The Girl from Vichy by Andie Newton

Author:Andie Newton [Newton, Andie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781789546675
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Published: 2020-08-12T16:00:00+00:00

16

Papa and Gérard walked straight toward me. I had only just walked up the Hotel du Parc with Gérard’s lunch hanging from my arm. I pulled the lapels of my wool coat tightly across my chest, eyeing them, a late autumn breeze swirling crinkled leaves around my ankles. The last time I saw Gérard and Papa talking just by themselves was the day I found out about my marriage plans. The sight of them so close together didn’t sit right with me, despite the understanding I had with Gérard.

‘Hallo,’ I said as Papa kissed my cheeks. ‘Ça va?’

Gérard smiled, leaning in to get his kisses after Papa.

‘Adèle,’ Papa said. ‘Would you mind helping Charlotte at her boutique during the week? You won’t be able to visit Gérard at lunchtime any longer, but we had a talk and it is all right.’

‘What?’ I was pleasantly surprised.

‘Her husband left for Paris again, business for the government.’ Papa smiled. ‘And he’ll be gone for a few months. As much as it pains me to take you away from Gérard during the lunch hour, I worry about Charlotte working alone in that boutique he bought her.’

‘Because of the stillbirth?’ I said.

Papa’s eyes narrowed. I know I shouldn’t have said it out loud and in front of Gérard. A woman’s inability to carry a child might run in the family. God forbid if he entertained such thoughts. ‘I know I’m next door, but it’s not the same—she’d never ask me for help.’

Gérard’s teeth bulged from his lips. ‘What’s the name of the shop?’ He chuckled, but I wasn’t sure why.

‘It’s a boutique,’ I said, ‘for expecting mothers.’

Gérard just smiled.

I turned to Papa. ‘Of course, I’ll help Charlotte.’

‘Thank you, ma chérie—’

Gérard elbowed his way between us. ‘This actually works for me too, Adèle.’

‘It does?’ I said.

‘As it turns out, I’d like to start seeing you in the evenings. There’s a soirée tonight at Antoine’s brasserie and I need a date—important people, that sort of thing—maybe spending some real time with the police will rub off on you.’

‘An evening date?’ I smiled to hide my worry, imagining what it will be like spending a whole evening with him, when it’s dark. ‘How nice.’

‘Wear a formal gown, but not too glitzy—don’t want you looking like a prostitute. I’ll send a car for you—and don’t say anything unless talked to first…’

As Gérard rambled on about what I should and shouldn’t do at the soirée, I caught a glimpse of what Papa had already noticed: a tired old woman sitting on the kerb in the courtyard across the street from the Hotel du Parc. Behind her was a Morris Column adorned with posters of Pétain’s face instead of the nightclub advertisements it had been built for. She sat with her legs open, bent at the knee. Her dirty hands picked at the patches of skin visible through the holes in her woolly stockings—the only garments she had on under her skirt.

Gérard was in the middle of telling me about the jewellery I should wear when he turned around to see what had caught our attention.

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.