Page 47 of Shadows In Paris
Lizzie shook her head and tapped on the door. ‘May we come in? I’ve brought someone to see you.’ A muted voice replied, and Lizzie opened the door and peeped her head into the damp basement. She entered, and Hannah followed.
Lizzie turned to look at Hannah and gestured towards the family, who were huddled on the floor in the pile of blankets. Steam rose into the biting cold air as Lizzie breathed.
‘Who do we have here?’ Hannah asked, surprise on her face, as her eyes focused in the dim light and she made out the silhouettes of the visitors. The little girl moved slightly,clutching her teddy bear, her rosy cheeks like red apples as she continued sleeping.
The man stood and introduced himself and his wife. ‘Thank you for letting us stay. Margot said we could trust you. We know you’re taking an enormous risk helping us.’
Lizzie explained the situation to Hannah, who spoke briefly to the couple and assured them they were welcome, and they would do all they could to keep them safe.
After a pause, Hannah continued, ‘The thing is, you can’t stay here for long. They’ll be searching for you.’
The scientist looked wretched as he ran his hand through his messy, dark hair. ‘I will give myself up. They won’t search for my family—it’s me they want.I’ve turned this over and over in my mind and it’s the only thing I can think of to keep them safe.’
His wife made a sound like a wounded animal and touched his arm. ‘No, Isaac…’ Tears filled her eyes, and Lizzie saw she was at breaking point. Who knew what this family had already suffered?
‘You promised we’d stay together,’ she continued, finding her voice and speaking with conviction.
‘My love, I know,’ Isaac said, His voice cracked as he clasped his wife’s hand. ‘But I don’t see how we can. If I give myself up, they’ll leave you in peace.’
‘No,mon chéri. Please, no.’ The tears streamed down her face now as she beseeched her husband not to leave them.
The tears spilled from his eyes too, and Lizzie was overcome with emotion, and swallowed several times to keep her composure.
Hannah’s voice sounded low and clear. ‘Isaac, I understand why you think that. In any other situation, it might be so, but not now. We are dealing with monsters. There is no safe place for Jews in France and even if you surrender to them and give them what they want, it’s only a matter oftime until they come for your wife and children, too. When you’ve given them what they wanted....’ Hannah’s voice tailed off and she cleared her throat. ‘Believe me, I wish it weren’t so, but this is history repeating itself.’
Isaac looked at Hannah, questions in his eyes.
She uttered just one word. ‘Germany.’
And he nodded, immediately understanding the significance of what had befallen the German Jewish communities and others the SS labelled as undesirables in the thirties.
‘The same will follow here, then,’ he said, his voice hopeless and flat. ‘We have heard the stories, of course. Some of the Jews who got out of Germany fled here, so now the same horror is to befall them all over again?’
Hannah nodded. ‘I’m sorry, but there’s no easy way to say it. We must get you and your family out of France before it’s too late.’
‘Maman,’ muttered the little girl, her sleepy eyes opening as she searched for her mother, who bent down to stroke her daughter’s hair and soothe her back to sleep.
‘How can we escape? Is there even a way? We don’t have any money. We had to flee our home and leave behind everything we own. If I go to our bank, they will report me to the authorities.’
Hannah touched his arm. ‘I know of a way to get you out. Let us all rest now and talk about it in the morning.’
When they climbed the steps back to the kitchen, Hannah turned to Lizzie. ‘Now I understand why you were expecting the Gestapo. Goodness, what a first day you had.’
CHAPTER 22
Lizzie and Hannah rose at dawn and curled up under blankets on the sofa to keep out the numbing cold.
They drank hot, bitter coffee and talked in hushed tones.
‘I’ve been wondering. How did you find this house?’ Lizzie asked, her eyes still groggy from sleep.
‘It was through a series of coincidences and a friend of the Resistance. Terrible for the family who had to leave, but fortunate for us. My contact arranged the documents for me to show I live here legally if anyone comes knocking.’
‘That’s good to know, and fortunate indeed.’
‘Yes, it gave me a legitimate address for the German High Command job. What better proof of a Reich-loving citizen than snapping up a Jewish-owned house?’
‘I wonder where they are now,’ Lizzie said.
