while he smiled at her, but as yet they had done no more than exchange a formal greeting when he arrived. Through the din of deep male voices and the clatter of cutlery he
could hear her frantic laughter, and he saw the way her
fingers trembled when she lifted her glass to her lips. He
wondered why Erich hadn’t told him how her eyes had lost
their lustrous sparkle, her hair its soft, golden sheen, and how she winced with pain every time she made a sudden movement.
The evening passed much as he had expected. There was
a great deal of talk, but nothing much was actually said, and
he gleaned little information that he didn’t already know.
He exchanged a word or two with de Gaulle about Lucien,
who, the Colonel informed him, was currently at Lorvoire
on leave. Francois felt a pang of regret; he would very much
have liked to see his brother.
‘I’m glad to say that it’s official leave this time,’ de Gaulle
remarked.
‘This time?’ Francois said curiously.
‘I had to reprimand him some time ago,’ de Gaulle
explained, ‘for taking off without permission. I left it at that,
for he’s not one to desert his post in a time of crisis, which is
when it counts. But it wasn’t the first time he’d disappeared
for a few days; his pursuit of the ladies is going to land him in
deep trouble if he doesn’t watch out.’
A little while later Francois heard Paul Paillole asking
Elise if she was all right, and as he looked up she caught his
eye, and he felt the full force of her adoration. How it tugged
at his heart! Yet the affection he felt for her now was almost
paternal, the painful love of a father for a damaged child. As
the evening wore on, none of the guests had failed to notice
her periodic moments of confusion. Her green eyes would
glaze over, and the smile on her lips would start to quiver as
she was sucked into the grip of some terrifying vision. It
lasted only a matter of seconds, but afterwards she would be
disoriented, off-balance. What was to become of her? Francois wondered despairingly. Not that he had any intention of deserting her, but how was she going to fill the
rest of such a blighted life?
At ten o’clock Charles de Gaulle got up to leave. He
wanted to be back with his regiment before morning, he told
Francois, ‘And as for thinking you’re going to persuade the
French army to lay down their arms,’ he growled, ‘I can tell
you that I for one have no intention whatever of handing my
country to the Boche.’
‘Hear, hear,’ Paul Reynaud said, helping himself from
the cigar box.
‘And that possibility would not even have arisen,’ de
Gaulle went on passionately, ‘if France had prepared
herself for this war - which men like you and me, Francois,
were predicting as long ago as thirty-three. It is a tragedy
that our country should be blighted with generals who have
blinkered themselves to events in Germany for so long.
They cannot even begin to imagine what this war will be
like, their methods are outdated, their strategy is prehistoric.
And even now, is anything being done to expand our
Air Force? I tell you, my friend, I shudder for the fate of this
nation. And much as I detest the British, at least they will
fight, and fight to the bitter end.’
It was another two hours before the others could be
prised from their brandy and cigars and the comfort of
Elise’s sitting-room, but eventually they departed encouraged
on their way by Francois, who could see that
Elise was beginning to tire. He talked to Erich at the door
for a few moments, then turned back into the apartment.
Elise was pouring him another drink. He took it from her,
put it on the table beside him and pulled her into his arms.
‘How are you, cherie?’ he murmured.
‘Better now you’re here,’ she answered.
He noticed how careful she was not to press her body
against his. ‘I’ve missed you,’ he said. ‘Have you been well
looked after in my absence?’
She lifted her face to look at him, and there was
something of the old light in her eyes as she said, ‘If you
mean, how am I getting along without sex, then the answer is
that it’s not as difficult as you might think.’
He chuckled. ‘That’s not what I meant at all,’ he said. But
how much he admired her courage in coming straight to the
point of a subject that would have proved extremely difficult
for him to broach.
‘That is,’ she said, ‘it hasn’t been difficult until now,
because you haven’t been here to tempt me.’
He looked at her warily, not knowing quite how he should
respond. Then, to his surprise, she drew his mouth down to
hers and kissed him tenderly on the lips.
‘What you meant,’ she said, letting him go and handing
him back his brandy, ‘was, how am I getting along with my
nursemaid? And the answer is, she has proved an extremely
diverting companion. Where did you find her?’
‘I didn’t,’ he confessed. ‘Erich did.’
‘Oh. My other nursemaid.’ She grinned up at him. ‘Little
Erich clucks around me like a mother hen,’ she explained. ‘I
think in some bizarre way he feels responsible for what’s
happened - there are even times when I find myself
comforting him, and telling him everything will be all right!
Isn’t that funny? But I wouldn’t be without him for the world.’
Francois grimaced. ‘If anyone is responsible,’ he said
darkly, ‘I am.’
She patted her hair, and stole a quick, nervous glance at
herself in the mirror over the hearth. ‘No, chert, you mustn’t
blame yourself,’ she said. ‘It’s done now, and no amount of
self-recrimination from you is going to change it. I’m just
glad that you’re here. I was afraid I might never see you
again.’ Her lip trembled. ‘You did want to see me again,
didn’t you?’ she said, her eyes widening like a child’s.
‘Of course.’
‘Only I got the impression, before … before you went
away, that perhaps things had changed between us. That
you were going to tell me it was over for us.’
Pulling her back into his arms so that she could no longer
see his eyes, he said, ‘No, I wasn’t going to do that.’
‘I’m so relieved.’ She laughed uneasily. ‘I don’t think I’d
want to carry on if that were true. And thank you for holding
the dinner here tonight. It meant a lot to me to know that I
was still of some use to you. You made me feel needed again.
It’s important to feel needed, don’t you agree?’
‘Yes,’ he whispered. ‘Yes, it’s important.’
‘But you don’t like discussing feelings, do you?’ she said,
breaking away from him. ‘So shall we change the subject?’
‘Aren’t you tired?’ he asked, watching her as she went to
sit down.
‘Not really.’ Then her face suddenly changed, and she
peered up at him from under her lashes and started to
giggle. ‘Oh, I see,’ she said. ‘You want to go to bed. Why
didn’t you say? Oh, Francois! You haven’t forgotten the
other things I can do for you, have you? Shall we go into the
bedroom, or would you prefer it here?’ And getting up from
the sofa, she started towards him.
‘Elise,’ he said, closing his hands over hers as she started
to unbutton his fly.
‘Yes, chert?’ she murmured, putting her head back and
gazing up into his eyes.
Dear God, how was he going to tell her? How could he
explain that he simply couldn’t let her do this?
To his eternal relief the door opened at that moment, and
a plain, large-faced woman he had never seen before came
into the room.
‘Bonsotr, monsieur,’ she said. ‘I am Beatrice.’ And from the
barely perceptible lift of her eyebrows he realized that she
was Elise’s ‘nursemaid’.
‘Beatrice!’ Elise cried, turning round. ‘What are you
doing here?’
‘I’ve come to put you to bed, Elise,’ Beatrice answered. ‘It
is past midnight.’
‘But Francois is here,’ Elise said truculently.
‘And he will still be here in the morning,’ Beatrice
declared, looking meaningfully at Francois. ‘So come along
now, no arguing.’
Elise shrugged, and giving Francois a sheepish, naughty
look, she obediently walked off to the bedroom.
‘I’ll be with you in a minute,’ Beatrice called after her.
Then turning back to Francois, she said, ‘I hope you didn’t
mind me interrupting, monsieur. I’m afraid she is like that
with most men who call. She needs to know that they - you still
find her attractive. I say you, because she calls them all Francois when she is trying to seduce them.’
‘Oh, God!’ Francois groaned. ‘I had no idea.’
‘No. Well, how could you? I hope you don’t mind staying the night. The maid has prepared the spare room for you.
It’s only that if Elise wakes in the early hours and
remembers that you were here, then discovers you have left,
I’m afraid she won’t take it too well. Frankly, I’m surprised I
managed to get her off to bed so easily now. She got herself
quite worked up earlier when she knew she was going to see
you.’
Beatrice hesitated a moment, then said, ‘I’m afraid there’s no easy way of telling you this, monsieur, but I think you should know that she has convinced herself you are
going to marry her. She tells me at least a dozen times a day
how much she loves you, how much you love her, and that
you will find the man who attacked her and kill him. Erich
reassures her on this point, since it is something she needs
to hear, but as far as you marrying her is concerned, she
refuses to understand that it is not possible. She says you
don’t love your wife, and she has all but begged Erich to
arrange for someone to “remove” her, as she puts it. She
even goes so far as to insist that he will be doing you a favour
if he does so. Of course,’ she went on, when she saw how
strained Francois’ face had become, ‘she only says these
things when her mind is obscured from reason, but
nevertheless I thought I should warn you.’
‘Warn is a strong word to use, Beatrice,’ he said.
‘She can be very determined, monsieur, as I’m sure you
know. And with the contacts she has, she doesn’t necessarily
need Erich to carry out her wishes.’
He closed his eyes as the memory of the movie stuntman,
Philippe Mauclair, swelled to the front of his mind. ‘No, she
doesn’t,’ he said. ‘And I thank you for telling me this. I shall
rely on you to inform either Erich or me if you feel there is
any danger of her pursuing this plan.’
‘Of course,’ she said. Then, after a pause, ‘Maybe now is
not the time, monsieur, but perhaps we should at some point
discuss the possibility of having her institutionalized.’
‘No!’ he said sharply. ‘No. If she had no clarity of mind at
all, I might agree - but she has already suffered so much
because of me … I will not even consider the idea. Now, I
think I’ll take myself off to bed.’
‘Monsieur,’ Beatrice said, as he reached the door. ‘There
is one other thing, I’m afraid. It is concerning Halunke.’
Francois turned back. ‘Yes?’ he said in a tight voice.
‘Corinne, your son’s nanny, managed to get a message to
me which I received earlier this evening. It would appear
that your wife thinks Halunke might be back at Lorvoire.’
Francois closed his eyes. ‘Might?’ he said.
‘No one has actually seen him.’
‘No one has ever seen him, apart from Elise.’
‘And then he was wearing a mask.’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Have you told Erich?’
‘I caught him as he was going down the stairs. He told me
to tell you he has already set out for Lorvoire.’
Francois knew he must not over-react, but knowing how
he had deceived von Liebermann, his instinct was to follow
von Pappen to Lorvoire immediately.
As if reading his thoughts, Beatrice said, ‘Erich also told
me to advise you not to go to Lorvoire. At least, not until you
hear from him. Your presence there would negate the
purpose of his visit.’
Francois seemed thoughtful, almost as if he hadn’t heard
what she’d said. ‘I’ll give Erich until tomorrow evening to
contact me,’ he said. ‘If I haven’t heard from him by then, I
shall go to Lorvoire myself.’
It was a decision he would regret for the rest of his life.
Claudine burst out of her bedroom onto the landing of their
Paris home, fastening her watch around the wrist of her
black glove and struggling to keep purse and hat under her
arm. She and Monique had taken the early train from
Chinon, and had arrived at the Bois de Boulogne around
eleven o’clock. Now it was fast approaching one, Monique
had already gone out to meet an old school friend at the Ritz,
and if she, Claudine, didn’t hurry she was going to be late
for her lunch with Tante Celine.
Finally snapping the watch into place, she started down
the stairs just as Magaly called out after her.
‘Yes, I have it!’ she cried in answer. ‘I should be back
around four, but if Solange telephones tell her she can reach
me at Tante…’ She stopped dead. Standing at the front door,
looking up at her with his piercing black eyes, was Francois.