, over the coming months, Jewish families were given minutes to pack a small bag and vacate their homes. Their bank accounts were stripped bare, and we never saw them again.’
‘You are so brave. I don’t know how you do it,’ Lizzie said. Tears rolled from her eyes and splashed onto her cheeks as she listened to the horrifying story unfold.
‘You are brave too, dear Lizzie.’ Hannah squeezed her shoulder. ‘One way or another, we will get through this. I’m so glad you’re here. It gets lonely sometimes.’
‘I’m glad I’m here too, and I’m so sorry, you’ve had to go through this hell, Hannah. It’s pure evil. If there is anything I can do when I’m back in London to help you look for your family and friends, please tell me.’
Hannah’s eyes shone with unshed tears. ‘The whispers I hear on the underground networks make me scared to even hope to see them again. I fear the ultimate Nazi plan for the Jews is even more diabolical than we have been led to believe.’
‘This war must be over soon. Surely it can’t go on much longer,’ Lizzie said. ‘What do you make of France falling so quickly? I didn’t even realise we were in real danger in Jersey until my father was called urgently to the War Office in London.’
Hannah replied, ‘Once the Phoney War was over, France folded like a house of cards. De Gaulle calls for resistance, albeit from his comfortable base in London, but the Frenchfight was over before it had barely begun. That coward Pétain sold France down the river in an afternoon, to waving swastika flags on the Arc de Triomphe, military parades and the sound of marching bands on the Champs-Élysées.’
Lizzie saw the anger etched into her delicate features that belied the Resistance operative’s mental and physical toughness.
They chatted for a while longer. Hannah asked after Lizzie’s sisters and Lizzie made her laugh with tales of what they got up to in wartime London.
It had been an intense night, and as Lizzie lay her head on the pillow, she blocked out the image of the exploding train and tried not to think about how many people were killed.
CHAPTER 13
Hannah rose early and went for a run through the fields surrounding the house to clear her head. She had meant it when she told Lizzie she was pleased to have her staying for a while. Being the leader of a Resistance network made for a lonely life, and although she had become a loner over the years by necessity, she liked Lizzie and enjoyed her company.
The British SOE agent was new to the undercover world, but it was obvious from their first meeting that she would be a real asset to the Resistance. She too was recruited by Jack, which had given Hannah confidence in Lizzie from the start.
As Hannah’s feet relentlessly hit the ground, her thoughts switched to Henry, her fiancé, as they so often did. It had been so long since she’d seen him, sometimes she had trouble visualising his face.
They had fallen hopelessly in love, but their worlds had been smashed to pieces by the declaration of war and they were ripped from each other.
Henry enlisted immediately and flew with the RAF. Shewas proud of him, but it didn’t make missing him any easier. A normal life was just not meant to be for her. Gradually she had adjusted to the realisation, but sometimes she fantasised that one day they would be reunited, marry and have children like they had planned.
Even the thought of having children made her sad because it reminded her of her family, and how close they had been before insanity gripped Germany and spread like an infectious disease.
Hannah increased her speed, pushing herself for one last sprint. A thin film of perspiration coated her forehead as her muscular frame raced across the field.
When she slowed her pace, she turned down the footpath to the back of the house to the gate she had taken Lizzie through the previous night after they blew up the rail track.
Hannah tried not to think about the devastation the network caused in its quest to crush the Nazi regime. It was better that way. This wasn’t the life she dreamt of as a young girl, but it was the life that had been forced upon her.
Pushing the back door open, she called out to Lizzie to see if she was awake yet. There was no sound of movement in the house, so she went upstairs.
After Hannah washed, she knocked on Lizzie’s door and poked her head into the room when her guest called for her to enter.
