“I’m afraid I have some bad news.” Aubert was standing outside Ruby’s apartment, which was, in and of itself, alarming. He wasn’t someone who just stopped by.

“Are you sure you should be here?” Ruby quickly hustled him inside before anyone saw him.

“I’m an old friend of your husband’s, coming to check on you, if anyone asks. But this couldn’t wait.”

“What’s the news?” For a fleeting second, Ruby imagined that he was going to tell her Thomas had been shot down. But that was crazy, wasn’t it? How would Aubert know such a thing? And even if something had happened to the British pilot, why would anyone inform her? He probably hadn’t given her a second thought after returning to England.

“It’s about Charlotte’s parents,” Aubert said, lowering his voice.

Ruby closed her eyes for a moment. She didn’t want to hear what he had to say. She couldn’t. But she had to. “What is it?”

“They’ve both been sent to a camp in Poland.”

“Already?”

“Drancy is overrun. They’re moving people out as quickly as they can.”

“But I thought we were working on getting them out.”

“The best we can hope for now is that they’re treated humanely wherever they go.”

“What will I tell Charlotte?”

“I think she’s stronger than you’re giving her credit for.”

Ruby stared at him. “How would you know that? You’ve barely spoken with her.”

“The boy who delivered her papers? I’ve known him since he was very small, and though he’s only fifteen, he’s an integral part of our operation. He met Charlotte, and he spoke very highly of her resolve to help us.”

“Aubert, she’s just a child.”

“So is Lucien. But war makes us all into something different. It has changed you, hasn’t it?”

She looked away. “I won’t allow it, Aubert. I’m responsible for her.”

He glanced over her right shoulder. “Perhaps it won’t be up to you.”

Ruby turned, following his gaze, and saw Charlotte standing there, staring at them. “Are you here about my parents? What’s happened to them?”

“They’ve been deported,” Aubert said, watching her face. “To a camp in Poland.”

“Charlotte—” Ruby began, taking a step toward the girl.

But Charlotte held up a hand to stop her. “How can I be sure they’re alive?” she asked. “How do I know you’re not just trying to give me false hope?”

Aubert looked her in the eye. “Because, my dear, war is no time to deceive the people we are supposed to trust.”

“You hardly know me. You can’t possibly trust me.”

“Lucien said you were brave.”

Ruby could see color rising to the girl’s cheeks. “He doesn’t really know me either.”

“But he’s a very good observer of people,” Aubert said. “And he told me he felt you were strong and bold.”

“He said that?” Charlotte looked startled.

Aubert nodded. “Look, Charlotte, we have a few sources inside Drancy. By all accounts, your parents have been treated relatively well so far.”

“You’re certain?” Charlotte asked.

Ruby hated to hear how hopeful Charlotte sounded, because for all his posturing about honesty, what if Aubert was just saying what he knew the girl needed to hear? There was a part of her that wanted to believe him, but there were too many questions. What were the Germans doing with all the people they were shipping east?

“As certain as possible. Now,” Aubert said. “The next order of business. The two of you must move to a new apartment.”

Ruby and Charlotte exchanged looks. “What?” Ruby asked.

“We feel that Charlotte staying here with you creates a serious problem. The neighbors know who she is; you won’t be able to pass her off as a cousin if you stay. All it takes is one person to report her in exchange for a few ration cards. You would likely be arrested; and heaven forbid you have a pilot staying with you at the time. The line would be exposed. We can’t risk that.”

“But . . . what if pilots can’t find me at my new address?”

Aubert looked confused. “Of course the contacts who send them to Paris will simply direct them to your new home.”

“Yes, of course,” Ruby mumbled, her eyes stinging with tears she knew she couldn’t cry. How would Thomas find her if he ever made his way back? But protecting Charlotte was a thousand times more important, and Ruby knew that she didn’t have a choice.

Aubert was watching her carefully, as if he suspected what she was thinking. But he couldn’t possibly. “We’ve found you a place near the Arc de Triomphe, across the river.”

“Already?”

“It has a space to hide pilots inside the apartment. The landlord is one of us. He’ll be able to help if you ever need assistance. You have to go as soon as possible.”

“Well.” Ruby forced a smile. “I suppose we’d better pack, then.”

“I’ll leave you to it. I’ll send some fellows to help you with your things the day after tomorrow, if that’s agreeable.”

“Yes, fine,” Ruby said. “Thank you.”

He disappeared out the door before she could say anything else.

“You’re worried about him finding you,” Charlotte said softly when Aubert was gone. Ruby had been standing in the center of the living room, staring off into space, for at least a minute.

“Who?”

“Thomas. The pilot.”

Ruby began to protest, but Charlotte merely shook her head.

“I think he felt that way about you too,” she said. “And he’ll come back. My parents will too. You just have to believe.”

Ruby forced a smile, but instead of the words making her feel better, they made her feel worse. She had her doubts that Charlotte’s parents were coming back at all—and of course the chances she’d see Thomas again were slim. But she could deal with only so much heartbreak in one day, so she put an arm around the girl and said brightly, “What do you say we begin packing? We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

TWO DAYS LATER, THE CONTENTS of Ruby’s life in Paris were stuffed into boxes, the old apartment stripped bare. The surge of grief Ruby felt looking around at the emptiness was unexpected; her life in Paris had begun here, and it had been Marcel’s family home for generations. But the Benoit family was gone now, and she wasn’t meant to be a part of it anymore. It was time to go.

“How will my parents find us when they get out?” Charlotte asked as they waited for the men Aubert had promised to send.

“I will stop back a few times a week,” Ruby promised, “and Aubert will have people checking too. Don’t worry, Charlotte. We’ll know when they return.”

“I can go back to check on the apartment too.”

“No. We can’t risk anyone seeing you.”

Charlotte hung her head. “So that’s it? I have to just disappear and become someone else?”

“In order to survive, yes.”

Charlotte sighed. “We can’t even go to my apartment now to get some of my things?”

Ruby was about to say no, but she hesitated. Charlotte couldn’t be seen entering or leaving the apartment. But what if Ruby went in? If anyone tried to stop her, it would be easy to explain; she could just sheepishly say she was checking for valuables; she would look like someone trying to take advantage of the poor Dachers’ misfortune. She knew such things had happened across Paris, though she hadn’t heard anyone entering the Dachers’ apartment. “I’ll try, Charlotte. What would you want, if I can only retrieve a few things?”

Charlotte brightened. “My blue dress, please. The one with the yellow ribbon. It’s hanging in my wardrobe. One of my father’s sweaters, please, and my mother’s silk gloves, which she always keeps in the third drawer of their dresser, tucked toward the back. And my mother’s anniversary ring too; it’s gold with a few small diamonds. It should be on the dressing table, in a small blue box.” Charlotte paused, and Ruby’s heart ached at the realization that the poor girl had been thinking about this for days. “And one or two of the framed photographs from the living room, if it’s not too much to ask.”

“I’ll do my best.” Ruby slipped out into the hallway, said a cheerful hello to Madame Colin from the second floor, who was just leaving the building, and then used Charlotte’s key to unlock the Dachers’ door. She was so intent on making it into the apartment undiscovered that it took her several seconds to register what she was seeing once she was inside.

“Oh no.” She gazed around in dismay. The place had been torn apart from top to bottom. The beautiful velvet sofa and chairs were slashed open. Pale spaces on the wall loomed ugly and empty. Books had been pulled from the shelves and destroyed, and all of Madame Dacher’s china was missing from the ornate cabinet in the corner.