Still he continued to look at the river. He wouldn’t turn – he reminded her so of Rene when he was like this, hurting inside and tearing himself apart over something.
‘I hardly knew my son, madame. Night after night I was away. Bank robbers, car thieves – murders … ah, murder, it became my specialty. Me, Jean-Louis St-Cyr, became “Monsieur the Detective”, to the boys on my street. “The famous detective.” So stupid a man, he could not see what was happening to his wife and son, that day by day they were growing more distant from him.’
‘Don’t blame yourself. It’s this lousy war, the Nazis … ah, Mon Dieu, it’s everything these days. Everything.’
She sat down beside him. ‘Was she pretty?’ she asked.
St-Cyr nodded. ‘I think I still loved her. I know I once did.’
‘And she you, also. Otherwise she wouldn’t have come home.’
Must he carry that thought with him always? Wasn’t it a time to be honest, eh? ‘She had no other place to go, since Quimper, the home of her parents, is in the Forbidden Zone near the coast.’
Gabrielle tossed her hands as if in a shrug. ‘It’s the war, just like I told you then. War throws us together or tears us apart. Me, I only know I’m glad I found you here, that it’s indicative you should have chosen this very place from among all the places you could have. Charles loved the river. We used to sit here so quietly, not saying a thing to each other, simply basking in the gentleness of its quietude and communicating in silence. We understood each other, Jean-Louis St-Cyr. It’s so rare to find that in two people, isn’t that so?’
‘The Germans buried what was left of them, madame. I must visit their graves as soon as I get back.’
It would do no good, of course. A simple gesture, that was all. What was done, was done.
He’d not listen but she’d try. ‘The front of your house is a wreck. You’ll have to stay in a hotel. Your friend has suggested we be practical, as your wages will not be stepped back up to those of a chief inspector until the end of the month.’
‘Hermann ought to keep that Bavarian nose of his out of my business.’
‘Ah, it was only a suggestion. Please don’t take such offence. For myself, I would appreciate a little sharing of the rent, for you …’ the hands were quite still, ‘I offer a roof and the use of my kitchen but only until such time as you’re better fixed, of course.’
‘Will you be going back to the Club Mirage?’
Had she made a mistake about him? ‘Me? Certainly! It’s too good a deal to let go.’
He still hadn’t looked at her. Was he afraid to? ‘That makes you sound like a collaborator?’ he said.
‘Or an entrepreneur with brains, eh? But it’s good cover, and the times … ah, what should I say? They will only become more difficult as the war with Russia turns against the Nazis, so me, I think I must begin to help the Resistance.’
She’d let it fall like a bomb. She’d meant it too. He could tell by the stillness of her, the watchfulness, that she was constantly reassessing him. She’d deliberately laid her life in his hands. To say such a thing … Thank God they were alone.
St-Cyr found the pebble of flint in his pocket and, taking it out, ran a worried thumb over it. ‘The Resistance, eh? Hermann is a good friend, madame. When this war is over I shall hate to see him go.’
Was it a warning then? ‘If you were careful …’ she began.
‘Oh, I’m careful, but with Hermann, he is like something out of a magician’s box. He has never lost someone he has set out to tail. Never! That one has glue in his blood when it comes to tailing someone.’
‘Then the Resistance is a bad idea and I must forget about it but only if you agree to stay with me.’
It took him a moment to realize what she’d done. ‘You’re blackmailing me. If I don’t take you up on your offer I might find myself inadvertently helping the Gestapo arrest you.’
‘Or something like that.’ He still hadn’t looked at her. She’d slide an arm through his. They’d sit a while in silence and listen to the river. He’d have to think it over.
‘Let’s help the Resistance and say to hell with it,’ said St-Cyr. ‘It’s time I took a more active part in things.’
There was sunlight on the far shore but then the shadows crept over it, silencing her answer and bringing their chill.