‘That I’d heard them too, but they were on the other side of the river.’ He looked at me. ‘So, I didn’t lie, but I didn’t tell all the truth.’
‘Do you think he guessed?’
‘Possibly. Probably. But I’m not about to make the same mistake. I can get myself out of danger pretty easily, but I don’t want to be responsible for anything happening to you.’
We walked on and soon came to a small clearing. I had to confess to only having a very general idea where we were in relation to the camp. The farm was behind us in a westerly direction.
‘You seem to know your way around the forest,’ I said, as I watched Marcel take off his jacket and roll up his shirt sleeves.
‘I’ve made it my job to know this place like the back of my hand. If I need an escape route, I don’t want to be running into dead ends, cliff tops or places where I can’t cross the river. I don’t like surprises.’
It made sense. I took off my cardigan and hung it over a nearby tree trunk that had fallen over.
‘So, we’re going to start with what to do if someone comes at you head on,’ began Marcel. ‘Always expect the unexpected. Never relax. That’s the first rule. Always suspect the other chap wants to kill you.’
I had to keep reminding myself that Marcel was teaching me lifesaving skills, and I wasn’t to get distracted by the closeness of his body to mine.
‘Concentrate,’ Marcel reminded me several times.
I forced myself to focus and as Marcel came towards me from behind, wrapping his arm around my neck, I threw all my weight and strength into the move he’d been teaching me, launching him over my shoulder.
Marcel let out a groan as he hit the ground. I slammed my body weight onto him, pinning him with my knee in his throat.
‘All right. All right,’ he wheezed.
I removed the pressure. ‘Have I passed the test?’
Before I knew what was happening, Marcel had flipped me over onto my back and was straddling me, just lifting his weight from my stomach. My hands were pinned above my head.
‘Never let down your guard,’ he said. Then he lowered his head and kissed me on the forehead, before getting to his feet and, still holding my hands, pulling me up.
I wasn’t about to let him get the better of me and I hooked my foot around his leg, catching the back of his knee so his leg crumpled. He grabbed me and we both fell to the ground. Once again, I found myself pinned underneath him.
‘Second rule. You need to know when to quit,’ said Marcel.
This time, when he helped me to my feet, I didn’t try any sneaky moves on him.
‘You win,’ I said.
He smiled. ‘I always win.’
It was amazing how his smile could inject heat into my face as I felt a small blush creep up my neck. I looked away, brushing forest debris from my clothes. ‘If my mother could see me now, she’d die,’ I said. ‘She would despair of me even more than usual.’
‘Even more than usual?’ Marcel unscrewed the lid of his water bottle and offered it to me.
I took a long sip before handing it back. ‘She wants me to marry and have children and have a normal life.’
‘And you don’t want that?’
‘Maybe one day, but I don’t want just that. I want more,’ I explained. ‘I want to be a fashion designer. I want to have my own fashion house.’ I paused, looking for amusement on his face or some sort of patronising expression, but there was none.
‘I’ve only seen your sewing skills on a uniform,’ he said, as I handed him the water bottle. ‘I’m no expert, but it all looked pretty good to me. I’ve no doubt you can be whatever you want to be.’
‘You don’t disapprove?’
‘It’s not my place to disapprove, but if my wife had skills like you, then I’d happily support her to make something of her life.’ He took a swig of water from the bottle before screwing the lid back on.
‘You’re the first man who hasn’t laughed at me or dismissed me.’
