Secrets of Paris: A Novel by Luanne Rice

Author:Luanne Rice
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Sagas, Fiction, Contemporary, General
ISBN: 9780553587838
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2011-01-25T05:28:43.266013+00:00

Never had Paris seen such a crowd of people. Never has the city been so aroused, so intent on a spectacle.

—TO FRANÇOISE-MARGUERITE, JULY 1676

“IT MIGHT BE possible,” Lydie said to Kelly. They sat in a café overlooking the Beaubourg Center. Lydie drank tea, Kelly drank Coke. “Mr. Morrison was nice on the phone, very sympathetic when I told him about you.”

“What did you tell him?” Kelly asked.

“That you are a Filipino, in Paris illegally, that I want to take you to the United States. I told him that you are my assistant.”

“Your assistant? How do I assist you?”

“That’s what we have to discuss.” Lydie spoke softly, in case some of the Americans jamming the café were embassy spies.

Kelly stared into her Coke, trouble evident in her eyes. “Lydie,” she said. She glanced up at Lydie, then averted her eyes again.

Lydie waited, holding herself back. She knew she could make this too easy for Kelly. She could imagine taking over, devoting herself night and day to Kelly’s cause as if it were a religious mission. It would distract her from Michael, and when it was over, she would feel like a hero. But it was Kelly’s cause, not Lydie’s, and Lydie could only help her along with it.

“Lydie, what about my fish market?” Kelly asked after a moment.

“I don’t really expect you to be my assistant,” Lydie said, smiling. “It’s just something I thought up for the authorities. You can still have your fish market.” She withdrew some papers from her briefcase.

“Is that the petition?” Kelly asked.

“Yes,” Lydie said, handing it to her. A green-haired boy stood before them, juggling shoes. Four high heels and a man’s sneaker. Lydie couldn’t take her eyes off him, but Kelly was mesmerized by the petition. Her thumb traced the words “United States Department of Justice.” When he passed the sneaker, Lydie fished some francs out of her pocket.

“We have to fill that out,” Lydie said.

“It’s just four pages long,” Kelly said, sounding perplexed.

Naturally she would expect more, Lydie realized, watching her. A document that could change her life’s course, make her wish come true, should be many pages long. “Did you know that you have to be interviewed by someone from the embassy?” Lydie asked.

“I have heard that.”

“Mr. Morrison said that your being illegally in France causes problems. If you show up at the U.S. Embassy without a proper visa to be here, they have an obligation to report you to the French police.”

Kelly looked at her helplessly. “And they would deport me to the Philippines?”

“It’s possible,” Lydie said. “One option would be for you to return to the Philippines on your own, to file the petition there.” This seemed impossible to Lydie; she hated to even suggest it, but Morrison had said it might be the best bet.

“I would do that,” Kelly said, a smile spreading across her face.

“What would happen if you went back?” Lydie asked, shocked by Kelly’s happiness.

“I would see my home and the rest of my family. But I would have hope of going to the United States.

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