Page 16 of Hearts of Resistance
She reached for his hand and held it tight. ‘I’m so proud of you, Sebastian.’ She looked around at the rest of the table. ‘Of all of you. You’re doing something brave, something that needs to be done.’
They all nodded, but she could see they weren’t so sure they were doing the right thing. Perhaps if she’d been haunted by the images they’d seen, she’d understand better.
‘Brandy, five glasses,’ Charlotte said when the waitress finally made her way over to them.
Rose would normally have declined, but for once she didn’t want to flee the café that was a favourite amongst her brother and his kind. Her husband was at work for the day, and the last thing she wanted after what she’d just heard was to go home to an empty house.
That night, she’d lain awake, with Peter asleep beside her, wishing there was something they could do, believing so strongly that the rest of the world wouldn’t let such atrocities keep happening. And quietly fuming that her husband had pretended that he wasn’t so worried about war breaking out, when he must have known the facts. And now, years into a war that felt endless, she couldn’t help but wonder what could have been done differently if people had taken the German leader more seriously.
Rose grabbed a bottle of wine from one of the cellar’s shelves and took a deep breath, walking back to the kitchen with a heavy heart. The last few days, weeks even, she’d been living in a bubble of the past, remembering conversations and moments with Peter or with her brother, but she needed to pull herself together and face what was happening head-on. If there was something she could do to help the Resistance, she would, and before he left she needed Sebastian to understand just how very important the underground movement was to her.
CHAPTER FOUR
SOPHIA
BERLIN, GERMANY
LATE1942
Two days after she’d rescued the young Jewish man, Sophia checked her skirt in the mirror and did a silly little twirl for Alex. He was sitting on her bed watching her, and the upturn of his lips made her grin straight back at him. She’d smuggled their visitor out during the night, to be passed to another person working within their secret network, so it was just the two of them in her apartment now.
‘I wish you were taking me out,’ she said, sighing and running her hands down the fabric to smooth it. ‘Lunch, a walk in the sunshine, anything but this.’
‘Is that all you wish for?’ he said with a laugh. ‘I’m wishing you were taking that skirtoffinstead of putting it on.’
Sophia swatted at him when he reached for her, loving his playfulness. Joking with him like this took her mind off everything else that was going on, especially the worry of not knowing whether their young visitor would ever make it out of the country alive.
‘Sophia, come here,’ Alex said, standing and holding out his hands.
Sophia took the few steps back towards him and let him hold her. He touched one palm to her cheek, the other pressed to her hand.
‘I can’t wait to marry you.’
She smiled, her heart beating so fast it sounded like a drum thumping away inside of her.
‘Me too,’ she said without hesitation. ‘But not here. I don’t know, but maybe we should start over somewhere else when we get the chance?’
‘So long as we’re together,’ he said, and kissed her lips. ‘And you’re my wife.’
Sophia wished she could stay tucked up in the apartment with him all day, but she needed to go. Her mother missed her terribly, and Sophia missed her just as much. She was looking forward to seeing her even if it was only for a short time. One day she’d tell her mother everything she’d done, and she knew without a doubt how proud she’d be.
She gave Alex one final, lingering kiss and then went to gather her things. Today she was playing the part of a perfect Nazi daughter. Her mother would see right through it and be smiling secretly to herself, but to the rest of the world she was her father’s delightful Jew-hating daughter.
She stopped in front of Hitler’s portrait, the only thing she hated about her otherwise beautifully furnished apartment.
‘You are an evil, vile little man,’ she whispered, childishly poking out her tongue at him and making Alex laugh. She hadn’t realised he was still watching her, his eyes trained on her from where he stood by the bed.
‘A vilepig,’ Alex added. ‘Although, that could be a mean thing to say. I mean, there are probably lovely pigs out there in the world.’
‘Stay safe,’ she whispered, and blew him a kiss. ‘And stay hidden. Promise?’
He pretended to catch her kiss, pressing it to his cheek and being as silly as ever.
‘Promise,’ he replied.
Sophia slipped out and locked the door. She stood for a moment, gathering her thoughts, catching her breath. Sometimes she wondered if Alex collapsed to the ground after she left and cried; sobbed for what he’d lost and the pain of being stuck in one place for so many months. It was like a jail cell for him in there. She knew there was only so much any person could take, and one day she worried he’d reach that point and go stark raving mad.
She set off to catch the train, exhausted from the night before and knowing she had big circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. There was only so much she could do with make-up, but these days she was far less interested in being the glamourous heiress she’d once been, and more interested in making a difference. Maybe it would all be for nothing, everything she’d done, but at least she could say she’d tried.
