The Room on Rue Amélie by Kristin Harmel

Author:Kristin Harmel [Harmel, Kristin]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2018-03-26T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

July 1942

It took Ruby more than an hour to get Charlotte settled down, but finally the girl fell asleep on the couch. Just before dawn, Ruby slipped into the hallway and rapped lightly on the door to the hidden closet. “It’s Fleur,” she whispered. “You can come out.” She slid the panel back to find Samuel crouched in the crawl space, clutching a knife.

“What in God’s name was that?” he demanded. “Those voices in the hall . . . I was right, wasn’t I? Something terrible has happened.”

Ruby put a hand on his arm. “It was a raid,” she said calmly. “To take Jews away.” And then, somehow, she was crying, and she couldn’t stop. The pilot quietly climbed out and wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “It’s all going to be okay.”

His words of comfort just made her cry harder, because he didn’t really understand. He only knew the war from the sky.

“We need to get into my apartment before someone sees you,” Ruby said, drying her tears and suddenly realizing how stupid it was to be embracing a fugitive in plain sight. She suspected that the building’s residents were still battened down for the night, but she couldn’t take that chance. “We need to be quiet, because Charlotte is finally asleep,” she added in a whisper as she opened her front door.

“Charlotte?”

“The daughter of the couple next door who were taken away.”

“Dear God,” Samuel murmured, glancing at the girl asleep on the couch as Ruby ushered him inside, shut the door quietly, and locked it behind them.

Ruby gestured for him to follow her to the bedroom, and once they were inside, she left the door ajar and sat down on the edge of the bed, indicating that he should join her.

“What happened?” Samuel asked. “To the girl’s parents?”

Ruby recounted the events of the past several hours, explaining that Madame Dacher had asked her to keep Charlotte safe. “Charlotte’s father is convinced that they’ll be returning soon. But I fear he’s wrong.”

“But what could the police possibly be doing with the Jews?”

Ruby shook her head. “I only know the rumors of what’s happening in eastern Europe. They’re putting Jews in camps. There are rumors that they’re putting some to death.”

“Jesus Christ.” Samuel crossed himself and looked heavenward. “So what are you going to do about the girl?”

Ruby was silent for a moment. She’d been thinking about it all night. “I don’t think she’s safe here. What if the police come for her again?”

Samuel nodded slowly. “What if I take her with me? To the Pyrenees? I could help her get out of the country.”

Ruby could feel her eyes filling with tears. “Samuel, that’s a very kind offer. But that’s not what the line is designed for, and I’m afraid it would put all of you, especially Charlotte, in danger. It’s perilous enough for grown men. She’s just a girl.”

“I’m not just a girl.” Charlotte’s voice from the doorway interrupted them, startling Ruby.

“Charlotte.” Ruby jumped up from the bed.

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