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Back The Guardian of Lies Save as PDF
Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. CHAPTER ONE
  4. CHAPTER TWO
  5. CHAPTER THREE
  6. CHAPTER FOUR
  7. CHAPTER FIVE
  8. CHAPTER SIX
  9. CHAPTER SEVEN
  10. CHAPTER EIGHT
  11. CHAPTER NINE
  12. CHAPTER TEN
  13. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  14. CHAPTER TWELVE
  15. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  16. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  18. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  20. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  21. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  22. CHAPTER TWENTY
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  32. CHAPTER THIRTY
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  42. CHAPTER FORTY
  43. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  52. Acknowledgements
  53. ‘The Survivors’ Ad
  54. ‘The Betrayal’ Ad
  55. ‘The Liberation’ Ad
  56. Copyright

They drove both cars, his black Citroën saloon tucked in just behind her 2CV. The sky was the same colour as the earth and the white horses in the fields could smell what was coming, so gathered close and sought shelter under the trees. Léon knew that what lay ahead was about to hit hard, and he didn’t mean the rain.

They drove into the yard and he sat for a moment after the jolting of the rough roads to give his back a break. But Eloïse jumped out of her driving seat the second the handbrake was on and scooted over to his open window. The wind was stronger now, snatching her hair into long threads and tugging at her skirt, so that she had to hold it down. She glanced up at André’s window and his tall figure was silhouetted there, watching them. She bent quickly to Léon’s car window, her hands on the door and her face on a level with his. He could see a jewel of fresh blood glistening inside her nostril.

‘Don’t come in the house, Léon. Please.’

A wave of despair swept over him. She was in no fit state to cope with a man like André when cornered. To confront him on her own was asking too much of herself, if it was true that he was an MGB agent. But Léon knew Eloïse. He’d seen her stand up to a boar with no more than a long stick in her hand and that same expression on her face. She was looking at André’s window again.

‘You shouldn’t let André shape your life,’ he said. ‘You must make your own choices without needing his good opinion. You need to step away, and whether he is CIA or MGB shouldn’t prevent that. He doesn’t deserve you as a sister.’ If André Caussade turned out to be a traitor, it would tear her apart if she didn’t protect herself.

Her head snapped round. ‘No, Léon, don’t say that. You know it’s not true.’ She shook her head, a dark trail of her hair clinging to the sweat at her throat. ‘My mother died when I was four years old and I did everything I could to help look after my tiny new brother, Isaac. Papa hid away with his bulls, grieving. Mathilde was there, but for no more than a few hours each day.’

‘Don’t be hard on yourself, Eloïse. You did what you could, but you were young.’