The Women of Chateau Lafayette

The Germans want to melt the local statue of Lafayette for ammunition. As Marthe goes into town for supplies, Sam finds Marthe and tells her of the Resistance’s plan to save the statue, which would put the gendarmerie—who were commissioned by the German soldiers to help move the statue—in the crossfire. Marthe hurries back to Travert to warn him. Though he is angry at the Resistance, Travert loses no time and sabotages the transport trunk to save his men. The statue is saved, and Travert and Marthe attend midnight Mass as if nothing is amiss. The mood is exultant in town, as everyone feels pride in the Resistance for their defiance. When Marthe goes to bed with Travert that night, she thinks that something like love is growing between them.

Beatrice returns to Chavaniac to oversee the castle’s maintenance work and reunites with young Marthe. Later, she finds out that an article has been published about her and Willie’s marriage and their supposed happiness. Deeming the article silly, she reiterates her desire to be with Max. Chavaniac is soon overrun with children, and as Beatrice does her best to settle them, a child named Victor falls ill with tuberculosis. She tries her best to help the child, but he dies in her arms. Beatrice herself then falls ill, and Emily tends to her while also reckoning with the guilt of leaving baby Anna behind for more than a year and missing out on her infancy. With the war’s end nearing, both Beatrice and Emily worry for their loved ones’ safety.

The Gestapo enacts more raids targeting Jewish children. Marthe worries that her forgeries were faulty and resulted in these children’s capture, but Travert reveals that an informant led the Gestapo to them. She and Travert argue over whether they should quit their respective jobs—his position in the gendarmerie and her forging responsibilities—but neither are willing to do so. When she next sees Anna, who now heads the preventorium, she learns that one of their doctors—who had been helping Marthe—has been conscripted by the Germans. When Anna probes Marthe about Travert, Marthe admits that she knows he loves her, but she realizes that she cannot say the same about Anna anymore.

Sam tells Marthe that the boys at the preventorium have been hiding guns for the Resistance in their dormitory. She leaves, feeling that something important is about to happen, only to find out through Uriah that the Gestapo is planning a raid on a Catholic convent where 15 Jewish girls are hiding. Marthe scrambles to make the girls new papers in less than two days. When Travert finds out about her efforts, he is furious, but he cannot stop her. The girls arrive at the preventorium and are accepted without issue with the documents that Marthe provides for them. However, Marthe later overhears Faustine reporting one of the girls to Obersturmführer Wolff, and she knows that she only has 25 minutes to save all 15 of them.

Every day is the same in prison for Adrienne and her family, and though the living conditions are awful, she finds solace in the uninterrupted time she gets to spend with Gilbert. They reminisce over the past, and though Gilbert feels guilty for their predicament, Adrienne assures him that she is happier staying in prison with him than living elsewhere without him. Soon, however, Adrienne contracts a blood infection. The emperor gives her permission to leave for treatment, but she is told that she cannot return. To remain with Gilbert, she refuses treatment and chooses to endure her suffering.

Marthe frantically looks for a solution and decides to have the girls escape through the secret passages that lead beyond the estate. She leads them down the passages, and the eldest girl, Rachel, guesses that the Nazis are coming for them. At the last tunnel, she gives them directions on how to reach the Kohn children who are currently out camping. There, they will be brought to the Resistance and will live in the woods of Mandaix. Marthe watches them go, hoping for their freedom and knowing that she is about to face her own death.

Though she is now too ill to write, Adrienne continues to address the emperor with Anastasie’s help, and soon, they receive news that people abroad are clamoring for their release. Napoléon Bonaparte then comes to negotiate for their freedom. The emperor makes them three offers, all of which would absolve him of blame, but the Lafayettes refuse. Finally, the emperor agrees to release them to Napoléon. The Lafayettes are brought to the American consulate in Hamburg. Gilbert recovers quickly, and though the scars of her illness remain, Adrienne is proud to have secured Gilbert’s release without succumbing to violence or compromising her principles.

Marthe goes to Anna and warns her that the Gestapo are coming for the children because of Faustine. Anna quickly grasps the situation and intuits Marthe’s involvement, but before much can be said, Obersturmführer Wolff arrives. They arrest everyone, but Marthe confesses that she was the one who brought the Jewish girls to the preventorium; she also accuses Faustine of snitching in front of everyone. Faustine is unrepentant, however, and offers directions to find the girls quickly. Marthe is led to the courtyard just as Travert arrives, but he is quickly turned away. She tries to direct Obersturmführer Wolff away from the secret passages to buy the girls some time, but Obersturmführer Wolff catches on and pulls out a baton, monologuing about his joy in killing. He begins to beat her, and despite the pain, Marthe knows that what she did was right. Travert has returned and shoots at the Gestapo officers. He is shot himself, but the boys in the dormitory use the guns they’ve stashed away to kill Obersturmführer Wolff just as the Resistance arrives to help.

The war is now over, and Max finds Beatrice back in Chavaniac after being released from his duties. He is unscathed, but Emily’s husband had a near-fatal airplane crash. Their reunion is interrupted by a young Henri Pinton, who guides them to Marthe. When they find her, someone snaps a picture of Max, Beatrice, and Marthe together. Later, they talk about Beatrice being awarded the Legion of Honor for her service, and when the topic veers toward the future, it soon becomes clear that while Max cannot remain in France after all that he has experienced in the war, Beatrice cannot leave Chavaniac. She tells him that she cannot have more children and that the future he envisioned cannot be realized. He thanks her, claiming that before he met her, he had lost himself to the war. By contrast, she believes that she has found herself in it. They part, and Marthe finds Beatrice crying. When Marthe calls her Madame Chanler, Beatrice asks the girl to call her Beatrice instead.

In Madame Pinton’s house, Marthe does her best to nurse Travert, who has survived his bullet wound. For the first time in her life, Marthe feels that someone has come back for her. That summer is marked by horrific retaliation from the retreating Germans. Oscar and Daniel Kohn are among the casualties, and Uriah Kohn is also killed in a firefight. When Josephine and Gabriella visit Madame Pinton’s home, they honor their brother and father with a mourner’s vigil. In August, Germans abandon their checkpoints, and Marthe believes it safe to go to town for supplies. There, she coincidentally meets Anna, who tells her that Faustine has been found dead. By August 18, Chavaniac is liberated from German occupation, and the whole town celebrates. In a private moment, Marthe and Travert plan for their future.

Ten years after being released from prison, Adrienne is in Chavaniac with her family on Christmas Eve, but she has bouts of delirium from an illness and knows she is nearing death. She has told Gilbert of her endless love for him, and they reminisce about all the work she has done to restore their estate and possessions, to honor her deceased family, and to win the battle of wits against Napoléon, who thought the Lafayettes were too dangerous a symbol in France. Gilbert implores her to stay with him because he does not know how to distinguish his existence from hers, and they settle together, their hearts beating to one pulse.

Marthe and Travert move to New York City. Marthe has obtained an art scholarship at Parsons School of Design for her wartime portfolio. There, she reconnects with Beatrice, who apologizes for falsifying her birth record, citing a hope that never came to fruition. Marthe learns that Max is in Argentina; he is married and is the father of two sons. Though Beatrice is wistful about Max, she is content with her life and her newest romance. Marthe tells a committee about her experiences in the war, and afterward, she and Beatrice discuss Anna’s appointment as head of the preventorium. Meanwhile, Madame Pinton intends to adopt Josephine and Gabriella, and Sam is running for mayor of Chavaniac. Marthe thrives in New York, while Travert works as a private detective to help Jewish families in New York locate their missing relatives. The two have early thoughts of having a child. When the war officially ends, they are in Times Square, celebrating.