Page 98 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure

The men went off with Nico. Ellie returned to the house.

“Where are your friends?” Roland asked.

“I’ve put them to work, mending part of the fence,” she said. “If the goats get out, they’ll eat all our plants.”

He seemed to accept this.

“I keep wondering if I should go back to Paris,” he said. “I am good for nothing here, except eating your food.”

“Oh, surely not Paris,” Ellie replied. “They don’t have enough food, and the Germans are everywhere.”

“I’m sure I could arrange for food through the black market,” he said. “Money is a useful commodity. I just feel so useless here.”

It did occur to Ellie that it would be much easier for their future plans if he did go. “But how could you travel?”

“I do have my motor car.”

“You’d need enough petrol.”

“True. But I expect the black market might provide that.”

“And there will be checkpoints all along the way.”

“I shall tell them my aged mother is sick. I am returning as the dutiful son. I don’t think they would stop me.”

“They could commandeer your car, the way they took your house.”

He considered this. “That’s true. Maybe I should wait for the weather to improve. It may be hard to find coal for heating in Paris.”

Tommy and Clive returned much later, chatting and laughing as if they hadn’t a care in the world.

“We went for a little stroll up the hillside,” Tommy said. “What a fine view there is from the top. But it’s steep coming down. Clive sat on his bottom at one point.”

“It’s not polite to mention such an indignity,” Clive replied. “I shall go to my room and work on my calligraphy.”

What have we got ourselves into?Ellie thought.Will we be able to bluff our way through if the Germans find out?

Chapter 40

The first of the men arrived two days later. He came, bundled in a great overcoat and scarf. It seemed he was wearing a jacket and jumper underneath since he could not carry a suitcase with his clothing. Instead he carried a small bag. He was sweating profusely, as much from fear it seemed as from the overabundance of clothing he was wearing. His eyes darted nervously as he looked around the room.

“Don’t worry,” Ellie said. “You’re safe here for the moment. We’ll give the signal for your transport to pick you up tonight. In the meantime you can take off your overcoat and sit down. I’ll get you a glass of water.”

“Most kind. Most kind,” he muttered. He had a deep, rumbling voice. He removed his hat and had a shock of grey curly hair.

“If anyone asks, you are a friend, visiting us,” Ellie muttered before she went through to the kitchen to pour the water. The man was sitting, perched on the edge of a chair, when she returned. Tommy had disappeared, and the man was staring out at the view below.

“You have a lovely view here,” he said.

“Yes. It’s a beautiful spot.” Ellie handed him the glass.

“I should introduce myself,” he began, but she cut him off.

“No, don’t. The less we know about each other the better. Just in case.”

“You’re right. Just in case.” He took a gulp of the water. “That was quite a walk. Rather steep. I’m afraid I’m not incredibly fit.” Then aspasm of pain crossed his face. “I still can’t believe it,” he said. “I never thought it would happen to me. I thought I was a respected member of the community. I’m the conductor of the Marseille symphony orchestra, you know. I’ve held the position for years. I have so many friends ... so when they said all Jews have to report I didn’t think for a moment that I would be involved. But then one of my violists got a tip that they were coming for me. I left in the middle of a rehearsal.” He shook his head as if he was still trying to make sense of it. “So many of my musicians are Jewish, too. How can they do this to us? We are valuable members of the community.” His voice cracked, and he took another drink of water to swallow back the emotion.

“I’m so sorry,” Ellie said. “But with any luck you’ll be safe. The Italians are in control of Corsica, and they value music, don’t they?”