Darkest Longings (44 page)

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