Vivi nodded, but it troubled her. This was undoubtedly a complication.
11
In order to not create suspicion, Vivi had a job working under her alias ‘Claudette’, the Renoirs’ cousin from the south. It had been agreed that she should have papers that described her as a tutor so she could easily travel from house to house, allowing her to conduct any business for her circuit. Part of her job was to visit the homes she had been directed to by Frank and pass on messages, fake ration cards and forged travel documents.
On her first day, she left the house. Nervously, she rode her bike to the first address, and arriving, she knocked on the door. An older woman opened it and glared at her curiously.
‘Bonjour. My name is Claudette. I am here to instruct the children.’ This was the code she was supposed to use on visiting each house.
The woman’s eyes opened widely, acknowledging the real reason for her visit, and she called her inside, adding in a loud voice just in case anybody was listening, ‘We are so glad you are coming to teach our children. We have been waiting for you.’
On closing the door, the woman looked Vivi over.
‘You are very young.’
‘I have been trained,’ responded Vivi, defensively.
The woman nodded, even though she didn’t seem reassured. ‘Follow me,’ she instructed, making her way into another room. ‘The girl is here,’ she hissed to her husband, who was reading a newspaper in a corner of an overly tidy room. A man with lively eyes, he was long and lean as he stood up to greet her. He was more affable than his wife. Stretching out his hand, he shook hers firmly.
‘Thank you for what you are doing for France, mademoiselle.’
She smiled. ‘My name is Claudette. My cell leader, Frank, sent me. He said you will give me my weekly courier tasks.’
‘You can call me Pierre,’ he responded, beckoning her. ‘Come with me. We have considerable work to do to prepare you.’
He took her into a sitting room, then he pushed open a hidden door. Behind it was a room holding stacks of maps, charts and plans, on a large desk. Permits, ration cards and code books were also placed in neat piles. He locked the door behind them.
‘We call this room the storehouse. As things are transported back and forth, occasionally we require a place to hold these things. So you and I, you see, will become well acquainted.’
Vivi glanced around the room and couldn’t help feeling a thrill.
‘You understand that you will also be a courier, as well as a wireless operator?’ he enquired, searching her face intently.
Vivi nodded.
Pierre laid out a map on the table. ‘So that we can protect all the members of your network, not everybody knows of each person’s identity and location. There are only a few of you that will make the trips between them. But you understand that discretion is of the utmost importance.’
Vivi listened, nodding her head and feeling the weight of responsibility. Maybe his wife had been right when she had insinuated Vivi might not be ready for all this.
Pierre must have read something on her face, because he touched her hand. ‘I’m confident you’ll be fine. We will move you around. The people you are with, you like them?’
She nodded. ‘They’re very kind.’
‘You will be there for about three to six weeks, then we’ll move you to the next house. Sometimes you’ll be in lodgings, sometimes with families, sometimes not even in central Paris.’
Vivi knew they moved the operatives around the city to keep them safe, in case they were being watched.
‘Do you understand what you are required to do?’ Pierre asked.
Vivi nodded. She had been prepared for all of this.
‘Let me get you a cup of tea,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you sit down and start to familiarise yourself with some of this information? You will need to know the whereabouts and memorise the first three addresses here.’ He highlighted points on a map.
He stepped out of the room for a moment and called out to his wife, who returned a sharp reply, preparing tea she did not sound very thrilled about. It appeared to Vivi that she was very suspicious of her. He stepped back inside the hidden room as Vivi scoured the map he had given her.
‘I need you to go to this address tomorrow morning.’ He pointed to the map. ‘There you ought to receive thirty travel permits. Wear something loose-fitting. While you are there for the hour, teaching their young children, the operatives will sew the travel permits into your clothing, so take something that you are happy having altered, a jacket or a coat. Have you taught children before?’
She nodded her head. ‘I was a tutor for a while in the south of France, when I was travelling with my mother, which is why this is my cover story and why I was chosen for this particular mission.’
‘So you have some experience?’
‘Limited, but yes.’
‘We have made sure that each operative is prepared for you to read books to their children, encouraging them in general studies. Then, if anyone asks the children, they will confirm you are their tutor. Do you understand? You will also have a short time to talk with the operatives in the house. They will give you any messages that need to be passed on.
‘Once you have the travel permits tomorrow, we need you to take them here.’ He pointed to another address. ‘Arrive at the same time the following day, wearing the same jacket. They will know whatever you hand to them will have the travel permits in it. While you are instructing the children there, they will unpick the stitching, pull out what they need, and then return it to you in the same fashion.
‘For this evening’s wireless broadcast, we also need you to ask London to send us some more equipment. I have the exact list here. Can you memorise it?’
She nodded her head as he handed her a written note.
‘You will do the same thing all over again with each house. Go to the address, pick up documents, go to the next and deliver them. They also may have messages for you. Are you all right with all of this?’
She must have been looking pale as her head was starting to swim, but she nodded. ‘I understand.’
‘You’re going to do fine, Claudette,’ he reassured her, placing his arm on her shoulder. ‘Just remember to blend in. Be friendly and act normally. Your pronunciation is excellent. How long were you in France before this?’
‘I lived here for a few years.’
‘You have the accent of the south. Your papers reflect that?’
She nodded.
‘This is good. Then hopefully you won’t be stopped. And if you are, you can tell them what you did before the war. But say as little as possible.
‘Once you have handed over the papers to the second house, you will need to come back here for more instructions. You will visit me here every Tuesday and Friday at ten in the morning. We have our grandchildren here on those days, and you and I will have a short time to talk while they have something to eat. My wife has books that you can read to them and studies you can teach them. I’m afraid some of your obligations won’t be quite as heroic as you may have imagined.’
Pierre’s wife brought in the tea, as he continued to give Vivi more information. After she left, her mind was buzzing with all she had to do. That evening she transmitted the list she’d memorised then, after winding up the broadcast, placed the wireless under the bed.