“Your pilot is gone,” Charlotte said bluntly.
“Yes. Yes, he is.” Ruby drew a deep breath. “How is your mother feeling, Charlotte?”
“A little better, thank you.”
“I’m very glad.”
Charlotte nodded, but she made no move to go. Ruby had the sense there was something the girl wanted to say.
“Is everything okay, Charlotte?”
“I can hear my parents at night,” she blurted out. “Arguing. They don’t sleep anymore. I don’t know what I should do. They just stay up and fight about the situation in Paris. They talk about whether we should try to leave.”
Ruby felt a surge of pity for the Dachers. She knew things were only getting worse for Jews; there were frequent reports of arrests and deportations across the city. “Maybe you should,” she said gently.
“This is our city, Ruby. It’s the only home I’ve ever known. Why should we have to go?”
“Because it’s getting dangerous.”
“But you’ve decided to stay! Why should things be any different for us?”
Ruby could tell just by looking that the girl knew the answer to her own question.
FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS, Ruby could barely sleep. Each time she closed her eyes, she saw something terrible happening to Thomas. She imagined him caught by a Nazi soldier on a train, betrayed by Laure, picked off the street in southwest France, shot on sight as he tried to cross into Spain. She knew she had to keep telling herself to forget him. Her mother had once told her that some people you meet are meant to be a part of your world forever, but some are meant only to change the course of your life and then move on. Thomas had shown her that she could be useful in the escape line, restored her faith in herself, given her back a purpose. He had even helped her to begin letting go of her guilt over the baby. Maybe that was all he was meant to do. Maybe in time, she would stop thinking of him, stop remembering the feel of his lips against hers.
On Monday, Ruby went to the Tuileries gardens to meet Aubert. As she strolled through the flower-lined pathways, she was struck by how normal things seemed. There were little boys racing white-sailed boats in the pond, giggling girls chasing each other, contented mothers pushing prams and chatting. It was like none of them knew a war was going on. Ruby wasn’t sure whether she should be grateful for the normalcy or horrified by it.
“Act casual,” Aubert said quietly as he approached quickly from the west entrance to the park. He kissed her on both cheeks and put an arm around her. “Behave as if we’re old friends, just meeting up for a chat.”
“But we are old friends,” Ruby said. “Aren’t we?”
She drew her answer from his silence. He had never been her friend. He had merely tolerated her. Was that what he was doing now? Putting on a friendly face to keep her happy?
They settled onto a bench together facing the pond. It was the perfect cover for a clandestine meeting. There were thousands of witnesses, so no one could accuse them of conspiring, and yet they could talk without being overheard. “Always hide in plain sight,” Aubert murmured. “It’s the last place the Nazis look.”
“Is the pilot safe?” Ruby couldn’t help but ask. “The one I was sheltering?”
“I don’t know. Once they leave Paris, I have no idea what happens. It’s better that way; the less each of us knows, the less we can reveal if we’re captured.”
“But he got out of Paris, at least?”
“Yes.” Aubert was silent for a moment. “You know, it’s our job to send them on to the next stop in the line, not to befriend them.”
Ruby looked away, but she was sure Aubert could feel her shoulders tensing under his arm. “I nursed him back to health, Aubert, so obviously I care what becomes of him.”
“Laure seemed to feel there was something more between the two of you. Of course I told her she must be wrong. Surely you’re still mourning your husband.”
“Of course I am,” Ruby said quickly, swallowing a hard lump of guilt.
“In any case, I know you want to help us. I appreciate that, Ruby, but I’ve considered it and I don’t think you’re the right fit. You already stand out.”
“And yet I harbored a pilot for days.”
“Still, I’m not sure you’re capable—”
She didn’t wait for him to finish. “You didn’t think I’d be capable of something like this in the first place, though, did you? And I have already proven you wrong.”
“Ruby—”
“And truly, Aubert, why would anyone suspect me?” she asked, interrupting him again. “Because of Marcel, people think I’m nothing, a nobody.”
From the sheepish look Aubert gave her, Ruby knew he’d thought it too. Perhaps he still did.
“See?” she continued. “Marcel laid the perfect groundwork. If the Nazis ever have a suspicion, they’ll only have to ask around, and they’ll be informed of just how useless I am.” Her laugh sounded more bitter than she intended it to. “He created the perfect cover.”
“This is very dangerous work, Ruby.”
“I’m aware of the risks.”
“But they torture people. You can’t possibly know how you’d stand up to that.”
“I do know that I would sooner die than risk endangering any of the pilots I’d be helping.”
“And under no circumstances could you tell the Nazis about me or Laure or anyone else you meet on the line. As an American, you might survive, but those of us who are French would be executed immediately. We’d be putting our lives in your hands, Ruby.”
“Aubert, I’m involved already, which means your life is in my hands now. I suppose it’s up to you what happens next.” She held her breath.
His hand on her shoulder flexed and released. “Very well. But from now on, I’m Philippe. You must remember that. The code names are for our protection, and you mustn’t be careless. I’ll send you your first pilot within a week’s time, as long as the Brits agree, and I’ll work on getting you extra ration cards. Laure or a man with the code name Jean-Louis will do the pickups from your apartment. Unless something goes wrong, you should have the men for forty-eight hours at most.”
Ruby took a deep breath. “Thank you.”
“Those are the wrong words for a situation like this. You think that you’re embarking on a great adventure, Ruby. But I fear you’ve just started down a road that will ultimately end in your death.”
SIX DAYS LATER, THERE WAS a soft knock at Ruby’s door, and she opened it to find a man with small, dark eyes dressed in dungarees and a faded shirt. There was a deep gash down the right side of his face, and he looked exhausted. “Fleur?” he asked, glancing around nervously. He reminded Ruby of a skittish deer.
“Yes,” Ruby said in English, realizing immediately that he was the first of the men Aubert had promised to send her way. “Please, won’t you come in?”
He didn’t move at first. “You speak English.”
“I’m American.”
His eyes filled with tears. “God, you have no idea how nice it is to hear my own language.” He stepped inside, and she shut the door behind him. “What on earth are you doing here, so far from home?”
“I might ask you the same.”
He laughed, which turned into a hacking cough. “I was shot out of the sky over Abbeville. A farmer saw my plane go down and reached me before the Germans did. Hid me in his barn for two days before passing me along to a chap who drove me to another town. I slept three nights there in the basement of an inn, then I was picked up by a member of the Resistance, who gave me a bicycle and had me follow him to the suburbs of Paris. I was given instructions to come to you. I’m told this is my last stop before I head for Spain.”
Ruby was sure he wasn’t supposed to have filled her in in such detail. “Each of us only knows the next step in the line,” she said gently. “But please take care not to tell anyone else where you stayed at each step of the way. It could endanger the operation.”
He narrowed his eyes, and she could tell in an instant he wasn’t accustomed to being chided. “I didn’t give you any details. Besides, surely you know all of this already.”
“Actually, I didn’t.”