“He wants to court you,” said Papa. “He asked my permission.”

Lisette’s eyes flew open. “What? Who?”

“Monsieur Palomar would like to court you,” Papa repeated. “Your mother and I have given our approval.”

The chocolate taste turned to thick bitterness in her mouth. “This is absurd,” she said. “Palomar is far too old for me. I don’t know him at all, nor do I wish to.”

“He has been exceedingly good to our family,” Maman said.

“And I do appreciate that. But I already have a boyfriend—Jean-Luc d’Estérel.”

“That’s a girlhood flirtation,” said Maman. “You’re a young woman now. And besides, he’s Jewish.”

“So is Mussolini’s mistress.”

“How did you hear that?”

“I hear things. I know things.”

“Then you should hear that the Germans are coming. They’ll oust the Italians and round up the Jews. If Jean-Luc knows what’s good for him, he’ll make himself scarce.”

“His mother is ill,” Lisette said. “He can’t leave her. And Marshal Graziani has ordered Jean-Luc to work for him, because he’s the only one in Bellerive who has the expertise to operate the railroad switches and river locks.” She knew Jean-Luc hated having to provide a service for the occupying military force. “I want nothing to do with Didier Palomar,” she concluded, feeling ill as she eyed the remaining pieces of chocolate on the plate.

Maman took hold of both her hands. “There is no more money for rent. We have to leave the house by the end of the month.”

“What? When did you learn this?” Lisette looked from one parent to the other. Her father sat in stoic silence, his expression stony.

“There was a notice a few weeks ago.”

“Then I shall find a way to get some money,” Lisette said, her heart thumping with desperation. “I can speak, read, and write English. I can cook and clean and sew. Surely I could find a position in Aix or Marseille.”

“Don’t even think of it. Horrible things happen to young girls who go to the city.”

“More horrible than being courted by a man I don’t know?” Lisette bolted from the table and charged out the door, ignoring the sound of the curfew bells. She ran until a sharp pain pinched her side. She had to tell Jean-Luc what was planned. Together, they would figure out what to do.

Breathless and clutching her side, she reached his tiny apartment above a cobbler shop and burst in on him. He was alone, bent over something on the table. He nearly fell off his stool in surprise. “Lisette,” he said, jumping to his feet. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I had to see you,” she said. “My parents want me to marry Didier Palomar.”

“The mayor?”

“He’s been supplying us with food. I assumed it was a gesture of kindness, but all he really wanted was to win my father’s approval. Now we’re being put out of our home because there’s no money. If I refuse Palomar, we’ll be begging in the street.”