out.’
‘It might be risky going into the forest with a camera and no clear motive for being there,’ Joseph said. ‘I suppose you might be OK at night.’
Rosie shook her head. ‘I’ll need good light for photographs.’
‘Tricky,’ Joseph said, ‘although boys have always played in the forest. I have no idea how near to the bunker you can get, but if it’s well guarded I’d bet some of the local boys would have tales of being kicked out.’
Dr Blanc nodded in agreement. ‘Joseph was too well fed to hunt as a boy, but my brothers hunted in those woods back in the 1900s. Most families are short of food right now, so I’m certain trapping and hunting are popular.’
‘Can you think of any boys you might speak to?’ Rosie asked.
‘Perhaps,’ Dr Blanc said. ‘But I’m seen as an authority figure. They’d probably think they were in trouble and deny everything.’
Rosie nodded. ‘And it’s not right for you to go around asking questions. If something happened at the bunker and the Germans began an investigation, any interest you’ve shown might create problems for you.’
‘How about your little mate who brought you to us in the first place?’ Joseph asked.
Rosie smiled. ‘Justin,’ she said brightly, feeling slightly stupid that this idea hadn’t already occurred to her. ‘He’s bright and he already took a great risk to help me. I’ll go and find him in the morning.’
*
Low sun punched through the attic window as Rosie rubbed her eyes and picked up the chamber pot under her bed. As her bare feet made the first-floor landing boards creak she heard a soothing version of Joseph’s voice coming out of Edith’s room.
‘Hello?’ Rosie said curiously, as she leaned through the door.
‘Good morning,’ Joseph said brightly.
Edith’s head turned slightly as Rosie stepped inside. Her eyes were open and Joseph had her propped on a pillow, while he sat on the edge of the bed feeding her small mouthfuls of scrambled egg.
‘It really is a miracle drug,’ Rosie said. A mist of tears blurred her vision as she put the pot down and rushed up to the bed. Edith’s eyes were only part open and her lids were crusted with yellow muck, but she smiled when she recognised Rosie.
‘If the bacteria are susceptible, penicillin can wipe out an infection in a few hours,’ Joseph explained. ‘I checked her temperature before I went to bed and I saw it had begun to drop. Rather than go to bed I brought a chair in and slept in here to see how things developed.’
The teaspoon of egg chinked against Edith’s front teeth.
‘Your throat hurts because I put the feeding tube down,’ Joseph explained. ‘But you must eat to get your strength back.’
‘What time did she wake up?’ Rosie asked, as she gently held Edith’s hand.
Edith made a little moan of pain as she swallowed some egg.
‘Good girl,’ Joseph said, before turning to Rosie. ‘She came around briefly at 2 a.m., then again at six. Chances are she’ll keep drifting in and out for a little while yet.’
‘Is she getting better?’ Rosie asked.
‘The penicillin seems to have dealt with the infection in her blood. I’ll keep injecting her to make sure it fully penetrates the infected wounds, but it looks good.’
Edith had understood and smiled as she gripped Rosie’s hand a little bit tighter.
‘Provided she’s a good girl and keeps eating her eggs,’ Joseph said, as he raised a spoon. ‘Open wide.’
*
Rosie was in a good mood as she rode into the village on one of the Blanc family’s horses. She had a good memory for places, but she wasn’t certain that she’d knocked on the door of the right cottage until eight-year-old Agnes opened the door.
‘You look much prettier,’ she told Rosie, as three-year-old Belle peeked out of a doorway in the background.
Rosie remembered that the last time Justin’s sisters had seen her she’d not washed or slept in days and was covered in coal dust.
‘Is your
‘It might be risky going into the forest with a camera and no clear motive for being there,’ Joseph said. ‘I suppose you might be OK at night.’
Rosie shook her head. ‘I’ll need good light for photographs.’
‘Tricky,’ Joseph said, ‘although boys have always played in the forest. I have no idea how near to the bunker you can get, but if it’s well guarded I’d bet some of the local boys would have tales of being kicked out.’
Dr Blanc nodded in agreement. ‘Joseph was too well fed to hunt as a boy, but my brothers hunted in those woods back in the 1900s. Most families are short of food right now, so I’m certain trapping and hunting are popular.’
‘Can you think of any boys you might speak to?’ Rosie asked.
‘Perhaps,’ Dr Blanc said. ‘But I’m seen as an authority figure. They’d probably think they were in trouble and deny everything.’
Rosie nodded. ‘And it’s not right for you to go around asking questions. If something happened at the bunker and the Germans began an investigation, any interest you’ve shown might create problems for you.’
‘How about your little mate who brought you to us in the first place?’ Joseph asked.
Rosie smiled. ‘Justin,’ she said brightly, feeling slightly stupid that this idea hadn’t already occurred to her. ‘He’s bright and he already took a great risk to help me. I’ll go and find him in the morning.’
*
Low sun punched through the attic window as Rosie rubbed her eyes and picked up the chamber pot under her bed. As her bare feet made the first-floor landing boards creak she heard a soothing version of Joseph’s voice coming out of Edith’s room.
‘Hello?’ Rosie said curiously, as she leaned through the door.
‘Good morning,’ Joseph said brightly.
Edith’s head turned slightly as Rosie stepped inside. Her eyes were open and Joseph had her propped on a pillow, while he sat on the edge of the bed feeding her small mouthfuls of scrambled egg.
‘It really is a miracle drug,’ Rosie said. A mist of tears blurred her vision as she put the pot down and rushed up to the bed. Edith’s eyes were only part open and her lids were crusted with yellow muck, but she smiled when she recognised Rosie.
‘If the bacteria are susceptible, penicillin can wipe out an infection in a few hours,’ Joseph explained. ‘I checked her temperature before I went to bed and I saw it had begun to drop. Rather than go to bed I brought a chair in and slept in here to see how things developed.’
The teaspoon of egg chinked against Edith’s front teeth.
‘Your throat hurts because I put the feeding tube down,’ Joseph explained. ‘But you must eat to get your strength back.’
‘What time did she wake up?’ Rosie asked, as she gently held Edith’s hand.
Edith made a little moan of pain as she swallowed some egg.
‘Good girl,’ Joseph said, before turning to Rosie. ‘She came around briefly at 2 a.m., then again at six. Chances are she’ll keep drifting in and out for a little while yet.’
‘Is she getting better?’ Rosie asked.
‘The penicillin seems to have dealt with the infection in her blood. I’ll keep injecting her to make sure it fully penetrates the infected wounds, but it looks good.’
Edith had understood and smiled as she gripped Rosie’s hand a little bit tighter.
‘Provided she’s a good girl and keeps eating her eggs,’ Joseph said, as he raised a spoon. ‘Open wide.’
*
Rosie was in a good mood as she rode into the village on one of the Blanc family’s horses. She had a good memory for places, but she wasn’t certain that she’d knocked on the door of the right cottage until eight-year-old Agnes opened the door.
‘You look much prettier,’ she told Rosie, as three-year-old Belle peeked out of a doorway in the background.
Rosie remembered that the last time Justin’s sisters had seen her she’d not washed or slept in days and was covered in coal dust.
‘Is your
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