Secrets and Showgirls by Catherine McCullagh

Author:Catherine McCullagh [McCullagh, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781922387660
Publisher: Big Sky Publishing

In the early hours of the morning, Lily climbed the stairs, thankful that the night was over and desperate to fall into bed next to Guy. She reached the top of the landing and was surprised to find Sadie lounging on the sofa, drawing thoughtfully on a cigarette that parted her crimson lips.

‘Sadie!’ she exclaimed, ‘I thought you would be with Léon.’ Sadie exhaled slowly before she replied.

‘So did I. But he seems to have disappeared. I haven’t heard from him for a week now and when I sent an errand boy to his house, he came back later and told me it was all boarded up.’ Lily looked at her in surprise.

‘Do you think he’s gone to the country?’ Sadie gave her a pointed look.

‘I think he’s gone back to that good woman his wife,’ she replied acidly, drawing on her cigarette, ‘although there’s one thing that bothers me.’ She allowed the curls of cigarette smoke to drift slowly from her lips. ‘He was having such a good time with me that he had started to talk about us having some sort of future ... you know, after the war.’ Lily felt her heart flutter.

‘He’s Jewish, isn’t he?’

‘Yes,’ replied Sadie, ‘and that meant he couldn’t work, he couldn’t come to Le Prix and he had to wear that ridiculous star, all of which he did. But he wasn’t doing anyone any harm, so I can’t believe he’s been arrested.’ She thought for a moment. ‘Unless it’s suddenly become a crime to have a showgirl mistress, in which case half the Germans will have to arrest themselves.’ They laughed together, a brief, jarring laugh that failed to entirely dissipate the tension that had begun to insinuate its way into the conversation. Lily looked at Sadie with apprehension.

‘Bobby Metzinger told me that Jews in Germany weren’t even allowed to walk on the footpath with everyone else ... they were treated as if they were vermin ... like rats. Maybe there’s been some sort of mass arrest. Maybe just being Jewish is enough reason to be arrested these days.’ Sadie stubbed her cigarette, sighed and looked at Lily.

‘No, I think he’s found someone to forge him some papers and an Ausweis, crossed into Zone NonO and gone back to her,’ she said with some resignation. ‘And if he doesn’t send me some sort of message by the end of next week, I’ll just have to start looking around!’

But Lily’s assumption proved horrifically accurate. In July 1942 came the Grande Rafle — the mass round-up of Jews. Over two days, thousands of Jews were taken from neighbourhoods all over Paris and packed into buses, many transported to a half-completed housing estate in the north-eastern suburb of Drancy, while others were taken to the Velodrome d’Hiver, an indoor cycling velodrome in the 15th arrondissement. The yellow stars began to disappear from the streets almost as quickly as they had appeared.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.