Sarah stared into the distance in a way that suggested she too had forced her mind to go blank. Her bland countenance was not unlike those around her as Noah clung to her with such dogged determination, he appeared to be sleeping as any child his age would. Etienne’s elbow casually rested on the side of the window as he gazed out at the passing city, his demeanor calm enough to soothe some of Elaine’s own churning anxiety.
Whatever fears left her strung taut as a bowstring abated when the tram slowed to a stop and deposited them near a small town set against the edge of the forest.
While the woods had been lovely in the daytime with the golden sunlight and serene shifting of leaves in the breeze, it was not so at night. The pitch black of a moonless night obscured the path in such darkness, one could not see their own feet. And where the ambient backdrop of the forest was once soothing, the clicks and cries and errant cracks of its denizens now left Elaine frightful of what might emerge from the clusters of trees and foliage.
A call came in a subtle hoot that would blend in with those around them and she looked about as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Etienne.
The bushes rustled and a man appeared. Sarah sucked in a quiet inhale of surprise. But Elaine was not afraid, not when the man moved silently as the Maquis were wont to do. No Nazi with their heavy booted steps and stiff posture could glide unseen anywhere, let alone the forest where the floor was littered with brittle sticks and leaves.
“This is them?” the young maquisard asked.
“Oui.” Etienne stepped forward. “You have the instructions?”
“Of course.”
Sarah was little more than a figure set against the shadows. Elaine turned to her. “You have been so very brave.” She put a hand to Noah’s back to keep from startling him. “And so have you, Noah.”
She leaned closer and he curled his arm around her neck. Sarah joined her son’s embrace with Elaine. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“They may not be able to take you as far as America.” It was a warning Elaine had issued many times already but could not refrain from offering yet again.
Sarah released her. “But we will be safe.”
Safe. Yes. Far from France. And from Elaine. She would never see Sarah or Noah again. She might never learn of their fate or the details of their travels. The understanding left an ache in the back of her throat as they bid their final farewells.
Noah watched Elaine as they walked away, his gaze resting comfortably at Elaine’s back until a coldness told her they were gone.
With the mission accomplished and their safety secured, Elaine’s thoughts turned to Manon. To those terrible shouts and that burst of gunfire.
She knew what it meant without having to be told, but she dreaded the news regardless.
It was in that moment she fully understood why Joseph had tried to keep her from joining the Resistance. So many sacrifices had been made in the war against their oppressors. Too many. Each one as painful as the last.
And, sadly, there would likely be more to come.
TWENTY-ONE
Ava
Ava teetered by her apartment door, wriggling one foot into a pair of low-heeled black patent leather pumps while clipping her faux pearl earrings into place. Her smart yellow purse swung from her elbow with Daniel’s latest letter buried within.
Such a thing was far too important to leave in her apartment, especially now that she was certain someone had been entering from time to time in her absence.
The very thought of an intruder stalking through her home, rifling through her things, touching her books, left a prickling sensation crawling over her skin. She hated being in the small space that once felt private and now carried a violated, exposed feeling she could not shake.