The Fragile Hour (25 page)

Rosa
went to open the ikon’s doors, which she had closed before going to see who was calling on her. “Anna said the same thing to me, but so far I’ve been lucky and I couldn’t live without looking at my ikon every day.”

As
she set wide the little doors, it was like releasing a jewel’s radiance into the room. Nils was gripped by the sight of it. “That’s beautiful! It must be priceless! Was it always there?”

Rosa
nodded. “It’s not surprising that you don’t remember it,” she said drily. “As I recall, you only had eyes for Anna when you were here.”

He
agreed good-humouredly. “That’s right. It’s a wonder I noticed it now with Anna here in the room.” He looked across at her with a grin.

“
Sit down,” Anna said with mock sternness. “The only sensible thing you’ve said so far was that Aunt Rosa should hide away some of her treasures.”

Rosa
intervened when she saw he was about to settle his rangy frame into one of her most delicate chairs. “Why not sit on the sofa, Nils? You’d be more comfortable.”

He
guessed the reason. She was still getting at him, but he was determined to keep the peace. Sitting down on the sofa next to Anna, he took up the subject of security again. “I’ve heard that Field-Marshal Goering is collecting valuable paintings from every occupied country. Suppose some German officer should come in here one day and realise what you have on your walls? Even your ikon would be at risk, and it could be on its way to Berlin in no time at all.”

Anna
added to his expression of concern. “I have to agree with Nils. It has been worrying me, because I know what its loss would mean to you.”

Rosa
had looked distressed at such a prospect, but she shook her head determinedly. Had Anna been on her own, she might have voiced her private conviction that the ikon was linked in some strange way to her own life’s span. Perhaps Hans had foreseen his own demise when he had given it to her, for all the world had known that Europe was on the brink of war. In her own heart their love for each other had bridged death. She had no fear of it at all.

“
Neither of you will change my mind. Let us talk of something else. Tell me about your parents, Nils. Are they still in Trondheim?”

After
that the conversation flowed easily. When Frida returned she had managed to get six apples, which were exactly as Rosa had expected them to be, but she was triumphant, having obtained two pears at the same time, which she thought might help to sweeten the apples when cooked. She was very cool towards Nils and disappeared quickly into the kitchen. Nils and Anna left soon afterwards.

“
I’ve an idea,” Nils said thoughtfully as they strolled along. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to arrange it, but I’m seeing a high-ranking officer tomorrow, who has charge of your aunt’s district and is responsible for inspection raids. He was a fellow competitor on the German ski-jumping team in the same Winter Olympics in which I took part. We get on well and often have a drink together. I suppose sportsmen always have a mutual respect for each other, whatever the political situation. I believe that if I asked him to make sure your aunt was left in peace, he would oblige me.”

Anna
came to a standstill, her expression incredulous. “Would he trust you that much?”

Nils
’s eyes danced. “I’ve dealt out enough false information with a fraction of truth in it to convince the Germans, wherever I go, that they need never doubt me. I’d say Fru Johansen was my aunt, which she wouldn’t like, and that she and Frida are too old to be engaged in anything subversive. I know your aunt would resent being under any obligation to me, and in this case I think you should make the decision on her behalf.”

“
Yes! Please try! Frida told me that one day Aunt Rosa was pushed to the floor and kicked when she protested about something during a house search, although she herself has never told me. I’d be so relieved to know that she would be left undisturbed.”

“
If I’m successful, I’ll confess to her after the war. Do you think she might agree then to burying the hatchet?”

“
I think there would be a good chance,” Anna said jokingly, “but you’ll have to prove yourself an exemplary government leader to finally convince her.”

“
Watch me!” he answered in the same tone.

They
spent the rest of the day together. He had plenty of food coupons and took her out to a meal. When she asked him if he purchased them on the Black Market, he shook his head and said that in his work for the Germans plenty of coupons came his way. It always made her uncomfortable to eat food provided by an enemy source, but otherwise she enjoyed her day with him.

When
he took her back to her apartment she did not invite him in and he did not ask. He kissed her lightly and quickly.

“
I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

She
could tell he was hoping to mend matters between them until they were back on their previous footing, but would not risk rushing her. Neither did he have any intention of giving her up.

Before
the two days were past Nils called in to see her. “It’s all arranged. Your aunt shouldn’t have any more inspection raids on her home.”

Anna
was full of gratitude. “It was so good of you to do that for her.”

He
looked at her seriously. “I didn’t do it for her. It was to give you peace of mind.” Then he grinned widely and held up the bottle he was carrying. “Find a couple of glasses and we’ll celebrate.”

It
was German wine.

Chapter
Twenty-Two

Christina passed on the message to Anna that the Oslo Resistance group wanted to see her at last. Two of them came into the shop on the pretext of buying ties and went with Anna up to her apartment. They were tallish men, nothing remarkable about them, except perhaps their sharply observant eyes. She could tell they were summing her up as they seated themselves in her little sitting-room.

“
We know you’ve been wondering why you haven’t been contacted before now,” the slightly older one said, his name Edvin. “Christina told us why you thought it was, but nothing was being held against you. We’ve been keeping you on ice for the right assignment. You did some good work in Alesund.”

“
Do you know why my friends at the hotel were arrested?” she asked quickly.

Edvin
glanced at his companion, who had called himself Arne. “I believe you know more about that than I.

“
I’m afraid I do,” Arne said, rubbing his chin in his reluctance to pass on bad news. “Apparently a watch was set on Emil’s comings and goings. Then he was caught when he was delivering a message. The result was that Greta and Margot were rounded up with him as well as others and taken away.”

Anna
gave a nod and spoke grimly. “I hope you have the right sortie for me now. I want to do something worthwhile on their behalf.”

“
You’re getting the chance, Anna. We know from Karl that you’re a trained saboteur.” Without preamble, Edvin proceeded to outline a highly dangerous task. “The Germans have a large airfield at Gardermoen, just about sixty English miles north of Oslo. In ten days time an important armament train will be going through on its way north from Oslo with several wagons of bombs and ammunition for the
Luftwaffe
there. You will take an earlier train to Jessheim, which is the nearest railway station to the airfield.” He produced a map from his pocket and held it forward for her to see. “You will meet Karl there—”

“
Karl?” she interrupted. “But when I saw him last, he was off to the west coast.”

“
He didn’t know that he’d complete his sortie there as soon as he did.” He pointed to the map again. “As I was saying, Karl will be waiting for you in this café at the fork of two roads.” His finger prodded an inked cross. “He’ll use the name of Steffen Jansen. Your reason for being in Jessheim is that you’ve a date with him.”

He
proceeded to outline every detail of the task to be carried out and she listened intently. Finally he asked her if she had any questions to ask.

“
Will Karl have the explosives?”

“
Yes,” he replied. “You have a gun?”

“
No. Karl lent me his once when we were in a jam in Tresfjord. It’s always been safer for me not to carry one in case of a body search.”

“
Right, but this time you might need a weapon. I’ll see that Karl brings it to you.” He produced a travel pass for her and told her the time of the train she was to catch.

Although
Edvin had made it all sound simple and straightforward, she knew as well as he and Arne that it was a highly dangerous sortie, for everything was to be done in daylight. If they were spotted at their sabotage, they would be shot on the spot. Yet she was exhilarated that she had been given such a task, for every bomb destroyed was one less for an Allied target.

“
One last thing,” Arne put in when all the details had been discussed. “Memorise the map, Anna. Don’t take it with you.”

After
the two men had gone, Anna pored over the map. She and Karl were to have been together in a sabotage sortie when she had first arrived in Norway. Now nothing should prevent them carrying out the work together this time.

She
hid the map away before leaving the apartment, for Nils was coming that evening, and she could not reveal the task she had been given to him or Christina.

When
Anna next visited Rosa, she was more grateful than ever to Nils for ensuring her aunt’s privacy. She had found her lying on the sofa, her face very white.

“
Aren’t you feeling well?” Anna asked anxiously. She had used her own key to enter when Frida had not answered the door. It was the first time.

“
How did you get in?” Rosa demanded almost crossly. She felt at a disadvantage, not having wanted Anna to even suspect that there was anything wrong with her. She’d had a little heart trouble for years that only her doctor and Frida knew about. It was not right for Anna to have any extra worry when she must concentrate fully on whatever Resistance work she was undertaking.

“
I still have the door key to the apartment that you gave me once, as well as one to the country house. I took them with me to England.”

Rosa
’s expression softened. “So you were always determined to come back?”

Anna
smiled widely. “Not even a war has kept me away.” She took hold of her aunt’s hand. “Is there anything I can get you? Do you need a doctor?”

“
Heavens, no!” Rosa waved away the suggestion and propped herself still higher against the cushion, which she would not have been able to do earlier when the pain was acute. “You had Nils with you last time you came. I’m glad to have you to myself today.”

“
At least you and he were more amiable towards each other than I ever remember.”

“
I admit that I should have been more tolerant of him in the past.” Rosa only meant that less opposition might have caused the liaison to fizzle out, but Anna took the remark at its face value.

“
But this is a new beginning for the two of you, Aunt. He’s kinder than you could ever guess.”

Rosa
accepted resignedly that her days of interfering in the relationship were over, but she reserved her own judgement and hoped for the best. Yet it was on the cards that Nils and Anna would end up together. What chance did that other man in Anna’s life have in these days, especially when the fact she wouldn’t talk about him could only mean he was in the Resistance too. It was unlikely that their paths crossed very often, whereas Nils appeared to be established in some provision business that gave him freedom of movement and, more dubiously, easy access to the Black Market.

Anna
was opening her purse. “I have some money for you. Those last two dresses sold well.” The purchaser had been a young woman, excited that she was shortly to marry her German fiancé, and eager to gather some kind of trousseau together. When she stood in her slip between trying on the dresses, it was obvious that she was pregnant.

Anna,
watching the seamstress pin the alterations on her, had wondered if she knew how swiftly she would be shipped off to Germany and what might await her there if her fiancé’s family home was in an Allied bombing zone. Marriages with Norwegian women were allowed, but the presence of wives was not.

“
Please thank Christina for me,” Rosa said. She did not mind that the woman took quite a high percentage. Everybody had to make a living.

“
I will.”

Before
leaving, Anna resisted giving her aunt an extra kiss and a hug, not wanting to give any hint that she would soon be putting her life on the line. Their parting was as usual after Frida returned, because she had not wanted to leave Rosa on her own when unwell enough to have to rest.

The
days crept on towards Anna’s assignment. She saw Nils often, and there were times when it was almost as if they had never been apart, particularly when they laughed together over some remembered incident in the past. Yet there was a change in both of them, she with her love directed elsewhere and he in some indefinable way that she could not pinpoint. Knowing him as she did, she felt that he wanted to speak of what troubled him deeply. Instinct told her that it had nothing to do with the change in their relationship, for he had a blind spot as far as Karl was concerned, never referring to him, as if he were a mere figment of her imagination. Yet, whenever she gave him the chance to talk of what was on his mind, he became wary and made sure they talked of something else.

As
Nils had access to a radio, he was able to tell her the latest war news. Anna knew from the German-controlled press that a terrible new rocket, the V2, was falling on London from sites in Germany and Holland in what was a second Blitz. But the good news was that the September advance of the Allies had liberated Paris and was through Belgium into Holland. On the Eastern Front there was a life-and-death struggle at Warsaw, but elsewhere the Russians were continuing to break through.

It
had become noticeable that the German troops no longer sang ‘We March Against England’ as they stamped through the streets, because they knew that passers-by were laughing privately at them. As if to counteract the news of the Allied successes that were filtering through to the Norwegians, the Nazi rule was re-enforced all over the country with still more ruthless reprisals. Arrests were made on the slightest suspicion, and at Oslo’s ancient fortress the condemned patriots, often with their bodies broken by torture, were shot in the executions carried out daily.

It
was just before curfew when Anna’s street doorbell rang. She went downstairs to call through the door. “Who’s there?”

“
Karl.”

She
flung open the door and he was in at once, taking her into his arms. They laughed and kissed and talked all the way up the flight until they reached the living-room. There he stopped to hold her back from him and look searchingly into her eyes.

“
Are you clear about everything that has to be done on our sortie. Any doubts or queries?”

“
None!” she answered firmly.

“
That’s settled then.” He picked her up in his arms and his mouth covered hers as he carried her through to the bedroom.

It
was the time they had both been yearning for since they had been together in the mountain cabin. Then they had made love after a brush with death, and now the same danger awaited them very shortly. But, in the meantime, they had the whole night ahead in which to rediscover each other completely.

As
they lay down naked together in her bed, everything else faded away and nothing existed for them beyond each other. His hands trembled with passion as he caressed her, she marvelling at the smoothness of his skin as she stroked him lovingly in return. The curtains at the window were open to the moon-glow and his stark love-face was as clear to her as her own joyous features were to him. She exulted in watching him make love to her, only closing her eyes when his touch became almost too delicious to be borne.

“
You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, his lips travelling over her, his breath soft and warm against her body. Now and again he groaned with pleasure as she found her own ways to add to their enjoyment of each other. Their limbs, ivory-pale in the translucent light, made constantly-changing patterns as they interlaced and entwined on the white spread of the sheet.

When
at last he was taking her with tender violence to the ultimate moments, she clung to him as if drowning in love and then reared ecstatically as all his wonderful strength vibrated within her.

Now
and again throughout the night hours they dozed blissfully, her lips moist with his kisses, only to stir and make love again, until in the early morning they slept.

Anna
awoke just seconds before the alarm of her clock was about to go off and she silenced it quickly. Karl was still asleep, his head on their shared pillow. She slid from the bed and padded across to draw the curtains closed across the window. Then she turned to look towards the bed. He lay handsomely sprawled, occupying most of the space with a knee bent and his other leg stretched out. He had been holding her within his arm and its position was unchanged as if waiting for her to return.

After
slipping on a robe Anna went back to sit on the bed, knowing it was time to wake him, but he had already missed her.

“
Where do you want to live after the war?” he muttered sleepily. “Would Oslo suit you?”

“
Initially. Aunt Rosa will want me to stay a while.”

His
eyes shot open, clear-grey and brilliant, and he caught her wrist in a firm grip. “I didn’t mean your aunt’s place, and you know it.” He sat up, pushing his hair back with spread fingers. “I asked you to marry me the day we met.”

She
raised her eyebrows with mock incredulity. “I don’t remember.”

His
lips spread in a wide smile. “But you knew as I did in that London office there would never be anybody else for either of us.”

“
What conceit!” she exclaimed, shaking her head with amusement. “It didn’t happen that way at all.”

“
You’ve just forgotten!” He pulled her across his chest and, laughing with her, made love to her again.

They
talked little over breakfast, smiling at each other and holding hands whenever possible, their eyes full of the night they had shared. Yet he did tell her of the part she had played in taking a package to Tresfjord on the day they had fled together from the Germans. “It was London’s directive that Hitler should be fooled into believing that the Allied invasion would come through Norway instead of France. The seeds were planted long before you came back, but you helped in the delivery of forged letters to add to the false trail.” He grinned widely. “As a result Hitler has five hundred thousand troops tied up here that are badly needed on the Eastern Front.”