make what they think will be the right decision. It’s unfair to expect them to sleep above an illegal press or comp room.”
“It’s no greater risk than you’ve taken.” Jan took a step closer so that his eyes were near level with Edward’s. “It’s their decision, Edward. Not yours.”
Then Jan turned away, heading toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To Rosalie’s.”
Now it was Edward’s turn to head Jan off, though it took some doing to move quickly with unfamiliar priest’s garb hampering every step. “This matter is closed. No need to talk to Rosalie about it.”
“Too late,” Jan said with a crooked smile. “I did that last night after you left. And I’m afraid you’ve been outnumbered. She agrees with me.”
He opened the door and left.
With a moan of purest frustration, Edward refastened the few buttons he’d loosed, retied the cincture around his waist, and placed the biretta back on his head. If they were going to confront Isa with a proposal about the room, he intended to be there. First.
* * *
“Mademoiselle. Mademoiselle.”
Groggy, Isa opened her eyes to see Clara just inside her bedroom door.
“Clara?”
“I am so sorry to awaken you, but Monsieur Edward—that is, Father Antoine—he insisted.”
Isa sat up, rubbing her eyes so they would open. “Edward? He’s back?”
“He’s downstairs. I told him you were sleeping—”
“That’s all right, Clara. I’ll see him at once.”
“Yes, mademoiselle.” She helped Isa to dress.
Minutes later, Isa passed the Major’s room slowly as she moved toward the stairs. Satisfied that he must still be asleep, she made her way quietly to the first-floor parlor.
“Edward?”
He turned from the window and came to stand directly in front of her. “Jan and Rosalie are coming here to talk to you.”
“Why? If they need anything for the paper, it’s certainly all right—”
Edward shook his head, going back to the window and peering through a slat of the shutter as if looking for someone. “You talked to Jan about the room.”
She nodded, but even as she did, she saw his anger. Someone else might not see it; surely his voice was reasonable, his manner calm. But the narrowing of his lips and the inability to look her in the eye gave him away.
So when he turned to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, she was not surprised. “How could you do it, Isa? With my mother living here, and Jonah? I thought you loved them too.”
“I do!”
“And so you’re willing to risk their lives? Because of your own naive wish to be some kind of Belgian hero?” He kept his voice low but the harsh tone made up for the lack of volume.
“No, of course not! I only thought—”
“You couldn’t possibly be thinking correctly if you’ve even considered such a foolish thing. Shall I tell you the names of those who’ve been arrested, deported to Germany, or sent to the firing squad in connection with this? Do you think your father’s money will make you immune? Hardly. In German eyes, we’re all equal—equally worthless, unless our lives, or deaths, further their regime.”
He let her go, looking again out the window. “They’ll be here shortly, and when they arrive, you’ll refuse them. You’ll have Clara send them away at the door because there must be no possible connection between this house and them. Do you understand?”
“Edward,” she said softly, “I know you want to protect your family. And if you think it’s too dangerous, then perhaps your mother and Jonah might consider returning to Viole’s. But it’s not really your place to protect this house or your mother or Jonah. Or me, for that matter, if that ever occurred to you. It’s God’s. We’re all in His hands, not yours. So is La Libre Belgique.”
Now his face reddened and then turned hard. “Maybe you’re willing to trust a God who obviously cannot—or will not—step in when the world’s gone mad, but I’m not.”
“You cannot discount the Lord. Your faith is still in you, if you would just listen to it.”
He said nothing, but his level gaze frightened her. Was he not in the least ashamed to have spoken so harshly against the same God he himself had once introduced her to?
“Why is it acceptable for you to take risks, but not anyone else?”
“It’s the degree of risk. This is your home, Isa. You wouldn’t have any hope for defense if evidence for involvement with the paper is found.”
“When you first decided to help distribute this paper, didn’t you ask yourself how far you’d be willing to go? if it