Beyond the Green Hills by Anne Doughty

Author:Anne Doughty [Anne Doughty]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780749017804
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2014-09-20T04:00:00+00:00

It was almost midnight when Clare arrived back at her apartment. Sitting over coffee, Robert had looked at his watch, spoken of the busy day she’d have tomorrow, asked if she were tired. It was perfectly obvious he’d no more wish to end the evening than she had, so she shook her head and scolded him gently for even mentioning work.

Only when the other diners disappeared and the waiters began to walk past their table, discreetly but a little more frequently, did they rise reluctantly and move out into the palm-filled foyer.

‘I should like us to dine regularly, Clare, if you are happy with the idea, but on one condition,’ he said, as her taxi drew up at the kerb.

‘And what is that?’

‘That we dine only when none of your admirers are available. You have very few evenings at leisure in Paris.’

‘And what if I prefer to dine with you?’

He opened the car door, made sure the hem of her dress was well clear of the sill and stood looking down at her.

‘I should be honoured,’ he said, with a slight bow. ‘I fully intend to enjoy your company until I am forced to part with you. Sleep well, my dear.’

The lights on the river gleamed in the velvety darkness as Clare settled herself in her chair by the window. She knew she should be in bed, but it had been such a remarkable evening she knew she couldn’t possibly sleep. She would need to settle some of the thoughts whirling around in her head like the tiny moths circling the street lamp a little way along the quay.

How extraordinary it was that two people could get to know each other so well in one evening. Not only had they shared life histories, but they had spoken openly about even the most painful parts. They had moved on from the sadness of loss to her long relationship with Andrew and how the heartbreak of Edward’s death had changed everything between them. He listened with a kind of attention she had not encountered before, even with dear Marie-Claude. She felt almost as if she was talking about Andrew for the first time, seeing her experience through the eyes of someone much older, yet able to understand her feelings.

She’d been shy of asking him how he’d managed to cope after he lost his wife and daughter, but he had been remarkably open and easy about it. Work, he said, was what had helped him through. Asserting his own right to life, despite his heartache.

‘I had one wise friend who had faced great loss many years earlier,’ he began. ‘It was he who told me I must act. He said I’d often feel that what I was doing was a waste of time, that it brought no pleasure, or joy, but nevertheless I must act, believing that it would make a difference. And it did. I was successful in the work I chose and he was right. From time to time, I have felt both pleasure and joy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.