It was strange how easy the silence between them was as they sat sipping their coffee, lost in thought, until Harry finally spoke again.

“And you? Tell me, what would be different for you if we weren’t at war?”

Elise lifted her gaze, studying him and trying to find the right words to reply. “If the war had never begun, my house would be full of family. My brother would be here, although he wouldn’t actually be here because he’d no doubt have snuck into a pretty woman’s bedroom, knowing him.” She laughed, remembering him and for once not feeling so sad. “And my mother would still be alive, but maybe not my father.”

“They were good parents?” Harry asked.

“They were. I had a beautiful childhood filled with laughter, love and great food. I couldn’t have asked for more.”

They both sat quietly again, only the silence wasn’t so easy this time.

“You know, Cate and Jack, they should have made for the beach at Dunkirk,” Harry said, as he slowly rose. “Instead, they ran straight into the lion’s den.”

Elise gulped. “Should I have evacuated my sister, too? Should we have made for Belgium, or—”

“You would have only been heading into enemy lines there, too, and you’d have been turned straight back,” Harry said. “Nowhere is safe, not unless you’re on a boat traveling far from here, but we have this saying at home—better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”

Elise met his stare. “You’re saying I’m safer staying with this devil? Being at home here?”

He nodded. “I’m saying that two beautiful young women aren’t safe anywhere right now, but at least here you know the lay of the land, and the Germans have no reason not to like you.”

“But they have every reason to dislike you,” she said. “And Cate and Jack.”

It hung between them, that knowledge that two of the people hiding in her home had actually had a chance to get away. But instead, they’d managed to somehow survive the worst decision possible.

“You have to wonder how they ever made it here,” said Elise. “How they managed to keep walking with Nazis at every turn.”

“Maybe they’ve got luck on their side,” he said. “A guardian angel looking out for them.”

Any other time she’d have wondered if he was teasing her, but there was nothing amusing about two people surviving against all the odds.

“Are you going to tell them they made a huge mistake, or am I?” Elise asked.

“Neither of us are,” he said firmly. “Because if Jack wakes up and finds that out, he’ll never forgive himself.”

Elise didn’t say anything else. It was abundantly obvious that Harry knew all about not being able to forgive oneself, which made him the expert on the matter, not her.

“Goodnight, Elise.”