City of Dreams by Harriet Steel

Author:Harriet Steel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: coming of age, family saga, french, paris, european
Publisher: Harriet Steel

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Months passed and any deepening of my relationship with Karl still eluded me. The only time I felt close to him was in the darkness of our bedroom, and that intimacy vanished with the morning light. He made it clear he didn’t want me to have a child so it was fortunate I had Mariette to advise me on ways of avoiding pregnancy. When my courses came each month, I always felt a huge sense of relief. I was terrified of what Karl would make me do if an accident occurred. I knew the laughter of children would have no place in his immaculate, beautiful house.

Mariette brushed my anxieties aside in her usual brisk fashion.

‘Your problem is that you hanker for love, Anna,’ she said. ‘Karl’s no different from lots of men.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Well, a bit worse perhaps, being a Prussian. He has boxes in his life and you fit into the one labelled ‘mistress’. You will just have to accept that he has nothing more to give.’

She gestured to the room. ‘Isn’t all this enough?’

‘I know it should be, but . . .’

‘I understand, really I do. Being a mistress isn’t always a bed of roses. But don’t despair; you’ll find your special someone one day. Look how I had to wait.’

She smiled. ‘Péri and I will soon cheer you up. Come out with us like you used to. If Péri doesn’t have to be at the theatre, we go somewhere most evenings.’

‘I’d love to but I’m not sure whether Karl would approve of me going anywhere without him.’

Mariette snapped her fingers. ‘Why does he need to know? He often goes away on business, doesn’t he? Anyway, there’d be no harm in it.’

I smiled. ‘Thank you, Mariette. I’ll think about it.’

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