into her mouth as she stared at the photos, thinking about the Terrier. How had he been caught? Had her aunt Vivienne known him? Or had she been the one who had turned him in?
She couldn’t think like this. It was too awful.
After her coffee, she made her way to the little bed and breakfast she had booked for the evening. It was a sweet farmhouse located on the outskirts of the village and the woman that ran it insisted Sophie join her and her family for dinner, though she didn’t understand a lot of the conversation, which was mainly conducted in French. After dinner Sophie went for a walk along the coastline. The wind had picked up since she had arrived and it roared past her ears, whipping her hair about her face. As she watched the angry waves crashing forth onto the beach and spraying frothy white foam onto the rocks, she wondered what it had felt like to suddenly be in another country before the internet and mobile phones. Vivienne must have felt so isolated with just the other French Resistance spies to guide her.
After her walk, Sophie was exhausted, and so had an early night, falling asleep thinking about isolation and loneliness and what it really meant.
In the morning she opened the curtains to a brand new day and felt a sense of hope. If she was really honest with herself, Matt wasn’t the right person for her – well, not any more, not as the person she was now. Over the last year her grief had changed her. Before, it had been all about the chase, the money, the status. But death had made her see what really mattered. Family mattered, genuine love mattered, and the need to change this world for the better, to have a sense of purpose. Had Vivienne ever felt the same?
After a breakfast of buttery rolls and creamy goat’s cheese from her host’s flock, Sophie said goodbye and found the bus station. Looking at the timetable, she noted she could get to a city called Morlaix, and that the bus left soon. From there she knew she could catch a train to Paris.
The trip through the French countryside relaxed her as the bus trundled past what she guessed were mainly holiday cottages, whitewashed and gleaming whenever a glint of morning sun broke through the heavy grey clouds. Some were obviously second homes with expensive cars parked in the driveways. That had always been Matt’s dream, a holiday home abroad. His words echoed in her head – ‘I’m in love with her.’ They twisted in her stomach. She thought about Vivienne. Is that what the German had done? Deceived her? Pretended he had really loved her to get what he wanted? She realised that’s why she needed a good conclusion for Vivienne’s story. She desperately needed someone to have a happy ending, even if it wasn’t herself.
As the bus pulled into the town of Morlaix, Sophie was charmed by it. Lots of cream- and lemon-painted buildings with rows upon rows of ornate, framed mullioned windows. Overshadowing it all was a splendid stone viaduct. She found the train station and was soon on her way to Paris. As she pulled in at Gare du Nord, Sophie’s spirits were lifted by the energy of the city. Many tourists and people were humming around the train station, even though it was so early in the year. She had reserved an Airbnb before she’d left Cornwall the previous morning and made her way to the little flat in the Sacré-Cœur region. Walking through the streets, she was enchanted. Art, music and beauty were all the hallmarks of the City of Lights, and she was happy to enjoy this break away.
Once she settled into her apartment at the top of a black-and-white building with a spiral staircase and a balcony overlooking a square, she noted the abundance of outdoor cafés and, feeling very European, went down to have some lunch right on the street. Taking her laptop with her, she decided she could do research while she was there.
Finding the perfect place with red-and-white-striped awnings and white wrought-iron tables, she placed herself in a corner of the cosy pavement coffee shop, ordering a cheese and tomato baguette. A thrill ran through her as she flipped open her laptop. She loved researching and she needed to locate the war museum, which had an exhibition of Resistance fighters. Now she was here, she needed to get as much