Terrier appeared to have nothing else to do for the day, and as late morning moved into the afternoon, Anne-Marie brought out another bottle of good French wine and a gramophone record player, on which she started to play music. Terrier pulled Vivi to her feet before she had time to react. He laughed as he drew her in firmly, pinning her hands playfully behind her back.
‘I hope your training is better than this,’ he joked.
A playful smile moved across Vivi’s lips, as quickly twisting her wrists she moved them into a different angle, so she was able to force him to release his grip and then pin him herself, her arm around his neck, as Anne-Marie roared with laughter.
Vivi whispered into his ear, ‘Would you like to see where I keep my knife? You’re in the perfect position for me to slash your throat.’
Terrier thrust his free hand into the air as he too roared with laughter. She spun him around, and gently took both of his hands and started a dance with him, as Anne-Marie sang along shouting out her encouragement.
‘There may be a war on,’ he rasped out through stilted breath as he tried to keep up with Vivi’s impressive dance moves, ‘but we can still enjoy ourselves, no?’ he said, quirking an eyebrow.
Vivi felt the stress leaving her body. Everything leading up to her mission had been so intense, the warnings so dire, consequences so weighted. The last thing she’d expected to be doing in France was dancing with a good-looking man.
Later, Anne-Marie served them dinner. She had food that Vivi had not seen since before the war – there were eggs, butter and coffee, and she wondered if Terrier or Anne-Marie had connections to the black market.
As they laughed and talked late into the evening, the conversation drifted to what they all wanted to do once the war was over.
‘I just want to go back to having a peaceful life,’ Anne-Marie mused wistfully.
‘You don’t enjoy all this excitement, then?’ Terrier’s eyes flashed as he lit another cigarette.
Anne-Marie shook her head as she started to clear the dishes to the sink. ‘No, I want to be very boring after the war. I want to get married and have three children, and grow fat and be happy.’
Vivi contemplated her words. She hadn’t thought much about what she would do after the war. She tended to be an impulsive person, driven by whatever was calling to her at the time.
Terrier shook his head. ‘Not me. I want to go out in a blaze of glory. I would rather live a short but exciting life than die of boredom in obscurity. I want to take out one hundred German soldiers before I die. Then they will create a great monument to me, the Terrier, and they shall put it right here, in the centre of your town, Anne-Marie.’
Anne-Marie shook her head, laughing. ‘You’re incorrigible,’ she said, tapping her brother’s cheeks with the palm of her hand.
Vivi watched this interaction with a sense of awe. They obviously loved each other deeply and weren’t afraid to show it. Her British upbringing had not allowed her to be so free with her feelings, but suddenly she missed her family.
After they’d managed to work their way through another bottle of wine, Vivi realised she needed to get some sleep. After all, she was on her way to Paris the next day. But this had been exactly what she’d needed. As she made her way up to her room, Terrier escorted her with a candle through the dark, as the electricity was being rationed by the Nazis.
Standing in the doorway of her bedroom, he looked down at her suggestively, his dark eyes unable to hide the fact that he obviously found her attractive.
‘You will be all right here, alone?’ he asked, with a curl of his lip.
Vivi looked deeply into his eyes. She liked this person, he was a rogue, but a lovable one – a modern-day pirate with a heart of gold. She took the candle from him. ‘I don’t think complicating anything would be a good idea right now.’ She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. Just a friendly kiss, to say she was grateful.
He looked at her expectantly, and she drew a hand across his cheek. ‘Goodnight, dear friend, sleep well.’
6
Vivi didn’t sleep well that night, instead she tossed and turned, the heaviness of the wine and rich French food affecting her dreams. The faces of her family and images of home filtered their way into her thoughts, along with so many mixed emotions of what lay ahead.
When she was woken early by Anne-Marie, Vivi could hardly lift her head from the pillow and instantly regretted the night before. When she crawled slowly downstairs, Terrier was already awake and not showing any signs of being the worse for wear from the night before. He laughed at her as she eased herself into a chair.
‘You will need to become more French, if you are to live in France,’ he joked with her. ‘Your Britishness is showing.’
Vivi shook her head, slowly, refusing breakfast when it was offered but drinking two cups of strong black coffee.
Once Terrier had eaten they started out for the train. Anne-Marie packed them a little food and, kissing her brother, she then turned to Vivi, kissing her too, warmly on both cheeks. Then looking directly into her eyes she whispered, ‘Thank you for what you are doing for France, I know we can count on you to help end this war. My country will never forget your bravery.’
Vivi’s emotions swelled up again, a mixture of excitement, but also fear. It was all well and good in basic training, but now she was meeting real people in real situations, the reality of what she was taking on had started to become much more meaningful to her.
They arrived ten minutes early for the train, and Terrier changed like a skilled performer. As he shifted into playing the part of being her boyfriend, he purchased the tickets for them and, taking her arm, propelled her swiftly to the train they would take to Paris, hauling her heavy case so they could cross at speed.
The station was swarming with Nazis. Vivi tried to keep her eyes down and not meet anyone’s gaze. Terrier hustled her to the platform. Boarding the train, his eyes stayed intensely engaged, surveying all of his surroundings until he closed the door on their carriage.
He’d told her they would doubtlessly be checked two or three times. At the first checkpoint, Nazis got on board to check their papers, and Terrier slipped into another role, resting his head back on the seat and drawing his beret down over his eyes, pretending to be dozing. Vivi watched him with admiration, musing he could make a living as an actor after the war if he wanted.
The door slid open abruptly.
‘Your papers,’ demanded a stern voice as a Nazi commander strode into the carriage.
Vivi’s heart was pounding in her ears and her mouth became dry. She had to remind herself not to speak to him in German but in French. Terrier didn’t move or flinch as Vivi, hand shaking, sifted through her handbag to locate the papers he required. She was so nervous that she dropped them, and as she leaned forward to pick them up, she kicked over her suitcase and it fell to the floor with a thud. Its weight betraying it had more than clothes inside.
The Nazi stopped and peered down at it, a puzzled expression on his face. Vivi froze in fear. If he picked it up, he would unquestionably feel it was heavy and may wish to investigate. He leaned towards it, but suddenly Terrier was upon it, snatching it up and passing it back to her, smirking. Then picking up her papers, he thrust them at the guard.