Page 58 of The Secrets We Left Behind
“Can I trust you?”
He paused, looking down at her, a slight frown changing his features. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
Addy considered her next words more carefully, trying not to show her fear. “No, I mean, can I trust being with you? We’re on opposite sides of this war, and I don’t want to feel afraid of you, that you could do something to hurt me or my family because of that. I don’t want to feel nervous or scared when I’m with you.”
Addy knew how easily she could fall for him when he stepped in front of her and clasped her hands, smiling down at her in a way that made her feel seen, made her feel like a woman, for the first time in her life. She’d asked him truthfully, but if Cate or Elise were listening, they’d probably have applauded; she’d already managed to draw him into the palm of her hand.
“Adelaide, the French people are going to have to get used to German soldiers living in France. Soon, your country will be controlled by Germany. We’re here to stay,” he said. “But here, right now, I am just a man taking a beautiful woman on a picnic. There are no sides here, and I don’t want to talk about war. With you, I just want to be a man.”
Adelaide stared into his eyes, looking for any hint that he might be lying, that he could be using her for information as she was about to use him, but found nothing.
“Thank you,” she said, because she couldn’t come up with anything else.
“Now come on, I don’t have long and I want to spend as much time with you as possible.”
Addy let herself be drawn into his web, knowing that she needed to tread lightly, but still taken with the fact that a man, any man, had gone to such lengths to steal a couple of hours with her in the middle of a war.
“You were very brave coming to our quarters that day,” Wolfgang said as he stretched his long legs out on the grass. Despite all the rain they’d had earlier in the week, the ground was dry now, and Adelaide sat beside him, her legs curled to one side. She found herself staring at the dark fabric of his trousers, wondering how he could look so immaculate despite the months he must have been away from home.
“Brave or stupid?” she finally replied.
He chuckled. “Perhaps a little of both. I certainly wouldn’t recommend doing it again, though, unless you’re coming to visit me of course. No one would touch you now, but the other day ...” His gaze was steady. “Let’s say I’m happy I was there to intervene.”
“I don’t know a lot about rank,” she admitted, plucking at the grass and watching her own fingers instead of looking up at him. Perhaps he was waiting for a thank you, but she didn’t give him one. “But I saw the way the other soldiers looked at you when you walked out that day. They were frightened of you, weren’t they?” Maybe that alone should have been a sign that she should have been frightened, too.
“Not frightened,” he corrected. “I’m their superior and they respect my rank. It’s the way it has to be in any army.”
He opened his bag, and her stomach gave a growl of approval. She’d never known hunger before the war had begun, not true, gnawing hunger.
“Next time I’ll bring wine. The chateau we’ve commandeered has an impressive cellar,” he said, grinning as he produced cheese wrapped in a soft cloth. “But this, well, this promises to be just as good.”
Addy’s mouth watered as she stared at the cheese, knowing she should refuse it on principle—he’d stolen it from the home he’d strolled into and taken over. It didn’t belong to him, and that meant she shouldn’t be consuming it, but ... she was so, so hungry all of a sudden, and if she didn’t eat some of it, he’d only have it all. She vaguely knew the family who owned the chateau, and she told herself they’d prefer a French woman to be consuming it than a Nazi.
“You like cheese?” he asked.
Adelaide laughed. “I’m French! Of course I like cheese.”
He produced what appeared to be a quince jelly, and some cold boiled eggs, and for all her good intentions, she couldn’t turn the food down; even knowing that she was eating and her sister wasn’t, she just couldn’t say no.
“Maybe one day I can take you on a proper French picnic with a fresh baguette and cold meats too, but for now this will have to do.”
Adelaide looked at him, really looked at him, and saw a glimpse of the man he might have been if he were French. Or if Hitler hadn’t risen to power and turned his people into Nazis. Because right now, Wolfgangwasjust a man trying to impress a woman; it was as simple as that. She doubted German people used to be all that different from French ones.
“Do you truly think you’ll stay here?” she asked. “Your German army, I mean?”
He nodded, but she didn’t know how to read him, how to tell whether he was being that man she’d seen before, or the commander version of himself. Maybe she was kidding herself that they weren’t one and the same.
“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Adelaide, but the French army stand no chance. The British troops have all evacuated—for some reason I’ll never understand, an order was made to halt the land assault on British soldiers at Dunkirk beach—and the rest of the Allies have run, too. There is no one left to save the French, so you need to hope that your government does the right thing and makes way for our Führer, because if not, the consequences will be dire.”
She swallowed, trying not to show any emotion, not wanting him to see how much his words had rattled her. Surely Hitler couldn’t end up controlling France?
“Your government is expected to announce their defeat within days, so when I said that you should get used to seeing my fellow countrymen here ...”
Adelaide forced a smile, deliberately thinking about the food he’d brought again, knowing she needed to steer the conversation in another direction. “Let’s not talk war or politics,” she said as sweetly as she could. “I’d far rather hear all about your family back home while we devour that round of cheese.”
His laugh was hearty, and she took the small knife he’d had wrapped with the cheese and started to cut it. She stared for a moment at the tiny, curved blade in her fingers, wondering how hard she’d have to drive it into his skin to do any damage. But the thought passed as quickly as it had arrived, and she offered him the first piece. There was no way she could attack a German commander and get away with it, let alone be successful enough to kill or seriously wound him.
“I should have said ladies first,” he said.
