Free The Fragile Hour by Rosalind Laker Page B

could make soup from the proverbial rusty nail.”
    Anna laughed. “Has rationing reached that stage in Alesund?”
    “ Not quite.” Edith indicated the turbot. “That’s how we can serve this for the officers’ dinner this evening and there won’t be any left over. They like their food too much. But even they’re having to tighten their belts these days. At least they get plenty of German wine and beer that’s shipped in to keep the troops happy.” Edith shook her head censoriously. “There are some noisy parties here sometimes, I can tell you.”
    As Anna was led upstairs she decided to learn as much as possible from Edith while she was here. It would be useful to gain a full knowledge of how Norwegian women coped with the food shortages, quite apart from adding substance to the additional role she was playing.
    The room was small but comfortable. Left alone, Anna went to the window and looked out. Three floors below, a narrow division of the sea lapped at the rock on which this northern Venice of a town was built and on the opposite side, traffic was passing a row of small shops. She was thankful that her own part in the chain of the message’s delivery to London had been fulfilled without mishap, not for her own sake, but for Karl’s trust in her.
    “ Be safe, Karl!” she whispered fervently.
    A tap on the door made her stir. Straightening up, she went across to open it. Margot Sande stood there smiling at her.
    “ I know I’m interrupting your unpacking,” she said apologetically, “but I had the chance to hand over the desk for ten minutes.”
    “ I’m glad you’ve come and I haven’t started unpacking yet. It can wait a little longer. Do sit down.”
    She indicated the only chair, which stood by the window, and settled herself on the bed. Margot paused to look down at the water below before seating herself.
    “ You could fish from this window, Anna,” she joked.
    Anna was amused. “I suppose I could.”
    “ That’s about the level of entertainment here. Dances are banned as they are everywhere else, everybody boycotts the ski and other sports contests that the Germans organise and we can’t see any films that aren’t German. It’s a bore.”
    She had something of her mother’s vivacity, but otherwise there was no likeness, for her features were pretty and symmetrical. Anna liked her: she was natural and unaffected, a person in her own right in spite of her parent’s dominant personality.
    “ I don’t expect to have time for entertainment anyway,” Anna remarked. “I’m here first and foremost for one purpose only.”
    “ I realise that. Mother just told me how we’re going to explain your presence to the Germans. It sounds all right to me. You’re the first courier who’s actually stayed here for any length of time. Mostly we hide them overnight or for a few days at the most. The Germans will never know if you’re here or not, because Mother objects if any of them set foot in the kitchen. Even the officers’ batmen bypass it to the boot-room by way of the staff hallway.”
    Anna was intrigued. “Do they trust her so implicitly?”
    Margot made a dismissive little gesture. “Of course not. They don’t trust anybody, but they’ve no reason to suspect that Mother is anything but a zealous businesswoman who wants to keep her guests comfortable and content while they leave the running of the hotel entirely to her. As for the staff, they believe that Mother is in the same position as themselves, which is that it’s only by working for the Germans that a livelihood can be maintained. No patriot wants to do it and it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but that’s how it is for many of us these days. So,” she concluded warningly, “just make sure you never run the risk outside this hotel of appearing to be sociable with the enemy, because you’ll be marked as a traitor from that time onwards.”
    “ I don’t want that!”
    Margot nodded and leaned forward. “There’s something