“General Eisenhower is being more circumspect,” Uncle Arthur said. “He saidweare landing with strong forces.”
Ivy held her breath, and Fern’s mouth tightened. Surely she noticed her “we” referred to the Germans, and Uncle Arthur’s to the Allies.
“This is good news, dear Fern,” Aunt Opal said. “The war will soon be over.”
“And our family will come home.” A challenge lit in Charlie’s eyes.
Fern’s gaze swept the room and drilled into Ivy. “This is your doing. You’ve poisoned my family against me.”
Like a kick to Ivy’s chest. “I—”
“Fern!” Uncle Arthur said. “That isn’t—”
“You have.” Fern sharpened the drill. “All this time, I’ve been supporting the medical practice, contributing my wages, and you’ve been spreading poison behind my back. Well, no longer. Since you don’t appreciate my contributions, I’ll keep my money for myself.”
Ivy gasped for breath. “I never...”
Fern spun for the door, then waved toward the wireless. “Don’t worry, Uncle Arthur. Unlike some people, I don’t betray my family.”
As Fern stomped out of the house, Aunt Opal put her arm around Ivy’s shoulder. “Don’t mind her. It isn’t true.”
“I know.” Ivy breathed hard, and with each breath, the pain reduced to a sting.
Fern used words to her advantage. But now the pit she’d dug herself into was collapsing upon her, and she had nothing to shore it up but words.
Words weren’t enough.
chapter
34
St. Helier
Monday, June 12, 1944
A loud yawn defied Gerrit’s will and stretched his face as he and Ernst Schmeling marched across the parade grounds of the lower ward of Elizabeth Castle.
Schmeling shot him a derisive look. Despite the early hour, the man’s discipline prevailed. “Coming early is the best way to conduct a surprise inspection. Our flak guns aren’t doing enough, and I want to know why.”
“Not nearly enough.” Gerrit feigned a concerned expression. All day, all night, Allied aircraft passed over Jersey, often strafing and bombing German positions on the island, and German antiaircraft guns had yet to bring down prey.
Inspecting gun crews fell far outside Organisation Todt’s jurisdiction, although inspecting the structures themselves might be justified. Of course, guard duty also fell out of OT’s jurisdiction, but on D-day, Gerrit and all other uniformed OT staff had manned gun positions.
Along the walls of the parade grounds, men piled sandbags. Elizabeth Castle served as a penal colony for OT workers whohad escaped the labor camps or stolen food or committed other infractions. Did they know their liberation was near?
Gerrit and Schmeling stepped through a gate out of the lower ward. To the left, a staircase led down to a breakwater capped by a medieval hermitage high on a rock and by a modern cubical gun position. Under a blue sky, a handful of patrol vessels and cargo ships plied the aquamarine waters.
The men passed the staircase and continued down a walkway alongside the castle wall.
The Allies had a strong foothold in Normandy on the far side of the Cotentin Peninsula, close enough that the rumble of bombing reached Jersey, even cracking windows on the east coast.
Although some of the Germans in Jersey believed the Allies would strike next in the Pas de Calais region of France, the rest believed they would come to the Channel Islands.
Then Gerrit’s work, the danger he’d risked, the scorn he’d endured—all would be vindicated.
Gerrit and Schmeling mounted a stone staircase back through the castle wall.
Schmeling’s arms swung hard as he climbed. “We need to make sure our defenses are strong before we leave for France.”
