She spun the wedding band around on her finger. She had never lied to her husband, and she wasn’t about to now. ‘I borrowed it.’
Friedrich regarded her for a moment before placing the items back into the bag and closing the catch. He replaced the bag to the floor. Clara could see he was warring with himself, struggling to respond in a calm manner.
He ran his hand through his fair hair, closing his eyes for a moment and letting out a long sigh, before coming over to her. He took both her hands in his, bringing them to his lips and kissing her knuckles.
‘I’m not going to ask you what you’ve been doing,’ he said softly, his eyes searching her face. ‘I trust you will tell me when you’re ready.’ He placed his palm against her cheek and Clara leaned into his touch. ‘No matter what anyone else in Berlin thinks of you, I know who you are, Clara. You are a kind and caring woman who can’t turn away from someone in need.’ His voice dropped to barely a whisper. ‘It’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with you.’
‘Friedrich,’ she began, wanting to tell him where she’d been, but she didn’t know how to without burdening him with knowledge.
Friedrich pulled her closer, resting his forehead against hers. ‘You must be careful,liebling. More careful than ever before. The world we are living in now .?.?.’ He paused, struggling to find the words. ‘It’s not the same anymore. And I’m scared, Clara. I’m scared one day you won’t come home.’
Clara swallowed hard. ‘I promise you, Friedrich, I will do everything that is humanly possible to come home.’ She breathed in deeply, soaking up the pine scent of his aftershave which still lingered on the collar of his uniform.
A sudden knock at the door made them both jump. Clara looked at Friedrich and could see her own feelings of fear reflected in his eyes.
‘Wait there,’ he instructed, before walking out of the room and down the hallway to the front door.
Clara listened as the knock came again. For some reason it didn’t sound like an aggressive knock – one she might expect from the authorities – although the notion did nothing to calm her racing heart. She heard Friedrich unlock the door.
‘Marie,’ he said in surprise.
‘I need to speak to Clara urgently,’ came Marie’s voice in a hushed tone.
Clara breathed a deep sigh of relief but then immediately felt confused why Marie should turn up at the apartment.
Clara stepped out into the hallway. ‘Marie, what is wrong?’ She ushered her friend into the living room.
‘Let me pour you both a glass of wine,’ said Friedrich.
‘Marie, sit down,’ said Clara.
Marie looked uneasy but took the seat next to Clara and accepted the glass of wine Friedrich offered. ‘Danke.’ She took a sip and then another larger gulp, before looking up at Clara. ‘Firstly, I wanted to say sorry,’ she began.
Friedrich handed Clara her wine. She glanced up at him before looking back at Marie. ‘You don’t have to say sorry,’ she replied, knowing that her husband was probably about to find out what happened with Brandt, much as she didn’t want to tell him.
‘I feel such a coward for not saying more.’
‘It’s forgotten about,’ insisted Clara, aware Friedrich’s gaze had settled on her.
‘I feel ashamed,’ finished Marie.
Clara put her glass on the table and moved closer to her friend, putting her hand on her arm. ‘You must never feel ashamed. Besides, I’m not at all bothered by what they said. Please, do not give it another thought.’ She hugged Marie, who returned the gesture.
Marie pulled away. ‘There’s something I need to tell you as well.’
Friedrich sat in the chair by the fireplace.
‘Yes, what is it?’ asked Clara, although she suspected she wasn’t going to like what her friend was about to say.
‘The file,’ said Marie. ‘Matron noticed there was a page missing. She was asking questions.’
Clara swallowed. ‘Did she ask you?’
Marie nodded. ‘But I told her I didn’t know anything about it.’ Clara went to say thank you, but Marie shook her head. ‘They wanted the details of the woman to pass onto the authorities.’
‘The authorities?’ repeated Clara.
‘Yes. Because the woman is Jewish.’
