Derrick took a seat beside her on the couch and took hold of her limp hand. “Victoria, I am sorry for your friend, but we must now talk about you. We have no options left to get you out of France. That means that you must stay here at the chateau until it is safe for you to leave. You cannot afford to be seen by anyone but Alois. A chance glimpse of you by a delivery boy, a daily hire, a groundskeeper or farmer or hunter on the downs where you like to walk, and you could be reported. Once the Parisians are free to exact their vengeance, they will descend upon this place like avenging angels. It won’t help that the chateau belongs to a count who deserted France before the first German arrived. You will be dragged out and made an example of as a French collaborator, or worse, the lover of an SS colonel in the despised Sicherheitsdienst.”

“Well, if I must stay, I must, and when the Allies arrive, I’ll go to Paris and get in touch with the American military—”

“No, Victoria! You don’t understand,” Derrick said. “The city will not be safe for you even when it is liberated—especially then. The Parisians will be after blood. One glimpse of the beautiful French instructor of foil—one who roused such admiration and sympathy from her countrymen when they believed her executed by the Nazis—and they will be on you like a pack of jackals. The French do not like to be duped.”

Victoria, bewildered, withdrew her hand. “Then what am I to do, Derrick? I can’t stay here forever!”

“No, of course not! I am saying that you must stay here until I can personally contact your army to send someone for you. Only in their protection will you be safe.”

“How do you plan to do that—contact the American army?”

“Leave that to me. I’ll get word to you as quickly as I can make arrangements.” He finished off his drink in a single swallow and stood. “Now I must go.”

Victoria stood also, stricken by a sudden awareness. “Derrick…When will I see you again?”

He took her hands into his. “My dear Victoria Grayson of Williamsburg, Virginia. I do not anticipate the pleasure of meeting you again.”

“Derrick, I—”

“Shush,” he said, drawing her into a light embrace, and brushed his lips across her hair. “No need to say anything. You leave me with memories that I shall treasure as long as I live. I ask only that you remember me with kindness and keep to the promise you have made.” He released his arms and stepped back, his long gaze into her eyes storing the last time he would see her. “Au revoir, Mademoiselle Colbert. Remember to wait for my call.”