The Iron Storm by CW Browning (classic literature books TXT) 📕

rest of Belgium wasn’t on the road with us.” Jens glanced at her. “Are you hungry? There’s a farm stand up ahead there. Shall I stop?”

“Are they even open?” Evelyn peered through the windshield at the market stand in the distance. “Perhaps they’ve fled as well.”

“It looks like they are. I’ll stop. We haven’t eaten all day, and we need to get something.”

Evelyn thought of the days without real food in the mountains of Norway and reflected wryly that this was really nothing compared to that. The traffic on the road was moving slowly, but steadily, and in a few minutes she could see that the market stand was, indeed, open and enjoying a busy trade. As they drew up to it, Jens pulled off the road into the grass and shut off the engine.

“I’ll get what I can,” he said, opening the door. “Do you want to stretch your legs?”

Evelyn shook her head. “I’ll wait here. I don’t want to be stopped any longer than we need to be.”

Jens nodded. “I’ll be as quick as I can,” he promised, getting out of the car and closing the door.

Evelyn watched him go over to the crowded stand and glanced at her watch. She had no idea what time they’d reach the border with France in all this mess, but she sincerely hoped that it would be before the German Luftwaffe stopped playing nice. She had no idea why the dive bombers were leaving the refugees alone, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn’t last. They were flying over too often. Of course, they could be on their way to and from bridges and railway lines, but Evelyn still didn’t trust how relatively easy this journey had been so far. Once Jens had stopped at his lodging to grab his radio and some clothes, they had been on their way. They stopped just outside of Brussels to fill up with petrol, then joined the streams of cars and trucks clogging the roads away from the city. Jens had left that main road a few miles along and weaved his way through small villages and large farmland until, at last, he was forced to get back onto a major road for the last leg of the drive to the border. That was at noon, and they had been inching along ever since.

She shifted in her seat and looked into the backseat where the square case sat on the seat with his small bag and her suitcase. Less than two feet away sat a radio capable of sending a message to London to let them know she was all right and moving towards France. If only there was some way she could use it without Jens knowing, but that was impossible. And there was absolutely no good reason for her to ask him to send a message to London when he believed she was a secretary from Paris. No, once they were in France, she would have to find a way to use it when he wasn’t around. Somehow she had to get a message to London. Bill would be worried, not only about her but also about the package she was bringing back.

Turning her head again, she watched as Jens spoke to a heavy-set woman in an apron, pulling out his wallet as he did so. He was almost finished. What a kind man he was, she thought suddenly as he passed the woman some bills. He didn’t have to help her. He barely knew her! Yet he’d come to the hotel looking for her this morning with the sole intention of doing anything possible to help her get back to France safely.

The woman in the apron passed him a brown sac and a bottle, smiling widely. And now he was buying them food when he would surely need the money for himself when he got to France.

Why is he so anxious to get to France? 

The thought popped into her head without warning, bringing a frown to her lips. What a silly thing to think. His country was being invaded by Hitler’s armies. Why wouldn’t he be anxious to escape to France? She was, and so were all the other people crowding the roads south. Yet, as she watched him make his way back to the car, Evelyn couldn’t shake the thought that something wasn’t quite right. Why had he come to the hotel looking for her? Why was he so determined to see her safely back Paris? Why had he left his position at State Security without any warning to do this? And why did he seem so calm about it all?

She pursed her lips, watching him thoughtfully. State Security. He was privy to information that only a handful of people in his government knew. Did he know something he wasn’t sharing? Was there another reason he was so desperate to get to France?

“I’m glad we stopped!” Jens called with a wide grin, going around the front of the car and opening the driver’s door. “We have a veritable feast!” He passed her the bag and got behind the wheel, holding the bottle aloft. “And wine too!”

Evelyn laughed and looked in the brown sac. A long, thick loaf of bread stood next to apples and a huge block of cheese.

“We got the last of the wine,” he said, handing her the bottle and starting the car. “The woman said her children are already halfway to the border to stay with their cousin in France.”

“She’s not going?”

“She is, once they’ve sold everything.” Jens looked at her. “It’s extraordinary. She and her husband decided that people would need provisions, so they’ve emptied their stores and are selling it all before they leave. By the looks of things, they’ll be on their way shortly.”

“What a wonderful couple!” Evelyn looked back at the stand as Jens pulled back into the line of traffic. “God bless them.”

“I’m sure He will. I just hope that He blesses us all and gets us to the border