"Lunch with Joseph Goebbels? How is that possible?" Archie asked, flabbergasted.
"He's just trying to get me to sleep with him," Anna said, waving the utterly ridiculous idea off straight away, "but in the meantime we'll get amazing intel. Who better to discuss the premiere with than Goebbels himself?"
"We need to tread lightly and really have our story straight." He warned.
"You do maybe. My job is to be charming and oblivious and laugh at everything even when it isn't funny." She replied, twirling her way around the kitchen as she cooked. The role of the humble housewife was coming easier to her than she thought. Maybe someday she could put it to good use. She swallowed as she stole another glance at Archie, but shook off the thought as swiftly as it came, and poured herself another drink.
He was entranced as he watched her twirl around the kitchen. How could one of the most elite spies in her division make something as humble as homemaking look so mesmerizing? He felt his attraction for her grow daily but forced himself to remain professional. Too many partnerships were damaged and missions compromised because one or both parties decided to be more than friends. Still, it didn't hurt to learn a bit more about the woman who was playing his wife.
"So," he began, "what's your story then?"
"My story? I told you yesterday."
"Of course," He replied coolly, lighting up a cigarette. "But I want to know about Anna Thomas, not Marie Tremblay."
She sighed and reluctantly took the cigarette he offered her. She didn't like her story, and it was hard for her to build trust out of thin air. Yet in circumstances such as these there wasn't much of a choice.
"I am originally from Quebec, so that part is actually true. There wasn't a chance in hell I could fake a Parisian accent, so I convinced them to let me use it." She made eye contact with him and found he was sitting listening to her, waiting for her to go on. The silence persisted as she tried to think of what else to say.
"All right. Tell me something that I don't already know, perhaps." He smiled cheekily.
"Ok, fine. Dad is French, mom is American. I grew up in Canada, but moved to the states once I graduated high school. I had a feeling the war would reach us eventually, so I enlisted. Getting as close to the front lines as a woman can at least."
"And where's your family now? Are they still waiting for you?"
"My mother died when I was 16, and my father now lives with my sister and her husband in Montreal. My brother enlisted once the war broke out…he died a while back too."
Archie's face fell. He suddenly felt incredibly stupid for not thinking she would have been affected by the wartime just because she herself was fighting in it.
"I'm sorry," he replied, looking down.
"Yeah." She swallowed, averting her eyes as well.
"Is that why you're with the Americans then?"
"What'd you mean?"
"Well being Canadian I'd assume you'd want to fight for your own country…" He left her to fill in the blanks.
"Let's just say I wasn't the biggest fan of my country once the war began," She replied taking a long drink. "Britain said 'war' and Canada said 'how many men?' My brother was brave, don't get me wrong. He wanted to fight for his family and friends, but he was used like cannon fodder. I realized then it wasn't about who was the strongest. The Germans have their war machine of a nation finely tuned. And I'm determined to see them crushed by their own weight."
"I'll drink to that," He said, clinking glasses with her and taking a drink of his scotch.
…
"We're here to meet Major Dieter Hellstrom and his party." She said in French and the waiter led them to an exclusive table in the back of the room.
"Ah, you're here," Dieter said in English to the shock of everyone seated at the table. "Marie, this must be your husband."
"Yes, sir," she smiled, curling herself around Archie's arm in hopes the major would finally get the hint. "May I present my husband, Gilbert Tremblay, world renown film critic."
They turned towards the party at the table, and Major Hellstrom introduced them in German, repeating what Marie said word for word.
"World renown?" Goebbels laughed. "I certainly have not heard of him. But I suspect he's heard of me, no?"
Her heart dropped at the sound of Goebbels' voice. She wanted nothing more than to see this man dead at her feet, but she faked as much deference as she could. Goebbels and his mistress eyed them haughtily, while a young soldier with a pleasant countenance seated next to them smiled politely. There was another girl at the table with golden blonde hair who Anna was sure she'd seen around, but couldn't quite place her.
"Do you speak German?" Hellstrom asked Archie.
"How do you expect my love of German cinema to grow if I can't understand the language?" He replied in perfect German and laughed fakely.
The major smiled, but couldn't hide the irritation behind his eyes. He'd hoped to take this opportunity to make Marie rely on him as the translator while her clueless husband sat by. Now it seemed to him that this Canadian prick was a jack-of-all-trades.
"In that case I will place you next to Mademoiselle Mimieux. And, Marie, next to me if you'd like."
Anna choked back disgust as she agreed and took her seat next to the major. Archie took a seat next to the blonde girl and smiled politely as they greeted one another. The poor girl was obviously frightened, yet she held her head up regardless, which was impressive for someone dressed like she'd just gotten pulled out of her work shift at the last minute.
"So, major," Goebbels continued, "These are…friends of yours?"
Dieter laughed and explained how they met in the flower shop. Everyone of course was suspicious of them, but as the major spoke their resolve to trust his judgment slowly showed on their faces. Anna did her best to act confused as he spoke, and Archie did his part of translating the gist of what Dieter said once he finished to add authenticity.
"English will no longer be necessary," Dieter said in German, glaring at Archie. He found it harder to conceal his jealousy with each passing moment. "Francesca can do the translating from now on."
"And French is bad enough." Goebbels joked as his mistress laughed and rolled her eyes.
The rest of the conversation proved indispensable as they listened to Goebbels' proposition as relayed by Francesca and the young solider who they soon learned was Fredrick Zoeller, the hero featured in Nation's Pride. Anna never heard of him before but made a mental note to ask Archie about it later. The new location of the premiere would no longer be at The Ritz, but at Mademoiselle Mimieux's significantly smaller theater. It was even more perfect than they could imagine. They'd have to determine whether or not she was a Nazi sympathizer before confronting her with their plans of course. She seemed a nice enough girl, and any French citizen would most likely want to see the Third Reich burn, but one could never be too careful. Archie was waiting to find an opportune moment to speak with the girl when they were suddenly interrupted.
"Ah, Landa! You're here!"
Dieter and Fredrick stood to salute their superior officer as Archie and Anna could only look behind them at the man known as 'the Jew hunter.' For a brief moment they became nervous that the colonel might blow their cover. He was, after all, famous for his amazing ability to sniff out enemies of the Third Reich. Yet to their relief he requested an audience with Mademoiselle Mimieux alone before the group travelled to the theater for a private premiere, so they were left to make polite conversation with Dieter outside the restaurant. They found a small table on the patio and lit up their cigarettes.
"So, Monsieur Tremblay," the major began, a sly smile on his face. "Are you a big fan of German cinema then?"
"I have a few favorites," He agreed.
"The work of Bridget Von Hammersmark is at the top of your list no doubt."
Dieter smiled smugly. If Archie thought his cover was blown it didn't show on his face. She envied his calm demeanor but quickly reassured him.
"If she's not his favorite, she's definitely mine." Anna laughed, taking his hand. "It was so kind of her to offer us those premiere tickets, wasn't it, dear?"
Archie picked up on her message and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Most definitely," He agreed. "It's just that we're such good friends I've stopped reviewing her work. A conflict of interest doesn't bode well for my writing."
The major nodded his head, trying to size Archie up as he smoked. Even under this pressure, Archie didn't waiver. In fact, he seemed to thrive in it. The more she observed him, the more interesting he became. And the more interesting he became, the more she found herself liking him. It was a dangerous path for them to tread, but she couldn't help but want to move forward.
Dieter saw the way she looked at her husband. As much as he tried to control it, his blood grew hot with envy at Gilbert's prior claim. Had this girl been born a German to a good family then maybe something could have happened between them. Even if she wasn't married, there would be nothing stopping him from taking her as his mistress. There were plenty of women in Paris and back at home, and he could have any of them that he chose given his rank and authority. But none of them were her.
The rest of the party soon joined them outside. Landa instructed Major Hellstrom to ready the cars, and Archie and Anna began to follow.
"Oh I'm terribly sorry," Landa started in English, holding up his hand for them to stop. "This is a matter for the German state only. I know you are friends of the major, but we cannot have any unauthorized entry before the premiere. You understand."
"Of course, sir." Archie nodded.
"I must be getting back to work anyway." Anna nodded and smiled.
"If that's the case, let me give you a ride back." Dieter replied, opening the car door for her. "I drove separately."
"Oh thank you, but my husband drove us. He can easily take me back."
"The theater is only a block away from the shop," Dieter assured her. "It will be easier for me to take you."
She couldn't think of an excuse in time and refusing a kind gesture from a Gestapo officer might raise suspicions. She smiled and thanked him, kissed Archie goodbye, and got into the car.
"Thank you for driving me." She smiled.
"Of course. It gives me another excuse to spend time with you."
She sighed. How could he still be trying to win her over?
"Dieter, I – "
"Do you trust your husband?" He asked bluntly.
"With my life," She said, giving him a look of confusion, as that should have been fairly obvious. He smiled and moved close enough to her to whisper something in her ear.
"Is he faithful?" He asked quietly.
"Well, of course." She replied, pulling away from him and laughing as if his question were utterly absurd.
"You're a very trusting woman, Marie." He replied.
She was so tired of seeing that smug grin on his face. And this time he'd truly struck a nerve.
"Just because my husband stayed in Canada before joining me here does not mean he has been unfaithful to me." She began. "There's absolutely no reason –"
"And how long have you been married?" Dieter cut her off.
"Two years."
He smirked at this.
"What's so funny?" Her blood was beginning to boil.
"Such a short amount of time. You're practically newlyweds. And given that you've spent so much time apart, how can you really be sure you're the only woman in his life?"
"Trust me. I know my husband." She said shortly.
"I saw the way he looked at Mademoiselle Mimieux today." He persisted. "He tried to speak with her, tried to get her attention. And she's a lovely girl."
"Why are you telling me this?" She finally asked. He scooted closer and moved his hand to her knee.
"I want you to be sure you made the right choice." He smiled and her stomach turned. "He looked at Emmanuelle the way I look at you sometimes."
His hand moved further up to her thigh, but she caught it before he could make another move.
"There's been some kind of mistake." She began. She tried to push his hand away, but he locked it in place, only budging a minute amount. "I'm happily married. Gilbert is the man I love. If I ever led you to believe that I felt more for you than friendship I am sorry."
"Friendship?" He scoffed. "You must not understand me."
"What don't I understand?" She asked as he chuckled to himself.
"I am a very powerful man. More than a little lamb like yourself could ever imagine." He moved in closer towards her. "I'm not the kind of man who could be satisfied with friendship."
She took a deep breath and fought to retain her composure as he took hold of her chin and kissed her. As a spy she learned to be calculated. It was never easy to control her emotions, but she spent years prioritizing the mission over her own desires. And she'd hold to that sentiment no matter how difficult it was.
"Stay with me. No one has to know."
His hand crept a little further up her thigh and she choked down a scream of protest. On the surface it seemed like a humble request, but she knew him well enough at this point to recognize that was a command. She was no longer surprised by his arrogance. Still, it was a rare opportunity to get amazing intel, even though the thought of pillow talk with the major made her skin crawl.
"I can't betray my husband." She replied quietly.
"Do you really think he's had the same consideration for you?"
"Maybe not." She replied, looking down.
Just then the car stopped in front of the shop. She took a deep breath and began to open the car door when the major reached over and shut it quickly.
"Wait outside." He instructed the driver.
"I must go back to work." She protested.
"Not until I know you agree."
"I'm not sure," She said quietly, putting on the meek schoolgirl façade just as she had done the day he entered the shop. "What you're saying about my husband may or may not be true, but…but he is still my husband."
"You're refusing then?" He said, anger rising within him once more.
"Not necessarily." She replied, playing the act up by nervously trying to appease him. "I need more time. I need to think about it."
"Well then if that's all," He rested his hand on her knee once more, and she swallowed nervously. "Take your time. But I must confess I'm not a patient man."
"I understand. I must get back," She said as she opened the car door. "Thank you for the ride."
He smiled and kissed her. She looked down shyly before quickly going inside. Her boss stood inside waiting for her, but inquired after her lunch date instead of reprimanding her for being late. She was clearly suspicious, but Anna wasn't worried. Better for her to think she was with the Gestapo than with the Allies. The former could offer her protection. At least for now.