Page 23 of The Secrets We Left Behind
“Maybe he just needs someone to be patient with him,” she said. “To talk to him instead of telling him why he’s wrong.”
“You’re suddenly an expert on talking soldiers down from the ledge?” Harry asked. “There’s nothing you can say that I haven’t already said.”
“Or perhaps you could show a little respect to the women of the house,” Elise said, the final stair-tread creaking as she walked toward them. “If she wants to talk to him, let her talk. There are worse things a man could be subjected to than my sister’s kindness.”
Addy shielded her mouth with her hand to hide her smirk. She doubted Harry could have missed the condescending tone inher sister’s voice. She chanced a quick glance at him and saw that he was less than impressed, but he clearly knew what was good for him because he didn’t say anything else.
“Harry, I’m going to lay some ground rules,” Elise said, coming closer. “We all show one another kindness and respect, and you remember that we’re not your troops. This is our home, and I’d say you’re very fortunate to have been given refuge here.”
Peter cried out, silencing them all, and Harry looked like he’d just received a blow to the stomach, his face drained of color as he watched Peter writhe across the floor. Addy felt herself flood with pity for both men.
“If we can’t keep him here, then we’ll be forced to let him go at some point, but for now, I think we should let Addy talk to him,” Elise continued.
“Wait, you actually want to let him go?” Harry spluttered.
Addy watched as Elise shook her head. “That’s not what I said. But you’ve said it yourself—there’s only so long we can physically contain a man who doesn’t want to be here. If he’s still wanting to surrender another week or month from now, I don’t see that we have any other choice.”
Harry turned, and Adelaide wished she could comfort him, the pain in his face so visceral as he processed what Elise was saying. “They’ll probably kill him if he surrenders. They’ve already shown what bloody barbarians they are.”
“I know,” Elise said softly. “Harry, please don’t think this is what I want. I’m just being honest about how I see the situation.”
“He’s not just a fellow soldier to me, he’s my friend,” Harry said, his voice cracking with emotion. “He’s all I have left at this point.”
“Then we force him to stay,” Addy said, joining the conversation. “We can keep him in the attic, one of us can watch the door when the other goes in with food, and ...”
Elise gave her a sharp look.
“He’s not a child or a prisoner,” Harry said, his voice firmer all of a sudden. “Maybe your sister’s right. He’s a grown man, and if he wants to surrender, then none of us can stop him. But I’ll fight with him tooth and nail as long as I can, because I’m not letting him go without a damn good fight.” He cast Peter a sad look. “Because if he walks out that door, he’s as good as dead.”
Adelaide looked from her sister to Harry and then over at Peter. He seemed more lucid now, even though he was clearly as determined as ever to get out of the house. But where on earth did he think he was going to go on his own? Was he going to crawl to the Nazi camp?
“Peter, it’s Addy, from last night,” she said, bending down low and reaching out to him. She touched his arm, gently holding him for a moment before rubbing in small circles. “I need to talk to you for a moment.”
He looked up at her, and the desperation in his eyes broke her heart. Here was a man who’d fought for his country, who’d bravely tried to hold off the Nazis to let others evacuate, crawling on his belly as if he were a wounded animal. She smiled down at him, hoping he could see how much she cared, that she wanted to help him if he’d let her.
“I want very much to look after you,” she told him.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
She could see then, from the way he looked at her and said those two small words, that he was in fact very lucid now. She could see the agony, the pain, within him.
“We can keep you hidden here, with your friend Harry,” she told him. “Do you understand that it’s just the two of you left? There’s no one else. If you try to surrender again, we can’t keep you safe.” She gulped. “Harry truly believes you’ll die trying to surrender again.”
He blinked at her, but never said a word, and she remembered what Elise had said to her about him being in shock. Perhaps he didn’t truly grasp what had happened? Maybe he didn’t remember it all, didn’t recall the true horrors? Regardless of what Harry had said, she believed that kind words and love might be able to change his mind, or at least make him understand the situation better.
“We have to try again, we have to surrender,” he stammered. “We can’t hide here, they’ll find us and kill us. Surrender is our only option.”
The thought sent a shiver through Addy, but she tried to hide it. “Peter, the Nazis killed your entire regiment. Do you understand that?”
If for a second she’d thought he didn’t remember, the tears in his eyes, the anguish written all over his pain-etched face, told her she’d been wrong.
“I have to try. Please, help me to try,” he begged.
Adelaide nodded and lifted from her haunches. Elise and Harry had been silently watching, but now they were both moving closer. Harry was well patched up, and although he’d lost a lot of blood and had a hefty wound, he was at least able to move easily now.
“Pete, you really want to do this?” Harry asked. “You really want to surrender again? We tried that twice yesterday, remember? We surrendered once, and then again after they’d shot half our regiment? They put bayonets and bullets into the rest of them, too.”
Peter had fallen silent now.
