“Stop!” Elise hissed. “You’re completely wrong, he doesn’t look at me like that at all!”
Cate just laughed, although their mood sobered when they finally reached the outskirts of Le Paradis and came face to face with a German patrol. Elise’s fingers caught hers then, and they walked closely together, eyes down. They had nowhere else to go, other than to make a run for it back toward more German troops in Lille or into the trees, and she doubted either of them were capable of outrunning guns and soldiers.
“Halt!”
The booming, deep voice made them both freeze, and they didn’t take another step as two soldiers came closer.
“Don’t you know it’s too dangerous to be out here?” one of them asked.
“Of course,” Elise said, and Cate squeezed her hand when she heard the tremble in her tone. “But we were visiting our sick uncle in Lille. We haven’t heard much fighting and thought it would safe enough to go.”
“Open your bag.”
Cate dropped the bag and stepped back, not liking the soldiers being so close to her. And secretly she was terrified to talk or even look up, in case they realized she wasn’t French.
“I don’t think Commander Wolfgang Schmidt would be very happy about this,” Elise said, her voice louder, clearer than it had been before.
That made the soldiers both look up. The one looking in her bag put it down, not finding anything of interest, and Cate was just grateful she’d kept the knife in her pocket instead of pulling it out.
“You know the commander?”
Elise’s chin was jutted defiantly now, and Cate admired her for her sudden show of strength. “He’s courting my sister, Adelaide.I’m returning home to her now, and I suspect he may even be waiting at our house.”
“Let her pass!” one of the soldiers urged the other.
Cate bent and picked up her bag before they hurried off.
“Slow down,” Elise whispered. “We need to look relaxed, like it’s the most natural thing in the world for us to be out here.”
Cate forced her breath and her feet to slow, allowing Elise to steady her until they were out of earshot.
“Cate, can I ask you something?”
“Of course, anything.”
“Is it wrong of me to want Adelaide to get on that boat? Should I be letting her make her own mistakes, or am I right in deciding this for her?”
Cate thought for a while, seeing the house come into view and knowing they didn’t have long. “I think you’re right. If she were my sister or my daughter, I’d know that no matter how strong she thinks she is, she’s powerless against a Nazi commander. He might fall in love with her, but he could also kill her without a second thought if he ever finds out who you are hiding in your attic. I’d want her gone, too.”
“Thank you. I needed to hear that.”
“Can I be completely honest with you, though? Without offending you?” Cate asked, stopping at the steps of the house as darkness started to fall around them.
“Please. I feel like we’re closer already than most of the friends I’ve known in my entire life, so whatever you have to say, I want to hear it.”
Cate glanced up to make sure Adelaide hadn’t come to the front door, but there was no one there. “I’m worried she could end up falling for him, and forgetting who he truly is. He’s charming her and making her feel special, and sometimes it’s hard to turn away from that kind of attention.”
Elise looked uncomfortable, but she nodded. “Go on.”
“You need to find a way to talk to her without offending her, to explain that men are like peacocks, strutting around and doing anything and everything to attract the female they want. She needs to see the situation for what it is, otherwise she’ll never agree to leave.”
“I know what you’re saying, and you’re right,” Elise said. “I just don’t know how to make her listen to me.”
“Let me then,” Cate said. “Sometimes it’s easier to take coming from someone other than family, and there are some things I can tell her that I’ve never spoken about before. I know she’ll listen.”
Elise gave her a quick hug, and Cate willingly returned it.
“You have my blessing to say whatever you need to her,” Elise said. “I’ll never forget you when you go, Cate.”
