Whispers (21 page)

They all had lunch in a little café in one of the many tree-lined boulevards, by which time Jo was already planning what they should do that afternoon. Eventually they boarded the tour bus again and set off to visit the Concorde and Vendome Squares, where Jo snapped away furiously with her camera, determined to take as many photographs as she possibly could. The girls were both keen to see all the sights, and Jess didn’t mind. It was so nice to see Mel smiling again that it was worth having sore feet.

By the time they arrived back at the hotel in the early evening, Jess was tired but Jo and Mel were still raring to go.

‘What shall we do tonight?’ Jo asked expectantly as Jess eased her trainers off. They had walked for miles and she had discovered that she wasn’t as fit as she had thought she was. No doubt she would be as stiff as a board the next morning.

‘Well, before we decide on that, I’m going to have a nice long soak in the bath and see if I can get through to your dad on the phone,’ Jess replied.

At the mention of Simon, Mel frowned and so Jess hurried on, ‘I hope he’s eating properly and not working too hard.’

‘Oh, he’ll be fine,’ Jo chirped airily as she gazed from the window. ‘I’m going for a shower.’ She skipped away, closely followed by Mel who dropped onto one of the beds in their room and flipped the TV on.

Now that she had a moment alone, Jess quickly lifted the phone and dialled home, but once again the call was directed to the answer machine.

‘Damn,’ Jess cursed softly as she then tried Simon’s mobile number, but again she was put through to voicemail. ‘Hello, Simon, it’s me,’ she said, deciding to leave a message. ‘I was just ringing to check you are OK. We’re all having a great time, the girls are loving it. We’ve been to the Eiffel Tower today. Could you ring me on my mobile? Bye for now.’

She placed the phone down and sighed heavily before heading off for the bath.

She came back into the lounge half an hour later rubbing her damp hair on one of the thick fluffy towels, which were all embroidered in one corner with a golden cat, and wearing the soft dressing-gown that the hotel had provided, finding the girls curled up on the settee watching the TV in there. She was feeling refreshed and was just about to ask the girls where they would like to eat, when Mel’s mobile phone rang.

Mel took it out of the pocket of her jeans and flipped it open. ‘Hello?’ Her face set into grim lines as she listened to whoever was on the other end. ‘Yes,’ she muttered tersely in reply to whoever was speaking, and unable to contain her curiosity, Jess mouthed, ‘Who is it?’

‘It’s Dad,’ Mel replied flatly.

‘Oh!’ Jess was mildly surprised that Simon had chosen to ring Mel rather than her, but even so she reached for the phone eagerly. ‘May I have a word with him?’

Mel grunted something inaudible in reply and passed her the phone without argument.

‘Hello, love. How are you?’ she asked.

‘I’m fine,’ Simon assured her. ‘And it sounds like you lot are having a whale of a time if your message is anything to go by.’

‘We are,’ Jess assured him. ‘But I wish you were here too. Is everything all right at home?’

‘Of course it is. You’re only gone for five days, you know,’ Simon replied with a hint of amusement in his voice. ‘Alfie is pining a bit, and I think Beth is missing you all too. She’s been moping about here like a bitch that’s lost its puppy. I don’t think she understands the concept of time, so although I’ve told her you won’t be gone for long she’s still missing you all.’

‘I miss her too . . . and you.’ Jess was desperately aware of the girls
listening
in and flushed with embarrassment as Jo giggled behind her hand.

‘Right, well, I won’t keep you. This call is costing a fortune,’ Simon said, practical as ever. ‘Be careful what you get up to and have a great time and I’ll see you on Friday.’ The phone went dead in her hand and Jess handed it back to Mel feeling vaguely irritated with herself. She had forgotten to ask him why he had rung Mel and not her. But then she supposed with how bad things were between the two of them he had probably just been trying to soften Mel up, which was no bad thing.

Jo was like a cat on hot bricks again now, keen to go out and enjoy herself.

‘Is Emile coming out to dinner with us this evening?’ she asked as Jess headed back to her room to get changed.

‘No, why should he be? It was only a coincidence that we happened to bump into him today.’

‘Aw, that’s a shame then. I like Emile,’ Jo told her. ‘He seems to know all the best places to go and see.’

‘He would do, wouldn’t he, if he used to live here?’ Jess pointed out. ‘But I’m sure we shall manage perfectly well by ourselves.’

She glanced at Mel who had changed into baggy jeans and a T-shirt that looked at least two sizes too big for her. She had a lovely selection of new clothes that Jess had bought her for her birthday but always seemed to favour things that swamped her slight frame.

‘So, do you want to eat in the restaurant here again or go out?’ she asked the girls twenty minutes later when she had dried her hair and changed into trousers and a smart new red jumper.

‘I think I’d like to eat here again,’ Jo told her promptly.

Normally, Jess would have cringed as the hotel restaurant was quite expensive. But what the hell, she thought. We’re only here for another three nights so we may as well spoil ourselves.

After dinner, which was just as delicious as it had been the evening before, they wrapped up warmly and went for a walk along the banks of the River Seine. The golden leaves that had fallen from the trees crunched beneath their feet as they passed couples holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes. Jess could well understand why Paris had been nicknamed the City of Lovers. With the myriad lights sparkling off the water it was very romantic and she once more thought of Simon all alone at home.
If he
is
alone
, a little voice inside her head whispered, but she pushed the thought away.

Tuesday passed in a blur. They visited the Louvre and saw Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece, the
Mona Lisa
, and the Ancient Greek sculpture of
Venus de Milo
. They also went to see the
Winged Victory
, which had been painstakingly put back together after being found in 118 pieces on a hillside on a small island called Samothrace in the Aegean Sea. They then went to view the transparent pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre before wandering in the Tuileries Gardens. Jo was beside herself with excitement at finally seeing all the works of art that they had been talking about at school and took so many photographs that she made Jess feel dizzy.

They got back to the hotel slightly earlier that afternoon and as they were walking through the foyer they saw Emile studying a brochure on one of the smart leather settees that were dotted here and there.

‘Emile,’ Jo called as she hurried across to him. ‘We’ve had the most wonderful day.’ She immediately launched into an account of all they had done as Emile smiled at her. ‘And what are you looking at there?’ she finished breathlessly as Jess stared at her in exasperation.

He glanced at Jess with a hint of amusement in his eyes before telling her, ‘I am looking at the Night Illumination Tour. I thought I might go on it this evening. Sadly, I have to return to England on Thursday, so like you I am trying to fit in as many sights as I can.’

‘Wow! Can we go on it too, Mum? Please!’ Jo breathed.

‘I er . . . I’m sure Mr Lefavre wouldn’t want us trailing along,’ Jess said quietly, feeling desperately embarrassed.

‘Nonsense. On the contrary – I would enjoy your company,’ he told her. ‘It is so much more fun to see places of interest if you have someone to share it with.’

Feeling that she had no alternative but to go along with the plans without looking unreasonable, Jess said politely, ‘All right then. If you’re quite sure you don’t mind.’

And so it was decided. The evening actually turned out to be a great success and when they returned to the hotel they were all in fine high spirits.

‘So what shall we do tomorrow?’ Jo asked before they had even had a chance to reach the lift.

Emile grinned. ‘I am going to visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame.’

‘I’ve seen a film about that. Quasimodo, a poor hunchback, lived in the belltowers there. He fell in love with a beautiful girl called
Esmeralda
but she didn’t love him because he was so ugly,’ Mel piped up unexpectedly.

Jess couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Little by little, Mel was coming out of her shell again and was much more like her old self with every hour that passed. She had even laughed a few times today, which Jess took as a good sign.

‘Oh, Mum,
please
can we go too?’ Jo pleaded, wringing her hands dramatically.

‘Of course we can, if Emile doesn’t mind.’

‘I would be delighted to have the enchanting company of three such beautiful ladies again,’ he assured her, and then to Jess’s mortification he caught her hand and kissed it softly. ‘
À demain
– until tomorrow,’ he grinned before heading off for the bar.

Jo tittered. ‘I reckon he fancies you, Mum.’

‘Don’t be so silly,’ Jess said, going red. ‘All Frenchmen do that. It’s just like an Englishman shaking hands, that’s all.’

‘If you say so,’ Jo shot back cheekily and then she launched herself into the lift out of the way of Jess’s flailing hand.

The next morning, Jess found Notre Dame was just as beautiful as she’d expected, and realised that she was beginning to feel at home in Paris. Emile was his usual excellent company, and it was clear that the two girls had really taken to him.

‘Whereabouts in Paris did you used to live with your parents?’ Jess asked him curiously as they strolled along the rue de Rivoli.

She watched a flicker of sadness flare in his eyes as memories poured back.

‘We lived in an apartment on the Left Bank on the Rue de Grenelle. Whenever I think of it now I remember the smell of coffee and fresh croissants, and my mother’s perfume.’ He smiled ruefully. ‘My mother was a wonderful cook and was always experimenting with new recipes. She and my father were very much in love, to the point that sometimes I felt in the way, not that they deliberately set out to make me feel like that. In fairness they were very good parents and I never wanted for anything. But I often wonder if I was a mistake. You know – surplus to their requirements? They sent me away to boarding school when I was ten years old and most of my school holidays were spent in England with my aunt.’

Jess felt sorry for him as she then asked softly, ‘And have you never been married?’

He shook his head. ‘No. I have come close to it a couple of times.
Once
when I was at university and once with a young teacher at the school where I work. But when it came down to getting committed, I backed out. I suppose I just haven’t met the right person yet.’ He grinned cheekily at her then. ‘I think all the best ones are already spoken for.’

Jess blushed furiously. ‘Well, you’re still very young. There’s plenty of time,’ she told him like an old maiden aunt.

He laughed aloud, making Jo and Mel peer round to see what the joke was.

‘You must have been very young when you got married,’ he said, solemn now.

‘I suppose I was really. It seems like a lifetime ago. I shall be thirty-three next birthday.’ She said it as if that was some great milestone.

‘Then you still have a long way to go before you get a telegram from your Queen,’ he teased her. ‘I shall be thirty myself this year.’

Jess was glad now that they had met Emile. He certainly seemed to have perked Mel up, and Jess had even heard her laugh on a number of occasions during the day. But then she supposed that being a teacher, Emile was used to talking to young people and knew how to put them at ease. If only Simon had the same talent. Then Stonebridge House might not feel like such a battlefield all the time.

Her thoughts were pulled back to the present when Emile next asked, ‘And whereabouts did you say you lived?’

‘Actually we recently moved into an old house and over the last few months I’ve been trying to restore it to its former glory. My grandmother died and left me a considerable sum of money, and looking back I suppose I bought the house on a whim,’ Jess admitted. ‘It was really strange when we went to view it because from the second I set foot through the door I felt as if I belonged there.’ She smiled self-consciously. ‘I have to admit I didn’t realise the amount of work we were taking on. Simon wasn’t too keen on the place from day one, so I think I bullied him into living there really. Mel wasn’t happy about the move either. Not long after we moved in I came across an old journal that had been written by Martha Reid, a young maid who used to work there, and it’s absolutely intriguing. The house has quite a dramatic history and every time I read an entry I feel as if I’ve gone back in time.’ Jess felt that she was talking too much. ‘That’s partly why I fell in love with the place, because of its history. But there you are . . . we all make mistakes and I wouldn’t want to leave it now until I’ve done what I set out to do.’

Emile looked interested. ‘I love places with history attached to them. And you may find that by the time you’ve done all the renovations, everyone will love the place as much as you do.’

‘I can always live in hope,’ Jess muttered and then she lapsed into silence until they drew to a halt outside the hotel.

‘And what were you planning to do this evening?’ Emile asked as they all strolled into the foyer.

Jess grinned as she nodded towards Jo, who was yawning widely. ‘If that’s anything to go by I think we might order a meal to be brought to our rooms and have a quiet night. I have a feeling that this little lady is going to go out like a light.’

He nodded in agreement. ‘I think you may be right, but should you get bored, come to the cocktail bar on the top floor and I will be happy to buy you a drink.’

‘Thank you.’ She smiled at him although she had no intentions of taking him up on his offer, then she ushered the girls towards the lift and they made their way upstairs.