Page 37 of Hearts of Resistance
‘We’re ready.’ The two downed British airmen, Thomas and Charles, whom she had been hiding for the past two weeks, made their way silently down the stairs.
The warm British accent made her smile; it had been nice listening to their perfect English, and she knew she’d miss their company terribly once they were gone.
‘We have two bicycles and three of us, so I propose I sit on the handlebars and navigate,’ she suggested. ‘We need to make our way quickly, keeping hidden as much as possible.’
They nodded and she ushered them out the door. Her heart was pounding, every sense in her body on high alert. She’d saved these men, found them before the Germans could and rescued them from their parachutes. She was fast, and she had a home to stow them in, which meant she’d been in charge of their immediate rescue and getting them to safety. It had been Josephine’s job to find somewhere to hide the damaged parachutes so no one found them and ended up chasing their trail. It had been an exhilarating four weeks, and Rose had lost men already who’d not made it past their injuries, but it was worth it for the two she’d saved. Her own injury had healed well, and she was surprised by how little she thought of the day she’d been shot.
Josephine had two men at her home, too, and there was another operative Rose hadn’t met yet who would be ferrying her own men. And they were only the women in her immediate area. The thought of so many women up and down the coastline making a difference, saving their allies and making sure men made it home to their families, put a huge smile on her face.
‘Come on.’
Rose waited for the men to steady themselves and then she hopped up on to the handlebars, wobbling to start with and then settling in. She’d have a sore bottom by the end of it, but she had no intention of complaining.
She held on tight, staying focused and scanning constantly. If they were seen, they were as good as dead. Up to a point, she could lie and pretend she was injured, announce her pregnancy or something, but covering for the men would be much harder. Their French was terrible and they’d be arrested or killed immediately.
The journey was bumpy and silent, and by the time she put a hand out to slow them down, reaching to touch the arm of her British driver – given that it was almost dark and she was worried he wouldn’t see her signal – her bottom was completely numb. Every now and again she wondered if it was sensible to do things like this whilst pregnant, but she didn’t dwell on the work she did. She couldn’t. Otherwise she’d start to worry and overthink her actions, when what she needed to do was trust her instincts and do what came naturally.
‘We need to hide the bikes now,’ she said in a low voice. It was an eerie feeling, being in the dark, surrounded by trees that could be concealing Germans. A shudder ran down her spine but she pushed her fears away. ‘I need them tucked away, but somewhere I can easily find them on my way back,’ she said.
The men worked quickly and she stood with her back to them, straining her eyes in the darkness in case they were being watched. She was certain they’d have been shot by now if anyone had seen them, but she also knew that the enemy could follow them to learn more about what they were doing and where they were going.
‘Come on,’ she hissed once they were finished. She led the way, finding it weird that she was the one in charge of the soldiers. The respect all of the Englishmen had given her was incredible, their attitude making her feel like their superior. But then she figured they were simply grateful to be alive, and to have a way out of an enemy-occupied country.
Rose kept walking, careful with every footfall. She heard a noise and dropped low, waving her hand for the others to do the same. She lay still, her breath heavy and loud to her own ears, and listened for the crackle of footsteps, but no noise followed. She held her breath as she stood and lifted her head, certain the instant snap of gunfire would follow, but there was nothing.
‘Hurry,’ she said, moving faster now. The last thing she wanted was to be late to their rendezvous point and have to risk taking the men back home with her for another month. Not only would it be dangerous, but she wouldn’t have the space to hide others, and they needed every hiding place they could find with so many downed airmen to rescue. Their network involved a lot of locals, but there were only a few of them tasked with getting the rescued men out of France.
After walking in silence for what felt like an hour, Rose slowed down once they reached the beach. They were close to where the men would be collected, and she prayed that there weren’t any German guards patrolling this part of the coast.
‘We need to lie down,’ she instructed. ‘No moving, no talking.’
Fingers around her wrist made her pause. The dark had completely swallowed the air around them, which meant it was almost impossible to make out the two men with her.
‘Do you want me to dig out some sand?’ he asked, his voice a whisper, and she realised it was Thomas. ‘It might help to conceal us if we’re partially submerged.’
She nodded and then realised he probably couldn’t see the movement. ‘Yes,’ she whispered back. ‘Good idea.’
They all dug into the sand and lay on their stomachs, facing the water. All they had to do now was wait, and pray that no one saw them. The wait seemed endless, but finally she heard it – the sound of an owl, a sound she’d mimicked and practised until she could make the noise as perfectly as the bird itself. She waited and listened again, just in case it was a German who’d figured out their calls.
The familiar owl sounded again, and Rose sighed with relief. It was Josephine. Rose made the noise straight back, twice, before standing and searching with her eyes frantically for her friend. In the end Josephine and her group almost ran straight over the top of them. Rose caught her arm, stopping her from falling, and pulled her down low. The two men Josephine had with her fell down beside them.
‘Thank God you’re here safe,’ Rose whispered, hugging her friend tight.
‘You too.’
They lay low, staying silent until another call was made. This time it was Josephine who made the owl noise back, and within seconds they were on their feet. Rose wondered if her friend’s heart was pounding as hard as hers was.
Rose turned first to Thomas and wrapped her arms tight around him, fighting tears when he kissed her cheek. He’d lived with her for over two weeks now, in her house with her every hour of every day, and she’d miss his company terribly.
‘You be careful with that arm of yours and make sure to tell your wife how much you love her when you get home,’ she whispered quickly.
Then she gave Charles a hug, too, kissing his cheek. ‘Get home safely,’ she said. ‘Now, head straight for the water. Wade out as far as you can – you’ll be able to make out the rowboats further out into the water. They’ll get you safely to the submarine.’
As soon as they moved away she breathed a sigh of relief and dropped low again, on her stomach and reaching for Josephine’s hand. She listened, ears straining, making out the sound of water breaking as the men entered. Waiting was painful. She was certain she’d hear shots or German voices, but much to her surprise she didn’t hear a thing.
She shut her eyes and saw Thomas and Charles smiling, imagined them clambering into the rowboats, felt their relief as they realised they were about to be saved and sent home. She imagined all this in her mind even as her body stayed on high alert, certain the illusion was going to be shattered. But miraculously it wasn’t.
Rose stayed where she was, in the dark, burrowing further down into the sand beside her friend. It was too dangerous to leave just yet; they couldn’t see anything and needed to wait until there was the tiniest slither of light to make their way safely. If the Germans found them now, well, they had nothing to hide. The English airmen were gone and the enemy could do what they liked with her. It would be Josephine she’d do anything to save, not herself.
