“Cousins,” Josie said, tilting her head in the direction of Vesper and Will. Marie was surprised they looked and acted so different. Will’s devil-may-care style and gentle demeanor seemed in sharp contrast to his cousin’s sternness. “You wouldn’t have guessed it, I know. Keep an eye out for that one,” she added, nodding toward Will. “Not hard on the eyes and a total ladies’ man to be sure. He’s got girls everywhere, they say, including at a cathouse in Paris.”
“Josie!” Marie brought her hand to her mouth, surprised.
Her friend shrugged. “These are long, lonely months out here and things happen. Just keep your head about you and don’t get distracted.”
“I thought Will returned to England.”
Josie shook her head. “He had mechanical troubles after taking off. So he had to land at another one of our fields. We towed the plane to one of our safe sites for repair.” Marie shuddered, grateful that they had landed safely before the plane broke.
The men at the table grew louder. “We need to find another safe house near Mantes-la-Jolie,” Vesper said.
Will shook his head. “It’s too much, too soon. After the other arrests, we can’t ask the locals to chance it. We need to tighten our ranks and lay low for a while.”
“Impossible!” Vesper flared. “We’ve got orders to take the bridge within the month. We need to be ready.”
“Then at least warn the locals what is to come, so they can get their families to safety,” Will pressed.
“And risk leaking word of the operation?” Vesper countered.
Marie turned to Josie. “What are they fighting about?”
Josie shrugged. “Those two are always like that. Best not to get involved.”
But Marie moved closer, too curious to help herself. “What is it?” she asked, surprised at her own audacity.
Vesper looked in her direction, clearly annoyed. “No questions. The less you know, the better for you—and for all of us.”
But Will answered. “Right now we’re constructing a network of safe houses and drop boxes between here and Mantes-la-Jolie. We have a dangerous operation coming up, and the agents who will undertake it need places to hide so that they can flee after. But the locals have grown wary of helping us. In another village, Neuilly-sur-Seine, there were mass reprisals for helping the partisans. Under orders of the chief of the German SD Kriegler, the men were shot and the women and children locked in a church that was set afire.” Marie stifled a gasp. “The whole town was killed.”
“That’s why I’m headed out myself to find new locations,” Vesper explained. “We have the best shot of the locals listening to me.”
“But your French,” Albert said, clucking his tongue. “You can’t possibly go alone.”
“I can go with you,” Marie ventured, instantly regretting it.
Vesper looked as surprised as she at the offer. Then he scowled. “Impossible!” he snapped. “You’ve only just arrived. You have zero actual experience. It’s too dangerous.”
“Her French is brilliant—and yours nonexistent,” Albert added chidingly. Marie wondered how it was possible for the leader of the circuit to operate in France without speaking the language.
Vesper did not answer but stared at her, considering. Did he prefer to travel alone or simply not want her? Either way, he was going to say no, she thought with a mix of disappointment and relief.
“Only as far as Mantes-la-Jolie,” he conceded finally, and she could see the surprise on the faces around her that he agreed at all. “Come.”
As Vesper started through the door, Marie looked back over her shoulder at Josie. They had been reunited for such a short time, and who knew when they would see each other again? She wanted to run to Josie, to say goodbye and see if she had any words of wisdom or advice. But Josie simply raised her hand to say farewell, and Marie knew she had no choice but to go.
She raced down the stairs and out the front door of the villa to catch Vesper, slowing only as she passed the unexploded ordnance in the garden. Vesper did not take the bike they had ridden earlier, but instead set out on foot across the field opposite the house. Neither spoke. His strides were long and she had to nearly run to keep up. Her skin was unpleasantly damp beneath her dress.
They walked on for some time, neither speaking. In the distance, church bells pealed ten. “You’re slow,” he said accusingly a moment later as the field ended at a country road.