Page 57 of Thirty Days in Paris

Jean Louis shrugged. He wouldn’t look at me. The air in the room was thick with tension and the pollen from the bouquet of lilies on the console table. I could feel it coating my throat, the tiny particles blocking my airwaves and stopping me breathing.

In the background, I could hear the children laughing. I could tell her the truth. But if I did, I would be smashing up their family. I couldn’t be responsible for ruining their marriage, and the children’s lives.

If I hadn’t been able to see the very spot where Jean Louis and I had been standing in the moonlight that night, I might have brought him down with me. But what would be the point? Besides, if I hadn’t encouraged him, hadn’t twisted my fingers in his hair when he kissed me, tipped my head back while he pressed his mouth to my neck, run my fingers under his shirt to feel his warm skin, then none of it would have happened. It was my fault. I had started something I couldn’t – shouldn’t – finish, and it had run away with me. And this was my lesson.

‘I don’t know,’ I said eventually, deciding that to play dumb was the best option.

Corinne gave a bark of laughter. ‘OK. You can have it that way. I don’t need a confession. I have the evidence.’ She snapped the little box shut again and I blinked as the light from the diamonds disappeared. ‘I have booked a driver to take you to the ferry.’

‘What?’ She couldn’t be serious.

Jean Louis jumped to his feet. ‘Corinne – we should talk about this. Maybe—’

‘Maybe what?’ She gazed at him levelly. ‘We do not want a thief in our house. Looking after our children.’

There was nothing he could say. He looked at me for a moment, but I wouldn’t meet his eye. Corinne would know, in an instant, that we were complicit.

‘The driver has instructions to make sure you get on board the next boat back to England,’ she told me.

‘No!’ I shook my head, appalled.

‘If you don’t, I will call the police. They will take this very seriously.’ She held up the little box. ‘Do you know how valuable these are?’

I put my hand on my chest. I could feel my heart crashing about inside. What would the police do? Would I be arrested? Probably. The earrings must be worth thousands. My throat tightened even further as I realised I was trapped. There was nothing I could do to get myself out of this situation without unleashing something even more terrible.

I took the risk and turned to look at Jean Louis.

‘Please?’ I said, hoping it looked as if I was appealing to him for support.

Couldn’t he think of someone else to blame? Couldn’t he pretend it was a joke? Or a test he had set me to see how honest I was? Surely he wasn’t going to see me sent home? Or arrested? I was amazed that he trusted me not to give him away. He must have nerves of steel.

He met my gaze and spread his hands.

‘There is no choice,’ he said, his voice low.

I sank back down into the sofa and put my face in my hands. I didn’t want to leave Paris. I loved my life here. And I was passionately in love with Olivier.

Corinne stood up. ‘You must go and pack. The driver will be here in an hour. Please stay in your room until then.’

‘Can I say goodbye to the children?’

She gave me a withering look.

‘I will go and put them to bed,’ said Jean Louis.

I watched as he left the room, making his escape. What a coward. He didn’t even have the courage to apologise to me in private. Or to say thank you.

Corinne and I faced each other for a moment.

‘I’m very sorry. You were a great support. But what you have done is unforgiveable. I’m sure you understand.’

I couldn’t be sure if she meant the earrings or if she was alluding to Jean Louis.

She lifted her hand and pointed towards the door, indicating that I should leave.

I went to my room and pulled out my suitcase. I felt numb. I thought about running out of the door while they were with the children, but Corinne would send the police after me. Besides, where would I go? How would I explain things to Nathalie or Olivier without telling them the truth about what I had done? It was my own stupid fault, for crossing a line that should never have been crossed. My sins had caught up with me. I deserved what I had got.

I began to shiver as I packed, the shock of what was happening impacting on my body. The whole situation made my head spin. Although I could see why she wouldn’t want a thief under her roof, I was outraged that she had searched my room. What had made her suspicious? How had she known to look for something? Or was it something she did as a matter of course?

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