Read Never Leave Me for Free Online Page B

should they?’ Her eyes met his urgently. ‘The Major does not take orders from the GHQ at Vierville, Paul. He is responsible directly to Field Marshal Rommel.’
    Paul sat very still, his eyes sharp. André had turned his back and was whistling to himself as he restocked his bar. The old man was dozing. ‘His task is to strengthen the coastal defences. Rommel himself came to Valmy three days ago. He and the Major spent nearly an hour together in the grand dining-room. There are maps in there, Paul, I’m sure of it. Maps and plans.’
    Paul felt in his pocket for a cigarette and matches.
    Her voice held conviction. ‘The Major has had locks put on the doors and a sentry is on duty outside them twenty-four hours a day. The information must be vital, Paul. Rommel was not paying a social call.’
    Paul regarded her thoughtfully. He knew very well what she was suggesting, but she was inexperienced and if she were caught … He thrust away the memory of the entire Argent cell being lined up and shot at Gestapo headquarters in Caen because of a weak link in their chain.
    â€˜It’s too dangerous,’ he repeated, holding his cigarette inward between his thumb and forefinger, inhaling nicotine in short, sharp puffs, his mind working furiously. If what she said was true, the information Major Meyer had access to was of incalculable importance. Obtaining it and transmitting it to the Allies could mean the difference between success and failure for the long awaited invasion forces. And defeat would ensure that the Nazi dream of a thousand-year Reich would become grim reality. His skin turned cold. Lisette was too young, too inexperienced to be entrusted with a mission of such enormity.
    â€˜A skilled operator must be infiltrated into Valmy as a maid or a cook,’ he said tensely.
    â€˜It won’t work, Paul. It would arouse too much suspicion.’
    â€˜It must work,’ he said fiercely. ‘We have to know what those devils are planning. How much they know of the Allies’intentions.’
    A small frown puckered her brow. ‘But if Rommel is focusing his attention on Normandy, surely that is to our advantage? Everyone knows that when the attack comes, it will be at the Pas de Calais.’
    Paul Gilles’eyes met hers, the pupils mere pinpricks. ‘No one,’ he said steadily, ‘knows when the invasion will take place, or where. But if, just if, the Desert Fox has guessed correctly, then the results could be catastrophic.’
    Despite the warmth of her coat she shivered. It was as if the whole future of France had suddenly been placed on their shoulders.
    â€˜The Major is too sharp, too intuitive to accept a new maid or cook at face value,’ she said, her knuckles clenching as she remembered the agonising moment in her father’s bedroom when his hard grey eyes had stripped her naked, knowing instantly the reason for her being there, disbelieving with contempt her futile lie. ‘His suspicions would be immediately aroused and security would be tightened to such an extent that not even a mouse would be able to gain entry to the grand dining-room.’ She leaned towards him, her eyes urgent. ‘Papa is already beginning to gain his confidence. The Major has invited him to share a cognac with him after dinner this evening. If Papa can help us, Paul, he will. He has given me his promise.’
    Paul stirred uneasily on his metal chair. As far as he was concerned, the Comte could have done much more far sooner. Sharing an after dinner cognac with the Boche smacked of collaboration, not espionage.
    â€˜If your Major is one of Rommel’s golden boys, the information he has access to will be vitally important. We can’t risk the chance of not obtaining it. Your father is not a member of the Resistance. He has no experience of Resistance work. The task must be entrusted to one of our own, Lisette.’
    Her eyes sparked angrily.