The Women in His Life by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Author:Barbara Taylor Bradford [Bradford, Barbara Taylor]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780795338649
Publisher: RosettaBooks
Published: 2014-02-06T05:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-THREE

It drew her back like a magnet, that area of the Tiergarten and its environs where so much of her life had been spent in the past.

After her first visit, on that drizzly Monday morning, she had returned several times, enticed by a place she found irresistible, because it was both familiar and loaded with poignant memories. But on each occasion she had found nothing worthwhile, and certainly nothing which would help her in her search for the Westheims. And she had always come away from there brimming with frustration and heightened anxiety, vowing never to return.

But one Saturday afternoon, two weeks after she had arrived in Berlin, Teddy took herself off to the Tiergartenstrasse yet again. The difference was that today she had a purpose, a real reason for being there. Elizabeth Jefford, Mrs Reynolds’s secretary, had suggested to Teddy that she talk to the Trummerfrauen, the rubble women, who worked the city in groups, cleaning up the debris, and collecting the bricks which could be used again, once the rebuilding of Berlin commenced.

Elizabeth had explained to her on the telephone last night that the Trümmerfrauen had developed their own intricate networks, had their own grapevines, and thus were extraordinary sources of information about everything—from the black market to missing people. The women apparently worked in and around the streets where they had previously had homes, and where most of them still lived in makeshift quarters. Elizabeth had pointed out to Teddy that perhaps one of them might have seen something or met someone or heard gossip which could be useful to her, and aid her as she continued to look for Ursula and Sigmund.

And so she had come here again. Just one more time, she had said to herself a short while ago, as she had taken the underground train which had brought her to the Bahnhof Zoo station. Now she walked along the Tiergartenstrasse at a slow pace, all the time glancing around alertly.

It did not take her very long to realise that there were no women working the rubble today. Her disappointment was so acute she suddenly understood how high her anticipation had been since her conversation with Elizabeth last night.

Just as Teddy was giving up hope of finding any of the Trümmerfrauen, she spotted three of them standing near a pit on a piece of land that had been partially cleared of rubble. They were talking amongst themselves and sharing a cigarette.

Teddy came to a stop a short distance away, stood watching them with interest for a few seconds. Each woman took several deep drags of the cigarette, then handed it to the next one, and Teddy saw at once how much they were enjoying this little luxury, making the most of it.

Elizabeth had warned her not to go empty-handed. And so in her bag were a packet of Lucky Strikes and three chocolate bars from the special store cupboard in the flat, gifts Mrs Reynolds had undoubtedly received from her boyfriend, the American major.

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