‘You’ll be on your way soon,’ Rose reassured him. ‘I promise.’
She kept going, methodically checking their new house guest over, wondering if he’d be the one to get them caught. Even if Sophia had been careful, she’d been trying to support the weight of a man twice her size. There was simply no way she’d have known if there were Germans hidden, watching her. ‘Go back upstairs for now. It’s safer there. Just bring down some new clothes for this one first, then we can burn his uniform.’
Rose sighed and stood. If the enemy had been watching Sophia, surely they’d have stormed the house by now, and a simple change of clothes for their guest wouldn’t help at all.
‘I’ll be back in a moment,’ she said to Hazel as Sophia reappeared. ‘Keep going as best you can, and once he’s patched up we need to strip him down and burn those clothes well enough so there’s not even a thread of his uniform left.’
She motioned to Sophia with her head, looking towards the kitchen and walking to the corner with her. They stood close, heads bent, and she could tell from Sophia’s eyes that something was troubling her. She’d seen that look on her face only once before, and that had been when they were both losing too much blood, side by side, and things were going horribly wrong.
‘What happened?’ she asked, keeping her voice deliberately low.
‘No one has heard from Sebastian or Charlotte, but the other, the man Josephine has been working with, was confirmed as captured.’ Sophia let out a breath. ‘And the members of their cell we’d heard had been taken? It’s confirmed.’
Rose felt her heart skip a beat, then thud rapidly. She was relieved Sebastian was still unaccounted for – no news was better than bad news, and she preferred to think of him as hidden somewhere safely – but she knew that Josephine would be devastated. Not to mention worried she could be given up.
‘My guess is they’re being interrogated right now, which means it’s only so long before one of them breaks.’ Sophia’s tone was low, depressed. ‘But I think we’d know if they had your brother.’
Or if he was dead. That was the missing part from what she’d said. They were either being interrogated or they were already dead. And if they weren’t dead then they would be soon, or else they’d be sent to one of those horrendous camps, where it was a matter of when, not if, they perished. She knew her mind was racing, jumping to conclusions, but the chance Sebastian was safely hiding somewhere was seeming less likely by the minute.
‘Any change in the pickup instructions for tomorrow night?’ she asked.
‘No,’ Sophia said. ‘But it’s going to be difficult. There are German guards everywhere, more along the coast than ever from what I’ve heard. It’ll be our hardest yet, and I doubt there’ll be many more men we can rescue and get out. They’re everywhere.’
‘What we will do with any more we find?’
‘There are rumours they’ll have to be smuggled to Spain from now on, through an intricate network of helpers.’
Rose felt shivers go up and down her spine, the tiny hairs on her arms all standing on end. Up until now, they’d been so careful, and they’d done so many drop-offs that it no longer felt as dangerous as before. But Sophia wouldn’t be scaring her if she didn’t absolutely believe that what she’d been told was true.
‘But we still go ahead with rescuing them, regardless?’ Rose asked. ‘At what point do we decide it’s not worth the risk? That maybe we should’ – she paused, hating the words she was about to say – ‘leave them behind and focus on disrupting the Germans instead, with the other cells?’
‘We radio Paris tonight,’ Sophia said. ‘It’s the only way. And then they can communicate with London and follow their orders.’ She looked sad, her mouth drawing down. ‘We don’t give up on any of them, Rose, not until we’re told to. We can’t.’
There was a chance they’d be found out, if the others talked, but they were all trained to keep their mouths shut. Giving away information about another meant certain death, and Rose knew she’d much prefer to die than give up her fellow Resistance members. But if they were spotted trying to get Samuel to the submarine, then they’d be found and tortured regardless.
‘We have a radio here now, and that’s something,’ Sophia continued. ‘If Hazel is as good as she’s supposed to be, and she damn well better be, then we’re going to be stronger than ever. It’ll save me having to make that long ride out to the others in the circuit so often.’ She sighed. ‘Although from the looks of her, a feather could blow her over.’
Rose stifled her laugh. ‘Have you ever heard the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”?’
Sophia made a face and shrugged, clearly unimpressed. ‘She can prove herself to me and then perhaps I’ll change my mind.’
Rose continued, ignoring the look Sophia was giving her. ‘Look, we’ll do the drop tomorrow night together, just you and I. But I doubt our newest visitor will be in any shape to be transported.’ She turned to make Sophia a drink, certain she needed something hot to keep her going after the day and night she’d had. There was a watery soup that wasn’t half bad still sitting on the cooker, and she wanted to make sure Sophia had some. ‘Hazel will be great, trust me. I’ve known her a long time, and they wouldn’t have sent her in if she wasn’t one of the best.’
She took out two large mugs. They were low on bowls and it was often easier to sip their soup from a cup anyway. It was hardly worthy of a spoon, although she often used one simply to make it feel like she was having a proper meal.
‘Have this and then get some rest. We don’t need you tonight and you won’t be any use to us tomorrow if you haven’t had any sleep.’
‘Sorry to disturb you.’ Hazel’s soft voice floated towards them and Rose turned, taken by surprise.
‘Oh, it’s fine. We’re not keeping secrets from you, we just don’t need anyone else hearing them.’ She personally trusted their allies, especially given the help they were giving these two men, but if they were put under pressure? Tortured? She had no idea if they’d keep their mouths shut or give away their location and what they were doing.
‘We have a problem. With Harry,’ Hazel said, her brows drawn together.
‘What is it?’ Rose asked, putting down the spoon she was about to use to ladle the soup out of the pot.
‘I was wondering if either of you have any experience in dislocated joints?’ Hazel had been frowning, and now she was grimacing. ‘That’s the reason his leg is causing him so much pain, I think, or at least it’s one of the reasons.’
Sophia groaned. ‘I’ll do it. After that I’m trudging up those stairs to bed though.’
Hazel looked relieved and Rose nodded. ‘Let’s get this over with.’
CHAPTER TWELVE
HAZEL
Hazel’s hands had begun to shake when she’d leapt from the plane, and she wasn’t sure if they would ever stop.
She sat next to Harry, reaching for his hand and clasping it when his fingers connected with hers.
‘I thought I was supposed to be the scared one?’ he said through gritted teeth, now fully conscious and holding on to her tight.
Hazel laughed, and with his hand in hers, she finally felt the shaking start to subside. ‘Nice to see you awake again. You’ve woken up for the good part,’ she teased, trying to keep the conversation light.
‘Are you a nurse?’ he asked, his breathing laboured, each inhale sounding too short and sharp to be comfortable. ‘Is this some kind of makeshift hospital?’
‘No,’ she answered honestly, not about to lie to him. ‘But just think of us as your angels, I suppose.’
‘I’m feeling like the luckiest bloody guy on the planet,’ he said, teeth gritted again as he tried to shift his weight. ‘Rescued from the middle of nowhere by a beautiful woman, and now surrounded by two more. I think I must be hallucinating.’
Hazel smiled and looked up, watching as Sophia nodded at her. Rose was kneeling beside the sofa, hand on his hip area, near his thigh, and Sophia ha
d his foot in one hand now, holding his ankle in the other, with a grimace on her face that told Hazel just how terrible the ordeal was going to be.
Her job was to focus on Harry, and she was taking her role very seriously, wanting to keep him talking and not tensing up as they prepared to manoeuvre his leg back into position.
‘Harry, I want you to look at me,’ she said, forcing a smile and looking into his eyes. ‘Keep staring at me, just me.’
His lips moved, she guessed he’d been trying to smile, but then a thin bead of sweat broke out on his forehead and she felt his pain.
‘It’ll be over in a moment. Keep looking at me, keep—’
His scream tore through the room, and he didn’t stop, moaning and crying out as Rose kept him still and Sophia did whatever she had to do.
‘Harry, look at me. Tell me how you got here. What—’
‘Done!’ Sophia’s voice and grin were triumphant when she made her announcement at the end of the sofa.
‘Phew. Good work,’ Rose said, standing and moving away.
Hazel stayed in position, still clutching Harry’s hand. Or maybe Harry was the one clutching hers – she couldn’t tell any more. All she knew was that he needed her to keep holding him and she wasn’t about to let go.
‘How are you feeling now?’ she murmured, keeping hold of him as she reached back for a cloth and squeezed the water from it, then held it to his forehead and carefully wiped it. ‘You were very brave.’
‘I cried like a girl,’ he muttered. ‘No offence.’
She shook her head. ‘None taken.’ The truth was that most of the time it was the women she’d gone through training with who had been stronger than the men, so that expression was always going to make her laugh now.
‘Can you sit with me awhile?’ he asked. ‘Unless you have something else to do?’ He paused, his face showing his pain as he tried to adjust himself on the sofa. She’d bandaged his other arm, so he only had the one she was holding to move himself with. Hazel reluctantly let it go, her fingers slipping away from his.
‘Of course. I’ll get you something to eat, then sit here as long as you need me to.’
When he looked comfortable and stopped moving he met her gaze, a quizzical look on his face. There was some dirt clinging to his hair, and she had to resist the urge not to bend and smooth her fingers against his skin. ‘What are three women doing out here alone anyway? And how do you speak English so well?’
Hazel took a big breath and stood. Had she already blown her cover? She was supposed to be a Frenchwoman, and one English lad had brought her guard down. ‘Let me get you that food and then we’ll talk.’
She rose and went to get soup from the kitchen, cursing herself for speaking such perfect English to their guest. She found Rose standing there, staring out the window into the almost-darkness.
‘It’s just me,’ Hazel said, her voice low as she stood at the doorway, not wanting to startle Rose.
Rose nodded before drawing the curtains and turning to face her. ‘It’s fine. I was only thinking.’
‘About whether or not we’re about to be discovered?’ she asked, knowing that any answer other than ‘yes’ would be a lie.
‘I am,’ Rose said simply, ladling soup into a mug as Hazel watched. She held it out to her and then retrieved a spoon. ‘I’m afraid you’ve landed straight in the thick of it. You were supposed to be joining a larger circuit and working as their operator, but it looks like you’ll be staying with us. And we need you to start radioing as soon as possible to notify Paris what’s happened.’
‘I’ll do whatever I need to do here,’ Hazel said. ‘When they warn you that half of the recruits sent here won’t make it out alive, you don’t expect to be pampered and you certainly don’t expect to be eased into the role.’ It was the truth. She’d known what she was up for when she arrived, had volunteered for the role, and even though Rose was clearly fraught with worry, she needed to keep calm and deal with the situation she was in. ‘Do you fear that we’re sitting ducks and they’re out there watching us right now?’
‘Perhaps,’ Rose said, touching the short curtain again before sighing and pulling her hand back, as if changing her mind about looking. ‘But they’d be here already if they were. Sophia’s right about that.’
‘I’m going to see if I can get any food into Harry. Anything I need to do after that?’
Rose shook her head. ‘We need you to get your radio operational, then we’ll sleep. We all need rest while we have decent beds to lay our heads on. Tomorrow night, Sophia and I are going together to take Samuel to his rendezvous point – it’s too dangerous for either of us to go alone. Only then will we know what our next move is, whether it’s safe to stay or whether we need to make other plans.’
‘Or maybe it’s too dangerous to go together at all,’ Hazel said, knowing she had to be honest with her old friend. ‘We can’t afford to lose both of you if the Germans are patrolling.’
‘I know.’ Rose gnawed on a fingernail, a nervous trait that Hazel had never noticed her do in the past. ‘But they’re always patrolling. We’ve both survived here this long, and we’re careful. If there are two of us, well, we’re both so aware of our surroundings, there would be a much higher chance of us going undetected.’
‘But if they’re lying there in wait, you’ll never be able to hide,’ Hazel pointed out. ‘If operatives have already been captured near here, and heaven forbid you both were found, too, this area would be without—’
‘Stop.’ Rose put her hand up and Hazel shut her mouth. Maybe she hadn’t needed to be quite so brutally honest.
‘I’m sorry. I was trying to be practical, that’s all.’
‘You’re right, of course you’re right,’ Rose said, rubbing her index fingers to her temple now as if she had a headache. ‘I’ll discuss it with Sophia in the morning. Get some soup into our guest, make him comfortable, then come into the back room with me. Sophia will give you your instructions.’
Hazel nodded, pleased she had her radio with her. She was better at operating the radio transmitters than building them, and she only hoped it hadn’t been damaged when she’d landed.
‘We need to get news back to Paris before anyone else is compromised. And they need to know we might have another delivery.’
Hazel hurried back to the other room, finding Harry slumped over and snoring. She took a moment to look at him, the light almost gone, and admired his face. She didn’t suppose there was anything wrong with looking at him; she might be engaged to be married but she couldn’t exactly help noticing a handsome man. Besides, it had been a long time since she’d last seen John.
Harry was tall, which was why it had been so hard to move him and poor Sophia had buckled beneath his weight so easily. His eyebrows were dark, almost black and darker than the thick shock of hair on his head. She could recall his deep brown eyes, too, had looked into them when he’d been braced for the pain about to be inflicted on him to put his leg back into position. They’d taken his trousers off him after that, cut them clean off his legs and washed him down before replacing them, awkwardly, with a spare pair from upstairs. So he looked like a civilian now, although how you could explain a man his age with an English accent . . . She shuddered. It wasn’t worth thinking about what would happen if the house was raided.
She set the mug of soup down and moved closer, taking a folded blanket from a nearby chair to place carefully over him. He’d wake in pain and in shock, but for now he was warm and safe.
‘He’s asleep?’ Sophia asked from the doorway, surprising her.
‘Oh! Yes,’ Hazel whispered, pleased the light was so dim so Sophia didn’t see her cheeks flush at being caught staring at him. ‘I thought you went up to bed?’
‘I did,’ Sophia said. ‘But all I did was think about the messages you need to transmit. You haven’t started setting up your radio yet? What have you been doing?’
Hazel wasn’t sure if she was imagining the sharpness of Sophia’s tone, or
whether she was just being sensitive, but she wasn’t going to push her.
‘I was just trying to help with Harry,’ Hazel said. ‘I’ll get on to it now.’
‘Without a working radio, we’re as good as dead. You’re here as an operator, not a nurse,’ Sophia said, still standing in the shadows. ‘Here’s hoping you’re as good as Rose keeps saying you are, because the last thing I need is someone to babysit.’
Hazel obviously had a lot to prove.
Sophia led the way and Hazel followed her through to another room, where Rose had already put her case on the table. Hazel took a deep breath and sat in front of it.
‘You can both go to bed,’ she told them confidently. ‘I’ll radio any messages for you, and then tune into the BBC in case they’re broadcasting.’
‘No disrespect, but I’d rather stay up and watch,’ Sophia said.
Hazel knew then that she hadn’t imagined the sharpness in her tone earlier. She shrugged and ignored her, well used to having to prove herself.
‘We can trust her,’ Rose said softly. ‘She’s not the enemy here, Sophia.’
‘We’ve been working together a long time,’ Sophia replied. ‘I can’t help it if I don’t trust her.’
There was silence around Hazel after that, the only noise her fingers placing all the parts. The metal was cool beneath her skin, and she worked instinctively, checking everything and setting up, trusting her ability. Minutes later she heard soft footsteps, and then a hand fell on her shoulder.
‘She’s gone to bed,’ Rose said quietly. ‘I know she can be prickly, but she doesn’t trust easily. The truth is, we’ve been partners for so long, it seems odd to be working with anyone else now.’
Hazel nodded. She’d already figured that out.
‘Sophia is one of the best agents in the field,’ Rose explained. ‘She’s been lying low here with me the last few months, but before that she developed quite a reputation blowing up tanks and train lines. Sophia has been instrumental in setting up cells in the area and coordinating attacks and weapons drop-offs.’
Hearts of Resistance Page 14