Céline moved closer, her curiosity piqued as Michel set to work prying the head from one of the barrels. Surely he hadn’t called her down here to discuss wine. Perhaps she had done something wrong when she’d last cleaned the barrels, but she couldn’t imagine Michel summoning her to the cellars late in the evening to chastise her, either.

Still, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw when Michel finally set the barrel head aside and beckoned her closer. She peered into the barrel, then stumbled backward when she realized it was full of long guns.

“Michel!” She pressed a palm to her chest in a desperate attempt to slow her suddenly racing heart. “What on earth is this?”

“This is how we will win the war,” he said calmly, still watching her closely.

“No,” she protested. “No, no, no. This is too dangerous, too—”

“It’s something I must do.” His voice was low, confident. “There are many of us, people who live by the rules in plain sight, but work to undermine the German authorities.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“I’ve been wanting to do something since the day the Germans first arrived in Ville-Dommange. But it was difficult to find a network to work with at first. Few people around here know me well, which is proving an asset, but early on it presented a challenge. I needed to earn their trust.” He paused and glanced back at the guns. “I’ve been involved for the past few months, since one of the organizers admitted how helpful it would be to move supplies in and out of the caves.”

She swallowed hard. “Why are you showing me this?”

He set the head back on the barrel, and the air seemed to return to the room. “Because, Céline, I want you to understand that there are people fighting against the Germans. That there’s hope for your father and those like him.”

“But why you?”

“Because I cannot sit idly by while innocent people suffer.” He took a step toward her, and then another. His breath was soft and warm on her cheek. “Because this war is destroying us. Because if we do not stand up to injustice now, who do we become? We are French, Céline, and that means we fight for liberty. For equality. For brotherhood. It is in my blood. I cannot do things differently.”

Céline stared at him, rooted to the spot. “But if the Germans find you—”

“They will not.”

“But if they do—”

“It is a risk I take.” He reached for her hand. “I just wanted you to know that you are not alone.”

Tears stung her eyes. “Does Inès know?”

“Yes.” He hesitated. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted you to know, too. She found me last night. I had to tell her the truth.”

“My God, and she left this morning for Reims . . .”

“She will not betray me.” Michel’s tone was firm.

She wondered how he could be so sure. “And Theo?”

Michel frowned. “I know I have already asked you to keep the news about your father from him. And I must ask that you keep this from him, too. This isn’t an area of the cellars he frequents, and I know he leaves the care of the barrels mostly to you and Inès. I don’t think he will stumble across this. I’m sorry. I know that puts you in a difficult position.”

“But why tell me, then?”

Michel studied her. “Because I trust you. Theo, he is a great winemaker, but sometimes I fear he cares more about prestige than he does about morals. We’re in the midst of a war, and honestly, Céline, I don’t give a damn about how our champagne tastes right now, or what kind of a profit we turn. I care about people surviving.”

“I do, too.”

“Then trust me.”

This time, it was Céline who took a step closer. “I do,” she whispered. “I always have.”

Time seemed to slow as they leaned closer to each other. But just before their lips could meet, Céline pulled back, blinking. “I—” she began.

“I’m sorry.” Michel moved quickly away. “I should—I should get back to this. And you should return to Theo before he becomes concerned.”

“Yes, right.” Céline hesitated. “Michel?”

“Yes?”

She was still shaken by the step she had very nearly taken across a line, a point of no return. But she was sure of one thing: that she couldn’t let Michel do this alone. “I want to help,” she said.

“Absolutely not.” His answer was instantaneous. “It is too dangerous. Especially for you, Céline.”

“You don’t understand,” she said. “That is exactly why I must do this. If the Germans have taken my family, I no longer have anything to lose.”

“But I do,” Michel said. “And I cannot lose you.”

fourteen

JUNE 2019

LIV

By her third day in Reims, Liv had scoured the Internet for any references to Edouard Thierry and the Brasserie Moulin, but she’d found little, save for a website that had reprinted the same historical information that appeared on the menu. She had even called the restaurant that morning and muddled her way through asking the manager about Edouard and his role in the Resistance.