The Corsican Woman by Madge Swindells

Author:Madge Swindells [Swindells, Madge]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavour Media
Published: 2017-11-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 44

Her food was a bowl of thin soup with little nourishment and a slice of grey, stale bread once each day. Worse than the hunger, the boredom, and the solitude was her fear of what was to happen. She had never been brave. Besides, she had an extraordinarily low pain threshold. Michel had always chided her for that. She would share Michel’s fate, she knew, but she doubted she would acquit herself as well as he had.

Was it morning? She glanced up at the barred window, but there was no glimmer of light. She had no idea how long she had been there, but now she could hear footsteps approaching.

Two guards explained that they had come to fetch her for interrogation.

She was taken upstairs to a room on the third floor. This time she could see out of the window. It was almost dawn. There was a wonderful view of the mountains in the distance. Robin was there somewhere. She hoped he wouldn’t be wasting his time thinking of her. She did not think of him any more, either. She felt too guilty. Nevertheless, she could not tear her gaze away from the mountains. Eventually the guards forced her onto the chair.

Dino looked very healthy and fresh. He smelled of soap and after-shave, and he was wrinkling his nose in disgust at her. They had given her no facilities for bathing or washing or any way of cleaning herself.

His assistant, a blond, blue-eyed Italian, smelled strongly of perfume, and he kept moistening his lips as he studied her.

Dino said in a brisk, businesslike voice, ‘Sybilia, you’ve been lying to me, but this must stop now. Here are four questions, and you must answer them. They are: What is your frequency and code number to radio headquarters? Where are your headquarters? Where have you stored the arms you stole from us? And lastly, who is your leader?’

‘I will tell you nothing.’

‘We’ll hear a different story quite soon, I have no doubt. I also want the names of your colleagues in the Resistance, and particularly those who are working at the hotel.

‘You see, all these matters are of great importance to our war effort. If you won’t tell me, I shall have to hand you over to Major Krag.’

‘I won’t tell you anything.’

‘Sybilia, you are irritating me. I have the means of making you talk.’

‘No. You don’t,’ she whispered. ‘Everyone knows what butchers you are. We saw what you did to Michel. You couldn’t make him talk.’

‘We?… Ha! Now we’re getting somewhere. Define “we” Sybilia.’

‘I will not.’ She choked back a sob and saw him smile.

Oh, God, help me. Mary, Mother of Jesus, help me.

The assistant was removing her shoes and her stockings. ‘I will do it,’ she gasped, but she could not. She was shaking too violently. Finally she leaned back and closed her eyes as she acknowledged defeat. It didn’t matter. She was an impersonal body to this man, which made him all the more terrifying.

He pressed the metal jaws of his pincers over her nail and pulled.

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