EXCERPT

CHAPTER ONE

World War Two was two weeks old. On the first of September, over one and a half million German troops of the Wehrmacht invaded Poland from three fronts with Blitzkrieg tactics that bombed and terrorized defenseless civilians and the brave but outclassed Polish army. Even though Britain and France had declared war on Nazi Germany on September the third, it was a hollow gesture, as their promised help did not materialize. Polish antitank guns had surprised and slowed the arrogant enemy but it was only a matter of time before the whole country capitulated. Further to the stricken country’s troubles was the rumor that Soviet forces in the east were also about to invade. Prominent citizens had been advised to leave their homeland to continue the battle in exile from France or England.

Anna Vladisciuszko tucked her fingers in the necklace as she often did when she was nervous and stared up at the circular stairwell of The Chateau as the inhabitants called the castle standing majestically above the central Polish village of Zlodek. Tears were in the twelve year old eyes for she knew this was the last time she would see her home. Almost everything had gone, even the furniture that graced the grand entrance hall had been unceremoniously loaded onto an ancient truck and taken away. Only the curtains remained, golden ones with a pattern of brick red leaves twisting and turning all the way down. When the curtains blew in the wind the leaves appeared to move.

Her father and uncle had gone and were never returning and even the servants were given a month’s pay and had departed. Only old Stefan had remained and was now upstairs with her mother.

Countess Nina Vladisciuszko appeared on the balcony and called down to her child in Polish, their native tongue. "Anna, come up and finish packing your case. Stefan can’t be expected to do everything."

"Yes, Mama," replied Anna. She ran up the stairs with blonde pigtails bobbing and arrived at her bedroom just as Stefan appeared on the landing with an ornate wooden chest in his arms.

"I’m afraid this may be too heavy for us to take, Anna," he said. "Could you pack what you need in the leather suitcase I brought you yesterday?"

Anna screwed her nose up but said she would. Many of her dresses would be of no use anyway she guessed but she hated to leave them for the enemy. She opened the trunk and re-packed her favorite clothes in the blue suitcase Stefan placed open beside her. Less than half fitted in. Finally she tucked a little make up kit in a gap in the corner and watched as the elderly servant shut the case and pulled the straps tight.

Down at the main entrance there was a knock, the door opened and two men entered. They approached Countess Vladisciuszko and gave a tiny head bow.

"Excuse us, Countess," the elder of the two men said, "but you must hurry. The enemy is less than fifteen kilometers away and the last train will depart from the station in fifteen minutes. We can hold it no longer."

Nina frowned, "Are they Russians or Germans?" she asked.

The men shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"No, I guess not," replied the woman in a whisper. She turned towards the stairs. "Stefan, Anna. We must go. Come now, please."

Moments later Anna found herself sitting in the back of their trustworthy but ancient Skoda and heading down to the station. Everywhere people were walking or riding on horse drawn carts. Theirs was the only motor vehicle around. Stefan, who was driving, tooted at the pedestrians who were too slow to move aside.

On several occasions he wound down the window, poked his head out and yelled, "Let the Countess, through," and grunted as the refugees moved aside. Some local villages glanced up and smiled at the car’s passengers but most were too concerned with their own problems as they stumbled forward on the narrow road.

"God bless you, Countess," an elderly lady with a scarf tied on her head called out after one stop and Nina acknowledged her with a tiny wave.

Anna jumped in fright as a massive bang filled the air behind them.

"A field gun, Anna. The enemy are close," Nina responded. "That is why we must leave. I told you, didn't I?"

"Yes Mama but if they’re Germans they won’t hurt us, will they?" The girl’s blue eyes set over high cheekbones and pale white skin turned up to her mother as Stefan tooted the horn once again.

Nina looked down at her daughter staring at her. "I’m afraid they will, My Darling," she whispered.

"But why? I know the Russians don’t like us aristocrats."

Her mother frowned. "That is true but your Grandma was a Jew and the Germans don’t like Jews."

"But we aren’t Mama," the girl said. "You always told me we are not Jews."

"They don’t think that way, Anna. That is why we must leave."

"Where will the train take us, Mama?"

Nina smiled at her daughter. Her only child was growing up rapidly. "Questions, questions, Anna. I told you. We’re heading to Warsaw then up to the coast and a boat will take us across the Baltic to Sweden or perhaps England where it will be safe."

"Is that where our navy has gone?" came the next question.

Nina tried to stop tears appearing in her eyes as she did up the button on her daughter’s coat and gave her a hug. "Yes, My Darling. The English were going to come and help us but they never did. ."

Stefan turned the Skoda into the tiny Zlodek Station where an engine was hissing steam and smoke. Behind it were a dozen carriages jammed with people and several Polish soldiers manned a barricade to stop anyone else from entering the platform. The last carriage, though old, was clean and polished with curtains hanging from the windows.

Stefan drove up to a barricade that was lifted to allow the Skoda through and continued along the platform until the car reached this rearmost carriage.

Nina glanced at the desperate faces around and made a decision. "We don’t need the whole carriage," she said and called to one of the soldiers. "Sergeant, allow another thirty people through."

"But where will they go, Countess? You can see the train is overflowing." the man replied.

"They can share my carriage, sergeant."

"As you wish, Countess Vladisciuszko," he replied, saluted and turned to two soldiers. "Thirty more, Corporal Wijesathne, and that does not mean thirty-one. Tell them to wipe their feet before they enter the Countess’s carriage."

"Yes, sergeant," replied the corporal. He walked along the barrier touching the lucky refugees on the shoulder while two other soldiers stood by him with their ancient Great War rifles held ready to use if the crowd turned ugly.

The twenty were mainly woman who smiled shyly at the soldiers and carried their bags or processions rolled up in blankets to the end carriage and clambered aboard. In the middle of the group was a man who wore an air force uniform with little pips on the shoulder. Anna was sure she’d seen him push his way through the women to get to the barrier.

"Thank you," he said and lugged his haversack onto the train.

Anna stared at him. "Why is he here?" she snorted. "Shouldn’t he be fighting the enemy?"

Nina too had seen the man but she smiled. "They fought bravely, Anna. Perhaps he was shot down and is returning to his base. Once we’re on the train you can ask him."

"Will we ever be able to stop the Germans?"

Nina smiled at her daughter, "One day, My Darling but it may be a long time. When you are an adult I’m sure you will be free."

"And we’ll be safe in England until our land is free again?"

"Yes, Anna but no more questions. Look, Stefan has already loaded your suitcase. Quick onto the train."

Her hand brushed Anna's arm and together they climbed the two steps and stepped inside where Stefan was poking the luggage on a rack above the seats. Anna sat down and found she was across from the Polish Air Force officer. She gave him a tiny smile before turning her eyes away.

A guard’s whistle blew, there was a hiss and a squeak of brakes and the carriage jerked backwards for a second before moving forward. Smoke puffed past the window momentarily hiding the platform from view and by the time it had cleared the platform and people had gone. The village houses adjacent to the railway line disappeared as the train chugged forward and increased speed out over the stony plains surrounding the town.

Anna glanced back out the window and saw the Chateau for the last time. The magnificent building that would never be their home again stood in the sunshine as it had done for hundreds of years. She felt a hand grip hers and looked up to see tears forming in her mother’s eyes.

"It will be all right, Mama," she said. "We will come back one day when the world is free."

Nina said nothing but squeezed her daughter’s hand as the overladen refugee train headed east towards Warsaw before, with luck, they could head north to the coast.

***

After the initial rush, Anna settled back and studied her surroundings. This wasn’t her first ride in the carriage; in fact she had traveled through to Warsaw on the train several times but never had to share space with other people, village people she recognized and also strangers, mainly women with exhausted expressions and threadbare clothes. Sunken eyes sometimes met hers before turning away. Anna smiled at the passengers and switched her attention out the window.

"Anna," said the Countess a few moments later. "I have something very important to tell you."

"Yes Mama," Anna replied and switched her attention to the tall slim lady beside her. One day she hoped she would become as beautiful and self-confident as her mother. It was only a short time since her father’s death but her mother had just continued on as ever. Anna frowned. He had been a remote man who treated her fairly but was never close. She’d heard once that he’d wanted a son but for reasons unknown, her mother had no other children. Anna’s life to date had been somewhat isolated but happy, especially after she had persuaded her mother to let her attend the village school.

"Pay attention, Anna," Nina scolded.

"Sorry, Mama," the girl replied and switched her attention back to the present.

"Your dress, Anna. It is very special," Nina continued. Her eyes met her daughter’s and she continued talking in almost a whisper so they couldn’t be overheard. "The shoulder pad on the right is like a wee pocket."

Anna grimaced. "But I’ve got two other pockets, Mama. My handkerchief is in one and..."

Nina smiled but her eyes remained sad. "Listen, Anna. Inside there is a tiny purse. Reach up and pull it out."

Anna used her left hand and found she could lift the material on the inside with her fingers. She felt in and touched something. With a tiny pull she extracted the object and placed it on her lap. It was indeed the smallest purse she had ever seen and looked as if it was made for a doll. The surface, though, was genuine leather with a minute brass clip on the top.

Nina reached over, took the purse from her daughter and opened it. Anna peered in the small gap but frowned in disappointment. There was only a safety pin and two small sheets of paper, inside.

"Is that all, Mama?" she asked as her mother unfolded the sheets between her long fingers. Anna loved looking at Nina’s fingers with the shiny rings and red polish. One day she would have beautiful hands like her mother, she was sure.

"You must never lose these, Anna," Nina said in a serious voice. "This one," and she held out a long printed sheet, "is your birth certificate and gives the names of all our family, even your grandparents. "

"But I know all our names, Mama."

Nina sighed and gave her daughter a wee hug. She glanced out the window and saw the train was now chugging through the flat countryside. It looked so peaceful out there as if the war was an illusion and their lives could continue as they always had.

"I know you do, Anna, but this will be needed to prove who you are. You may change your name one day. If you do, this piece of paper will show who you really are?"

"Like if I get married, Mama. I understand," Anna replied in a whisper, " but what about that piece of orange paper?"

The paper in question was more brown than orange, was only about five centimeters long by three wide, had writing on it Anna couldn’t read with some numbers and letters all jumbled together.

"This is a bank number, Anna. You know my jewelry?"

Anna nodded.

"Well the man in the bank in Switzerland is looking after it for us. He has other things that belonged to your father and myself, too. If anything ever happens to me, you can go to the bank and get our things back. They are safe there for now."

"But the writing, Mama. It is not in Polish. Where will I know where it is?"

Nina smiled. "It is written in German and French. Somebody will be able to read it for you."

"Okay, Mama but if the whole world spoke Polish it would be so much easier."

Nina kissed her daughter and slipped the papers back in the tiny purse and placed it all into the secret pocket.

"Now remember, when you change your dress, take the wee purse out. Use the safety pin to pin it inside your clothes, inside your panties will do."

Anna giggled.

"But never lose it, Anna. Always keep it with you and never give it to anyone else to look after. You’re almost an adult now so I am trusting you with it. It will be our secret. Just us."

Anna saw her mother staring straight at her with tears in her eyes.

"Don’t be sad, Mama. I’ll look after it. I promise."

"I know you will, My Darling. I know you will." She blew her nose and wiped her eyes. "Now relax. I know Stefan made us some sandwiches so we’ll have something to eat soon and also a soda to drink."

Anna glanced at the countess and felt important. Even though she wasn’t yet a teenager she wanted to be treated as an adult. She squeezed her mother’s hand and tucked her head back on the soft material of the carriage seat. In a few moments the youngster had drifted off asleep. The war seemed so far away.