The Sisters of St. Croix

by Diney Costeloe

  “I don’t know,” admitted Adelaide. “The Germans may have been there already. We’ll try and find out later, but if they haven’t, we don’t want any attention drawn to them.”

  “It makes no sense,” replied her aunt. “The Germans would have gone straight there. Why did they come here?”

  “When they found the family weren’t where he’d told them, I imagine they’ll be searching everywhere,” Adelaide said, and heard again the splash as Fernand reached the bottom of the well. She could only pray that when there was the inevitable search of the Launays’ farm, he would not be found. “You sheltered Jews in the convent before, it was the obvious place to start.”

  Mother Marie-Pierre nodded, accepting this. “So, how will we get them away?”

  Adelaide noticed the use of the word “we”, and smiled. “I will arrange everything,” she promised. “Do you think your mother house in Paris would give the children a home if necessary?”

  “I think so, but not the parents.”

  “Never mind about them for the time being. Let’s start with the children. I may need your help when the time comes.”

  “What sort of help?”

  “I’ll explain nearer the time. The less you know, the safer you are, really. All I need from you now is where to find Father Bernard.”

  “He’s the parish priest at Holy Cross in Amiens. His house is opposite the church.” She described how to find Father Bernard’s church, and Adelaide memorised the directions carefully. “You can tell him you come from me.”

  Adelaide smiled. “Thank you, Mother. I’m sure that will reassure him.”

  “What about the Auclons in the meantime?” asked Reverend Mother. “Have they got food and water? How will you let them know what is going to happen?”

  “Leave it all to me; they’ll be fine.” Adelaide tried to sound reassuring. “But I will have to be away for a couple of days. I’ll send a message to say my Aunt Marie is sick and I can’t come to work.” She got to her feet. “I’d better go back to the kitchen now though,” she said.

  Reverend Mother stood as well. “Just one thing, Adèle, I am assuming that you, I and the Launays are the only people who know about this hidden room. Yes?”

  Adelaide smiled ruefully. “And Sister Marie-Marc,” she admitted. “She followed me into the cellar and found out what I was doing.”

  “Sister Marie-Marc,” repeated her aunt. “I might have guessed. She is incorrigible. Does she know the family are in the room?”

  “No,” replied Adelaide. “We may need her help when the time comes, but in the meantime it would be better if she knew nothing of what’s happening.”

  Reverend Mother could only agree. Coming round the desk she held out her hands to Adelaide and her eyes softened. “I know you felt you had to do this, Adelaide,” she said, “but you have put the convent and its community in grave danger. Please get them away from here as soon as you can.”

  When she had finished her work at the convent, Adelaide went straight to Le Chat Noir, wearing the blue headscarf, the sign that she needed immediate help. She had no idea who would respond to the signal, all Marcel had said was that if there was an emergency she should sit in the café, wearing the blue scarf.

  “Someone will come and speak to you. They will say, ‘You should wear that colour more often, it suits you,’ and you may trust that person implicitly.”

  The café was almost empty when she arrived, and she took a table outside so that she could easily be seen. The waitress came out and she ordered a cup of coffee, then she sat in the afternoon sun, reading a newspaper and sipping the bitter brew. How long would she have to wait, she wondered? After a quarter of an hour, anxious not to make herself conspicuous, she got up to leave. She would come back later and hope the contact would be made. There was little else she could do. She had no idea who Marcel really was, or where he lived. She had never seen him in the village, and so assumed he must live elsewhere. She went inside to pay for her coffee. Two old men were playing dominoes at one of the tables, and two German officers were sharing a bottle of wine at a table by the window, but none of them even glanced at her as she went up to the bar to pay. There was no sign of the girl who had brought the coffee, but an elderly woman sat at the till. She looked up and smiled. “You’re Marie Launay’s niece, aren’t you?” she said as she took the money. Adelaide said she was and the woman went on. “You should wear that colour more often, it suits you.”

  Relief flooded through Adelaide. “Thank you, it’s one of my favourites.”

  “I’ve got some wool for your aunt,” the woman went on conversationally. “I know she’s a great knitter and I can’t knit anymore.” She displayed fingers twisted with arthritis. “Come through to the back and I’ll find it for you.”

  “Thank you, that’s very kind.” Adelaide followed the old lady through a door behind the counter and found herself in a small parlour. The old lady closed the door behind them and turned to face her.

  “You’ve got a problem,” she stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

  “Yes, I have to speak to Marcel as soon as possible.”

  “The red scarf would have done for that,” snapped the woman. “Blue is for emergency only.”

  “This is an emergency,” Adelaide retorted. “I have to see Marcel at once.” She paused, wondering how much to reveal to this old lady, but remembering Marcel saying that she could trust the contact implicitly, she went on. “I have the Auclon family in a safe house, but they can’t stay there. We have to move them on and soon. I must see Marcel. If he can’t come to me, I must go to him.”

  “He’ll come.” The woman relaxed a little. “They’re safe, you say? The Auclons?”

  “For the moment,” Adelaide replied. “But there are other complications. It’s vital I speak to Marcel today.”

  “I understand. I will get a message to him straight away. Will you meet him at the usual place?”

  “No, too dangerous. The Germans are everywhere, looking for the Auclons. They’ve already searched the convent. Better to meet somewhere out of sight.”

  “Come back this evening,” said the woman. “Come to the side door in the alley at eight. Marcel will be here.” She picked some balls of wool out of a basket by the stove and handed them to Adelaide. “Go back through the café now,” she said, and opening the door led the way.

  “It really is most kind of you,” Adelaide was saying as she emerged into the café. “Aunt Marie will be delighted to get her hands on some more wool. Thank you so much.”

  Adelaide headed straight home, anxious to pass on the good news that the Auclons had not been found when the convent was searched, but the moment she rode into the farmyard she knew there was something wrong. Gerard should have been bringing the cows in for milking, but the yard was empty. Her eyes immediately flicked to the stone that covered the well, but it was still in place, and there were no signs that it had been moved. She parked her bike against the wall and went into the kitchen.

  Marie and Gerard were at the table, talking, both looking pale and anxious. The cut on Marie’s face had been stitched, the sutures a dark cobbled seam against the pallor of her skin. The window behind them was boarded up, leaving the kitchen in a gloomy half-light, despite the sunshine outside.

  Marie jumped to her feet. “Adèle, thank God you’re back safe.”

  “What’s happened?” Adelaide asked as she joined them. “Trouble?”

  “We don’t know,” replied Marie. “Gerard went over to see Étienne and Albertine this afternoon, to let them know the Auclons were safe for now and… well, you tell her, Gerard.”

  Gerard took up the story. “When I reached the farm, there was no one about. I looked round the yard, but no sign of anyone. Then I noticed the back door was open so I went in, calling to them, you know. No one there either, the place was empty; but there was a meal on the table, bread and cheese and a bottle of wine. One chair was tipped over, the other pushed back as if someone had just got up. I called ag
ain and then I searched the whole house, but there was no one there. Then, when I went back out to search the yard properly, I noticed heavy tyre tracks in the mud.” He sighed. “Only the Boche have trucks heavy enough to make those, so I think we have to accept that Étienne and Albertine have been arrested.” His voice was tight with hatred. “That scum Fernand must have told the Germans before he came here.”

  “He may have,” Adelaide agreed, “but that doesn’t really make sense. If he’d already told the Germans where to find the Auclons, why did he turn up here?”

  “Because he’d lost them again.” Gerard got to his feet and began to pace the room. “Don’t you see? He finds out where the Auclons are hiding, and goes back to tell his masters. In the meantime, Étienne’s got suspicious of him hanging about the place, so he moves the family here. Fernand goes back to watch the arrest, only to find that the birds have flown. When his friends the Germans arrive they aren’t going to be pleased with him, are they? So he sets out to find them again, and, knowing Étienne’s Marie’s cousin, he comes here.”

  “It’s possible, I suppose,” Adelaide said doubtfully.

  “It’s the only thing that fits what we know,” Gerard said warming to his idea.

  “But why didn’t the Germans act at once?”

  “Dawn raids,” Marie said. “They tend to raid at dawn to catch people before they’re properly awake.”

  “That’s right,” Gerard agreed. “They would have crept up to the ruined cottage in the dark and surrounded it, but they wouldn’t go in until it was daylight… to make sure no one got away under cover of darkness.”

  “And now they’ve got Étienne and Albertine,” said Marie bleakly.

  “And they’ll be looking for Fernand,” pointed out Adelaide.

  “I suppose so,” said Gerard.

  “Of course they will,” Adelaide said. “They have to find him. If there’s no Fernand, and Albertine did manage to clear the cottage in time, they’ve no proof the Auclons were ever there.”

  “Since when do the Germans need proof?” asked Gerard bitterly.

  “Adèle’s right, Gerard,” said his wife. “They may have no evidence. They may have just taken them in for questioning.”

  “And we all know how the Germans question people!” muttered Gerard.

  “Which means they may come looking here,” said Marie.

  “They’re already looking for the Auclons, or for somebody,” Adelaide told them. “They searched the convent this morning.”

  “They didn’t find them?” whispered Marie.

  “No. The secret room held. But we do have to get them out as soon as we can. I’m seeing someone this evening to make plans.” Adelaide got up. “We may need to go to the market in Albert tomorrow,” she said. “Can Sunshine take us in the cart? We could all have a day out.”

  At exactly eight o’clock Adelaide knocked on the side door of the café, and it was opened immediately by the old lady.

  “Come in,” she said, glancing quickly up and down the alley to see if anyone had noticed Adelaide’s arrival. It was not yet dark, but a damp drizzle had drifted in with the evening and there was no one about.

  Marcel was sitting at the kitchen table and he got to his feet as Adelaide came in. “Antoinette, what on earth has happened?” His eyes glowed with suppressed anger. “It puts us all at risk for me to come here.”

  “I know,” responded Adelaide as she sat down opposite him, “but we would be at even more risk if I hadn’t been able to speak to you straight away.” She glanced across at the old lady who had seated herself in a chair by the stove.

  Marcel followed her glance. “You can talk in front of Juliette, she’s with us.” He picked up a bottle of wine from the table and filling a glass passed it over to her. “Here, have a drink, and then for God’s sake tell us what has happened.”

  Adelaide took a sip of the wine and then putting down her glass began. “Well, firstly,” she said, “Alain Fernand is dead.”

  “Dead! Christ, what happened to him?”

  “I killed him,” Adelaide said. “He was threatening to kill Marie to get some information out of Gerard. He didn’t know I was there. I stabbed him.”

  “Stabbed him?” echoed Marcel.

  “In the back,” said Adelaide. “He had a knife to Marie’s face and was threatening to blind her.” Her eyes held Marcel’s. “He was trying to make Gerard tell him where a Jewish family were hidden.”

  “The Auclons,” put in Juliette.

  “Yes, the Auclons. They had been brought to us in the hope we could hide them. Gerard and I managed to get them to a safe place, but when we got back Fernand had Marie tied to a chair in the kitchen.” She explained what had happened when they’d come back and found Fernand in the kitchen.

  Marcel listened until she had finished and then, with a look of new respect on his face, he addressed her quietly. “I wouldn’t have thought you had that in you.”

  Adelaide gave a shaky laugh. “I wouldn’t have thought so either,” she admitted. “I was sick afterwards. But it wasn’t just him or me, was it? It was to save a family with small children, as well as the three of us.”

  “You don’t have to justify your actions to me,” Marcel said cheerfully, “I applaud them. But it has left us with a problem. What have you done with his body?”

  Adelaide explained how they had tipped it down the well. “It was the only place we could think of in a hurry.”

  “Well, he’ll be safe enough there I should think,” Marcel said, tasting his wine and pulling a face. “It’s most unlikely they’ll find him, unless they have some idea where to look. Do you think anyone else knows he was coming to the Launays’ farm?”

  Adelaide shrugged. “He may have told someone, but we doubt it, or they’d have been round already.” She then explained Gerard’s theory. “He could be right,” she added. “The trouble is Étienne and Albertine have disappeared, so we have to assume that they’ve been arrested. That means we could get a visit from the Gestapo as well.”

  “Yes, probably,” Marcel agreed. He lit a cigarette, looking thoughtful.

  “But there’s nothing to find,” Adelaide continued with more confidence than she felt. “In the meantime, I want to get that family moved out of the area. Apart from their own safety they’re endangering too many other people.”

  Marcel shook his head. “Almost impossible with the activity there’ll be in the next few days. You’ll have to wait until the heat dies down.”

  “To make the move, maybe, but I want to set the plans in motion, so I’m ready when the time comes.”

  She outlined her plan for getting the Auclon family away from the area. Marcel listened carefully and when she’d finished he pinched out his cigarette, putting the remains into a small tin to save for another time. “Well, it is the basis of a plan, but it leaves an awful lot to chance.”

  “I know, but provided this priest”—she was careful not to name him even to Marcel—”will take the children, I think they can be got to safety. The parents are another matter. We shall do our best, but they will find it more difficult to get through.”

  “The Boche will be looking for a family,” pointed out Juliette, speaking for the first time. “Moving the children separately will cut down the risk for them, but double the risk for you.”

  “I can’t move them together for two reasons,” Adelaide reminded her. “One, they are identical twins and that makes them too noticeable, and two, I have only room for one on my bicycle at a time.”

  They continued chewing over the plan, discussing possibilities, trying to foresee the problems that might arise. But there were few preparations they could make until Adelaide had been to see Father Bernard.

  “It’d be safer if I had some sort of papers for them,” Adelaide said. “Difficult to get identity cards, we can’t get photos, but perhaps if I had ration cards for them…? They’d still be J1s. Can you help there? I’d only need one if I’m moving them separately.”

 
Marcel shrugged. “I’ll try,” he promised. “Give me a day or two. Anything else? What about the parents?”

  “Ration cards would help there too,” Adelaide said, “but we’d have the same problem with identity cards. Just do the best you can. And Marcel, I really need those inner tubes or the whole plan could fail because of a puncture!”

  “I’ll get them,” he promised. He looked at his watch and got to his feet. “I’d better get moving,” he said. “Don’t want to be caught out after curfew. I’ll be in the café two nights from now. You come to the side door and if it’s safe Juliette will come and fetch me.” He shook hands with Juliette and then coming round the table embraced Adelaide, kissing her on both cheeks. “You’re a brave girl,” he said. “We’ll get them away.”

  “And Fernand?”

  “They’ll be looking for him,” Marcel said, “that’s certain, but they won’t find him, will they? Oh, they’ll guess what’s happened to him, but they won’t know where to look.”

  “They might make reprisals,” Adelaide said in a small voice.

  “If he was a missing German they might, but not for a Frenchman, even if he was a collaborator.”

  Marcel had slipped out of the side door and disappeared into the darkness, and Adelaide waited another ten minutes before she followed him into the night.

  Next morning Gerard put old Sunshine between the shafts of the cart and they were on the road for Albert before most of the village had opened its eyes. It was a glorious summer morning, the sun sparkling in the dew and teasing out the hidden colours of the hedgerows. Birdsong filled the air, and Adelaide was struck by the beauty around her as if seeing it for the first time. How could there be a war going on in such a stunningly beautiful world? The countryside spread away on either side of her; meadows with cattle grazing peacefully, a meandering river, way-marked with willows; fields showing the tender green of new crops.

  She thought of the Auclon family, confined to the hidden cellar, as much in prison as if they had been in a dungeon. She wondered how they were coping with so little space and only the daylight filtering through the grating to see by. How long could they keep two four-year-old boys quiet? Children their age should be out playing in this glorious early summer sunshine, not entombed underground, fearful for their lives. Anger rose like bile in her throat at the evil that forced them to remain there, and the day lost its brilliance.