‘Oui. She said to hide in the well and wait for her. The man took me and said wait there, sweetheart and then he went.’ Yvette paused to take a breath, before speaking again. Her voice was full of anguish, confusion and fear as her words tumbled out, one after the other. ‘Mamansaid she’d come back for me, but she didn’t.’ Big blobs of tears ran down Yvette’s face. ‘I wantMaman.’
Fitz held the little girl tightly, not knowing what to say or how to comfort her. She thought of all the things adults had said to her when her own mother had died. Promises that everything would be all right. That her mother loved her and was up in heaven looking down on her. Even at that young age, Fitz knew they were just words, what she now knew to be platitudes the grown-ups said to try to make her feel better. How they ever thought she’d be reassured, she didn’t know. She’d never believed them about heaven, but she also knew it made the grown-ups feel better if she played along with it. Fitz didn’t want to make impossible promises and say silly things to Yvette, so she said nothing and did what she had herself found most comforting – to be held and to feel cared for. To feel someone loved her after her mother had died.
It was some time before Yvette’s sobbing faded and her breathing became steady and deep as sleep took her, Fitz hoped, to a restful place where she’d dream of happier places and times.
Meanwhile, what Yvette had told her about a man helping her hide in the well had been plaguing Fitz ever since and it was only now that she could fully consider it.
Her heart was jumpy simply at the thought that the pilot could have been Sam. Was that too fanciful? Was it purely wishful thinking?
His plane had come down in the area, she knew that much from Bob. If it was Sam, then who were the other men? They were trying to help him; they must be resistance members. Could that mean Sam was still alive and he had been here? It was a crazy idea. What would the chances be? Slim but not zero. Dare she hope that it was true or was that asking too much of the universe?
Fitz wanted to get up and walk around, as the more she entertained the idea, the more nervous energy she felt building up inside her. But her arm was well and truly wedged under Yvette and when she tried to move, Yvette stirred, whimpered and snuggled in tighter to her.
It was no good, she was going to drive herself mad thinking and rethinking whether it had been Sam who had helped Yvette earlier. If she was to stand any chance of getting some sleep, she needed to put the whole idea out of her mind.
She made a conscious effort to think of Marjorie and Elsie. They wouldn’t believe she was curled up in a barn with a little French girl and a dog, hiding from the Germans. It was so different to anything any of them had ever done. In a way Fitz found it hard to believe herself. She felt a certain detachment from the whole situation as if it wasn’t really happening to her. She didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing.
Fitz had eventually fallen into a light sleep, and it felt like only minutes had passed when she woke early the following morning,as the first rays of sun were poking their way over the hills, shining into the barn.
As she opened her eyes, she gave a yelp of surprise. Standing over her and Yvette was a man, dressed in corduroy trousers, a grubby looking once-white shirt and a jacket which had definitely seen better days.
Fitz sat upright, her eyes darting towards the doorway and then back down at Yvette. Surprisingly, Scout wasn’t making a sound.
‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ said the man.
At this point, Yvette stirred and opened her eyes. She let out a cry of alarm and huddled into Fitz.
‘We just needed somewhere to stay for the night,’ said Fitz, starting to get to her feet and pulling Yvette up with her. ‘We’re leaving now. We haven’t taken anything. I promise.’
‘Come with me,’ ordered the man.
‘Please,monsieur, we’ll leave now. Please let us go.’
‘You need something warm to eat. Come inside. My daughter will cook you some eggs.’
At the mention of eggs, Yvette tugged on Fitz’s arm. ‘Please?’ she said.
‘Bring the dog, too,’ said the farmer before turning and heading towards the doorway.
‘Please,’ said Yvette again.
Fitz was a little bewildered by the wake-up call but the thought of being able to offer Yvette some small comfort even if it was just food, was too tempting. ‘Allez,’ said Fitz, holding Yvette’s hand and breaking into a small run to catch up with the man who she assumed owned the barn.
‘The dog can come inside,’ said the farmer, opening the door to the farmhouse. ‘He looks like he needs feeding, too. He is yours?’
‘Not really,’ said Fitz, unsure how much to share with the man. ‘He sort of adopted us.’
Fitz heard a woman’s voice from inside the house. ‘Who are you talking to, Papa?’
‘We have some guests,’ said the man. ‘They are in need of food and a drink. Use the eggs.’ Fitz and Yvette followed the man into the house, the door opening straight into a kitchen.
Standing at the sink was a woman, probably not much older than Fitz. She didn’t look especially startled to see her guests and Fitz wondered if this was not the first time the family had extended their hospitality to strangers.
‘My name is Yves and this is my daughter, Vivienne.’ He indicated to the wooden table in the middle of the room. ‘Please, sit.’
‘Bonjour,’ said Vivienne.
‘Bonjour,’ replied Fitz. ‘Je m’appelle––’
