How Far Would You Go For Your Country?- Chapter 14
(Two new chapters! My apology for taking sooo long to update. I'm snowed under with uni work already and it's 3 weeks in, haha. But I'll try and keep the updates steady, cos this story is building to it's crescendo :D )
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The next morning, Lily and Lulu sat discussing the paperwork over coffee at 5 a.m, certain that the girls were still sleeping off the night before.
"Christian didn't really see the connection," Lily mused. "But I'm unsure. It's all a little too…convenient."
"Mmm, I agree," Lulu said, sipping from her mug.
"Do you think she killed him?" she asked tentatively.
Lulu shook her head firmly. "No, no. Isabelle couldn't hurt a fly. I don't think she had it in her to kill anyone, even a Nazi. And, believe you me, her hatred for the Nazis ran deep. No. More likely, I'd think, was that he kidnapped her."
"Kidnapped her?" Lily echoed.
"Pretty young thing like her, of course," Lulu replied, mid-sip. "Not that Isabelle would have reciprocated, of course. Her hatred was intense, as I said."
"Speaking of hatred," Lily said, remembering her confrontation with Aurélie the day before. "Aurélie saw Bill and I yesterday. I feel she's getting very suspicious."
"That girl's always been suspicious," Lulu raised her eyebrows. "Don't worry about her. She's just looking for something to fill her time with."
"Alright," she replied, still unsure.
"I still can't believe you took that soldier with you," Lulu tutted.
"But if I hadn't then we wouldn't have these files!" she retorted. "He's not a bad person, I promise. No one even recognised him as a soldier and he's on our side."
"I know that but…," Lulu softened. "Well, I suppose. As long he tells no one."
"Secrecy is his speciality," she reassured her. "Which reminds me. He asked if I would have coffee with him today. Is that alright?"
"You're asking for my permission?"
"Well…yes."
"Cherie, when have you ever listened to anything I have to say?" Lulu chucked fondly. "Don't ask for my permission. The heart wants what it wants…and suppose you never see this American again after all this."
Lily sighed, knowing this was true. "I should get these upstairs before I start preparing breakfast for the girls."
"Wait," Lulu said, reaching into a drawer. "I forgot. We received this list yesterday. Resistance members have been compiling it for a while. Isabelle's father is not only a politician but quite a wealthy landowner, and this is a list of all the properties in his possession. Most are well known, and have already been searched. This one at the top caught my eye, however. It's a run down shack deep into the forest. He owns the vast acres around it. I think he had the intention of turning it into a luxury hotel before the war broke out. It's extremely run down, almost uninhabitable. It's highly unlikely they're there but…just maybe. I thought perhaps you and your soldier or Christian should investigate."
"Alright," Lily said, thinking she'd need to get some civilian clothes again for Bill. Christian would love that.
Lily walked up to her room in the silence of the house. She stopped short when she saw Aurélie standing outside of her door, pressing suspiciously around the door frame.
"What are you doing?" Lily demanded.
Aurélie didn't even jump. "This door is always locked. Why?"
"For privacy…not that it's any of your business,"
Aurélie walked over to her, crossing her arms. "Privacy? What do you have to hide, Lily?"
"Nothing," Lily insisted, warningly.
"I doubt that," Aurélie said over her shoulder as she walked back to her own bedroom. "I don't think we know the real you. I think you have a lot of skeletons in your closet, Lily."
Shaking her head, Lily opened the door to her room and went inside. She pored over the various sheets of paper for a while, trying to work everything out in her head until the sound of the girls walking down the kitchen snapped her back to earth. She still had to prepare their breakfast! Rushing, she left the papers on her bed and turned her key in the lock but, in her haste, didn't realise that she left the key itself in the lock. None the wiser, she hurried down the stairs to the kitchen.
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Aurélie lay on her bed, thinking of her German lover. She longed to see him again. She was self-admittedly hard-hearted, but she'd never let anyone into her heart before. Now she craved him, couldn't stop thinking about it. She heard the excited noises of chatter coming from downstairs and it turned her stomach. How could it be possible to be so happy when she felt this way. The thought of the girls fawning over that bitch, Lily, made her want to punch her fist into the wall. No. Once friends, none of them mattered to her now. Trying to will herself back to sleep, she heard crackling voices from somewhere in the distance. Immediately her ears picked up, those were noises she'd heard several times before coming from upstairs in Lily's room. Silently and careful to make sure there was no one else around, she tiptoed up to Lily's room. She put her ear to the door and listened to the voices coming from within. It sounded like a radio programme or broadcast in patchy waves…but she couldn't understand a word of it. It wasn't French. Suddenly she looked down, and her face erupted into a huge smile as she spied to key stuck firmly in the lock. This was too perfect. Secretive Lily had slipped up. Opening the door, she snuck inside, closing it behind her.
The first thing she noticed was the noise coming from the corner of the room…but she couldn't see a radio. Walking over to the corner table, she thought she could hear the noise coming from within it. Pulling up the table cover, she squinted at what she saw. A large metal apparatus. Certainly the source of the noise, but it was unlike anything she'd ever seen before in her life.
"Lily? Come in Lily," it barked out.
She didn't know what it was, but she certainly recognised the word "lily". She replaced the cover and continued to look around the room. She opened Lily's side drawer, pulling out a portrait. It was a family portrait of Lily and presumably her parents and brother. Normal enough, except for the fact that her brother was wearing a British Army Uniform. Clucking happily, Aurélie replaced the photo, and her eyes soon settled on the scattered bits of paper strewn about the bed. So happy to be discovering the secrets of Lulu's precious Lily, she began to read.
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"So, we hear you've been cavorting with a handsome American," Sylvie giggled as she spread toast on her piece of bread. "Or so Aurélie says."
"Oh, is that what Aurélie says?" Lily raised her eyebrows.
"Was he one of the ones from the other night?" Mathilde piped up.
"I'm not saying a word," Lily smirked, drying the last of the dishes from the sink. "I'm going to get dressed. Enjoy breakfast, ladies."
Lily skipped upstairs towards her room, reaching into her pocket for her room key. She began to panic when she couldn't feel it there. Where was it?! She sighed with relief when she saw it in the lock of her bedroom. Stupid girl, she scolded herself as she removed it and walked into her room, if Aurélie had seen that key she'd have had a field day and Lily's whole mission here would've been ruined. Hastily, she gathered the files on her bed into a pile without looking at them, and began to get ready to meet Bill.
A knock came at the door.
"Come in," Lily called.
Sylvie walked in. "Getting ready to go out?"
"Yes," Lily smiled, brushing her hair.
"To meet your soldier?"
"Perhaps," Lily smiled coyly.
"Well, for what it's worth I'm very happy for you. Those Americans are handsome specimens," Sylvie smiled warmly.
Lily burst out laughing. Sylvie always made her laugh. "Thanks Sylvie."
"Thank you," Sylvie insisted. "We don't say it to you a lot but…we're all really happy you've come here to stay with us, Lily."
She was about to respond when another knock came from the door, and Aurélie stuck her head around the corner. "Mind if I chat to Lily, Sylvie?"
Sylvie eyed Aurélie warily. "Alright."
When Sylvie had gone, Aurélie came in and sat on the bed. "Can we talk, Lily?"
"What about?" Lily asked, giving her a steely look.
"I'm sorry for scolding you about the American," she said earnestly. "It was none of my business and I was wrong to try and threaten you."
"Oh," Lily said, taken aback.
"Also," Aurélie continued. "I'm sorry about the way I've treated you since you arrived. I may have been taking some of my feelings out on you. You didn't deserve it."
"That's…alright," Lily replied, cautiously.
"I'd really like it if we could put it all behind us and start again," Aurélie smiled cheerfully.
"That would be nice," Lily played along, thinking about how strange this was…and not really trusting the girl any more than she ever had.
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Bill pulled on the scratchy but well-fitting jumper, whistling in happiness at how well it fit him.
"What the hell are you wearing?" A voice interrupted.
He turned around to see Joe. "Oh hey Joe. Just found them in the barracks. Don't know who they belonged to."
"Well they suit you," Joe said, sarcastically. "Plans today?"
"Goin' out," he replied, absent-mindedly.
"Where?" Joe asked.
"Just out," he repeated.
"But where?"
"What's with all the questions?" He laughed at his friend. "I'm just goin' out. Don't worry about it. I'll see ya later, alright?"
"Alright, Buddy," Joe said, watching his friend walk off. He frowned. Bill had been acting strangely the last couple of days. Stranger than normal anyway. He was worried his friend was starting to lose it. Maybe he should follow him…
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Lily propped herself up against the wall at the bottom of the garden, waiting for Bill. He was late. A first for him. She watched the snow fall gently, interrupted by the sound of footsteps. She looked up to see Bill, walking towards her in civilian clothes.
"Look at you," she whistled. "Whats with the normal people clothing?"
"Well, I didn't know if you should be seen in a café with someone in a uniform so I planned ahead and found these around the base."
"You're getting the hang of the spy game," she joked, pointing to his vomit-green jumper and trousers. "I don't think I've actually ever seen clothing that colour."
"Hey," he laughed defensively. "It's the best I could do."
"Sorry," she apologised, patting him on the arm.
He offered her his arm. "Come on."
"Do you even know where you're going?" she joked.
"Well, no…"
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An hour later they sat at the back of a small café, where they could speak English to each other without drawing too much suspicion.
"So you're taking me on another mission?" he asked, pretending to sigh frustratedly.
"Only if you want to," she said, putting on puppy dog eyes.
"Of course I want to," he laughed. "Can I finish my coffee first?"
"Of course," she tutted. "It would probably be better if we go under the cover of darkness anyway."
"Think you can spend all day with me until then?" Bill teased.
"Well, bearing in mind that is winter and it gets dark at around 4 p.m…and it's 2 p.m. now," she teased back.
"Very funny," he leaned back in his chair. "So what were you saying about this Aurélie girl?"
"Oh," Lily sat up. "She's been constantly suspicious of me and quite rude to me ever since I got here…and this morning she suddenly asked if we could be friends."
"You think she knows something?"
"Maybe," Lily shrugged. "I don't know."
"Well I wouldn't trust her," Bill said firmly. "Don't trust her at all."
"I don't," she reassured him.
Bill put his empty cup back onto the saucer. "Feel like goin for a walk?"
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They walked through the sleepy village, amid the lightly falling snow. She took his arm.
"I still can't believe we met again this way," he shook his head. "It's not normal."
"It is quite strange," she agreed, putting on a silly voice. "Must have been in the stars."
"Probably," he laughed. "So did you use your paint set?"
"No," she said. "I'm not a painter. No point in trying."
"Was nice of him," he replied, unconvincingly.
"Jealous?" she said, half-joking.
"Maybe a little," he teased. "It's been so nice to see you again, but I didn't realise I'd have so much competition."
"Competition?"
"Well, Oskar, and Christian clearly…,"
"Bill, you don't seriously think I came here to find love?" she said dryly. "It was the furthest thing from my mind."
"I know, I know," he nodded his head.
"Anyway…you view them as competition? Are you after my affection, Bill Guarnere?" she joked.
"Maybe I am,"
"So much for it ending in Aldbourne," she smiled.
"I think that was your idea, not mine," he corrected her, smiling as he met her gaze. "It didn't really end for me. I couldn't stop thinking about you."
"I thought about you everyday," she said, motioning for him to sit down next to her on a bench. "I tried not to."
"Tried not to?"
"Well…there was never really going to be a future in it," she reasoned, looking down into her lap. "Even if we survived this war…we're still a world apart."
"Positive thinking," he joked, knowing she was right. "But if you know something's right then you can make it work."
"But how could we know that after a few weeks," she frowned. "We did all we could do in Aldbourne. We lived in the moment."
"Does that apply for here too?" he asked tentatively.
She studied his face, her heart thumping. She'd missed him. Missed him in every sense of the world. Emotionally, romantically…physically. Without caring about people looking at them, she leaned forward and let him pull her into a searing kiss.
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"Come on, Aurélie!" Lulu shouted from downstairs. "We're leaving now!"
Aurélie looked in her mirror, dishevelling her hair before walking down the stairs, putting on a painful face. "Lulu I don't want to go on the afternoon walk today. My stomach…it's my monthly and…"
"Well a walk will make you feel better," Sylvie piped up.
"Please," she looked at Lulu, imploringly. "Can I just go back to bed."
Lulu sighed, stressed. Her mind was clearly elsewhere. She waved a hand dismissively at her. "Fine, fine. Go back to bed."
Aurélie watched as they all filtered out of the door, dressed up to combat the winter weather. She watched from the window until she was sure that they were all gone. Slowly she walked over to the telephone, ready to dial the number she'd been wanting to dial for so long but hadn't had a reason to.
"If you know anything useful, please keep in touch with me"…his parting words to her.
She began to dial, using the phrase he'd taught her to say in German. "Could I speak to Heinrich Kutze, please?"
Her heart thumped as she waited, then she finally heard his voice. Her heart soared.
"Aurélie, my Angel. Is that you?"
"Oh, Heinrich," she sighed. "I have something you might want to know."