Page 38 of Tides of Resistance
‘Sorry it’s a bit of a mess, but this is my workstation.’
‘What a fabulous place you have,’ Lizzie said.
‘Thank you. I like it. A family left it empty, and I got it cheap, so I’ve been based here since I returned. It’s good for work.’
Fabian peppered Lizzie with questions, and she fended them off, saying in hushed tones, it was safer if she didn’t reveal much.
Her cousin looked intrigued but let the matter drop, and they chatted about this and that, avoiding talk of Britain, even though Lizzie could see Fabian was itching to ask about the family.
A loud thud echoed through the yard, and Lizzie, ever alert, rested her cup on the wall and looked at Fabian. ‘Is someone else here?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘It’ll just be the window slamming. It’s so windy near the coast.’
Lizzie accepted his explanation, and they finished their coffee, and Fabian showed them some pieces he was workingon. She noticed Sophie and Fabian were acting cagey and, once again, she wondered what Sophie was up to.
What were her cousins keeping from her?
CHAPTER 23
Lizzie struggled to sleep that night as she racked her brains for the best way to infiltrate the port without arousing suspicion. Her link to the family was hampering her movements because she was being overcautious to keep them safe. It was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, she had the convenience of the perfect cover story with a local family in the centre of St. Malo, but on the other, every move she made could endanger their lives.
Her aunt and uncle said they were in favour of any actions that would help the Allies win the war, and they had honoured her request not to ask more questions about why she had come. Lizzie could see it was clear to them she was undercover on a government-backed mission, and she was relieved they had pledged their allegiance to Britain just as her father had predicted.
Jack’s Uncle Luc in Toulouse was never far from her mind when she considered the pros and cons of her situation. After she and Jack used his home as a base for their operations, they still worried about the risks to him and his household at the beautiful château.
The Lavender Network was fully operational in Vichy France, so they had achieved their goal, but at what cost? Lizzie didn’t want to make the same mistake again, which was why she hadn’t visited the port yet. One miscalculation and the St. Malo branch of the Beaumont family would find themselves imprisoned or facing a firing squad.
Over breakfast the following morning, when Lizzie’s aunt asked Charles what he would be doing that day, he replied the Germans had contracted him to carry out a survey and that he would visit Cité d'Aleth that morning.
Lizzie almost choked on her toast when her uncle said the name of the strategic peninsula she had been briefed on in London. He would be at the exact location she had been trying for days to figure out how to access.
Her thoughts raced with possibilities of how this could help her accomplish her mission.
‘Are you going alone, Charles?’ she asked casually. They had dropped the family titles, and she addressed them as though they were her mother’s friends, so it became a habit for when they were out of the house.
Before he could answer, Sophie interrupted, a red spot flaring on each of her fair-skinned cheeks. ‘But Papa, how can you work for them? Surely that will help the Nazis win the war!’
Her father patted her hand. ‘Don’t worry, my dear. I have my ways of giving them what they want, whilst throwing in misleading information. I’m sorry, I must comply with their request. If I don’t, it will put us in the spotlight as resistors.’
‘Your father knows what he is doing, darling.’ Aunt Giselle looked worried nonetheless, and Lizzie’s emotions lurched as she witnessed the awful bind many French families were in who didn’t wish to aid the Nazis.
Uncle Charles turned to Lizzie. ‘To answer your question, yes, I will be going alone today. Sometimes I take my assistanton this type of project, but she’s wrapping up another job. Why do you ask?’
Lizzie cleared her throat. She had made the decision, and her gut confirmed it was the right one, no matter how dangerous.
‘I wonder if I might accompany you in place of your assistant. I am competent in administration and could document your findings,’ Lizzie said, fixing her gaze on her uncle.
‘Perhaps that would be a way for us to accomplish what we all want,’ he said, his eyes straying to Sophie and then to his wife.
They nodded, and gratitude flooded through Lizzie. A better plan than she ever could have conceived of alone had presented itself.
‘Do you need to take photographs as part of the survey?’ she asked, wondering whether she should risk taking her mini camera to the site.
‘But of course. It’s an essential part of the work. In fact, my assistant usually takes photographs whilst I inspect the area and run calculations.’
‘Perfect. I will take the photographs so I can be of real help to you,’ she said, beaming at her uncle. ‘When do we leave?’
They agreed to meet in ten minutes, and Lizzie rushed upstairs to prepare for what was now an official reconnaissance outing. She couldn’t believe her luck, and her heart raced as she pinned up her hair and then concealed her mini camera in a compartment she had sewn into the lining under one of the pockets. There was a special knack to retrieving it, and she practiced the move a few times so she wouldn’t fumble when the moment came to use the camera.
