Inside, he retrieved a hammer and nails, then began securing the floorboards. The sound of Madeleine’s footsteps, accompanied by the patter of Louis’s hooves, caused him to look up. “If the Nazis show up, I don’t want them to find the hole,” he said, adjusting a board.

Madeleine nodded. She scratched her hog behind the ears, causing him to twitch his tail.

Ollie quickly pounded in the nails. After securing the last of the floorboards, he slid the table back into place.

“N’abandonnez jamais,” Madeleine said.

Ollie turned.

“It means, Never give up,” she added.

He nodded, realizing how much Madeleine reminded him of his own mother. “You could come with us, pretend to be Lucien’s interpreter. It’d be safer for you in the free zone.”

Madeleine shook her head.

“Please,” Ollie said. “Join us.”

She rubbed Louis’s head. “I must wait for my Guillaume.”

No matter how hard Ollie tried to convince Madeleine to leave, she refused. It was clear to him that she was determined to wait for her missing husband, despite the likelihood that the Nazis, retracing Dietrich’s routine, would eventually return to her cottage. As he walked her to the door, he knew there would be no changing her mind. And he hoped that his efforts to dispose of Dietrich’s body would eventually lead the Nazis far away from Madeleine.

Outside, to his surprise, he found that Boar and Lucien had loaded the back of the wagon with manure and some of the rotten potatoes, too far gone for even Louis to eat.

Boar brushed his hands on his pants and stepped to Madeleine. “This is it, I’m afraid.”

Madeleine, having to stand on her toes, kissed Boar on both cheeks, then watched him climb into the back of the wagon.

As Ollie prepared to say good-bye, a flutter caused him to stop. He turned to see Duchess land at his feet.

The pigeon looked up and blinked.

Boar stared from the back of the wagon. He pressed his boot into a rotten potato.

Ollie picked up Duchess and stroked her wings. Then, like he always had, he opened the canister attached to the pigeon’s leg. His heart sank. “It’s empty.”

Boar crossed his arms. “I think you owe me an apology, Yank.”

Ollie ignored the lieutenant. He caressed Duchess, noticing that she’d lost weight. Her feathers, once lustrous, now seemed tattered. Ollie believed he was to blame for her condition. She’d selflessly risked her life carrying his messages. He wished he could tuck her into his jacket and carry her safely out of France. But he’d likely never make it to the free zone, let alone Britain. Her best chance for survival was to fly out of here, just as she had done before. “I can’t take you with me,” he said to the pigeon.

Duchess’s chest pulsed as she took in air.