"Yes, Papa," Eva replied, her voice hoarse from crying.
"Where were you tonight?"
Eva brushed away tears as she looked up at her father, who she knew was barely controlling his temper. "I went with Greta and my friends and we...we burnt a synagogue," she replied quietly.
"Didn’t I tell you to be here tonight? Didn’t I tell you not to go out, to stay with your mother?"
"Yes, Papa, I told her I was going to be at Greta’s house and then I was going to come back--"
"You lied to her and to me. You disobeyed me!"
Eva cowered away from her enraged father, who stood over her. "Do you know what your disobedience has produced?"
Muller started to raise his voice, his face turned a bright shade of red, the veins in his neck pulsed rapidly, and the control he had held so tenuously on his temper evaporated. "You." He pointed at Eva, who was cowering in a corner. "You killed your mother!"
"Oh, Papa..." she cried.
Muller picked Eva up by the collar of her blouse and slammed her against the wall. Grabbing her by the hair, he screamed, "I will not tolerate your disobedience!" Then he slapped her so hard that it split her lip and she slumped in a heap. She dared not utter a sound and cowered against the wall.
Eva’s silence only served to urge Muller on as he beat her across the back and legs for several minutes, screaming incoherently. Finally his anger was satiated for a while and he sat down heavily, his head in his hands. "You have disgraced me."
"I...I’m sorry, Papa." Eva hiccupped, tears staining her battered and bloodied face.
His voice rose as he neared the wide-eyed girl. "I will not tolerate a bastard child ruining my reputation!"
Eva looked at him, the confusion evident on her face. Muller stood and removed his belt. "I had someone tell me of your perversion. Did this person tell me the truth about you and Greta?"
When Eva said nothing to deny her father’s accusations, he exploded. "You disgust me!" he spat. "Do you know what this will do to my reputation? They will send me to the front for this. And you, do you know what they do to perverts in concentration camps?"
Muller folded the belt strap, popping it for effect and leaning over her, so close she could feel his breath. He hissed, "Is it true?"
But Eva could not speak, her words frozen in fear. "Answer me, damn it!" he demanded.
Eva remained motionless, which only served to explode the rage once again boiling inside her father.
What followed was the worst, cruelest beating she had ever received. The leather belt, so mercilessly used against her back, tore her skin open. But that pain was nothing compared to the mental anguish she now suffered. She had been beaten into the bottomless pit of guilt and shame and as she lay sobbing, blood covering her back and legs, Muller’s words "bastard child" tortured her until she wished she were dead.
That moment signaled the end of her freedom and the start of her longest waking nightmare. A nightmare she still endured after many months of incarceration at a research facility in Aiden, Austria. She was tortured into submission. The aversion treatments were worse than the beating she got from her father. Much worse.
"Fraulein Muller!" Despina’s worried voice penetrated Eva’s consciousness from beyond the closed bedroom door. Eva shook her head to clear the memories and wiped away her tears.
"I’ll be right there," Eva called out as she stood trying to compose herself. She wiped away her tears with a face cloth and undressed for her bath. She put on a robe and tied it with a sash before she left the room.
Eva followed Despina, who carried buckets of hot water from the kitchen into the bathing room. Zoe had been urged to clean up and soon began helping Despina carry the buckets of water and fill the tub. Eva walked into the room and nodded to Despina, who deposited some soap nearby.
"Thank you, Despina." Eva stood at the window watching the sun set over the quiet village. "Where is Dr. Uta?" She asked, hoping the doctor wasn’t going to be there.
"Don’t worry, sweetheart." Despina put her arm around Eva’s waist. "She is having dinner with your father and Nurse Edith."
Eva gave Despina a relieved look and nodded. "Zoe will help you with your bath," Despina said and left before Eva had a chance to say anything.
"Are you alright?" Zoe asked quietly, watching Eva still standing by the window.
Eva remained quiet, willing herself to get better control of her emotions before facing Zoe. Turning toward Zoe, she observed her worried countenance. "I’m sorry I left so abruptly."
"You know, I’ve had a split lip before. I’ll live," said Zoe, trying to lighten the mood. "Are you going to take a bath now, or should we get Despina to reheat it?"
Eva wondered if it had been a really bad idea to get a maid even if it was to help in the Resistance. The last thing she wanted was to disrobe in front of Zoe. With a sigh she pulled the sash open and removed her robe, hoping she wouldn’t have to explain the scar that ran across her stomach or those on her back.
Those hopes were dashed when Zoe gasped at the sight of the scars that went from Eva’s shoulders to below her waist. "What happened?" Zoe whispered.
Eva didn’t speak for a few moments and Zoe thought she wasn’t going to get an answer. "I don’t really want to discuss it," Eva told her quietly.
"They look old," Zoe continued, ignoring Eva’s request. She traced one particular deep scar, causing Eva to flinch. "I’m sorry; does it hurt?"
Eva shook her head. "No."
Zoe picked up the sponge and gently began to lather Eva’s back. "Who did this to you?"
Eva sighed. "Didn’t Nurse Edith tell you that I was caught up in a bomb explosion in France?" She closed her eyes.
There was silence for a moment and Eva wondered if Zoe would stay quiet.
"I’ve seen scars like this before. I had a friend once who was beaten by her father with his belt and it left scars like this. The top one here looks different..." Zoe murmured as she gently sponged Eva’s scarred flesh.
"That’s from the bombing."
"Why were—"
"Zoe, please, shut up." Eva almost pleaded. Zoe’s hands massaging her neck, which were both gentle and firm, almost made her leap out of the bath to try and escape from the pleasurable sensations it was causing. She knew the pleasure would turn to extreme pain if she allowed any thoughts of what Zoe was doing to her to become more than what it was.
"Lean forward," Zoe asked, catching Eva by surprise. Clutching the edges of the bathtub, Eva leaned forward, which allowed Zoe to lather her hair. Eva almost purred from the pleasurable sensation of Zoe massaging her temples and then working up to her head.
"Does that feel good?"
"Hm."
"My mama used to do this when I had terrible headaches," Zoe explained as she continued the gentle massage.
"I don’t have a headache."
"You look like you do," Zoe responded and didn’t say anything further as she picked up the small basin and washed off the soap from Eva’s long black hair. She took the face cloth and gently wiped away the soap from Eva’s eyes. "I think you may want to wash the rest of you yourself."
Eva sighed with relief as Zoe picked up the basin and turned away, leaving Eva to wash herself. She watched Zoe as she stood at the window. Zoe did not turn around until Eva signaled she was ready to get out.
Eva was surprised at the gentle way Zoe helped her out of the bath and dried her off. It was some relief when Zoe brought her robe and gave it to her.
"You have soft hands. Thank you, I did enjoy the massage," Eva said and then walked to the door to go back to her room.
Zoe smiled. "I enjoyed that myself," she mumbled before she went to the chore of emptying the bath.
***
Eva was combing her hair when Zoe entered her room. Without a word, Zoe picked up the hairbrush and began to comb Eva’s long, dark, silky tresses.
"Why are you so nice to me?"
"You pay me to be nice," Zoe replied with a smirk. She glanced
at Eva’s solemn face in the mirror. "You’re not who I thought you were," she observed as she brushed Eva’s long hair. "No one deserves to be beaten like a dog."
"Not even someone who is a Nazi?" Eva looked back at Zoe in the mirror. "I thought that would have given you pleasure."
Zoe stopped the brushing and looked at Eva’s reflection in the mirror. "It doesn’t give me pleasure to see such brutality. I’ve never met any Nazi like you. You’re not a Nazi."
"How can you be so sure?"
"You would have shot me when I threw that rock," Zoe said. They remained silent while Zoe started to braid Eva’s hair.
"My father did it," Eva said quietly and looked at Zoe’s reflection.
Zoe stopped braiding. "Another reason he’s going to burn in Hell," she muttered. "Even if I don’t believe in Hell, I think he’s going to rot."
It wasn’t the response Eva was expecting. "You’re not going to ask me why?"
"You will tell me when you want to tell me," Zoe reasoned and continued with her task. "You’re like my older brother—a clam."
"A clam?"
"Yes. Michael would speak when he wanted to speak and the rest of the time he would be quiet. You remind me of him."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Eva asked. Despite her first impressions of Zoe, it seemed it was going to be impossible not to like her. There was something about Zoe that made Eva feel comfortable, which was odd since Zoe wanted her dead.
"Bad."
"Why?"
"Because it is. You are a brooder, too. It’s not a good thing to brood."
"Oh." Eva smiled and looked in the mirror to find Zoe smiling back at her.
"So why did the idiot do that?"
"I wasn’t what he wanted me to be."
"I don’t understand," Zoe stated, and started on another braid.
Eva was certain Zoe was going to flee screaming out of the room and she braced herself for it. "I had a disease."
"What kind of father beats his daughter if she is ill? Not even animals would do that to their young."
Eva looked down at her hands. "It’s a disease of the mind."
"What kind of disease?"
Eva mentally rolled her eyes and wondered why she had started this conversation. Zoe never let up. "Do you always ask so many questions?"
"Yes."
"He found out that I had a lover," Eva whispered, her voice breaking. "He was terrified of what it would do...what it would do to his reputation."
Zoe stopped braiding Eva’s hair. "He got angry because you were having sex without being married?" she asked, sounding a little surprised. "It’s not good to have sex without being married, but there isn’t any need to lose your mind. That’s a little too Greek for a German."
"My lover was a woman."
Zoe blinked. She gazed into the mirror at Eva, who was staring back at her. "You’re so beautiful. Why would you want a woman?"
Eva almost laughed at Zoe’s naivety. "It doesn’t matter now. I’m cured."
Zoe didn’t say anything, which worried Eva, as Zoe was not short of an opinion. Zoe continued to braid her hair in silence.
"Is that what Dr. Uta was doing with you? Seeing if you were cured?" Zoe finally asked. She glanced at the mirror and saw Eva’s pale face. "You are scared of her."
"Zoe--"
"The mention of her name made you look like you wanted to throw up."
"Dr. Uta is a good doctor," Eva almost whispered and wished Zoe would be quiet again.
Zoe leaned down and whispered in Eva’s ear. "She’s not a good doctor because good doctors don’t make people fear them."
Eva didn’t respond to Zoe’s comment and they both fell silent. Zoe finished what she was doing and left the room.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Zoe gazed outside and leaned against the wall watching Dr. Uta Baer’s luggage being loaded onto a truck. Edith was talking to one of the guards who were loading the truck.
"I hope you enjoy the ride down Athena’s Bluff and to hell," Zoe said just as Uta looked up at her and waved. She waved back and smiled at the doctor. Just as she was going to push away from the wall, she noticed Henry near the truck and wondered why he was there.
"Oh, no, no, no, no," Zoe muttered. She left her room and entered Eva’s study.
Eva looked up from writing the latest batch of letters for her father and noticed Zoe’s smiling face. "Yes?"
"I thought you would be ready to take your walk. Why aren’t you ready?"
"I’m going out later."
"Why? You know you have to go out and exercise in the morning--"
"Zoe, are you deaf? Didn’t you hear what I said? I’m not going out now. I have letters to write and I don’t feel like walking out in the cold."
"You need your exercise and I have my orders."
"From who?"
"Nurse Ratsger told me earlier today."
"I’m not going."
"We’re not going to the church. I thought you might like to go down to the river."
"That’s near the camp where the Jews are being kept. I don’t want to go there," Eva replied as she continued writing.
"No, it’s not near that horrid camp."
Eva sighed and put down her pen. She looked up at Zoe with an exasperated look on her face. "Why are you so eager to get me out of the house?"
"I don’t want to kill you, if that’s what you’re thinking."
"No, you could have done this in here rather than at the river."
"Too messy and I would have to clean it up," Zoe quipped, making Eva shake her head. "It’s going to be a lovely morning."
"It’s cold and windy."
"A lovely fresh morning."
Eva leaned back in her chair and stared at Zoe. "I’m not sure what you are up to, but fine. I’ll go out for a short time."
"I’ll go and tell Henry--"
"Henry is driving Dr. Baer to Athena’s Bluff."
"Alright, well, I’ll go round up two guards." Zoe reached the door before Eva stopped her.
"No. I don’t want other guards. Go downstairs and tell Henry to assign someone else."
"Are you sure? Henry may want a trip up the mountains."
"I don’t care what Henry wants."
"Yes, ma’am." Zoe gave her a mock salute and walked out of the room. She looked back, smiled and then raced down the stairs and jumped the last two steps and landed with a thump. She ran outside to where Henry was about to get into the truck.
"Sergeant Franz! Stop!"
Henry stopped and looked back as Zoe came rushing towards him. "Yes?"
"Fraulein Muller wants you to assign someone else to drive the car."
"Why? She said she wasn’t going out this morning. We’re going to be back by midday."
"She changed her mind."
Henry shook his head. "She is ruining my day."
"Trust me, she’s not," Zoe muttered under her breath. Henry threw the keys to another soldier and followed Zoe back into the house. She smiled as Henry grumbled and they walked up the stairs.
***
Zoe walked back towards the house followed by Eva and her two guards after their brief walk to the river. They stopped in the courtyard, where several soldiers were loading a truck. Reinhardt and Muller were standing outside.
"What’s going on?" Eva asked as she approached her fiancé and her father.
"There’s been an accident," Reinhardt replied. He put his arm around Eva’s waist. "Edith and Uta’s car was hit by a landslide and they lost control."
"Oh, no."
"We’re sending crews down the gorge to retrieve the car." Reinhardt kissed Eva on the cheek. "I know Uta was a dear friend; I’m sorry."
Zoe walked away and into the house. As she was walking up the stairs, she stopped, looked back, and smiled before she continued her journey up the stairs.
Walking into her bedroom, Zoe closed the door and went to the window to watch the Germans down below. "For every time there is a season, a ti
me to live and a time to die," she said aloud.
Moments later the door opened after a gentle knock alerted Zoe. She turned to see Henry enter and close the door. He stood with his arms folded.
"It was you."
"It was me? I pushed the car down the cliff?"
"No, I meant—"
"There was a landslide. We get them and they do cause accidents. I remember a few years ago, old man Salamias got stuck in one. Took his wagon right over the edge. Terrible."
"Zoe—"
"Was Dr. Baer a friend of yours?"
"No, I hated the woman but—"
"Nurse Ratsger a friend of yours?"
"No."
"Right then." Zoe threaded her arm through the crook of Henry’s elbow and looked up. "Do you know what Father Haralambos always says?"
"What does he say?"
"God works in mysterious ways. Maybe it was time for Nurse Ratsger and Dr. Baer to be called home. It just happens. I’m really glad that you were not driving that car." Zoe looked at Henry and smiled.
"Yes, so am I."
"So do we have a problem?"
Henry shook his head and walked out of the room leaving Zoe alone. "Nope, we don’t have a problem," she said aloud and chuckled.
Chapter Twenty-Five
July 1944
The electric fan whirred, making more noise than circulating any cool air. Sweat trickled down Zoe’s face as she sat crossed legged on the floor in Eva’s office. She was sealing envelopes, a tedious job at the best of times, but on this hot day it had become a real chore. The only way to try and keep cool, Zoe found, was to sit on the floor, which wasn’t covered by any rug, and leave the door open hoping for a draft to cool things a little.
Muller had given her the job to do. The fact that Zoe was Eva’s maid didn’t stop him from giving her little jobs from time to time. The last six months had been a trying time with the Germans and the Resistance trading blows. The impact on the Greek population was brutal and talks of an Allied invasion were always in the forefront of any conversation.
It had also been a hard six months for Zoe, who was now working with Eva and Father Haralambos. At times it was extremely dangerous, and a couple of times Zoe thought their subterfuge would be uncovered. More luck than planning, each time something else happened that was far more important and diverted attention from their operation.
In The Blood Of The Greeks (Intertwined Souls Series Book 1) Page 18
