Chapter 12: Stay the Hand of Judgement
They knew about her trip to the shed. It was evident in the way that the staff glanced at her—how Pierre tried to act as if everything were normal, and how Elle skirted around being overly insulting. Adelgiese hadn't spoken a word to anyone about her newfound knowledge, but naturally the boy would have said something to one of his guardians, and what truly amazed her was how the subject was being utterly avoided. There was certainly tension in the air though, as if she held an ax over everyone's head and was simply waiting to strike. Or maybe her coworkers thought that she'd already spoken to Landa, and now the colonel was merely dragging out the suspense. Such an idea wasn't difficult to swallow considering the man's flair for drama, and yet, life continued uninterrupted.
Four days had passed since Adelgiese had gone to the shed, and the house remained quiet with Landa absent for the usual, long hours, and Brigitte busy with lessons. Apparently Goebbels was having a difficult time deciding on a venue for his upcoming movie premier, and each time that the man considered a new location, Landa had to inspect the premises, which according to Zissel, annoyed the colonel to no end. It amused Adelgiese to think of her employer being subject to the whims of Goebbels, who was a bit showy himself, and who was currently running about Paris like he was on vacation. In many ways, Landa was the man's opposite (except in their sense of theatrics), and now the colonel was impatiently waiting to end this stupid premier while the government tried to drum up excitement for it.
Good, Adelgiese thought. It will keep him busy. For if Landa was busy, he would have less time to spend on her, or so she hoped, but Landa possessed energy above and beyond that of most men. He ran hither, thither and yon to complete assignments, and yet he never complained of being tired, even when Adelgiese could see the fatigue in his posture. In the evening, when he lounged in his study, smoking and drinking, she often caught a glimpse of his physical fatigue—the dropping eyelids, slumped shoulders, and how his head would casually list to the side. He looked his years when he unwound in such a manner with his muddy boots tossed aside and his normally witty tongue holding its comments. Sometimes he merely thanked her for getting him a drink rather than bantering with her, but his eyes...they never lost their sharpness.
"More medicine?" Adelgiese guessed as she entered the kitchen. Elle was holding a small, glass vial over the sink, her movements too delayed to hide the item from sight when Adelgiese unexpectedly arrived, and now the frenchwoman was sheepishly staring at the facet. The charged, mute atmosphere made Adelgiese break into a humorless smile as she leaned her back against the wall, Elle still looking distraught. This subject had to be broached eventually though, and the longer that it went without mention, the more time Adelgiese had to consider Landa's offer—not that it was even an offer. He was trying to force her into a decision in order to save herself, but the very thought rankled her, tasting bitter as she considered what message her surrender would send to the colonel: weak, selfish, dependent. And what about the boy?
"He's very sick, isn't he?" she softly asked, leaving her comment vague as Elle turned apprehensive eyes on her. The frenchwoman didn't seem to know how to respond, but Adelgiese could see her body tensing, and she wondered if Elle might not be foolish enough to try something desperate. That would do no one any good, and so she straightened from the wall with a sterner expression. There was no point in dragging this out any further anyway.
"Get Marlene," she ordered, businesslike and unwavering, and her hands already opening the door for Elle, who immediately hurried from the room. The woman's low heels loudly struck the floor with each rushed step, and Adelgiese wondered whether such frantic behavior would be noticed by anyone else in the house. Discussing the subject of the hidden boy was dangerous enough without Elle acting strangely, and so, perhaps silence was safer, but it made Adelgiese uneasy. Keeping secrets had always been easy for her, but standing her ground had always been easier if her resolve was made public. She might have been able to forgive that fiance of hers his brash stupidity had she not publicly thrown her ring at his head. Once everyone had seen that, she couldn't back down, as if doing so would put a black mark on her record.
Maybe I inherited more from you than I'd like to admit, father.
Adelgiese released a sigh as she leaned both hands against the edge of the kitchen's central table. She focused on the feel of the smooth, polished surface beneath her increasingly calloused hands, and thought of nothing else until the door behind her opened and closed, a faint click signaling the locking of that door.
"Yes?" Marlene's gruff voice demanded, and Adelgiese turned to face the woman, who stood there with a face devoid of warmth. That in itself wasn't unusual, but there was an unnatural wariness to Marlene's stance that looked defensive to Adelgiese. "What do you wish to say, German?"
"That I am silent," came her cool response. "I won't tell anyone about the boy." Marlene's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, but her face did not soften.
"Then we're done speaking of this."
"Agreed." Adelgiese then moved to leave the kitchen, ready to be done with this business, and having made her decision to reject Landa's pressure. Now she had to live with that decision, but quite frankly, the man could try to buy her as much as he wanted. She'd already told him where they stood, and his attempts to move her would be met with refusal, even if that refusal had to be renegotiated on occasion. She wasn't stupid, after all, and the name of the game could always change.
"Wait," Marlene suddenly spoke. "Shut that door. And don't hover around the window looking nervous, Elle."
"There is something else?" Adelgiese asked, stepping back into the kitchen, but remaining close to the door should a quick escape become necessary. Elle was near the kitchen's rear door, hands folded across her chest, and Marlene was resting one hip against the nearby countertop, her broad shoulders squaring into an imposing stance.
"The boy is sick," the older woman confessed, and the barest trace of weariness was evident in her voice. "Very sick. He needs to see a doctor, but the only doctor that we trust to keep his secret also handles SS patients, and he lives near a guard station." Elle moved closer to Marlene, her weight constantly shifting between her legs as she frowned. "Tonight," Marlene continued, "he doesn't have any patients, and the guard changes at ten o'clock. He will take the boy then and only then. He is completely paranoid and doesn't want to be implicated in helping Jews in any way, shape, or form. Understand?"
"Oui," Adelgiese softly replied. If anyone heard her having this conversation...
"The pigs upstairs might or might not be home," Marlene continued. "Will you do our boy a favor, Mädchen?" Adelgiese said nothing, but thoughtfully eyed this woman who needed her help. "Schneider likes to smoke at his window in the evening. It overlooks the yard. I want someone to ensure that he is not out that window."
"And how would you suggest that I do that?" Adelgiese dryly asked, knowing that Schneider's weakness was women. He'd brought whores home before, and he wasn't shy about his habit either. It was disgusting that he'd do such a thing with a child playing in the hallway outside his room, but some men cared nothing for the presence of innocent eyes. The though of that man's hands on her body after he'd had his way with street women and the diseases that came with prostitution...
"How you distract him is up to you," Marlene stated.
And once would never be enough for Schneider's appetite.
"I cannot promise to distract him," Adelgiese crisply replied, causing Elle's eyes to unexpectedly water. The young woman was turning to face into a corner, but Adelgiese had already seen the shimmer of water across pained eyes. "If I suddenly return the major's attention," she explained, "it will be suspicious. Landa will notice." Which was the truth, and like it or not, spreading her legs for Schneider wouldn't help anyone. Marlene likely understood given her stoic and seemingly contemplative nature, but even if she didn't, Adelgiese didn't particularly care. She wasn't getting sucked into this scheming when she had other responsibilities and charges.
"So you won't help," Marlene soberly allowed. "But you won't hinder either. Fine," and the woman sounded perfectly accepting, even content. "Stay out of our way then."
"Oui," Adelgiese answered. "If I can..." And she fought for the correct French wording. "If I see the chance, I will do what I can." She said nothing further as she left their company, wondering what the night would bring, and comparing the boy to Brigitte since they looked to be about the same age. Children in war—their innocent faces marked as targets when they didn't even understand the conflict. Perhaps the same reality gnawed at Marlene and Elle beneath their exteriors, for where men brought war, so too did they bring suffering to mere children. Brigitte would have befriended the boy in the shed in a heartbeat, but even that wouldn't stop Landa from disposing of a child, and Adelgiese found herself inwardly scowling at the thought.
She was a fan of self-preservation, true, and she wanted nothing to do with the staff's plans, but as she considered the boy and how detached Brigitte was from this mess, she found an old ember within her rekindling. She hadn't felt such a strong pull of obligation for some time, and she marveled that it should still exist. To fan or smother it though? She did nothing but let its soft glow remain, small as it was, as the day lengthened. Sometimes decisions could only be made in the heat of the moment.
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"Guten Abend. Where is the colonel?" Adelgiese asked as Schneider entered the house. The staff had been holding its breath all day, waiting to see if and when the officers would return for the evening, and now, an hour before the boy was expected at the doctor's, in walked Schneider. His timing could not have been worse, but Adelgiese let none of her concerns show as she continued mopping the entryway.
"He'll be along any minute," the major told her. "You're looking lovely this evening."
"Thank you, sir," she replied, thankful for small blessings. The boy could be taken out the back yard, so Landa's arrival through the front would mean nothing. Perhaps the boy would make it through all right after all, and if not, she wasn't going to ask questions. "Goodnight," she told Schneider, briskly exiting toward the kitchen with her mop and bucket in hand, for she knew that the others would be there waiting for the appointed time. She wasn't going to distract Schneider or outright help them, but she'd be damned if she let them act unaware of his presence.
"Schneider is home," she simply stated, poking her head into the room. Then she left, heading upstairs with an awareness of Elle walking somewhere behind her, the two glasses in the trailing woman's hands giving her presence away as the cups gently bumped into one another. No doubt the young woman was shaking, but whether in sadness or nervousness, Adelgiese couldn't tell. She didn't even turn to see her coworker heading toward Schneider's room, but instead let herself into her own bedroom, where she kept the lights off as she moved toward the window. Leaning against the frame, she waited for almost ten minutes before Marlene appeared in the yard, the shed door opening and closing behind her. Soon the boy would be freed from his crate, and Elle was ample enough to keep Schneider from brooding and smoking by the window, so the plan was going well.
"Please make it," Adelgiese whispered. "Dear God, please let the boy make it."
She would normally be asleep and snuggled into her bed by now, but part of her needed to see the boy leave the yard unharmed. She needed to know that someone else was caring for that boy as much as she cared for Brigitte, and then she would let ignorance be her bliss. Did Landa never even think about the emotional pain that his work caused others—of the families that he destroyed? He'd killed Brigitte's mother and his former lover, and Adelgiese wondered how that could mean nothing to a human being.
There they go.
She watched Marlene and a small figure run for the door in the yard's back wall, but suddenly her heart lurched, breath stopping in her throat as she viewed the third figure that had appeared in the yard. And the sound of a slamming door was still quite audible from where she stood. Marlene was yanking the boy behind the shed as the figure moved across the grass, and Adelgiese found her fingernails biting into her skin as she watched. Who was that? The straight-backed, almost rigid stature of the person below could only be Zissel, but why was he in the yard? Damn these chance occurrences. There was no way that Marlene was going to take the boy out the back with Zissel there smoking, and if Marlene missed the changing of the guard near the doctor's...
You're almost out of time. And Adelgiese waited with bated breath as she saw Marlene and the boy move around the shed and dodge toward the kitchen. Zissel immediately turned as light flooded the yard from the doorway, but had he seen the child?
"Bonjour, Herr Zissel!" Pierre loudly greeted, addressing and speaking to the SS man from the doorway, his voice distinct but muffled as Adelgiese abandoned her vigil. Zissel had been avoided, but that wasn't the only threat to the fleeing child. If Marlene was going through the house, she was using the front door, which wouldn't be a problem with Zissel outside, Schneider busy, and Hermann with Landa, but if Landa returned while the boy was exposed, all was lost. Even if Marlene made it to the streets and Landa drove by, Adelgiese was sure that he would recognize a boy whom he'd hunted, and Marlene had a very distinct appearance.
Adelgiese's feet were on the landing of the main stairs and descending before she thought to stop herself, that ember within her growing into a fire as she heard a car parking outside the front doors. Landa or not, this could not be good.
"Marlene, go back!" she urgently hissed, the woman and the boy having just stepped into the foyer, but the doorknob was already turning, and any second...
"The closet!" Adelgiese ordered, opening the door to the coat-cluttered space and nearly shoving the woman and boy inside. She shut the door and spun in time to see the front door open, her steps quickly evening out into smooth, graceful strides as she walked toward the stairs.
"Oh, guten Abend, gentleman," she greeted, one hand posed on the stair's railing. She offered Hermann a smile as he held the door for Landa, both men dressed in their dark uniforms, and leather trench coats hanging about their bodies.
"Guten Abend, Fraulein Hoffman," Landa returned while removing his hat. Did the man keep his coat downstairs or did he take it to his room? Adelgiese suddenly realized that she had no idea, and that said nothing about Hermann. "I'm surprised that you're still awake," Landa continued. "Surely a lovely woman such as yourself needs her beauty sleep. What has you out of bed this late?" He was now walking forward as he pulled off his gloves, his blond hair slightly tousled, and the look decidedly fitting his boyish smile.
"Just because I'm usually in my room at this hour does not mean that I'm usually asleep, Herr Oberst," Adelgiese told him, removing her hand from the railing and subtly smiling as she approached him. For some reason, he seemed fixated on her feet, and only then did she remember that she was barefoot, having taken her shoes off in her room. The tile was cool against her warm skin, her toes pushing lightly off of the floor as Landa continued to focus them.
"Do you often go barefoot when I'm not home?" he asked, voice reserved.
"Perhaps," she coyly answered. "I hope that you don't mind." And her tone earned a quizzical look from Hermann as the man began to shrug off his jacket. "Allow me," she offered. "I'm sure that you two have had a long day." She stepped behind Hermann and accepted his jacket, draping it over her arm as she moved toward Landa. "Herr Oberst?" He was looking at her like she was hiding something, but that was okay so long as it was distracting him at the moment. She merely flashed him an innocent, slip of a smile.
"Danke," he slowly said, allowing her to take his jacket, and her hands intentionally brushing over his shoulders as she did so.
"Would you like me to bring you something warm to drink?" she continued, friendly and almost flirtatious as she moved toward the closet.
"You see, Hermann?" Landa pleasantly smirked. "I told you that she's quite charming. Would you believe that he questioned it, Fraulein?" He ended with a light laugh, teasing her as she opened the closet door.
"Wine helps," Adelgiese stated with an amused voice. "Pierre offered me a few glasses earlier tonight, and now I'm walking around barefoot." Let him think that she was a little inebriated. That was fine with her as she kept herself planted between the closet's partial opening and the men. She could see Marlene pressed as far back into the closet's corner as possible, and she silently released a sigh, relieved that the heavy fur coats of the home's former mistress had been left here, for the thick garments provided an adequate, if incomplete shield.
"So would you like anything, Herr Oberst?" she again offered, closing the closet door and leaning back against it with a lazy smile plastered on her features. Oh, she knew how to act this part well, for it had been quite useful on several previous occasions, and she even let her eyes slowly drift across Hermann, who looked utterly dumbfounded.
"Since you've offered, there might be something," Landa agreed. "Did Pierre bake bread today?"
"No, but I made rolls. Shall I bring some to the study?"
"You know my routine," he smiled, eyes locking with hers as she tilted her head to side. "I'll be waiting." Both men then went upstairs, leaving Adelgiese scurrying toward the kitchen to throw several rolls onto a plate. Carrying the tray into the foyer, she ripped open the closet door, voice frantic.
"Leave when I'm upstairs. In the study. Landa won't be by the window."
"Merci," Marlene whispered as Adelgiese again sealed the child and guardian into the closet. Was anyone listening from the top of the steps? She didn't know and didn't have time to regret her actions as her bare feet hurried through the hallway and landed before the study door. Landa liked the study's balcony, but tonight she would not allow him to use it, both for her sake and the boy's. "Herr Oberst?" she called, knocking once.
"Come in," he answered, and she did as bidden, finding Landa on the couch with his boots, socks, and jacket removed, but his outfit otherwise intact. He looked like a normal businessman lounging after a long day at work, his hair messy from his hat, and his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "I thought that I'd follow your example and let my toes breath," he jokingly told her, one arm resting across the couch's armrest as he watched her approach.
"Your rolls, Oberst," Adelgiese offered, setting the tray down on the coffee table.
"Ah, good," he happily piped, eagerly taking a piece of bread. "I didn't eat lunch today, so anything will do. Although, I hope that your rolls are as wonderful as your company. Do have a seat." Well, at least this part was easier than she'd expected, for he was practically handing her what she wanted.
"You had a long day, I take it," she commented, sitting with her back against the other armrest, and her feet folded sideways on the couch before her. Landa's eyes trailed over her position, but whether they were disapproving or not, she couldn't tell. "Excuse me," she playfully smiled, wiggling her toes against the leather. "I was only making myself comfortable. Is that alright with you, Oberst?"
"Of course," he said after a pause, taking a bite out of his roll. "Mmmm," he nodded, lips upturned. "Your bread is better than Pierre's. A family recipe, perhaps?"
"No. I learned from the baker of another employer. She was younger than me, and we used to smear flour on one another when we were baking alone." She titled her head backward, exposing her neck as she smiled and lightly hummed. "I have some very fond memories of being a maid. In some ways, it gave me more freedom than family and wealth ever did, if you can imagine."
"And you don't regret your decision?" Landa asked, quite conversational as he finished a roll and moved onto the next.
"I regret never speaking directly to anyone in my family again," Adelgiese honestly said, a forlorn smile crossing her features. "But not the decision itself. I'm quite happy to not be married to that officer and sitting at home having his babies. And he wanted five." She gave Landa a genuine smile, but beneath the surface, she wondered how long Marlene would wait before leaving with the boy. The woman might wait for a few minutes to allow time to ensure Landa's distraction. Did Marlene think that her German maid was rolling between the sheets with this handsome man right now, cruel as he was?
"Five?" Landa repeated, clearly amused.
"Five. Would you like something to drink?" She used one hand to play with her hair, the room's atmosphere not unlike the days when she'd sat in the parlor and talked with her father's friends.
"I'm too distracted by these excellent rolls," Landa smirked. "But then again..." He began to rise, but Adelgiese's foot shot out to land directly across his lap. She didn't want him to have a vantage point on the front of the house, but now she was staring at her skin atop his trousers, and quite a bit of skin was showing since her skirt had gathered around her upper thighs. One of Landa's eyebrows rose questioningly as he stared at that skin, the pale, creamy color contrasting sharply with his dark pants.
"Something wrong, Herr Oberst?" Good lord, was she really doing this? She smiled sweetly at him, eyes half-hooded as his brown orbs locked with her blue ones.
"Exactly how much wine did Pierre give you, my dear?" he asked, face blank.
"Not as much as you might think." None at all. And suddenly he was touching her. One of his hands held the bottom of her foot as the other ran a single finger from her big toe up toward her calf. He was watching her watch him, and his soft touch was both unexpected and strikingly gentle. For a moment, she pictured her foot rising and smacking him in the face, but then he began rubbing circles around her ankles, and damn, but that felt really good. Was the man used to massaging feet? His fingertips pressed exactly where they had the greatest effect, kneading her flesh with precision as his eyes intensely focused on her face.
"Do you handle feet often?" she asked while retracting her foot, for she was suddenly unsure of who was directing this evening: him or her.
"Apparently you didn't drink quite enough," Landa smugly commented. "But perhaps you'll undo my tie." And just like that, Adelgiese felt the control ripped from her. "No?" he pressed, smiling invitingly. "Don't worry, Fraulein. It's only a friendly request from a tired man. I mean nothing by it, and I clearly remember you telling me that everything but your ears is off limits." Adelgiese barely paused as she scooted closer, her hands slowly working to undo his perfect tie. She wouldn't look in his eyes while she did this, for he might see the depth of her sobriety, but she could feel his eyes on her. She could feel his hand rising before she saw it—feel it brushing a lock of hair aside as her fingers continued working, and all the while, she knew that he was counting this as his victory.
"You are most generous," he told her, his voice soft, and even seductive. Poor Elfriede had never stood a chance against this man. "Fraulein," he said as the tie came loose and Adelgiese pulled it away. "Your breath doesn't smell like alcohol at all." She nearly froze, fear beginning to rise as she tossed the tie onto the coffee table. He was so close that their legs touched as she knelt on the couch beside him, and the atmosphere was stronger than their last encounter without a child to interrupt them. He'd caught her yet again, and he knew it, that smug smile gracing his features as he pulled a cigarette from a pack within his pocket.
"What?" he asked in mock surprise. "You've nothing to say, Del?"
Quick, her mind urged.
"Would you care for a light?" she asked, and something akin to appreciation and pleasure passed across Landa's face. He waited as she reached into her skirt's pocket, her fingers wrapping around a stolen lighter as her pulse pounded. Could he sense her uncertainty as she pulled it free—as his eyes alighted to the very lighter that had gone missing from his room? "There you are," she smiled, flicking a flame into life and lighting his cigarette. She could see the curiosity in his eyes, and even the aggression that dwelled within was apparent to her, or so she imagined as she studied the faint lines of his face.
"Del," he began. "You're borrowing things, I see."
"Bare feet, baking, borrowing," Adelgiese dismissed. "You miss a lot when you're not here, Oberst." He smiled, slowly, and the motion was too methodical to leave any doubt concerning the way that he studied her. She was baiting him and he accepted, the idea making her want to run from the room, but she couldn't when he was making her feel powerless like this.
"My dear, beautiful maid," he breathed, and then his lips pressed against hers, the gesture surprising and yet perfectly predictable as her lower lip was pulled into his mouth. It must have been the surprise that made her mouth open, her lips meeting his, and him kissing her senseless for what felt like the longest moment of her life. He tasted of smoke, and it suited him as she marveled at how soft his lips were, knowing that she should push him away. Instead, she withdrew, standing from the couch and staring down at his amused expression as the taste of him lingered on her lips.
"Goodnight, Oberst," she stated, unnerved and deciding that she'd give him this round without a fight. Damn him for getting the upper hand once again.
"Goodnight," he echoed, voice smooth and cruel. "As always, it's been a treat."
I know that I haven't updated in a while, but I've been really busy. Hopefully you think that the wait has been worth it! ; )