Page 56 of Thirty Days in Paris

And Olivier. She couldn’t pretend this wasn’t an excuse to reach out to him again.

She sat down at her laptop. There was one more chapter to write. She would have to share it with him if they had any chance of a future together, whether as friends or something more.

28

The Ingénue

A few days later, I came back from my language class to change before heading out to the cinema with Olivier. We were going to see the new Doors movie with Val Kilmer at a little cinema near his apartment. It was the perfect evening for me, for I knew I would have him all to myself, in the dark, for two hours, and I wouldn’t be too late home. Sometimes it was tiring, going out with his friends, and I would struggle to get up the next day. I had already popped Arthur into bed, and the two big ones were having some quiet time in their rooms before going to sleep.

Corinne rapped on my door. ‘I need to speak with you.’

Her face was so serious, I immediately thought there was something wrong with one of the children. ‘Les enfants?’

Irritation flickered across her face. ‘They are fine. Follow me, please.’

There was something horribly formal about her tone as she headed towards the drawing room. My heart thumped. Whatever she wanted to talk about, it was not good news. What could have happened?

Jean Louis was sitting on the far sofa going through some paperwork with a glass of wine, which he often did before dinner. He looked up as we came in, surprised.

‘Qu’est-ce que c’est?’

‘We have a little problem,’ Corinne told him, and he frowned.

‘What is it?’ I asked, wondering if one of the children had said something to worry her – but I couldn’t think what I could have done.

Then Corinne held something up in her thumb and forefinger.

A red box. A small red leather box with Cartier written on it.

I looked at her. I was not going to speak first. This felt like a trap and I was wary of incriminating myself.

‘I found this in your bedroom. In a drawer.’ She raised her eyebrows at me.

I should have hidden it somewhere better. I should have left it in my handbag. But I had been scared of being robbed, so I’d tucked it in with my underwear.

I frowned. ‘I don’t understand. Why were you looking through my things?’

Corinne’s face was hewn from stone, her eyes boring into me. ‘You know what’s inside, don’t you?’

I gave a non-committal shrug. I was playing for time. Looking for clues.

She snapped open the box and the earrings flashed their brilliance at me. Jean Louis cleared his throat nervously and crossed his arms. I looked over at him. His face creased in a combination of apology and pleading.

Don’t give me away, his eyes said.

I couldn’t tell her he’d given them to me. It was too suspicious. I had known all along that the gift was more than just a thank-you for supporting the family. It was more meaningful than that, and Corinne would know, if I told the truth, that we were hiding something.

‘I am so sad,’ said Corinne, gazing at the jewels. ‘I did not take you for a thief.’ Seef. I remembered her saying the word on the first night, with the same disdain. ‘These earrings are worth a fortune. But I guess you know that.’

‘I don’t know anything about them.’ I thought denial was the best tactic.

‘So why were they in your knicker drawer?’ Kneecker. She spat the word out like a cherry stone.

Jean Louis cleared his throat. ‘Perhaps one of the children put them there by mistake?’

It was his only attempt to come to my defence. And now he couldn’t tell her the truth. That the earrings had been a gift to me.

‘Why would they do that?’ asked Corinne.

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