‘Sibbie, I haven’t liked to say, but I’m so worried about Aunt Ella and Paulo and Lonia. I know they aren’t practising Jews, but . . . Oh, Sibbie, what if Aunt Ella’s background is found out? What will happen to her, and to Paulo and Lonia? They say that all Jews are being deported to camps. But no one knows what is happening to them after they have gone.’

The joy that had filled Sibbie turned to ice-cold fear. Yes, she’d pondered this before, but it had never struck her as it did now. ‘It’s terrifying. Oh, Marjie, why didn’t Aunt Ella and Uncle Arnie get Paulo over here? They were thinking of doing so. They should all have come before this happened, as we all knew it was on the cards.’

Marjie left her own bed and climbed onto Sibbie’s. Tears were flowing down her face, and her body trembled. ‘I’m so afraid, Sibbie. Somehow it has dawned on me how dangerous the situation is for our family. Aunt Ella’s because they are British Jews; and Mama and Papa because they are British and it’s possible that they will be looked upon as sheltering Jews, which is against the law. Oh God, we have to do something! I know what we are doing now is vital work, but there must be something more that we can do?’

Putting her arm around Marjie, Sibbie felt a dread in her heart that she’d never felt before, and it forced her to voice what she’d been thinking for a while now. ‘We could apply to be considered for a more active role. We could be doing all sorts of things with our languages. Perhaps undercover work? Surely the government has secret agents working in France. We would be especially useful working in the Vichy area, as we know it so well.’

‘Yes, you’re right, there must be agents gathering intelligence and helping the Resistance. But how do we apply, and to whom? They must know all about us, because when we applied to join the WAAF we filled in forms that gave our backgrounds. And at the time the interviewing officer was really interested in the fact that I had dual nationality and could speak four languages.’

‘I had a similar reaction, too, when I said yes to the question about speaking any foreign languages. So why weren’t we offered something where those skills would be useful?’

‘Maybe they didn’t see the right kind of person in us. I mean, perhaps we didn’t show our true spirit?’

Sibbie thought about this and knew Marjie was right. They must have come across as two young women who were merely capable of working in the background. ‘We need to show them our mettle, Marjie.’

‘But how?’