The Edelweiss Sisters: An epic, heartbreaking and gripping World War 2 novel by Kate Hewitt

Author:Kate Hewitt [Hewitt, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800192997
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2021-06-07T22:00:00+00:00

On impulse Birgit decided to go to Nonnberg Abbey before returning home. Better to have a plan in place to tell Johanna and Franz than simply the prospect of one. There was, she realized shamefully, a small, proud part of her that wanted to be the one to sort it all out, to return home with a fait accompli. It was ridiculous to have such petty aspirations in the midst of a crisis, and yet she knew she did.

By the time she reached the top of the Nonnbergstiege, she was hot, tired, and out of breath. She had not been up here since Lotte’s novitiate service a year and a half ago. Surely Lotte should be taking her final vows soon, and yet they’d had no word. Had it happened? Or had that, like so much else in life, been postponed or forgotten?

The nun who came to the porter’s desk when Birgit rang the bell gave her a frowning look. “Yes?”

“I’m here to see…” Suddenly Birgit hesitated. She didn’t know anything about this Kunigunde, and Kunigunde didn’t know her. And what if this nun, looking so sour, was suspicious? Every conversation, every word, seemed fraught with danger. “Lotte Eder.” It would be good to see her sister, and, she realized, she needed to tell her all that had happened.

“You mean Sister Maria Josef?” the nun asked with a sniff, and Birgit nodded.

“Yes, I am her sister. There is… bad news from home.”

The nun nodded in understanding. “Very well.”

A few minutes later Birgit was ushered into the small, bare sitting room where Lotte had said goodbye to them nearly two years ago. It felt like a lifetime—one that had ended when the troops had rolled across the border. Everything had changed, and yet Lotte had remained here the whole time, seemingly undisturbed, untroubled.

Had her sister been anxious about them, Birgit wondered. Afraid? Or had she not even been aware of the dangers they’d faced? She had no idea.

The door opened, and a woman came through it—a woman whose pale, smooth oval of a face was framed by the white wimple that hid her hair and covered her neck right up to the chin. Her black habit rustled as she walked, and her hands were hidden in her sleeves.

It took Birgit several stunned seconds to realize the woman was her sister.

“Lotte,” she whispered, and her sister inclined her head.

“I am Sister Maria Josef now.”

For some reason this made Birgit angry, and she had to choke back an instinctive retort. “How have you been?”

“I am well.” Lotte stood in front of her, arms folded at her waist, looking at Birgit as if she were a stranger who was taking up her time. She had a patient air, but it seemed forced, like a costume one might put on and then take off again. “Sister Agnes said you had news of the family.”

“Yes…” Birgit gestured to a pair of hard armchairs. “Why don’t we sit down?”

Lotte hesitated, and for a moment Birgit thought she would refuse.

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