Darkest Longings (40 page)

back at him, and though neither of them moved she could

feel herself going to him as though he were pulling her into

his arms, enclosing her in a passionate tenderness he had

never shown her before. But as quickly as it had come, the

feeling between them vanished and he said, ‘You are free to

live your life as you please, Claudine. You may even leave

the chateau and live elsewhere if you wish. My son, of

course, will stay.’

Her cheeks were suddenly suffused with colour, and fury

flashed in her eyes. ‘Nothing on God’s earth will part me

from my son,’ she said, ‘not even you. And if you’re hoping

to be rid of me, if you think you can throw me off now that

I’ve served my purpose, then you’re seriously mistaken. We

will call him Louis, we will have him baptized and brought

up the way you want - not because I’m afraid to stand up to

you, but because I know that you’ll do what is best for him.

But you will never again refer to him as your son, Francois,

because he is not your son. He is our son.’

‘Indeed,’ he conceded. ‘And I’m glad that you have

decided to stay at the chateau. Our son will need his mother.’

‘I’m staying because I have no choice. I resigned myself to that some rime ago.’

‘Very wise. Now, if there’s nothing I can get you I shall bid

you goodnight.’

‘Goodnight,’ she snapped.

But when he reached the door, he turned back. ‘In case

you are interested,’ he said amiably, ‘I thought I should let

you know that Armand will not be returning from Tours. He

will be taking the train to Burgundy, and when he has

finished his business there he will go on to Bordeaux. But

before you accuse me of trying to come between you,

perhaps you should know that, though it is de Lorvoire

business he is engaged on, he is doing it at his own request.

It seems that he wanted to be away from Lorvoire for a

while.’

Then, treating her to one of his more odious smiles, he

closed the door.

As soon as she was able, Claudine went to see Liliane. She

had intended to make her enquiries very casual, but she

should have known that there was little point in pretending

with a woman like Liliane St Jacques.

‘He has left a message for you, cherie,’ Liliane said, the

moment she saw Claudine’s anguished face. ‘Now sit down, and I’ll pour you some coffee before I tell you what it is.’

Struggling with her impatience, Claudine pulled out a

chair and took off her hat and gloves. Liliane seemed to take

an age, and suddenly, unable to bear it a moment longer,

Claudine said, ‘Can I have the letter now, Liliane? Please!’

Smiling, Liliane put the coffee on the table. ‘I didn’t say a

letter,’ she answered, ‘I said a message, and it is here.’ She

tapped the side of her head, then pulling out a chair for

herself she sat down next to Claudine. ‘He has gone away

for a while,’ she began, ‘because he is afraid. Afraid of his

feelings for you, and yours for him.’

‘But why should he be afraid? I love him, Liliane. I know it

might sound crazy when …’

‘No, it doesn’t sound crazy. I knew, probably before

either of you, what was happening between you. I saw it, and

knew that you were powerless to stop it. I don’t know if there

is a solution for you, I cannot even begin to predict a future

that would see you together, especially now you’ve had the

baby.’ She sighed. ‘Of course, it is wrong even to be thinking

like this - but we none of us can choose with whom we fall in

love.’

She stared distractedly down at her hands. ‘He wanted to

give you both some time to think,’ she went on. ‘He wanted

you to have the chance to see how it would be if he were no

longer here. He has the freedom to leave Lorvoire, and you

do not. That’s why he is prepared to leave for good if that is

what you want.’

‘But how could I want that?’

‘You don’t now, but you might one day. Armand believes

that you will always love each other, but that your love might

destroy you. You are married to Francois, Claudine, and Francois will never let the baby go, and nor will you. That means you will always be married to him. Armand is

prepared to live with that, to settle for whatever you can give

him, but he is afraid that what he can give in return may not

be enough for you. He will return to Lorvoire sometime in

August, by which time you may have decided what you want

him to do. If you decide he must leave, I shall do nothing to

stand in his way …’ She bowed her head as her eyes filled

with tears.

‘Please don’t be afraid,’ Claudine whispered, reaching

for her hand. ‘I won’t ask him to go, I couldn’t. Perhaps it’s

selfish of me, but…’

‘You may think it is selfish, but it isn’t, cherie, not really.

You deserve to be loved, and so does my son. But my poor

Armand has been through so much already … I can’t help

wishing that Francois had found it in himself to love you, for

then, perhaps…’ She smiled sadly and squeezed

Claudine’s hands. ‘The ways of fate are strange, Claudine.

Who knows, maybe one day you and Armand will find

happiness together. One day…’

She stopped, and as Claudine met her wise, knowing eyes

she suddenly had the feeling that Liliane was holding

something back from her.

‘What is it, Liliane?’ she whispered softly.

Liliane shook her head. ‘Nothing,’ she answered.

‘Nothing more than the silly fears of an old woman.’

‘Fears? Oh, Liliane, I will never do anything to hurt him, I

swear to you …’

‘That’s not what I’m afraid of. It’s …’

Again she looked into Claudine’s eyes, and instinctively

Claudine knew what she had been about to say. ‘It’s

Francois, isn’t it?’ she said.

Liliane looked away, but Claudine knew she had been

right. She knew because suddenly she could sense

Francois’ presence, as though he were sitting there in the

room with them.

She didn’t press Liliane any further that day, but she was

sure now that in some way she didn’t yet understand,

Francois was manipulating all their lives.

Elise had never been so relieved to see anyone go. Monique

had been in her drawing-room the whole afternoon,

harping on about her conscience in a way that made Elise

want to slap her.

‘I don’t have the stomach for this sort of thing, Elise,’ she

had wailed. ‘I can’t carry on with it. If you’d seen her body

lying there at the foot of the stairs you’d know how I feel. I

should never have talked Jean-Paul into employing

Philippe, I should never have allowed you to talk me into any

of it. I…’

‘Just a minute!’ Elise interrupted. ‘As I remember it,you came to me asking how we might be rid of The Bitch.’

‘Yes, but I was angry then, and jealous. I suppose I still am

jealous of her, but I didn’t want the baby harmed, not really.

I know that now; just holding him in my arms, I could die to

think of what almost happened to him, and that I was partly

responsible. I hope you don’t think that Philippe can come

back to the chateau, because …’

‘He’s not coming back!’ Elise snapped.

‘That’s good, because if he did I should feel obliged to tell

Francois who he is.’

‘You’re too late for that, Francois already knows.’

Monique’s eyes rounded With horror. ‘He knows?’ she

gasped. ‘Oh my God, he doesn’t know I had anything to do

with it, does he? Elise, you didn’t tell him?’

‘Of course I didn’t tell him. And as far as I know, he has

no idea of your involvement. Now, if it’s all the same to you

I’m expecting a visitor.’

Monique stood up and pulled on her gloves. ‘Before I

leave I should like to have your word that no more harm will

come to Claudine,’ she said.

Elise didn’t even bother to hide her contempt as she

swept her eyes over Monique’s petite frame. ‘You have my

word,’ she said, ‘for what it’s worth to you.’

‘I confess, not a lot,’ Monique retorted stiffly. ‘In fact, if

anything does happen to my sister-in-law I shall know

where to come.’

‘Go home, Monique,’ Elise sighed. ‘Go home and

ponder on what Francois would say if I were to tell him how

his precious sister tried to kill his son. And while you’re

about it, do something about that pathetic jealousy of yours.

If you haven’t got the guts to use it, Monique, it’s not worth

having.’

‘And you would know, wouldn’t you, Elise?’

‘That’s right.’

‘And if I were to tell Claudine about you?’

Elise burst out laughing. ‘Is that the best threat you can

come up with? Go home to your precious nephew, and if I

were you I would start guarding him with my life.’ She

smiled at the way the blood drained from Monique’s face.

‘Now that’s what you call a threat!’ she sneered.

Of course, Elise thought when she had slammed the door

behind Monique, she would have to make it up with her.

After all, who knew when she might need her again? But this

afternoon she wasn’t in the mood to soothe Monique de

Lorvoire’s peevish conscience.

She had been on edge ever since she had received the

mysterious telephone call from a man with a German accent

telling her someone would be coming to see her on a matter

concerning Francois de Lorvoire. She wasn’t too sure why,

but a sixth sense seemed to be warning her that whatever her

visitor had to say, she should have nothing to do with it…

But she had been intrigued, all the same, and had arranged

the meeting for this afternoon. Her unknown visitor was

due in less than fifteen minutes.

An hour later, Halunke let himself quietly out of Elise’s

apartment. He noted with distaste the blood on his gloves,

and peeled them off, looking cautiously along the grey

marble landing as he did so. In an apartment downstairs

someone opened and closed a door, and he moved

instantly back against the wall. Then, when all was silent

again, he stripped off the black woollen mask and tripped

lightly down the stairs. As he reached the bottom his

stomach growled with hunger, and he chuckled quietly to

himself; raping de Lorvoire’s mistress had given him quite

an appetite.

A fleeting image came to him then, of the way he had

left her; sprawled across the floor, her mouth swollen and

bloody, her clothes in tatters and her eyes still glazed with

terror. He had given her a taste of what would happen if

she ever double-crossed the Komitee. But she wouldn’t do

that, not now they had guaranteed the death of de Lorvoire’s

wife in return for her services.

He grinned. The Pascale woman might have thought

herself clever and cunning enough to accomplish that alone

- and who could say, perhaps she would have succeeded but

she could be in no doubt now that there was a far, far

greater force controlling the fate of de Lorvoire and his

family than Elise Pascale. She, like him, was no more than

an instrument, a card in the pack, to be played when von

Liebermann judged the time right. But he, Halunke,

constrained as he was by von Liebermann, would deal the

final hand, because for him this vendetta with de Lorvoire

was as personal as it was deadly.

He got into his car and started the engine. Checking his

mirror to pull away, he was surprised to see de Lorvoire’s

sister making her way along the street towards the Pascale

woman’s apartment. He’d seen her leave, just as he arrived,

and wondered what had brought her back. But then he

dismissed her from his mind. His main concern now was

Armand St Jacques, the vigneron, who, according to the

villagers of Lorvoire, was somewhere in Burgundy. Laughing

at that he pulled out into the traffic, and wondered how

long it would be, now that the child was born, before St

Jacques succeeded in seducing de Lorvoire’s wife. Not

long, he decided, as de Lorvoire himself had seen to it that

she was easy prey. Halunke’s laughter died and his hands

tightened on the wheel. The situation between the vigneron and de Lorvoire’s wife suited him perfectly, for now, but what he really wanted to know was how long would de

Lorvoire allow it to continue?

- 15

Armand had been away from Lorvoire for almost three

months, but now he was back. He had returned three days

ago. Claudine knew because Liliane had told her, but she

hadn’t seen Armand, nor had she heard from him. She

knew he was deliberately avoiding her - and today she had

decided to put an end to it. She had left the chateau half an

hour ago and come to stand here, in the shade of the forest,

just beyond the waterfall. At the heart of the valley the

church clock rang out the midday hour, and a few minutes

later, just as Liliane had told her he would, Armand started

up through the vineyards.

Claudine watched him as, engrossed in thought, he

strolled towards her. He couldn’t see her, the sun was

behind her; and besides, he was staring down at his feet as