The Daughters of Marburg

by Terrance Williamson

Again, the room erupted into happy cheer, yet Lilly noticed that the maid had slipped out of the room and was busy in the kitchen. She didn’t know why, but something about her was disingenuous. She couldn’t identify the exact reasoning, but there was something not entirely right.

  “Should we start planning then?!” Edith clapped giddily, which Lilly found entirely uncharacteristic.

  “I have to say it’s clever,” Walter chuckled softly. “No one plans a wedding after an assassination attempt. Could throw them off the scent.”

  “Or bring more attention,” Mr. Sommer added.

  “We should make it soon, though.” Mrs. Baumann pinched Wilhelm’s cheeks before solemnly adding, “I wish your parents could be here for this.”

  “Maybe when this is all over, I can take Lilly to meet them.” Wilhelm looked hopefully at Lilly.

  “Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention earlier”—Mrs. Baumann turned to Lilly— “but I gave Lilly the jacket.”

  “The jacket?” Lilly frowned.

  “The red jacket. The one you left at our place.”

  “Oh right!” Lilly shook her head in wonder at her mental lapse. “I forgot all about that.”

  “She was happy to receive it.” Mrs. Baumann smiled. “Poor thing is starved for any interaction. All she has for company is her father and, well, he doesn’t like to talk much.”

  “He talks to me fine,” Walter interjected. “He just can’t get a word in edgewise with you around.”

  “Anyways”—Mrs. Baumann shot her husband an unappreciative glare before returning her attention to Lilly and Wilhelm— “I can’t wait to tell her about you two!”

  Chapter Fifteen:

  The Lahn River

  “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.”

  Aldous Huxley

  “Are you sure that you’re up to the task?” Mr. Sommer asked his daughters as they stood with Miss Schultz in the doorway.

  “We want to do our part. Besides, if people see you in your condition, they will just start asking questions.” Edith nodded firmly, and Lilly was more than happy to have her sister’s support in this venture.

  “You’re both very brave.” Mr. Sommer smiled as best as he was able. “I’m proud of you, and I know that your mother is as well.”

  “We won’t let you down,” Lilly replied boldly.

  “Now, remember, Sergeant Wolf was the one who paid off the merchant. The merchant may not react kindly to you,” Mr. Sommer warned.

  “How will he know to trust us?” Lilly asked.

  “That I don’t know,” Mr. Sommer sighed. “I do know, however, that he’s a man who cares for nothing more than coin. He’s not helping Miss Schultz here for any noble purpose. Use his corruption to your advantage.”

  “How can we trust someone of his quality?” Edith frowned.

  “It’s the only option, and the safest.” Mr. Sommer looked regrettably at his daughters.

  “Understood.” Lilly drew a deep breath.

  “If…” Mr. Sommer paused as he seemed to be searching for the right words.

  “What is it?” Lilly asked.

  “I’m a bad father.” Mr. Sommer swallowed. “I just yelled at Wilhelm yesterday for endangering you, now I’m allowing you to endure this perilous undertaking. What sort of man stays at home to recover while his daughters are striving in his stead?”

  “You’re the furthest thing from a bad father!” Edith looked indignantly at him. “If you leave, in your condition, you’ll be stopped before you even reach Mrs. Baumann’s house! No one suspects two young women of anything seditious, and we can get away with a lot more than you can. We need you, Papa, so please rest and heal.”

  “You look just like her.” Mr. Sommer studied Edith with mesmerization, yet Lilly was pleased that this comparison didn’t fill her with the envy that she usually felt.

  Instead, she was proud that both of them mirrored different aspects of their mother. Edith embodied her looks, while Lilly carried her spirit. Together they were stronger, and Lilly felt ashamed for how long it took her to realize this.

  “Go with God.” Mr. Sommer nodded before shutting the door after them.

  “Miss Schultz”—Lilly turned towards the maid— “if you would be so kind as to play the part of the lowly servant and walk a few paces behind us as we need to sell the fabrication.”

  With a quick nod, Miss Schultz agreed, but Lilly noticed that she still refused to utter a word or even look at them.

  “Is everything alright?” Edith asked Miss Schultz.

  Again, Miss Schultz gave a quick nod, and Edith glanced worriedly at Lilly.

  “We don’t have much time.” Lilly waved for them to depart. “The merchant should be arriving around noon.”

  “Let’s be quick about it, then.” Edith began to walk briskly as Lilly matched her speed.

  “I wish Wilhelm was coming with us as well,” Lilly muttered to herself.

  “Where is he, anyways?” Edith asked.

  “Some special Hitler Youth outing.” Lilly shrugged. “He didn’t elaborate more than that. Last time he was involved in that horrid film. I hope it’s not anything as embarrassing.”

  “How does it feel to be engaged?” Edith put her arm through Lilly’s.

  “Strange, really,” Lilly replied before glancing over her shoulder at their maid, who was still walking, with her gaze at her feet, a few paces behind them.

  “Strange? How?” Edith asked.

  “It’s such a precarious time.” Lilly grew reflective. “I’ve done things I never even contemplated in our previous life. Also, it feels a little insensitive to be happy during a time like this.”

  “Nonsense!” Edith gave a playful slap on Lilly’s arm. “You have every right to be happy. Love waits for no one. It doesn’t choose an appropriate time or pause until life is settled. You and Wilhelm are an excellent match and, as your greatest critic, I mean that.”

  “That’s too kind,” Lilly chuckled, “and too true.”

  “Plus, I think Mother would’ve loved him,” Edith added with a sorrowful smile.

  “You think so?” Lilly glanced back at her.

  “Of course!” Edith looked off into the distance. “He’s just like Papa. He’s charming, patient, passionate, and attentive. He’ll take excellent care of you.”

  “I agree with you there.” Lilly grinned. “It isn’t happening too quickly, though, is it?”

  “It’s just like you said”—Edith leaned in— “you two share a bond birthed out of suffering. Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, or next week? We’re living on borrowed time. It would be wise to make the most of it.”

  “Thank you.” Lilly squeezed her sister’s arm that was still wrapped through hers.

  “What’s with all the guards?” Edith asked as they turned the corner to the market.

  Checkpoints were placed at every entrance to the market, and Lilly thought that they were perhaps looking over papers of those coming and going. She noticed that some citizens had even been pulled to the side and were being questioned aggressively.

  “Must be because of what happened the other day.” Lilly referred to the assassination attempt on the major.

  “Just follow my lead,” Edith whispered and then nodded to Miss Schultz in an attempt to reassure her.

  Glancing back as well, Lilly found it odd that Miss Schultz wasn’t nervous. Lilly imagined that if she was actively being hunted, then she would be beside herself with apprehension.

  “Stop!” A guard at the checkpoint held his hand up to keep them from entering the market, and the girls complied, though timidly.

  “What’s your business?” he asked sternly.

  “We brought our new maid to show her the market. We need some food.” Edith explained.

  “Papers?” He held out his hand.

  “We don’t have them with us,” Lilly replied sheepishly. “We didn’t believe that we would need them.”

  “No one passes without documenta
tion.” The guard shook his head. “There was an attack earlier. We need to verify everyone.”

  “Please, sir”—Edith stepped in front of Lilly— “we’re hungry. We live all the way across town. By the time we return, the shops will be closed.”

  “Across town, hey?” another guard spoke up from behind them, and Lilly was surprised to see that it was the same man who had escorted them home the other evening.

  “Hello,” Edith spoke cheerfully.

  “It’s alright, I can vouch for them.” He nodded to his compatriot, who grudgingly relented and moved onto the next fearful and eager citizens in line.

  “You’ll let us pass?” Edith threw a flirtatious smile at him.

  “I need something first.” He smiled suggestively back at her.

  “I hope it’s a date?” Edith giggled and sounded so sincere that Lilly couldn’t decipher if she was genuinely interested in this man or merely acting.

  “Something a little more scandalous, actually,” he replied, but then caught sight of the maid a couple of paces behind them. “She’s with you?”

  “Yes, and she can be trusted.” Lilly glanced back at the maid as well.

  “She’s not a Jew, is she?” the guard asked with a laugh.

  “Why would we engage with Jews?” Edith scrunched up her nose.

  “These days, it’s hard to tell. I heard a priest was executed, right in this square, for helping hide some of the degenerates.” The guard shook his head in disgust.

  “What was it you wanted?” Lilly pressed, not willing to put up with this reprehensible man any longer.

  “That item, from the other night,” the guard paused.

  “Yes? What about it?” Edith frowned.

  “Do you have any more?” He narrowed his gaze.

  “It so happens that I do.” Edith grinned.

  “In that case, I might just stop by this evening to pick one up.”

  “That would be great.” Edith played with her hair which Lilly found entirely out of character.

  “Go on through.” He nodded for them to pass, and Edith waved over her shoulder at him as the company proceeded.

  Entering the market, Lilly found it eerily quiet, almost as if it had been abandoned. The shops were open, but Lilly noticed that conversation only took place unless it was of absolute necessity. Mothers with crying children nearly ran out of the market with whatever they could carry. Merchants delivered their produce and demanded payment immediately, and shop owners peeked out warily into the street.

  “Everyone’s on edge,” Edith whispered to Lilly.

  “I suppose this means that they’re still ignorant as to the assailants,” Lilly whispered back.

  Tapping on Lilly’s shoulder, Miss Schultz then pointed to the far end of the square, the same spot where the family had been murdered by the major, and Lilly’s heart stopped.

  Crude gallows were being constructed with beams made of iron, and five nooses rested on each side of the beam, ready to be employed for a wicked purpose. It was then that Lilly understood the major was no longer playing the game. He wouldn’t just execute their family, but he would execute anyone he even suspected of treason.

  “Let’s go, quickly.” Edith panicked, and they sped along to the grocer where the merchant was supposed to meet them.

  “Do you know what he looks like?” Lilly asked Edith as they stood near the grocer, feeling entirely out of place and obvious.

  “How am I supposed to know?!” Edith barked back.

  “Buy or move along,” a shrill voice called from inside the grocer, and Lilly looked in the window to see an elderly man pointing to a handmade sign that reiterated his statement.

  “We’re looking for a merchant.” Lilly felt a little foolish for the vague statement.

  “Heh!” The grocer waved in his dismissal. “There’s nothing but merchants here. What’s his name?”

  “Lilly, look.” Edith pointed down an alleyway near the grocer.

  Glancing in the direction, Lilly spotted a man in rubber boots and a thick, green jacket arguing with some guards who were not letting him pass. He had a lit pipe hanging out the side of his mouth, and his hair was long and unkempt.

  “I bet that’s him,” Lilly spoke to Edith, and the three sped in his direction.

  “Excuse me!” Lilly waved, and the guards turned towards them. “Are you the merchant?”

  “The merchant?” he scoffed and took the pipe out of his mouth. “There’s plenty of merchants here, love.”

  “So we’ve been told,” Edith replied with a hint of spite.

  “Are you the one with the special produce?” Lilly asked, using the code words prescribed by their father.

  “Possibly.” He frowned as he examined them, and Lilly assumed he was wondering if he could trust them. “But you can’t see my wares. The guards won’t let me in, despite the fact that I’ve been coming through here for the last thirty-four years, long before any of them were but a twinkle in their father’s eye.”

  “Can we come to your boat instead?” Lilly asked.

  “Oh, well, yeah, I suppose.” He again examined them suspiciously.

  “What special produce is this?” the guard asked warily.

  “Feminine products.” Lilly lied, and the guard blushed immediately.

  “Aren’t those purchased at the pharmacy?” the other guard, who Lilly perceived as less bashful than his counterpart, asked with more than a hint of skepticism.

  “Who do you think supplies them?” the merchant huffed.

  “I…” The guard frowned sharply.

  “What did I tell you about this lot?” the merchant laughed as he spoke to the girls.

  “So, may we come to you?” Edith asked.

  “I still need to get the rest of my shipment to the stores.” The merchant pointed towards the market. “Otherwise, there’s no use in you coming to the boat.”

  “Please, sir, I can vouch for him,” Lilly spoke to the guards.

  “I don’t know who you are,” the guard scoffed as he replied.

  “I’m Lilly Sommer. This is my sister, Edith Sommer, and our maid.”

  “Sommer?” the guard held his conclusion in reserve as he studied them. “Karl Sommer’s daughters?”

  “You know our father?” Lilly asked curiously.

  “I was in the cell when the major questioned him.” The guard grew a wicked smile as he retrieved a cigarette. “Beat him within an inch of his life.”

  “I’m well aware of how dire the situation was.” Lilly swallowed, not enjoying the guard’s callous attitude.

  “He’s a tough man, that Karl Sommer.” The guard lit his cigarette and puffed smoke into their faces.

  “I have my papers,” Miss Schultz spoke up as she retrieved some documents from her handbag and handed them to the guard.

  “Papers?” the guard growled as he grabbed them from the maid. “All we look at are bloody papers.”

  Reading over them briefly, the guard skimmed along until, suddenly, his head shot back in surprise as he glanced at Miss Schultz with shock and then at the two sisters. Returning to the document, he read further, with great interest, and Lilly began to wonder what on earth was written that could cause such a reaction.

  “Thank you, Miss Schultz.” The guard handed the document back to her and then turned to the merchant. “You may enter the market.”

  “Oh, well, good.” The merchant nodded in his surprise and picked up a crate as he walked past the girls.

  “Would you like help?” Lilly asked as she spotted a few more crates.

  “Sure! Bend with your knees. They’re heavier than they look,” he called over his shoulder.

  “He wasn’t lying!” Edith grunted as she picked one up.

  “Oh my goodness! What is in this?” Lilly puffed as she, too, picked up a crate and followed behind the merchant.

  “Hey,” Edith whispered to Lilly when they were out of earshot from the maid who, also, was struggling with the produce a good measure behin
d them, “what was in that document she gave the guards? Did you see their reaction? Something isn’t quite right, but I can’t figure out what, yet.”

  “I feel the same way,” Lilly grunted as she carried the box. “Before we go any further, we will need to ask her about it.”

  “It’s not just her; something else feels off.” Edith became lost to thought.

  “How so?” Lilly asked.

  “If the major survived the attack, how come no arrests have been made yet? Why are they constructing gallows? I think he’s planning something, and I’d rather not be here when he brings it to fruition.” Edith set the box down near where the merchant had placed his.

  “Is that everything?” Lilly asked the merchant as Miss Schultz also set her crate down with a huff.

  “That it is,” the merchant replied absentmindedly as he counted the funds that were swiftly provided by the grocer to ensure he had been paid correctly.

  “Alright.” He suddenly grew cheerful, and Lilly noticed that he hadn’t given much attention at all to the gallows behind him. “Follow me, then.”

  Silently, the girls followed the merchant back through the market and past the guards who gave them peculiar glances that Lilly didn’t quite understand. They seemed to be aware of something that was beyond Lilly’s comprehension, and she was certain it pertained to whatever was written in the maid’s documents.

  Reaching the Lahn River, Lilly spotted a small, standing boat with a spot for some storage. There were empty crates inside and miscellaneous items scattered around. She understood why his boat had gone undetected for so long. No one in their right mind would enter the storage of this boat and spend days locked inside.

  “So, what special produce were you after?” the merchant asked as he climbed down some stone steps beside the bridge that led to a small, tattered dock where the boat was tied.

  “Um”—Lilly glanced at Edith— “transportation?”

  “And who is the fortunate guest?” He glanced at the three of them, and Lilly found it odd that he couldn’t tell which of them was Jewish. If that wasn’t proof enough of the ridiculousness of the Nazi ideology, she didn’t know what was.

  “I am.” Miss Schultz stepped forward.