‘Go to room 211. Collette is off sick today. I need you to take over her rooms.’
‘Yes, madame,’ I replied.
‘Just so you’re aware, the rooms are occupied by a very important guest. I can trust you, can’t I?’
‘Of course, madame.’ I gave a subservient nod of my head. I knew several high-ranking German officers were based on that floor.
‘Well, hurry along. Don’t keep anyone waiting.’
I took the back staircase up to the room and knocked, hoping the officer wasn’t in his room and had gone off to do whatever it was they did all day.
‘Enter,’ came the reply from behind the closed door.
I went into the room, which was a reception area. The double doors through to the bedroom were open. ‘In here!’ the voice came again.
I gulped. Going into an officer’s bedroom was not what I wanted to be doing. I hesitated. ‘Do you want me to clean the living room?’
‘No! If I wanted you to do that, I wouldn’t have called you. Now, come here.’
I obeyed the command. ‘Sorry, sir,’ I said, keeping my head down and my gaze fixed on the carpeted floor.
The officer tutted and let out a long sigh. ‘Don’t start with all that shy business. Where’s my usual girl, Collette?’
‘She’s off sick today,’ I replied.
‘Are you any good with a needle and thread?’
This question had my attention. ‘Yes.’
He picked up a pair of trousers that were draped over the end of the bed. ‘Fix those. The pocket has a hole, and the seam has come undone.’ He threw the trousers at me and I just managed to catch them. ‘They’re my best pair of trousers. Can you fix them so the repair won’t be seen?’
I looked up at the officer; I took in a sharp breath. It was Kranz. The one who had been to the shop asking for Edgar.
A second passed between us as recognition dawned on Kranz’s face. ‘Ah, well, if it isn’t Mademoiselle Leroux. I didn’t expect to see you here.’
‘Monsieur,’ I kept my voice steady as I acknowledged him.
‘How long have you been working here?’
‘Three weeks.’
‘And they’ve sent you to me already. Well, Madame Bochette must think highly of you.’ He gestured to the trousers now in my arms. ‘I expect the repair to be invisible, bearing in mind your background. You can do that, can’t you?’
I inspected the tear in the fabric. ‘Yes. I can do that.’
‘Good. Have them done by midday.’ He straightened his tie. ‘Now, get on with your duties. You’ll find a needle and thread in the drawer over there. Collette sewed up a hole in the pocket, but she didn’t make a very good job of it. I hope your skills are superior.’
He strode past me but paused at the doorway. ‘Oh, I am sorry about your brother.’
I looked up. ‘Edgar?’
‘Unless you have another brother you haven’t told us about.’
I shook my head. ‘No.’
‘You shouldn’t have tried to protect him that day I came to your home,’ carried on Kranz. ‘It was all for no purpose.’ A smiled played at the corners of his mouth. ‘Foolish boy. He may have been big and bold when trying to impress you, but you know what? He was cowardly and spineless. It took very little to get him to talk.’
The rage soared through me and I had to do everything in my power to stop myself from flying at the German bastard in front of me. I swallowed hard, gripping the trousers tightly in my balled-up fist. ‘You interrogated him?’ I had to know. Was it Kranz who had killed my brother?
