Christmas Diamond, a Novella: Inspired by The Jewel series and the Virtues and Valor series by Hallee Bridgeman

undergarments draped over the top of it. Her sewing machine in the center of the room stood ready. Most importantly, the ceiling beams above the screen were in place and did not look like they had been moved at all.
    The visual inspection took place instantly and concluded within seconds. She had to check because in reality she was not a seamstress. The one thing she had learned about sewing over the course of the last few months that overshadowed everything else was that she never wanted to be a seamstress. Additionally, she no longer called herself Marie Gilbert, but rather Marie Perrin. Lastly, she had a code name, now; Temperance. Since accepting that code name and her mission, nothing in her life was exactly as it appeared.
    Running suddenly damp palms over her skirt, she went to the door and opened it. The sight of a German officer, a Second Leutenant, made her heart freeze in her chest. Had they finally discovered her?
    "You are the seamstress, are you not?" he demanded by way of introduction. He stood tall, a couple inches over six feet, and looked young for an officer. He had hair the color of straw and piercing dark blue eyes — the very caricature of an Arian in Hitler's army. His French accent sounded different than the accent she had heard from other Germans, though she couldn't place the discrepancy.
    Trying not to sound as nervous as she felt, Marie answered, "Yes,
Leutnant
. I am a seamstress." She looked him up and down. "Perhaps you need a dress?"
    He opened his mouth, closed it, then barked a laughed. "A dress? I like that,
Fräulein
. Very amusing." The smile completely transformed his face and made him look less formidable. Putting a hand over his heart, he gave her a stiff and short bow. "I am
Leutnant
Leopold Schäfer and I have an emergency."
    "What kind of emergency?"
    "An unexpected uniform malfunction. It seems I have lost a button." As his face flooded with color, he gestured toward the fly of his trousers.
    Looking over his shoulder and seeing he was alone, she said, "Well, I can't sew it on while you're still wearing your pants. Bring them back anytime today. It won't take a minute to mend."
    "No time for that. I have my promotion ceremony to
Oberleutnant
in twenty minutes. I cannot go to that ceremony with a button missing from my fly." He put his hands together like a child begging for a cookie. "Please,
Fräulein
. I am at your mercy. I beg you to help me. I am a desperate man."
    Torn, not wanting to offend a German officer but very much not wanting to help Germany either, she looked around again. "I'm very sorry,
Leutnant
, but men aren't allowed into my room."
    "I am aware. I sought and obtained permission from your landlady before knocking on your door."
    Marie raised an eyebrow. "How did you manage that?"
    He smirked. "Must you ask?"
    Of course. This man was a German officer, a conquerer. He represented the military might of the enitre Third Reich, of Adolf Hitler himself. And her landlady was merely a lowly French woman, a commoner. If she didn't want any trouble, she couldn't refuse. Likewise, how could Marie refuse to sew on his button right this very instant?
    Fresh anger surged through her heart, but she did not let it show on her face. Instead, she stepped back and held the door wider. "Please come in,
Leutnant
Schäfer. Leave the door open, if you please."
    He raised an eyebrow but pushed the door back fully open instead of shutting it behind him as he had automatically begun to do. Marie continued. "There is a dressing screen just there. Remove your trousers and pass them over to me but do not come out from behind the screen in a state of undress."
    With the door wide open and the privacy screen in place, she could hope for some decency or humility in this situation. Not that any kind of modesty would protect her from a German officer who might have other intentions. Nonetheless, nearly two decades of social etiquette drilled into her by her father could not go ignored, even in a