‘Can it not be considered an act of God?’ Christine asked.
‘No.’
Christine stared at her for several seconds, then took the second capsule. ‘Give me some wine.’
Amalie gave her a cup; her hand was shaking. Christine bit, and then swallowed the wine. For another dreadful second she stood there, then her knees gave way and she fell to the ground.
Ten - The Coup
They stood around the crumpled figure. However often they had been in the presence of death, or, in Liane’s case, actually killed, this was the first fatality within the group.
‘I liked her,’ Amalie said, openly weeping.
‘She was a handsome woman,’ Monterre remarked, and flushed as Liane looked at him.
‘Do you believe what she said?’ Moulin asked. ‘That the Boches know where we are?’
‘It’s possible,’ Pierre said. ‘But they have known roughly where we are for a year now, and they have done nothing about it. Because they can do nothing about it. We are in neutral territory.’
‘What is your opinion, James?’
‘I agree with you both. I imagine the Germans do know where we are, but I agree with Pierre that they aren’t in a position to do much about it, unless they really want to stir up Vichy. On the other hand, if we are pinpointed by the Germans, we are vulnerable to infiltration, as by this woman. I think some thought should be given to relocation.’
‘Where?’ Pierre asked.
‘Well, perhaps somewhere south of Bordeaux. In the Pau area perhaps. I know we have agents in Pau.’
‘That removes us even further from Paris.’
‘I said it is something to be considered.’
‘Meanwhile, Ulstein has to be buried,’ Liane said.
‘I will see to it,’ Monterre volunteered, and summoned some of his men.
‘There must be no desecration of the body,’ Liane warned.
‘I will go with them,’ Amalie said. ‘I would like there to be a marker.’
Liane looked at James, who shrugged. ‘Why not?’
*
‘She is riddled with guilt,’ Liane said as she lay in James’s arms that night, in the privacy of the wood as they liked best. ‘She is guilty because she befriended Ulstein, because she told Joanna about me and about the raid, and now because we have executed her friend. She is a mess.’
‘She’ll get over it. She’s tougher than she looks. And she has Henri.’
‘And I have you. Oh, James, when I think how you could have drowned …’
‘When I think of you in Paris with the Gestapo snapping at your heels. How close were they?’
‘Close enough for me and my partner to have to shoot our way out.’
‘My God! Did you say “partner”?’
‘It would not have been possible for me to exist without a partner. Who is now controlling the route, with a little help from a bunch of whores.’
‘You are going to have to write your memoirs one day.’
‘But you forgive me for what I had to do.’
‘I will forgive you anything. But I’m not keen on you having to do it again. When we manage to reopen contact with London —’
‘When. There is still a lot to be done.’
‘You say the route is running smoothly.’
‘It is. But it requires a constant flow of money. I am using Gruchy funds.’
‘We can’t have that. I will arrange money from England.’
‘As you say, when contact is reopened. But we don’t know when that will be. Meanwhile we are running low, because Papa and his new manager do not know what is happening. I must get to them and put them in the picture.’
‘You mean go to Paulliac? That is too risky.’
‘It is not at all risky for me. I know Paulliac far better than any German.’
‘I will come with you.’
‘My darling!’ She hugged him, and put her hand down inside the blanket. ‘You have not got your strength back yet. You cannot even erect. Now you must sleep. We’ll make plans in the morning.’
‘Listen!’
‘I said tomorrow.’
‘I mean, listen.’
Liane frowned, and then sat up. ‘That is an aircraft.’
‘That is a Lysander. Flying low.’
‘Brune?’ She threw off the blanket and stood up, a sliver of white in the darkness. ‘There are no lights. He’ll crash.’
James also got to his feet. ‘He’s got more sense than to try to land in the dark.’ They ran through the trees to stand in the clear of the plateau and stare upwards.
The sentry joined them. ‘I heard it too. He’s going away again.’ The noise was certainly diminishing.
‘Shit!’ Liane said. ‘Do you think he was trying to contact us?’
‘Had to be,’ James said. ‘In which case he’ll try again tomorrow. We must have the lights ready.’
‘Look there,’ the sentry said. They peered into the starlit sky, made out the glimmer of white floating downwards.
‘It’s a drop,’ James said. ‘We’d better get down to it.’
‘Ahem,’ the sentry remarked.
They looked down at themselves. ‘He has a point,’ Liane said.
They dressed themselves, alerted the rest of the camp, and Liane and Pierre hurried down the hill. James knew he could not match them at the moment, so remained with Amalie and Henri and Moulin, until they came back up the hill an hour later. Then he blinked in amazement. ‘So what do you know,’ Joanna said. ‘I’m the Fifth Cavalry.’
They hugged and kissed her and told her about Christine.
‘That bitch,’ Joanna said. ‘Seems to me she got off lightly.’
‘So what’s the word from England?’
‘First thing, I’ve brought you a spare transmitter.’ She tapped her knapsack. ‘Supposing it survived my bump. And I have a lot of orders.’ She outlined them.
‘They want me in England?’ Moulin asked. ‘But my business is here.’
‘Pound thinks it might be a good idea to stay on the same wavelength as de Gaulle. At least get to know him.’
‘I met him once, before the war. He was only a colonel then. I didn’t like him. He was a bumptious fellow.’
‘I gather he’s even more bumptious now. But he has the ear of the PM. So we’re to call Pound and arrange a date. He’ll want you out as well, James. Rachel certainly does. She’s stuck with a shit.’
‘And you’ll be going back as well,’ Liane said softly.
Joanna squeezed her hand. ‘I’m afraid this is a flying visit. I’d like to take you all, but there’s only room for five, besides the pilot.’
‘Five,’ Liane said thoughtfully.
‘But the rest of you have got to get out of here, even if it means scattering for a while,’ Joanna said. ‘The Krauts are about to come after you.’
‘This is Vichy territory,’ Pierre objected.
‘They’ve done a deal. I even know when, roughly. It’ll be around the end of September, probably a little before. You have time.’
‘This from your Berlin source?’ James asked.
‘Another one. This is absolutely reliable.’
The guerillas looked at each other. ‘Sounds like Ulstein’s threats were genuine,’ Henri observed.
‘Still, virtually a month does give us a little time for manoeuvre,’ Pierre said.
‘Dawn,’ Amalie said. ‘Time for breakfast.’
*
After the meal Joanna and Liane wandered off. James let them go. He felt no jealousy, and knew they would have a lot to talk about. Besides, Moulin also wanted to talk, while Pierre was busy setting up the radio, and fitting fresh batteries to Amalie’s.
‘How can I leave at such a time?’ Moulin said. ‘That amounts to desertion in the face of the enemy.’
‘Well, de Gaulle doesn’t know the Germans are about to attack you,’ James said. ‘And I’m sure he’ll be happy for you to be flown back in as soon as you’ve had your meeting.
’
‘After my people have been destroyed, you mean.’
‘They won’t be, now that we’ve been warned. As Joanna said, if necessary, they’ll scatter and regroup.’
‘If they scatter, they will never regroup. Morale is very low following that fruitless tramp across France. And seven of them have not returned at all.’
‘You think they were captured?’
‘It is possible. Or they were killed. Or most likely of all, they have just gone home.’
‘The group will survive,’ James said, with more confidence than he felt.
‘We are in business,’ Pierre said.
James selected the correct wavelength, took the mike. ‘Pound Two, Pound Two. Pound One calling. Come in, please.’
There was a moment’s silence, then Rachel shouted, ‘Pound One! James! You’re alive! My God! You’re alive! He’s alive,’ she told someone else.
A man’s voice came on the mike. ‘Pound One? This is your replacement. Where are you?’
‘I am with Pound Eleven.’
‘But … how did you get there?’
‘I don’t think this is the time for chat. We require a pickup. This should be on …’
‘Next Sunday,’ Liane said from behind him.
‘Next …’ He turned his head to look at her.
‘Sunday,’ she repeated. ‘There is a lot to be done.’
James looked at Moulin, who shrugged. ‘Next Sunday,’ he said.
‘You mean the day after tomorrow.’
Liane was shaking her head. ‘I mean Sunday week.’
‘Sunday week,’ James said.
‘Understood. The 7th of September. Do we understand that Pound Three has made contact?’
‘You may presume that, yes.’
‘Very good. Pound One out.’
But before he could close down Rachel came back on the line. ‘Oh, James,’ she said. ‘I am so happy you’re alive.’
‘So am I,’ James said. ‘Pound One out.’
Pierre closed down. ‘That is devotion above and beyond the call of duty.’
‘Yes,’ James agreed, and turned to face Liane, who had Joanna at her shoulder. ‘Just what are you playing at? Nine days?’
‘There is a lot to be done,’ Liane said again.
‘Nine days brings us awfully close to the date Joanna says the Germans are going to move in.’
‘Three weeks? That is time enough. They will stick to their schedule. They always do.’
*
‘You are angry with me,’ Liane said that afternoon when she and James were alone.
‘Of course I am not angry with you,’ he lied. ‘I just wish you’d tell me why you put back the date so far.’
‘Don’t you think I might wish to keep you here a few days longer?’
‘Or is it that you want to keep Joanna here that much longer?’
‘James! Now you are both jealous and angry.’
‘I am neither,’ he said, angrily. ‘I just wish you’d tell me the truth.’
‘You are my two favourite people in all the world. But if I had to choose between you, I would choose you.’
‘Oh, you darling! Listen, if you’d come with us, you could have us both. At least for a while.’
‘And you know I cannot do that. Certainly with Jean going. I must remain here. But listen, I have a favour to ask of you.’
‘All right. You have it.’
She kissed him. ‘I would like to sleep with Joanna tonight.’ She laid her finger on his lips. ‘Just for tonight; then I will be yours for the other eight days. But it has been so long since we have seen each other, and she lives such a dangerous life. She has told me she has to go back into Germany.’ She gave a girlish giggle. ‘We will probably do nothing more than talk.’
He could not refuse her. To refuse Liane anything was an impossible thought, and not only because of his love for her. The idea of making an enemy of such a woman was impossible.
‘One night,’ she promised him. He slept in the cave with the other senior men, but when he went outside the next morning, both Liane and Joanna had disappeared.
‘They left just after midnight,’ the sentry said.
‘You did not stop them?’ Pierre asked.
The sentry rolled his eyes. ‘How was I to stop Mademoiselle de Gruchy?’
‘Were they armed?’ Moulin asked.
‘They each had a pistol and a tommy-gun. And a haversack.’
‘They have deserted us,’ Monterre growled. ‘You can never trust a woman.’ He looked at Amalie speculatively.
‘Of course they have not deserted us,’ Amalie snapped. ‘They have gone to Paulliac.’
‘Eh?’ All the men spoke together.
‘Don’t you see? It is three days from here to Paulliac, providing you are fit enough to keep going all day. Two days to the border, and then another to circle Bordeaux and get to the river. That is why they wanted the pickup put back a week, so they can get there and back in time.’
‘Great God Almighty!’ James said. ‘She said something about going to Paulliac, and I told her it was madness.’
‘She wants to see Mama and Papa,’ Amalie said. ‘And she has to have someone to go with her. Until Joanna came she thought she had no one. I would have gone …’ Tears welled up in her eyes. ‘She didn’t think I would be up to it.’
She also wants to arrange the financing for the route, James thought. The silly, stupendous, heroic woman. Thus the pretence of needing some time with Joanna had been merely a ploy to allow them to escape. ‘What must we do?’ Pierre asked. ‘They have an eight-hour start, and they are fit enough to keep going all day. And all night, too.’
‘There is nothing we can do,’ Moulin said. ‘Except pray that they come back.’
*
‘They do not seem to be following us,’ Joanna remarked.
‘They know they cannot catch us,’ Liane said.
The two women lay on a shallow hill overlooking the border. The road and the checkpoints were a mile to their right, so that when they crossed the line they would already be well south of the city. ‘You still reckon James will be happy?’
‘Of course he’s not going to be happy. He’s going to be hopping mad. But he’ll forgive me.’
‘And he’ll take them out?’
‘You said the plane could take five, apart from the pilot.’
‘James and Jean and me, and your folks. You know, you could sit on James’s knee. Or mine.’
‘Forget it.’
‘You really have a death wish.’
‘Don’t you, going back to Germany?’
‘I’m in no danger.’
‘Because you’re an American? Don’t you think that when they’re ready they’ll arrange an entirely plausible accident?’
‘I’m in no danger,’ Joanna repeated. ‘Because they think I’m working for them.’
‘That’s the most dangerous thing of all.’ Liane squinted at the setting sun. ‘We’ll be able to move in a couple of hours. Let’s get some sleep.’
*
They crossed the border as soon as it was dark, then made their way towards the river. Liane knew almost every inch of the country from her childhood explorations, but as she chose to avoid the main road and stick to paths and fields, it was three in the morning before they saw the gates … and the sentry walking to and fro. ‘There’ll be at least one more,’ Joanna whispered.
‘No problem. The property runs down to the water.’
‘You mean we’re going for a swim?’
Liane smiled. ‘Don’t you reckon we both need a bath?’ They crept through the trees, well away from the gates, and reached the river bank. ‘We should be able to wade the whole way,’ Liane said. ‘But it runs pretty hard. Don’t lose your footing.’
‘And you reckon to bring your folks out this way?’
‘No,’ Liane said. ‘They wouldn’t make it.’
‘Then how do we do it?’
‘Just let’s get in,
first.’ The water was surprisingly cold, and deeper by the bank than Liane had anticipated. Soon she was up to her shoulders and struggling to keep her footing. Joanna, taller and more powerfully built, found the going easier, but they were both exhausted by the time they clambered up the bank and lay on the grass beneath the trees, looking across the lawn at the house.
‘You used to have dogs,’ Joanna said.
‘I imagine we still do. But they’re locked up at night.’ She looked at her watch. ‘Four.’
‘You mean that thing still works?’
‘It’s waterproof. Let’s move. It’ll be daybreak in an hour.’
They crept across the lawn and round the back of the house. They passed the kennels and the dogs barked, but the sound was muted. The door to the kitchen was locked, but Liane got to work with her knife and a few moments later they were inside. ‘When this is over you should set up as a burglar,’ Joanna whispered.
‘If that’s all I’ll have on my plate I’ll be laughing.’ They crossed the darkened downstairs hall and up the stairs. Liane went along the corridor to her parents’ room, and checked as she heard a door open. She swung round, instinctively unslinging her tommy-gun, and stared at Madeleine.
Even in the gloom the sisters recognized each other instantly. But before either could react Joanna had darted forward to grasp Madeleine’s throat, at the same time pressing her knife into her breast. ‘Make a sound and you’re dead.’ As she spoke, she pushed Madeleine back into the bedroom. Liane followed and closed the door.
Joanna released Madeleine and she sat on the bed. ‘Ugh! You’re all wet.’
‘What are you doing here?’ Liane asked.
‘I am visiting Mama and Papa.’ She glanced at Joanna. ‘She sent me.’
‘To get a message to you, warning you of the German plans,’ Joanna explained.
‘We received no message.’
‘Well, I never sent one. I meant to see what I could do, but they have treated me like dirt.’
‘And for that reason you could have condemned your brother and sisters to death?’ Joanna inquired.
‘Well, in this war it is every man, and every woman, for herself.’
‘I swore that the next time I saw you I would kill you,’ Liane said. ‘I have a good mind to do it now.’
‘I’m your sister!’
The Game of Treachery Page 21