Page 18 of Thirty Days in Paris

The Ingénue

Nathalie led me through the winding narrow streets north of the language school.

‘This is the Marais. It’s the cool place to be. It’s not chichi or up itself. It’s got an edge to it.’

The quartier certainly felt more mysterious, with its mismatched medieval shopfronts that seemed to lean in on each other, not like the rigidly upright Haussmann buildings in most of Paris. I felt as if I was being led into another world, possibly a dangerous one, but I’d have followed Nathalie to the ends of the earth at this point. She stopped eventually, outside a small bar painted dark green, with bicycles lined up outside, wedged between a patisserie and a jeweller.

Nathalie marched in as if she owned the place, and I trailed behind her, somewhat apologetically. I didn’t feel as if I belonged somewhere like this. The bar was dark, atmospheric, smoky and full of people who looked as if they had torn themselves away from writing or painting a masterpiece. Nathalie began to greet them, which took a while, with the requisite two kisses on each cheek, and as she introduced me, I had to go through the ritual too. I tried my best not to feel awkward, but no one batted an eyelid at kissing this stranger from England.

‘How do you know these people?’ I asked as she sat down at a table.

‘Just from around,’ she said airily.

She ordered a bottle of wine without asking me what I wanted. I baulked.

‘A whole bottle? In the afternoon?’

‘Why not?’

‘I can’t go back half drunk!’

‘It’s fine – this is France. People expect you to have had a drink. It would be weirder if you hadn’t.’

Nathalie happily poured us each a hefty slug and then raised her glass to me.

‘Cheers, classmate. Now, I want to know everything about you.’

‘Honestly, there’s nothing much to tell. I’m really boring.’

She was looking at me with narrowed eyes. ‘Tell me about the family you’re with.’

‘Well, they seem very nice.’

She laughed. ‘You’re so polite. So English. Come on. Spill.’

‘Well, the dad is very charming. Very handsome. Very nice clothes.’

‘Very French. What about his wife?’

I made a face. ‘She’s stunning. But I’m a bit scared of her.’

‘Don’t be.’ Nathalie pointed at me. ‘She needs you more than you need her.’

‘I don’t think she wants me there at all. I think it was her husband’s idea to get an au pair.’

‘She’s very lucky. To have her very own Mary Poppins. What what?’ She put on a faux-English accent.

I laughed. ‘Yes. But without the magic bag or the talking umbrella.’ I sighed. ‘The children are adorable, though. I didn’t think I’d know what to do with kids, but they’re really sweet. And they seem to like me.’

It was strange, how they’d attached themselves to me already. Maybe I was a novelty. Maybe they knew I’d let them get away with things their parents wouldn’t. I knew I was a soft touch.

‘Well, that’s because you’re adorable yourself,’ Nathalie told me, and I glowed at the compliment. ‘I would have loved a nanny like you.’ She slouched back in her chair with a sigh. ‘I was just stuck in front of the TV all day.’

‘That’s normal, isn’t it? My aunt sticks my cousins in front of the telly from six o’clock in the morning.’

‘Yeah. But I bet they’re not left on their own, right?’

‘No. Of course not.’ I was shocked at the thought. ‘Were you?’

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