‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘I’m so, so sorry.’ Hope wrapped her arms around him, holding him until his body began to soften, her cheek to his chest. Her heart felt like it was going to break as she sensed a shudder of emotion pass through him, before he cleared his throat and held her tight.
‘What does he want?’ she asked, as she pulled away enough so that she could gaze up at him.
‘He wants us to stop what we’re doing,’ Gus said. ‘He wants me to fall back in line and work for him, to do what he tells me to, and I’m afraid that if I don’t…’
Hope stared at his face, waiting. ‘If you don’t,what?’ she asked, her breath catching in her throat as she wondered what he was about to say.
He tightened his hold on her, his mouth against her hair as he let out a breath. ‘If I don’t, I’m worried he will try to put the blame on you, and I won’t stand by and let him do that to you, Hope. I won’t.’
Hope trusted him more than she trusted anyone else in the world, and the months she’d spent with Gus had been the happiest of her life. But if his father was capable of doing this? If he would do this to his son? Then she didn’t want to gamblewith what he might do to her, especially not now that she was expecting. Because she knew that if he put the blame on her, the consequences would result in her arrest.
‘Why don’t we clear up all the mess?’ she asked, as he pressed a kiss to her head. ‘I can’t stand the thought of leaving it looking like this.’
When she glanced up at Gus, at the light dancing across his face from his torch, she saw his hesitation.
‘Come on,’ Hope said, pulling away. ‘Let’s at least sweep up the glass and put everything right,’ she said.
Gus stood for a long time without moving before finally coming over to help her. But as she reached for a broom, she caught sight of one bottle that was unbroken, on the edge of the bench. She reached for it and tucked it into the pocket of her coat. It was all they had left from their months of hard work, and she wasn’t leaving it there.
Hope knew that their situation was even worse than she’d thought when Gus came to her the following day, his hands fisted at his sides and anguish written across his face.
‘You’re leaving?’ she asked. ‘Please, Gus, there must be another way.’
‘The only way we can survive this is by getting as far away from here as possible,’ Gus said. ‘I need to secure our customers and assure them that nothing will change, that we will still fulfil their orders. I need to look for somewhere else for us to work from, somewhere my father won’t find.’
‘But what if I’m not safe here?’ Hope asked, as panic rose inside her.
‘If I’m not home in four days, or if anything happens when I’m gone, then you take all the money from the safe and go,’ he said, folding her in his arms, his lips warm against her forehead. ‘You go to the little hotel on the outskirts of town. You’ll be safe there, and I’ll know where to find you.’
‘But what if you don’t come back?’ Her voice was barely louder than a raspy whisper.
‘I’ll come back,’ he said, his voice as steely and strong as hers had been soft. ‘That’s not something you ever need to worry about.’
She nodded, knowing there was nothing she could say or do that would change anything. All she knew was that she didn’t trust his parents, that there was no way they were going to accept her, no matter what Gus might think. Especially not now.
24
PRESENT DAY
Mia reached for Joe’s hand as he spoke quietly to translate the conversation that was unfolding, and it wasn’t the first time she was frustrated by her lack of French.
‘Does she believe me, that this is mine? That I didn’t steal it from anyone?’ Mia asked.
‘I think she’s starting to understand, but she wants to ask someone else to join her. She’s calling her son to come and meet us, and she wants us to wait until then.’
Mia nodded and thanked the woman, and they went to sit in Joe’s car while they waited. It wasn’t the warmest reception, but at least she was willing to talk, and there was still a chance they might find out more.
‘Is there anything else you’ve pieced together about your aunt that might help, if she has questions?’ Joe asked.
She leaned her head back into the seat, drawing her knees up and hugging them to her chest. ‘I have a picture of her life after she opened Hope’s House, and the other women who were left boxes have found out bits and pieces that they shared with me,’ she said. ‘But it’s the why that I’ve found difficult, that I have so many questions about. Why would a woman leave France alone to move to another country? What would make her dedicate herlife to others, and not have a family of her own? I just feel like I’m so close, but at the same time so far away.’ Mia groaned. ‘It’s like trying to figure out the answer to an annoying riddle, and never quite being able to get it.’
They sat a little while longer, both staring out of the window, when Mia turned to Joe. She didn’t know how much longer she had with him, whether she’d be back in London within a day or two, and she found herself wanting to know more about him before they had to say goodbye.
‘Joe, when we were at your mother’s house the other day, your sister mentioned a past relationship.’
‘Of course she did.’ He turned to her. ‘It was a long time ago.’
‘Has it scared you? From being with someone else?’
