Page 64 of The French Wife

‘Oh, Suzette,’ Amélie said.

‘I’m so scared, Madame Garnier.’

‘You must come back to the farm with me,’ Amélie told her without hesitation. ‘Put a hat and scarf on and we’ll walk back up the track so nobody will see you. You’ll be safe at the farm, I promise. I will look after you and I’ll make sure the Germans don’t find you.’

TWENTY-ONE

All the way back up to the farm on the cinder track, Amélie had one arm around Suzette’s waist and pushed the bicycle with the other. Suzette didn’t say a word the whole way, but Amélie could feel her trembling and hear her gentle sobs as they walked. Her heart went out to the girl. She’d tried her best to comfort Suzette, but there was nothing she could say to make this raw pain any easier to bear. The young girl had experienced booted soldiers with guns breaking into her home, and had witnessed the terrifying, brutal arrest of her parents. She would know they were being taken to an internment camp to be processed and that, if rumours were to be believed, they would then be sent on to a camp in Poland or Germany. It was heartbreaking. The poor girl must be wondering if she would ever see them again.

‘Not far now,’ Amélie said, trying to keep her voice upbeat. Her breath was freezing on the winter air. The farmhouse was in sight on the brow of the hill, comforting smoke curling from the kitchen chimney into the still, blue sky.

When they arrived in the courtyard, Amélie leaned her bicycle against the wall and turned to Suzette, who was still shivering, her face pale.

‘Don’t worry,’ Amélie said. ‘You will be safe here. We are already hiding a couple of Jewish families. One more person won’t be a problem.’

She pushed open the front door and beckoned Suzette to follow her into the kitchen, where Naomi, Esther and their children sat at the table. They were already peeling vegetables for lunch, and they looked up in surprise when Amélie entered.

‘Naomi, Esther, this is Suzette. From the bakery in St Marie. Her parents were arrested in the round-up yesterday evening. She’s going to stay here with us for a while.’

Naomi and Esther murmured welcoming greetings to Suzette and invited her to sit at the table with them. Amélie went to the stove and put the kettle on.

‘I’ll make some tea,’ she said. ‘It’s very cold outside.’

At that moment she heard the sound of the front door opening and Bruno entered the room, a cigarette burning down in the side of his mouth. He stamped his feet and clapped his arms around his body to warm himself.

‘It is bloody cold out there. But what the hell are you doing home from work, Amélie?’

‘I had to bring Suzette here,’ she said. ‘I heard that the round-up had taken place earlier than expected and went to the Lalouches’ apartment to check they’d got away. But her parents didn’t leave in time – they were both arrested yesterday evening.’

Bruno took his cigarette out of his mouth and stared at Suzette. ‘You know we don’t have room for any more lodgers,’ he said to Amélie.

Suzette turned her white face towards Amélie, staring at her with wide, terrified eyes, but she didn’t utter a word.

‘That’s nonsense, Bruno,’ Amélie said. ‘This place is huge. We have empty rooms upstairs.’

‘We can’t take the risk of Jews sleeping upstairs if the Boche decide to visit. And there is no room in the cellar. It’s already overcrowded. I’m sorry, but you can’t stay here, young lady.’

‘That’s just not fair, Bruno,’ Amélie said. ‘You were happy to shelter the others.’

He turned on her. ‘That’s because they pay their way, you little fool! The men are working for me. They’re out in the forest now, chopping down trees, earning their keep. A scrap of a girl like that can’t work on the farm to pay her way.’ He threw his cigarette on the floor and ground it in with his heel.

Amélie glanced at Suzette, who was staring at the tabletop, tears streaming down her face. She felt as though she’d failed the girl. But then she had an idea.

‘She can help with the housework and the cooking,’ Amélie said. ‘There’s lots to do now there are so many people living here. It’s far too much for me to manage alongside my job. And it will spare Lili for work in the fields.’

Bruno hesitated, pulled a cigarette packet out of his pocket and lit another one. ‘Can you do that, girl?’ he asked Suzette. ‘Can you cook and clean?’

She looked up at him and nodded. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘My parents ran the bakery. I can cook and bake bread too. And I always cleaned and took care of our apartment when Maman and Papa were working.’

There was a long pause, during which Bruno eyed Suzette suspiciously.

Then he grunted. ‘I suppose we can give it a try.’ Turning to Amélie, he said, ‘But she can’t sleep in the cellar or upstairs in the house. You’ll have to find somewhere else for her to hide. I’ll have a word with Raoul about getting her false ID papers. He’s already getting papers from a contact of his for our other visitors. They should be ready in a few days. That will make things easier.’

He left then, stomping through to the herbergerie where Raoul, Henri and Ivy often spent their daylight hours, poring over maps, discussing and planning missions.

‘Thank you, Madame Garnier,’ Suzette said quietly.

Amélie went and put her arms around the girl and hugged her tight. ‘No need to thank me. I’m sorry my husband was so grumpy.’