room, sitting beside the fire in the deep, worn armchair
Louis had always used. Her eyes were wide and staring, and
Claudine’s heart turned over as she saw how harshly she
was wringing her hands. As they walked in, Doctor Lebrun
and Father Pointeau got to their feet, but Francois ignored
them as his mother’s tormented eyes met his. They all heard
her choke, then turned away as a heartrending cry broke
from her lips and she stumbled into her son’s arms.
Solange’s body was racked by sobs as Francois led her
from the room, and as the door closed behind them
Monique turned to Claudine, burying her face in her hands.
‘Poor Maman!’ she cried. ‘Oh, poor, poor Maman! What
is she going to do without him, Claudine? He was her whole
life.’
‘Ssh,’ Claudine whispered, putting her arms around her.
‘Francois will take care of her. So will we.’ She took the
glass of brandy Lucien held out, and put it to Monique’s
lips. ‘What was it?’ she said quietly, looking at Doctor
Lebrun. ‘How did he die?’
‘He had a heart-attack,’ the doctor answered, shaking his
head sorrowfully.
‘It could have happened at any time,’ Lucien added. ‘We
all knew that. But it still comes as a shock.’
They all looked up as the door opened and Jean-Paul, the
butler, came in. ‘Monsieur asks if you will wait to speak to
him,’ he said to Doctor Lebrun.
Doctor Lebrun nodded, and Jean-Paul went quietly from
the room. Many of the staff had left now, either to join the
army or to go to work in the factories, but there was still
Arlette, the cook, and the ladies’ maids who would need his
comfort that night.
‘I want to go to Maman,’ Monique said, but as she started
towards the door Father Pointeau put a hand on her
shoulder.
‘Leave her for now,’ he said. ‘She needs to cry, and
Francois is the only one she feels she doesn’t have to be
strong for. She’ll sleep soon anyway, the doctor has given
her some pills.’
Monique allowed Claudine to lead her to the sofa.
Lucien came to sit the other side of her and Claudine held
them both as they wept and talked of their memories,
laughed, and wept again.
It was long past midnight by the time Claudine and
Lucien took Monique up to bed. Then, hugging each other,
they parted outside her door and Claudine went up to her
apartment.
Despite her tiredness and the dull, distant ache around
her heart, she could feel the gnawing pangs of hunger. It was
hours since she had had a meal, but she knew that if she
tried to eat she would be unable to. Francois was with
Doctor Lebrun now, they had been together for some time
but it wasn’t only that which told her there was something
odd about Louis’ death, it was the way Francois himself had
reacted to the news.
More than an hour passed before she heard his footsteps
on the stairs, and as the door to the sitting-room opened she
turned away from the fire to look at him. His anger seemed
to have abated, but his pale, scarred face was ravaged with
exhaustion.
‘You should have gone to bed,’ he said.
‘I wanted to wait.’
His eyes were blank as they looked into hers, but when
she took a step towards him he turned away. ‘Go to bed,’ he
said.
‘Francois,’ she pleaded.
‘No!’ he cried angrily. ‘Just go to bed.’
But she put her arms around him anyway, and to her
relief he pulled her against him and buried his face in her
neck.
They stood like that for a long time, neither of them
speaking or moving. The only sound was the wind outside
and the gentle tick of the clock.
‘Come along,’ she said finally. ‘Come to bed.’
As he raised his head she looked up into his face and saw
that his eyes were dry and empty.
‘I can’t,’ he said gruffly.
‘But you must, you’re exhausted.’
He shook his head. ‘I mean, I can’t come with you.’ And
before she could protest, he pulled away from her, saying,
‘Go to your room. Go now, before …’
‘But Francois …’
‘No, Claudine! I know what you’re going to say, but you
must forget what happened between us today. You must put
it from your mind, pretend it… Get your annulment, marry
Armand. Then get as far away from me as you can, do you
hear me? As far away as you can.’
‘No!’ she cried. ‘I can’t pretend that I don’t feel the way I
do, and neither can you. We’ve got to stop this, Francois!
You love me, I know you do …’
He put his fingers over her lips. ‘Don’t say any more. Just
do as I tell you, Claudine. Please!’ And before she could
protest any farther, he walked into his room and locked the
door behind him.
He knew that it was going to take a great deal more than a
mere door to shut her out now, and as he stood in the middle
of his darkened room, staring sightlessly down at the bed, he
could still feel the softness of her body against his and the
raging need to hold her again. But the death of his father
had been a cruel and senseless reminder of why he could not
give in to the demands of his heart. He still had no way of
knowing if Halunke had been responsible, but the timing
was too much of a coincidence for him to ignore, despite
what Doctor Lebrun had told him. It seemed Louis had
been down at the chapel, praying, when his heart went into
arrest. There had been no one around to help him, but he
had managed to drag himself to the door, where Armand
had found him. By then he was already dead.
His one hope now was that Erich had managed to get to
him before he died - he simply could not bear the thought of
Louis going to his grave in the belief that his eldest son was a
traitor. But whether Erich had reached him or not, there
was no possibility now of being disinherited. He was already
the Comte de Rassey de Lorvoire, and nothing he or anyone
else could do would change that.
And that was why, in his heart, he knew that there was
more to his father’s death than Doctor Lebrun realized.
Halunke was here, he could feel it in his bones. Von
Liebermann had sent him as retribution and reminder.
Squeezing his eyes tightly closed, he let his head fall
forward. Dear God in heaven, how was a man to choose
between his family and his country? He would never dare to
risk deceiving the Germans again, not after this. And yet…
perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps the death had been as
Doctor Lebrun said. As long as there was doubt, there
might still be a way …
He was woken early the following morning by a knock on
his door, and as Jean-Paul came in with the letter on a silver
salver, he knew even before he opened it that the shred of
hope he had clung to was already gone. Inside the envelope
was a single sheet of paper, and on it was written just one
word - Louis.
Over the next few days, as first Tante Celine arrived and
then her father, Claudine watched Francois build a barrier
around himself so invincible that she feared she might never
get through to him. He went out of his way to avoid her, and
though it hurt her deeply to do it, she decided to keep her
distance too, knowing that her presence only brought him
pain. But she always knew where he was, and if he wasn’t
with Solange or in the nursery with Louis and Corinne, he
was out riding in the forest. When he returned, soaked by
the rain or frozen by the wind, she could see he was still no
closer to sorting out the confusion in his mind than when he
had set out. Occasionally she would find him watching her,
maybe at the breakfast table, or as she walked up the stairs to
their apartment - but the instant she met his eyes he turned
away. They had barely spoken since the night of Louis’
death, yet somehow she knew that she was almost constantly
on his mind, and instinct told her that he was trying to reach
a decision concerning their marriage.
Then one morning she saw him talking to Armand
outside the wine caves. She watched from an upstairs
window, dreading to think what he might be saying. But no
matter what, and even if he told her there could never be
anything between them, she had made up her mind that she
would remain his wife until the day she died. He couldn’t
stop her loving him - but how much easier it would be for
them if he could find it in himself to trust her! To tell her
what was going on … When he left, as she was sure he
would sooner or later, and Lucien rejoined his regiment,
she would be responsible for Solange and Monique. And if
they faced a threat as dangerous as she now suspected, then
the only way she could see of combating it was to know
precisely what it was.
It was in the early hours of the morning following the day of
the funeral that Erich von Pappen finally came to the
chateau. Francois let him in through the nursery landing
and led him past Claudine’s bedroom to the sitting-room.
‘How is Elise?’ he said, knowing that von Pappen had
been with her for the past five days.
‘Better now,’ von Pappen answered, taking the cognac
Francois held out. He went to sit on the chair beside the fire.
‘It was the worst I’ve seen her,’ he said with a sigh, ‘or I
would have come sooner.’
‘She was bad the night I was there,’ Francois said,
lighting a cigarette. ‘She woke up screaming, but when I
went into the room she wouldn’t let me near her. She
thought I was Halunke.’ He drew on his cigarette and
inhaled deeply. ‘It was terrible, I’ve never seen anything like
it. It was as though she was possessed by some kind of
demon. I guess she is, if fear is a demon.’ He paused for a
while as he remembered that night, and how she had
gnashed her teeth, torn her hair and thrown herself savagely
against the wall. But once she recognized him she had
allowed him to carry her back to bed, where he had lain with
her, holding her in his arms until she had finally fallen
asleep again.
From the corner of his eye von Pappen watched Francois
curiously. He had been in Francois’ employ for five years
now and probably knew him better than any man, which was
why he was so quick to detect the change in him. He wasn’t
sure yet what it was, except that the customary harshness
was absent from his eyes. Perhaps the death of his father
had in some way softened him - which, von Pappen
decided, was no bad thing, providing it didn’t in any way
affect his judgement.
‘I just wish to God she knew who he was,’ Francois
sighed. ‘What about you, have you come up with anything
yet?’
Von Pappen twitched as he too lit a cigarette. ‘No. But I
think I’m a little closer now than I was before.’
‘Oh?’
‘I still have no idea who he is, but I think his revenge could
have something to do with Hortense de Bourchain after all.’
Francois showed no sign of surprise. ‘What makes you
say that?’ he asked, going to sit on the sofa.
‘I don’t know. It’s just a hunch, but it’s one I’m going to
pursue a little further.’
Francois said no more on the matter. This was von
Pappen’s way; and as soon as he had anything worth reporting,
he would do so. ‘Did you see my father before he died?’ he
asked, feeling himself tense in dread of the answer.
‘Yes.’
‘You told him everything?’
‘Yes.’
Francois’ relief was evident. Grinding out his cigarette
and lighting another, he said, ‘So what happened that
morning?’
Von Pappen twisted in his chair so that he could see
Francois better. ‘I did as you said, and made contact with
Corinne,’ he told him. ‘She arranged for me to meet the
Comte down at the mairie first thing in the morning. The
Mayor of Chinon was due to arrive at eleven, with a
delegation of officials from Tours, to discuss the distribution
of rations. I was to go in as an early arrival from the
delegation - in disguise, of course - which I did. By the time
the delegation arrived I had managed to persuade your father to disown you, and though he was unhappy about it, he was finally persuaded that it was the only way. I stayed for the meeting, and as we left the Comte whispered to me that he was going over to the chapel to pray for you, and that I was to tell you that he loved you deeply. That was the last time I saw him. I knew nothing of his death until Beatrice told me when I arrived back in Paris.’
Francois’ face was strained. He took a deep breath and let
his head fall back against the sofa.
Von Pappen waited quietly, puffing on his cigarette and
staring down at the flickering flames in the hearth. ‘I am
truly sorry, Francois,’ he murmured finally. ‘I know how
much he meant to you.’
They both looked up as the door opened and Claudine,
pulling a blue satin neglige around her, came into the room.
Von Pappen immediately got to his feet, and as Francois looked at her, her beautiful face flushed from sleep and her raven hair tousled around her shoulders, he felt the pain of