1) To complete this, you need to open the brackets. When Tom woke up, the farmhouse had already started

1) To complete this, you need to open the brackets. When Tom woke up, the farmhouse had already started burning when the shell hit. None of the other soldiers who were in the farmhouse could be seen. They were fortunate to escape. In the confusion, they missed Tom, who was sleeping on the kitchen floor. As his leg was broken, it took him hours to crawl across the room to the window. He passed out repeatedly, but he was determined not to die, and eventually, he reached the window and pulled himself up to look over the sill. Somebody spotted his head above the window and rescued him. Tom doesn’t remember any of that, and he never found out who saved him.

2) «But when did you meet him?» «Tonight. He picked me up in a bar on the Champs-Elysées and insisted on taking me to Maxim’s. I had a wonderful time, the best since we started working in Paris.» «I thought you were going out with Jean-Paul tonight?» «Well, I did start out with him. But, honestly, Petra, he was getting really boring. So when did I see Carlo? It didn’t sound very French.» «It wasn’t. He’s Italian. And that’s where I’m going—to stay in his palazzo. No, he’s the kind of man I’ve been looking for all my life. He just swept me off my feet.» «Most of the men you meet seem to sweep you off your feet.»

3) At the end of the week, when there was still no telephone call or letter from Sara, Petra waited until Monsieur and Madame Charron went out one evening, and the children were safely in bed. Then she sneaked into the study, picked up the phone, and asked the operator to give her the number of the Palazzo Berini in Venice. «Hello, is that Carlo Berini?» «Yes, I am Count Berini,» the voice sounded authoritative. «My name is Petra Thornton. We haven’t met, but I’m a friend of Sara’s.» There was a few seconds of silence before Carlo Berini said, «I don’t know who you’re talking about.» «But you do,» Petra protested. «You took Sara to Venice with you two weeks ago to stay at your palazzo. You met her in Paris. You must remember.» His voice grew annoyed. «Either you have the wrong number, or this is some kind of joke. I don’t know your friend, and she certainly never stayed in this house.»

4) He was sitting at a large ornate desk, but he looked up as she entered and then slowly got to his feet. «Good morning. You wanted to see me, I believe?» «Yes, my name is Petra Thornton, and—» «Ah, yes, the young lady who phoned yesterday. About a friend of yours, wasn’t it?» «Yes, it was about Sara.» «So?» «So, where is she?» Carlo Berini frowned and then sat down again. «I told you at the time that I never heard of your friend. So why are you here?» «Because I don’t believe you.» He leaned forward. «You’re accusing me of lying?» «You should know whether you’re lying or not. All I know is that Sara said she was going to Venice with you, and a few days later, she phoned to say that things weren’t working out, and she was coming back to Paris. But she never arrived, and that was a week ago. So I came here to find her because this is the last place I know she stayed.» (After S. Wentworth)