The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson

Author:Imogen Robertson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2013-01-30T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 5

10 January 1910

If it had been a fine day Tanya would have had some warning, but the rain had been falling steadily, thin and unbroken all morning, so Passage des Panoramas was unusually full when she left Lafond’s at midday. There was a slightly low feeling in the air. The shop windows were offering discounts on Christmas goods and everything seemed a little shabbier, more grey than was usual in Paris, but still the Parisians came out in flocks to shop and crowd into the covered passageways to hunt for pretty bargains out of the rain. At times like these, when the gold and black shop-fronts and the polished mosaic floors were hidden by crowds of silk-lined coats, and the thick low bodies of the men seemed to press near to her, Tanya felt smothered.

Now she was free of the distractions of her work, the image of Perov in evening dress making his proposal returned to her. Thinking of it was like pressing on a bruise. He had come to dinner with her and her aunts as a close family friend, as if the thing were settled already. He had enjoyed his port and cigar, then as soon as he came into the drawing room to join her and her aunts at the tea-table, Vera and Lila had remembered urgent errands in other parts of the house and left them alone. Perov took a seat next to her, made himself comfortable and began to speak as if their marriage were already agreed. He spoke of where in Paris they might live and the size of house he thought suitable; it was some minutes before Tanya could interrupt him.

The memory was strongly tainted by the smell of cigar smoke, the stale sweetness of wine on his breath. Eventually she managed to break in and ask for more time before committing herself to be his wife. He was offended, pursing his lips and blinking rapidly. Only when she forced herself to smile shyly and ask submissively for his patience and understanding did he seem mollified. At no time did he express any sort of feeling for her. He was telling her the result of his negotiations with her family, not asking for her love. Tanya thought of her father and her aunts, the comforts and security of her life. The idea of being without them made her afraid. She had never met a problem before that could not be solved with money. How could she make problems go away without it?

Paul Allardyce she had seen only once since New Year, once again while walking in the Bois and with her aunts on either side of her. She could only thank him for the roses and look at him with a sort of desperate appeal, but he looked at her as if she was something he had already lost. At this thought, she turned her eyes upwards to the glass and ironwork roof of the passage, the light grey and the glass

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