was completely honest with herself, during that evening at the Brasserie Lipp, she had felt a little flicker of triumphant scorn for the party she’d glimpsed at the table across the room; now that she realised who he really was, her shame was redoubled. No wonder he’d been so reticent about taking her on in the network. Had it not been for Mireille’s persuasiveness, she would surely have been ostracised completely.
On the fifth floor, there was no sign of Mireille, and the door of Fréd’s room was closed. In the little kitchen, Claire busied herself preparing the supper, heating the duck legs and peeling the potatoes. She’d refused Monsieur Leroux’s offer of help as there was such little space to move for just one person, let alone two. He leant in the doorway and watched as she began to fry the potatoes with a little of the fat from the confit jar, adding slivers from a clove of garlic, whose tantalising smell wafted through the apartment as the pan began to splutter and sizzle.
When she glanced up from the stove, he smiled at her. With a flourish, he pulled a bottle of red wine from a deep pocket in his coat which he set on the worktop beside her. Then, from another pocket, he produced three bars of Côte d’Or chocolate which he handed to Claire. ‘I’d better give you these, because I know you will share them out fairly,’ he said, making her blush.
Summoned by the sounds and smells of her cooking, Vivi, Mireille and Fréd soon appeared and set out plates and cutlery in the sitting room.
Monsieur Leroux joined them round the table, but refused a plate of food, saying he would be eating later. He sipped his glass of wine, though, watching them devour the food which was the best meal they’d had in some time. Fréd raised his glass, declaring the duck legs far tastier than anything he’d eaten in England, and they all toasted the chef. Did Claire imagine it, or were Monsieur Leroux’s eyes on her each time she glanced shyly in his direction?
He let them finish their supper before he got down to the real business of his visit to the Rue Cardinale.
‘We have a plan to get you out, Fréd. Not by the south-west, as we usually do, but via another network which works out of Brittany. I have to warn you, it’s a more dangerous route, but a faster one to get you back to England.’
Fréd shrugged. ‘Suits me,’ he said. ‘The sooner I get back and can resume the fight against the Boche again the better.’ Claire noticed the look of regret in his eyes though when he turned to Mireille, who sat beside him, and took her hand in his, adding, ‘Although I will be very sorry to leave my new friends behind, in Paris.’
‘We can’t risk using the trains,’ Monsieur Leroux continued. ‘There are too many checks at the stations, especially on the route to Brittany. The Germans have been trying harder than ever to protect their Atlantic defences ever since the Allies blew up the locks at Saint-Nazaire. So it will be a cross-country route. And they don’t have many passeurs to spare to show you the way, which means navigating for yourself in some places.’
‘I’ll be okay,’ Fréd said stoutly. ‘I’ve never been to Brittany before, but I’m sure I can find my way around.’
‘With your southern accent you’ll be conspicuous, though, if you’re travelling alone. And that is why we’ve come up with an additional strand to the plan.’ Monsieur Leroux turned to face Claire. ‘Just suppose you were travelling home to see your family, to introduce them to a young man who wished to ask your father for your hand in marriage . . . You know the Bretons, who can be a tricky bunch at the best of times, and you know your way around. If you can get Frédéric to Port Meilhon, the network can get him out. He’ll be back in England in a couple of days, and we have some critical intelligence that we need to get back to the allied command as quickly as possible so you’ll be doing us an additional favour, now that the south-west route has been shut down for the time being.’
Claire’s blood chilled in her veins at the thought of such a dangerous journey. She had managed to conquer her nerves so far and carry out her assignments in the city, but this mission