Page 29 of Tides of Resistance
Sophie released a long dramatic sigh. ‘You are right, I know. I will go over the lists today. It’s just that it seems such a betrayalof Judith and all the Cohen family, but if it’s what we must do to save their business …’
Lizzie took pity on her cousin. ‘Would you like me to come and help you, Sophie? You’d have to show me how things work, but if you like, we could come up with a plan together of how to make sure the shop complies with the rules.’
Her suggestion made Lizzie think of Jack again and how he would tease her about being highly unsuitable to oversee such a project. He would say she was more likely to shoot the Nazis than obey them, and he was right.
On reflection, perhaps she wasn’t the best person for the job, but she would rein in her feelings because Sophie didn’t need riling up when she was already so distraught.
Sophie accepted Lizzie’s offer, and Aunt Giselle said she thought it was a good idea. ‘Stay in the back though,’ she warned Lizzie. ‘That dirty Boche could return, and I didn’t like the way he looked at you. You too, Sophie.Hiscity,hisbook lists, and who knows what else he thinks belongs to him. Be extra careful, please, girls.’
They both promised they would, and Lizzie decided she would use the bookshop as a base to go off and do her reconnaissance after she’d helped Sophie.
Giselle said she would like to come too but must queue for supplies. She might join them later. Charles and Giselle left the house, and Minou entered after a night on the tiles, performing a graceful leap onto Sophie’s lap, and purring loudly as she stroked the cat’s silky head. Then, Lizzie and Sophie cleared the table and got ready to leave for the shop, chatting as they dressed.
Lizzie wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing. Spending time at the bookshop could get her into hot water with the SS officer, but it also offered her a plausible cover story for being inthe city centre. In fact, she couldn’t have arranged it any better if she’d planned it herself.
Danger or not, she couldn’t afford to miss such an opportunity. Hannah wouldn’t.
They walked briskly to the bookshop. It was brighter today, and the sun glittered on the granite walls of the old city. Lizzie felt like she was in a dream, being so near to Jersey after so long.
A tantalising thought flickered into her consciousness as the healing sun warmed her face, but she banished it. She wasn’t here to visit her grandparents in Jersey.
Her mission was clear. Get into St. Malo and discover all she could about Hitler’s new strategy to stop the Allies liberating occupied Europe. Then get out.
Besides, it would be treacherous, and she was already in terrible danger. She dismissed the idea of finding a way to get to Jersey whilst she was so close, but it lingered in her mind like a forbidden fruit, seductive and just out of reach.
‘Remember you must call me Rose at all times,’ Lizzie whispered to her cousin, bringing herself back to the moment. She couldn’t afford to drift and daydream about Jersey when she was in the heart of an occupied city and had placed her family members in more danger than they seemed to grasp.
They arrived at the bookshop and Sophie jangled the keys and opened the door. Lizzie followed Sophie inside and saw her shuffling papers that had been posted through the letterbox.
‘More hateful propaganda from the damn Nazis,’ she hissed. ‘You’d think they’d realise we’ve got the idea by now. How many antisemitic pamphlets do they think we need to get their odious message?’
‘Let me see,’ Lizzie said, relieving Sophie of the pile of papers. She flicked through and saw there was a warning notice about collaborating with enemies of the Reich and threats ofsevere punishment for those who did. They offered rewards for information that led to their capture.
Lizzie shivered, despite the warmth of the pleasant morning.
Sophie hung up their coats, and they moved through to the back room.
‘I’m sure the postman must be a fully paid-up member of the Nazi party,’ Sophie said, angry red spots staining her pale cheeks. ‘One day, I’m going to print my own pamphlets to distribute to tell the truth about their vile actions. The lies they spread make me so mad. And do you know, some people actually believe what they say?’
Lizzie assessed her cousin to decide whether she was being serious about printing her own literature or whether this was merely an emotional outburst.
‘You are angry, and I don’t blame you,’ Lizzie said. ‘But you must be cautious, like your Papa said.’
‘I am careful, but sometimes I feel like I might explode with shame and disgust at what has become of France. My friend Judith and her family were loyal French citizens. They did nothing wrong. In fact, they did everything right. This bookshop was in their family for generations and all they did was provide a service to the community and live their lives. They were born here for God’s sake, but it makes no difference to these monsters.’
Tears ran down Sophie’s face, and Lizzie reached out to console her.
‘These are terrible, dark times, but we must not be defeated,’ she said, dabbing Sophie’s face with her hand. She said the words with more conviction than she felt. Sometimes when she was confronted with the pure evil of Nazi ideology, she too felt like breaking down and crying. Again, she was reminded of Hannah and how she and her family were persecuted as Jews inBerlin in the thirties. There was no point saying things would get better if they didn’t find a way to make it happen.
They all knew things would not get better, and sanity would not be restored until the Allies invaded, and the Nazis were defeated and destroyed.
This wasn’t a war they could fight with words alone, despite Churchill’s eloquence in his rousing speeches, but perhaps this was a time to rally Sophie with some good cheer from London.
‘Churchill has said all along that we will win this war, and I believe him. We survived the Blitz and won the Battle of Britain. These were no mean feats. And now America has joined the fight too.’
Sophie was excited by the mention of Churchill and Lizzie wondered what she’d say if she knew she was here on the orders of the man himself. There had been so many inspiring moments since she joined the SOE, but she thought this might win the top spot. That she, a young woman from Jersey with no training or experience of espionage prior to the war was now on a Churchill sanctioned mission in occupied France. The very thought of it made her dizzy.
The weight of the responsibility on her shoulders was heavy, but she must not fail. She could not fail.
