By time the Andartes lowered the sack and let me out, I was exhausted. I ached all over and struggled to hide my anxiety. I’ve been bullied in the past because of my size, and I know I have to give in to those stronger than me.
‘Are you going to behave, little girl?’ Nathanial asked. Although he sounded angry, I caught a sympathetic glimmer in his eye.
I nodded quickly, not trusting my voice. Although I’m now grown-up, there’s still a lot of the child inside me – and that child wanted to cry. My heart was pounding, and I felt an urge to run. However, I stood firm and made myself as tall as possible, determined to appear calm and sensible.
‘Giovanni told me you have information about what happened at L’Aeronautica?’ As he spoke, a black cloud rolled over the sun and huge drops of rain fell from a windless sky.
‘Malaka!’ he boomed, making me jump. ‘Bring her to the villa.’ He turned and disappeared through the dense wall of vegetation behind him.
Two of the bandits lifted me by the armpits. They dragged me through trees that grew so close together, we had to turn sideways to squeeze between the trunks.
On the other side, I could hardly believe my eyes.
The forest had encroached on a magnificent Venetian villa, a sea captain’s residence. Tall dark pines surrounded the building like a huddle of witches around the prettiest cauldron.
The deep rose-pink exterior had faded to a pleasing, dusty, hue. Tall columns stood either side of a heavy carved door, and above the imposing entrance, a Juliet balcony supported voluptuous cream balustrades. The roof had Italian terracotta tiles streaked pale yellow and orange. Enormous sandstone quoins framed the delicate blush of the facia and gave it a solid, impenetrable appearance.
The windows, tall and narrow, were covered by louvre shutters on grey marble sills. The place appeared as secure as it could be. Although the entire structure appeared neglected, shabby to say the least, it still had an imposing majesty; magical and overpowering. A building that once seen would not be forgotten.
The men rushed me inside where the Andartes leader sat on a dilapidated sofa of huge proportions. The floor was dark red marble, the colour of raw meat, which continued up a sweeping staircase with more balustrades that matched the ones outside. I stood with my mouth hanging open, taking in the wonderful architecture, and wishing I had my watercolours with me.
Someone closed the front door, shutting out the thrum of heavy rain on the trees.
‘Bring her here!’ Nathanial shouted, clearly annoyed.
The men deposited me before their leader.
‘You ever tell anyone about this place and I will kill you, they will cook you, and we will all eat you! Do you understand?’
Unable to speak, I nodded emphatically.
He reached over the arm of the chair and raised a long, plaited whip, which he cracked like a bolt of lightning centimetres from me. ‘I will find whoever you told, and I will flay every strip of skin from their body, then I’ll cut their head off and feed it to the dogs! Do you understand me?’
I trembled violently and whimpered.
Satisfied that he had frightened the life out of me, he dropped the whip and folded his arms across his barrel chest. ‘Now, tell me about L’Aeronautica.’
I took a deep breath, my mouth so dry the first words came out with a croak. ‘I was there. All of us were, for three days.’ I tried to sound grown-up, and used some of the long words I’d learned recently. ‘The situation was unjustifiable. What was the point of it all? They could have left us at home for those three days.’ I dared to meet Nathanial’s eyes. ‘I suspect the Germans are not as organised as they pretend to be.’
At this the Andartes leader guffawed. ‘Go on,’ he said.
‘The very old and the sick found our circumstances particularly difficult.’ I stared at the ground for a moment, recalling the awful scene. ‘We slept on the hard floor without food or water. We got so desperate, we drank from the toilet, but then it blocked and the Nazis cut the water supply.’
‘Why aren’t you on the ship with the rest?’
‘I escaped,’ I said simply, lifting my injured arm. ‘Broke my wrist in the process. Can you save my family? Are they really going to some awful prison camp?’ I chewed my lip, wondering if I should ask a question to which I did not want to hear the answer. I took a breath and lowered my voice. ‘Is it true they’ll be killed by the Nazis?’
He shrugged. ‘Possibly. How can we know?’ I saw the regret on his face. ‘We only hear rumours.’
‘Can’t you help them escape?’ I asked quietly. ‘Please. They’re my parents, my grandmother and grandpa, and my brothers and just everyone. Even my school friends were taken. I’m desperate.’ My insides were shaking again. ‘Why is this happening? What reason could they have for taking my family away? We never hurt anybody. I have to bring them home.’
He shook his head. ‘Sorry for your loss, but the situation’s impossible. Look at us. We are a few men with a few guns. There’s little we can do.’ He frowned. ‘Consider this. Let’s say the enemy are a big ship that we don’t want in port. We’re not strong enough to push the vessel away. Nevertheless, we sneak along the quayside like mice in the night and gnaw at the ropes. And that’s what we do. We find their weak point, and we destroy as much as we can.’
‘Can’t you get more men? There must be a hundred Rhodians for every German.’
‘Ha! You think they’re going to fight the Germans to save the Jews of Rhodes? The Rhodians are not warriors like the Cretans. Right at this moment, the locals are pillaging your people’s houses, smashing the floors and ripping out cupboards, greedily searching for the mythical cache of Jewish wealth.’
‘What wealth? We struggled, like everyone else.’
‘Try telling that to the locals. Some had their belongings packed in anticipation of the Jewish procession to L’Aeronautica. They moved into the Jewish houses even before the ships had left the island. You’ll find few Rhodians among the partisans here. Most of the Andartes, including myself, their capitano, are remnants of the Italian army who escaped the Nazi bullet. We’re alone in our fight against the Axis.’
Drenched in an awful feeling of despair, I stared at Nathanial.
‘Little one, I’m especially interested in anything you heard from the Nazis.’ He stared at me, his eyes cold and hard again.
I told him about the Turkish Consulate-General, what I’d observed.
‘A brave man,’ Nathanial said. ‘He risked his life to save those forty-something souls.’
‘The worst thing was when they took the old ones into another room and pulled their gold teeth out. When the grandmothers and grandfathers rejoined us, their mouths swollen and bleeding, people changed. Adults started crying. Everyone acted strangely, hugging each other.’
I stopped to recall my family, grouped together, pale-faced and silent. ‘I didn’t realise at the time, but I think the adults knew at that point what was going to happen.’
‘Go on,’ he said.
‘At first, most believed we were being sent to work on another island, a better place. The Nazis had shown the elders a movie about the work camps. In the film, there were nice houses, happy people, and lots of food on the table. Some of our neighbours were excited at the prospect of moving, but not my mother. She was one of the few who didn’t believe what they saw on the big screen. She guessed it was a trick, but nobody would listen, not even my father.
‘When we got to L’Aeronautica, they took our possessions: money, jewellery, everything. The adults started whispering to each other. Some put their sovereigns and jewellery down the toilet, rather than let the SS have them, but then the toilets blocked, making our situation even worse because the water was turned off. But taking the old people’s gold teeth, that changed everything. My father will be proud that I escaped. He didn’t want me to get on the ship. When he caused a distraction, I ducked under a truck and hid behind the wheels.’
‘You were brave, and quick-thinking.’
I shook my head. ‘What’s brave about running away?’
‘Sometimes it’s the bravest thing you can do. Your father gave an order and, even though you didn’t understand why and didn’t want to execute that order, you did it without question. I wish I had more men with that attitude. Where are your sister and friend now?’
I stood tall. ‘I’m not saying. They’re my responsibility. I must think about their safety. I’m all they have to protect them now.’
‘We’ll protect them; you have my word.’ I felt him scrutinising me. ‘Are you really sixteen?’
‘Yes, why?’
‘You look younger. You could be useful. If you give us your help, we’ll give you our protection. What do you think?’
I considered his words. ‘Depends what you want.’
He smiled. ‘You’re not afraid of us?’
‘Should I be? We’re on the same side, aren’t we? They call you a rebel, but I’ve also heard you’re a respected leader.’
‘My God, you’re a cocky little madam.’ He laughed uproariously, and his men, who stood a respectful distance away, joined in. ‘I can’t stop the ships, but I believe they’re in Kos now and I’ll let you know what I hear. Don’t lose hope.’ He pointed a finger at me. ‘With an early end to the conflict, your family may never reach camp. We’re doing all we can to crush the Nazis on Rhodes, and you can help us.’
My world collapsed. An ache that started in my heart seemed to spread through my body and I struggled not to cry in front of the Andartes leader.
I had to show I could be respectful and act like an adult. ‘Sir, can I have your permission to go back to my sister and my friend? They’ll be worried.’
He nodded, eyes serious but mouth smiling. ‘Remember what I said. You are sworn to secrecy about this place. Come back tomorrow, little one. We’ll talk some more.’ He nodded at Giovanni who was sitting on his haunches by the door, watching.
The shepherd boy jerked his head sideways. One of the bandits untied my hands and feet. I looked at each man in turn, determined to remember their faces in case I met them under different circumstances. I made a swift nod at Capitano Nathanial and then followed Giovanni.
Halfway back, the shepherd boy pulled to a halt and faced me. ‘You were brave. A bit stupid at first, attacking the leader of the Andartes like that, but after the sack business, yes, very brave.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘You’ll have to keep control of your temper, but that aside, I think you’ll make a good rebel.’
His words thrilled me. Proud and honoured, I felt my confidence grow a little. He stepped forward, took me in his arms and kissed me tenderly. His mouth was soft and warm, and his hands pressed in the small of my back. My body melted in his embrace and I wanted the moment to last forever.
We broke apart and continued in silence.
Back at the hut, Irini ran to greet us. ‘Dora! I was worried.’ She eyed Giovanni. ‘You all right? How did it go with the Andartes?’
I told her what had happened. Evangelisa was quarrelsome, and I both despaired at her constant complaining and regretted that I couldn’t make her feel better.
‘I want to go home, Dora! I need a bath and I have to change my clothes.’
‘We can’t go back right now, Evangelisa,’ I said, not wanting to tell her the reason, that we might be captured and deported too. Nathanial might have been exaggerating about the locals behaving like vultures, but still, I had a suspicion there were enemies in the city.
‘Mama and Papa left instructions that we stay up here. I don’t know why, but I’m sure they had good cause. We must trust them and do as we’re told, right?’
Evangelisa stuck her lip out. Her selfishness should irritate me, but it doesn’t. Who could help loving my sister? She is so pretty; and because she’s the baby of the family, she is spoilt by us all. Although Evangelisa is less than two years younger than me, they’re the all-important years that separate child from adult. They also make me responsible for her safety.
‘Tell you what,’ I said. ‘What if Irini and I sneak back to the house and get your things, if you’re not afraid of being on your own for a few hours?’ I was concerned about the diary and letter I had left under Evangelisa’s dresses. Anyone reading the diary would realise Irini and Evangelisa were hiding up on Filerimos Mountain.
‘Why would Mama and Papa go off and leave us like this? They haven’t even said goodbye. It’s as if they sent us here deliberately, to stop us going with them.’
I hadn’t considered that angle before Mama had mentioned it, and I had to give Evangelisa credit for hitting on the truth.
She looked miserable and stared at the floor. ‘Perhaps I upset them? I keep asking myself. I know I’m selfish, but I swear I won’t be, not ever again. I just want them to come back.’ She fisted her eyes. ‘How can I tell them, Dora? Do you think we’ll be able to send them a letter? I promise I’ll try harder in everything I do. I love Mama more than anybody in the world, and I want her to be proud of me, even though I’m not as clever as you.’
My heart went out to her. ‘They do love you, silly!’ I said. ‘Don’t you know you’re their absolute favourite? They didn’t say goodbye because they’re coming back soon. They didn’t want to worry you.’ I sat next to her on the bed. ‘And you’re not alone, are you? You have Irini and me, and we’ll be perfectly fine until they return.’ I put my arms around her, holding her close. ‘Why not write your letter to Mama? She’ll like that. Start tomorrow and then, when we know their address, we can post it.’
She seemed happier with this suggestion. I realised we couldn’t simply return home and collect our belongings. If we went at night and managed to carry our things to Danial’s horse, we could load them on Zeus’s back and lead him up Mount Filerimos.
A sensible plan, I thought. We needed food too. Though times were hard, Mama kept a good store. Even if we only rescued the dried peas and beans harvested from our plot, we’d have enough to keep us for a month.