Fitz reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the glass of water, passing it to Yvette in a bid to prevent the onset of a coughing fit.
‘Oh, is that Monique now?’ asked Madame Cussac.
‘It must be,’ Fitz heard Jeanne reply.
The next thing, Monique began coughing. Fitz looked up in alarm. She wanted to tell her to stop. If they weren’t careful that nosey woman downstairs would be up here like a shot.She watched as Monique went to the top of the stairs, coughing every now and again.
‘Maman,’ croaked Monique.Cough. Cough. ‘Can I have some water, please?’
Fitz closed her eyes and lifted her head towards the ceiling. The girl was a genius.
‘I need to go,’ said Jeanne. ‘As you can see, Monique is still unwell.’
‘Yes. And it wasn’t you who I saw at the farm getting eggs yesterday?’ Madame Cussac called out to Monique.
‘Non, madame. It wasn’t me,’ replied Monique.
Honestly, the child should be on the stage. She was giving such a great performance. Fitz willed the Cussac woman to leave, just in case Yvette started to cough again.
‘Goodbye, Madame Cussac,’ Jeanne was saying.
Fitz heard the front door close and then Jeanne’s footsteps on the stairs as she came up to see them.
‘That woman,’ Jeanne said in exasperation as she entered the bedroom. ‘She is such a gossip.’
‘Monique did well,’ said Fitz. ‘Quick thinking. Well done.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Yvette. ‘I couldn’t stop it coming out.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Jeanne. ‘We must be very careful now. Once that woman is on the scent of something, she is like a bloodhound. I shall have to try to speak to the doctor. We might have to find another safe house for you.’
‘You think she’d report you?’ I asked.
Jeanne shrugged. ‘I don’t know but it’s not worth the risk. Now, bring the bowls down and let me give you some porridge to eat. It was good thinking to take them upstairs. She was trying to look over my shoulder the whole time. I had to stand on the doorstep to stop her.’
Jeanne was making light of it, but Fitz knew that was probably for the children’s benefit. Underneath her calm exterior, she had no doubt, Jeanne was worried. And rightly so. Much as she hated the thought of leaving this kind woman, she was very much aware of the danger put upon Jeanne’s family by her and Yvette’s presence. If they had to move to another safe house, then so be it.
They spent the rest of the day upstairs in the bedroom with the curtains drawn, in case Madame Cussac decided to pay another visit or, indeed, if anyone else called by. Yvette wasn’t sleeping so much now she was feeling a lot better. Monique and Amelie had brought in a book for Fitz to read to Yvette and they all sat together on the bed listening to Fitz tell the story.
Later when the children had all gone to bed, Jeanne invited Fitz down for a coffee. The shutters were all closed and the doors bolted. A small fire flickered in the hearth and Jeanne had placed a chair either side.
‘I shall miss you when you leave,’ she said, passing a cup of coffee to Fitz. ‘It’s been nice to have some company for the last few evenings.’
‘You’ve been very kind to open your house to us,’ replied Fitz. ‘I shall never forget your kindness. You saved Yvette’s life.’
Jeanne smiled. ‘You are very fond of the child, aren’t you?’
‘Yes. I am.’
‘Why is that?’
Fitz took a sip of her drink and looked at the flames flicking around the log. ‘She reminds me of me,’ she said after a while. ‘I lost my mother when I was about her age. I know how that feels. In fact, I don’t think that feeling of utter devastation has ever gone away. Not when I think about her.’
‘What about the rest of your family?’
‘There is my half-brother, and my father – he remarried within a year of my mother’s death. I found that hard.’
‘You felt you had lost your father, too,’ said Jeanne. ‘Your mother had left you and now your father had. Or at least that is how it felt?’
