‘Do you have any last words?’ he said loudly so Weissman could hear him. The major stood to the side of the square watching the proceedings.
‘I am sorry, Major Vonstein, for deceiving you and making you believe that I loved you.’
Behind Marcus, Weissman sniffed, as though he was confirming he had been right all along.
Marcus looked confused, and then seemed to realise that she was playing a part for the soldiers.
‘Yes. It was most regrettable. Fortunately, I didn’t believe your lie, so there is no harm done. You have betrayed the Reich, and you must pay the price for that. Do you have any last requests?’
‘Just one,’ she said, and seizing hold of him, she pulled him in close, kissing him fully on the mouth, and with the skills she had learned in her training, picked his pocket. Quickly, she placed the capsule in her mouth and bit down hard.
Marcus stepped back in panic, realising instantly what she had done. He looked bewildered, as if he was trying to figure out what she was doing and how this was part of their plan.
She continued, ‘I understand, Herr Vonstein, that you need to kill me, to execute me for my crimes. But I want you to know…’ she lowered her voice and looked right at Marcus, ‘I regret nothing,’ she whispered tenderly. Then, for everyone’s ears, ‘I die for my king and country, and I am proud of the work I performed here.’
Vivi tried not to gag as she swallowed down the burning liquid. The taste was putrid as it permeated and burned, searing its way through her body. She stared at him, wanting his face to be the last thing she would see.
He must have seen the agony on her face, by the look of horror upon him, but then his face registered with the utter desperation she would die. She was forcing him to continue the work, not giving him a choice. Vivi saw it in his face, saw the recognition of what she’d done.
As the excruciating pain racked through her body, it took her breath away, and, in agony, she shouted out to him, her last words in French. ‘Remember the swallows!’ And she hoped he knew what she was trying to say to him and that he would remember her favourite story.
He looked at her with shock then, appearing to realise her plan that if he didn’t shoot her, she would die an agonising death and it would be clear she’d committed suicide by the cyanide tablet and there would be questions. It left him with no alternative. She watched his hand shake as he lifted the barrel of the gun and pointed it at her, the anguish palpable on his face, but her eyes showed him only love. She didn’t even feel the pain from the bullet that slammed into her skull, as she crumpled to the ground and her world became black.
38
Present day
The following morning Sophie and Alex were ushered into a parlour. It was like stepping back in time, an age gone by. Elsa Strauss was obviously a woman of wealth; gilded pictures and heavy furniture, dark and imposing, anchored the room. A young woman who introduced herself as Chloe, Miss Strauss’s granddaughter, came through to speak to them.
‘Oma can see you now. I will warn you, she gets tired quickly, but she has been eager to speak to you since she knew you were coming.’
Alex and Sophie went into the bedroom. Inside the four-poster bed, the tiny figure of a woman seemed almost out of place in all of this grandeur. She wore a white lace cap, and her eyes were closed. In hushed reverence, they approached the side of the bed. Chloe nodded to them and touched her grandmother’s arm.
‘Oma, they are here.’
Feather-like, the older lady’s eyelashes fluttered on her cheeks before her eyes slowly opened, and she took a minute to focus on her ceiling and then each of their faces.
As they drew closer to the bed, Sophie could hear that the elderly woman’s breathing was raspy and rattled through her lungs as though any one of the breaths could be her last. Chloe brought in two chairs so they could sit by her side. Alex looked across at Sophie apprehensively.
‘This is Sophie Hamilton,’ continued Chloe, in case she needed to refresh her grandmother’s recollection. ‘And Alex Vonstein.’
The woman stared at Sophie with great tenderness and then, flicking her eyes towards Alex, she shook her head. ‘You two should not be together. It is not right. History mustn’t repeat itself.’
Sophie glanced at Alex, who shook his head at Sophie with dismissal.
Sophie drew closer to the bed so she could hear her clearly. ‘Miss Strauss, do you know why we are here?’
The woman’s eyes were closed again, as if the pain of seeing them together had overwhelmed her. When she finally opened them, they were watery and thoughtful. ‘You are Vivi’s great-niece.’ She stated more than asked the question. She stretched an arthritic hand towards Sophie, and the younger woman took it in hers.
‘You knew my great-aunt? She went by Vivi?’
Miss Strauss nodded. ‘Vivi, she was such a spirited person, but too beautiful for her own good.’ She then flicked her eyes back at Alex. ‘It was most regrettable,’ she whispered, with disgust.
‘Can you tell us about what she did during the war?’
Miss Strauss nodded. ‘It is a long story, but I will tell you as much as I can until I become tired. It is one I’ve wanted to unburden myself of for a long time.’
She lay back on her pillow and took in a heavy breath.
‘I met Vivi in 1944, and the first time I saw her I knew this was a woman I needed to pay attention to. She commanded the room when she walked into it. Vivi was not simply a beauty but…’ She wet her dry lips with her tongue and reflected on the right word. ‘Hypnotic. She drew you in, and you trusted her, which is why it was unfortunate she was so deceived.’
Sophie felt her stomach lurch, and she reached for Alex’s hand.
The woman’s eyes rolled back in her head, and she moved from speaking English to speaking a mixture of German, even some French, it naturally being too strenuous for her to have to continue translating.
Alex started translating her words for Sophie.
‘She was the light of the office. I was a mere young girl at the time. I would visit my father who worked there, and I would see Vivi in the office, and she was luminous. She made everyone feel important.’ She rolled her eyes towards Sophie. ‘You look a lot like her,’ the elderly woman declared, staring intently at Sophie for such a long time it was almost uncomfortable. Sophie nodded, fighting back the tears that were brimming just below the surface.
‘I never liked the Nazi Party. I thought they were ridiculous, but a ten-year-old girl doesn’t have many choices. So I put up with their goose-stepping, ridiculous rules and devotion to Hitler, who was just a crazy man in my eyes. But Vivi knew how to love. Yes, she loved. She loved that officer, Marcus Vonstein. Oh, they weren’t out in the open about it, but everyone could tell by the way she looked at him. Which is why it is so sad that she was so deceived.’
‘What do you mean “deceived”?’ whispered Sophie, hoarsely.
‘By Vonstein. He lured her in.’
Sophie suddenly felt uncomfortable holding Alex’s hand, and she looked across at him briefly. He was intent upon the woman’s face, listening carefully to her words so he could translate, but she suddenly thought about her own heart. Had she opened it up to Alex too quickly? Then she shook the thought from her mind. This wasn’t Marcus; this was Alex. This man had shown her more care in the last few days than she’d felt from Matt for years. She reminded herself she was becoming so swept up by the story she wasn’t sure what was fact and what was fiction.