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They remain holding hands, neither acknowledging their need for comfort as, in step, they begin the short walk to Josie’s school. Tina has helped Josie to plait her hair, and she is wearing her school smock underneath her thick wool coat.

As they enter the building, Josie’s friend Monique runs up to them.

“Bonjour, Josie. Are you okay? You haven’t been at school.”

“Yes, I’ve been sick,” Josie replies, not letting go of Andrée’s hand.

“Well, come. Let’s go to class. We have Mlle Beaufoy this morning. I’m going to be a writer like her. Good morning, Mlle Levallois.”

“Good morning, Monique. So, you want to be a writer, not a pianist,” Andrée says, smiling.

“Oh, I like the piano too, but I prefer writing. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, but you will keep up your piano lessons?”

“Yes, I do enjoy them—not as much as Josie does though. Are you coming, Josie?”

“Josie and I must see Mlle Évrard. She’ll be along soon,” Andrée tells her.

“Oh—of course! I’ll see you later, Josie.”

“Is she your best friend?” Andrée asks Josie as Monique runs off.

“She’s, um, she’s my best friend who is not . . .”

“Jewish. She’s not of your faith.”

“I still like her though, and she likes me, so it shouldn’t matter, should it?”

“No, Josie, it definitely shouldn’t matter.”

Mlle Évrard is waiting for them outside her office.

“Joséphine Levallois, welcome to the Lycée Camille Sée. I hope you will be very happy here. We are committed to providing young girls like you with the best education possible. While you are on these grounds, you will be under my care, my responsibility, and I will do everything within my means to keep you safe. My fellow teachers understand the situation and will do the same.”

Josie looks puzzled for a moment but soon understands what she is being told. She nods. Andrée nudges Josie to shake hands with her headmistress.

“Thank you,” Josie says. “Can I go to class now?”

Andrée and Marie-Thérèse exchange a smile. “Can you find the way?” Marie-Thérèse asks.

“I think so,” says Josie with a small smile. She quickly kisses Andrée on the cheeks before running off down the corridor to her class.

“What about her friends, like the little girl Monique?” Andrée asks Marie-Thérèse.

“Her mother is a good woman,” the headmistress tells her. “Leave what happens here at school with me. I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

Andrée nods, and the two women part. Andrée feels a tiny bit lighter. At least the child can be at school.

I’ll fight for her to never miss a day of school, she tells herself.

Having dropped Josie at school, Andrée makes her way to rue Lagrange in the fifth arrondissement. Louis and Tina are at the bookshop and will collect Josie after school and take her back to the apartment. Having a child in their care makes this work seem even more perilous. Andrée’s instinct now is to stay close to Josie all the time. But she knows she cannot give up on the tasks she has pledged to perform for her network.

Exiting the metro at Saint-Michel station, she can see Notre-Dame across the river but avoids looking up at the imposing structure. It is surrounded by German soldiers. Hurrying on, she turns down the quiet street where her meeting will take place.

Now alert, she watches everyone on the street—those walking, standing, talking—looking for any telltale sign she or the building she is heading to are being watched. Satisfied that she’s safe, she stops for a moment at the inconspicuous building nestled among other similar buildings.

Scanning the names on the panel beside the door, her finger hovers over the doorbell of the man their network knows as Doctor René before pressing the button: three slow buzzes, three fast—their signal. The building has no concierge, which is one of its attractions. She waits, willing herself to look calm, as the seconds stretch. Finally, she hears footsteps approaching. The door opens. Without making eye contact, she slips in behind René and follows him upstairs.