Belle - Lesley Pearse [217]
‘Then I hope she takes you up on it.’
Noah smirked. ‘Etienne said I should go home and marry a girl from the same background as me.’
‘So you can leave her at home and gallivant all over the place like he does,’ she retorted.
Noah looked at her in surprise. ‘He hasn’t told you about his wife and children?’
‘No, why should he?’
‘They died in a fire last year,’ Noah said. ‘He doesn’t know if it was arson or an accident. But he believes it was set deliberately because he left the organization he used to work for.’
Belle blanched. ‘How terrible! Poor Etienne. I know he loved them a great deal.’
‘He doesn’t like to talk about it and of course I didn’t know him before. But I’d say this is why he was so committed to finding you, and why he’s prepared to name names and stand as a witness.’
Belle was so stunned by the news of Etienne’s family dying that she couldn’t speak. She knew enough about men to know his family was his world, or he might well have taken advantage of her on the ship when she tried to get him to seduce her.
He clearly didn’t tell her about the tragedy himself because he wanted to concentrate all his energy and sympathy on her. Such kindness in the face of his own pain was almost unbearable. She had been rescued, she would go home to a good life with her family, but he would be left alone with only memories of his.
Noah looked at Belle’s stricken face and not for the first time he wondered if there was more between her and Etienne than they’d said. But it wasn’t appropriate to ask, he’d done enough damage for one day in giving her that news. There was nothing further he could tell her about the folk back home in England either, so he thought it better to go rather than make small talk. Besides, he had notes to be written up properly so that he had a decent record of what had gone on here in the last few days. There was also the telegram to send to Mog.
He told Belle that he must go and she looked at him blankly for a moment. ‘Oh, yes. Thank you for coming to see me. I hope you work something out with Lisette.’
‘And I hope you are well enough to leave here very soon.’
As the door closed behind Noah, Belle began to cry again as she thought of how comforting Etienne had been to her, and how quickly he must have come to her aid when Gabrielle had sent word to him.
Could that mean he held feelings for her? He’d said he remembered how beautiful she looked that last night on the ship. Had he also remembered those kisses they shared in the narrow bunk?
For two years now she’d conjured up memories of Etienne whenever she’d felt sad and lonely and even, if she was completely honest, when she was with her clients. It was of course shameful of her to hope that maybe they could have a future together just after hearing about such a terrible tragedy, but why had fate brought them together again if not for that?
Chapter Thirty-five
‘You promise to write to me? And come to England soon?’ Belle begged Etienne.
They were at the Gare du Nord, on the platform by the Calais train. Noah was already aboard with their luggage, giving them the opportunity to say their goodbyes without him looking on.
The station was extremely busy and very noisy with the sounds of steam engines, luggage carts being wheeled and people shouting to make themselves heard. But Belle was oblivious to everything but Etienne as he held her hands and looked down at her.
She wanted to lock the memory of his face into her mind for all time. Those blue eyes which could be as cold as the Atlantic Ocean sometimes, yet held the warmth and gaiety of New Orleans when he looked at her. His angular cheekbones, the curve of his generous mouth. She wanted to remove his hat and ruffle up his fair hair because she liked that boyish look he had when he first got up in the mornings.
Belle had been forced to stay in the nursing home longer than expected as she developed sickness and a high temperature. The doctor said it was shock, but she thought it was anxiety that Pascal might have made her pregnant. But fortunately her monthlies