‘Randie, you’re safe now.’ Marjie said the words, but in her heart she knew that her lovely brother, only a year older than she was, wasn’t well and didn’t feel safe. All he’d been through at the hands of the Germans had taken its toll. Tucking the blanket further around him, she asked, ‘Do you want to talk about what happened to you? It may help you.’
Randie lay on the bed of their father’s tent while Marjie tended to him. He’d been bitten by all manner of insects and fleas, he had a fever and was half-starved, but worse than that was his apparent mental fragility.
Randie nodded. ‘I – I kept my courage all that time, Marjie, but now I can’t settle my mind. I wish we knew more about how Freddy really is.’
‘I have a friend in England who is trying to find out for us and will let us know as soon as he can – well, he is more than a friend; we are engaged to be married and—’
‘Oh, Marjie, that’s good news, although you’re too young – you’re just my little sis.’
‘Ha, I’ve aged while you’ve been away. I’ve done things I never dreamed I would. Some of it will haunt me forever.’
Randie’s hand came out from the bedcover and reached for hers. She took it gladly, as Randie hadn’t made many gestures towards her and Papa, hardly wanting them even to hug him. ‘Will we ever get back to how we were, Marjie?’
‘We will. But only if we learn to cope with what has happened and is happening. None of this is our fault. None of us planned to become killers, to be torn away from our home and forced to fight for our own and our countrymen’s freedom. But we’ve risen to the challenge. Yes, we’ve been broken in the process, but we’re alive, Randie.’
‘Oh, Marjie, I need help to come to terms with it all. I – I need Mama . . .’
Marjie’s heart was breaking as she saw the tears running down Randie’s face.
‘It was like a horror film, Marjie. The terrible battle, seeing friends shot to pieces, not knowing if Freddy was all right, falling over dead body after dead body. Then I landed in the mud, crushed by another soldier behind me who’d been shot – his whole weight was on top of me. I just waited as he took his final breaths.’
Sweat stood out on Randie’s face and his trembling increased, but Marjie didn’t react. She stayed quiet and waited.
‘I don’t know how long I lay there, hardly able to breathe. Then all went quiet. The gunfire seemed a long way away. I thought I could push the body off me and lie there till dark, then re-join my regiment. But when I rolled over, I – I was staring down the barrel of a gun. A – a German gun.’
The trembling became worse, and Marjie felt afraid for Randie, but knew she must let him talk.
‘We – other prisoners and I – were marched for miles. If we stumbled, we were hit with the butt of a gun or kicked. Then when we reached the camp we were tortured, but I didn’t tell them anything they wanted to know, Marjie. I – I just kept thinking of you all. I hung on to the days we’d had together, beautiful days as a family surrounded by love. Oh, Marjie . . . Marjie, they hurt me so badly.’
She got up from the log she’d been sitting on and held her brother to her. ‘You’re all right now, my brave brother. You’re with me and Papa.’ They hadn’t told Randie yet that Cyrus was to be air-lifted out the next day. And they were hoping against hope that Randie could be, too. Sibbie had radioed HQ and made the request, but they were still awaiting the answer.
‘Tell me about your escape, but only if it is helping you. We can stop when you want to.’
‘Yes, it is helping. It’s getting it out of my head.’ His hand squeezed Marjie’s even tighter. ‘I was in solitary – a box; it was dark and there was no room to move. I don’t know how long for, but then suddenly it was opened and I was grabbed by the hand. I could hardly walk and collapsed on the floor. Strong arms lifted me and ran with me. My mouth was so dry, I couldn’t speak to ask what was happening. This went on for a long time. Then I was put down and given a drink. And I asked who the man was. It was a man called Maximilian, a circus strongman; we’d made friends back in our training days. I don’t know how he got free from his cell or managed to open the box I was in. I – I never got the chance to ask, I was too weak and slept as he carried me all night.
‘We sheltered in an old barn that housed hayricks and Maximilian said he would get us food. He went out and didn’t come back. I heard Germans shouting to one another, and shots. I crawled under the hay. They came in . . . they were so close, I could almost touch them. They dug their bayonets into the hay, but missed me. When they left, I waited for hours until it was dark and then started my journey home. I never knew what happened to Maximilian.’ A sob escaped Randie, but soon turned into a torrent of weeping and calling out incoherently. Marjie clung to him.
‘Marjella, what has happened? Randolph! Randie, my son, Papa is here.’
‘He has talked, Papa. He has told me all he has been through.’
‘That is good, darling. You’ll be all right, Randie; now you can begin to face it all and come to terms with it. You will, son, you will.’
They held each other, the three of them, trying to glean comfort from being together. Trying to come to a place of understanding of all they had had to face, and of what the future held.
As Sibbie entered, they looked up in silent expectation.
‘Marjie, the plane’s due.’
Marjie let go of her papa and Randie and, hardly daring to ask, whispered, ‘What did they say, Sibbie?’
‘Yes, they will lift Randie out as well.’
Randie released a sound that was between a gasp of joy and a sob. Papa did the same. ‘You’re going to be all right, Randie, my son. Mama and I will take care of you.’
‘Thank God. Oh, Randie, you’re going to Mama.’ For a moment Marjie found it difficult to swallow, as a loneliness crept over her, but then she thought, I’ll be all right. I have Sibbie, and Paulo and Uncle Arnie. I’m glad Randie is going. Now I will have three members of my family safe and sound. I just wish I could hear about Freddy. Dear God, take care of him and Monty. God knows what’s happening to poor, misguided Monty.
The night of the air-lift, Sibbie, Marjie, Arnie, Paulo, Randie and Cyrus set off for the field that had been earmarked for the aircraft to land. Spotters had gone before them. Marjie had counted a dozen or so men trudging out of camp, making their way to various outposts, all of them armed, all intent on safeguarding the mission by giving an early warning of anything amiss.
Thankfully, it was a clear night with little wind. The planes would always come in low to avoid detection, which was difficult enough, without bad weather. They trudged in silence, through the forest and over rough terrain in the clearings. Marjie walked between her father and her brother whenever the space between the trees allowed.
When they came to the edge of the forest there was a sense of being exposed, but lookouts had gone ahead of them and no concerns were reported. Sibbie had the radio, as the pilot would contact them, once he was near enough and was descending. The rest of them carried torches that would line the route and would be lit as the plane approached.
Nothing seemed untoward, and preparing the landing strip – which meant clearing it of debris and lining it with torches – kept them busy and didn’t give Marjie any time to dwell on the goodbyes that lay ahead of her.
They worked in silence – a silence that a distant drone encroached upon. ‘It’s the plane. I’ll make contact.’ They all waited while Sibbie manned the radio. A crackly voice came over it, asking them to light the torches for the approach and to have the cargo ready. Marjie smiled at her papa and brother being called ‘cargo’.
Running down the length of the landing strip with a lighted torch, she lit the four torches she was responsible for, and as she ran back saw that the others had done the same and the runway was now an illuminated causeway.
Crouching with her papa, Marjie felt his arm come around her. ‘Stay safe, my darling.’
‘I will, Papa.’
Randie crawled forward and held her to him. ‘I’ll be back, Marjie, I promise you. I’ll get well and I’ll come back.’
‘I know you will, Randie, and I’ll hang on to that day, keeping it as a ray of hope in my future. Together, we’ll work for the freedom of our beloved France.’ They clung together.
Papa encircled them both. ‘My children, I am so proud of you both.’
The engine noise increased. The plane was here.
‘Go – go on, both of you – take my love with you and give it to Mama. I wish I could send it to Aunt Ella and Aunt Mags and everyone, too.’
Her father and Randie left Marjie then. They made a beautiful picture, father helping son to safety.
‘Tell Mama that I love her more than life.’
This whisper was spoken into the darkness. They were gone. Marjie could see them boarding, and then the plane lifted off the ground. A tear seeped out of her eye as loneliness engulfed her. An arm came round her. She rested her head on Sibbie’s shoulder.
‘You still have me, Marjie – nothing will part us. Well, until this is all over, and then I’m off with my Paulo.’
Marjie giggled. ‘And I’m off with my Wills. And we’re going to make lots of babies, and keep them safe, and there’ll be no more wars.’
‘Lots, eh? I bet me and Paulo make more.’ They collapsed in laughter. The ground beneath them felt damp and cold, but they didn’t care. A shout brought them out of their fun-making world to the reality of the tasks ahead. As they ran to help dismantle the runway, they didn’t hear the pilot radioing in to their deserted radio that he’d seen a German convoy heading towards them.
As they doused the last flame, a shot rang out. Marjie froze. Sibbie moved nearer to her. Within seconds they were lying face-down on the ground.
‘Can you see anything, Sibbie?’
Before she could answer, the sound of many trucks filled the space around them. ‘Come on, Marjie, we have to run!’
‘Take cover!’
At this shout from Arnie, Marjie grabbed Sibbie and joined the many men running for the shelter of the trees. When they reached the safety of the cover that the woodland offered, they were joined by ten or so other Resistance fighters and looked for Paulo. He pushed himself through the others to reach their side.
Arnie shouted more orders. ‘Load your weapons and spread out. Try to make it back to camp. Let’s hope that shot didn’t hit any of our spotters, although it is a worry that they haven’t been able to warn us. Good luck, everyone. Sibbie, Marjie, Paulo, keep with me.’
Sibbie grabbed the radio.
‘We’ll hide that, Sibbie – we’ve no time to dismantle it, and carrying it will slow us down.’ Paulo took the radio and ran with it to where there was a thick growth of bracken, which they’d seen in the torchlight on their approach.
With this done, Paulo re-joined them, to the sound of gunfire splitting the night air. Arnie shouted more orders. ‘There sound like too many for us to stand and fight, so run for all your worth back to camp. Keep your weapons at the ready, in case the Germans break through the spotters.’
As they set off, Marjie prayed that the spotters would win through and get away.
Panting for breath, they ran, until a shot rang out that told them the Germans were close. ‘Bed in and keep quiet.’
At this command from Arnie, they scattered into the brush. Marjie lay down, her body shivering with cold and fear. Silence fell. She strained her eyes to try to see where the others were. A whispered ‘Is everyone all right?’ came from her left.
‘Yes, Paulo,’ came from Arnie.
Then Paulo addressed her. ‘Sibbie’s with me. Are you all right, Marjie?’
‘Yes, Paulo. I’m over to your right.’
‘Everyone, keep down and stay quiet.’ Arnie’s voice always reassured, but at this moment nothing could take away Marjie’s extreme fear.
Torches approached from behind Sibbie and Paulo, but before Marjie could warn them, a shout in French, with a German accent, echoed around her: ‘Don’t move.’
Terror deeper than any she’d ever felt overcame Marjie. From her vantage point she could see that the soldier had been joined by another, and that both had their guns trained on Sibbie and Paulo. The voice she’d heard previously cut through her, as he addressed them once more.
‘Stand up, dogs!’
A silent scream pierced Marjie’s head, as she saw Sibbie and Paulo stand with their hands held high above their shoulders. Her instinct made her wish to give vent to the scream, but her training officer’s voice echoed through her: You can hear your comrade screaming, you are near, the Germans have her: what do you do, eh? Tell me! . . . You remain totally silent, that’s what you do! No heroics. YOU MUST NOT BE CAPTURED, TOO. You must survive, to report back and continue the work your comrade cannot now do. It will be decided later whether a rescue can be attempted. And even though she had her gun at the ready and could clearly see the German, Marjie knew that to shoot would mean that she would give away the fact that there were more of them. She had to remain still.
The German soldier barked out, ‘Where are the others? You are not alone. We know that. It takes many of you to set up the facility for a plane to land. We have killed your filthy comrades, but we know there are more.’
Sibbie answered him. Her voice sounded strong, and this reassured Marjie a little. ‘We are the only two who ran this way; the others ran the other way.’
‘You’re lying, dog.’ Sibbie’s cry of pain, and Paulo’s protest, brought silent tears to Marjie’s face.
In German, the soldier who had done all the talking now said, ‘Search around – find the dogs!’
Marjie held her breath and prayed. Her prayers were for Sibbie and Paulo, and for herself and Arnie. Creeping backwards, she found herself sliding and slowly her body went into a dip in the ground, as the torchlight passed by her.
She could see the soldier’s muddied boots as he trod close to her head, but he didn’t detect her. When he had passed by, she released the breath that she hadn’t been conscious of holding. Then she was filled with relief, though she still felt fear for Sibbie and Paulo, when another German voice shouted, ‘Nothing! There’s no one here.’
‘Well, we have our prize, and these two dogs, who will tell us all we want to know . . . DO YOU HEAR THAT, COWARDS? HIDING AND LETTING YOUR COMRADES TAKE THE RAP FOR YOU IS NOT HEROISM!’
The soldier’s yell resounded in the silence, giving Marjie the sense of betraying Sibbie and Paulo, but she remained still, weeping soundlessly.
‘WELL, HEAR ME. THEY WILL TELL US WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU PLAN. AND SOON! WE WILL TORTURE THEM TO WITHIN AN INCH OF THEIR LIVES! YOU WILL NEVER WIN. HEIL HITLER!’
As both Sibbie and Paulo let out cries of pain, Marjie’s tears soaked her face. She rested her forehead on the cold, wet bracken. Despair engulfed her, but then Sibbie’s voice rang out, strong and courageous. ‘You will never beat us, never – German pigs. You didn’t beat our parents and you won’t beat us!’
This earned her another blow, and a pain-filled scream reverberated through the woods.
Paulo shouted, ‘And you won’t break us. We’ll never tell you anything, you filthy, vicious PIGS!’
Marjie cringed as he hollered out in pain and must have been knocked to the ground, because he was then told to get up and Sibbie was screaming, ‘Don’t – don’t kick him. Oh, Paulo, my darling.’
Marjie felt a moment of horror then as the German said, ‘Ha, lovers, eh? Well now, won’t that be useful information.’
As their voices faded, Marjie crawled out of her hole in the ground. A desperate whisper came to her. ‘Stay down, Marjie.’
She lay there for a long time, allowing her heart to bleed. At last Arnie rose from his hiding place and came over to her. Lying next to her, he held her. ‘Well done, Marjie. My God, that wasn’t easy. But there were too many of them, and more searching further, who would have been down upon us and outnumbered us. We had to do as we did. Our beloved Paulo, and darling Sibbie, will know that. They would have done the same. They sent us a message in the last words we heard them speak.’
Though Arnie didn’t mean they would be the last words she’d ever hear her lovely Sibbie and Paulo speak, something in Marjie prepared her for that being so, although in her mind she screamed against the thought.
Back in the camp, those that were left of them – a band of thirteen bedraggled and battle-weary men, and Marjie – knelt in a circle and prayed together. They prayed for Sibbie and Paulo, for all those who had fallen, naming each one; and they prayed for their mothers, who had yet to learn that their sons had been killed. Then they prayed for themselves and their country. Arnie and André knelt each side of Marjie.
At the end of the prayers, Arnie instructed one of the men to make some coffee, as he wanted to talk to them.
‘I’ll do that.’ Marjie, desperate for a distraction, went to the kitchen area and filled the iron pot with water from a bowser. She stood it on the huge wood-fuelled stove with its cleverly adapted chimney, which puffed out the smoke at a sideways angle, meaning that it had almost petered out by the time it made its way skywards.
As they sat drinking their coffee, they listened to Arnie. ‘Our own intelligence in these situations informs us that Sibbie and Paulo will most likely be taken to Gestapo HQ in Paris. We will find out the exact plans and details from Elianna, our contact in the offices of the gendarmes in Narbonne, as it is certain they will initially be taken to the cells there. They are too important to the Germans to be interrogated there, and will be seen as the Gestapo’s responsibility. I will do my utmost to mobilize men along the route to Paris. I have several factions of the Freedom Army who work and camp in those areas. This will mean that I have to leave for a time, in order to organize this, and to work alongside those who will mastermind a rescue of Sibbie and Paulo.’
Just hearing this lifted Marjie’s heart. She’d thought all was lost, but now she knew there was hope, and for the first time she realized she had done the right thing in not trying to fight the Germans, but staying undercover. With them all captured or dead, there would have been no hope. But although this reassured her, there was one thing preying on her mind. Would Sibbie bite into her cyanide pill? Please don’t, Sibbie, please.
‘And so the obvious question now is: who betrayed us?’ Arnie looked around the group. ‘I want you to know that I don’t for a minute think it is one of you. But then did any of us ever suspect Jacques? The threat he posed is now removed, with his own and his mother’s death, so who is our second traitor? The Germans knew exactly where to find our landing strip, and that we would be there at that time, although it must have been an approximate time, as they weren’t there when we arrived. Or the traitor deliberately gave them the wrong time, in the hope of us having gone. If that was the case, then it was someone who cares about us, but cared more about what the Germans offered them. Be mindful that such a person is out there and does have knowledge of us.’
‘Gisele?’
‘I hope not, and cannot think it would be her, André, but we have to suspect everyone.’
Marjie asked, ‘Did she know about the pick-up?’
‘I don’t know. She shouldn’t have done, but we’re never guarded around Gisele. And she is a very clever young lady – always has been. If she wanted to know something, she could find it out. Can any of you remember her asking when Cyrus was leaving?’
No one answered Arnie for a moment, then André said, ‘Juan was very friendly with her. It’s possible.’
Juan was one of those whose names had been called out in the roll call of the dead. ‘He was only injured; we could have got him back, but as we were hiding, a German soldier shot all those who were injured. Whoever betrayed us has blood on their hands.’
‘It is terrible. I feel so bad that we can’t go back and bury them. But it is too dangerous. All we can do is to tell the families, but that will take time, as some come from far afield.’
‘Gisele should be made to inform them – we would normally ask her to. Maybe she will show some shame and then we will know it is her.’
‘You are right, André. If Gisele is the traitor, we need to know.’
Marjie could see that the implications of this were very difficult for Arnie and all of the men to bear, as it was for her, when she thought of the time before she’d left for England, when Gisele had been a funny and special part of their lives.
‘Let’s sleep on it. Goodnight, everyone.’
The men took this as a command from Arnie, and all but those on lookout duty dispersed and went to their tents, or whatever they had put together to sleep under. Left alone with her uncle, Marjie kissed him goodnight, then whispered, ‘How am I going to cope without Sibbie?’
‘You will, Marjie. I need you to be strong. We’ll talk in the morning. But, Marjie, I need you to take over here. The men will accept you as their leader. You will need to guide them in the next mission. I have the details and it is to take place in three days’ time.’
‘I can do that, Uncle, and I know you will return with Sibbie and Paulo.’
Arnie held her in the kind of hug he’d always given her, and for a moment Marjie felt like a child again. Her heart so wished that she was, and that all of this had never happened.