During the journey they didn't talk more.

Amon felt that he made Helena embarrassed though he had no idea what the reason was behind her blushing face and shyness. Probably she is ashamed of herself that she had to nurse and take care of a Nazi asshole and she has even saved my life, he thought. No wonder, he added bitterly, she has saved the life of someone who had been torturing her and her people so much.

For his own surprise, he felt ashamed of himself for his past behaviour towards her, that was why he forced himself to leave her alone. He didn't think much about his own change of behaviour – he simply felt what he had to do. He didn't try to start another conversation and he worked hard to be able to eat alone, to rid her of another uncomfortable task. When he felt too weak for that, he pretended not to be hungry.

Helena was surprised by Amon's kindness and patience, and deep inside her heart she really appreciated that he left her alone. She spent most of her time sleeping that she had missed while taking care of him. She felt both physically and mentally completely exhausted and she knew that it was not only because of the long fighting with the plague, but because of Amon as well.

All her thoughts were about him only, her emotions were disturbed by his presence and by the memories about him. She tried to think of something else, of her future life, her plans of survival, she tried to recall her memories about her family – nothing helped. She found it shocking to realise and recognise her new emotions towards him.

When she was awake, she was just sitting opposite Amon, pretending to read a book that he borrowed her. It was another astonishing surprise for her that Amon loved reading poems and in his backpack he was carrying a book of poems from Heinrich Heine. He, the Nazi monster, the butcher of Kraków-Płaszów, she thought with a bitter smile, reads the poems of a Jewish poet, whose works were burnt and totally forbidden for more than a decade. She wondered how and why he could keep that book that she found by accident after looking for a handkerchief for him. She was so surprised to touch a book that she took it out of the bag and examined it wondering what it could be.

- I guess you think that is Mein Kampf, don't you? – she could hear Amon's soft voice. His physical weakness was heard in it clearly.

She looked up frightened although he was looking at her with a tender, slightly mischievous smile. How strange, she thought, as if he had been someone else, a complete stranger I had never met. It also stroke her deeply how handsome he was, how a smile made his features gentle and striking attractive.

She felt angry at herself for considering him as beautiful even for a moment. He is a monster, a cruel monster, she told herself, never forget, even though he saved my life, because he did it for a purpose I may not want to know.

She didn't reply, and Amon only added a few words before he closed his eyes exhaustedly and tried to sleep.

- Just some poems. Maybe you will like them.

He acted as if he didn't care about other people noticing what kind of book he kept – however, Helena was much more careful and she held the book in her laps in a way that she could be able to hide it within a second if someone got closer to them. She didn't want to get into trouble and she didn't want Herr Kommandant to pay for his carelessness.

She was trying to read the poems, even to memorise some of them, but she was unable to divert her attention from Amon. The more she saw the other side of him that had remained a well-kept secret during the months in Poland, the more she felt attracted to him – no matter how hard she was trying to repress it.

After they arrived at Vienna, Amon continued to behave like a gentleman she had never seen. He was still weak, he could walk slowly but he did his best to hide it. He caught a taxi with a wave of his hand and he helped Helena in, forgetting about the fact that she was his maid and that she was a Jew (not if it had been important anytime for a while) – even Helena forgot her own role and let herself obey to his gentle manners and politeness.

They were sitting close to each other in the car and she felt a little nauseous, smelling his scent and feeling his muscular thigh touching hers. Feeling the heat of his body made her realise more than ever that it was all real: she was in Vienna, she reached the freedom and all was given to her by Herr Kommandant who used to torture her so cruelly every day. Will I ever forget those painful memories, she asked herself, will I ever forgive him? She also wondered how Amon would behave with her inside the flat, between the walls of his empire, where no one could see or hear them and no one could stop him from beating her up. She didn't want to be rude that was why she didn't move and she didn't pull away from him even though she felt really uncomfortable. She felt like a traitor that she was unable to hate him as much as she used to.

During the trip to the other part of the city, Amon was showing Helena the places of interest as if she had been a close friend of his or someone he wanted to enchant. This strange behaviour made her shyness and silence even more profound. Amon didn't let himself be disturbed by her silence – it was enough for him that he could see the interest and the attention in her bright eyes.

In half an hour they were standing in the hall of the small, neat flat Amon had leased last month by his mother's help.

He showed Helena her new bedroom that was next to his own, and then they checked the kitchen together where they found two huge baskets, full of bread, fruit, vegetables and some delicacies, (while in the fridge there were milk, cheese, butter and sausages waiting – again praising the careful hands of his mother). Helena liked the comfortable, lovely furnished flat but she was too shy to confess it. Her eyes were examining every part of it with impatience while she was thinking: this would be her new home.

They could not spend much time together because Amon had to call on the headquarters of the city and he didn't want to make his superior officers waiting. He was expected to start working as soon as possible, he explained to Helena, especially after the long delay, caused by his illness.

He didn't want to go and leave Helena alone, but he had no other choice and he didn't want to pull attention on himself because that would have meant more attention on his maid whom he had taken from Poland. Not even his own mother understood why he had taken his Polish maid with himself although he could have chosen from Vienna's prettiest and most experienced servant girls. Anyone would be happy to work for you, Mrs Goeth said, as you are a Kommandant, a famous man, a hero in our eyes. Amon laughed bitterly when he heard these words from her on the telephone and he confirmed that he wanted no one else but Helena.

- I don't have either time or fancy to teach a new girl. Helena knows already perfectly what I like and what I don't like – he added.

Mrs Goeth didn't say anything. She just wanted to have a look at that girl whom her choosy son considered so perfect.

Amon had planned a calm and peaceful life for Helena, he wanted to defend her from all the horrors of the war, and he didn't want to break the promise that he had made. He knew that he had committed horrible things to her and he wanted to repay his debts from the moment they had left Poland.

Before leaving, Amon smiled at Helena and told her to relax and to take time to get to know her new home. They were standing at the door, face to face, and he was treating her more like a guest and not like a maid.

- You don't need to do any housework today.

Helena was watching his shiny boots nervously while clutching her hands in front of her belly. She just wanted to stay alone for a while and think about the last few days and her future.

- Jawohl, Herr Kommandant.

Amon seemed to turn around and leave but suddenly he said:

- Don't cook because we are going to have dinner in a restaurant.

For the thought of going to a restaurant in the Nazi Vienna, in the company of a Nazi commandant, Helena went rather pale. She felt dizzy and she felt she had to sit down immediately.

Amon noticed her reaction and he helped her sit down quickly on the chair that was placed near the mirror.

- I am sorry, I see that it is too fast for you.

He almost took her into his arms seeing her so frightened and weak, but at the next moment he remembered her words painfully when she had shouted at him: "You are a damned monster! The butcher of Kraków-Płaszów, that's what you really are. Don't ever touch me, you damned murderer! I hate you!" That was why he only touched and held her arm gently while helping her lower on the chair, then he took a step backwards.

Helena got embarrassed and she tried to object but her voice let her down, just as her body had.

Amon felt embarrassed and ashamed for being rather insensitive with his idea of taking a Jewish girl into a restaurant, filled with Nazis, right after their arrival into the peaceful city from the horrors of a concentration camp. How idiot I am, how bloody idiot, he told to himself, no wonder that she is so scared of me.

- That is all right, don't worry about it. I will bring us something for dinner instead. Forget about the restaurant – and he left the flat quickly before Helena could have objected again.

While Amon was hurrying down the stairs as fast as he could and then he got into his car that had been parked near the pavement, Helena was sitting in the same position, thinking. She couldn't believe her ears – she really heard Amon Goeth saying sorry for her? How many surprises is this man going to give me, she wondered, what he has been up to.

When she felt strong enough, she walked into her bedroom, lied on the bed, curled on the blanket and fell asleep. She didn't dream anything but when she woke up, she felt fresher and calmer.

When Amon returned home a few hours later, he found Helena reading his book of poems in the corner of the sofa peacefully as if she had already felt herself at home. He felt almost happy to see it, especially when she looked up with a lovely smile, however that smile disappeared quickly when she realised it was him, and his guilt of conscience made him sorrowful again. He felt his debts towards her heavier and greater than before.

They exchanged a few words, Amon didn't want to force any conversation, then they had their dinner without a word. Helena ate little, though she tried to regain as much strength as possible, while Amon's appetite became almost healthy. He prepared some chicken dish, warming up the roast chicken and the boiled potatoes he had bought possibly in a restaurant on his way home, and he even did the washing-up, despite Helena's weak objections.

- Please, you have had a long day. Let me do it for once.

Helena was completely astonished and she could not take her eyes off from him, while she was sitting on her chair, watching him clean the plates. Is he really the same person who beat me up so many times, she thought, being close to tears, is he the man who saved me from being shot? What had happened to him and why is it so disturbing for me, she kept on asking.

Amon felt her eyes on himself, but he didn't dare to turn around and look at her – he didn't want to frighten her again. He really enjoyed her surprise that he saw on her face and he wanted to have her eyes on him. He knew that as soon as he had turned around, she would have pretended to be watching her nails.

Amon went to bed early, partly because he was really exhausted and partly because he didn't want to disturb and upset Helena more. While he was starting to snore, she was lying in her bed, watching the shadows running around on the ceiling.

He was snoring softly behind the wall - she was wondering sleeplessly. She closed her eyes and she was trying to sleep but all she could see was Amon – he seemed to be the only one she could think of. She hated that.

The first two weeks Amon was so busy that he couldn't even find time to go home and have lunch with Helena. They met in the morning for a short time, while Amon had his breakfast and told Helena her tasks for that day, then he left and he didn't return home before nine o' clock in the evening. In the beginning she was scared of everything and she was filled with fear because of Amon as well.

Helena had time to discover her new home, to get to know the neighbours in the house and the shops nearby where she did the shopping every second day. She didn't actually need to buy anything so often but she wanted to do something that made her remember what life used to be before the war. She really enjoyed her new life, not only the sudden freedom and the sunshine on her face, but cleaning clothes in the shiny clean bathroom, preparing and eating delicious dishes and even possessing a comfortable room of her own where she was never disturbed, where she had fresh air, a lovely view, warmness and beautiful pieces of furniture. She had so many new experiences, she had so much to see and remember, and also to do, and still – she missed Amon.

She was watching him carefully when they were together – she was looking for the signs when Amon would turn into that horrible monster she used to know so well in Kraków-Płaszów. Deep inside she knew that he had changed before they had left Poland but somehow she didn't dare to believe that the incredible change would last forever. However, as the days went by, she had to realise that that new Amon arrived in Vienna. He was kind, patient and polite – and although his obsession for her was just as passionate as before, it was not followed by violence. Maybe he feels that he cannot do such things that he had allowed himself to do in the camp, she thought, now he is only a man like everyone else around him, free people, who could do what they wanted to do, and he is not the commandant of hundreds of prisoners anymore.

For her surprise, she often felt the urge to talk to him about all those new things, she wanted to discuss everything with him and share her experiences with him – and it frightened her deeply.

When and why did he become so important to me, she asked herself with a little anger, and she couldn't understand herself. She knew that Amon was the only familiar person in her new life and it was obvious that somehow she was attached to him despite the horrible memories. But she also knew very well that it was more than that. She couldn't trust him completely, she was still afraid of him but she felt some kind of attraction that was something new and that grew deeper and deeper by every day.