Page 71 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure
“I’d say we are well rid of her,” Mavis said.
“If we have her arrested, then this child has no chance of ever returning to her mother. She’ll go straight into an orphanage and maybe a loving family will never be found for her.”
“So you’re thinking that we could be that loving family?” Mavis asked.
“For now, anyway. Poor little innocent babe. At least we can love her.” Ellie picked up the baby and nuzzled her against her cheek, smelling that sweet smell of talcum powder and baby softness.
Ellie visited the doctor and learned to make a formula from evaporated milk, sugar and boiled water. She drove into Marseille and purchased baby bottles and a good supply of cans of milk. Jojo seemed to tolerate it well, but it didn’t take Ellie long to realize that motherhood is for the young. Jojo woke every three hours, demanding to be fed. Her loud protests echoed through the house, disturbing the sleep of all three women.
“You need a rest,” Dora said over breakfast one morning. “Let me get up in the night to her. You look quite ragged.”
“Oh Dora, you have your own health problems. You need your rest, and I’m afraid this is disturbing you. I try to wake to anticipate Jojo’s needs, but then I doze off.”
“As for my health problems, my doctor told me I only had a few months before my heart gave out. I should point out that it’s been six months, and I’m still going strong. So maybe he was wrong, or maybe this climate has worked miracles. Or maybe just being with you, where I feel cherished and wanted, has made all the difference.”
Ellie put a tentative arm around her, as Dora was not one who had demonstrated physical contact before. “Dora, I’ve been so glad to have you here with me. You’ve made all the difference to such a difficult time. Instead of feeling lost and worthless I’ve never felt more alive and hopeful. Let’s hope the miracle has happened and you live another twenty years.”
Dora gave a snort. “I don’t see that happening, but I am making the most of the present. And I suppose that child will grow out of her nightly wailing soon enough.”
“Let’s hope so,” Ellie said. “She is putting on weight nicely.”
“But in the meantime take a day to yourself. You’ve been washing nappies, making formula and running yourself ragged.” She gave Ellie a little push. “Go on. We can cope. Go and buy yourself a magazine and a pastry and sit on a rock somewhere.”
“Like the Lorelei on the Rhine?” Ellie laughed.
“Singing for your fisherman, no doubt.”
Ellie gave her a withering glance. “Just because I went out in a boat with him once does not make him my fisherman. If you want to know, I find him quite intriguing. He is certainly not your average peasant.”
“Of course not. He’s a smuggler. We’ve all said so. Maybe you should confront him about it.”
“Dora, if he brings in cigarettes or brandy from Italy via Corsica, is that such a terrible thing?”
“Or guns? Or drugs?”
“Oh no. I’m sure he wouldn’t do that,” Ellie said, but she hesitated.How can I be sure?she wondered. And yet she didn’t want to ask him, because at that moment any trust would be broken. He’d no longer use the shed, or ever take her out in a boat again.
Chapter 28
Ellie walked down the steps into Saint-Benet. It was a perfect spring day, birds chirping, seagulls whirling, the air full of the scent of blossoms. She did as Dora had suggested and bought herself a pain au chocolat from the bakery.
“And how are mother and baby faring?” Madame Blanchet, the baker’s wife, asked. Nothing escaped the notice of the residents of the village.
“The baby is thriving,” Ellie said. “The mother has gone off and abandoned her. We’re taking care of the child until she comes back for her.”
“If she comes back for her,” the baker’s wife said with a knowing look. “I know these young girls. All they want is a good time. No responsibility. My own younger one is the same—my Giselle. Head in the clouds about bright lights and city life. Wants to go off and be a fashion model for Chanel. Have you ever heard of anything so stupid? I tell her, ‘Be happy like your sister Gabi. Look at her, settled with that nice Luc and already two babies.’ But she doesn’t listen to me or my husband. I don’t know what will happen when she leaves school ...” She paused, wiping down her apron. “I’d say you’re stuck with the child. But there’s an orphanage in Marseille you could think about.”
“Oh no,” Ellie said. “I couldn’t put Jojo in an orphanage. We’ll raise her if we have to.”
“Then I wish you good luck,” the baker’s wife said. “It’s not easy raising a child these days, especially at your age.”
Ellie came out with her croissant and headed towards the harbour.At my age,she thought angrily. Did she really look old now? Did she feel old? Then she had a brilliant thought: Nico had told her she could take the boat out if it was not being used. She knew where he hid the key. It was a beautiful, calm day. She would do it! Feeling self-conscious and a little silly, Ellie climbed down into the boat, retrieved the key from its secret hiding place, and started the motor. It sprang to life right away with a satisfyingpop pop pop. Holding her breath she eased it out of its berth, managed to turn it to face the exit and crept forwards until the harbour walls were passed. Then she pushed the throttle, feeling the boat pick up speed. She had no intention of the type of speed that Nico had used but kept going until Saint-Benet was far behind. The chain of small islands grew closer, and she steered for the first one, interested to get a better view. From her terrace at the villa, they all looked like inhospitable lumps of cream-coloured rock. Now she saw that the biggest one showed patches of green. Surely nobody lived there, because she had never seen a boat going to and from the shore. She slowed the boat to a crawl as she approached the first island. It was indeed a rocky crag with limestone cliffs rising steeply and a colony of seabirds wheeling above it. Nowhere to land here. Not coming too close to shore, she eased slowly around it, wary of unseen rocks.
It was the change in wind direction that made her look back. The shore seemed remarkably far away, and black clouds had now gathered over the mainland mountains, rapidly swallowing up the sky. Within minutes a chill wind was blowing directly at her. Waves slapped against the boat. She remembered Nico’s admonition to keep the boat facing the waves, so she steered it towards that distant shore. How was she going to make it back? Then she looked towards the biggest island and saw, miraculously, a jetty. So it was inhabited, or at least people came over for picnics. As she came nearer, she saw that it might well be some kind of park. There were steps going up, a trellis, a bench and flowering shrubs. Giving a silent prayer of thanks, she managed to tie up the boat and climb out and was mounting the steps when the first harsh drops of rain fell.
Within minutes the sky opened. There was a rumble of thunder, then hail began bouncing around her like ping-pong balls. Ellie looked around for shelter. Ahead of her were cultivated gardens, an orchard, and in the background some kind of rambling grey stone building. Thunder crashed overhead, and there was a flash of lightning. No use trying to find shelter amongst the trees of the orchard, then. Covering her head with her hands in a futile attempt to keep off stinging hail, she ran up the gravel pathway. There was an archway halfway down the side of the building, and Ellie staggered into it, gasping for breath, freezing cold and drenched. At least she was out of the rain here, but someone had to live in this building and would offer her a chance to shelter and dry off. As she stood there, she heard the sound of chanting ... sweet, melodic tones that cut through the fury of the storm.
For a moment Ellie considered the fact that she might have died and that this was some kind of transition to the afterlife. Then she laughed at the absurdity of her own mind. She came through the archway and found herself in a courtyard with arched cloisters along one side. The chanting came from behind the tall doors at the far end. She started towards it but had only gone a few steps when a hooded figure stepped out in front of her. She gasped, took an involuntary step back and sat down heavily on a bench against the wall. The figure loomed over her. Before she had time to consider whether it was a ghost, it said, in a deep man’s voice, “What are you doing here? You must not be here. Leave immediately.”
