Page 25 of Hearts of Resistance
BREST, FRANCE
1943
Rose walked out into the garden, noticing how everything was a little overgrown, so different to how their coastal home usually looked. Peter had liked everything to be perfect, and she’d made sure they had the people to keep it as he wanted. But that was before. She kept walking, not wanting to stare at something that reminded her so vividly of her husband.
She’d risen early to say goodbye to Charlotte and Sebastian, and now that they’d gone the house felt unusually empty again. Not for the first time she wished her maid, Maria, had come with her, simply so she had someone to talk to, someone to help pass the silent hours with.
Now, alone with her thoughts, she could only think one thing: missing Peter wasn’t going to bring him back, and she’d cried so much for him she wondered if there was even a tear left in her body. She clenched her jaw in a bite so hard she feared her teeth would crack.
There was one thing she could do, one thing that kept playing through her mind, and pregnant or not, she was damn well going to do it.
The Resistance needed help. They needed people prepared to do anything with nothing to lose, and they needed money; it just so happened she could fulfil both demands. Peter’s death wasn’t going to be for nothing – avenging him was what had forced her out of bed that morning. Once her baby was close to coming, she’d find a way to keep them both safe, but until then, having a child wasn’t going to stop her. If Sebastian and Charlotte could be part of the movement, then why couldn’t she?
She would take the day to mourn, maybe even the week. Then she was going to put a plan in motion. Next week, she wasn’t just going to be the outspoken woman with a desire to do something to help the war effort and bring the Nazis to their knees.
Rose kept walking, imagining her husband falling into step beside her. At home, Peter had worked hard and their social life was often bursting at the seams, but here they’d liked a quieter pace, and they never entertained. She kept walking as she remembered Peter’s warm smile. If he’d been here with her they’d have lain in bed until late morning, drinking inky coffee and indulging in croissants.
A noise pulled Rose from her thoughts and she noticed she’d walked further than she’d meant to. She stared with her mouth open at the sight of men running down the street towards her. There were three of them – all young, all looking terrified – and a cold, numbing terror passed silently through her.
She knew there was a reason why many of the homes around her were empty, how dangerous it was being here. Even her brother had warned her that she would need to be careful of the Germans, but she’d shrugged off his warning without paying it any heed, too lost in her own grief to care.
It finally dawned on her that she was indeed in the thick of it. Were these men part of the Resistance?
‘Come with me,’ she croaked, waving at one of them as he came closer, looking desperate. Her heart started to race when she saw the panic on their faces.
‘Get out of here!’ he yelled.
‘Follow me,’ Rose said, clearing her throat and sounding more assertive, hearing an edge to her voice that sounded more familiar to her than the weak rasp of earlier. ‘I can keep you safe.’
The man looked alarmed, perhaps he was thinking it was too dangerous for her, but she would have told him not to be so silly if he’d even dared.
She rubbed her thumb over the big diamond on her finger, across the rough smaller diamonds on her wedding ring, too. They comforted her and gave her strength simply feeling their weight.
‘Quickly,’ she said. ‘It’s not far and you’ll be safe.’
She wasn’t scared for herself. But these men? They would surely be taken prisoner if they were found.
‘This way. Quick!’ he called to his friends.
Rose held her skirt up high and started to run, making for the road that would take them to her home. She had no idea where the Germans were or whether they’d be discovered on the way. It was telling that the streets were so deserted, everyone else locked up safely in their homes, but Rose had been walking aimlessly, lost in her thoughts, and she’d barely noticed her surroundings.
‘Where are you taking us?’ one of the men asked as he caught up to her.
‘My home. I can hide you there,’ Rose said firmly.
‘We can’t put her in danger like that,’ another muttered. ‘We’re as good as dead as it is.’
‘They can try to find you all they like,’ she panted out as she kept running. ‘But they’ll have to get past me first.’
They kept moving, their pace fast. She had no idea if they were escaped prisoners of war or if they were part of some sort of secret military operation, and she didn’t care. All she knew was that she wanted to save them.
‘This way,’ she said, pointing to a cluster of trees. She knew it would take longer, but if they weren’t so exposed then maybe they wouldn’t be seen.
Rose kept running, not checking to see if all three were still with her. She smiled, a combination of adrenaline and fear propelling her forward. It was the most alive she’d felt in weeks, and she was finally doing something useful, something to help.
‘I have clothes,’ she managed to pant out. ‘We can get you changed and...’
She actually had no idea. How could she expect to miraculously keep them safe? Changing their clothes was hardly going to be enough to change their appearance. The only thing she could do was hide them, and hide them well.
