Belle - Lesley Pearse [197]
‘Now look here, I never …’ Le Brun blustered angrily.
‘I know,’ Noah said soothingly. ‘Clearly she was lured out under the pretext of meeting you. But if you liked her, I would be so grateful if you could tell me all you know about her, and the man who arranges your meetings. It would of course be in strictest confidence.’
Le Brun put his hands over his face for a second in the gesture of a man who felt cornered. ‘I really liked her,’ he said. ‘She was funny, sweet-natured and interesting in every way. I promise on all I hold dear that I have not seen her since …’ he paused to take a small diary from his jacket pocket, ‘March twenty-sixth. I took her to Maxim’s that night.’
‘I do believe you,’ Noah said. ‘Tell me about Edouard Pascal. He introduced you to Belle, I believe?’
‘It was because of him that I haven’t seen Belle since.’ Le Brun’s face darkened at the mention of his name. ‘The man is a snake. I wish I had never been foolish enough to go to him. You see, I first saw Belle in the restaurant at the Ritz. She was with an elderly man and I sensed by their manner that it was their first meeting. No one would think Belle was a fille de joie, she dressed so well, acted like a lady, but as they left the restaurant I saw Pascal go up to the man. There was something between them, and that’s when I realized.’
‘You liked the look of Belle and approached him?’
Le Brun sighed. ‘Yes, for my sins. He wanted four hundred francs for an introduction as he called it. I should have walked away, but we men can be weak when we want a woman.’
Noah remembered how he’d been about Millie – he would have paid anything to be with her. ‘So what else do you know about the man? Could he be involved with whatever’s happened to Belle?’
Le Brun shrugged. ‘He’s not the kind of man you’d spend a minute longer talking to than you have to, so I know nothing about his personal life. But he’s greedy, and if he told her she was meeting me he was up to no good. We could hire some muscle to beat it out of him!’
Noah smirked at that suggestion. ‘I’ve got help from someone who could do that. But I’d be scared to do it in case he’s in this with others. They might just kill her if they hear we’re after them.’
Le Brun looked alarmed. ‘Surely it won’t come to that? What can I do to help?’
‘You’ve done so much already by being honest,’ Noah said. ‘I can’t thank you enough.’
‘The only thanks I want is to hear she’s safe and unhurt,’ Le Brun said with complete sincerity. ‘Keep in touch.’ He took a card from his pocket. ‘You can contact me there. Come for me if you need any help at all.’
Chapter Thirty-two
Belle shuffled over to the window and picked up a broken hairpin with which she continued trying to make the small hole in the board larger. She couldn’t stand for long, she felt too weak and dizzy, but she had succeeded in making the tiny hole into one just large enough to put her little finger in. She still couldn’t see much, just a tiled roof about twenty or thirty yards away. But when the sun was on the window a rod of light came into the room and she could lie on the bed watching the dust particles dancing in it, imagining it was fairies.
Mog had always made her say her prayers, something she’d abandoned a long while ago. But she prayed a great deal now, promising God she would never sin again if He’d just send someone to rescue her.
Hunger wasn’t her only problem now. She’d run out of water, and hour by hour she felt herself growing weaker. Aside from brief spells making the hole bigger, she spent the rest of the time lying on the bed to conserve her strength. She just wished her mind would slow down the way her body was doing, for she was tortured by going over and over the events of the last two years, and blaming herself for her own part in most of them.
She thought of Mog, her mother and Jimmy a lot too, especially Mog. She imagined her in the kitchen, rolling out pastry, or wringing out wet washing in the scullery. Sometimes she woke from a dream where Mog was holding her in her arms the way she