Luc sipped again.
I think she might have been exaggerating, he said with a tiny smile. You look p-pretty good to me.
No zits, either, said Armande.
He was surprised into laughter. I liked him better this way, his eyes flaring a brighter green, his impish smile oddly like his grandmothers. He remained guarded, but behind his deep reserve I began to glimpse a ready intelligence and sharp sense of humour.
He finished his chocolate but refused a slice of cake, though Armande took two. For the next half-hour they talked while I pretended to go about my business. Once or twice I caught him looking at me with a wary curiosity, the flickering contact between us broken as soon as it was made. I left them to it.
It was half-past five when they both said goodbye. There was no talk of another meeting, but the casual fashion with which they parted suggested that both had the same thought in mind. It surprised me a little to see them so alike, circling each other with the caution of friends reunited after long years of separation. They both have the same mannerisms, the same direct way of looking, the slanting cheekbones, sharp chin. When his features are in repose this similarity is partially obscured, but animation makes him more like her, erasing from them that look of bland politeness which she deplores. Armandes eyes are shining beneath the brim of her hat. Luc seems almost relaxed, his stutter receding to a slight hesitancy, barely noticeable. I see him pause at the door, wondering perhaps whether he should kiss her. On this occasion his adolescents dislike of contact is still too strong. He lifts a hand in a shy gesture of farewell, then is gone.
Armande turns towards me, flushed with triumph. For a second her face is naked in its love, hope, pride. Then the reserve which she shares with her grandson returns, a look of enforced casualness, a gruff note in her voice as she says,
I enjoyed that, Vianne. Perhaps Ill come again. Then she gives me one of her direct looks, reaching out a hand to touch my arm. Youre the one who brought him here, she said. I wouldnt have known how to do it myself.
I shrugged.
It would have happened at some time or another, I said. Luc isnt a child any more. He has to learn to do things his own way.
Armande shook her head. No, its you, she told me stubbornly. She was close enough for me to smell her lily-of-the-valley perfume. The winds changed since youve been here. I can still feel it. Everyone feels it. Everythings on the move. Whee!
She gave a little crow of amusement.
But Im not doing anything, I protested, half-laughing with her. Im just minding my own business. Running my shop. Being me.
In spite of my own laughter I felt uneasy.
It doesnt matter, replied Armande. Its still you thats doing it. Look at all the changes; me, Luc, Caro, the folks out on the river she jerked her head sharply in the direction, of Les Marauds even him in his ivory tower across the square. All of us changing. Speeding up. Like an old clock being wound up after years of telling the same time.
It was too close to my own thoughts of the week before. I shook my head emphatically.
That isnt me, I protested. Its him. Reynaud. Not me.
A sudden image at the back of my mind, like the turn of a card. The Black Man in his clock tower, turning the machinery faster and faster, ringing the changes, ringing the alarum, ringing us out of town And with that unsettling image came one of an old man on a bed, tubes in his nose and arms, and the Black Man standing over him in grief or triumph, while at his back, fire burned.
Is it his father? I said the first words which came into my head. I mean the old man he visits. In the hospital. Who is it?
Armande gave me a sharp look of surprise.
How do you know about that?
Sometimes I have feelings about people.
For some reason I was reluctant to admit to scrying with the chocolate, reluctant to use the terminology with which my mother had made me so familiar.
Feelings.
Armande looked curious, but did not question me further.
So there is an old man, then? I could not shake off the thought that I had stumbled upon something important. Some weapon, perhaps, in my secret struggle against Reynaud. Who is he? I insisted.
Armande gave a shrug.
Another priest, she said, with dismissive contempt, and would say no more.
16
Wednesday, February 26
When i opened this morning roux was waiting at the door. He was wearing denim overalls, and his hair was tied back with string. He looked to have been waiting for some time, because his hair and shoulders were furred with droplets from the morning mist. He gave me something that was not quite a smile, then looked behind me into the shop where Anouk was playing.
Hello, little stranger, he said to her. This time the smile was real enough, lighting his wary face briefly.
Do come in. I beckoned him inside. You should have knocked. I didnt see you out there.
Roux muttered something in his thick Marseille accent and crossed the threshold rather self-consciously. He moves with an odd combination of grace and clumsiness, as if he feels uncomfortable indoors.
I poured him a tall glass of black chocolate laced with kahlua.
You should have brought your friends, I told him lightly.
He gave a shrug in reply. I could see him looking around, taking in his surroundings with keen, if suspicious, interest.
Why dont you sit down?
I asked, pointing to the stools at the counter. Roux shook his head.
Thanks. He took a mouthful of the chocolate. Actually, I wondered if youd be able to help me. Us. He sounded embarrassed and angry at the same time. It isnt money, he added quickly, as if to prevent me from speaking. Wed pay for it all right: Its just the organization were having difficulty with. He shot me a look of unfocused resentment. Armande Madame Voizin said youd help, he said.
He explained the situation as I listened quietly, nodding encouragement on occasion. I began to understand that what I had taken for inarticulacy was simply a deep dislike of having to ask for help. Through the thick accent Roux spoke like an intelligent man. He had promised Armande that he would repair her roof, he explained. It was a relatively easy job which would take only a couple of days. Unfortunately the only local supplier of wood, paint and the other materials needed to complete the task was Georges Clairmont, who flatly refused to supply them to either Armande or Roux. If Mother wanted repairs to her roof, he told her reasonably, then she should ask him, not a bunch of swindling vagrants. It wasnt as if he hadnt been asking begging her to let him do the work free of charge for years. Let the gypsies into her house and God only knew what might happen. Valuables looted, money stolen It wasnt unknown for an old woman to be beaten or killed for the sake of her few poor possessions. No. It was an absurd scheme, and in all conscience he couldnt?
Sanctimonious bastard, said Roux viciously. Knows nothing about us nothing! The way he talks, were all thieves and murderers. Ive always paid my way. Ive never begged from anyone, Ive always worked?
Have some more chocolate, I suggested mildly, pouring another glassful. Not everybody thinks like Georges and Caroline Clairmont.