Page 59 of Whispers At Dawn
‘What about your parents and siblings, Lev?’ Lizzie asked. ‘Don’t they wish to leave?’
Lev sighed. ‘I’m working on it. My parents are as stubborn as mules and won’t leave without me. I have told them I cannot leave now. There is too much to do here. My siblings are considering it, but can’t bring themselves to abandon our parents, so it’s a knock-on effect. I have papers ready for them as soon as they give me the nod.’
Lizzie’s chest tightened as he told her about his family. Would it really be a matter of life or death if they didn’t leave, or would the Allies invade in time to stop this madness before it went any further?
She lay on the blanket, still trying to drift off to sleep because they would have a late night, but her mind was too full.
They received reports at the SOE and repeatedly discussed a possible invasion, but it was never the right time and was always pushed into the future. It was approaching two years since Germany invaded Poland and Britain declared war. What had seemed initially like something that would be over in no time, had dragged on much longer than anyone had predicted.
Lizzie sat bolt upright when she heard the crack of a twig.
Jack appeared beneath an apple tree and waved to her before crossing the orchard and sitting next to her in the shade.
‘How did it go?’ she asked.
‘Good. Luc was in there waiting for me and showed me a hidden cellar at the back where they can hide. He said when the Germans first invaded, many of the vintners built false walls to hide their best wines from Nazi plundering. We’ve arranged a place for them to sleep and will take some stuff in for them.’
Dinner time came quickly, but Lizzie could barely swallow the food. Such was the tension at the table. Luc kept glancing at the clock, and when they retired outside as usual to the terrace, Jack chain-smoked until Lizzie had to move away so she could catch her breath.
She prayed that by tonight, the airmen would be safely hidden in the secret cellar.
But a voice kept taunting her.What if it all goes wrong?
They could find themselves spending the night in a Vichy jail, not in their comfortable bedroom overlooking the Garonne valley.
CHAPTER 29
The rest of the evening crawled by until it was time to retire for the night. Luc wished them luck and went to his rooms as usual around 10 p.m. Lizzie and Jack followed closely on his heels and bid goodnight to Suzanne as she went around the ground floor performing her nightly bedtime ritual, closing shutters and checking doors were locked. The château fell quiet, and everyone was in their quarters ready for a peaceful night’s sleep, but Jack and Lizzie paced about like wildcats, watching and waiting for a sign.
‘The waiting is the killer,’ Lizzie said when Jack handed her a snifter of Armagnac to calm her nerves. She took a sip. ‘It’s so strong, but with a hint of a chocolate taste. Could that be right or am I imagining it?’
‘You have a good palate. It has a note of chocolate.’
They chatted about wine and brandy to pass the time, Jack explaining to Lizzie what he’d learned about training and pruning the vines under Luc’s tutelage.
‘How Henry and I worked in the vineyards is coming back to me now.’
‘Could you see yourself living here one day?’
Jack paused, the balloon glass midpoint from the table to his lips. ‘Live here. What makes you ask that?’
‘You seem so at home’
‘Do I? I didn’t realise,’ Jack said, pondering Lizzie’s observation. ‘I suppose I’ve always felt at home in France, with French parents and so many visits here in my childhood.’
‘How about you? Would you like to live in France when the world rids itself of lunatics and we’re back on an even keel?’
Jack never spoke of losing the war. It was as if the possibility didn’t enter his mind, or if it did, he wouldn’t express it. She followed his example, and they only ever made plans for what they would do after winning the war and Europe was liberated from Hitler’s yoke of tyranny.
‘I’m not sure. I certainly wouldn’t be against it, although I imagine I’ll be torn between Jersey and London. I’ve grown to love London in a way I never thought I would.’
‘And Jersey, do you miss it terribly?’ Jack asked softly.
‘I do. Although, I think a big part of that is the nostalgia of my childhood innocence and how it symbolises life before the war.’
‘Makes sense. At least we will have options.’
They sat on the sofa in the large bedroom. Lizzie’s feet curled beneath her, her head resting on Jack’s shoulder and their hands entwined. The clock ticked ominously, and the hour approached eleven.
