“Maps?” Sven didn’t know how he got the word out; he was still holding his breath because of Mathieu’s proximity.
“Yes—they’re part of our work for the resistance.”
Until now, Sven hadn’t been involved in this aspect of the family’s life. He hadn’t been allocated any tasks by either the resistance or the Legion since he arrived here. No doubt his superiors had only just found out that he’d been forced to stay on. If he was going to operate from here, he needed instructions, and he was still waiting for those.
In the kitchen that evening, by the light of a single candle, Hugo, Juliette, and Mathieu introduced him to their work.
“You’re a member of the Legion, which means you’re helping the resistance, so we know we can trust you,” Hugo said with a certain formality. “We need all the help we can get.”
They explained that they were currently helping a Jewish family in the neighboring village to flee. The family was heading to Switzerland. Mathieu showed him the map he was currently working on.
“We draw maps on the back of the wine labels, showing escape routes. Then we stick those labels on the bottles that are going to be delivered to other members of the resistance. You can’t see the map until you’ve emptied the bottle, and the label falls to pieces, making the maps completely unreadable, if you try to remove it.”
“How do you make sure the Germans don’t get these particular bottles?”
“We provide them with plenty of wine—this one is the cheapest we produce, and they think it’s not good enough for them,” Hugo said with a snort. “They leave the table wine to the French. Yes, of course there’s a risk—but it’s a risk we’re willing to take.”
They sat up until late that night.
“Do you miss home?” Mathieu asked when Hugo and Juliette had gone to bed.
“Sometimes, yes. I miss my mom most of all. She ...” Sven cleared his throat in order to hide the tremor in his voice, which always came when he spoke about his beloved mother. “She doesn’t know where I am right now, and it’s hard, not being able to speak to her or send a letter. She doesn’t even know if I’m alive or dead.”
“And your father?”
“My father ...” He broke off. “He’d be proud of what I’m doing here. Proud of the fact that I’m helping you.” Sven didn’t look at Mathieu. He focused on correcting the line that showed the escape route along the road on the map. “It’s so kind of your parents to let me stay.” He wanted to shift the focus from his father—it was too hard to talk about what had happened.
Mathieu nodded. “They’re good people. Thoughtful. And sending you away might mean sending you to your death.”
“So the whole village thinks you’re in Paris?” Sven asked eventually. He had been wondering why Mathieu’s parents were so determined to hide him.
“Yes, Mom and Dad felt it was for the best.” He took a deep breath as if he were about to say more, but at that moment the kitchen door opened.
“Are you two still up? Don’t you think you should go to bed?” Juliette was standing there in her nightdress.
“Absolutely, Madame Latorre.” Sven put down the pen and got to his feet.
Mathieu simply rolled his eyes. “Okay, Mom.”
Sven went up to the guest room and lay down. What had Mathieu been going to say? And had Juliette been eavesdropping? Whatever was going on, it was clear that Juliette didn’t want Mathieu to reveal the real reason why they were keeping him hidden. Had he committed some crime?
Even more difficult to stop thinking about was the sense that there was somethingbetweenthem. A kind of chemistry. He couldn’tdescribe it in any other way. Was it just his imagination, or did Mathieu feel the same?
He suddenly sat up as a thought struck him. Had he infected Mathieu with his ... with hissickness? Shame and guilt flooded his body.
Hugo and Juliette, the wonderful couple who had done nothing but help him, had taken him in—and in return he’d infected their son with that dreadful, disgusting sickness.
Those unnatural urges.
He had to get out of here, he couldn’t stay.
But he had nowhere to go.
That didn’t matter, he reasoned as he paced up and down. He couldn’t stay here and drag Mathieu into depravity.
It was too late to go right now, so instead he went back to bed.
He barely slept a wink all night.
