Page 79 of Summer of Fire
The general ended the call and turned to face her. ‘There has been a terrible explosion at the airfield. I must go. These damn French resisters.’
‘I am sorry to hear that,’ she said, jubilation leaping through her. ‘You must go immediately. I will see myself home.’
‘No, I will walk with you. It is near to here, is it not?’
‘It is just off the square. Honestly, it is no problem for me to walk alone before curfew sets in.’
The general grabbed his coat. ‘I won’t hear of it. What kind of gentleman doesn’t see his lady home?’
Her stomach turned over at his words. Despite his charming façade, he was marking her as his, like a Tom cat pissing to mark its territory.
He held the door open for her and walked beside her towards the hotel lobby. Lizzie wished she could disappear into the floor before anyone else saw her with him, but the lobby was empty. They called women like her Jerry Bags, and she was mortified at being classed as one, even when it wasn’t true.
He reached for her arm and steered her out of the hotel and down the steps into the square. ‘Which way, Marie?’
‘I must get my bicycle.’
Lizzie set out slowly, wheeling her bicycle and buying time as she thought about what to do. Her fake address wasin an alley just off the square. In barely more than a minute, they would reach the door.
Her heart thudded as they turned the corner and she felt like she was walking to her execution.
‘Are you alright? You look awfully pale.’
‘Thank you, Herr General. I am merely alarmed to hear of the explosion at the airfield. It brings back painful memories.’
‘Of course, of course,’ he said, touching her shoulder. ‘I should have known.’
‘Not at all. I will be fine when I rest. It’s been a long day, and I think the champagne has gone to my head.’
Lizzie laughed prettily, flashing her white teeth, and she saw the admiration in his eyes as he looked down at her. He wanted to kiss her.
She turned hastily, and said, ‘Goodnight, Herr General. I trust you will find the perpetrators of the attack. I feel safer knowing you are in Reims doing what needs to be done.’
He preened like a peacock strutting its feathers. ‘I understand. You must be ashamed by how the French army retreated like little boys and collaborated with the enemy who killed your parents. It is a sorry state of affairs, indeed, that now they behave like terrorists.’
Lizzie nodded. ‘Goodnight, Herr General. This is me,’ she said, pointing to the building and trying once again to extract herself.
Thank God he had to go to the airfield, or she feared he would press to come in for a nightcap. She had thought of this too and was prepared to kill him, if necessary, but it would be so much better if he left quietly. Her cover may be intact for another mission, if needed.
The fact that even though she was inwardly shaking with terror, her mind was considering future missions, surprised her.
She turned and wheeled her bicycle towards the side lane that presumably led to the back of the house.
‘Why not through the front door?’ he asked.
She pointed to her bicycle as if it spoke for itself and resumed walking.
The general shrugged his shoulders and turned. He called, ‘Bonne Nuit,’ after her and she replied with the same, her thoughts colliding as she moved away from him resolutely.
He believed her.
She had lured him away from the airfield and now she was free.
Lizzie rested her head against the wall at the back of the house, her heart hammering wildly in her chest. It was growing darker, so she couldn’t make out much, but she guessed there was a backyard. She counted slowly to sixty. Then she counted again. And once more.
That would give him plenty of time to be on his way.
She swung her bicycle around and walked back along the path. As she reached the front of the house, she looked from side to side to check no one would see her. It was deserted. In the distance, she heard sirens, no doubt on their way to the airfield.
