“Well, to say the evening was a success would have been an understatement. Madame was superb! She wore her most enchanting costume: A shimmering, flowing, indigo dress, twinkling with sequins; on her head she had fastened scarlet and purple veils fastened with a band of pearls. Even Michel Picard, our facteur ((postman), who said he would never drink with Nazi thugs, arrived near midnight wearing his seldom-worn gabardine cape. “After Michel’s arrival and, almost as if a signal had been passed, the party became quite boisterous. It lasted much later than we early-rising townsfolk would have liked, but none dared leave before the soldiers.
“It was late afternoon of the next day when the news reached us: the French resistance leader had escaped! Apparently, the night of the party, the commandant’s driver had been overpowered while waiting outside the Gasthof. A member of the Resistance, impersonating the driver had then driven to the camp. He told the guards he had been ordered to bring more wine from the commandant’s private store. ‘Superior German wine’ were his words. When the driver drove back through the gates, hidden underneath he blanketed bottles was the Resistance leader. It was a daring escape and, as far as we knew, the only successful one from the dreaded le Struthof.
As for Madame Rousseau, she disappeared and her shop stayed shuttered for the remainder of the war.
“It was early august of 1946 when the Countess Marville paid a visit to our town. We had heard her name, of course for she was one of the women who had received the Medal of the Resistance from the President. She came directly to this Gasthof and when she walked in and saw me, she grasped my hand in hers, kissed me on both cheeks and said, “How good it is to see you again, François!’
“Well, let me tell you monsieur, I was astounded. The charming countess was none other than Madame Rousseau.
“Our town had quite a party that night and before she left, the countess made a little speech. She thanked us for the great courage and support we had shown during those desperate days. “ ‘Always remember, it is the bullies who attempt to dictate who we are.’ “ She then presented us with this bottle containing the scrolled paper which, she said represented all the significant events of that night in 1942.
“And so, my friend, I keep the bottle here in the same spot where Madame’s crystal ball had rested. It is a reminder to us never to forget our courage to stand firm and to keep our dignity.
“Oh, one more thing…we have a new school in our village. It has been named, Ecole Madame Rousseau. The Countess was honoured and said she was sure it was the only school in France named after a fortune-teller.”
THE END
