The Lavender Keeper (29 page)

It hurt to even have this discussion. ‘You’re here with me now, in my arms, not his. That’s all that matters.’

‘But you know I have to go back to him.’

‘I don’t want to talk about him now.’

‘But it was only—’

Luc gently bit her earlobe and she groaned again to feel his warm breath on her. ‘Lisette,’ he mumbled into her neck, his lips barely losing contact with her skin as he spoke. ‘This is real. When you’re with Kilian I’ll remind myself that you are acting. And just know this: I have never felt this way about anyone before.’

She stared at him with a gentle, almost fearful expression.

‘I love you. And no war, no politicians, no scheming network, no distance, no English spymaker, and certainly no German colonel will ever change that. I love you. I have never said that to another woman.’ He frowned at her. ‘I doubt I ever will.’

Lisette’s expression became serious as her gaze intensified. ‘I have wanted you from that evening you brashly sauntered into Madame Marchand’s and gave me your first sneer. I hated you, and yet I couldn’t get enough of you. And then …’

‘Then what?’ he whispered, kissing her face and neck until she was sighing and squirming in his arms.

‘And then Gordes. All I wanted to do was put my arms around you … and love you; never let you go.’

Luc buried his face in her neck. ‘Don’t let me go,’ he urged. ‘Ever.’

‘Close the shutters, Luc, and then undress me,’ she whispered.

‘I thought you’d never ask,’ he replied.

Luc was in no hurry. He undressed her achingly slowly, kissing every inch of her back that he revealed as he undid each button. The subdued light and silent apartment only heightened the
sweet tension. When he finally reached the last button, he undid her brassiere and it followed her dress to the floor. For a fleeting moment she registered his expertise at this undressing, but the thought fled with a gasp as Luc kissed the arch of her lower back. He knelt to help her step out of all of her clothes until at last she stood naked. Last night she was brazen in her nudity, but today she felt meek … humbled by his tenderness and her desire to consummate the passion that had fired with a single kiss.

He stood, still clothed, and looked at her in the low light that glimmered through the shutter slats. ‘You are beautiful. I hate him for having you.’

‘Don’t,’ she pleaded, stroking his face. ‘It’s just us. Don’t think about him.’

It was her turn to undress him. She savoured each moment, hungering to lie with him, to feel all of him so she could remember him. She’d never again have to imagine how it felt to be with Luc.

Lisette reached for the lavender seeds around his neck. ‘May I? I don’t want to spill a single one,’ she said. He lowered his head so she could remove it and place it by the bed. She wondered what his other lovers might have thought of it, for there had surely been others.

‘Do you think we’ll ever plant the seeds?’ she said, tracing a finger over his chest. His body was more sculpted than Kilian’s, she noted, and instantly hated herself for comparing her lovers. Lisette was confused by warring emotions. Just hours earlier she’d been in the arms of Kilian – and now she had melted into the embrace of Luc without a moment’s hesitation.

‘I do,’ he answered, pulling her to him. As their bodies finally touched, thoughts of Kilian were banished and for the next few hours, Lisette knew the loving of only one man.

Kilian had woken even more enchanted by Lisette Forestier than he’d been the previous evening. Once she’d left, he couldn’t face his empty room. Instead he’d gone for a walk in the dark to give some thought to his meeting with Meister and the coincidence of Stülpnagel’s summons. If yesterday he had felt dispassionate, today he felt excited about the fresh potential for love and the thrilling terror of being part of a conspiracy to assassinate Germany’s supreme commander.

Finally he returned to the Hotel Raphaël – it wasn’t quite six-thirty a.m. – and with Lisette’s perfume still lingering in his room, he bathed before re-reading the note from Stülpnagel. Kilian had naturally run into the military commander of Paris at official occasions, but there was no other reason to cross the general’s path. The typed letter was politely formal, noting that it was time for him make his office’s services available for Church events in coming months. Stülpnagel finished by suggesting that they meet in the Jardin du Luxembourg at
nine to take advantage of the brighter days, after a long and tedious winter.

There was absolutely no reason for this communication – certainly not hand-delivered at a social dinner. Stülpnagel’s sudden request to meet outdoors at such an odd time must surely be connected with Meister’s visit.

Kilian checked his watch. It was just past seven and the sky had brightened; in the corridor he could discern movement, and distantly he could hear the clank of cutlery on china. A new day in Paris had begun, but for him a new era was unfolding.

He couldn’t bear to stay trapped in the hotel room any longer and so went out into the streets, walking aimlessly, circling closer to the gardens until at the appointed time he strode to the famous fountain of Marie de Médicis in the Jardin du Luxembourg. Arriving at almost the same moment was the familiar granite-chiselled Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel.

‘General, it’s very good to see you again, and looking so well.’

‘Likewise, Colonel Kilian. I’m glad you could make it. I’m sorry it’s so early. No café is open yet. These French, pah!’

Kilian smiled. ‘I’m happy to walk if you are, General.’

‘I am. I’m glad to be free of stuffy offices and sniffling staff. Let’s hope spring ushers in a healthier time.’

‘I doubt it, sir. It will take more than the warmer season to bring change for Germany.’

Stülpnagel cut Kilian a sharp look, cleared his throat and gestured to move on. He needn’t have worried. There was no one else around. ‘I’ve been advised by our mutual friends that you already have a history of defying orders.’

‘It pains me to admit it, sir. I come from a line of proud
military men and I fear my behaviour dishonours them. If I may qualify, I have certainly defied our leader, but my reasons are for the good of all Germans.’

Stülpnagel sighed. ‘We are damned, Colonel, for I too spoke the same oath as you must have to him.’ The general nodded at the Palais du Luxembourg at the heart of the gardens as they strolled to face it. ‘Beneath the noses of the Luftwaffe we plot.’

They walked in silence for a few moments before Kilian felt compelled to speak. ‘I admit to feeling redundant in Paris.’

‘We will all have our part to play, Kilian. Right now our colleagues are waiting for the right opportunity, which we all agree will occur in the summer at Rastenburg.’

‘Why Poland? Why not strike in Berlin?’

‘Hitler is rarely in Berlin these days. If not at the Wolfsschanze in Prussia, then at the Berghof in Bavaria. But Berlin is the prize. If we take Berlin, we take Europe. And that’s when people like us in Paris become critical. Be ready to act.’

‘When, General?’

‘June perhaps, probably July. It will be all about mobilising fast enough to smother Himmler’s squads.’

‘They should kill him too, while they’re about it,’ Kilian growled.

‘If we achieve our aim, then the second most-hated German must die too.’

‘But who will form government?’

‘Colonel, I say this with respect: don’t concern yourself with administrative logistics. We are the soldiers in this fight. Rest assured the right people are masterminding this.’

‘Yes, General.’

‘You can put your trust in Lieutenant Colonel von Hofacker but no one else in Paris – apart from myself. Come, walk me to the gates.’ They walked in silence a moment before Stülpnagel continued in a lower voice. ‘You will receive the call from either myself or von Hofacker once we’ve heard through Berlin that Valkyrie has been activated.’

‘Valkyrie?’

‘Hitler’s contingency in an emergency to mobilise the territorial guard.’ He noticed Kilian was frowning. ‘It’s to counter any breakdown in civil law following bombings or uprisings and maintain the chain of command. Our collaborators plan to use Valkyrie to seize control of Berlin by rounding up Himmler’s henchmen, thus negating the SS as well as arresting the Nazi hierarchy.’ His voice was little more than a murmur now. ‘By the time it’s invoked, Hitler’s body will already be cooling and we will have the power to appoint our own chancellor. The new government will negotiate an immediate truce.’ He stopped walking as they reached the gates. ‘Your role is to take control of the soldiers at ground level in Paris and set up the chain of command through France. There are SS and Gestapo as well as the
milice
to nullify; I’ll be counting on you for that.’

They shook hands. Nothing more needed to be said. Kilian walked back to the office with a smile on his face.

It was around lunchtime when the switchboard put through a call from a Kriminaldirektar von Schleigel, Gestapo. Kilian held his breath. It felt like an omen.

‘Are you there, Colonel Kilian?’

‘Yes. What can I do for you, von Schleigel?’

‘Perhaps it’s what I can do for you.’

‘Given my role with the Church, I see no reason to have need of the Gestapo.’

‘This has nothing to do with your work, Colonel.’

Kilian paused. He could hear the blood pounding at his temple.

‘Colonel? I am on my way to Auschwitz, one of the work camps in Poland, but some information has come to my attention that I thought would interest you.’

‘Work camps?’ Kilian gave a laugh that contained no warmth. He felt sickened to be reminded of them; he’d discovered their true purpose the previous year and it kept him awake at night. It was another reason to want Hitler dead. ‘There is nothing of interest for me in the work camps,’ he said carefully. ‘You said you might be able to do something for me?’

‘In connection with the company you keep.’

Kilian could hear the slyness in his tone. He despised the man. ‘Spell it out, man. I don’t have time for dancing around the daisies.’

He could all but see the man’s smile across the phone line. ‘Her name is Lisette Forestier.’

Kilian opened his mouth but no words came out.

‘I’ll take your silence to mean you know precisely to whom I refer. After a chat with Herr Eichel I learnt you’d been socialising with her.’

Kilian took a breath to steady his voice. ‘I barely know her.’

‘Precisely. Therein lies the danger, Colonel,’ von Schleigel replied snidely.

‘Herr von Schleigel, if you have something to tell me about Mademoiselle Forestier, I’d be grateful if you would do so. I have a meeting to attend.’

‘There is nothing specific, Colonel. This is simply a friendly call from one loyal German to another. I ran across Mademoiselle Forestier in November last year and had no reason to hold her … but she keeps odd company down south.’

‘You arrested her?’

‘No, not really,’ the Gestapo officer replied lazily. ‘I think “detained briefly” might be a more accurate description.’

‘Who was she with?’

‘A man by the name of Lukas Ravensburg. Ever heard of him?’

‘Should I have?’

‘Not necessarily. But if you do, I would recommend you keep an eye on him.’

‘Who is he?’

‘Her fiancé,’ von Schleigel said, and made a tutting sound while surprise shot through Kilian like a bullet parting flesh. ‘You
did
know she is engaged?’

Kilian closed his eyes, and the pencil in his hand snapped. ‘Why should that interest me?’ he asked evenly in spite of himself.

‘I mention it simply in passing, Colonel.’

‘Why did you detain Mademoiselle Forestier and her fiancé?’

‘Ravensburg matched the description of a man whom we believe is a dangerous maquisard.’

‘So you are not watching her?’

‘Not formally.’

‘And informally?’

‘It is out of my jurisdiction now, Colonel. I leave Paris tomorrow for a break in Switzerland before I head to Krakow.’

‘Enjoy your holiday, Herr von Schleigel,’ Kilian said, doing his best to give nothing away in his voice.

‘And should I run into Frau Vogel, I’m sure you’d like me to give her your best.’

Kilian felt as though his blood had turned to ice. He reached to his breast pocket and felt the reassuring crinkle of the envelope he hadn’t yet posted.

‘I don’t know why you’d be interested in an old flame of mine.’

‘Oh, we’re interested in everyone’s connections, Colonel.’

So, Gestapo knew who his friends were. But he suspected von Schleigel was needling him, letting him know that he could be put under observation in a blink. Kilian wouldn’t post the letter yet.

‘I haven’t seen Ilse in nearly six years, but do give her my regards,’ he said, summoning all his courtesy.

‘Indeed I will. Good day to you, Colonel.
Heil Hitler
.’

Kilian refused to say it. He put the receiver back in its cradle, cutting the connection, but the taint of von Schleigel’s innuendo lingered.

It had to be nearly midday, Luc realised, when he and Lisette awoke. They lay in silence a while before he finally spoke.

‘I don’t want to let you go,’ he admitted.

‘Do you have to leave already?’ Lisette whispered, stroking his shoulder. ‘I rather like waking up in a tangle of you.’

He smiled. ‘I wish I could stay, but it’s dangerous for both of us. And I have a shift to keep. But next time I come back here, I need you packed and ready to leave.’

She sighed. She’d anticipated something along these lines: why else had he made himself known?

‘How did you come to be Kilian’s driver?’

‘I’m a loyal but injured German, helping the Reich any way I can. My name as far as any of his staff are concerned is Christian Loewe.’

‘I won’t even ask how you managed to get that close to him, but what did you hope to achieve?’

‘Listen, Lisette,’ he said gently, turning to face her. ‘Until now it’s been all about watching over you, just making sure you’re safe.’ He shook his head. ‘But London’s mission for you is no longer relevant. Kilian no longer matters in the scheme of things.’

She stared at him. ‘You’re just—’

‘Jealous?’

‘I was going to say upset with me.’

‘I’m not explaining this properly,’ he said, shifting to swing his legs out of the bed. ‘You’ve been so isolated that you aren’t up to date. We’ve all received new plans. Every resource is going into the invasion in the north.’

She shrugged. ‘That’s been promised for years.’

‘Well, it’s happening. Every Resistance fighter in the country is readying for D-day. Spying on people like Kilian is no longer necessary.’

‘I take my orders from London.’

She could see him forcing himself to keep his voice even. ‘There are nearly a million Americans readying across the Channel. Your missives from Paris about a single man are now pointless.’

She turned away, feeling angry. ‘Luc, you can keep saying it, but until I’m given orders to the contrary, I have my mission.’

He stood to dress. ‘Everything has changed now. Nothing you send London is going to alter the fact that the big push
to crush German defences will occur in the next few weeks. The messages have been clogging the radiowaves,’ he said, pulling on his trousers and doing up the buttons. ‘The Allies are mobilising all of us.’ He sat down on the bed and took her by the shoulders. ‘But you could be caught in the crossfire. Heads will roll. If Kilian discovers your treachery, there’s no saying what might happen. I will die before I let you be placed into the hands of the Gestapo.’ He gave a lopsided grin. ‘Do you want that on your conscience?’

‘He will not hand me over to the Gestapo.’

Luc frowned. ‘Don’t be naive. Do you think he’d put you before his duty, before his country?’ He searched her face with astonishment. ‘You do, don’t you?’

Lisette twisted free. ‘I don’t know what to think,’ she groaned. ‘I don’t even understand why you’re here.’

‘I’m here to get you out,’ he said earnestly.

‘I’m trying to understand how you knew about my mission,’ she suddenly demanded.

Both their faces showed the strain of talking in such low voices, fearful of being overheard.

‘It didn’t take a genius to work out that you were marking someone in particular. There were other clues too, like the fact you didn’t bring a wireless. But it finally came together when I spoke to the head of your circuit; he trusted me, and told me you had once mentioned Kilian in more than passing. I knew immediately that Kilian had to be your mark. I spent weeks angling to get myself hired as a driver in the team that serviced his section. They’re struggling to find Germans with good French – frankly, they’re struggling to find any men.’ He was aware of her hard stare, and ignored it. ‘And there’s another reason to get you away: if I can work out your mission, so can your enemies.’

‘Do you honestly think that on your word I’m going to desert this mission?’

‘Yes, I do. And it’s not on my word. It’s on Churchill’s and de Gaulle’s. Your life is in jeopardy.’

‘And you think I don’t know that?’

‘You’re missing the point. Please trust me when I say that the entire Allied focus is now on Pas de Calais. We have to slow up the German lines of communication to buy time for the final preparations. Every telephone line we can cut we will, every rail transport we can will be disrupted or even stopped, every movement of soldiers will be hampered at every turn, all weapons and ammunition stores will be destroyed as best we can. Rail, road, ships, air … you name it, our people up and down the country are going to put their lives on the line to destroy the routes north. There’s a whole operation in motion just to ensure that the Germans have to use radio, not telephone, so your people can listen in. This is it! Believe me, Lisette, absolutely nothing you do as Colonel Kilian’s lover can help; Kilian is not involved in the chain of command.’