Page 60 of The Lost Story of Sofia Castello

59

LISBON, 1941

The street urchin in front of me smiled and nodded and, as if by magic, Judith began to emerge from beneath the grime and the matted hair. A much thinner, scruffier Judith, but there was no denying it was my beloved friend.

I dropped the umbrella to the floor and flung my arms around her. ‘My God, I thought I’d never see you again!’ I grabbed her thin shoulders and stared into her eyes. The same dark almond-shaped eyes that had looked at me so earnestly when we’d first met. ‘Not that I ever gave up on you,’ I added hastily. ‘I tried so hard to find out what had happened to you. I even wrote a song about you.’ I was aware that I was gabbling ten to the dozen, but I just couldn’t stop. ‘Was it him? Was if Kurt Fischer? Was he behind your abduction? I tried to poison him with old fish, but it didn’t work.’

‘What?’ Judith laughed. ‘Slow down.’

‘Of course. I’m sorry. Please, sit down.’ I led her over to one of the armchairs and kneeled on the floor at her feet. I was scared of us being too far apart in case she disappeared into thin air again. ‘What happened to you?’

‘One of Fischer’s henchmen caught me. He must have followed me back to your apartment. I’m so sorry he made such a mess of it. It must have been horrible for you to come back to.’

‘Don’t worry about me!’ I exclaimed. ‘Are you all right? What did they do to you?’

‘They took me to an internment camp in Spain.’ Her voice turned sombre, and fear gripped me.

‘Did they… Did they torture you?’

‘No. I told them I didn’t have the diamond and when they couldn’t find it, I guess they decided to believe me and they left me to rot in the camp.’ She glanced around the room. ‘I don’t suppose you found anything surprising in your bath salts, did you?’

‘Funny you should mention that.’ I went over to my wardrobe and took out the hatbox. I brought it back over to her and took the pot of cold cream from its hiding place inside. ‘And I can confirm that it is indeed cursed. Or at least it felt like it was, having to keep it hidden all this time.’

‘Oh, Sofia! This is the best news ever – although I’m really sorry you’ve had the worry of having to keep it safe.’

‘It’s fine. The Germans clearly never discovered I was connected to you in any way.’

‘Thank goodness!’ Judith exclaimed. I watched as she unscrewed the lid on the pot of cream and felt inside. Her eyes lit up. ‘You are truly the best and bravest big sister ever!’ she exclaimed joyfully, and hearing her say that caused my heart to glow.

‘And I’m also the luckiest,’ I replied. ‘I can’t believe you’re here! How did you get back?’

Judith screwed the lid back on the pot and rubbed the cream on her fingers into her hands, which I noticed were bruised and scuffed. ‘I escaped from the camp – a lovely Spanish doctor helped smuggle me out. He and his wife hid me in their attic for about a month, so I could get my strength back.’ She gave a dry little laugh. ‘Let’s just say that the menu at the camp was extremely limited – unless of course you’re a fan of cabbage soup.’

I winced as I thought of her having to live in such conditions.

‘Then, once I felt strong enough to leave, the doctor and his wife gave me a hand-drawn map, with directions on how to get to the border. It turns out that orienteering isn’t my strongest suit, and within a couple of days I was completely lost and ended up having to hide in a forest.’

‘No!’ I gasped.

‘But then the most magical thing happened.’ She smiled at me, her eyes gleaming. ‘After walking for miles, I finally reached a town, and as I was standing outside a café wondering what I should do and if I should just give up, I heard your song about the jacaranda seeds on the radio!’

‘You’re kidding?’ I exclaimed.

She giggled. ‘I honestly thought I was imagining it at first. But then the show’s presenter said your name and it felt like a sign, and it gave me hope again. I knew I had to try to find my way back to Lisbon – back to you.’

‘Wow!’ I stared up at her, shaking my head. ‘Every time I sang that song, I thought of you and prayed you’d come back to me. The prayers worked!’ I placed my hands on her knees, trying not to grimace at how brittle and bony they felt. ‘I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that though.’

‘It’s fine. I’m fine.’ Judith placed her hands on top of mine. ‘But how are you?’

‘Oh, OK I suppose.’

‘You suppose?’ She cocked her head to one side like a tiny songbird and looked at me curiously.

‘Well, if you must know, I’m not OK at all.’ I sighed. ‘Without your calm, wise friendship to guide me, I’ve somehow got myself into a complete and utter mess. But I’m hoping to sort it out. Oh no!’ In the shock of Judith’s return, I’d forgotten I was about to leave the country. It was the worst timing ever.

‘What’s wrong?’ Judith asked, instantly looking panicked.

‘I’m going to London in a couple of hours to give a show. Wait a minute…’ An idea began to form in my mind. I wasn’t sure if it was a good one, but it would mean we could stay together. ‘Why don’t you come with me? We can pretend you’re my personal assistant.’

Judith looked down at her grimy clothes and laughed. ‘I’m not sure I’d look very convincing as the personal assistant to a star.’

‘I can transform you.’ I grabbed her hands. ‘I mean it. You can have a bath. I can lend you some clothes. And once we’re in London, I can find you somewhere to live, somewhere safe from the Germans. I can introduce you to my colleague, Mary, and see if she can find some work for you. At least in England you’d be safe from the Gestapo finding you.’ I shivered as I thought of Trafalgar.

‘Are you sure?’ Judith asked, looking slightly apprehensive.

‘Of course. Now come on – the car’s going to be here soon; we don’t have a moment to lose!’

I ran Judith a deep bubble bath and then, while she was bathing, I rooted through my wardrobe for some clothes for her. I stuffed a couple of extra dresses and some underwear into my suitcase and laid another set out on the bed. Judith emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam and wrapped in a towel. Her shoulder blades jutted above the towel, causing me to wince. She looked as if she hadn’t eaten in weeks.

‘When was the last time you had a proper meal?’ I asked, feeling a stab of concern.

She shrugged.

I went and fetched some nuts and crackers from the drinks cabinet. ‘I’m sorry it’s not much, but they might feed us on the plane. And I could get the driver to stop off at an all-night café on the way to the airport.’

‘I’m all right, honestly. I’m just so happy to have found you.’

‘How did you find me?’ I asked, in awe of my young friend and how she’d endured so much yet could still find it in herself to be happy and grateful.

‘I hung around outside your manager’s office, hoping you’d eventually turn up, and you did. And then I followed you back here.’

‘It was you!’ I exclaimed. ‘I thought I saw someone lurking in the shadows the other day, but I thought you were a newspaper boy.’

She gave me a sheepish grin. ‘It was so hard to not run up to you and give you a hug, but I didn’t want anyone to see me, just in case.’

I shivered, thinking of our encounters with Fischer. ‘I understand, trust me.’

Judith took the clothes and went to get dressed in the bathroom. She emerged a couple of minutes later looking downhearted. The dress hung from her tiny frame like a sack.

‘Do I look ridiculous?’

‘No, of course not.’ I fetched a belt from my chest of drawers. ‘Let’s just put this around your waist, to give it more shape.’ I did up the belt and couldn’t resist giving her another hug. ‘Oh, Judith. I can’t believe this has happened. I feel as if I’m dreaming!’

I dried Judith’s hair and made up her face, concealing the dark shadows under her eyes and applying a rosy blush to her cheeks. By the time I’d finished, she looked transformed.

‘OK, we need to give you another name, for when I introduce you to people, and get you onto the plane. What would you like to be called?’ I asked, standing back to admire my handiwork.

‘How about Rose?’ she replied. ‘After my favourite flower.’

‘Perfect!’

We both jumped as the phone began to ring, but it was just the hotel reception, letting me know my car had arrived.

‘What should we do with the pesky diamond?’ I asked, looking at the tub of cold cream.

‘I’ll take it with me,’ she said. ‘Relieve you of the curse.’

I laughed, but part of me felt anxious, knowing that the damned thing would put us more at risk – en route to the airport at least.

‘OK, let’s go,’ I said nervously as Judith stuffed the cold cream into the bag I’d given her.

Once we were in the car, I started firming up my plan for Judith when we arrived in London. If Mary wasn’t able to help, I would pay for Judith to see the rest of the war out in a hotel. And I would make sure she was safe before I got on with the business of seeing to Trafalgar.

The car swerved around a pothole, and a sudden wave of nausea came over me.

‘Oh no,’ I muttered as my skin erupted in a cold sweat.

‘Are you OK?’ Judith asked.

‘I think I might be sick.’ I leaned forward and tapped the driver on the shoulder. ‘I’m so sorry – could you stop please?’

He screeched to a halt, and I flung the door open and vomited onto the road. Thankfully, I’d been too nervous to eat dinner the night before so there wasn’t much to come up.

‘I’m so sorry,’ I said, wiping my mouth with a handkerchief.

The driver grunted, and we continued on our way.

‘Are you ill?’ Judith asked, clearly concerned.

‘No, no, I’m not ill. I – uh – I think the fish I ate last night was bad.’ I couldn’t risk the driver overhearing, so I’d tell her the truth when we got to London. At the thought of being in London and seeing Trafalgar, my stomach lurched again, but we made it through the winding roads of Sintra and arrived at the airfield without me being ill again.

‘Oh no,’ Judith muttered as we drove up to the small airport building. There on the tarmac, just a few yards from the BOAC airliner we would be taking, were two German passenger planes.

‘It’s all right,’ I whispered, although I felt anything but. ‘All we have to do is check in with the ground crew and then we’ll be shown on board. Last time, it was very quick.’ I really hoped my star power would be enough to get them to allow Judith to come with me. But I realised in that moment that if they didn’t, I would refuse to board. I wasn’t going to lose my friend again for anything or anyone.

Judith nodded, but I could tell she was scared.

The driver parked up, and we got out of the car. The sour taste of vomit in my mouth made me feel sick all over again, and I wondered if there was any way I could get a drink of water before take-off. A couple of men in suits were climbing the stairs to the plane, so I guessed we’d have to board straight away. I gritted my teeth and made my way over to a female member of the airline crew who was holding a clipboard.

‘Hello, Miss Castello!’ the woman exclaimed with a beaming smile.

This was good – she appeared to be a fan. Hopefully it would work to my advantage.

‘Hello. This is my assistant, Rose,’ I said confidently. ‘She’ll be making the trip with me.’ I decided that telling rather than asking was the best course of action and hopefully the least likely to be met with refusal.

The woman looked at her clipboard and frowned, so I decided to enact a little role play for authenticity.

I turned to Judith. ‘Rose, could you please go inside and fetch me a bottle of water?’

‘Yes, of course, Miss Castello,’ Judith replied.

‘There’s no sign of your assistant’s name on the passenger log,’ the woman said.

‘My manager assured me that he’d asked his secretary to book her ticket.’ I frowned. ‘Honestly that woman is so forgetful.’ I took my purse from my bag. ‘I’m happy to pay for her ticket now. I can sort it out with my manager later.’

The plane’s engine rumbled into life, and a member of the crew appeared at the top of the steps. ‘We need to board the remaining passengers,’ he called down.

The woman looked at me and smiled. ‘OK, go ahead. I’ll tell your assistant to join you when she comes back with the water.’

When I got to the top of the steps, I saw Judith coming out of the building and beckoned at her to follow me, then I entered the cabin and was shown to my seat. Judith arrived moments later, looking incredibly anxious.

‘It’s all right – you’re allowed to fly with me,’ I whispered as she came over to join me.

‘You have to get off the plane,’ she hissed.

‘What?’

‘Right now!’

‘But—’

‘Please!’ she begged, tugging my hand, and I could see a real urgency in her expression and that her eyes were shiny with tears.

I undid my seat belt and stood up. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I said to a crew member. ‘There’s been an emergency. I have to leave.’

We slipped out just before the plane door was closed and raced down the steps. But instead of heading back to the building, Judith grabbed my arm and pulled me over to a nearby hut used to store mail sacks.

‘What’s going on?’ I called as the plane engine grew louder.

‘I overheard two Germans talking in the airport,’ she gasped.

‘So why on earth did you make us get off the plane?’ I glanced nervously at the building. ‘If we’d stayed on board, we’d have been heading to safety.’

‘They were talking about you,’ Judith replied, and my stomach lurched.

‘What were they saying?’

‘One of them was telling the other that he’d just seen you get on board. They mentioned something about a contact in London. Then they started joking about how you wouldn’t be singing for much longer.’ She gripped my hands tightly. ‘I think they’re plotting to kill you in London.’

The roar of the plane grew fainter, and my palms began to sweat as I watched it take off, only to be swallowed up by the dark night sky.