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Evelyn gazed out of the window as they left behind the city proper and headed into the country. The small house where Yves lived and worked was about ten minutes outside the city, set back on a farm accessible only from a lane leading off the main road. While it was close to Reims, it was still isolated in the country. As they drove out of the city, the houses became more infrequent, and when Finn turned onto the main road that would take them to Yves’ lane, she sighed.
“I’ll miss all of this.”
“All of what?” Finn asked, glancing at her. “Trying to find food to take with us as we desperately flee an advancing enemy? Or trying to find our way through strange country roads without running into Nazis?”
“None of that,” she said with a laugh. “It’s the country I’ll miss. Even the countryside has the French charm that I adore. It’s not the same as other countries. The attitude here is different. It’s a way of life and a way of thinking that sets it apart from the rest of Europe. That’s what I’ll miss.”
“You say that as if you’ll never be back. You will, you know. We both will.”
“Is that why you’re so comfortable going to England? Because you think you will come back?”
“I don’t think. I know. They’ll want me here, as they will you. You’ll see.”
Evelyn shifted her gaze out the window again and was silent. She knew that was the plan, why she’d been recruited in the first place. She was the perfect spy, as Jean-Pierre had said, and she knew France well. She’d spent half of her life in Paris and in the south of France. Her uncle’s château near Toulouse had been the site of many family summer holidays. She felt as if she knew France almost as well as she knew England. Yet Evelyn still questioned if she would be allowed to come back to France once the Germans took over. It seemed unlikely, despite her skill set and familiarity with the French culture and terrain. She couldn’t imagine Bill being willing to take the risk and send her into occupied territory. He was growing more and more like a father-figure every day, and she knew he felt somewhat responsible for her. Sending her into the wolf’s den was something she thought he would be unwilling to do when it came right down to it.
“Do you see that?” Finn asked, drawing her attention from the contemplation of the hedges lining the road.
“What?” She peered through the windshield at where he was pointing.
“That cloud. Do you see it?”
Evelyn stared at what appeared to be a grayish cloud in the distance, rising over the fields. After a long moment, she sucked in her breath just as he did the same. A streak of fear snaked down her spine and her heart thumped hard in her chest as she realized just what they were looking at. The cloud was massive, and moving quickly in their direction, crossing through what were probably fields and empty land.
“That’s a lot of vehicles,” Finn said, his voice unsteady, “and they’re moving fast.”
“The woman in the shop said the German troops were going to pass by north of here.”
“Well, she was wrong. They’re closer than that!”
Evelyn nodded, fear making her whole body tremble. “Those are fields. We’re on the closest road, aren’t we?”
“I think so. Check the map.”
Evelyn dug in the pocket of the door for the folded road map that she had stuffed there when they left the house this morning. Spreading it open, she followed the road they were on.
“Well?”
“This is the only main road that runs parallel with where that cloud is coming from,” she told him after a minute, lifting her head. “They’re heading right for us. But they’re on the fields, not the road!”
“The tanks and artillery are on the fields. The smaller vehicles will be on the road.” Finn shook his head and glanced at her. “At that speed, the rest of the infantry isn’t very far.”
“I think we should get off the road,” Evelyn said, taking a deep breath and trying to calm her racing heart. “If we pull off into the trees, we can...”
Her voice trailed off suddenly as dark shadows appeared on the horizon directly in front of them.
“Too late!” Finn cried, staring as the shadows rapidly took the shape of trucks.
“Pull off the road!” Evelyn directed, her fear making her voice sharp. “Over there. Pull off and we’ll get out and go behind the hedges and into the trees. Maybe they won’t look twice at the car.”
Finn nodded and pulled into the shallow ditch that ran alongside the road. As he did so, Evelyn watched in horror as a smaller vehicle, a car, came into view, pulling past the trucks. There was no doubt in her mind that it was a staff car, and that meant it was a German officer of some importance. They were the only ones who would be traveling in a car with a convoy.
“Geneviève!” Finn said urgently, grabbing her arm and shaking gently as she stared, transfixed, out of the windshield at the oncoming tidal wave of gray and black metal. “Hurry! We must go. Open the door!”
Startled out of her terrified stupor, Evelyn fumbled with the door handle. Finn had stopped on an angle and she half fell out of the car as the door swung open. Catching herself on the frame, Evelyn jumped out and landed on her feet, grateful for the lack of rain that had made the ground hard. If it had been otherwise, she would have lost her fashionable heels in soft earth, and probably fallen flat on her face in the process. As it was, she was able to scramble up the slight incline and head towards the trees at the top of a rise beside the road, Finn right behind her.
“Hurry!” he gasped. “They’re almost here!”
Evelyn forced herself to run as quickly as she could in her skirt, battling both the incline and the uneven ground. Grasping her skirt with both hands, she pulled it up above her knees to give her legs more room. Sparing only a brief curse on the skirt and heels that were slowing her down, Evelyn made a beeline for the copse of trees ahead of her. If they could make it to the trees before the troops passed them, they would be safely hidden. They just had to make it to the trees.
Glancing over her shoulder, Evelyn felt her stomach drop as the car pulled past the lead truck and drew ahead, speeding forward. It was impossible for the driver not to see them running up an incline next to a car on the side of the road. She turned her attention back to the trees, willing her legs to run faster as her breath came short and fast.
“Keep going!” Finn cried, looking over his shoulder. “They’re stopping!”
Evelyn ran for all she was worth, scrambling up the last few steps of the hill, her heart in her throat. Finn was right beside her, his hand on the small of her back, urging her forward.
“Halt!”
Icy fear shot down her spine and Evelyn gasped, lurching to a stop at the top of the incline, just feet from the protection of the old, twisted trees.
Josephine looked up, closing the book in her hands when a short, stocky man emerged from the kitchen door. She was sitting in the small garden behind his house, leaning against a tree, reading. She was having trouble concentrating on the pages, however, and her mind had been wandering for the past twenty minutes or more.
“They are ready,” he announced with a nod. “You may come and look if you like.”
Josephine jumped to her feet and walked towards him. Yves Michaud was nothing like what she had been expecting when they set out to come here last night. Marc’s friends, the few she’d met over the past year, were young men like himself. Yves Michaud was in his forties if he was a day, and Josephine wondered if he was perhaps even older than that. That he was used to working outside and tending the grape vines in the adjoining field was obvious from his tanned skin and heavily calloused hands. Yet those hands had spent most of the night working on the papers that would bestow on her a whole new identity.
“Fantastic!”
She followed him into the house and through the kitchen to the small room he called his workroom. It was where he’d taken several photographs of her when she arrived. The lights were off now, and the work desk was cleared of the clutter that had been there early this morning. In its place were her new papers.
“You have everything you need here, all the vital records,” he said, walking over to the table. “Passport, certificate of birth with both parent’s names, certificate of baptism, and I’ve included a marriage license for your parents.”
“Who are my new parents?”
Yves smiled. “They were a couple who really existed. They moved to Morocco, and died there a few years ago during a Typhoid fever outbreak.”
“Children?”
“Not until now.” He picked up the birth certificate and handed it to her. “My sincere condolences on the loss of your parents.”
“Thank you.” Josephine took the paper and carried it over to examine it in the light from the window. “Jeannine Renaud?”
“I try to keep the initials the same when possible. I’ve found that most people who come to me have something with their initials on that they don’t want to part with. This can create confusion if it is ever found.” Yves cleared his throat and looked at her closely. “You understand, of course, what this will entail? You must destroy anything that connects you to your old life. Josephine Rousseau must cease to exist. She is dead. Gone. Jeannine Renaud is who you are now.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“And you understand that it includes anyone who might know and recognize you as Josephine?”
Josephine paused in her examination of the document and grew still, lifting her head, her eyes widening. He nodded wisely.
“I thought as much. You were going to stay with someone? A family member perhaps?”
“An old friend.” Josephine exhaled. “I didn’t even think...but of course, you’re right. She’s expecting Josephine.”
“I’d suggest a change in travel itinerary.”
“May I see the others?” Josephine asked, motioning to the other documents.
“Of course. You have paid for them. They are yours now.” He turned to gather the other documents and hand them to her. “When France falls, the country and government will be in chaos. Records will be lost or inaccessible. That will be to your advantage. These will prove your identity to anyone who needs to know. The Germans will require identification cards, and these will ensure those cards are authentic.”
“You think it is inevitable, then?” She glanced up from her study of the passport. “That France will fall?”
“I do, and so do you or you wouldn’t be here.”
She nodded slowly, her eyes clouding over with sorrow. “That is true.”
“If you have any photos or papers with your name on it, I suggest you destroy them as soon as possible. These things have a way of making their way into the open eventually, regardless of how careful you are.”
“Yes, I will.”
Yves smiled at her gently and reached out to pat her shoulder. “Don’t sound so forlorn, Mademoiselle. You have a unique opportunity to reinvent yourself. You can be whoever you choose, and can create for yourself a life that is different from anything you’ve ever known. That is no bad thing.”
“It’s no good thing, either.” Josephine looked up and was surprised at the compassion and understanding in his weathered face. “I’m proud of who I am. I have no desire to be anyone different, yet I must. What about my father?”
“He cannot know. Where is he?”
She shrugged and laughed mirthlessly. “Only God Himself knows. The last I heard he was near Bruges, in Belgium, but that was days ago. He could be anywhere now.”
“He is with the army?”
“Yes.”
“And he will look for you when he returns?”
“Yes, but he won’t be surprised when he cannot find me. He understands, you see.” She held up the documents. “He will guess this is what happened.”
“Then you are very lucky. But don’t try to contact him directly. If you must, you may send a message, but no name.” Yves shrugged. “I work hard to ensure the legitimacy of the identities I provide. Please do me the honor of maintaining their integrity on your end.”
Josephine grinned. “Don’t worry, Monsieur. No one will ever suspect that I am not Jeannine Renaud, born in—” She flipped to the birth certificate and scanned it again. “Casablanca.”
“It’s a port city in Morocco. You were born there, but came back to France at a very young age to attend school. Your parents did not think the education in Morocco was up to their standards.”
“I know nothing about this Casablanca,” Josephine said with a frown. “How old was I when I left?”
“That is entirely up to you. I’d suggest boarding school at the age of five or six, perhaps? But only you know what you are comfortable with fabricating.”
Josephine nodded and grinned. “I’ve become fairly good at fabricating. I’m sure I’ll come up with something.”
He nodded and turned towards the door, their business concluded.
“Come. I’ll make coffee.”
Josephine followed him out of the little room with her new identity in her hands. It seemed strange to think that these documents turned her into a new person, someone the government recognized as a legitimate citizen of France. She would create an entire past that had never happened, and live by that lie from now on. It was almost surreal how easy it had been, but Josephine knew it was far from easy. Yves had been up all night ensuring that these documents would stand up to scrutiny. He had even artificially aged them.
And now it was up to her to make the best use of them.
“Umdrehen!”
The command was given harshly in a voice that carried, not through volume but due to its authority. The officer was a man used to being obeyed, and his tone brooked no argument.
Evelyn swallowed and looked at Finn, her eyes wide. She couldn’t let them know she understood the command to turn around, but what else could she do? Looking to him, she saw his lips tighten before he slowly turned around. Following his lead, she turned to see the officer climbing the incline behind them. His gray-green uniform was immaculate, as were his black boots and gloves. Evelyn noted the braided insignia on his shoulder and her mouth went dry. She wasn’t as familiar as she should be with the insignias of the Wehrmacht, but she recognized the braid as belonging to an officer of higher rank. A major, perhaps? Her only comfort now was the absence of the strange crooked S-shaped pins on his lapel that she remembered from the men in the mountains in Norway. This man, officer though he may be, was not one of the dreaded SS.
“What are you doing? Why are you running?” The officer spoke in German, looking from one to the other as he grew closer.
Evelyn remained silent, staring at him. She didn’t have to pretend to be afraid. Her heart was pounding, her mouth was dry, and her palms had become damp inside her gloves. She was terrified, and she knew her face showed it. What on earth was she going to do? She couldn’t let Finn know she spoke German, nor could she let the officer know. That would lead to questions, and questions might lead to him discovering who she really was, and who Finn really was.
“Where are you going?”
Evelyn stole a glance at Finn out of the corner of her eye to find him staring at the officer with a wooden look on his face. Clearly he had no idea what the man was saying. After looking from one to the other again, the officer sighed impatiently and turned his head.
“Leutnant! Get up here and translate. These fools don’t understand a word I’m saying!” he yelled back to the two soldiers standing near his car, their rifles trained on Evelyn and Finn. One of them started forward. “And bring Oberfeldwebel Schmidt. I may need him to help restrain the man!”
“Das ist nicht nötig. Ich verstehe dich.”
Evelyn sucked in her breath and turned to stare at Finn. He had spoken calmly, his voice even, and his accent perfect. The officer made a motion with his arm, indicating for the soldiers to stand down, and raised his eyebrows as he studied Finn.
“You speak German?”
“Yes.”
The officer seemed to relax a bit and he glanced at Evelyn. “And the woman?”
“No.”
The officer nodded, seeming to be satisfied with the truth of that statement after a searching glance at her confused face. He turned his attention back to Finn.
“Where are you going? Why are you running?”
“We saw all the trucks and thought it best to get off the road,” Finn explained. “We wanted to get out of your way.”
“Why leave your vehicle and run to the trees? What’s in the trees?”
“Nothing. We just wanted to hide.”
The officer stared hard at him, then glanced at Evelyn again. “Are there more of you in those trees? Do I need to have my men search them?”
“What? No. There’s no one else.”
“And my convoy? Is there a surprise perhaps waiting for us?”
Evelyn almost laughed out at that, but caught herself before making a sound. The man thought they were trying to sabotage the convoy! Didn’t he understand that all of France was running away?
“If there is, it has nothing to do with us,” Finn said with a shrug. “We are on our way to my wife’s family. Her sister is going to have a baby.”
The officer looked at Evelyn consideringly. “Your wife?”
“Yes.”
“She is very beautiful. You’re a lucky man.”
“Thank you.”
“You speak my language very well. Where were you born?”
“In Brussels. I attended the University of Munich, and worked in Freising for a year.”
The officer’s face lightened into a grin. “University of Munich? I also was a student there. What was your field of study?”
“History. I came to France to teach.”
“Ah. And how did you like Munich?”
“I liked it very much. My studies did prevent me from enjoying the beer as much as I would have liked,” Finn said with a short laugh.
The officer laughed. “Munich is famous for its beer halls,” he agreed. Then he sobered. “Where is your wife’s family?”
“Dijon.”
“That’s southwest, yes?”
“Yes.”
“You may continue,” the officer said arrogantly, “but I suggest that you stay off the main roads.”
“I...yes, of course.”
The officer nodded and looked one last time at Evelyn. His eyes slid over her assessingly and he grinned at Finn.
“Very lucky man,” he reiterated. “Ah well. Next time, don’t run.”
“Yes, sir.”
The officer turned and scrambled down the incline again, going back to the car. As he did so, the soldiers in the road raised their rifles again, ready to shoot should either Finn or Evelyn attempt to attack their commanding officer. As he reached the road, the officer waved their weapons down and went straight to the car again, saying something to his Lieutenant as he passed. The man saluted and hurried to get behind the wheel again. A moment later, the car was speeding away, the trucks surrounding it once more as the convoy once again continued on its race west.
Evelyn watched them go, barely able to understand all that had just happened. She stood next to Finn on the rise above the road, watching the stream of trucks laden with soldiers and artillery rumble past, and felt her entire body go suddenly weak. She realized she’d been holding herself rigid and now, the threat gone, all of her muscles seemed to want to turn to jelly. That entire encounter could have gone so badly, and yet it hadn’t. Finn had talked them out of it. The officer had believed every word, and he needn’t have. He could have sent his men to search the trees behind them. He could have brought his staff sergeant up and restrained them, and had them searched. These were things he undoubtedly would have done if Finn hadn’t been so convincing.
Shock and terror shot through her at the thought. They would have been searched, and so would their car. In the trunk of the car was her suitcase with the false bottom, holding documents and a stolen package from Stuttgart!
Evelyn’s knees suddenly gave out and Finn let out an exclamation, catching her swiftly. He took one look at her white face and wrapped an arm around her waist, leading her over to a patch of grass.
“Come and sit,” he said. “You’re shaking.”
“I’ll be all right,” she said, shaking her head. “Just give me a minute to collect myself.”
He gave her a dubious look but nodded, not removing his supporting arm. Evelyn took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. If they had found that oilskin-wrapped package...a shudder went through her.
“You must sit. Please,” Finn urged. “I’m afraid you’ll faint.”
“I don’t make a practice of fainting,” she said tartly, drawing a laugh from him. “Besides, we have to get back to Josephine. I just need a moment to collect myself, and then I’ll be perfectly all right.”
Finn stood silently beside her as she stared over the countryside. The clouds of dust that had first alerted them to the presence of the Germans were receding into the distance, heading west. Were they going to reinforce the armies that had already reached the Channel? Or would they turn south and go towards Paris? Either way, it was clear from the officer’s demeanor that he already considered France theirs.
“You speak German?” Evelyn finally asked after a few minutes of silence. Her heart rate had returned to normal and her limbs were no longer trembling. She turned to look at Finn. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”
He shrugged. “Why would I? It makes no difference to speak German when you are in France.”
“It certainly made a difference just now.”
He shrugged again and avoided looking her in her eyes. “I didn’t see another way. If he brought other soldiers up here, we would have been restrained and searched. I did what I thought was best to prevent that.”
“I appreciate that.” She took a few experimental steps and nodded, glancing at him. “I’m all right now. Let’s be on our way.”
Finn nodded and followed her down the incline towards the road. “I think perhaps we should wait to go south,” he said thoughtfully. “Perhaps instead of leaving today, we should go in the morning. I don’t want to risk running into anymore divisions.”
“We could still run into them tomorrow. We don’t know how many more are coming.”
“Perhaps, but if there are more, I think they will be close behind them. I wish we had some way of knowing.”
Evelyn pursed her lips thoughtfully. “We might. We can see if Yves has a radio. If he does, Josephine might be able to find out where the closest enemy troops are.”
They reached the car and Finn hurried to open the door for her. She smiled and climbed in, reflecting that it seemed silly to observe such niceties when they had just narrowly escaped being captured by the Nazis. He closed the door and went around to climb into the driver’s side. A moment later, the engine roared to life and he put it in gear.
“Let’s hope I can get us out of this ditch,” he said, pressing the gas.
“The ground is hard from the lack of rain. You shouldn’t have a problem.”
Her words proved correct and the car surged back onto the road with only a small fishtail when the back tires hit loose stones. Evelyn exhaled and leaned her head back, staring out the windshield. Her body was a strange mix of taut wariness and exhausted emotion, making her feel very strange. She supposed it was a feeling she would get used to as the months of war dragged on, especially if she ended up working in close proximity with the enemy. She would have to learn how to handle the emotion.
Or become numb to it.
After a few minutes, Finn cleared his throat.
“I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention what just happened to Josephine,” he said. “The part about my speaking German, I mean. I’d rather no one knew.”
Evelyn raised her eyebrows and looked at him in surprise. “Why not?”
He glanced at her, his face inscrutable.
“I imagine for the same reasons that you don’t want me to know that you speak German.”
