Armand turned on the tap and started washing his hands.
He had passed Claudine’s car on his way in, but it wasn’t
until he looked at it again now, through the kitchen window abandoned haphazardly as it was at the bottom of the bank that he remembered how he had seen her in it the morning after her wedding.
He picked up a towel, and wiping his hands, turned back
into the room. Claudine had her back to him, but as he
looked at her glorious mane of curls beneath that outrageously
frivolous hat, and her delicate white hands lying
on the table beside her glass, he experienced a sudden surge
of feeling. She was trying hard not to show it, but he had
seen it in her eyes: she was lonely and confused and
frightened. It made him want to put his arms around her,
and tell her he would be there for her if she needed him. But
of course that would be an outrageous thing to do. And if he
did it, how could he begin to justify it? He could not possibly
tell her that the torment in her lovely blue eyes reminded
him of the way another woman - another woman who loved
Francois - had looked in the weeks before she died.
Armand knew Claudine had heard of Hortense because
Lucien had told him so, but he was certain she didn’t know
the real truth about what had happened that night in the
wine cave. Apart from Francois, Louis and Doctor Lebrun,
Armand guessed that he was probably the only person in the
world who did know. He had witnessed it with his own eyes.
Even Francois did not know that; he had never told anyone
except his wife, Jacqueline; how, hearing voices, he had
come out of the tasting cellar at the back of the cave and
stood frozen with horror as he saw Francois and Hortense
struggling with the knife. How he had seen the silver blade,
with Francois’ great hand clutched around the handle,
plunge into Hortense’s chest.
Francois had been so quick in catching her and running
with her to his car that by the time Armand reached the
mouth of the cave, he was already speeding down the drive
with Hortense’s limp body beside him. Then Louis had
appeared from nowhere, and from the look on his face it was
clear that he too had seen a great deal of what happened.
‘He’ll be taking her to Doctor Lebrun,’ Louis had said in
a flat voice.
Armand had simply stared at him, then followed him into
the cave. ‘How do you know he’s taking her to Lebrun?’ he
asked, his strained voice echoing eerily in the silence.
‘I know my son,’ Louis answered. ‘But if you have any
doubts, go after him.’ He started to unravel the hose which
was hooked on the wall.
‘What are you doing?’ Armand asked.
‘Clearing up the mess.’
For the first time Armand had noticed the blood on the
floor, and the sight of it seemed to jolt him back to reality.
‘You can’t do that!’ he cried. ‘If Francois has killed her…’
‘Francois didn’t kill her!’
‘But I saw him! I saw what happened…’
‘She wasn’t dead. When he carried her out, she wasn’t
dead. Why do you think he’s taken her to Lebrun?’
‘But Louis, if they don’t save her Francois will be…’
‘They will save her!’ Louis had thundered.
But they hadn’t. Lebrun had fought for her life all
through that night and into the next day, but in the end
Hortense died and Francois was never brought to trial.
Armand had no idea what Louis told the de Bourchain
family, but they left France soon after, and as far as he knew
they had never returned.
It was just over two years now since it happened, and still
Armand despised himself for having remained silent. But as
Louis pointed out at the time, if the de Bourchain family
wanted the matter hushed up, then their wishes had to be
respected. And certainly it had been easier that way. It
would have been his word against Francois’ and Louis’, and
though he cared nothing for Francois, he knew his father
would have wanted him to stand by the Comte. If he had
spoken out, whether the courts believed him or not he
would have had to leave Lorvoire, and that would have
broken his mother’s heart.
For a long time after that night Armand had been unable
to look at Francois without remembering what he had seen,
without remembering other things, too, that were still, even
now, too painful to dwell on. But after a time it had become
easier, mainly because Francois had continued to treat him
just as he always had - like a brother. It had been a long
struggle, but knowing that his bitterness was hurting no one
but himself, Armand had finally learned how to live with it.
Claudine’s voice brought him back to the present. ‘That’s
a marvellous idea, Liliane,’ she was saying. ‘I really think we
could hold the entire festival here in your cottage! And it’s
so kind of Armand to offer to sing for us …’
‘What?’ he barked.
‘Ah, so you are still with us,’ Claudine grinned, leaning
back in her chair. ‘We were beginning to wonder.’
The sing?’ Armand repeated.
‘Yes, sing,’ she confirmed. ‘Any song of your choice.
Your mother tells me you have a wonderful voice, and I can
play the piano, so I shall expect you for rehearsals up at the
chateau every evening, starting tomorrow, until the grapes
are in.’
Armand’s eyes moved from her to his mother and back
again. ‘You’re serious!’
‘Of course we are,’ Claudine said, winking at Liliane. In
fact, now that she thought about it the idea was beginning to
seem rather a good one. ‘That’s settled, then,’ she said,
getting up and picking up her gloves. ‘If you know of any
more talent in the village, let me know -I think the idea of a
cabaret is a splendid one. I shall have to think of something
for Solange to do, she’s bound to want to join in. I know,
perhaps you and she can sing a duet, Armand.’
‘Now, hang on a …’
‘And I shall think of a little play for the children to
perform. What do you think, Liliane? We could do Sleeping
Beauty. Charles Perrault’s supposed to have got his inspiration
from the chateau over at RignyUsse, so that keeps it
local. Yes, it’s getting better all the time. I can hardly wait to
tell Solange.’ She paused. Armand was staring at her as if
she had taken leave of her senses. ‘Now,’ she said, ‘what do
you suppose I can give Francois to do?’
Armand exploded into laughter. ‘I’ll tell you something,’
he said. ‘If you can persuade Francois to do anything at all,
then you shall have my unconditional surrender and I will
sing with Solange.’
‘I accept the challenge,’ Claudine said with a grin,
holding out her hand. ‘And now I really must go.’ She was
enjoying herself so much that she wished she could stay a
little longer, but she must get back to the chateau for dinner.
‘I’ll be up at the caves tomorrow,’ Armand said, as he
opened the door for her. ‘If you still want to know something
about how we make the wine, then I’ll be glad to show you.
You asked me about it at the wedding, do you remember?’
‘Of course I remember,’ she smiled, though he suspected
that she didn’t. ‘I’ll look forward to it. What time should I
come?’
‘Around eleven might be best. The deliveries will be
finished by then. Will Francois be at home tomorrow?’
Armand saw the hunted look come into her eyes. ‘Yes,’
she said, ‘as far as I know.’
‘Good. There are a few things I need to go over with him.’
‘I’ll tell him.’ And kissing Liliane on both cheeks, she
shook hands with Armand and went out into the damp night
air.
Armand stood at the door watching her tail-lights weave
back through the village. She’s a remarkable woman, he was
thinking to himself, quite remarkable. He grinned. And
bossy too! When the car lights disappeared from view, he
turned back into the cottage and his eyes were alive with
laughter as he said to his mother, ‘But I can’t sing!’
Francois had already arrived by the time Claudine returned
to the chateau, though she didn’t see him until he came into the drawing-room before dinner. She was sitting in a
window-seat discussing the harvest celebration with
Solange when the door opened, and without even having to
turn round she knew at once that he was there.
As he walked into the room she looked up, but he was
engaged in conversation with a man who had introduced
himself to her on the stairs earlier as Captain Paul Paillole.
He had driven down from Paris with Francois that afternoon,
he had told her, and was looking forward to spending
a few days at Lorvoire.
Claudine watched as Francois spoke quietly to Jean
Paul, the butler, then turned to greet Celine and Freddy. He
did not once glance in her direction. She glared at him,
longing somehow to humiliate him in return, but she
managed to control the urge and continued her conversation
with Solange.
Later, over dinner, served in front of a roaring fire in the
dining-room, Francois again conversed mainly with the
Captain and his father; Claudine wished she could be as
oblivious to his presence as he clearly was to hers. At last she
turned her attention to Monique who, she realized with
dismay, was talking excitedly about weddings. It hadn’t been
difficult to persuade her to postpone the announcement of
her engagement until the whole family was together, but as
she listened to her now, and watched the way her feverish
amber eyes continually sought Freddy’s, Claudine was
overcome with sadness. The way that Freddy planned to
free himself from her would cause her real pain; she didn’t
deserve that kind of rejection, no matter how scheming she
had been. Perhaps she should try and have another word
with Freddy, Claudine thought, before he talked to
Monique …
Feeling her aunt’s eyes on her, she looked up and smiled, then turned to listen to Captain Paillole.
‘Of course,’ he was saying, ‘the British navy may have a
hundred and eighty destroyers, but we in France have
fifteen more than the Germans’ twenty-two, you know.’
‘Nevertheless,’ Francois said, setting down his wine
glass, ‘if it comes to it - and despite what they say at the
Foreign Office, I think we can be fairly certain it will - we
shall be relying heavily on the might of the Royal Navy.
Statesmen and …’
Claudine had spoken almost before she realized. ‘But I
heard on the news that the Royal Navy have signed an
agreement with Germany today, so surely …’ Her heartbeat
suddenly slowed as Francois moved his thunderous
eyes to hers. There was silence round the table, and beneath
that inimical gaze she began to feel herself tremble.
Then suddenly Louis laughed, and covering her hand with
his, he said, ‘Britain and Germany signed that agreement back
in July, ma chere. What you heard on the news today was the
fact that it is running into difficulties already.’
Claudine gazed down at her plate. Her fork was poised
over the turbot in its creamy mushroom sauce, but as she
dug into it she felt a dryness in her mouth that she knew
would prevent her from eating. It had been a simple
mistake, that was all, just a simple mistake … She stole
another look at Francois and felt herself go tense with fury.
But anger wasn’t the answer, she had learned that, and
reasoning with him was no good either. All she could do was
try to ignore him; involve herself in the life of Lorvoire as
much as she could, and never, never interrupt him when he
was speaking …
Celine and Freddy didn’t stay long after dinner, and to
Claudine’s relief Monique retired early so she and Solange
went upstairs to Claudine’s sitting-room for a nightcap.
Louis, Francois and the Captain remained in the library
until well past midnight, by which time Claudine was lying
in bed, listening to the rain.
Her heart quickened as she heard the door to their
apartment open. She could hear Francois’ footsteps as he
moved about the sitting-room, and thought how she had
lain awake listening for that sound while he was away. Why
was it, she wondered angrily, that she felt so empty when he
was gone, yet hated him so when he was here?
She reached out to turn off the lamp beside the bed. She
didn’t want to see his face when he came in, she wanted to
pretend that he wasn’t really there, that the horrible
pounding of his body was happening in a dream. But in her
heart she knew that wasn’t the real reason why she had
turned off the light; she’d done it so that he wouldn’t see the
pain in her eyes when he got up to go.
When at last the door opened, the light from the sitting
room fell across the bed and she could see his monstrous
silhouette as he stood there in the doorway. Though she
couldn’t see them, she could feel his eyes upon her, and
defiantly she stared back. And then, though she could hardly
believe her ears, she thought she heard him heave a sigh of