Page 30 of The Berlin Sisters
Ava frowned. ‘No, I did not. Father just told me that he’d be back later this month, and he surprised me at the office. But I asked him immediately if you could join us as soon as he suggested dinner.’
Hanna’s expression changed. ‘Do you have any knowledge of what he’s been doing, Ava? Has he ever spoken with you about his work?’ She sighed. ‘I should have discussed this with you sooner.’
Ava shook her head. ‘He’s been away at the front, that’s all I know.’
Hanna pulled her to the bed and sat with her, holding her hands, still whispering. ‘Ava, there’s a reason he’s a favourite among the SS elite. I’ve heard he’s going to be posted to Ravensbrück, the women’s concentration camp north of Berlin.’
Ava knew she must have visibly paled because Hanna placed a hand on her cheek, as if to warm her.
‘From what I’ve heard, he has a particular’ – Hanna glanced behind her, as if to check he wasn’t there, that they weren’t being listened to – ‘set ofskills.’
‘Skills?’
‘We can talk about this later, but just be careful. Your being with him, it means we have every chance of not being discovered, but you have to know that he’s ruthless when it comes to following orders. There’s a reason he’s the protégé of Heinrich Himmler.’
Ava swallowed, feeling sick to her stomach at even having to go back out there again. ‘He’s always been so kind to me, so sweet. Even when I saw him today, I just know in my heart that he isn’t the man you’re describing, that—’
‘Ava, listen to me. I know this is a lot, but just promise me that you’ll be careful. You can’t give anything away, no matter how attentive and sweet he is to you. Do you promise? You cannot tell him anything.’
Ava only nodded, and Hanna watched her closely, as if trying to decide whether she believed her or not.
‘Say it,’ Hanna said. ‘I need to hear you say it to me. Promise me that you’ll be careful.’
‘I promise,’ Ava replied, seeing how much it meant to her sister that she did so.
‘Let us get ready then,’ Hanna said, rising at the same time as she raised her voice, as if she wanted Heinrich to hear them. ‘We shall have a glorious night in the company of some dashing young SS men.’
Ava wondered how her sister could put on such a good show, how she could fix her smile and prepare to go out with Heinrich and his friends after telling Ava such horrible things about him. But now it all made sense – the way her father had looked at her when she’d mentioned Heinrich that night in his office, the way he’d warned her about him coming home on leave. Her father had publicly declared that he couldn’t want for a better son-in-law and had even thrown them a party before Heinrich had left, but now she was realising that he was likely her father’s worst nightmare for a son-in-law.
She dabbed at her eyes and then sat in front of her mirror, knowing that she needed to make herself look nice for him, even though all she wanted was to curl up on her bed in a ball and try to figure it all out in her mind. Now that she’d passed confidential information to her father, she was officially a traitor to her country.
Heinrich couldn’t have been more attentive as they sat with his friends that night, which was only making Ava feel more anxious, torn between the man she was seeing and the man her sister had described. She kept looking over at Hanna, who was holding court with two of the other young men and telling them about some particularly gruesome injuries that she’d had to deal with recently. Ava knew it wasn’t Hanna’s work tales that were fascinating them – her sister had always drawn the eyes of men, young and old – but she admired the way she was able to play such a cat-and-mouse game with them. Hanna might despise the SS men, but she certainly wasn’t letting them know that. It seemed that she could fool anyone.
Heinrich turned to Ava then, his hand brushing against her back as he rested his arm over her chair. Everyone else was engaged in conversation, and she suddenly found herself the sole object of his attention, his eyes dancing over hers.
‘I’m sorry we didn’t get to have a night together alone,’ he said, smiling as he searched her eyes. ‘I would have preferred dinner for two.’
‘It’s fine. I’m certain everyone has missed you, so it’s good we can have a fun night together with your friends. I’m just thankful you came straight to see me.’ She looked shyly up at him as he moved closer. ‘I have missed you so much, Heinrich. It’s so lovely to have you home safe.’
‘Ava, I’ve been dreaming of you every day since I left,’ he said, reaching up to brush a loose strand of hair from her face. ‘Of course I came to see you first.’
Ava’s eyes ran over his face at his sweet words, leaning into his touch, as she found doubts bubbling up inside of her again, wondering if he could truly be as awful as Hanna had insisted he was.
‘I was thinking, now that I’m going to be based closer to Berlin and away from the fighting, that we could consider bringing our wedding forward.’
Ava’s heart began to pound and her mouth went dry. ‘Our wedding?’ She tried to calm her breathing, wondering how on earth she’d carry on her covert work with her father if she was married to Heinrich. ‘I thought we were going to wait. I haven’t even—’
‘I know how busy you’ve been with work, and all the added responsibility at the ministry must have taken its toll. It’s unconscionable, women like you having to work so hard instead of being at home, but I don’t want to put off our wedding any longer, not now that I’m back.’
She smiled, hoping she appeared sincere. ‘I’m honoured to do my duty. It’s important work, although I do dream of the day that I can stay home and raise my children.’ She saw a look cross his face and leaned forward to touch his arm, immediately realising her mistake. ‘Ourchildren.’
‘Of course, and I’ve heard wonderful things about you. All of your superiors speak very highly of you, and they’re very happy about our upcoming nuptials.’ He grinned, not seeming concerned by her misstep. ‘I suspect we are to be one of the golden couples of the SS family once we’re married.’
Ava swallowed, glancing away and hoping she seemed modest rather than terrified. Her feelings were jumbled; she was no longer sure how she felt about anything. ‘Well, that would certainly be an honour. But I don’t think we’d be thought of very fondly if I had tostep aside from my work at the ministry, just when they need me the most.’ Not to mention she would be useless to her father and sister if she was no longer in the office.
‘That’s why Dr Goebbels and your father weren’t particularly enthusiastic about my finding a cottage for us near the village of Ravensbrück. It seems he thinks you’re rather irreplaceable, despite all the women who would be perfectly capable of the secretarial work you do.’
She felt her heart begin to thud again, not even caring about his obvious insult. ‘Ravensbrück?’Does that mean Hanna was right about him?‘That seems an awfully long way from Berlin.’
