Page 76 of The Bordeaux Book Club
‘Hello?’ she called softly, not wanting to terrify Clemence, but even more determined not to wake the baby. She moved to the open door and looked in.
The shutters were still open and the light from the streetlamps and shop windows flooded in, making the whole room seem more yellow than white. As she stepped into the space, someone got to their feet. But it wasn’t Clemence, it was someone altogether taller, broader and – although she really liked her babysitter – much, much more welcome.
‘Peter!’ she said, ‘But you’re… you’re meant to be?—’
He stepped forward and put his arms around her. ‘What can I say?’ he told her. ‘I missed you.’
The sound of tyres on gravel sent an electric pulse of anxiety through Leah. She stood up, then sat down again, then stood up, not quite sure how to receive him. In the end, she moved to the hallway and stood, a little in from the door so as not to give him a heart attack. She wasn’t going to let a medical emergency steal her opportunity tonight.
There was a click as he locked up, and the light dimmed outside as the car shut down. There were a couple of crunches, then the clink of a key in the lock. And the door opened.
Nathan stood, gave a sigh, and removed his coat, before turning and seeing her. He jumped a little, then laughed. ‘Bloody hell!’ he said, grinning. ‘I didn’t expect you to still be up. Good group? Was the wine OK?’
Then his smile faded as he saw her expression.
‘We need to talk,’ she said.
Alfie finished his drink and put the cup on the drainer to clean tomorrow. He sent Camille a quick goodnight text, then slipped the phone back into his jeans pocket as he walked around, clicking off lights and locking up for the evening.
He paused at the entrance to his mother’s room and looked in, as he always did, to make sure she wasn’t lying there awake and in pain. But she was sleeping. He’d left the shutters open a crack and the white light of the moon – almost a full one tonight, but not quite – made its way through the opening and gave the room a dull, yet almost ethereal, glow.
She looked thin, her body barely troubling the covers at all as they lay over her. He thought again about their time here in France – how he’d hated her for bringing him here, where he didn’t know anyone and couldn’t speak the language. But how he’d come to appreciate the sacrifices she’d made for him over the years. How she’d given him the upbringing she’d hoped to share with his father, and done it away from the estate whose gangs had stolen his dad away, changed him into someone she no longer recognised.
Now he was settled, studying, able to communicate. And grateful to her for stepping away from a life that could have dragged him under. He now saw what she’d meant years ago when she’d told him it was for the best.
As he watched, she turned onto her back, and the light fell fully on her face – the narrow strip bathing her in light. He didn’t believe in God, or angels, or all the others things Camille was convinced existed. But in that moment, he felt something. Something somehow bigger than himself. Perhaps the sense that there was something out there, watching over them. Or perhapsit was just a rush of love for the woman who’d given him everything she had.
It was fleeting, but just for a second – and against the odds – he felt a flicker of hope that just maybe she would be OK.
30
‘What is it?’ Nathan said, his face furrowing in confusion. ‘Has something happened?’
Leah gave him a look that she hoped told him everything he needed to know.
But apparently not.
‘You’re scaring me now!’ he said, following her into the kitchen. ‘What’s happened?’
‘Don’t give me that,’ she said, turning, her voice coming out loud and sharp in the kitchen. ‘Come on, Nathan. I know what’s going on. I’m not stupid!’
He at least had the grace to blush at this. ‘What do you mean?’ he asked.
‘Nathan, where have you been?’
‘But you know!’ he said. ‘I’ve been for a session with Adeline. We talked about…’
She laughed – a hollow, empty sound. ‘For five, nearly six hours?’
He fell silent.
‘That’s the worst of it, isn’t it? I’ve practically given you permission for this. I am such an idiot.’
He sank into a chair, as if exhausted. ‘Sit down,’ he said. ‘Please.’
She felt the mood in the room shift and sank onto a stool, her knees suddenly weak. ‘I’ve been so stupid,’ she said. ‘It’s so obvious, isn’t it? You’re meeting up with this gorgeous woman. First behind my back – and now… well, in clear sight.’
‘It’s not like…’
