An active part of this war. Until now, everything had felt detached or overwhelming, even operating the wireless. But when she looked at the picture on the map of the Renault factory that she and Yvette had observed the day before, she suddenly felt emboldened. This was why she was doing this, to fight for France and for England.
After the meeting, she slipped back out of the house. As the curfew was already in place, she crept along the darkened streets, finding her way home. Moving in through the back door, Vivi was intercepted in the kitchen by Yvette.
‘You’re not supposed to be out after curfew,’ she stated, her eyes huge, staring up from the book she was reading.
Vivi smiled. ‘Yvette, I know. Sometimes there are no alternatives. This is when the meeting was planned.’
‘Is there anything I can do?’ she enquired enthusiastically. ‘I want to be part of the war effort.’
Vivi looked down into the face of this young woman who seemed so keen to help out. ‘You’ve already been a tremendous help, Yvette. Thank you.’
The next evening, Vivi communicated the information to headquarters, and by the end of the week, she had information to relay back to Frank and her cell. After the broadcast she made her way out of the house in the evening, to let them know all was set. Vivi reached the location of the underground meeting. Slipping inside, she saw the same group was there, and she informed them that the drop would happen at the end of the week at around 2 a.m., just outside the city, this time in a field of an obliging farmer, another Resistance sympathiser. They acknowledged and thanked her, but on leaving the house, Vivi sensed that someone was behind her. Her lessons in espionage and how to lose someone had been drilled into her, plus her short time with Terrier had sharpened her senses even further. She moved swiftly away, swung down an alley and then another one, and then slipped back onto the road. Turning another corner, she could still hear footsteps behind her. She stepped into a darkened doorway. The step sounded high-pitched, like a woman behind her in heels. She held her breath as the individual approached but was relieved to see who it was.
‘Yvette, what are you doing here?’ she hissed into the darkness.
Yvette’s face was full of remorse but also pinked with slight excitement. ‘I wished to see what you were doing. I want to be part of all of this.’
‘Yvette, do you know how dangerous this is? The reason I do not tell you anything is that I’m trying to keep your family safe.’
‘Were you meeting with the Resistance tonight?’ she asked in a hushed tone.
Vivi looked around her, then moved rapidly off down the street. ‘Say nothing more until we are at the house,’ she whispered, glancing over her shoulder.
Yvette walked sheepishly beside her as they made their way for home.
Stepping inside the house, Vivi closed the door and drew the shades shut. She tried to control the fear mixed with anger she felt just below the surface.
‘Please listen, Yvette, this is not a game. You put us all in danger: me, your parents, everyone. You cannot follow me again. Do you understand? This is highly dangerous. So many people’s lives would be at risk if anything were to go wrong.’
Yvette’s eyes grew wide, and Vivi could see tears brimming. ‘I just wanted to help. I don’t want to be the only person who’s not doing something. I want to be a spy like you.’
Just then, her mother appeared at the kitchen door, and had obviously overheard the exchange between the pair of them.
‘Yvette, I do not want to hear any more of this talk. You will go straight to your bedroom. Do you understand me?’
Yvette nodded and left the room.
Her mother shook her head, visibly shaken. ‘She is such a foolish child, I cannot believe she put you in danger. I am so sorry.’
Vivi nodded, but it troubled her. This was undoubtedly a complication.
11
In order to not create suspicion, Vivi had a job working under her alias ‘Claudette’, the Renoirs’ cousin from the south. It had been agreed that she should have papers that described her as a tutor so she could easily travel from house to house, allowing her to conduct any business for her circuit. Part of her job was to visit the homes she had been directed to by Frank and pass on messages, fake ration