Page 63 of Villa of Secrets

‘What do they want?’ I slid out of bed and left Irini and Evangelisa to sleep. ‘Let’s go outside.’

He led the way. ‘Not for me to ask, is it? Where’d the horse come from?’

‘Zeus, he’s ours. Irini and I crept home last night to fetch our things.’

Giovanni blinked. ‘You went into town? That was bloody stupid.’ He took me by the shoulders and shook me gently. ‘You could’ve been shot!’

His eyes sparked with alarm and I wanted to fall into his arms. Instead I shrugged. ‘We needed stuff. How are we supposed to live without clothes and food? What time will we go to the rebels?’

‘Noon. I brought potatoes for your pot.’ He nodded at the hut. ‘Wasn’t sure if you had any rabbit left.’

‘Thanks. Appreciated.’

‘You owe me.’ His stern face softened and my heart melted. I gazed into his big brown eyes and wondered if this was love. ‘One of the Andartes will come here tomorrow. He’ll take you to their headquarters again.’

‘Here?! But I don’t want anyone knowing where we are.’ I thought of Nathanial’s unruly rebels, horrified that they would learn where we slept.

‘They already know where you are. They know everything. I’ll bet they know you went into town last night.’

‘Not possible. We only decided ourselves late yesterday afternoon.’ I hesitated, remembering the sound of breaking glass that saved us from being caught. ‘Will this rebel want to eat? Is that why you brought potatoes?’ He nodded. I put my hands on my hips and informed him, ‘Then you, Giovanni, can tell Evangelisa to peel them, because I’m not.’

‘They’re fresh. Don’t need peeling. I just pulled them up. Stolen, so they’ll taste all the sweeter. Scrub them, cut them, and shove them in with the leftover rabbit. They’ll be delicious.’ He stared at me for a moment. ‘You ever shot a gun?’

‘Do I look like I ever shot a gun?’

‘Only askin’, calm down. If Nathanial wants, will you learn?’

‘I’ll do anything to help stop the war before my family get to the prison camp.’

‘Good answer. It’s not difficult; just takes practice to hit a target.’

‘What about Irini? Will he ask her to learn too?’

‘Not sure, we’ll see. He might have other plans for Irini and your sister, or he may want you to teach Irini, once you’ve got the hang of it.’

Thursday, 27 July 1944

I have hardly had time for my diary, not that there have been developments worth writing about since our trip into the city. Evangelisa has tried on every one of her dresses. It is uplifting to see her so happy. I rescued the first diary, and the letter I’d written and hidden under her clothes. There’s no point in worrying her.

When I returned from the Andartes’ villa, Irini rushed out of the hut to greet me.

‘Dora! ‘she cried clearly delighted, taking my hand and leading me into the hut. ‘Come and eat. I was afraid the rebels would scoff all our stew so I saved us a bowl.’

‘Thanks.’ While we ate, she was talking to me about Evangelisa’s frocks, but I hardly heard her. My mind was full of the war and the rebels, and our families. Once I had taken the edge off my hunger, I asked her, ‘What do you think, Irini? Can we help the Andartes disrupt the enemy? Help end the war before anything bad happens to our parents?’

‘Why not?’ she said quickly. ‘When you dress younger, no one will suspect what you’re capable of. It’s not as if we can do anything else, is it?’

‘Right, but will they treat Evangelisa with respect? She can be a bit naive, and we were exaggerating when we claimed she could cook. All her total culinary skill amounts to right now is washing a few potatoes.’

Irini raised her eyebrows. ‘If they don’t treat her right, they’ll have us to deal with, won’t they?!’

‘I’ll bet the very thought has them terrified,’ I said.

Saturday, 29 July 1944

My first Andartes job is to sabotage a load of pumpernickel headed for the army barracks. I have to damage as many packets as possible. Nathanial said the foil wrapping kept the bread fresh for years, but once air got inside, it soon perished.

Giovanni has untied my wrist and replaced his catapult with four short lengths of split bamboo and a tight bandage. It feels so much lighter, and he is glad to get his beloved catapult back. I washed my hair yesterday and Irini tied it in rags, so I have a head of stupid ringlets this morning. Evangelisa has lent me one of her frilly party frocks and a pair of white ankle socks that we’d brought from our house in the city.