‘I understand. It’s not our intention to ruffle any feathers.’
It didn’t take long for the old woman to shuffle off, and Blake watched her leave, imagining how quickly gossip would spread through Provins about the English girl who’d come with fresh whispers of Evelina having a daughter. It was bound to cause quite a stir, of that she was almost certain, and she knew that there was no way the old woman was going to keep such news to herself.
‘Well, I don’t know about you,’ Henri said, ‘but all I can think about is how much I want to get my hands on a bottle of that perfume.’
‘The name of the perfume has to relate to my grandmother, don’t you think?’ Blake asked. ‘And the sign in the rose gardens at the very beginning, presumably the rose that was used for theperfume, it has to be for her. I wasn’t sure before, but it must have been for Evelina’s daughter.’
‘It’s like she came back here and dedicated everything she did thereafter to her daughter,’ Henri mused. ‘Or at least, that’s what it seems like to me.’
‘But why didn’t she just keep her? Why didn’t she bring her home with her?’
‘That’s something you’ll most likely never know. All I can suggest is that it was a different time, and perhaps it simply wasn’t done then? Or maybe she dedicated everything to her daughter as a way of coping with her regrets?’
‘Maybe,’ Blake said. ‘But now I have more questions than answers, even though I know so much more than I did yesterday.’
She took her phone out and snapped a couple of photos of the gravestone, and she would get Henri to take some photos of her standing by the roses before they left. She had enough to create some great material; she only wished that she’d been able to find someone who’d known about how she came to be parted from her daughter.
‘Hopefully my mother will have discovered more while we’ve been gone—she said she still had a few calls to make,’ Henri said, holding out his hand for her. She clasped her palm to his as they walked. ‘I know you feel like you don’t have the answers yet, but don’t give up.’
She leaned into him as they walked, grateful to not be on the journey alone. Although it wasn’t lost on her that she would have to return to London soon, which meant that this might be one of her last days with Henri.
How could she bear to leave him now?
19
PARIS, 1939
Evelina felt as if she’d been waiting all day for Antoine to arrive—even after almost two years together, she still found herself anxious to see him, always looking forward to his visits. She’d been hoping to see him all week, but he hadn’t been to see her for three days. It wasn’t unusual, given the separate lives they led; what was unusual was her hovering near the window, nervously wringing her hands and looking out over the street, hoping to see his figure approaching. She knew his usual routines: sometimes he’d call in and see her early evening, other times he’d come in the afternoon and she’d drop whatever she was doing to have lunch with him, and every so often he’d call very late after a business dinner. Which meant she’d spent endless hours peering out, day and night, listening and pacing. She’d even fleetingly considered going past his office under the pretence of a business meeting, but then thought better of it.
Tonight, she’d finally seen his car pull up outside, and her breath had caught in her throat. Evelina had prepared herself just in case, and was ready to see him, but she still dashed to her bedroom and checked her appearance in the mirror, patting down her hair and dabbing a little more Chanel No. 5 to her decolletage. She turned in her dress, made in a soft silk thatclung to her like a second skin. It had been one of the most popular dresses from her last collection, which in turn meant it had earned Antoine a lot of money; she wasn’t sure if that’s why he liked it on her so much, or if it was her body beneath it that he admired. Either way, she’d thought it was the right choice to wear it, in anticipation of seeing him, to set the tone and make sure that he was in a good mood before she told him what she needed to share.
‘Evelina?’ his deep voice echoed from the door, both soothing her and making her nervous all at the same time.
‘Coming!’ she called back, taking a deep breath and studying her reflection one last time.I can do this. He loves me, he’ll be happy for us.
She hurried out and saw that he was holding flowers, as well as a box of her favourite chocolates. ‘It’s not my birthday,’ she said, slipping her arms around his waist and kissing him on the mouth. ‘But you know that I love it when you come bearing gifts.’
He held his arms up around her, still holding the gifts and kissing her back. When she broke away, he passed them to her, his smile reaching his eyes as if he was the happiest man on earth as he stared down at her.
‘This is my way of apologising for not coming to see you,’ he said. ‘I’ve missed you, more than you could possibly believe.’
‘And I’ve missed you,’ she said. ‘But you shouldn’t have. It’s you I look forward to seeing, not what you buy for me.’
She took the flowers and set them aside, intending on filling a vase with water after she’d spoken to him. The chocolates she held for a moment longer, holding them up and inhaling. Sugar wasn’t something she’d had very often growing up, and she appreciated it all the more now she had the means to buy it for herself, or in this case have it gifted to her. ‘We shall have them in bed together, after dinner. How does that sound?’
Antoine laughed and stepped towards her again, dropping a kiss into her hair. ‘I knew the chocolates were a great idea, I just didn’t know why.’
He loosened his tie and looked around, and she wondered what he was thinking. Was he wondering if she’d had anyone else there while he was absent?
‘Antoine, I have something to tell you,’ Evelina said, moving to the bar to pour him a glass of his favourite brandy as she spoke. She realised how nervous she was, having waited for days to share her news. It would have been so easy to hold her tongue and not say anything, but she didn’t know when she’d see him again, and it was his news as much as it was hers.
‘Good news?’ he asked, leaning in for another kiss before taking the drink, his other hand running down her back and resting on her bottom. Evelina knew what he wanted, but if she didn’t tell him now, she was worried she’d lose her nerve.
She touched his arm and led him to the sofa, her leg grazing his as they sat down together. Evelina waited until he’d sipped his drink before saying anything more.
‘So, what’s this news you have to share? You look nervous. Is it about your new drawings? Because I’m sure they’re fabulous—you’re becoming more and more confident with your ideas.’
She took a breath, reaching for his glass and taking a small sip, before meeting his gaze, wanting to see his reaction as she told him.
