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L izzie indulged in a rare lie-in after Jack kissed her at dawn and slipped out of the bedroom to meet Luc and his vineyard crew. By the time she awoke and stretched like a lazy cat, comatose in the rising heat, the sun was already beating on the shutters and the city below was a hive of activity.

Lizzie wandered over to the window wearing just her slip and threw open the shutters to reveal the breathtaking view. The morning breeze blew in and caressed her warm skin, and she just stood there for a moment appreciating the allure of the South of France.

The river curved through the lush valley like a glittering snake sliding through the countryside and into the city. Terracotta brick roofs topped the pretty houses dotted in clusters like a picture-perfect jigsaw puzzle.

For the briefest of moments, she forgot they were at war and, according to SOE intelligence, were now surrounded by committed Nazi collaborators.

Fortunately, intelligence reports had also informed them Toulouse served as a base for thousands of refugees who didn’t sympathise with or applaud Nazi ideology.

Lizzie and Jack’s mission was to find and train a leader who would risk their life to develop a new Resistance cell that would cooperate with the SOE after they returned to London.

The previous evening, they had received a message from Val saying she’d had word that there was a growing number of downed airmen in hiding, desperate to get back to Britain. She used just two words as a code to explain what she wished them to do: Stern Family.

Lizzie and Jack, who decoded the message after they returned from their evening meeting in the city, were in the turret room Jack and Henry had used as a lookout den when they were boys.

By the time they reached the small room up in the sky, after climbing the steep stone staircase, the light was fading fast. The air in the turret was stifling and Jack threw open the tiny window and only the chirping sounds of crickets preparing for a long night echoed around them.

‘I feel like a princess in a fairytale, surveying her kingdom,’ Lizzie said.

‘And I’m your medieval knight, watching for the approaching enemy and defending his lady,’ Jack said, wrapping his arms around her waist as he stood behind her and they gazed out the window across the sweeping vineyards as dusk thickened like a smoky sheet and night descended.

‘It’s so much more peaceful here than in London,’ Lizzie said, resting her head against his shoulder. ‘I’m used to hearing the constant hum of aircraft back home and bracing to run to the shelter.’

‘Yes, it’s a welcome respite from all that,’ Jack murmured, kissing the delicate skin of her neck and setting her senses alight.

She swivelled in his arms, and they kissed, losing track of time until the radio shuddered and screeched to life.

Jack hurriedly closed the small window. ‘It won’t do for any of the staff to overhear us listening to English radio. ’

They sent a hasty reply to Val using the coded system they’d agreed on at Baker Street, confirming they had understood her message and would be in touch when they had something to report.

The Stern Family. Lizzie often thought of the Jewish family she and Hannah had helped escape from Paris when the Gestapo were hunting them down.

Mr Stern was a gifted scientist, and the Nazis wanted to get their hands on his research, but he said he’d rather die than let them.

Val used their name as a code so they would understand she was ordering them to set up a similar escape route for the downed airmen.

Lizzie turned from the window, washed and dressed quickly, completing her outfit with her lucky yellow scarf, and her wide-brimmed sun hat in hand. She walked down the wide staircase to breakfast.

It was strange she was living like a French aristocrat, which couldn’t be more different from her previous missions where she’d spent much of her time riding around on a bicycle and queueing for rations as she gathered intelligence and met with members of the Resistance.

‘Suzanne, where do you go for provisions?’ Lizzie asked the helpful housekeeper who insisted she call her by her first name.

An idea had dawned on her as she sipped her coffee under the pergola, shaded from the hot sun which would toast her pale winter skin if she wasn’t careful.

A plan formed in her mind, and she thought for a few minutes and concluded it was viable.

Suzanne went into the city every morning and had asked for their ration cards when they arrived. Now Lizzie asked if she would be so kind as to give her the ration cards.

The housekeeper’s eyes revealed her confusion. ‘You do not wish for me to collect the rations today, madame?’

Lizzie explained she wished to explore the city and make herself useful.

Suzanne looked even more confused, but she nodded hesitantly when Lizzie repeated her request, and she returned a few minutes later with the ration cards and placed them on the table.

Lizzie asked if there was anything particular she should get if it was available, and Suzanne gave her a quick rundown of the shop to visit and what to try and get.

Lizzie placed her hat on her head and had just descended the back stairs on her way to look for the spare bicycle Suzanne said she could use when Jack appeared.

His white shirt was damp from exertion in the vineyards and his face shone with a thin film of sweat.

‘Darling, there you are,’ Lizzie said. ‘How was your first morning as a vigneron ?’

‘Good morning, beautiful. It was fascinating, if somewhat hot. You look like a woman on a mission. Where are you off to, my love?’ Jack ran one hand across his stubble.

‘I had a fabulous idea,’ Lizzie said, waving the ration cards in the air like a fan. ‘I’m just going to pop into the city by bicycle.’

Jack froze as if she’d struck him. ‘I’m not sure I like the sound of that,’ he said, concern blazing in his eyes. ‘I thought I would have a quick wash and then we would plan what to do today.’

‘That sounds good. When I return, let’s do that.’

Jack’s forehead creased. ‘Now, I’m certain I don’t like the sound of it.’

Lizzie touched his arm; the thin cotton of his shirt was warm and damp. She pulled him out of earshot of the back door. ‘Our goal is to meet new people who may be able to help us, correct?’

‘Go on, I’m listening,’ Jack said, his expression serious.

‘Well, it occurred to me over breakfast, we’ve been going about this the wrong way.

It’s all very fine us living like royalty up here on the hill, but the reason I was successful in my other missions was because I interacted with regular people every day.

Potential contacts are much more likely to be sympathetic to a woman who’s new to the city if she’s alone, rather than if she’s on the arm of her handsome husband who happens to be a relative of the owner of this magnificent chateau. ’

Jack studied Lizzie’s face, and she could tell by his expression that he agreed with her, but was uneasy to let her go alone.

He also lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘Remember, Val wants us to locate the airmen.’

‘I haven’t forgotten. Perhaps I will learn something of their whereabouts whilst I’m in the city.’

Jack still looked reluctant.

‘I will be fine, Raven,’ she said, subtly reminding him they were here as undercover agents, not lovers.

‘You don’t have to worry. I’ve done this kind of thing a lot on my own.

All I’m going to do is cycle into the city and visit the shop the housekeeper usually gets our provisions from.

I’ll be able to get a much better idea of what’s going on than if I’m closeted up here dining on delicacies and sipping the best vintage from twenty years ago, talking about what may or may not happen in the war. ’

Jack didn’t like it, but Lizzie convinced him it was for the best, and eventually he agreed. They made a plan to meet back at the house, and he walked her to an iron roofed shed covered in cobwebs and helped her extract the old bicycle.

‘I’d feel better if I dropped you off in the car,’ he said when she sat on the bike and tested the brakes.

‘I’ll be absolutely fine,’ she assured him again. ‘You’ve seen me off on a bicycle before.’

‘Yes, but you weren’t my wife then,’ he said. ‘And it was difficult enough then, but it’s terrible now.’

She traced his angular cheekbone gently with her fingers.

‘I love you, darling, but you know this is all fiction and we’re here to do a job.

We mustn’t let our feelings for each other distract us.

You taught me that. I’m not really your wife, and even if I was, we can’t let that compromise our mission. ’

Jack’s eyes were mournful, and Lizzie’s heart throbbed. It was so hard to keep their relationship secret at home, and here, where they were posing as man and wife, they had a whole new set of challenges.

‘ Yet , you’re not officially my wife yet , but for all intents and purposes, you are my wife, and it’s my job to protect you. Please don’t forget that.’

Lizzie’s voice was tender. ‘Nothing will make me happier than the day we officially marry, and I can shout out how much I love you to all the world.’

Undeterred, Jack tried again. ‘Seagrove, let me take you to the outskirts of the city by car. I can shove the bicycle in the back, and you can ride alone from there.’

Lizzie looked at him, her eyes dancing.

‘You went off this morning, and I didn’t stop you, did I?’

‘That’s different. I was just learning the business in the vineyards with Luc, and besides, you know it’s different for men.

It’s true you might attract more sympathy as a woman alone, but you also risk attracting the wrong kind of attention.

When I think back to how close I was to losing you in Reims, it terrifies me. ’

‘I’ve grown wiser and tougher since then. I promise at the first hint of danger, I’ll leave. All I’m going to do is watch and listen and cultivate new contacts. That’s the only way I know how to do this.’

Jack sighed. ‘Remember, there’s also the fellow from the café last night. I arranged to meet him again today.’

‘I know, and maybe he’ll be able to help us set up the escape route for the airmen, but I don’t think we should rely on one man we know nothing about. He could just as likely be a Vichy sympathiser pretending to be against them to fool resistors into revealing their plans.’

Jack kissed Lizzie and she could tell he was resigned to her going. ‘All good points. What a suspicious nature you have, my darling wife.’

Lizzie laughed. ‘We’ll broaden our opportunities if we go separately and get into conversation with different people.’

‘Don’t worry about Lev. I will check him out further before revealing any information. I see you are determined to make this solo outing, so I must let you. Take care, Seagrove, and I’ll see you back here when we’re both finished.’

Jack waved to Lizzie as she set off and quickly found her balance on the old bicycle.

She waved back and blew him a kiss before turning the corner and pedalling across the courtyard and out of the chateau grounds.

As she picked up speed, adrenaline flooded through her body, and she felt the thrill of being alive.

She raced down the hill, the breathtaking vista spread before her and the sun scorching her arms. There was such freedom in riding a bicycle and she thought of Jersey and how she used to cycle into St. Helier to do errands and visit her Pa at his office.

Lizzie felt at home on a bicycle, and memories of her previous adventures filled her mind as she approached the city on the banks of the Garonne.

Living with Jack as his wife was a fantasy come true, but she couldn’t let herself lose sight of why they had been posted here. Her gut told her she must also operate alone, and she would follow her instincts, just as Jack had advised her in her initial training.