pyjamas. He was reading the newspaper, but he put it down
when she came in, and poured them both a coffee.
‘I hope this isn’t going to take long,’ she said, sitting
down. ‘I’ve promised to take Gertrude Reinberg to see a
doctor in Tours this morning.’
‘Gertrude Reinberg?’ he said. ‘The woman who lives next
door to the cafe? She’s Jewish, isn’t she?’
Surprised, Claudine said, ‘I suppose she is. I hadn’t really
thought about it. Why?’
‘No reason.’ He passed her cup, then leaned back in his
chair. ‘This might take a little longer than you would like,
but I’m afraid that can’t be helped.’
‘I’m listening.’ She picked up her coffee and, assuming
an air of boredom, stared out of the window at the heavily
laden branches swaying across the veranda.
He watched her for a moment, then after taking a
mouthful of coffee he came straight to the point. ‘I am
aware,’ he began, ‘that you and Armand suspect me of having you watched.’
Her hand froze in mid-air. She could hardly believe it. All
these months of saying nothing, and now …
‘You are wrong, I’m afraid,’ he went on, ‘at least in
suspecting me. But you’re right in thinking that there is
someone out there in the forest. Regrettably, he is not in my
employ. Life would be so much less complicated if we were
dealing with nothing more than a jealous husband.’
Deciding to ignore his loathsome irony, she said, ‘Then
perhaps you would care to tell me what we are dealing with.’
‘I’m not sure,’ he answered pensively. ‘But I do know that his interest in you stems from an interest in me. It will probably come as no surprise to you to learn that I have many
enemies. So it is my hope that when I leave Touraine
tomorrow, whoever is spying on you will leave too.’
‘Well, that’s what I call a double relief,’ she said acidly and
to her annoyance, he laughed. ‘And does this person
present any kind of threat to you?’ she asked coldly.
He grinned. ‘I’m touched by your concern. Yes, ultimately
I’m sure he does mean me some harm. But I am
less concerned for myself than for my family, which is why
I intend taking the precaution of speaking to Armand
before I leave, to ask him to make sure you are never in the
forest alone.’
His casual allusion to her affair was outrageous, but
before she could speak he said, ‘I have also employed a
nanny for Louis. She is not an ordinary nanny, but only you
will know that.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ she cried.
‘It means that she will be protecting my - our son.’
Immediately die blood drained from her face. ‘Are you
telling me Louis is in some kind of danger from this man?’
‘I doubt it, but…’
‘But you don’t know for sure?’
‘No.’
She closed her eyes, feeling for a moment on the brink of
hysteria. Then suddenly her fists clenched and she
slammed them on the table, shouting, ‘He’s a baby,
Francois! Just a baby. How could you have put him in this
position? I thought you loved him!’
He waited for her to look at him, then held her gaze. She
felt his power, then oddly felt her panic start to subside. ‘I
give you my word, Claudine,’ he said, in a deep, sombre
voice, ‘that nothing will happen to Louis. It is a source of
relief to me that you have Armand to protect you, but at the
same time you must take some responsibility for yourself.’
He hesitated for a moment, then said, ‘Maybe now is the
time to tell you that it was precisely for this reason that I did
not want to marry you.’
‘What?’
‘I was afraid something like this might happen. As my
wife you are an obvious target for my enemies, which is why
I have gone out of my way to let it be known that I do not love
you. It is also why I have done nothing to interfere in your
liaison with Armand. So far it has worked.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You are still alive.’
‘I can’t believe what you’re saying!’ she cried. ‘You mean
someone is planning to kill me, to kill Louis, because of you?
Who are these people who hate you so much? What have
you done to them?’
‘At this precise moment in time I am unable to answer
either of those questions.’
‘Unable or unwilling?’
He looked at her.
‘I want to know what’s going on, Francois!’
‘I know you do. But as I said, it is my hope that when I leave
tomorrow, whoever is watching the chateau will leave too.’
‘And what if he kills you? What will happen … ?’ She
stopped as her words were sucked into the horrible drone of
fear rushing through her head.
He chuckled. ‘I should have thought nothing would suit
you better than my untimely despatch, Claudine, but I’m
afraid that if they intended to kill me they’d have done it by
now. There are, unfortunately, far more effective ways of
making a man pay for what he has done than killing him.’
They sat in silence then, and she watched his hands as he
started to break a brioche. They were so large, the dark hair
on his arms so sinister… She lifted her eyes to his and
suddenly she felt as though her heart were being torn from
her body. Quickly she looked away, dazed by the strength of
him, which made her feel both safe and terrified. ‘How long
will you be gone?’ she asked quietly.
‘That depends very much on what I can find out.’
He didn’t say any more, and nor did she. She knew that
once he had left there would be a thousand questions she
wanted to ask him, but for now her mind seemed to have
gone numb. In the end she dully reminded him that he had
said he had something to show her.
‘Ah, yes,’ he said, suddenly smiling. He got up and left the
apartment, returning a little while later, alone and empty
handed. ‘Be patient,’ he said, and in a couple of minutes the
door opened and Magaly came in, carrying Louis.
‘Wait,’ Francois said.
Claudine sat back in her chair and watched as Magaly set
Louis on the floor and Francois leaned forward with his
elbows on his knees. ‘Now, Louis,’ he said, ‘show Maman what you can do.’
Louis’ chubby little face was wreathed in smiles as he
bounced around on his unsteady legs, shouting and waving
his arms in the air.
‘No, no, no,’ Francois said. ‘You can do better than that.
Now come along, come to Papa.’
Claudine looked at Francois in amazement, but he was
still watching Louis. Then Louis gave an earsplitting
screech, and with an exuberant blowing of bubbles he
hurtled the few steps into his father’s arms.
That’s my boy,’ Francois laughed, swinging him up onto
his lap and planting a kiss on his cheek. ‘Now, what does Maman think of that?’
For a moment Claudine was too overcome to speak.
Then, pulling herself together, she reached out for her son,
who was straining to come to her. It wasn’t only the fact that
Louis had taken his first steps at the age often months that
had so profoundly affected her. It was the way Francois had
behaved, the way he had looked …
She looked across at him, but he only raised his eyebrows
at her, then returned to his newspaper as though she had
ceased to exist.
Monique shrieked as Claudine whirled her round in her
arms, then hugged her tightly. ‘Congratulations, cherie! I
wondered what you had been doing in Paris all this time!
But how long have you known him? How did you meet him?
Come along, sit down and tell me everything.’
Smiling all over her face, Monique allowed Claudine to
lead her to the sofa. ‘It’s a secret, remember?’ she said, still
breathless from Claudine’s embrace. ‘You’re not to tell
anyone about him until I say.’
‘Of course I won’t. But aren’t you at least going to tell
Solange and Louis?’
Monique shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think it’s fair to tell
them I’m getting engaged to someone they don’t know, so
we’re going to take it slowly, and arrange for them to meet at
least once before we say anything. So promise you won’t
breathe a word.’
‘Cross my heart!’ Claudine smiled. Then clasping
Monique’s hands she cried, ‘Oh, but look how your eyes are
shining! Any fool could see you’re in love! And you haven’t
even told me his name!’
‘Karol Kalinowski,’ Monique answered, her face flushing
with pleasure as she pronounced the name. ‘He’s Polish.
He’s left his country because of what’s happening there, and
now he’s trying to get his family to France too. It isn’t
proving easy, and he misses them terribly. He’s a very
special man, Claudine, so sensitive, so full of compassion.’
Her eyes drifted towards the open window, and watching
her, Claudine was hard put to it not to hug her again. She
was so pleased that at last Monique was happy, so pleased
that she had confided in her. ‘Well?’ she prompted. ‘What
does he look like? How old is he? Does he come from a good
family?’
‘He’s a count,’ Monique laughed. ‘He’s thirty-three, and
he’s… the most handsome man I’ve ever met!’
‘And when did he ask you to marry him?’
‘Er… the evening before last.’
But Monique’s cheeks had turned pink, and suddenly
Claudine knew the truth. ‘You were in bed with him at the
time!’ she cried.
‘Ssh!’ Monique warned. Then ‘Do you think me terrible?
Going to bed with a man before we are married?’
‘Of course not!’ Claudine laughed.
‘Then I’ll let you into another secret. Karol was not the
first.’
‘Oh la la! Claudine cried, feigning horror.
‘I can’t help it,’ Monique sighed. ‘I just get these feelings
when I’m with a man and I… Well, you know how it is.’
‘I do,’ Claudine smiled. ‘So, when are you going to
announce your engagement?’
“The day after the July ball at the Polish Embassy. We
thought that would be a perfect opportunity for Karol to
meet my family without too much formality, then he can call
on Papa the next day. Oh, you will come to Paris for the ball,
won’t you, Claudine? You’ve been invited, we all have.’
‘I wouldn’t miss it for the world. But aren’t we going to
meet him before that?’
Monique’s smile faded. ‘He’s gone to Poland and won’t be
returning until the day before the ball. Three whole weeks,
Claudine! How am I going to survive without him for so long?’
‘We shall shop, that’s how!’ Claudine decided. ‘It’s an age
since I was in Paris, and it’s high time I livened up my
wardrobe. I feel positively dowdy beside you. Just look at
that dress!’
‘Isn’t it wonderful?’ Monique stood up and twirled round
so that her full skirts billowed around her legs. ‘It’s what
they call a surah dress.’
‘It’s stunning,’ Claudine sighed wistfully, taking the black
silk jersey between her fingers. ‘And it suits you so well. Has
Karol seen it?’
‘He chose it. But it’s only a day dress, cherie. You wait ‘til
you see what Schiaparelli and Alix have for the evenings. Oh
la Id, you will think you are in heaven.’
Suddenly the door burst open and Solange bounced into
the room. ‘Can I come shopping too?’ she cried. ‘I shall have
to have something new for the ball, won’t I? Especially if I
am to meet my future son-in-law! Ah, cherie, congratulations.
What a happy mother I am.’ And she folded Monique
into an enveloping embrace.
‘Maman, you have been listening at the door again!’
‘No, no, cherie. I was merely passing and heard your
voice.’
When they had stopped laughing, Claudine said, ‘So it is
decided. We shall all go to Paris next week and stay until
after the ball. Will Louis come too?’
‘Which one?’ Monique asked, smiling.
‘Why, both will come of course,’ Solange declared. ‘I
cannot go anywhere without my grandson, and grand Louis
must come to meet your intended, Monique.’
As if on cue, an anxious voice sounded from the stairs.
‘Solange! Solange!’
Solange giggled, clapping a hand to her mouth.
‘I must hide.’ And she dived into Francois’ bedroom.
‘I know she’s in here,’ Louis said, appearing in the
doorway. ‘Wretched woman! She’s put my name down for
the young men’s boules tournament this afternoon. I had
the surprise of my life when Claude Villiers turned up just
now, but it was nothing compared to the surprise he got
when he saw how old I was. Poor man, he was so flustered I
had to invite him in for a brandy.’
‘And of course you just had to have one with him!’
Monique said, grinning. ‘But Papa, everyone in the region
knows you. This man Villiers must have known you weren’t
young.’
‘He’s a newcomer,’ Louis said. ‘He’s getting to know
everyone by organizing these confounded tournaments.
Armand, I’m relieved to say, has offered to take my place but
that saucy young Villiers has now put me down for the
old men’s tournament next week.’
While he spoke, Louis had been quietly edging towards
the door of Francois’ bedroom, and now he threw it open.
‘Ah! Louis!’ Solange shrieked. ‘There you are. I was