from the end of his frantic rope, and Eric had wasted no time in eliminating what he deemed an unworthy existence. At last Ellie had sensed the truth of the monster lurking within her shiny soldier. But one overanxious push from Kat would send her careening back into his arms. The girl resisted any head-on approach simply on principle. She required the patience of subtle suggestion to finally reach a conclusion on her own. If she thought it her own, she was more likely to believe the truth in it.
For Kat, it was a delicate balance of concealing the truth without outright lying, for which she’d had a lifetime of learning in gossiping parlors. It was becoming quite the flourishing skill as a spy. “It’s not right to take another life, no matter what they’ve done. Only in the direst of circumstances could I fathom such an action, like trying to save a loved one.”
“Isn’t that what he was trying to do? The Jew, I mean. He felt he had no other choice when he couldn’t save his sister and mother.” Ellie raked a hand through her platinum hair, dislodging her small, round hat. She shoved it back in place. “Eric could have talked to him. He didn’t have to . . . do what he did.”
What if it had been Sylvie or Pierre standing there with a gun, driven to such absolute hopelessness? How long until she was forced to throw off this cloak of deceit and make a stand against this evil tyranny? “No, Eric didn’t have to do what he did. Perhaps that essence of his character has been hidden from you all this time.”
Ellie sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if . . .”
“Wonder what?”
“I wonder if I’ve made a mistake with him.” Tears shimmered in the corners of Ellie’s eyes. Blinking, she dropped her head to study her hands in her lap. “There are things about him, things I haven’t told you. Maybe because I’ve been so happy and didn’t want to admit them out loud. Especially to you.”
“You can tell me anything.”
“I used to, didn’t I? We shared everything. But this you won’t understand.”
Kat took Ellie’s hands and held them. “Try me.”
Dread swam in Ellie’s eyes, threatening to drown the glimmer of hope in spilling her burden. “Promise you won’t hate me.”
Tears pricked the back of Kat’s eyes. The bands of fear warping around her heart eased. All hope was not lost for her sister. “You drive me crazy, but I’ll never hate you. Never.”
The corners of Ellie’s mouth twitched, but didn’t quite form a smile. She took a shuddering breath. “The truth is—”
“Made it.”
Suitcase at his side, red cheeked and panting, Barrett towered over them. “Thought I wouldn’t make it, didn’t you?”
Relief stabbed Kat’s fear square in the chest. She wasn’t alone. “I was beginning to give up hope.”
“Almost had to.” Shoving his suitcase onto the rack above them, he dropped into the plush green velvet seat opposite them and waved his hat in front of his face. “Supply man got stopped on the way to see me this morning. Gestapo decided to rifle through his papers and toss all his crates out the back of his truck. Random search, they claimed. He spent a good two hours trying to get them all sorted back inside again.”
The conductor hurried down the aisle and peered at Barrett through the spectacles perched on the end of his short nose. “Are you the young man who leaped from the platform to the caboose?”
Barrett nodded sheepishly. “Aye, but only because you wouldn’t slow down.”
“That’s the trouble with trains, isn’t it?” The little man’s lips pushed out. “I presume you have a ticket. Or did you leap without it?”
Digging into his trouser pocket, Barrett pulled out a crumpled ticket and held it out for the conductor to punch. His task completed, the conductor hurried back down the aisle to his hole in the back.
Shoving the ticket back into his pocket, Barrett dropped his hat onto the empty seat next to him and looked around. Only eight other passengers occupied the first-class car with velvet seats, oak-paneled walls, and brocade curtains. “Impressive ride. Your beau spared no expense for our comfort.”
“That’s Eric for you.” Ellie surged to her feet, tucking her handbag under her arm. “I’ll go see what they have in the dining car.”
Frowning, Barrett watched her stumble to the back of the car and disappear into the next one. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Eric’s a touchy subject of late.”