فصل 36

joana

“He’s cute,” said Eva, stretching her mammoth feet by the fire.

“He’s young.”

“Too young for me, yes, but not too young for you. What is he, nineteen, maybe twenty? Look, he’s staring at you.”

I glanced over at him. He looked away. Eva’s estimation of his age seemed correct. And Ingrid had been right. His eyes were gray. My record with boys was not exactly successful. I seemed to have a talent for picking the wrong ones.

“But something’s not right with him,” said Eva. “Maybe he’s a spy.”

Ingrid’s words echoed back to me. He’s a thief.

Eva leaned back in a broken chair. “But even a spy can keep a girl warm, you know.” She surveyed the room. “The Nazis destroyed this place. It must have been beautiful.”

I nodded.

She let out a laugh. “They certainly don’t trust the old Prussian nobles now, do they?”

Eva was right. Prussian Junkers didn’t quite blend with other Germans. “Junker” meant “young gentleman.” The Prussian aristocracy was serving in the German army, fighting for their land and titles. But some of their ideologies didn’t align with Hitler’s. Back in July, Prussians were involved in an assassination attempt on Hitler. The plot failed and the Junkers were executed.

“So what’s wrong with the girl?” asked Eva. “Exhaustion? Or has she realized that her father won’t be doing any more math? Sorry.”

I shook my head. “I want you to speak to her privately. I need details to try to help her. Can you do that, Eva?”

“Why me?”

“Because you understand more Polish than the rest of us.”

“She seems terrified,” said Eva.

“She probably is,” I told her. “She’s eight months pregnant.”