Page 32 of The Librarian Spy

They passed a queue of women in front of the grocer. “I found out more about your husband as well,” Nicole said once they were out of earshot.

Elaine’s heart squeezed in anticipation, though she couldn’t discern if the visceral reaction was one of hope or trepidation. She had left a message for Etienne with Manon asking him to meet with her later that day to insist on helping with Joseph’s liberation. The days were growing insufferable with thoughts of her husband trapped in a cell. There had to be something she could do.

“What have you heard?” Elaine asked, breathless with anxiety.

Nicole glanced about as they stopped to wait for the tram that would take them to the outskirts of town. People strolled by, appearing preoccupied in their own concerns and lives, but one never knew who listened. Not only plainclothes Gestapo, but also the Milice—the French secret police—and, of course, collaborators, ready to turn in their fellow Lyonnaise for an extra loaf of bread.

A network of dark tram wires was draped overhead like a web where they bobbed and swayed in the light breeze.

“Pierre assisted with creating identity cards, as you know.” Nicole spoke closely as though sharing a bit of titillating gossip. “His knowledge of chemistry was essential in creating stamps as well as removing them from the official documents.”

Elaine couldn’t help but smile. Yes, that sounded like Joseph.

The act of forging the slant of someone’s handwriting to create a new identity card wouldn’t have been enough for him. He would have persisted in his endeavors until he could not only remove ink from stamps but replicate necessary inks too.

“From what others say, your husband is very intelligent,” Nicole said.

Heat spread over Elaine’s cheeks. “It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with him.”

The tram stopped before them, and they climbed in through the open doorway before sliding into the hardback seats amid the other passengers.

“Neither one of us was looking for a relationship.” Elaine’s shoulders relaxed with the relief of having a normal conversation where their words didn’t have to be discreet. “I was determined to maintain my career as a secretary, and he had the importance of his research at the time. We never even went out to dinner together. We just talked so often that we both accidentally fell in love.”

Nicole smiled. “That sounds unconventionally romantic.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Elaine chuckled to herself as she relived those precious moments in her mind. “One day I was explaining why I never intended to marry since I was earning my own living, and that’s when he asked me to be his wife. He said I could keep my job, and he would sign whatever was necessary for me to obtain a bank account that he would never interfere with. And I said yes.”

Joseph’s brown eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled at her, his pleasure at her agreement to marry him apparent.

“You should take me out to dinner,” she teased.

“Are you hungry?”

“Not now.” Giddiness tickled through her, making her laugh as she threaded her hand into the warm crook of his elbow. “I mean the way other couples do.”

“They do that to get to know one another.” He bowed his head toward her, and the light spice of his aftershave left her with a heady sensation. “We already know each other.” He studied her then as he did a calculation. “Yes, dinner.” The suddenness of an answer fully realized. “I’ll make reservations.”

It was the first of many wonderful Parisian meals shared together with richly flavored sauces, tender meats, and confections that were as artistic as they were decadent. Meals Elaine could not think of now, not when the twist of hunger in her belly was so sharp.

But Joseph had kept his promise to her, never prying into her bank account. Not even after forbidding her involvement in the Resistance.

“Ah, the rain has cleared,” Nicole said beside her, startling Elaine from her reverie. “The weather will be ideal for walking.”

If anyone had asked, that was why they had come to the outskirts of Lyon, to take in the scenery together.

The tram slowed to a stop, and they disembarked, arm in arm as they made their way toward the forest. After so long in the bustle of the city, the silence of the woods around them was exquisite and called to attention the unfettered chirp of birds and the tranquil rustle of leaves.

“Have you seen the Maquis before?” Nicole asked.

“I’ve only ever heard of them.” Elaine considered the foliage with a new perspective, half anticipating traps to be laid and men to be standing in the shadows with archaic weapons brandished. “Are they as wild as the Nazis claim?”

Nicole led the way in a pair of flat-soled shoes. “They live out here, but they are not as barbaric as they are made out to be.” She pushed a strand of blond hair from her face, frowning. “Many are very young.”

Elaine tilted her head to look up at the flecks of golden sunlight glinting through the copse of trees. It would be so easy to close her eyes and pretend like the world was right once more. That Joseph was home waiting for her, that they had enough food in their bellies, that Lucie had never been dragged away by the Nazis, and that they all lived without the constant presence of fear.

“Denise’s husband is out here,” Nicole said in a quiet voice despite them being alone. “It is why she does not come. She is afraid she will never leave if she sees him.”

Elaine nodded in understanding. If she was in Joseph’s arms with his familiar comfort embracing her, his gentle voice in her ears, the scent of his aftershave surrounding her, it would be like tearing her soul apart to walk away again.