hard to win their freedom. Marcus still had a tremendous job ahead of him, and she could help him.
‘I’m not worried about it. I’m a firm believer that the truth always comes out in the end. I don’t know how but I just know that things are going to turn out all right.’
He nodded at her, and she left the room, noticing the guard barely turned to acknowledge her, which was good.
By nine thirty that night, she had prepared everything else she needed. Buried in the bushes in the garden were her things. She would tell Marcus of her plan to go with him once they got to the boat. She walked around the house one last time, her heart breaking, but she knew she had to do this.
Going up to Marcus’s room at ten o’clock, she acknowledged the guard, who already looked half asleep. Going in, she helped Marcus out of bed, as he had already picked the lock of his handcuffs. When he had his balance, he nodded to her and she opened the door. The guard didn’t even turn around, and Marcus hit him heavily and he groaned as he crumpled to the floor. Vivi felt a twinge of regret, but after checking he was just unconscious, beckoned Marcus out.
Checking the passageway, which was empty, the two of them pulled the man into the room and onto the bed, where Marcus shackled his hands. They also tied something around his mouth so he couldn’t cry out. It would be at least three hours before someone else came to check on Marcus. Hopefully it gave them enough time to get away.
Making their way southward down the corridor, Marcus limped and breathed heavily as he leaned on her arm. He was obviously in some pain but shook his head dismissively when she asked about it.
Just as they got on the downstairs landing, Tom’s door opened, and he came out into the hallway, standing in his blue-and-white-striped pyjamas, his well-loved bear folded under his arm, and stared at them. His eyes screwed up as he noticed Marcus, as if he was trying to figure out who he was.
‘Tom,’ Vivi whispered in a reassuring tone, ushering him back into his room. ‘What are you doing out of bed?’
‘What are you doing, Vivienne? Why are you walking around with one of the sick soldiers?’
‘I have some important work I need to do, but, Tom, you need to go back to sleep.’
She put him in bed and kissed him on his head, whispering into his hair, ‘Don’t forget who I am, Tom. Don’t ever forget.’
Then she rushed from the room, hoping that he would alert no one else to what he’d seen as they moved stealthily down the rest of the corridor.
28
Marcus and Vivi made their way to the back of the house, through the family quarters. This was not guarded, and she knew they had less chance of being stopped. Vivi opened the patio doors in the library, which she had unlocked the hour before, and they slipped out into the garden.
Though he was in some pain from his injuries, Marcus managed to keep up, and she could hear him breathing heavily as he followed her. Vivi cursed the fact that there was a full moon and hoped that no one would see them leave. When they reached the bushes, he changed into his French Resistance clothes she had stashed there, and she pulled out her hidden bag of belongings too. Marcus, whose full concentration was on staying upright while he dressed, took a minute to register what she was doing.
‘What is that?’ he hissed through the darkness, eyeing her bag, for a moment appearing suspicious of her.
‘My things. I’m coming with you.’
He stopped dressing abruptly, a look of real concern on his face. Taking her gently by the shoulders, he pulled her close, so even in the darkness she could see the tenderness in his eyes.
‘No, Vivi, I can’t let you risk everything. You need to stay here and eventually put the record straight. You can tell people I held a gun to your head. Otherwise, what will people think of what you have done? I can’t let you do that.’
Vivi steeled herself and spoke her mind. ‘You need a nurse. You will never make it on your own. Your wounds are healing, but you need someone to take care of you, and as you’re leaving for Europe, I will be coming, too.’
He looked crestfallen. ‘You cannot come with me. It