The Beast Within - Emile Zola [103]
‘Good!’ she said. ‘We are friends. That’s just a matter between you and me. No one else, not even my husband, need know about it. And now I think you should perhaps let go of my hand and stop staring at me. You’ll wear your eyes out.’
But he continued to hold her hand, her delicate fingers entwined in his.
‘I love you,’ he whispered softly into her ear.
She pulled her hand away quickly and stood up. Jacques remained seated on the bench.
‘Don’t be silly!’ she said. ‘Behave yourself, there’s somebody coming.’
A nursemaid was coming along the path towards them with a baby asleep in her arms. A young girl walked past, clearly in a hurry. The sun was beginning to sink, slipping beneath the horizon in a purplish haze; its rays gradually receded from the lawns and faded in a cloud of gold over the green tops of the pine trees. A sudden lull seemed to interrupt the continuous rumble of traffic. A nearby clock struck five.
‘Goodness me!’ exclaimed Séverine. ‘It’s five o’clock. I’m supposed to be seeing someone in the Rue du Rocher.’
Her joy quickly faded. Once again the agony of not knowing returned as she remembered that she was still not out of danger. She went very pale, and her lips trembled.
‘What about the foreman you wanted to see at the engine shed?’ said Jacques, standing up and offering her his arm.
‘It can’t be helped,’ she said. ‘I’ll have to see him some other time. Look, Jacques, you don’t need to stay with me; I can go on my own. What I have to do won’t take me long. Thank you for looking after me. It really was very good of you.’
She shook his hand and rushed off.
‘I’ll see you on the train,’ she called.
‘I’ll be there,’ he shouted back.
She hurried away and disappeared between the trees in the square. Jacques wandered slowly back towards the Rue Cardinet.
Monsieur Camy-Lamotte had been having a long conversation with the General Manager of the Western Railway Company. He had originally been called there to discuss some other matter but had spent most of the time remonstrating with the Secretary-General about how much damage the Grandmorin affair was doing to the Company’s reputation. There had been complaints in the newspapers about the lack of security for passengers who were travelling first class. In addition, the affair now implicated nearly every member of his staff, several of whom were actually suspected of being involved, not to mention this Roubaud character, who had more to answer for than most and who might be arrested at any moment. To make matters worse, there were all sorts of unpleasant rumours circulating about the President’s private life and, because he had been on the board of directors, it reflected badly on the entire management. The end result was that a supposed crime by one insignificant assistant stationmaster, who no doubt had some sordid personal grudge to settle, was spreading upwards through the whole organization and upsetting the entire operational system of a major railway company, including its board of directors. In fact, the repercussions of the affair went even further. It affected the ministry and threatened the state. These were uncertain times, politically. They had reached a critical juncture in which the whole social structure was at risk; the least sign of infection could precipitate its collapse. Monsieur Camy-Lamotte realized this only too well, which was why, when the General Manager had announced that the Company had that morning decided to dismiss Roubaud, he had resolutely opposed the idea. No, he had insisted, that could prove awkward. The press would be up in arms if it thought that we were trying to make Roubaud a political scapegoat. Everything could fall apart. God knew what other unsavoury revelations might come to light! The scandal had gone on too long. They needed to put an end to all the gossip as soon as possible. The General Manager was eventually persuaded and undertook to keep Roubaud on, even allowing him to remain at Le Havre. It would be made clear that there was no blame attached to anyone. The problem had been