Page 64 of The Secrets We Left Behind
Elise was silent, and Cate wondered what she was thinking. “Elise?”
“Can you make the evacuation for four people?” Elise finally asked.
Four? Why four?
“Who is the fourth?” the old man asked.
“Adelaide,” Elise said. “She’s caught the eye of a Nazi commander, and I want her taken to safety.”
He seemed to study Elise before acquiescing. “If we agree to this, can we count on you to assist our underground network around the coast?”
Elise had her arms folded across her chest now. “Yes. You get my sister to a place on that boat and I will fill any role to assist your resistance.”
His nod was curt. “Let me check with a friend tonight,” he said. “We have more Allied men in hiding than you’d ever imagine, so places are limited, but I need someone else I can trust. You can both stay the night, and we’ll have an answer by morning.”
When he left them to get some food, Cate turned to Elise, not able to believe what she’d heard. “How do you even know Adelaide will go if you organize her passage?” she asked. “And you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for her?”
“Joining this network is the right thing to do, and I can’t do that if my sister is mooning about with a Nazi, can I? No one would trust me for a second.”
Cate wasn’t about to question her. She owed Elise her life, and Adelaide was her sister, so it wasn’t anything to do with Cate. But she did know that if it werehersister, she’d probably enter the same kind of bargain in order to keep her safe.
“So long as you know what you’re doing,” Cate said.
Elise didn’t reply. She just sipped her wine, and Cate decided to do the same.
The next day, once Elise’s friend had confirmed that there would be space for all four of them, Cate and Elise left and headed back home. The air was a little cooler now, and Cate lifted her long hair off her neck to let the breeze brush her skin. She wished they’d set out earlier, because it would be late by the time they got home.
“I know this sounds crazy, when I’ve only known you for such a short time, but I’m going to miss you,” Cate said.
Elise opened her mouth to answer, but Cate quickly spoke up again. “Sorry, that does sound ridiculous, I just mean—”
“It’s not ridiculous at all,” Elise said. “I feel the same. I mean, I still feel guilty about the way I spoke to you that first night. I was so close to telling you to walk out the door, and if you hadn’t said you were our cousin, I might have done exactly that.”
“I don’t think you would have,” Cate said. “I could see the compassion in your eyes, it was just blurred a little with worry.”
“I could have turned Harry away, too,” Elise admitted. “I saw him on my doorstep with his friend, covered in blood and so desperately needing help, and my first instinct was to slam the door shut and hide.”
“To keep you and your sister safe,” Cate said gently. “No one would judge you for putting her first, not when you’ve already lost all your other family members in the course of a year.”
For the first time since Cate had arrived in Le Paradis, she saw Elise’s eyes sparkling with tears, and she instinctively slung an arm around her shoulder.
“Don’t hug me, I’ll only start crying,” Elise murmured.
Cate ignored her, keeping her arm around her and pretending she didn’t see the silent tears that rained down Elise’s cheeks. She had her own demons inside, her own pain at losing someone she loved and then so easily developing feelings for another man. Jack had her all twisted up in knots, and that kiss ... She shook her head slightly, as if it might help her dispel the memories. But it did nothing of the sort.
“Tell me more about Harry,” she eventually said, when Elise had stopped crying. “I can tell there’s maybe something between you?”
Elise looked surprised. “You mean romantically?”
Cate laughed. “Sorry, I’ve obviously got it all wrong. I just thought there was something, a spark I suppose, between you. I presumed you liked him.”
Elise seemed to think on that for a long moment. “Well, I suppose I was drawn to him in the beginning, but there’s nothing going on between us. Besides, he’ll be leaving soon.”
“Are you still angry with him for wanting to use Addy to get information?”
Elise sighed. “Maybe I overreacted. I’m just so used to being the one in charge. I didn’t like how quick he was to suggest using her as a pawn.”
“I have a feeling he regrets what he said, because it’s obvious how he feels about you, if you know what I mean,” Cate teased. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
