A Fire Sparkling

by MacLean, Julianne

  She was terrified to look down.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  August 12, 1940

  Despite the secret that Vivian was forced to keep from her husband, over time, she felt oddly wound up and energetic with April’s return. Together, they worked tirelessly with the Women’s Volunteer Service, providing tea and biscuits to factory workers who were putting in extra hours for the war effort. They also talked about Vivian’s baby and made plans for the nursery, which was a wonderful distraction from the war.

  Since it was a beautiful sunny morning, Vivian suggested they take their bicycles for a ride in Hyde Park before they took up their duties with the WVS at noon.

  “How is your morning sickness?” April asked as she leaned over the handlebars and cycled alongside Vivian, keeping perfect pace in the humid August sunshine.

  “Not bad,” Vivian replied, working up a sweat. “It usually passes by noon.”

  “I guess that’s why they don’t call it afternoon sickness.”

  Vivian laughed and pedaled faster. “I dare you to keep up!”

  “You devil!”

  Vivian gained an impressive head start, but April was soon on her tail, riding beside her again until they were out of breath.

  “Let’s rest,” April suggested, swerving off the main path and pressing the brakes. She hopped off her bike and walked it to a shady spot under a massive, leafy oak.

  Vivian followed and collapsed onto the cool grass beside her. They flopped onto their backs, crossed their legs at the ankles, and folded their hands over their bellies.

  “We must look like a couple of corpses in coffins,” Vivian said with a grin, turning her head to the side.

  “Double the fun,” April replied, staring up at the sky.

  It struck Vivian then . . . how similar they were physically. Having lived with her twin all her life, she’d taken it for granted, but after a lengthy separation, she couldn’t help but see their twinness with fresh eyes.

  “I’m rather amazed by how much we look alike,” Vivian said.

  “I agree. Since I’ve been back, I’ve been awestruck every time I look at you.”

  “Really?” Vivian asked with astonishment.

  “Yes.” April rolled to face her and rested her cheek on her hands. “I’m noticing every little thing about you, like the way your nose is just a little bit crooked—exactly like mine—and the way you move your hands around when you speak. It must be our French heritage, but I’d never noticed it before, how you talk with your hands. It’s made me realize how much I do it myself.”

  Vivian looked up at the branches above and watched the morning sun shimmer through the leaves. “I wonder how much of that is something we inherited genetically from our mother, versus something we learned from being raised by her.”

  “It’s an interesting question,” April replied. “Nature versus nurture.”

  “Good old Charles Darwin. Wouldn’t he have loved to get his hands on us.”

  “Would you have agreed to be a lab rat?” April asked, rolling onto her back again.

  “In the interest of science? Of course.”

  They both looked up at the sky through the canopy of leaves.

  “Thank heavens for that birthmark on your bottom,” April said. “It’s probably the only way our mother could ever tell us apart when we were babies. It made you special, I think.”

  “Special? I hardly think so. Although . . .” Vivian felt her cheeks grow hot. “Theodore quite likes that little spot on my bum.”

  April sat up. “How naughty you are!”

  Vivian blushed. “Besides you, he’s the only person in the world who knows it exists.”

  April laughed as she lay back down. “I suppose you’re a married woman now. It’s all respectable, isn’t it?”

  Vivian glanced at her. “Based on those pictures I saw—especially the one with you lying on the bed—I suspect you’ve been living like a married woman yourself.”

  April grew pensive. “Yes, I suppose I have.”

  They lay in silence for a few moments, gazing upward.

  “It’s good to have you back,” Vivian said. “It felt like a part of me was missing all this time.”

  “I know what you mean. I was happy in Berlin, but it wasn’t an absolute happiness.”

  Vivian watched a squirrel dash along a tree branch overhead. “I feel guilty even thinking something like that, because Theodore has been everything to me. After you were gone, I felt very alone until he came into my life. I don’t want to belittle that. I’m not sure where I’d be, if not for him.”

  “He seems like a wonderful man, and I’m not just saying that to be polite. I could tell, and I consider myself a good judge of character.”

  Vivian turned to her. “That’s why you’re so confident about your German fellow?”

  “Yes.”

  Vivian watched her sister for a moment. “Then I’ll try to be confident too.”

  The distant drone of an airplane engine in the sky sent a pang of fear into Vivian’s heart. She sat up and looked toward the east, shading her eyes from the glare of the sun.

  Ever since July, the German air offensive had been intensifying, targeting airfields and radar stations with the intent to annihilate the Royal Air Force and clear the way for a full invasion of their island. There had been a few raids over London as well, mostly weapons factories. The Observer Corps was excellent, with thirty thousand volunteers manning one thousand observation posts, and Vivian had enormous faith in the air raid sirens to warn them of oncoming danger, but it wasn’t foolproof.

  She and April scrambled to their feet. Other visitors in the park were facing the same direction, watching the sky. Vivian jogged out from under the shade of the tree to get a clearer view.

  “Is it German?” April asked, following.

  “No, it must be one of ours. Otherwise, we’d hear sirens, and everyone would be running for shelter.”

  Sure enough, two British Hurricanes flew over their heads. A few people in the park applauded. Then everyone dispersed and carried on with their day.

  Feeling more than a little shaken, Vivian and April returned to their bicycles under the oak tree and headed for home.

  That night, a violent pounding on the front door roused Vivian from a sound slumber. Blistering fear exploded in her belly, and she sat up in bed.

  “What’s happening?”

  Theodore was already up and heading for the stairs. “I don’t know. Stay here.”

  The pounding continued as if the person wanted to break down the door. Unable to contain herself, Vivian slipped out of bed, pulled on her dressing gown, and moved to the top of the stairs to peer over the banister.

  Theodore unlocked the door and opened it. “Mr. Erickson. What is the meaning of this? It’s four in the morning.”

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, sir, but you are in violation of the blackout order. Your third-floor window. The curtains are wide open, and light is shining straight onto the street like a welcome beacon for the Luftwaffe.”

  “Good Lord. One moment, please.” Theodore called up the stairs. “Vivian, go and see about your sister! Her curtains are open!”

  “Right away!” Vivian gathered her nightgown in her fists, ran up the stairs to April’s room, and found the bedroom door ajar. The bed was vacant, the lamp was on, and sure enough, the curtains on both windows were pulled wide open. She hurried to draw them closed, taking great care to ensure there were no cracks where light could sneak through.

  April rushed in. “I’m so sorry. I needed the loo, and I turned on the lamp just now, forgetting that I’d opened the curtains before I went to sleep.”

  “Why in the world did you open them?”

  “I wanted to look at the moon.”

  Perhaps April had not become quite as responsible as she had claimed. Vivian regarded her with outrage. “This is serious, April. The ARP warden is downstairs. This is the sort of thing that causes neighbors to suspect each other of treachery.
You, of all people, must be more careful.”

  “I’m sorry. Honestly, I didn’t realize it. I was half-asleep when I got out of bed.”

  Vivian calmed herself. “Well. It’s done now, and we’ve been warned. I hope this was a good lesson for you. Please don’t let it happen again.”

  Mrs. Hansen appeared in the doorway just then, having descended from her bedroom on the top floor. “Is everything all right, Mrs. Gibbons? I heard some commotion.”

  “It’s fine, Mrs. Hansen. April forgot about the blackout, and the ARP warden woke us to alert us. It’s all taken care of now.”

  “Well, these things do happen,” she replied. “I’m sure we’re not the first people in London to get a slap on the wrist.”

  “No, I’m sure we’re not.”

  Mrs. Hansen gathered her robe about her neck. “Very good, Mrs. Gibbons. Good night.”

  As soon as she was gone, Vivian and April went to the landing to listen to Theodore and Mr. Erickson, who were speaking in hushed tones in the entry hall.

  “He’s still here,” she whispered. “I’m going down to find out what’s happening. You should stay here, though. Leave it to me to explain the situation.”

  Vivian descended the stairs, lightly and soundlessly in her bare feet, and greeted their neighborhood warden, who was a retired navy man and still fit as a fiddle, keen to do his duty in some way. He wore the customary tin hat and identifying armband.

  “Mr. Erickson, thank you so much for waking us. I apologize on behalf of my sister. It was a careless mistake. She opened the curtains when she went to sleep, then she woke to go to the loo and turned on the lamp. I’ve given her a stern talking to, and she’s positively mortified.”

  The warden took one look at Vivian in her white dressing gown, her bare toes peeking out from beneath the hem, and removed his helmet. “No worries, Mrs. Gibbons. I regret having to wake you at such an unsociable hour, but we must make every effort to prevent danger.”

  “We agree wholeheartedly,” she replied. “Please don’t hesitate to knock on our door anytime we’ve been careless. We do appreciate your service.”

  He bowed and said good night.

  As soon as he was gone, Theodore locked the door and turned to her. “That can’t happen again,” he said. “You spoke to her about it, did you?”

  “Yes, of course. She feels terrible.”

  They heard the sound of the stairs creaking and turned to see April descending.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I feel like a fool.”

  Theodore sighed heavily. “It’s all right, April. All this takes some getting used to. We’ve all made our share of blunders.”

  April relaxed slightly. “Thank you for being so patient with me. I’ll do better next time.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Theodore replied.

  April returned to her bedroom, and Theodore squeezed Vivian’s shoulder. “You’ll stay on top of that?”

  “Of course.”

  They went back to bed, and while they held each other in the darkness, Vivian thought of the child growing in her womb and the depth of her love for her husband. He was everything to her, and she couldn’t imagine her life without him. Keeping April’s secret made her feel as if she were being pulled in two different directions, for she loved her sister deeply as well, and she wanted to trust April’s judgment. She prayed April was not wrong about her German fellow.

  Either way, Vivian knew she could not betray April’s confidence and risk her safety. She must continue to bury the truth for as long as she must.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  August 15, 1940

  Three days later, the BBC broadcast of the evening news reported extensive bombings of airfields in the South of England. Vivian understood that the broadcasts were censored to prevent the enemy from learning from the successes or failures of their attacks, so it was difficult to gauge how severe the battles had been. But there was no doubt that the RAF had harassed the German bombers with great fortitude and shot down a number of planes.

  It was now close to midnight, and Vivian sat alone in the front parlor, waiting for Theodore to walk through the door after an exceedingly long day at work. When she finally heard the key in the lock, she had just drifted off and was dreaming about a picnic under a willow tree. Her cheek was smooshed upon her hand, and she was drooling from the side of her mouth. Jolting out of her uncomfortable position, she stood up to greet her husband.

  “You’re home at last.”

  He closed the door gently behind him, set down his attaché case, and hung his hat on the coat tree. For a moment, he paused with his back to her, and when she saw the heavy rise and fall of his shoulders, she knew something terrible had happened, for he usually greeted her with a kiss, no matter how late the hour or how tired he was.

  He bowed his head, and Vivian moved closer to touch his arm. “Come into the parlor and sit down.”

  Without a word, he allowed her to lead him to the sofa that faced the fireplace.

  “What happened today?” Vivian asked. “You look like you just came from the front lines.”

  He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It was a bad day. The worst yet.”

  Her belly grew hot with dread. “Why? What happened? We heard some of it on the wireless. There were bombings in the South . . .”

  Finally, he looked up. “Yes. Kent County took a beating. They’re already calling it Hellfire Corner.”

  She shook her head with sympathy for the people of Kent. “They’re so close to the Channel, within such easy reach from Calais.”

  Theodore sat back and nodded. “It was bad. Göring launched six major assaults, wave after wave. There must have been two thousand planes that crossed into our airspace today, and they were bloody determined to wipe us out. But by God, the RAF gave them a good pushback. They didn’t make it easy for them.”

  “Well, that’s good news at least. We just have to keep fighting them off. That’s all. I’m so thankful for those brave pilots. What would we do without them?”

  Theodore sat forward with his elbows on his knees and hung his head in his hands, as if he had suddenly lost all hope. He was the very image of despair, and she felt an equal despair in her belly—a dark, cold shadow of gloom.

  “My darling, what is it?” she asked. “Is there more you’re not telling me?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid there is, and you had better prepare yourself.” Turning to face her on the sofa, he clasped both her hands in his. “It’s about your sister.”

  Vivian felt a chill seep into her blood. Had Theodore somehow learned about April’s affair with the Nazi? Or was it something else . . . something additional that April had kept secret, even from Vivian?

  “What is it? Please tell me.”

  He held his breath for a few seconds, then let it out. “I received a phone call today from the home secretary, and tonight, I spent over an hour with two officers from MI5.”

  Vivian’s heart beat fast with stress. “I don’t understand. What does this mean?”

  His gaze was direct and penetrating, and she had the sense that he was searching her eyes for answers and that he could see everything because he knew her so well. Perhaps he had known all along that she was keeping a secret from him.

  This was her worst nightmare—to disappoint her husband, to betray his trust.

  “I’m not sure what April has shared with you,” he said, “but according to intelligence gathered from multiple sources, she was intimately involved with a German officer in the Wehrmacht, right up until the morning she left Paris.”

  Vivian couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. She was afraid to speak for fear of incriminating herself, as well as her sister.

  Theodore gently stroked her knuckles with the pads of his thumbs. “You and I both knew that she had left Bordeaux with a German, but she led us to believe that it was a brief affair and it didn’t last. It turns out that wasn’t true. They’ve been together ever since, and he is someone with
whom our government is very well acquainted.”

  “How so?”

  “He’s one of Hitler’s favorites. A brilliant military mind, they say, credited with the success of a number of invasions over the past year.”

  Vivian felt perspiration gather on her upper lip. “What does all this mean?”

  “It means that we may have a traitor living under our roof.”

  The sound of the word traitor filled Vivian with revulsion. “No, that can’t be true. April would never betray her country. Or us.”

  “Are you sure?” Theodore asked.

  “Yes.”

  Theodore studied her expression with a frown. “You don’t believe she is here as a fifth columnist? To aid in an invasion?”

  “Of course not,” she answered decisively. “She’s my sister. She would never do anything like that.”

  He continued to stare at her, and she sensed he didn’t agree.

  “You think I’m naive,” she said. “That I am being taken in. That she’s using me.”

  “I don’t know,” he replied. “You could be right. Maybe she didn’t truly love the man but merely feared for her safety and did what was necessary to seek protection from him and find a way home. But why would she keep it secret? Especially from you.” He paused. “Unless she did tell you, and you’ve been hiding it from me in order to protect her.”

  A shadow fell across Theodore’s eyes, and his whole face darkened.

  “My God. She did tell you.”

  Vivian couldn’t continue with the charade. It felt wrong to deceive her husband and possibly even her country if April was, in fact, up to something devious.

  But no . . . that couldn’t be true . . .

  “She told me about him when she first arrived,” Vivian explained, “and I’m sorry for keeping it from you, but I was afraid you might report her, and I couldn’t bear the thought of her being sent to one of those awful internment camps, or worse, executed. But if I thought, for one second, that she was here to aid a German invasion, I would have spoken up. I swear it. But I don’t believe it, because she would never have told me about him if she were spying for him. Isn’t that what spies do? They lie and pretend to be someone they’re not? That’s not April.”