Free Northern Girl by Fadette Marie Marcelle Cripps Page A

headquarters in Calais. So, with nowhere else to go, they had turned to the nuns in desperation, and been taken into the cellars below the school. And now that family was dead, along with the nuns. Once this news reached Madeleine and her friends, all their past suspicions about the nuns had suddenly made sense.
    It took weeks for the village to come to terms with this devastating final act by the Germans. Morale had been low, and meetings had taken place to decide what could be done to help rebuild confidence. Nearly everyone had said they wanted music, and even the older villagers had admitted they yearned for a bit of fun. And so they had decided to have a fair on the village green.
    With renewed energy all the adults, and most of the children, worked to clear the area of rubble. And it soon became clear that this new project was having the desired effect. People began smiling again as they worked together with a sense of pride and purpose.
    The opening day of the fair seemed never-ending to Madeleine. She waited and waited for her sisters to arrive, and when at last she heard the front door burst open, and the sound of their familiar voices calling out, ‘We’re here! We’re home!’ she almost fell over herself in her haste to greet them. Dominic held back, not wanting to look too eager, and Maman came rushing from the kitchen to hug her two girls. She’d missed themterribly, even if she had sent Simone off in disgrace. But she had trusted Martine to keep an eye on her, and hadn’t questioned her behaviour since then.
    Most important of all, her two oldest daughters had survived the air raids. And here they were, home at last! There were hugs and kisses all round, and everyone talked at once, including Dominic, who’d supposedly been so unimpressed by his sisters’ return.
    After the two girls dumped their cases in their rooms, Martine, along with Madeleine and Dominic, set about helping Maman get lunch ready, while Simone told stories about their lives in Boulogne. It’s just like the old days, Madeleine thought, like the days before the war.
    It seemed Martine and Simone had enjoyed their time away, even though they’d sometimes been frightened by bombs. Running to shelters had become part of their life, but according to Simone it hadn’t always been scary or tiresome, sometimes it was fascinating. ‘After all, you never knew who you were going to meet down there.’ She winked at Madeleine as she’d said this, and Martine immediately threw her a warning look, as if she’d gone too far. Fortunately, Maman was preoccupied by looking for an oven glove, and didn’t notice. But Madeleine’s curiosity was aroused. Sensing it would be a mistake to do it right then, she made a mental note to find out more later.
    Even though the two girls had managed to come home a few times in the last few years, it had been a good while since their last visit. While Maman was getting a ragout out of the oven, Martine corneredMadeleine in the bouanderie and said she was worried about how tired Maman looked. Madeleine whispered that, though she and Dominic had done their best to shield their mother from problems during the occupation, they’d each had their own personal difficulties to deal with, which had been hard to conceal. Maman had often sensed something was amiss, and though they’d always reassured her that everything was fine, knowing she couldn’t help, she wasn’t stupid. She’d worked out for herself what one problem had to be, and begged Dominic to protect his sister.
    That was when Madeleine and Dominic had swapped beds, Madeleine moving to the relative safety of the attic. And the worry had taken its toll on Maman, who in turn had kept everything from Papa. She’d been afraid he might get angry and confront the German soldiers, exacerbating the situation.
    ‘But what happened, exactly?’ Martine asked, just as Maman walked into the bouanderie .
    ‘Come on, girls, what’s all this whispering about?’