“You heard right. There is a network that is expanding all over France, and we’re only going to get stronger if those bastards take hold here. We’ve been smuggling Jews to safety, but soon we might be joining the fighting, too.” He sighed again. “The German presence here is too great for us to fight it physically, but that doesn’t mean we’re helpless. We got rid of them during the Great War, and we’ll get rid of them again.”

“So can you help us?” Elise asked.

“The first day of the new moon, when it’s not visible in the sky, we have an evacuation planned,” he murmured, his ruddy elbows propped on the table between them. “You get your three to the beach at Calais then, and a rowboat will be waiting to take them to a larger ship. We have three downed British airmen who’ve been recuperating for some time, and they’ll be on that boat too.”

Cate reached for Elise’s hand and gripped it. “You really think we could make it back to England?”

His smile lit his eyes. “If the Luftwaffe don’t catch sight of you, then yes, I do. There are always risks, and if you can’t make it this time we plan on doing it with every new moon, when the night is bathed in true darkness. There are more formal evacuations taking place from Brest, but it’s a long trek by foot to get there, and I think this is your best option.”

“We’ll be there,” Cate said, nodding at Elise. “Unless something unforeseen happens, we’ll be there.”

Elise was silent, and Cate wondered what she was thinking. “Elise?”

“Can you make the evacuation for four people?” Elise finally asked.

Four? Why four?

“Who is the fourth?” the old man asked.

“Adelaide,” Elise said. “She’s caught the eye of a Nazi commander, and I want her taken to safety.”

He seemed to study Elise before acquiescing. “If we agree to this, can we count on you to assist our underground network around the coast?”

Elise had her arms folded across her chest now. “Yes. You get my sister to a place on that boat and I will fill any role to assist your resistance.”

His nod was curt. “Let me check with a friend tonight,” he said. “We have more Allied men in hiding than you’d ever imagine, so places are limited, but I need someone else I can trust. You can both stay the night, and we’ll have an answer by morning.”

When he left them to get some food, Cate turned to Elise, not able to believe what she’d heard. “How do you even know Adelaide will go if you organize her passage?” she asked. “And you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for her?”