The French Agent by Belinda Alexandra

Author:Belinda Alexandra
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Freddy’s eyes shone with excitement when Diana passed him the present to give to his father. ‘It’s a book,’ she told him. ‘Your daddy always loved reading. Let’s go find him now.’

Casper was down by the creek, sitting on a wrought-iron bench. His face was serious and bore the frown of a man in deep thought.

‘We’ve brought you a present!’ said Freddy, eagerly taking a seat next to his father. ‘It’s a book Mummy thought you would like to read.’

Casper roused himself. ‘Really?’ he said to Freddy. ‘A book?’

Diana stood in front of them and watched as Casper opened the brown wrapping paper and slipped the book out. She waited for a smile or some indication of pleasure, but instead of looking pleased, Casper stared at the cover as if frozen in time.

‘It’s about a man who goes to the Riviera for a holiday,’ Diana explained, ‘but ends up becoming a spy. It’s been made into a movie.’

‘I like to read too,’ said Freddy, leaning in close to his father. ‘My favourite book is The Swiss Family Robinson.’

Casper stared up at Diana. His face was grim. Something was wrong. Something she didn’t understand. Why was he looking at her like that? So strange and uncertain, like a man in a trance.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked. ‘Don’t you like the book?’

He stood up, his eyes blazing with anger. ‘What are you trying to do?’ he asked her. ‘What is it that you want to say?’

His unexpected reaction sent her into a state of shock. ‘You used to like spy novels,’ she replied. ‘You were always reading them before the war. I thought you’d like this one.’

A sob threatened to break in her throat, but she was conscious that Freddy was watching. She forced herself to stay calm. Casper glanced at Freddy and his face softened a fraction. He sat down next to him and put his arm around his shoulders.

‘Don’t worry, young man,’ he said, trying to sound jolly but not succeeding. ‘Mummy bought me a book about the war, which she knows I don’t like to think about. Let’s forget about that now. Why don’t you tell me about this favourite book of yours, The Swiss Family Robinson.’

Diana looked on, humiliated. Casper had drawn an invisible cloak around himself and Freddy and shut her out. What right did he have to do that? What terrible mistake had she made? She stared at the book, now discarded on the bench.

‘It isn’t about the war,’ she said. ‘That novel was written before the war even started.’

She turned and hurried back to the house. She’d thought that giving her husband a present might make him happy. She wanted to be a pleasing wife, like Grace when she cooked Howard lamb chops. But her present hadn’t pleased him at all. In fact, it had made him angry. Was that her fault or his?

*

‘Off for another day of learning?’ Casper called to Diana and Freddy as they stepped out the front gate the following morning.

They turned to see him rushing from the house.

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