Page 51 of The Secrets We Left Behind
At this, all Elise really wanted was to fall to her knees and sob. Either that or scream profanities at him and all the other Nazis within shouting distance.
But Elise was known for her composure. For always reacting calmly and sensibly, for being reliable, and she wasn’t going to waver from that now.
“We’re just doing our best to get by and keep our heads down here,” Elise said, keeping her voice even as she turned, her smile fixed. “We’ve heard a lot of fighting nearby, and we can only hope that things settle down soon, isn’t that right, Addy?” She put her arm around her sister, dreading the news she had to tell her, not knowing how she would react.
“Rations must be very hard for you,” he said, smiling when Adelaide pulled away from Elise to take him his coffee. “I can’t imagine how careful you must have to be with food these days.”
“It’s been very hard for everyone,” Elise confessed, making herself a cup of coffee and joining her sister at the table. “We’re just lucky we have space to grow some of our own vegetables.”
His eyes were back on Addy, and it made her sick to see the way he watched her. She only hoped her sister wasn’t feeling the same toward him.
“I’ll make sure you get some extra, then,” he said. “For making me feel so welcome.”
“Really?” Addy asked, giggling when he smiled at her. “You can do that for us?”
He laughed. “There are some perks to being in my position, and good food is one of them.”
Elise kept forcing her smile, drinking her too-hot coffee just to give her mouth a break, even though she was almost certain she’d have blisters as a result. She probably looked as happy as a wet cat sitting across from him, and she needed to get better at her game face. She had a feeling she was going to be needing it a lot over the coming weeks and months, but even seeing her sister behave like a giggling teenager was grating every nerve in her body.
“Will your cousin be joining us?” Wolfgang asked, setting his cup down. “I didn’t catch her name the other night, in all the commotion of worrying about the dog.” His smile settled over her sister and she hated it. She knew exactly why he didn’t know Cate’s name; he’d been too busy fixing his gaze on Adelaide.
Elise bristled as Adelaide smiled sweetly back at him. It was like being part of a terrible game of cat and mouse, knowing she was being baited but unable to do anything about it.
“Cate,” Addy said before she could. “Her name’s Cate.”
“And she’s unfortunately not feeling so well today,” Elise quickly added. “I think she caught a cold after being out in the rain the other night for so long. Silly girl was soaked right through.”
As if on cue, Oscar jumped up then, pawing at Wolfgang, and Elise watched in horror as Addy playfully scolded the dog while Wolfgang leant forward, his hand on her sister’s arm.
“He’s fine, he’s very friendly,” Wolfgang said, and Elise froze until his hand fell away from Adelaide. “I can see why she was out in the cold looking for him.”
Finally he finished his coffee and rose, and Elise wished the dog had more sense and knew to bite him around the ankles. Weren’t animals supposed to sense these things?
“Well, thank you for a lovely hour,” Wolfgang said, taking Addy’s hand and pressing a kiss there. “I think France might be my second favorite country already—the women here seem to be very beautiful.”
Adelaide blushed and thanked him as Elise watched on, dismayed, wishing she could hurl something at him and tell him that she knew exactly what kind of monster he was. And still, she kept her stupid smile plastered on her face.
But instead of reacting she stood and watched her sister see him out, smiling and laughing, until she finally shut the door behind him. The way he looked at her, the way he touched her so openly, made her sick. She knew that many Germans were probably no different from their French soldiers; young men who hadn’t had a choice about joining the war and were just doing their duty. But this man, this Wolfgang? He’d already shown his cruelty, which in her eyes made him no better than Hitler himself. She had no reason to doubt Harry; if he said Wolfgang had been the one to give the order, then she believed him.
“Bastard,” Elise whispered, wishing she had had the courage to say it to his face.
“What was that?” Addy spun around, looking as giddy as if she’d been on a date with her sweetheart.
“I have something I need to tell you, Addy,” Elise said, reaching for her sister’s hand. “Adelaide, I’m so sorry, but Harry, well, he recognized Wolfgang today.”
“Recognized him? From where?”
“From what happened the other day.” Elise swallowed, seeing the confusion in Addy’s eyes. “He was the one who gave the order to shoot. It was him we watched that day from the bedroom. He’s responsible for killing Harry and Peter’s entire regiment.”
Adelaide pulled her hand away and pushed past her, but Elise saw the shock on her face, and when she collected their empty cups, the china audibly shook in her hands.
“Perhaps Harry got it wrong? I mean, after everything he’s been through, after ...”
As her words trailed, Elise moved in front of her, searching her gaze.
“Harry’s not wrong,” she said, seeing that she needed to be firmer with her. “Adelaide, he’s a murderer, that man you just swanned off with and made eyes over the table at. He’s the reason those poor men upstairs are—”
Her sister pushed past her again, but Elise wasn’t standing for it.
