Page 130 of Daughters of Paris

She went, leaving Colette staring after her thoughtfully. Fleur and Sophie came cautiously out of the bedroom.

‘I have a proposal for you both,’ Colette said. She told them of Delphine’s request. Sophie agreed immediately. She had always been envious of Colette’s spacious house. Fleur was a little more reserved.

‘It is very sudden. It feels like the world is upside down enough. Are you sure you want to live with your mother again?’

‘It wouldn’t be my first choice but it is my home. Our home. Besides, if the Allies are advancing through France, I’d rather be living on the outskirts of the city than in the centre. I don’t think anyone will be wanting to buy books for a while. We should board up the shop and go somewhere safer.’

That appeared to be the deciding factor to convince Fleur so the three women made plans for packing and moving. Everything would have to be carried by hand, though Fleur thought Elouard might know someone with a delivery van who could help, and it would take at least two days to ready the bookshop. They set on waiting another week and leaving on the first day of August.

When there was a knock on the door, two days before, Colette assumed it was someone confirming the use of the van. She opened it to find an unfamiliar man standing there.

He wore a collarless shirt, baggy trousers held up by braces and a light cotton jacket. His hair was flattened beneath a peaked cap and his face was obscured by a full beard. The eyes however, peered out at Colette from behind thick lenses. Her heart missed a beat. A loud buzzing filled her ears and the world around her receded.

‘Sébastien?’

He nodded.

‘Oh my god! I didn’t know if you were even alive!’ She lowered her voice. ‘What are you doing here? What if the Germans find you?’ She ushered him inside and up to the flat.

‘I am the least of their concerns. They are retreating across France. The Allies and the Free French are gaining ground daily.’ His face creased with worry. ‘When I saw the windows of the shop boarded up, I wasn’t sure you were still here, but then I noticed the door was ajar. What is happening?’

There was so much to tell him she didn’t know where to begin.

‘My father is dead. We are moving back to the house on Henri-Martin. Thank God you came today. Two more days and we will be gone.’

‘That’s good. There will be fighting but another day or two and we will have the city. Paris will be ours again. Is Fleur here with you? Are she and Laurent still involved? I can’t stay long.’

Colette nodded, then shook her head, not sure which question she was answering. She wasn’t even sure he was real and if she reached out to touch him, he might vanish. Fleur came out of her bedroom.

‘Colette? Who was at the door? Did I leave it unlocked downstairs?’

She stopped, shrieked, and displaying none of Colette’s indecision, ran to Sébastien and flung her arms around him.

‘Oh my god, you are alive! How wonderful! I’m so pleased to see you. Where have you been?’

‘I’ve been in Brittany. I went back to where I came from. It seemed the obvious place to go, to get as far away from Paris.’ His face darkened. ‘There’s been a lot more collaboration there than in Paris. Perhaps it is the nature of small towns. Then, when the allied troops landed in Normandy in June, we knew it was not going to be so long before they began to make headway through the rest of the country, so I came back here. If there is going to be a battle, I wanted to fight it here.’

Fleur nodded. ‘Yes, I understand.’

‘Do you have to go fight?’ Colette asked. Her heart began to race at the thought of him being taken from her again. He straightened his back. Behind the familiar glasses, his eyes grew steely.

‘Of course I do. Every man and woman will be needed.’

‘I know how to fire a gun. I want to help too,’ Fleur said.

‘Absolutely not. You stay indoors where you are safe. I want you to look after my wife.’

‘Your wife?’ Colette felt sick.

Sébastien met her eyes and grinned. ‘Well, that’s slightly premature, but I hope you will be as soon as I can find a time to get somebody to marry us. Perhaps if the British get this far, or the Americans, I’ll ask an army chaplain. I’ve met one or two.’

‘Are you proposing to me?’ Colette asked. Again, it was not the way she had ever imagined it. Before he could answer, Louise woke up and began to shriek happily in the bedroom. Sébastien stiffened.

‘What’s that?’

Colette grew tense. Of course he had no idea that she had kept the baby. She had promised to give up the child. He might turn on his heel and walk away and she would never see him again.

Her voice shook as she answered. ‘That’s my daughter.’

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