Page 41 of Whispers At Dawn
Lev glanced at Jack and continued. ‘When I was a boy, they told me wonderful stories about their ‘lost paradise’, and how they loved to swim in the Tigris River. There was a vibrant Jewish diaspora in Iraq all the way back to the 6th century BCE since the Babylonian exile of my people from Judea.’
Jack nodded, not wanting to interrupt Lev’s chain of thought. It was at times like these, Resistance members revealed their true motivations, which was invaluable to the SOE.
‘As you may imagine, this new reality devastated my grandparents, most of all because they can predict the outcome if we don’t stop these tyrants. They will lose their paradise all over again.’
Jack had assessed Lev twice now, and his instincts told him he was the real deal. He could see and hear his heartfelt story was genuine and, in a way, it reminded Jack of when he recruited Hannah in France before the war. She and Lev were from different countries, but both Jewish, and their stories of persecution had a similar tragic echo.
Jack trusted his instincts more than information, and in that moment, he knew he would trust Lev. This was how he had recruited his best agents for Military Intelligence, and he applied his experience to spotting and recruiting Resistance members in London. Some came from contacts he already had, but that didn’t necessarily make them suitable. If anything, it made him more likely to go easy on them, so he always relied on his instincts, and they hadn’t been wrong yet.
He thought back to his first meeting with Lizzie, and how he’d turned her away. Even in the beginning, he had wanted to protect her. She was so young and innocent, the thought of dropping her into occupied France had made his stomach churn.
‘There are a few of us,’ Lev said, interrupting Jack’s thoughts.
‘Are they reliable?’ Jack asked. Now he was in his home territory, and he asked Lev more questions to assess what raw materials they had at their disposal. It turned out there was more to Marguerite than he had been led to believe. He wasn’t surprised—she’d been sharp from the start.
‘It was Marguerite who approached me first about creating some kind of organised Resistance group. She has a contactwho is experienced. Unfortunately, he’s no better equipped than us, but he’s been helping Jews to escape across the Pyrenees for some time.’
Jack’s ears pricked up, and he felt a tingle run down his spine. This mysterious man sounded like exactly the type of agent he wanted to recruit. ‘Don’t worry about supplies. I can handle that. Who is this contact?’ He asked casually, as if it wasn’t overly critical, and he was merely curious.
But Lev was shrewd and showed no signs of being a pushover.
‘I can’t give you more details. I’m already risking our lives telling you all this.’
‘You’re not risking your lives. You can trust me, but I understand. All in good time. We’ve made promising progress for today.’ Jack glanced at his watch and stood to leave. He’d learnt it was always best to leave first and not be too eager when sounding out a new agent.
Lev looked startled, but stood and shook Jack’s hand. ‘When shall we meet again? I’m keen to move things forward.’
‘Me too. I’ll leave a message for you with Marguerite.’
Jack placed some francs on the table in front of Lev. ‘For our drinks and get yourself a good meal. You look like you could do with it.’
Lev thanked him and Jack exited casually onto the street as if he hadn’t just recruited their first Resistance leader in the Free Zone.
Jack walked across the Place du Capitole, his eyes searching everywhere for Lizzie. He walked around again to be sure she wasn’t there. Of course, she could be inside a café sheltering from the sun, but it was unlikely. She enjoyed sitting outside.
Was she still in the city? He was more worried about letting her go alone than he cared to acknowledge, even to himself. It was one thing worrying about her when he was in London and could do little but wait for a message, but here it was a different story. He knew he must give her freedom to follow her own instincts, but God, it was hard to exercise his self-control. It wasthe hardest thing he had ever had to do. Watching her cycle away from him earlier made his pulse race and crushed his chest until he could barely breathe. The feelings of love he had for her were overwhelming, and the combination of trying to protect her and wanting her to flourish were crippling.
He swung the car into the château grounds, all the while scanning the area for Lizzie. Had she made it back yet? There was no sign of her on the journey up the hill and his mouth was dry at the thought of what might have happened. He decided he would see if she was inside and, if not, he would go back out immediately and look for her. His patience had come to an end for one day.
Jack parked the car and headed towards the château. Then he had a thought and turned around. If she was here, she would have put the bicycle back. With his heart booming in his chest like a schoolboy in love, he strode across the courtyard and stood in front of the shed. Reaching his hand out, fear spiralled through him as he pulled the handle.
There stood the old bicycle. Waves of relief washed over him, and he berated himself for panicking, and for the stupid smile that creased his face.
Knowing Lizzie was safe was the best thing in the world.
CHAPTER 20
Lizzie looked for Suzanne in the kitchen and handed her the bag of hard-won food.
‘You did well, madame.’
‘Thank you,’ Lizzie said, running her fingers over the large dog’s head as he clamoured for her attention. ‘Is Beau your dog?’
‘No, he is Monsieur Luc’s dog. He enjoys running around here in the daytime but sleeps upstairs with his master. Not much of a guard dog, really.’
‘You are a sweetie, Beau, aren’t you?’ Lizzie said, tickling his chest as he leaned against her hand and stared up at her lovingly.
‘He is adorable,’ Suzanne agreed. ‘I like having his company down here. It can get lonely in this great old place.’
