For Such a Time by Kate Breslin

against his darker tones—before his fingers squeezed hers in a painful grip.
    “Gut . Then I expect you to eat and not embarrass me in front of my guests.”
    Her heart sank. They must be having pork again. It shouldn’t matter any longer, yet she still found it difficult to break faith with a divine heritage that had been hers from conception. And though she tried to avoid eating what her people considered traif , pork was a favorite meat of the colonel’s, and despite the difficulty in obtaining it, they ate it often.
    She consoled herself with having finally realized his criticism stemmed more from an aversion to wasting food than it did over what she was reluctant to eat. Her secret was still safe.
    In the dining room, Captain Hermann, along with five others—three men and two women—already sat at the table. Each man wore a black tunic sporting the silver Tresse and collar patches of an SS officer. They rose in unison when she and the colonel joined them.
    “Our man of the hour has arrived!” the tallest proclaimed, raising his wineglass in salute.
    “Prosit!” echoed the others, raising their glasses.
    The women remained seated at the table: a wispy blonde in a white satin V-neck dress, and a brunette with hair piled into a French roll and revealing her generous bosom beneath a strapless red taffeta gown. Stella’s skin felt hot as both turned their painted faces toward her, then glanced back at each other, giggling.
    “Danke, my friends.” The colonel led Stella to a place near the head of the table. She was dismayed to find Hermann seateddirectly opposite her on the colonel’s left. He flashed her a cold, catlike smile.
    “It’s not every day we get a war hero in our midst. Or one so young,” the tallest officer continued. He winked at the blonde beside him. “At only thirty, you make the rest of us look like doddering old reservists, Herr Colonel.”
    “I doubt that, Major.” The colonel smiled, pushing in Stella’s chair. “Herr Reichsführer informed me that you run a tight camp at Litomerice.”
    The major flushed, clearly pleased. “I imagine that after Kommandant Rahm took ill and departed, the captain here appreciated your timely arrival. Running a camp is no easy task.”
    Every head turned to Captain Hermann. Stella wondered if anyone else noticed the muscle in his jaw flinch at the major’s remark.
    “Yes, well, I am equally grateful, Major, to have such a capable officer. The captain has made my transition quite comfortable.”
    The colonel straightened to stand beside Stella. “I appreciate everyone braving this weather to come and officially welcome me to Theresienstadt.” His hand settled against her shoulder. “I’d also like to introduce the newest member of my household—”
    “Comfortable transition indeed, Herr Colonel!” the major boomed, tipping his glass in Stella’s direction. The other men chuckled.
    “. . . my secretary, Fräulein Muller.”
    The colonel’s tone held an edge as speculation lit the four pairs of male eyes focused on her. A titter of female laughter erupted from across the table, fading with the final strains of Schubert. Only the gurgle of running water and clatter of metal pots from the kitchen remained.
    Stella met their looks with forced calm while anger seethed in her like an acid tide. Darting a glance at her neckline, she felt her skin burn beneath the lavish pearls at her throat.
    How convenient she’d dressed the part of the “Kommandant’smistress,” since it seemed everyone assumed as much. And the colonel only encouraged the assumption, showing her off like a conquering king’s spoils.
    Though she lacked the courage to glare at the men, Stella glowered at the heavily made-up faces across from her. She knew what these women were. Many times she’d taken the train home from work and seen the scantily dressed zoinehs loitering along Heidelberg’s bar district .
    She was no prostitute!
    The colonel pressed his fingers gently