thread bobbins through a maze of pins protruding from a stiff, round pillow inset with a patterned cylinder in its center, each with a set on her lap.
“Genny! I didn’t know you made lace.”
She laughed. “I don’t, at least not well. Viole is the expert. She’s been trying to teach me for years.”
Viole looked up. “It’s the only way to make a bit of money these days now that your American ambassador’s wife arranged for lace makers like myself to make my own designs. We’ve had only this one grace since they came, those dirty Germans.”
“Go on in and have a bit to eat,” Genny said without looking up. “There’s fresh bread on the table.”
“Fresh bread?” Isa repeated.
“The CRB provides the flour to the baker,” Genny explained. “And he sells to those who can afford it or accepts the bons—you know, the tickets—of those who can’t.”
Isa shook her head. That the Committee for Relief in Belgium had set up a process to sell bread wasn’t what shocked her. “In England they’re only selling bread that’s at least twelve hours old. I came from America to England, and from there to Holland—”
Viole broke in. “We don’t want to hear about that, mademoiselle. Why do they sell old bread there, anyway?”
“Because fresh bread makes one eat more.”
The others laughed, loud and long, starting with Edward.
“Oh, Miss Genny,” Viole said after a moment, “I know you’ve blood as English as it comes running through your veins, but those Englanders you left behind can be a silly lot, can’t they?”
Isa was glad they seemed cheerful, although she wasn’t convinced the British were as silly as all that, especially when people were hungry there, too.
Edward led the way inside, and Isa followed him.
“You didn’t laugh,” Edward said once they were in the kitchen.
“I don’t find starvation funny.”
He faced her, and she felt her heart skip a beat at his sudden, unexpected attention. “We don’t either,” he said softly. “But if we can pretend we’re handling our hunger better than others, well, so much the better.”
“Aren’t you forgetting something, Edward? You’re a British citizen.”
“For all practical purposes, I’m as Belgian as they come, especially now.” Then he added, “Like you.”
Isa’s heart danced in her chest. This was the first friendly exchange they’d had since she’d returned.
Isa accepted the bread and cheese Edward cut, even though she wasn’t hungry anymore. Being alone with him always robbed her of her appetite.
“Don’t you have anywhere you must be?” she asked. “A . . . job?”
“The hotel is gone. Where would I work?”
“I don’t—”
He leaned forward. “The Germans control everything. Everything. And so we stand in the food lines rather than work for them.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? For me?”
She nodded. “I’ve never known you to be idle. It must be difficult for you, this forced unemployment.”
He didn’t reply, but she was unwilling to let the topic go. Surely he trusted her enough to let her know what he was involved in?
“You’ve always liked to work. How must you pass your days, then?”
His gaze lingered on hers. “Isa,” he said at last, “I wanted to tell you something I should have said this morning.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Please don’t scold me for going out alone.”
He shook his head. “No, not about that, although you should not. And I don’t consider Jonah an adequate escort, either. He didn’t even have his papers.”
“Well, I had mine, which clearly state I belong in Brussels. In fact, I’m not to travel outside of the city, so I must belong again, at last.”
“Blast it all, Isa, you make it sound like Brussels is paradise. Those soldiers think they can occupy every part of this city, own anything or anyone in it. I don’t want them to get a glance at you, or one of them might decide to try to own you.”
“Edward—”
“As a matter of fact, when you leave here, I want your promise that you’ll wear the hat you had on the other night. Yes.” The volume of his voice increased when she opened her mouth to speak. “That awful hat, that dark, dowdy, peasant cap. And a coat, and for heaven’s sake keep your eyes averted. Look at the ground instead of any soldier. Do you understand?”
She gave a slight nod, not looking at him. “Like this?” She kept her eyes down, and when he failed to respond to her exaggerated example, she laughed. “Oh, Edward, you’re so solemn when, at least for the moment, all is well. Is that what you wanted to say