David and Maria stood in the room and hugged for a long while, silent. She rested her head on his shoulder, looking at his dressings and asked if his wounds hurt. "Sind Ihre Wunden schmerzhaft?"

"Viel besser jetzt." He told her much better now, then he looked into her pale green eyes and told her she was absolutely gorgeous, so beautiful. "Sie sind absolut großartig, so schön."

She smiled up at him and blushed. "Du ... Du machst mein Körper kribbeln."

He was pleased he made her body tingle and thought it a good sign.

She blushed more deeply and bit her lower lip. "Ich will mit dir Sex zu haben. Kannst du mir beibringen wie?"

David grinned in amusement at her innocence. Then the reality sunk in. She was asking him to teach her how to have sex.

Oh, God! Is this a dream? A virgin? Need to be gentle with her.

After suggesting they be quiet as they enjoyed, he began unlacing her bodice, and she followed his lead, undressing him. They stood admiring each other for a short while, then they joined in a passionate hug, shuddering as they did. He led her to the bed.

Oh, God! Control, David. Take your time. Ease into this.

He used his hands until she begged for more, telling him she wasn't at the fertile time of her cycle. They conjoined, and after a gentle but passionate twenty minutes, they lay entangled in each other.

She quietly spoke, sharing her story of moving to the Kaiserstuhl just to the west of Freiburg when she was nine in 1905. Her father had seen a promising future growing wine in the complex mix of soils on a volcanic plug at the edge of the Rhein plains. Now he was dead, her brothers too. She missed them, she missed her Unterhallau friends and her grandfather back in Küsnacht.

It was a long and convoluted story. She seemed to be reliving pieces of her past. When it appeared she had finished her catharsis, he asked her where Küsnacht is.

"Lass uns wieder spielen, dann werde ich Ihnen sagen." She said she'd tell him after they played again."

He didn't argue.

Several minutes later, at the height of another orgasm, Maria panted, "Oh God! — So intense!"

"Pleased I can bring you so eas..."

Shit! Slipped into English. Dumb move to be doing this, David. Should have walked away again.

"I knew it." She panted. "Your accent — reminded me of Grandpa in Küsnacht — Knew there was something different about you when you came in last night." She giggled. "Guess that's now the night before last, isn't it?"

"You're British!"

"Mama's parents were. They moved to Switzerland after they were charmed by it on a tour in the early 70s. Mama was born in Küsnacht not long after. They all made me learn English and French, besides the local German. I grew up with it and it's what we speak at home."

"Küsnacht again. Where's that?"

"On the lake six kilometres from Zürich. It's where we're trying to go if we can get out of Germany. Do you know where Zürich is?"

"A big city in Switzerland; the banking capital."

Surely she has no love for Germany after what they've done to her family.

"I'm heading to Switzerland tomorrow."

"But it's impossible to cross the border now. It's closed."

"I'm going over Feldberg, along the ridges. It's full moon now."

"That's what we are planning to do, but Mama said it was dangerous in the winter and early spring. We're ready to go now, but waiting until late May when the conditions are better. Maybe you can take us with you." She peered into his eyes. "Could you do that?"

David's head was racing with conflicting thoughts.

Need to slow my mind – look at things more quietly. God, she's gorgeous. So innocent, so passionate.

"I need to think for a short while. To be quiet and look at the situation." He made a gentle thrust with his hips and smiled. "I'm still here with you." She responded with a deep sigh, a quiet moan and her own gentle movements.

He ran his hands down her back and felt her firm buttocks as she lay on him.

Lean, trim, firm. Seems very fit. Barely winded with all that exercise. God, what a magnificent body. But the wilderness, the mountains are not for the unfamiliar, no matter how fit...

"Do you know the mountains? Are you familiar with wilderness? It's completely different up there."

"We were always up there, hiking and climbing, that and working the vineyards. Mama is strong and fit."

Alright, David, you've already blown your cover. May as well explain.

"There's something I must tell you — I'm a Canadian soldier escaped from the Germans in Belgium and trying to get out of the country before they catch me." He paused to think.

Would having two women along make me appear less conspicuous? It likely would.

"How quickly can you and your mother get ready? I had planned to buy vegetables in the market early in the morning, and some warmer clothing when the shops open, and then heading up."

"Everything is ready; it just needs to be gathered and packed. We can meet you part way up the Schauinslandweg, at the trail junction two hundred metres above the valley."

"I still need a thick woollen pullover and a warm jacket. Have you any at home that'll fit me?"

"We've a lot of spare men's clothing now. We could bring some and leave earlier — no need to wait for the shops. What a horrible thing the Kaiser has done to us just because he wants more land."

"You'll have to dress warmly. It'll be freezing most nights up there. Wear men's clothing, not women's. Are you sure your mother will come at such short notice?"

"She's desperate to get out. We'll both have to hold her back."

They were still entangled, still connected in an intimate cuddle through this entire conversation. She kissed him, lightly stroked the back of his neck and gently rocked her hips. David felt himself expanding. She trembled at the sensation, rotated her hips more vigorously and from the back of her throat found a voice, "Pump me full of energy again. I've not done this before, and I so enjoy it."

He began a slow rocking of his pelvis to match her churning. "I'm delighted to be introducing you to one of my favourite activities."

As they were relaxing again a very enjoyable while later, he asked her, "How far is your home from here?"

"Not far out. West toward the Rhein, before the village of Gottenheim, under an hour's walk. I should be going."

"Does it make sense for me to walk with you, to take my pack, take everything with me? We can prepare to leave from your place. Is there a less busy route from your house to the start of the hills, or do we have to come back through Freiburg?"

"Come, let's get dressed, I'll take you home. We've lots of vegetables in the root cellar – lots of food in the pantry. From home, we can go south, around the west of the city through a quiet area of vineyards and farms. Then there's a trail across the slopes to the Schauinslandweg junction I was talking about."

"My lip is still quite sore. Otherwise, I'd be smothering you with kisses." They shared a long quiet hug, then slowly unplugged, quickly cleaned themselves and dressed. He shouldered his big rucksack, she took his small empty pack and led him quietly down the service stairs and through to the empty kitchen, using the shaded candle from his room to light their way.

Maria lit her candle lantern, put her school books into the small pack, and in the light of the full moon, she guided him down the back lane and into the street. She took his hand and led him out of town with the moon now off to their left.

"I know this route well. I've done it twice each day for months."

They talked quietly as they walked hand-in-hand along the road. He told her the story of his misadventures after leaving the trench to help deploy barbed wire. He talked of his life in Canada before the war, of his climbing in the Purcells, the Selkirks, the Bugaboos and the Rockies, and he shared with her some of his memories of wonderful experiences, free and wild, exploring up in the mountains.

After a fifty-minute walk, she unlocked the front door, entered and headed immediately down the hall. "Mama! — Mama!" she called as she opened the door to her mother's bedroom.

"What is it, Sweetheart, are you alright?" her mother asked as she opened her eyes and lifted her head off the pillow.

"I am very alright. We are very, very alright. I've recruited a Canadian mountain guide to take us over the ridges to Switzerland. We're leaving before dawn. We need to start getting ready."

"What are you talking about? Have you been drinking?"

"No, Mama, I'm completely sober. You need to get up. You need to come meet David."

"What time is it?"

"It's almost one thirty. We need to leave well before four to be into the trees before dawn."

"Is this real? Tell me I'm not dreaming again. I've dreamed of this so often these last months."

"It's real, Mama. Put on your housecoat, come meet David."

"Please call me Rachel," she said as she shook his offered hand a short while later. "You've been injured."

"Four days ago in the trenches in Belgium. Our position was overrun, and I ended up on this side of the German lines."

"Your injuries... Do they need treatment?"

"I've had them cleaned and stitched. They seem to be healing well and don't appear infected. I'm trying to get out of the country before I'm caught. I'm heading over the Schwarzwald to Switzerland."

"Bad time to do it. The weather's unstable this time of the year, and it's still freezing up there at night."

"I've spent years exploring in the Canadian mountains, up in the glaciers and snowfields. And you? Maria told me you've spent a lot of time hiking up there."

"Two dozen years, late spring through early autumn. I know much of the area like the back of my hand. The last years, it's been mostly family rambles for a day or two at a time, but earlier, we explored a lot more widely."

"I'd planned on leaving first thing in the morning. I'm packed and ready, need only a jacket and a pullover and some vegetables."

"We've those here. Lots of men's clothing." Rachel looked at him and nodded her head. "And Maria said we could go with you? Would you want to have us hamper your free movement?"

David looked at Maria, who had remained silent.

Such a beautiful woman. God! So passionate, yet so innocent. She sure loves rooting. Can't believe she's not done it before.

He shuddered, then looked back at Rachel. "It might make me seem less suspicious if I'm with a couple of women. It would help me blend in."

Rachel nodded, looked back and forth between Maria and David, then nodded more vigorously. "Let's get started." She stepped toward David. "You're certainly a handsome lad. A handshake isn't enough." She rose to her toes, kissed his unbandaged cheek and gave him a warm hug. "Come. Let's get ready."

They continued their introductions as they began rummaging through drawers and closets for a heavy woollen pullover and jacket for David and warm, comfortable clothing for themselves.

"I have lentils, split peas, rice, barley — half a kilo of each and a large ham, probably two kilos of meat left on the bone. And three dozen landjäger," he said as he unloaded the food from his pack and laid it out on the kitchen table.

"It will it take us only three days to get across," Rachel said.

"Yes, if we're alone up there and the weather is good, but if we have to sneak around or we're delayed by conditions, it could take a week or longer."

"Maria, pack a lot of cottons, we may need them. Don't forget your knickers, pack some for me too — lots of soap also," Rachel said as she opened the back door. "I'll be in the root cellar."

"Have you a tent or a sheet for shelter? What about bedrolls?" David asked Maria.

"We've a small hiking tent, two layers of sailcloth. It works well in the rain if the layers are kept apart. We have a piece of painted canvas for the ground, and Mama stitched up thick wool blankets with soft flannel linings. We were ready, just waiting for conditions and weather — maybe we were waiting for you."

Rachel came in lugging a bulging cloth, holding it by its corners. She laid it out on the table and spread it open. "Maria, go gather the eggs, see what the hens have given us this morning. Leave the gate open and let them free, someone will give them a home, perhaps a pot. What time is it?"

"It's a bit beyond two thirty," he said after looking at his watch. "I love your energy and your enthusiasm."

"When your rescue boat comes by, don't simply look at it. That's what my father said when he cautioned me before I first headed out in the little sailboat on the lake. Then after you've climbed aboard, don't just sit there. Help with your rescue."

"He sounds like he was a wise man."

"Still is. He didn't move to Germany. He still owns and runs the sailing school in Küsnacht."

They juggled the load into three large rucksacks and put water and snacking food into his small one and strapped it onto the top of his pack.

They shared a huge omelette with thick slabs of ham, grilled bread and mugs of coffee. Then at a quarter to four, Rachel locked the house door behind them and they headed off.

The moon was now quite low in the west, and they had its light over their right shoulders for nearly an hour and a half before it dipped over the high hills across the Rhein.

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