Page 41 of Daughters of Paris

Colette offered an arm but Fleur shoved her hands in her coat pocket.

‘How long have you been going to the cabarets?’ Fleur growled. ‘That’s where you’ve been tonight, isn’t it? You wouldn’t just go to the hotel dressed like that.’

The accusation in Fleur’s voice made Colette’s stomach tighten. She glanced down at the bottle green skirt that peeked beneath the hem of her coat. No wonder the German had mistaken her for a whore with her high heels and fur stole. She pulled her coat tighter around her, wishing she was not dressed quite so lavishly.

‘A few months,’ she admitted. ‘Not that it is any of your concern.’

‘It isn’t. But I can’t believe you lied to me!’ Fleur was pinch lipped. She looked angrier than Colette could remember seeing her. Or was it hurt that had turned her cheeks scarlet?

‘I’m sorry. I knew you wouldn’t approve.’

‘And you’re right. For good reason,’ Fleur exclaimed. ‘Do you want to risk being called a collaborator? A French whore for Germans? Don’t you care about your reputation?’

‘That’s why I kept it secret. The Luciennes aren’t good friends with my parents.’ Colette swallowed ‘Not that I imagine they’d notice I wasn’t at home anyway.’

Fleur’s expression softened at that. She knew Delphine had always been a neglectful parent.

‘Besides, if I wasn’t out tonight you would have been raped,’ Colette said.

Fleur rounded on her. ‘French women dancing with Germans is the reason they think they can have any of us!’ She lowered her head and muttered, ‘Let’s just keep walking. We’ll talk about this another time.’

They trudged on but the silence meant Colette’s mind kept returning to the body. She sought for something to say that wouldn’t cause an argument.

‘That old woman knewTanteAgnes,’ she said hesitantly.

Fleur still looked angry but made eye contact. ‘Yes. They were friends for years.’

‘Do you miss her?’

Fleur’s eyes dropped. Colette chanced putting a hand on her drooping shoulders, offering comfort. Eventually Fleur spoke in a choked voice.

‘She was my only family. She was stern and I didn’t always like her, but it’s strange to think she has gone. With everything else that has happened it’s hard to grieve though. Thank you for asking.’

‘I should have before,’ Colette admitted.

‘Perhaps when this is all over, I will find the time. It feels like our lives are on hold, don’t you think, and we’re waiting for them to start properly but they can’t.’

Colette sighed. ‘It really does.’

Fleur pointed her hand. ‘I think Sébastien is here.’

A motorbike was coming towards them. The engine was off and the rider was propelling it by pushing one foot and then the other. He pulled up alongside the women, kicked out the stand and dismounted. He was dressed in a raglan overcoat and a trilby that shadowed his face.

He and Fleur embraced tightly. Colette looked on in envy, wishing someone would hold her like that. Sébastien tipped the brim of his hat back. The lenses of glasses caught the light, giving him an unearthly appearance.

‘Tell me why you need my help?’

‘We’ll show you.’ Fleur led him to the top of the steps and pointed. ‘Down there.’

Sébastien peered down into the dark space then swore.

‘German?’

Fleur nodded. ‘We don’t know what to do with him. You were the first person I could think of,’ Fleur said.

Sébastien pulled his collar higher. ‘Report your find to the authorities and let them deal with it. They can waste their time trying to work out what happened.’

‘We know what happened,’ Fleur said. ‘Colette hit him, and he fell.’

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