The Continental Affair by Christine Mangan

Author:Christine Mangan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-12T12:58:05+00:00

Before

She had a dull, throbbing headache.

They had only left the station an hour before, but already, she wished she was back in Paris. Perhaps it had been a mistake – the ticket to Istanbul, the determination to get as far away from everything she knew. She wondered whether she should have stayed.

She turned to the window, lit a cigarette, watching as the scenery drifted past.

No, she would not have been happy there. Not in a city where her mother’s shadow would have followed. It made her think, then, of her other shadow – made her smile, despite her foul mood. Louise had seen him, the man from Oran, that morning, standing on the platform – had seen the look of indecision that had crossed his face. She knew that he was debating whether or not to follow, had been startled enough by the idea that he might not that she herself had paused as she boarded the train, had caused a minor collision, the person behind crashing into her and the person behind them doing likewise. It had taken a few moments of sorting out, of apologizing profusely to the others around her, which only seemed to anger everyone more, before they were able to start again, making their way to their respective compartments.

A part of her had been furious. She wondered what had made him hesitate, whether he had finally lost interest, whether meeting her in that dim little bar in Paris had shattered whatever fantasy he may have conjured. She told herself she didn’t care, didn’t wait to see whether he decided to board, or whether he had turned around and gone back to Spain. She told herself that she hoped he had – then the money was truly hers and she had no more reason to worry.

She ground out her cigarette and stood.

If she had to sit alone in this suffocating compartment one more minute, she thought she might go mad.

In the dining car, the waiter was struggling to find a table for one.

Louise stood, trying to look more irritated than embarrassed. In truth, she didn’t know how much more rejection she could stomach. On her way to the dining car, she had done her best to look for him, taking her time, walking slowly, pausing to admire the scenery out the windows in the corridor, though she didn’t give a damn for the empty fields and trees they passed by. It reminded her too much of home. She longed instead for the city, to be back in Paris or to be arriving in the next city listed on the way to Istanbul. She tried to recall them all. Milan. Venice. Zagreb. Belgrade. Sofia. Anything was better than the empty, wide-open space that made her stomach turn.

She hadn’t seen the man from Oran as she passed the other compartments, though a few passengers had been hidden from view, curtains pulled for privacy. He could still be there, but she wasn’t as certain, not like she had been in Paris when there had been the feeling of him just behind her.

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