‘A teacher,’ said Little Tracey firmly. ‘The other one became a teacher.’
Anna half smiled. ‘Okay. A teacher.’
‘Cool. Imagine being taught by Hitler’s grandkid,’ remarked Ben. ‘They’d make you go,
The bus pulled up slowly at the verge. Little Tracey ran on first, as she always did. Ben followed more slowly behind. Mark lingered in the bus shelter.
‘Anna?’
‘Mmm?’ Anna picked up her bag.
‘Did…did Heidi ever tell anyone? About who her father was?’
Anna avoided his eyes. ‘How could she tell anyone? She’d have been hated, just like her father was hated.’
‘But it wasn’t her fault.’
Anna shrugged. ‘Who’d have believed that? Besides she wanted a new life…a real life, like everyone else, with a family and friends to laugh with.’
Anna stepped out of the shelter. Mark held her arm, so she had to turn back. ‘You mean she…she just kept quiet? She never told anybody at all?’
Anna nodded. She jerked her arm away, and stepped through the sticky mud and over the gutter, into the cold metallic dampness of the bus.
Mark followed her. He glanced at Little Tracey, in her usual seat behind the driver. She seemed more subdued than usual. Was she, too, thinking of Hitler’s daughter, unable to get her from her mind?
Mark sat in the seat behind Anna, as he always did. She was looking out the window, at the wet, sad cows blinking at the bus, the too-green grass limp in their mouths. Her lips were tight and her eyes gleamed silver at the edges.
‘Anna?’
‘What?’ Anna didn’t turn around.
‘I’m sorry.’ Mark didn’t know why he was apologising. But it seemed right.
Anna shrugged. Her jacket rustled against the bus seat. Mark tried again.
‘Of course I see why she couldn’t tell anyone. No one would understand, not really.’ He tried to put it into words. ‘She’d be afraid they’d just see Hitler, not her.’
Anna turned round and met his eyes. She nodded. ‘She’d just be Hitler’s daughter. All her life.’
‘I just thought…’ stumbled Mark, ‘that maybe… maybe sometimes she couldn’t keep it to herself. That she’d have to tell someone, just once.’
Anna glanced out the window, at the grey sky and greyer rain. Then she looked back at Mark.
‘She told her granddaughter,’ she said softly. ‘Just once, like you said. One day when it was raining like today. It was just before she died. She told her all about Fraulein Gelber and Frau Leib and the Schmidts. But it was just a story. That’s what she told her granddaughter. Only a story. Just pretend, that’s all.’
‘Just pretend,’ echoed Mark.
Anna nodded. She turned back, and looked out the window again. The wet cows watched them pass in the small, grey bus with orange mud splashed about its wheels, carrying its passengers to school.
About the Author
JACKIE FRENCH’s writing career spans ten years. During this time she has written over 80 books for kids and adults, some of which have been translated into other languages, and won various awards for her writing. Jackie also appears on ‘Burke’s Backyard’ in many disguises, and writes columns on gardening and the environment in newspapers and magazines.
Jackie’s love of history began as a child and has been the inspiration for the series of books that began with
‘It is a mark of French’s genius that she can weave deep moral issues into an engrossing, fast-moving story.’
To find out more about Jackie French and her books register for her monthly newsletter at www.harpercollins.com.au/jackiefrench.
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Other Books by Jackie French
The Roo that Won the Melbourne Cup • Rain Stones Walking the Boundaries • The Boy Who Had Wings Somewhere Around the Corner
Annie’s Pouch • Alien Games • The Secret Beach Mermaids • Mind’s Eye • A Wombat Named Bosco Summerland • Beyond the Boundaries The Warrior – the Story of a Wombat
The Book of Unicorns • Dancing with Ben Hall Soldier on the Hill • Daughter of the Regiment Stories to Eat with a Banana • Tajore Arkle
Hitler’s Daughter • In the Blood • Missing You, Love Sara Stories to Eat with a Watermelon • Lady Dance Stories to Eat with a Blood Plum How the Finnegans Saved the Ship
Dark Wind Blowing • A Story to Eat with a Mandarin Ride the Wild Wind • Blood Moon • The White Ship Phredde and the Leopard-skin Librarian
How the Aliens from Alpha Centauri Invaded My Maths Class and Turned Me Into a Writer…
How to Guzzle Your Garden • Book of Challenges Stamp, Stomp,Whomp (and other interesting ways to get rid of pests)
Seasons of Content • The Best of Jackie French Earthly Delights
The Fascinating History of Your Lunch
The Secret Life of Santa Claus
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